Introducing Neji

Posted by: -Radical-

With only two more players left to introduce to you, we bring you the French Dead or Alive 4 player Aissani "Neji" Méziane. In this interview Aissani talks about when he first got the passion he now has for Dead or Alive 4, and how he discovered the perfect characters for him.

Aissani goes onto explain the pressure that he found at the Championship Gaming Series world finals in Los Angeles last year, and how he felt like his nerves got the better of him in his game against Chicago Chimera; Black Mamba losing 0-5 to him. You can find this interview below, enjoy.

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Hey Neji, could you start off by giving an introduction about yourself

Hi everyone my name is Aissani Méziane, I'm 20 years old and I come from Marseille in Provence (south of France), where I'm studying History at Aix-en-Provence College in order to become a qualified teacher in high school.


Back in September you were drafted as the male Dead or Alive 4 player for the Stockholm Magnetik team, now 3 months on how does it feel?

Actually I can't believe what happened to me, First I couldn't come because as I thought the Draft was going to be in August, and I was still working. When I heard it was in September, I said to myself that I couldn't miss this opportunity, at least it would be a fun holidays and a break between my summer job and my studies. Also, a new flight line between Lyon and Birmingham had been created in September, it was like destiny that called me. When I heard Redeye saying my name after the Draft, I was in another world, and I haven't left it since, it's just like a dream, being paid and appreciated for playing my favorite game ever, pro-gaming is the coolest thing that happened to my life!


How did it all start with you for Dead or Alive 4, were you a fan of the series before hand?

Oh yes, I'm a big fan, since Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore on Playstation2, I even remember the moment I bought it, it was with my mother because my brother wanted it for Christmas, he loved Kasumi. Since then, Dead or Alive is my favorite game, I bought the Xbox360 especially for this game, and I never have regretted it.


A lot of people claim that Dead or Alive 4 is just a game which requires no skill, and is just button bashing could you tell us how difficult it is playing Dead or Alive 4 and prove these voiced opinions wrong

Well maybe it's very easy for a beginner to do incredible moves with any character, but that doesn't mean at all they're a strong, it's just because DOA has always been a very eye-catching game. And it's also easier to upgrade your level compared to other fighting games much less accessible like Virtual Fighter. But where they are wrong is when they believe that they can win the best players with only 30 minutes of training.

Dead or Alive 4 fighting system is alot more in depth than some people think, it's very hard to reach a high level, and people coming from other fighting games really realize it only when they play against top players. So I think people saying nasty things about the game are just ignorant.


With Dead or Alive 4 having so many characters, what made you choose the ones that you are using today?

Well I've always played Helena, since Dead or Alive 2, because she is French and the way she fights is very beautiful. The problem was that she wasn't really strong enough compared to some other characters of the game, but I didn't care because she was the one I chose: “Helena je t'aime”. I've been lucky for Dead or Alive 4 because now she's one of the best characters of the game, Itagaki has heard my prayers haha. I'm also pretty good with Lei-Fang that I've started to play with the same time as Helena, I think it's very important having another character to fight with when you don't feel your main character will be the good one, for example I only played Lei-Fang during the draft at Birmingham because Helena wasn't unlocked, so maybe I should thank her. I also like Lisa, Christie and Tina.


Would you say that each character in Dead or Alive 4 has equal amounts of positive and negative points about them?

Of course not, but all the fighting games are in the same case. In Dead or Alive, ninjas are either cheap (that is to say easy to play and strong at the same time) either very balanced. It really depends of each character, and not of the category. For example, all the big/fat characters have not the same problem of amount, Spartan is very good but Bass and Leon suck. But even if you don't play the very top players (ninjas+Helena+ Gen-Fu), you don't have a big disadvantage if the character you play is not particularly weak. That means you can win Hayabusa with Kokoro/Zack/Lei-Fang even if they are not as strong as him, if your character has some good moves, sometimes only 3or4 moves are really necessary for wining, if you know how the games work/the rules, you can win with anyone (maybe excepted with Tengu lol)


Some people may not know that you play offline most of the time, and not over X-Box Live due to your internet connection in your College. How difficult is it for you to train up and get to know another players styles, when you cannot always experience them online?

It's not that important for my training because I never use to play against players I met in L.A over X-Box Live, I only train with the top French players, but I can meet them regularly one time per month at Paris during arranged offline bootcamps. But still I miss X-Box Live and its thousands of players backsides you can kick ;)


In November you left France to travel across the world to Los Angeles in the first Championship Gaming Series world finals, how did you personally think the team would perform under the spotlight?

I thought we were in good condition because despite of our loss against Berlin during the European finals, we knew we had everything we needed to reach the top of the competition. I was particularly worried for Miss and I because I knew other players were used to competing in tournaments, which was not our case. But you know, when your nervous that's something you just can't control, so I knew it was going to be kinda unpredictable.


Your first match against Sydney Underground where you met; Daniel "Berzerk" Chlebowczyk before the game did you know what to expect from him?

Absolutely not! I just knew that he was playing Lei-Fang, but I wasn't 100% sure. And he was always trying to dodge me when we were in the training room, so that I couldn't see how he played. At the beginning I found the situation uncomfortable because I thought that not knowing my opponent could only bring me doubt and make me lose my match. Then I realized that it was the same for him, he didn't know me, and that made me more confident.


During the match when the score was 2:3 in his favor, it was said that you gave a smile as if you had worked out your opponent you then went onto win the match 5:3. How did you work out Berzerks playing style?

The only reason for why I won is that I was deeply sure I was better than him. When he was leading 3-2, I was surprised but I did not panic, I knew the only way to win was to stop doing some mistakes, and to be more aggressive. He always did the same thing: Low Kick then Catch Grab, even if I was a little bit nervous, I still had enough control to not be taken down by this kind of basic strategy.


By winning this match it would mean going against the ferce Chicago Chimera, giving you Jeremy "Black Mamba" Florence as your opponent. You lost this game 0:5, what went wrong about Black Mamba in your opinion?

One thing is sure, I didn't play my best and if I had played like I usually do I wouldn't of lost 5-0. I won't say I could have beaten Mamba, I immediately understood he was the best player of the competition when I saw him playing in the practice room. Honestly, there couldn't have been miracle my loss couldn't be helped, as HeatoN said nobody can beat Mamba in the shape that he is right now but I just wanted to believe I could win because my team was counting on me. I've been so unlucky I do HATE mirror matches, and I did one against the best player of the competition.

Though, I was too nervous compared to him, it was like he was playing at home in his bed in front of TV, whereas I was so tense, I couldn't react normally to what he did, the lack of experience for big competitions finished me off.


If you could go back and change anything since your time in Stockholm Magnetik what would it be and why?

Guess what? Without any hesitation it would be to win against Berlin during European championship so that we would have had a better position in the competition. I think Chicago was the only team in the competition that could really stop us.


Was the World Finals in Los Angeles what you expected? And if you were given the opportunity to change anything what would it be?

I wasn't excepting something particular when I decided to leave for Los Angeles, so that nothing disappointed me. I've been surprised to see how something so big/huge like the CGS can be managed so easily by all the staff present. They have been amazing, nice but also very professional, that's a way to work we unfortunately don't apply in France. Everything was well organized, they were present if we needed help and it allows us to make us feel more comfortable and to only think about competition, so I'd like to thank them.

The other thing I really liked was the 3 training rooms where we could go for playing, I had a lot of good moments in them, I laughed a lot but also learnt a lot about the game. Even if we had difficulties for speaking because we came from all over the world, we just had to play to create a link and understand each other. But if I had to change one thing, it would be all the sadness people have expressed because of losing, we were in L.A playing and having fun together as a team, that's the only thing I want to remember.


The Championship Gaming Series gives both men and women the opportunity to compete against each other, how do you feel about this? Would you rather the men and women were put into one instead of being separate?

I don't really know what is the best idea. From one hand, men are much more better than women at Dead or Alive 4 (in my opinion), so at the beginning it could be unfair to make them play together. But from the other hand, it's the best way for them to reach the highest level they can, because it would be stupid to say that they can't play like boys. For example I think that Vanessa wouldn't be that good if she didn't use to play against men, I also train my sister in that way, so that she will be prepared to any situation.


What will you be upto over the next couple of weeks till the second season is announced? (training, personal life etc.)

Of course I will continue my training, I bought a TFT monitor so that I can play in the same conditions that are used in the CGS. And I also have to revise for my exams in February, it would be fantastic if I succeeded into passed my studies. Oh and I need to have my driver license, I start my first driving lessons in 1 week, so I'm kinda busy!!


Well thats all for now if you have any shoutouts please make them now:

First I'd like to thank HeatoN for choosing me (of course!) thank you to all my team for being so fun and for supporting me , to all the people that appreciate our great team!! And special thanks to the two other French Miss & Yggdrasil (on représeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeente wesh wesh), Kathy the spider lover, los dos enamorados de Mexico (Alma I miss your irritating smile), my roommate Chud1k alias Mr IPhone, the “perfect” Tetra and los “trou du cul” de Mexico “rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr”, I really hope I will see you all next year I miss you.