Re: Sasuke 37 So basically they ignored all of the new stuff they added
Well, I'll reserve any real judgement until I watch the tournament:
HERE BE SPOILERS (highlight to read):
Finished Stage One (wound through all of the inbetween stuff) and it's actually pretty good so far. Yusuke and Jamie Rahn results were rough I know Rahn could definitely do better and just slipped, but Yusuke's Warped Wall failure was more puzzling. Hope he's not getting too old. Awesome to see Jessie Graff clearing the First Stage again. The new Fish Bone modification was a nice way to spice things up, though not really so deadly as I expected. Some of the top moments for me included the great Wing Slider recovery, some of the Fish Bone saves and, unfortunately, Yusuke and Rahn's shocking failures. Yay for at least starting in the daytime. I'm afraid they'll continue to try going for all night tapings, though.
Not having the first obstacle actually made the Second Stage a tad more interesting, if only because it's some kind of change. It's still blatantly obvious that this stage is way too easy and overdone, and hopefully the Rolling Log can do some serious damage next time! Not much to say here at all, but I guess it was nice to see a Spider Walk failure.
Re: Sasuke 37 Exactly a month after Sasuke 37, it's time for my review! (Mild spoilers ahead - you have been warned)
I'll start with Stage 1 which remained the same as last year apart from a modification to the fishbone. The modification itself had little impact as almost all of the fails were still on the old section. Tbh wasn't really disappointed over the lack of change as I still really like this stage 1. Of course, the tournament was overshadowed by the weather which was already making its mark on the first stage, with several high-profile competitors failing the wall. I actually (without wanting to sound evil) quite enjoyed the fails as they added drama and forced you to think who could go far that wasn't Yusuke.
Stage 2 finally had a change... with the returning Rolling Log... which couldn't be use because of the weather. This meant the course started from the Salmon Ladders this time which was refreshing after seeing the same stage format for so long. Sadly, it seems as if they didn't shorten the time limit despite there being an obstacle not in play, so time was never really a factor. On top of that we still have the borefest of Spider Walk -> Spider Drop -> Backstream which was now very much centre of the stage. Luckily the stage didn't last long so we could get into the real meat of Stage 3.
Stage 3 remained the same... kind of. The UC Cliffhanger was modified to become the Cliffhanger Dimension - where ledge 2 moved up and down and ledge 3 moved backwards and forwards. Luckily for the competitors and anyone who wanted to see a deep Stage 3 run, the motors malfunctioned so the ledges didn't move. This Stage, as has become the tradition now in Sasuke, was easily the highlight of the tournament. I loved seeing three people not just beat the Cliffhanger but also the Vertical Limit as well, seeing 2 clears as well was completely unexpected. Also, Jessie Graff returning and reaching Stage 3 again was great to see.
Stage 4 was live just like last year but with two competitors who weren't Yusuke - and had never before attempted Sasuke's Stage 4. The fact that one of them was a Sasuke rookie, and an international competitor on top of that, was great to see. Sadly, both couldn't get past the Salmon Ladder Jugo Dan, which if anything just shows how good Yusuke is to make it look relatively easy on each attempt, and get close to the top.
Overall, a great tournament which was quite severely effected - and in my view enhanced - by poor weather.
Re: Sasuke 37 The Cliffhanger motors broke BECAUSE of the rain, right? If they just malfunctioned for some other reason, they might just go right back to their old reliable UCCH
I know Rahn could definitely do better and just slipped, but Yusuke's Warped Wall failure was more puzzling. Hope he's not getting too old. Awesome to see Jessie Graff clearing the First Stage again. The new Fish Bone modification was a nice way to spice things up, though not really so deadly as I expected. Some of the top moments for me included the great Wing Slider recovery, some of the Fish Bone saves and, unfortunately, Yusuke and Rahn's shocking failures. Yay for at least starting in the daytime. I'm afraid they'll continue to try going for all night tapings, though. 
