Whether it’s playing, commentating, or beating top players from across the globe, Marine has done it all. She’s a competitive Street Fighter V player for UYU and one of the most notable players in the scene. Despite her success, she had to start from the bottom like everyone else.

This interview follows Marine’s Women of the FGC interview. We discussed how she got into fighting games, her competitive journey, and how everyone wants to have fun regardless of their background or gender.

How did you get started as a competitive player in the fighting game community?

My father actually got me into them as a kid. It’s a really long story but tl;dr, always loved video games, played fighting games, “Man I freaking suck at these but want to get better,” start grinding. Of course, with those last two parts it was a bit more difficult being a woman in the FGC. Whether it be gross comments or just mean and misogynistic things thrown at you, it’s hard to focus sometimes. But that stuff didn’t really get to me.

As much as I hate saying this I kind of got desensitized to it when I just wanted to improve myself. I’m not saying it’s a good thing though. That stuff somewhat made me want to get better. I’d always think, “Ok you’re all talk, but let’s actually play.” But better yet, let’s just play and have fun. That’s really what we’re here for.

Did you find yourself doing a lot of those exhibitions to sort of validate a place in the community earlier on?

I didn't really see it as redeeming my place as a top player or whatever. I just wanted to play and was super thankful that they chose me to be part of the exhibition at Bar Fights. I guess it was more like, we'll see women playing fighting games cause you know there aren’t a lot of women in the FGC spotlight since it’s so male dominant.

But right now there are like a lot of women doing some cool stuff. Even if they're not playing they're commentating or doing content. It's super cool to see women rise in different categories of the community, and in video games in general.

Is there anything special that you put out there or do to make other women who are interested in the FGC feel even more welcome to join?

Yeah so we do have like Women of the FGC, Smash Sisters, Royal Rivals, and a lot of other great orgs that welcome women. It's not because we want the attention. It's more that we're the minority in the group and can also do these cool things.

Just having those kinds of orgs makes me super happy because I want everyone to feel safe when it comes to these events, especially women. Like I said earlier, you'll get really rude comments and all that crap just for being a woman and vibing. That’s why these orgs are so important. We can get together with common interests, bond, and have fun.

We're all there to support each other because we're just here to grow. I want us to be better and have even more join.

I'm sure we both know how the FGC and gaming communities as a whole can be to women. Do you have any thoughts on things that you think could be done to help with that situation?

That’s another great thing about having these orgs. They know that these problems exist, work to diminish them, and make people feel safe. If we keep promoting these orgs and show that they’re here doing cool things eventually the scene will be better than ever.

If we’ve got guys saying, “When’s men of the FGC spotlight?” I think we’re doing something right.

I've talked to other women in the FGC and a few said they’ve used that toxic trash talk as motivation even though they shouldn’t. Did you go through something similar?

When I started playing competitively there was this one bad apple that said I was only in the FGC for attention. Honestly, at the time, I didn't know how to cope with my emotions. Growing up I struggled with anxiety and depression and it was really hard. That comment really hurt me and made me want to get better. I couldn't think of anything else but to get better and Street Fighter became my focus. Back then I used to do a lot of cosplay, but I literally dropped cosplaying because I wanted to get better.

And yeah, here I am. I just kept believing, kept practicing, and just kind of grew into a different mentality. For some reason I kept playing. Something mentally clicked and then, I don’t want to sound conceited, but I got really good. I used to go 0-2 at locals but all of a sudden I’m getting fourth place at Red Bull Conquest and always finish in top 8s. It’s just so satisfying.

What got you interested in commentary as a competitor?

Honestly I really like commentating because I get to learn from different kinds of players and character matchups. I don’t know the super intricate stuff unless it’s coming from my character, Laura and that’s where I struggle. Commentating I can sit down, write notes, and learn habits from other players I like and have never played against.

Let's say I'm commentating CPT Japan and see players do this and that. Even though I've never played them before it's really, really cool to see because obviously, we can't play them offline since COVID is still a thing. But just getting that sort of exposure and having to visually and vocally analyze it really makes me want to keep commentating. To keep absorbing the knowledge even when I'm not playing.

Do you have any outstanding goals that you want to hit in 2022?

I just want to commentate more. Of course, I really do hope that COVID clears up because I would love to travel and compete again. I don't really like playing in online tournaments. Connections can get a little rough and sometimes be unplayable. I hope that we're able to go to offline events in 2022, but until then I'm just going to keep commentating. (laughs)

Do you have any final words for any other women interested in the FGC?

The more women in the scene the better because I really love to see women doing more, kicking butt, and of course making history. We have a lot of really awesome female players.

Like Sherry Jenix, who's a well-known Street Fighter 5 player that also made the E-Fight Pass to help international players get their Visa just to come compete at these tournaments. Then you have Cuddle Core who’s always making moves and even got signed by Red Bull. And there’s my friend MisoKrattz who I think is one of North America’s best Zeku players in SFV.

I’m telling you, as the years go by more women will join this scene. More people need to be nice to one another. We're all here to play video games and have a great time.