Concurrent to our COMPUTEX 2023 coverage in Taiwan, Back2Gaming was also present during CONQUEST 2023 here in Manila. Here’s my experience with the event!
Day 1
Day 1 was a smooth process. I picked up my Media Pass and my extra wristbands for friends at Microtel with ease. After getting inside the event hall past 10am, the first stage activity was about to start. “Cookie with a Roomie” starred Valkyrae, Fuslie, and Yvonnie on stage. It was a fun, lighthearted segment reminiscent of the Roomies’ cooking streams. A cookie recipe was randomly given to guests and they had 15 minutes to make a cookie from scratch. Lucky audience members were picked to participate as the guests’ baking partners.
Chaos ensure thereafter as a Q&A session started with the goal to distract the streamers. Questions regarding the Philippines were asked, such as what Filipino words they know, which were mostly “Salamat” and “Mahal Kita,” and how they felt about the heat, to which Valkyrae responded that it felt like a “warm hug”. When asked who would be the worst baker among their roommates, they all agreed that it would be Sykkuno.
More questions were asked until the 15-minute timer expired. It was nice to see this live reiteration of their stream content on stage with what is essentially ‘chat’ IRL. Their personalities really shone on stage, with Fuslie being more playful and taking a bite out of everyone’s creations, and Yvonnie being more in focus on her tasks as she’s the only one with baking experience in the bunch. Valkyrae was so gracious to people’s questions and requests, even rallying people up to sing happy birthday for someone who requested a greeting for his friend.
After the first stage segment, I went around the 1st floor and saw lines forming at the Riot booth. It featured a recreation of their “Valorant” map Lotus side by side with a life-sized Baron for their “League of Legends” section. Next to it, the crew was still setting up the PC area which would later host the VCT Challengers League.
I tried my hand at getting the free Meetzone tickets for either AriaSaki & Newt or Pokimane & Michael Reeves, the former being known for food content on Twitch and Tiktok, and the latter being big names on Twitch and Youtube. Walking towards the claiming area at 2 pm, I noticed the long line swirling along the event hall. It did not register to me immediately that it was the line for the ticket claiming and only realized it when I saw the front. I didn’t stay anymore since I know I won’t reach the cut-off and the claiming schedule was delayed, so I went to the second floor to see one of the guests, iGumdrop, who was manning her clothing brand booth “Ebiko”.
I got to interact with iGumdrop, also known as Jamie, after buying one of the Ebiko shirts displayed. Prices were around Php1700 for a shirt, and around Php2800 or more for their sweaters. Other items under a thousand pesos were accessories such as hats and socks. She was very nice, saying that I don’t need to buy to interact with her, but I have been eyeing her designs for a while and it was an opportunity to skip on international shipping. She complimented my cosplay and I told her that the work she does with food and fashion is really cool and was waiting for her next video. The line moved really slowly before it was my turn, so I didn’t want to take too much time. I took a picture, paid for the shirt, and left after the short interaction.
I later explored the second floor. It hosted a variety of activities such as the QuestMarket, Indiezone, Advocacy Booths, Tabletop Games, and the Playzone, the latter being my safe haven for Day 2.
Day 2
Day 2 had me hanging out in the Tito Steef area, a booth in the Playzone sandwiched between Osu! and Just Dance. Fighting game titles such as Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Guilty Gear, and more were in sight. I tried out Super Smash Bros. Melee. It was the first time I saw a GameCube in person. The controller layout was interesting. For rhythm games, they brought out old-school arcade games such as DDR, Para Para Paradise, and DrumMania, as well as newer games such as Project Diva and Chunithm.
By 2 pm, the Titos at Tito Steef’s held a Fighting Game Gauntlet with a shiny new monitor as the prize. You had to beat 3 Titos at their own games. I signed up for the challenge, first playing Dead or Alive 5, and moving on to King of Fighter XV. I ultimately lost on my second game with one round to spare. From what I heard, no one won the monitor. It seems that the Tito playing Street Fighter was really good at his game.
At 4 pm, I went to check out the Valorant Showmatch. The crowd was bigger than yesterday’s opening segment which was probably due to the mix of talents up on stage. The game started with a knife fight, with Spicyuuu getting a triple kill. A few rounds after, I couldn’t stay standing, so I went back upstairs to eat and rest.
I really wanted to play board games and try a D&D campaign this day, but didn’t get to explore much as it was pretty cramped inside. I also didn’t really go out of the venue until I went home. Moving in and out of just the halls was difficult, much more going outside the building itselfーand that’s with a pass already.
Day 3
My personal agenda for Day 3 was to see OTV & Friends. I had the choice to either go to the Roomies panel situated in the Mall of Asia Atrium, or to their stage segment inside the SMX halls. I decided to see the stage segment “Offline Feud” instead which featured Michael Reeves, LilyPichu, Pokimane, AriaSaki, and iGumdrop.
The segment kicked off with a Q&A session. Each guest picked an audience member to go on stage and ask a question. The way they picked people was interesting, to say the least. Pokimane’s requirement was that they were supposed to be the loudest, which was responded with roaring cheers from the audience. AriaSaki said that whoever danced the best was the one she would pick, and dance did the people do.
One of the more memorable questions was from a guy asking LilyPichu what the inspiration was for writing her song “Last Cup of Coffee” to which she responded, “I thought that we were all gonna die one day.”
Btw, this was the song in question:
The game part of the show started after. The guests were split into two teams, and since the number was uneven, they called in more audience members to participate. People raised some unique items into the air to get noticed, and one guy got in by raising a stool. The OTV members & friends played a variation of Family Feud but the questions were about them and the survey was answered by the Conquest crowd during the earlier days.
The game ended with Michael Reeves, LilyPichu, and 2 audience members collectively known as Team Philippines winning and Pokimane giving out free Jollibee meal stubs. My day more or less ended after watching this stage. I roamed around a little bit more with my last stop being the AcadArena booth, where they were giving out boxes of potato crackers.
The halls were more spacious than it was on Day 2, but it was at the expense of those who were outside. With almost all of the activities placed in SMX, it was hard for people to leave. Leaving meant having to line up again just to get in, and with the wave of people outside, no one wanted to risk it.
While I did get to enjoy my time inside, it was because of the fact that I had a media pass that could get me in and out of the event with relatively no problems. I fully acknowledge that there are people who could not even experience the event because of the long lines outside. If you did not get in the event or had a subpar experience, you can request a refund through their site here.
I would still like to see another CONQuest event next year but scaled down. Keep to one venue, raise prices, and cap the quantity. Congoers, exhibitors, and guests alike felt bad about what happened. Here’s to hoping they could turn it around next time.
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hahaha kalma priii