Month: August 2016

With the recent success of the Road to Shine Online Qualifier for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Panda Global have created their own online tournament series in partnership with smash.gg, designed to get players from North America and Europe to The Big House 6. Named “Key to the PG House,” the winner from Europe and the winner from North America will be an honorary Panda Global member over the course of The Big House 6, gaining access to the Panda Global training house to play with other top level Smashers. They will gain complimentary flights and entry to The Big House 6, along with a Panda Global hoodie and t-shirt, as well as a custom made smash.gg hoodie with their gamertag on the back.

As with the Road to Shine Qualifier, entrants to Key to the PG House will require an Internet connection with at least 5Mbps upload & 15Mbps download in order to compete. For the North American qualifier, players from the USA, Mexico and Canada can compete while for the European qualifier, any player from an EU nation can qualify. (Don’t worry UK players, you’re still eligible to enter.) If for any reason players are unable to attend due to visa issues or prior school or personal commitments, the first place prize will go to the next qualified entrant in top 8.

There will be four qualifiers for both regions, leading to a top 128 final where the winner will be decided. The US qualifiers start on Thursday the 8th of September at 5pm PST. These qualifiers will run until Sunday the 11th, where the final 128 will be held at 3pm PDT. As for Europe, due to the initial schedule clashing with Syndicate– Europe’s biggest Smash 4 tournament– their qualifiers have been shifted to a week later, starting on Thursday the 15th at 5pm BST, with the final 128 happening on Sunday the 18th. Each qualifier will be capped at 768 and they will not be reseeded. If you go into Losers’ early, prepare for a long road out. Both top 128 will be streamed over on the Panda Global Twitch channel, should you wish to tune in and see how each region fares.

For all the information regarding rules and prizes, check out the official smash.gg page. Hopefully, these qualifiers will become a regular occurrence for majors, as it does open the way for lesser known players from other regions to get a shot at the big time, without the risk of forking out hundreds on flights and lodging.

Sources: Panda Global; smash.gg

After profiling the first half of Street Fighter V’s playable cast, the CFN Portal has moved on to the remainder of the initial 16 characters that have been available since the game’s launch in this next set of profiles.

Many seemed surprised at the lack of Necalli’s impact in the Cinematic Story Mode expansion after he was hyped up to be a new opponent for Ryu, who had even caught the interest of M. Bison, according to the ancient prophecy fortold by the Warrior Prophet before his consumption. However, Capcom has decided to shine more light on the “Soul Consuming Darkness” in his profile, noting that he subconsciously corrupts those whom he encounters–who will eventually follow his path, and begin hunting for strong souls that they too may devour-our-our. When the “Hour of the Battle” draws near, he will begin to move into areas where he can sense many battles taking place, in order to consume many powerful souls. As they have done previously with Akuma and Evil Ryu, the Shadaloo Soldiers wonder if Necalli’s wild, barbaric, fighting style is somehow connected to the Murderous Intent of the Satsui no Hado. In his win quote to Ryu, Necalli states that “I can he…hear it. The endless killing intent, must consume…” He even warns M. Bison that, in regards to his Psycho Power, “There is nothing I cannot consume. I will co-consume all.” We also learn that while he can speak normal human speech and languages (albeit with a degree of difficulty, as seen in his win quotes), when he truly loses himself to his natural power his true strength and horror are enough to speak for him. In fact, just the act of witnessing Necalli “eating” a soul is enough to leave a person completely frozen with fear.

While she hasn’t been seen since Capcom Fighting Evolution all the way back in 2004, the “Perfect Victor,” Karin Kanzuki makes a grand return to Street Fighter V. Viewing Shadaloo’s latest machinations of the Black Moon Plan to be a threat to the her Kanzuki Zaibatsu–as well as the entire world–she begins to gather the World Warriors at the Kanzuki Estate to launch an attack on the organization’s base during the course of the Cinematic Story Mode Expansion. Still maintaining her family’s pride as a Martial Artist and continuing to carry on the Kanzuki motto of “be the winner in everything,” she tends to declare herself the victor of her battles in advance. Her natural haughtiness may be seen by some as an irreverent attitude–but that does not mean she isn’t an important person.

Her profile also shines the spotlight on her “Super Butler” Shibasaki. Karin employs him for a wide variety of duties, ranging from data analysis to being a personal assistant. He’s also a solid fighter himself, as shown in Karin’s Character Story prologue, where he fights off a horde of lower-ranked Shadaloo Soldiers.

Basic Information:

Name: Shibasaki
Height: 178cm
Weight: 75kg
Blood type: A
Birthday: 7th of May
Country of origin: Japan
Likes: Black tea, young lady Karin
Dislikes: People with poor table manners

The CFN Portal has included both an image of him in both his business suit, as well as his casual attire, sipping on a cup of black tea. He is always acting together with the young “princess” Karin, and has learned a great deal of things from the Legendary Butler Azam–and is considered to be the “Rising Star” of the butler world.

Next up is “The Headbutt-Happy Glutton,” Birdie, who is also returning from the Alpha Series, as well as currently mooching at the Kanzuki Estate! After previously covering Birdie’s original incarnation, this Profile concerns his current state as of the timeline of Street Fighter V. Besides getting fatter, he doesn’t seem to have changed much at all. However, the CFN Portal did provide us with some new art pieces for your viewing pleasure.

Rounding out the Alpha 3 veterans and making her return to SF after nearly 20 years is Mika Nanakawa, otherwise known as Rainbow Mika! She is a rookie of the Iwashigahama Women’s Pro Wrestling promotion, with her tag team partner Nadeshiko (who also serves as her V-trigger in the game).

She swears allegiance to her master Zangief, and is sponsored by Karin’s Kanzuki Zaibatsu. During a wrestling tour, she receives a request to help stop Shadaloo’s Black Moon plan. She speaks in a casual manner, befitting of a “gym girl” like herself. Though she’s usually wearing her mask when training or competing in the ring, she’s actually quite an expressive, emotional person. In regards to her dislike being “younger people with no manners,” this specifically refers to Ibuki, with whom she notably got into an argument with upon their first meeting. However, they set their differences aside, and despite never agreeing on anything, infiltrated Shadaloo’s Base as a team during the Cinematic Story Mode.

As we know, Cammy is an enhanced solider, her power increased in Shadaloo experiments, later rescued by the United Kingdom Special Forces Unit “Delta Red” who have helped her to walk a new path in life. She cooperates with Karin Kanzuki to participate in Shadaloo’s destruction once again, but her eyes fall upon suffering again when she sees that the Dolls are being brainwashed into fighting as living weapons.

Next, we move on to that King of Shadaloo, the sadistic Spanish narcissist Vega. “The purpose of the struggle is to eliminate those who are ugly in the pursuit of True Beauty.” Though he is an intelligent warrior who absolutely adores himself, his mask literally hides glimpses of pure madness. His personal life philosophy is “beauty is absolute.” He is focused on the relationship between Cammy and Decapre, and hopes to “find new beauty” within them.

We continue the Shadaloo coverage by turning a spotlight on the evil warlord of the organization, and the major antagonist of the Street Fighter series, M. Bison. He wields the purple-colored, ominous energy called Psycho Power. Leader of the evil organization Shadaloo. He used the Black Moons to activate a plan to terrorize the world: filling himself with Psycho Power to achieve his strongest form in the history of the Street Fighter series. However, the real purpose is likely not world conquest; though generally perceived to be a power-hungry despot bent on ruling Earth and plunging its inhabitants into an endless nightmare, Bison’s plan may be to just face a rival of equal strength. His dialogue to Ryu at the climax of the Cinematic Story Mode about the true purpose of power seem to imply that the Bison only wishes to engage in “the ultimate battle” with someone whose powers are worthy of his otherworldly strength, with Ryu being the perfect candidate for such a match.

Finally, we have the newest member of Shadaloo, and the self-proclaimed “Number 2” of the organization, the master of deadly poisons, F.A.N.G! Appointed to the new Four Heavenly Kings of Shadaloo, he claims to be a member of the Royal Family of the self-proclaimed Lost Kingdom. He fights with a form of Chinese Kempo charged with poison from his own hands. His idolization of Bison and willingness to contribute to Shadaloo put him at the center of the Black Moon plan. Therefore, he noticed first and foremost the betrayal of Rashid’s friend. Usually, he speaks in an innocent tone, but it is merely acting: at the moment, he may seem casual, but death sometimes peeks out from behind his face. He considers “2” to be his lucky number, and is obsessed with it in all situations, sticking to it incessantly.

To continue on with our newer fighters, we have Brazil’s Laura Matsuda, Sean’s big sister and one of Zangief’s “grappling buds.” We previously covered her family here. She lives a freewheeling, thrilling life, so she tends to not go home sometimes and travels instead. Sean is bad at handling Laura’s tendencies, but really cares and worries about his big sis. Perhaps providing an explanation for Sean’s actions during the Street Fighter III series, her profile closes by noting that, she is the planned inheritor of the Matsuda fighting style, so she seeks opponents to show just how strong her family is.

Finally, we have the main character of Street Fighter V’s General Story Mode, Rashid of the Turbulent Wind! Rashid isn’t your typical gung-ho all-or-nothing hero, he’s always thinking about the most efficient, smartest way to deal with things. He’s a practical man. He comes off as a carefree guy due to his parkour-influenced fighting style and casual talk, but when it comes to his friends there’s no one more serious than Rashid.

For more content from the CFN Portal, check out these rejected costume designs for the original cast here and here.

Source: CFN Portal