Month: February 2017

Posted on

Echo Fox Sign Tekken Masters Choi “Saint” Jinwoo and Kim “JDCR” HyunJin

Not content with having world champions for Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros. and NetherRealm fighters, Echo Fox have snapped up two of the world’s greatest Tekken players in their ongoing fighting game offensive. In readiness for Tekken 7 in June, Echo Fox have signed Choi “Saint” Jinwoo and Kim “JDCR” HyunJin to their already killer roster.

Saint is currently the man to beat in Tekken, having claimed the title of King of the Iron Fist and Evo champion in 2016. While not as prolific as Saint in recent times, JDCR is still a force to be reckoned with in the world of Tekken, taking first place at Evo 2014, the 2014 IeSF World Championship, as well as Final Round 17 and 18 during the heights of Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

In a statement to theScore esports, Echo Fox owner Rick Fox stated that “When we expanded our fighting game team last month we did it knowing that it was only the first step towards becoming a dominating force in the fighting game community. By signing the two of the best Tekken players in the world, Saint and JDCR, we’re moving closer to that goal.”

With Tekken 7 appearing at most major fighting game events in the latter half of this year, expect Echo Fox to be dominating that game as well. If Echo Fox signs an anime or a KOF player, it will have a finger in almost every pie in the FGC.

Sources: Echo Fox; theScore eSports

Posted on

Evo 2017 Player’s Choice: Leaving Out Mortal Kombat XL Would Be a Fatal Mistake

During the reveal of the games lineup for Evo 2017, it was announced that the 9th official game at the event would be decided by a Player’s Choice online donation drive, similar to what happened at Evo 2013–which resulted in the addition of Super Smash Bros. Melee to the main stage, where it has remained ever since. One of the nine games battling for that final spot–which will be granted the opening arena slot in the Sunday Finals, in addition to receiving a $10,000 pot bonus–is NetherRealm Studio’s Mortal Kombat XL! Here are some of the reasons why we deserve to see Kombat on the main stage one more time.

Mortal Kombat XL is easily the most successful game in the franchise, period

Mortal Kombat XL has proven to easily be the most successful game NRS has ever produced, in every sense of the word. It has been the most played iteration of the franchise, with the game selling 5 million copies worldwide, as of October 2015, with those figures only increasing due to the release of the XL version and Kombat Pack 2 back in March 2016. It has also received the longest amount of post-launch support of any title NRS has produced, with the final patch and hotfix arriving in October 2016, 18 months after the game released back in April 2014.

It’s had the highest attendance of any NRS game in the history of Evo over the past two years

MKX also holds the honor of having the two largest tournaments for NRS games in the history of Evo; easily supplanting its predecessors Mortal Kombat 9 and Injustice: Gods Among Us, with a staggering 1,162 entrants at Evo 2015–surpassing Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Tekken 7, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, and Killer Instinct to become the 4th-largest game that year (and one of only four titles to reach quadruple digits). Though the game did see a massive drop-off in entrants in Evo 2016, having only 713 entrants last year, it still overtook both Killer Instinct and Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, and had only 69 less players than UMvC3, making it the second-largest NRS tournament in Evo History.

This wouldn’t be the first time two NRS games have shared the main stage at Evo

Back in 2013–for the first, and to date, only–time, two NRS games were selected for the main lineup: the debuting Injustice: Gods Among Us was joined by its older sibling, Mortal Kombat 9. Though it was the lowest-attended of the main games that year, the community ensured it had a proper send-off, with a fantastic Top 8 showing. One player, Giuseppe “REO” Grosso, managed to place Top 8 in both NRS games, coming in 2nd of MK9 with his Kabal, and finishing 7th in Injustice with Batman. Though the newer game received more support overall, there were several players who entered both titles, similar to the entrant crossover we saw back in 2015 with Japanese players entering both Xrd and P4AU. History now repeats itself: as Injustice 2 is already in the main lineup, with MKXL having the potential to join it. Additionally, MKXL joining the lineup is the only way NRS players will get to take the stage at the Mandalay Bay arena on Sunday, as Injustice 2 is scheduled to be completed on Saturday, leaving this community on the outside looking into the arena on Sunday. Additionally, even though MK9 was excluded from the official lineup in 2014, the community ran a side tournament for it, which was streamed by Team Spooky’s Arturo Sanchez, and received more Stream views than any of the official games on Sunday–with IGN even covering the Grand Finals set between Sonic Fox and Dab, undeniably demonstrating the sheer passion and love of the NRS community!

The game has received another balance patch since last Evo

One of the largest arguments going in favor of MKXL–as well as what guaranteed Injustice: Gods Among Us a second appearance at Evo back in 2014–was the fact that NRS released another balance patch for the title in the year between Evos. They’ve done just that yet again, by patching the game one final time, in addition to a quick hotfix back in October 2016 before Southern California Regionals. It was arguably the most extensive rebalance ever seen in a NRS game, with changes to every single character on the roster, as well as some massive system changes (such as stamina adjustments weakening the characters who relied on potent run cancel pressure, removal of armored launchers cast-wide, the majority of overheads being either slowed down or turned into mids, and most Kombatants receiving 2-3 hits of armor on various meter burn specials). The changes promoted a much slower, more neutral-based style of gameplay–compared to the extremely offensive, mixup and pressure-oriented meta seen at Evo 2016. Long gone are the days of Echo Fox’s Sonic Fox and Noble’s Dragon meeting in an Acidic vs. Tarkatan Alien mirror match for Grand Finals, or Piercing Mileena terrorizing opponents with a mid-hitting stagger of B1 and B12–as new faces like Sektor, Smoke, Kitana, Shinnok, and Kenshi have been able to emerge, along with new players such as Noble’s Tweedy, GutToughGaming’s SylverRye and Semij joining many of the old faces in Top 8s across the country. This provides much more variety for spectators than past versions, even if Sonic Fox’s constant domination has remained, for better or worse. SCR 2016’s Top 8, which featured 15 different characters and 16 variations–with nary an Alien in sight–is a great example of the type of play that can be seen in the current version of the game. NRS has also been continually providing pot bonuses for the game, as recently as Kumite In Tennessee in January 2017, despite Injustice 2 being on the horizon.

The community is still actively playing

Despite the Injustice 2 beta being in the hands of several players, the community is still supporting MKXL: Stream.me’s Season One of the Kombat and Konquest Cups just concluded, with Sonic Fox emerging victorious and earning himself a free trip to Evo. Season 2 is scheduled to begin on February 12th, as well as the game being in the lineups for Winter Brawl 11, Final Round XX, Naptown Clutch VI, Canada East Championships 4, Combo Breaker 2017 (which will also be the debut tournament for Injustice 2), and Midwest Championships 2017, there is still plenty of hype and competition left in the title, which doesn’t have to be outright abandoned just because Injustice 2 is coming up.

Both of MKX’s Grand Finals have been international affairs

Long considered solely American games (despite having a small Japanese scene for Injustice: Gods Among Us), Mortal Kombat X was the first NRS game to feature a large amount of international competition on a grand scale. The Grand Finals of both of its previous Evo appearances saw Sonic Fox face an international challenger to his throne: first when he battled Problem X Productions’s A F0xy Grampa in 2016; and who can forget last year’s epic battle that rocked Mandalay Bay, against Bahrain’s Tekken Master–playing Swarm Queen D’Vorrah–that forced Fox to “expose his humanity to the world” by shedding his signature furry hat on stage (akin to WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle pulling down the straps on his singlet) as he was pushed further than he’s ever been during the entire lifespan of the game!

With the game currently sitting in second-to-last place, with a mere $135 raised by only 7 donors, the odds of it winning the final spot are slim to none–but that shouldn’t stop you from showing your support for a great cause, and in the likely event they don’t secure a victory, the NRS community is already planning their own side tournament at Evo, to ensure that even if they don’t get a third shot on the main stage, there will still be an arena in which players can prepare for Kombat.

Vote for Mortal Kombat XL on generosity.com here. Voting closes at 12:00 PM PST on February 8, 2017.

evo 2017 vote

Sources: IGN; levelupseries; evo2kvids; Mr. Wizard; Wall Street Journal; Test Your Might

Posted on

The King of Fighters XIV World Championship Grand Final Comes to Tokyo on February 18th

After a long series of tournaments across several continents, it is almost time to crown the first King of Fighters for the latest edition of SNK’s long running team fighter. The contenders have been locked in, and the KOFXIV final is going to be held at the Akihabara UDX Theater in Tokyo on February 18th. Coming from five continents, the final 16 players are:

  • Alioune (France)
  • Frionel (Morocco)
  • Cipher (Mexico)
  • Kane Blueriver (Chile)
  • Toshi (Peru)
  • AS|Reynald (USA)
  • DBJ-EIT (Taipei)
  • gxbridget (Taipei)
  • KTB|Ball HK (Hong Kong)
  • MADKOF (South Korea)
  • Douyu Qanba|Xiaohai (China)
  • Panda Dakou (China)
  • Panda TV|Lancer (China)
  • Panda TV|Naiwang (China)
  • Picnic (Japan)
  • Sanwa|M’ (Japan)

With producer Yasuyuki Oda present at the event and “some of the latest new info from KOF” promised to be announced during the course of the finals, this will be an absolute must watch for any King of Fighters fans. The tournament is set to kick off at 3pm JST on February 18th, and you can watch live via Team Spooky’s Twitch channel.

Source: SNK

Posted on

Scream and Shout with This New Black Canary Footage for Injustice 2

Following the announcement of Black Canary last week for Injustice 2, NetherRealm have released some more in-game footage of the sonic superhero fighting against Deadshot, Supergirl, Blue Beetle and Batman. This footage sheds some more light on her combat trait, which has her charging up her Canary Cry to release a high frequency screech to stun her opponent. A yellow level scream will only knock opponents back a short distance, while a fully charged red Canary Cry will send people flying full screen. If Black Canary is close enough, the Cry can cause a wallbounce but from more than midscreen, it will cause a wall hit and a mini stagger state once the opponent lands. This gives her time to run in and continue a combo.

These fights also outline Deadshot’s combat trait as well as his zoning potential in Injustice 2. There is clear inspiration from Erron Black’s Marksman Variation from Mortal Kombat X in Deadshot’s kit, especially with his rifle and bouncing bullets. His combat trait has him switching between standard, incendiary and acidic rounds, with his mask glowing a different color depending on the bullet type. If you hated day-one Deathstrokes back in the original Injustice, be prepared for some campy Deadshot players when you boot up Injustice 2.

Source: IGN