While most of the new characters coming to Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition are returning from previous installments, there are two new characters in the mix. One of these is Falke, the mysterious female Neo Shadaloo member, first seen in Ed’s ending and again beside him in the new SFVAE opening cinematic. (The other is “G.”)
VesperArcade and Mir now take a look at Falke, and try to figure out who she is based on what little material we have on her. Most of the talk revolves around how she relates to Ed, and how she joined Neo Shadaloo. In addition to this, they also focus on the fact that Falke does carry a staff with her, and whether or not this means she has some link to Rolento (who fights with a similar baton). After all, the majority of the new characters in Street Fighter V have some relation to older characters in the series. On top of this, this could relate to her possibly being a “rekka” style character — a playstyle that has yet to properly be represented in the game.
Red Bull esports kicked off March with the reveal of their new US-based competitive circuit for 2018: Red Bull Conquest. Featuring competition in three titles — Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Tekken 7, and Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 — in 15 qualifying events across the USA, this will be a fight to remember!
You can catch more details about the circuit in the announcement post here. To delve deeper into the details of this new circuit, we grabbed a chance to pose some questions to Jimmy Nguyen, National Tournament Director for Red Bull Conquest. See what they had to say below!
Replies have been edited for clarity.
Zavian “mushin_Z” Sildra: How does this new circuit fit into the overall plans for Red Bull events this year, particularly in relation to Red Bull Proving Grounds? Is this a replacement, or a parallel series?
Jimmy Nguyen (National Tournament Director for Red Bull Conquest): Red Bull Conquest is the evolution of Proving Grounds and Battle Grounds, and it continues our plans to cultivate the FGC. If you recall, in year one, we focused on individual growth. In year two, we focused on team growth. This year, we are focused on regional growth. Each year is a progressive step in learning, goal-setting, and working with the FGC to figure out how to best support this incredible community.
mushin_Z: What prompted the decision to feature competition in TEKKEN 7 and GUILTY GEAR Xrd REV 2, in addition to STREET FIGHTER V?
Jimmy Nguyen: The fighting game community is so much more than a single fighting game. With many games spanning multiple genres, what we wanted to do this year with Conquest is start with games that have a long history and are deeply rooted in each of the fighting game genres: 2D, 3D, and anime. This allows us to highlight players and their passions throughout the country across all genres.
The communities of these genres are sometimes perceived to be siloed, which isn’t exactly the case. In fact, there is a lot of cross-pollination between the communities, and that is why we chose to introduce a multi-genre team tournament finals. What we wanted to do is squash those perceptions, and give the players the opportunity to show and grow the teamwork and comradery that is prevalent across the genres in all of the FGC.
mushin_Z: How were the qualifying stop locations decided?
Jimmy Nguyen: The list of qualifying stops is a combination of last year’s US stops mixed with some new ones. While the previous two years focused on attracting and developing new players within some of the larger and concentrated regions in the FGC, this year, we’re continuing to do the same but in addition, we are looking to cultivate and grow smaller regions that have been looking for an opportunity to do just that.
We looked at many regions and evaluated community history, needs, population, and drive. Even though we couldn’t include all of the regions we looked at, there is a very good chance they can be included in future circuits.
mushin_Z: Was the scope of this circuit always intended to be USA-only, or were stops considered for Canadian cities, or internationally?
Jimmy Nguyen: Red Bull is established in many countries in the world, and each has its own esports initiatives. Conquest is a Red Bull US initiative, and will begin its maturation starting in the US. As Conquest continues to grow, there will be potential of the circuit being adopted in other countries.
mushin_Z: Please tell us a bit more about the RISE/RALLY/CONQUER theme, and how it came about.
Jimmy Nguyen: You may not have known, but the principal of RISE, RALLY, and CONQUER has been a part of our lives since, well, forever. It just hasn’t yet been explicitly used in the same context we are establishing.
Every trial and journey we go through in life, it requires us to RISE up to the challenge, gather ourselves (RALLY), and learn to acquire knowledge and experience (CONQUER).
When applying this principal to the FGC and Conquest, what we are communicating to everyone is:
RISE within your communities and take a stand.
RALLY together to grow, learn, help each other, and determine who will represent your region.
CONQUER all others and claim the title of best fighting game region in the nation.
mushin_Z: Are there any more circuit surprises we can look forward to from Red Bull in 2018?
Jimmy Nguyen: If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore! However, stay tuned for more details and announcements about the Conquest Finals in Washington, D.C. I think everyone will be super hyped when they hear what we have to announce.
The only other surprise I have to tell you is to keep an eye out for the rising stars that develop during Conquest throughout the year. Every year, we have had a handful of players make a name for themselves. Expect the same for this year.
Bandai Namco posted their next “Character Introduction” video, this time for the SoulCalibur VI newcomer, Grøh. Though these videos don’t spoil too much of the game, intrepid hunters of even the smallest lore tidbits should enjoy this closer look at the brand new character.
Considered to have more of an “anime” aesthetic, many fans have been speculating which country Grøh hails from. The game’s producer, Motohiro Okubo, reveals that it’s Norway, which fits Japan’s perception of the northern regions of Europe, he says. Then Okubo moves on to the Agent in Black’s fighting style, revealing that his weapon is called “Double Saber.” As we know, its unique feature is that it can split into two. Okubo also praises the graphical side of the game, commenting on how Unreal Engine makes clothes sway in battle.
At the end, Okubo asks the audience to stay patient for more news. We have yet to see Ivy and Zasalamel gameplay, who have been confirmed for the roster recently. Check out some Grøh gameplay to see him in action.
It’s been about two months since Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition was released, and players seem to have gained a good grasp of how the balance changes have affected the overall feel of the game. Nevertheless, it’s very important to learn each individual character’s changes so that you know how to fight them. In light of this, I’ve done a series of videos on ShoryukenTube showing off the most important gameplay adjustments for each character. I made one video a day in this series, and I’ve officially covered all characters.
I looked at the characters based on the order they appear on Capcom’s official patch notes. The order seems to be SFV’s twelve returning characters, the four new characters, the first season of DLC, and then the second season of DLC, in order of release. This week I’ve covered the second season of DLC characters: Alex, Guile, Ibuki, Balrog, Juri, and Urien. These characters for the most part saw the fewest changes, probably because they were the newest characters, and thus the most volatile.
Continuing with last time, I also made a video covering each character’s new V-Trigger II. These new V-Triggers significantly affect gameplay, and they have a lot of intricacies that are not well-defined in the game’s demonstration mode. So, I look at each character’s new V-Trigger in detail here, and explain its uses.
With this latest wave of characters, I’ve finally finished the series! Check out my previous videos here:
I’ve really enjoyed making this series, and this isn’t the end of my SFV tutorial content. Keep an eye on the ShoryukenTube YouTube channel, so you don’t miss out!
The Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone has been updated with the news that The Feast Season 7 will kick off on Tuesday, March 13th. While the post indicates that there will be “action adjustments” being made to rule changes and jobs, there will not be any changes made to the map. That is a process that “will require some more development time, so we’re currently aiming to introduce those in Patch 4.3”. There will be “big changes to the map layout…to employ better strategy”.
