Have you mastered most of your combos in Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, but still feel lacking when you face against real opponents? Do you feel like their understanding of the core mechanics are better than yours?
Well, now’s your chance to level the playing field. Novriltataki has just uploaded Episode 20 of his Guilty Gear Crash Course guide. In this episode, they discuss Dead Angle Attacks, R.I.S.C., Guts, the corner, and burst overdrives. Surely with these finer nuances covered, your play will elevate rather quickly, right?
Have you mastered most of your combos in Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, but still feel lacking when you face against real opponents? Do you feel like their understanding of the core mechanics are better than yours?
Well, now’s your chance to level the playing field. Novriltataki has just uploaded Episode 20 of his Guilty Gear Crash Course guide. In this episode, they discuss Dead Angle Attacks, R.I.S.C., Guts, the corner, and burst overdrives. Surely with these finer nuances covered, your play will elevate rather quickly, right?
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.
If there’s any immense pressure on anyone going into Capcom Cup, it would have to ride on the shoulders of Ryota “Kazunoko” Inoue. Despite this being a new game, people would expect the reigning champion to have a reasonable shot of repeating his championship run. GGP|Kazunoko has made his presence felt this season, and made his way into the fray to do just that. Now that he’s in via global points, does Inoue have what it takes to make two in a row?
When It Counts
Kazunoko has had a weaker season than most this year. While he has only won three events, one of them did happen to be Tokyo Button Mashers, which featured a bevy of top players such as YBK|Yukadon, Daigo Umehara, HM|Go1, MOV, and YouDeal.MJS|Haitani–all of which are joining Inoue in Anaheim. By all accounts, Kazunoko would be considered not the hot player, and thus not a favorite to win.
However, these sort of results are par for the course for Kazunoko. In 2015, he only won one event–CEO–before going on to win Capcom Cup. Kazunoko is the type of player that can win at will, and tends to will it when it matters. If any time is a time to will it, it’s now.
Killer Bee
Kazunoko has to be one of the best at playing honest with Cammy, as she should be in this game. He has applied one of her biggest strengths in Street Fighter IV to the latest iteration by using her to assert pressure using frame traps. He is always fishing for the counter hit, and when he gets it, he instinctively goes in for the max damage.
He also does very well in the neutral game, using his dives to bait out things from his opponents that he can punish. This is a very vital thing to getting his damage in, and allowing him to get into Cammy’s wheelhouse.
Pressure Cooker
Probably the most lingering question is exactly how he’ll deal with this pressure. He is the reigning champion. While expectations could be low due to his performance this season, the question remains what his expectations are this weekend, and whether he will be determined to be the first one to repeat. Should he place undue pressure on himself, it could be to his downfall.
However, if he’s coming into this tournament with no expectations, this could be interesting to watch. While he has always been viewed as a great player, Kazunoko hasn’t really had the expectation of champions before. This is the first time that he’s came in with these kind of expectations from the public. He needs to block it out to have any sort of reasonable shot.
Final Thoughts
Kazunoko has performed well this season. However, no one has repeated as champion yet, and unless he keeps himself calm under pressure, it won’t be happening this year as well. It’ll be interesting to see what happens, but I seriously expect him to go 3-2 this year.
King of Dinosaurs is already known in The King of Fighters XIV to have a great pressure game. But what makes it even more powerful are these incredible options on hard knockdown.
King of Dinosaurs has an amazing vortex game unseen this side of Super Street Fighter IV, and this video from Ape of the Universe helps you establish that game. Not only does it show off what you can do on the vortex, but also how to apply safe pressure with option selects as well.
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.
Johnny “HumanBomb” Cheng from HuomaoTV has had a hard year on the circuit. Always coming close, the player from Hong Kong just couldn’t capitalize on his chances when he needed them. He was on the verge of qualifying for Capcom Cup, but fell short in every aspect.
As fate would have it, AWS|CCL’s withdrawal from the competition allows HumanBomb in via the last Asian Leaderboard slot. Truly the Cinderella Man of this event, will HumanBomb rise to the top?
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Chun-Li
Having watched HumanBomb for the better part of this year, I have to say that his Chun-Li is a treat to watch. He is an oppressive player, who loves to dominate every aspect of the game. Even when you think that you have space to maneuver, it is a fabrication that he uses to further frustrate you as he returns to apply pressure, having properly reminded you of who is in control.
He has every tool that every other Chun-Li player has on the circuit, and he uses them well. He is confident enough in his execution to continue relentless pressure with instant air legs. He has enough presence of mind to not miss hit-confirms and to capitalize on counter hits. He’s smart enough to bait out reversals and punish instinctively. He is very well-rounded and his matches are exciting to watch.
Sleeper Pick
Because HumanBomb is in on a technicality, a lot of people will insist that he will not be capable of hanging with the big dogs of the field. A lot of people remain oblivious to the fact that HumanBomb himself is one of said big dogs, and has a history of taking out what would be considered the alphas of the pack.
At Street Fighter V Crash, I made a huge mistake of dismissing him as the weakest link of Team Southeast while doing commentary. It was like he heard me from the stage, because he went on a tear at that point. At one point, he was able to defeat the sum of Team Razer, and had it just been one rotation of players in semi-finals, Team Southeast would have made it to the 1st place match on Cheng’s shoulders.
The fact is that HumanBomb is still capable of winning against anyone in the field. He showed this at Asia Regional Finals, and I have a feeling that at the very least, he will bust some brackets in Anaheim.
Pressure
Much like fellow Chun-Li MOV, I feel like HumanBomb’s biggest enemy is his own nerves. If you look back on Evolution 2012, HumanBomb was gliding through the loser’s side relatively well, until he missed a routine one-frame link with Sakura. And you see him make rookie mistakes in the most professional of circumstances across his career.
This was another thing that haunted him at Asia Regional Finals, as he looked poised to dispatch of Itabashi Zangief to make top 8. He couldn’t clutch it out, and in speaking to him after the event, he confided to me that he missed an easy punish on Itabashi’s V-Trigger in the closing seconds of the match that cost him the game. It’s the things that he knows to do, but somehow psyches himself out of doing due to the pressure that has cost him time and again this season, and it can potentially be his downfall at Capcom Cup.
Final Thoughts
HumanBomb has the potential to be a world-class threat and in on his own merit alone for Capcom Cup. He isn’t, and a lot of people would say betting against him in every match is a safe bet.
He is yet another easy sleeper pick for me to at least make top 16. If he can block everything else out, he could make top 8, but I’m afraid he’s not outside of his own mind enough to do that just yet.
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.
Johnny “HumanBomb” Cheng from HuomaoTV has had a hard year on the circuit. Always coming close, the player from Hong Kong just couldn’t capitalize on his chances when he needed them. He was on the verge of qualifying for Capcom Cup, but fell short in every aspect.
As fate would have it, AWS|CCL’s withdrawal from the competition allows HumanBomb in via the last Asian Leaderboard slot. Truly the Cinderella Man of this event, will HumanBomb rise to the top?
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Chun-Li
Having watched HumanBomb for the better part of this year, I have to say that his Chun-Li is a treat to watch. He is an oppressive player, who loves to dominate every aspect of the game. Even when you think that you have space to maneuver, it is a fabrication that he uses to further frustrate you as he returns to apply pressure, having properly reminded you of who is in control.
He has every tool that every other Chun-Li player has on the circuit, and he uses them well. He is confident enough in his execution to continue relentless pressure with instant air legs. He has enough presence of mind to not miss hit-confirms and to capitalize on counter hits. He’s smart enough to bait out reversals and punish instinctively. He is very well-rounded and his matches are exciting to watch.
Sleeper Pick
Because HumanBomb is in on a technicality, a lot of people will insist that he will not be capable of hanging with the big dogs of the field. A lot of people remain oblivious to the fact that HumanBomb himself is one of said big dogs, and has a history of taking out what would be considered the alphas of the pack.
At Street Fighter V Crash, I made a huge mistake of dismissing him as the weakest link of Team Southeast while doing commentary. It was like he heard me from the stage, because he went on a tear at that point. At one point, he was able to defeat the sum of Team Razer, and had it just been one rotation of players in semi-finals, Team Southeast would have made it to the 1st place match on Cheng’s shoulders.
The fact is that HumanBomb is still capable of winning against anyone in the field. He showed this at Asia Regional Finals, and I have a feeling that at the very least, he will bust some brackets in Anaheim.
Pressure
Much like fellow Chun-Li MOV, I feel like HumanBomb’s biggest enemy is his own nerves. If you look back on Evolution 2012, HumanBomb was gliding through the loser’s side relatively well, until he missed a routine one-frame link with Sakura. And you see him make rookie mistakes in the most professional of circumstances across his career.
This was another thing that haunted him at Asia Regional Finals, as he looked poised to dispatch of Itabashi Zangief to make top 8. He couldn’t clutch it out, and in speaking to him after the event, he confided to me that he missed an easy punish on Itabashi’s V-Trigger in the closing seconds of the match that cost him the game. It’s the things that he knows to do, but somehow psyches himself out of doing due to the pressure that has cost him time and again this season, and it can potentially be his downfall at Capcom Cup.
Final Thoughts
HumanBomb has the potential to be a world-class threat and in on his own merit alone for Capcom Cup. He isn’t, and a lot of people would say betting against him in every match is a safe bet.
He is yet another easy sleeper pick for me to at least make top 16. If he can block everything else out, he could make top 8, but I’m afraid he’s not outside of his own mind enough to do that just yet.
As if Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 needed more infinites, Wolverine-Master proves that there are still some more to be found. In his latest batch of videos, he displays infinites from the likes of Viewtiful Joe, Strider Hiryu, and Arthur. The Strider infinite was previously displayed in his impractical combo video, but was previously reported as merely a wall-carry instead of a true infinite.
As with all other discovered true infinites, these require Team Aerial Combo tags in order to set up.
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.
Natan “Mister Crimson” Massol has been sort of a complex player this season. Hailing from France, he managed to close out his season by getting in via the Global Leaderboard, and he has ran a unique mix of characters in Street Fighter V to make his mark.
With his run this year, will he be able to make the field see red?
Mixed Martial Arts
Out of the players in the tournament, he has the most unique blend of characters I’ve seen. Playing Dhalsim, we have see him live by the Yogi’s opening statement of “I’m not very fond of conflict.” He plays a much more defensive and reactive game, far less dependent on the teleport mixups seen from other Dhalsim players such as Save or PG|Filipino Champ. This allows him to focus on frustrating opponents by forcing tons of mistakes in their approach, as he is one of the best at this reactive game with the character. As it takes a lot of focus and experience to understand the way to shut down approaches with Dhalsim’s unique ranges and angles of attacks, this shows a considerable amount of attention and understanding of Dhalsim.
When he is not pushing players out, he is doing his best to keep players right in front of him with Laura. He is completely able to change the gear as necessary to switch between the two characters’ gameplans at the drop of a hat–and makes it work.
Multiple Wins
Whereas a player such as Ryan Hart has won only a single local event, Massol doesn’t fit in this category. Having won Cannes Winter Clash and one of the European Online Ranking Events, Mister Crimson has proven himself a winner.
While these are the only two events listed that he has won, they are two more than one of the greatest European players of all time. It is not necessarily going to catapult him to the top of everyone’s brackets, but it does stand for something, as far as his stock is concerned.
Exclusivity
Yet again–like most of Europe–he has remained a hermit this season. He is probably the most exclusive European making his way to Capcom Cup this year, having not yet made it to any event in North America or Asia all season. This is a crippling issue for him: whereas everyone else in Europe has had moderate international experience, he has had very little–only equivalent to whichever North American or Asian players made their way to Europe’s majors. Like a number of Europe’s players, when he has played against Asian players, he has faltered. It is an eventuality that he has not prepared for.
Double-Edged Characters
With his Dhalsim, the same issues as Filipino Champ apply to him. Eventually the top players will crack through his impregnable defensive game. He will eventually have to switch up and begin mixing up his play. Is he ready for this, or will he switch to Laura at the first sign of defensive trouble?
If he does, he may find an even harder uphill battle. Laura is not a respected character in the game this season–she seems to be regarded as a poor man’s R. Mika. Whatever Laura does, Mika does better. Whatever pressure Massol puts on has to be smart, as any mistakes made will be far more unsafe than most characters have to worry about.
Final Thoughts
Given who he’s playing, it’s a toss-up to see who wins. It’s going to be a tough road for Mister Crimson no matter what. He could easily go 0-2 or 1-2, as I feel that he instead will be the one seeing red.
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.
Yukadon is an interesting person to write about in this series. He has been a player who has had his ebbs and tides on the circuit, and has been called either the best Nash–or just good enough.
He had his chance to qualify directly in his absolute last chance in Busan a week ago, and seemingly had missed the boat. However, with the withdrawl of Tse4444, Yukadon was the next down the line on the Asian leaderboard. Will his sudden addition make him the Cinderella story of Capcom Cup?
The Legend Killer
One of the first instances of Yukadon being paid attention to was Evolution 2016, where he defeated the then-#2-ranked Tokido in top 32 on his way to making top 8 in the event. While this may have been a source of shock for some, it shouldn’t have been.
As was previously reported, Tokido had trained with Yukadon in the lead-up to Street Fighter V Crash’s grand finals in order to defeat RZR|Infiltration, and the Murderface went on to call Yukadon the best Nash player in Japan. While Tokido ultimately squared off successfully against Infiltration at CEO following Crash, his training turned out to be his doom, as Yukadon retained knowledge that he used to defeat his sparring partner when it counted.
While that could spell out that Yukadon is fluke who made top 8 by the way of the luck of the bracket draw, don’t let that become your focus. While the current best Nash in Japan could argued to be RB|Bonchan, Yukadon has still netted wins against the likes of Daigo, MOV, HM|Go1, and GGP|Kazunoko–all of them finalists at Capcom Cup. He has cut his teeth beating the best, and has the capability for doing so again.
Japan’s Finest
Yukadon has kept Japan on their toes over 2016. Having multiple wins in the RaGe series, he captured more upper top 8s than anything over that time, including his incredible 3rd place finish at Evolution 2016.
He has maintained this strong presence in Asia in events such as FV Cup and Abuget cup. He has the ability to make the top 8 at any point, and should never be ruled out.
Downswing
The problem is his latter half of the season. Whereas he had one of the strongest first half of the season, his latter half has been lackluster at best.
He finished 33rd at SoCal Regionals, 17th at both Japan Cup and Southeast Asia Majors, 25th at Canada Cup, and 13th at Asia Regional Finals. While you could typically shrug this off for a lot of players, this is the 3rd place finisher at Evolution this year. Much like Infiltration, he has struggled, and it could be one of his biggest issues in Anaheim.
Nash, Out
But perhaps the biggest issues is how Nash has been dealt with since Evolution. The change in perception of the character since July has been enough to evoke Infiltration to consider other characters. And the difference is clear.
Of the three top Nash players in the world–Infiltration, Bonchan, and Yukadon–only Infiltration has won an event since Evolution, and his grand finals in his most recent one was won with Rashid instead of Nash. One of the other strong players of the character–Liquid|NuckleDu–has seen his usage of the character dwindle to the point that his playing Nash at Capcom Cup would come as a surprise.
Infiltration’s decimation of the field in Vegas has certainly made people pay attention to the character enough to learn to play against him. The character, while strong, still has deficiencies that have become known since Infiltration’s dominating run, and very few top players will be unprepared for Yukadon or Infiltration coming into Anaheim.
Final Thoughts
Yukadon is a strong player, and definitely one of the strongest Japanese players in the field. He has already posted strong results, and will not be slept on come December 3rd.
However, he has had similar struggles as fellow Nash player, Infiltration, and I don’t see him winning regardless of that. But given his struggles, I’m honestly expecting him to finish just outside of top 16.
Hiroyuki “Eita” Nagata, ahead of his appearance at Capcom Cup, has secured sponsorship deals with three different Japanese firms. He appeared on Daigo’s Twitch channel to announce these signings.
He is now sponsored by GameWith, a Japanese mobile game review website, Omoriki, a Japanese media production company, and law firm and pro-gamer consultant firm Ebisu-Minami.
Already with a seventh place finish at Evolution and heading to California for Capcom Cup this year, Nagata’s stock continues to climb high.
