Author: Franz "d3v" Co

Last December, we reported that SNK Playmore was bringing the Last Blade 2 over to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. Since then, however, we haven’t heard hide nor hair about the game–until now.

SNK Playmore just dropped a trailer for the game that not only shows it in action, but also tells us when the game is hitting both systems: May 24. Aside from this, the trailer goes over the game’s many gameplay features and also confirms online Cross-Play between both platforms.

Perhaps not as popular as SNK’s other fighting game releases, the Last Blade 2 still holds a special place in the hearts of many players. Additionally, it also represents one of Guilty Gear creator Daisuke Ishiwatari’s last works for SNK, with him being responsible for the design of Setsuna and some of the other art for the game.

Source: PlayStation with a tip from ON|KenDeep

With any game, the development process involves removing certain ideas and concepts; not everything can make it into the final build, after all. Street Fighter V is no stranger to this, and a recent post on Capcom Japan’s site gives us a glimpse at some of those things that didn’t make it to release.

The post specifically focuses on design concepts for the game’s stages that either don’t appear at all, or were heavily retooled for the final product. These include a different, more oriental take on Shadaloo’s base, an MMA gym in Brazil, a stage set in China featuring a tiger attempting to eat a duck, some Middle Eastern ruins, an Area 51-esque secret American base, and a very different version of the Kanzuki Estate featuring Final Fight’s Mike Haggar occasionally popping up in an elevator.

The reasons for the cuts and changes vary. Haggar being stuck in an elevator in the Kanzuki Estate stage was removed for simply being too random, while the American base and the Middle Eastern ruins were taken out for having nothing to do with the story.

You can check out the concept art for these stages in the slideshow below.

Click to view slideshow.

Source: Capcom Japan (1, 2) via Eventhubs

We know that Guile and his multi-purpose theme are coming to Street Fighter V, but, aside from a glimpse at his Critical Art, we’ve yet to see him in action. Until now, that is. Earlier this morning, Capcom released his official reveal trailer.

Aside from things we already know, such as his crouch walk, his Sonic Blade V-Skill and Solid Puncher V-Trigger, the trailer also shows us some of his normals, most of which should seem familiar to Street Fighter veterans. Additionally it also shows off a few of the combos that he can pull off in the game.

Guile is coming to send you home to be family men in Street Fighter V sometime later this month.

Source: Street Fighter, thanks to CRG.T2J and Tony for the tip.

When Killer Instinct’s Season 3 launch trailer hit the Internet, it gave fans their first glimpse of the new character Mira. That said, aside from some details about her backstory, we still don’t know much about how this new character will play.

That’s going to change soon, however, as Iron Galaxy announced that they will be giving her a proper unveiling at PAX East this weekend, April 22-24. Not only will players get to see her in action, they’ll also be able to take her for a test fight or two at the Iron Galaxy booth where a live stream will be taking place all weekend.

In addition to showing off Mira, Iron Galaxy will be giving away limited edition Killer Instinct themed speaker tags for Astro Gaming’s A40 headsets.

Mira should hit Killer Instinct for Xbox One and Windows 10 sometime later this month.

Source: Ultra-Combo

SNK Playmore has done a great job of revealing characters for the King of Fighters XIV every week for the past few weeks. This week, they reveal the return of a franchise favorite alongside another newcomer.

Returning to the King of Fighters XIV is none other than Mai Shiranui. The kunoichi from Fatal Fury is one of SNK Playmore’s most popular characters and one of the most iconic female characters in fighting games.

Accompanying her is newcomer Banderas, another Latin American newcomer joining the previously announced Nelson. From what we can see in the footage, Banderas seems to be some sort of Latin ninja, and spends most of the trailer trying to get Mai to become his teacher.

The King of Fighters XIV is coming to PlayStation 4 later this year.

Source: PlayStation

The 1990s were a fertile time for fighting games, and almost every developer out there was scrambling to make what they hoped would be the next big title in the budding genre. As such, it’s no surprise that unfinished games from the period surface from time to time.

One such prototype was recently unearthed by Neo-Geo.com forum regular Brian Hargrove, aka NeoTurfMasta. First shown at the Midwest Gaming Classic, the prototype in question has no known name or even developer, as that information was lost due to data corruption on the board. However, signs point to it being developed by Technos Japan, and it may, in fact, be Death Match, a game scheduled for 1994 that never quite saw the light of day. The fact that the board carries the label of another Technos game, Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer, only strengthens this argument.

The game itself features a fantasy aesthetic that seems to be heavily influenced by Dungeons and Dragons, with the character falling into tropes from the tabletop RPG. As an extension of this, each character can switch between Lawful, Neutral and Evil stances in the game. Each stance comes with its own set of (incomplete) sprites, at least for the characters that have sprites.

Hargrove is hard at work at creating a playable ROM dump of the game for MAME, hoping to eventually be able to release it to the public. You can see the results of his efforts in the videos below.

Source: USGamers, tip from Glottis

Early this year, peripheral maker Mad Catz announced that they would be letting go of 37% of their staff. Ever since that announcement, more than a few folks have been wondering about the status of the company’s team of sponsored players. After the recent Street Fighter V Crash tournament in Korea, the folks at Team Spiritzero got a chance to talk to Team Topanga, including two players potentially affected by the current Mad Catz situation: Kenryo “Mago” Hayashi and Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi.

Their statements on the topic–which were transcribed by Chigesoku and translated by EventHubs, then later verified by Shoryuken’s staff–were quite surprising, indicating that both of their contracts expired back in March. Both were also quick to clarify that the contracts in question were only for a one year period. Tokido then postulated that the folks at Mad Catz may still be discussing whether or not to renew their contracts moving forward.

As for fellow Mad Catz teammate Daigo Umehara, Tokido stated that they couldn’t speak for him, so whether or not he’s in the same situation remains unknown.

Both Mago and Tokido aren’t just professional players, but they’re also longtime members of the fighting game community who have contributed a lot to it. We here at Shoryuken wish them the best in their future endeavors, be it with Mad Catz or otherwise.

Source: Team Spiritzero, via Chigesoku, Eventhubs, feature images courtesy of Mad Catz