Author: John "Zidiane" Silvia

A lot of new players are getting into King of Fighters with the series’ latest installment. In response to this sudden interest, dedicated fans have been hard at work crafting tutorials to help guide newcomers through the massive roster and find the characters that truly works for them.

Ra3bones is one such player, regularly putting out beginner guides for characters. He’s covered roughly half of the cast at this point, and most recently tackles Terry and Love Heart.

For his other works, feel free to check out his playlist with all of his guides to date.

Source: Ra3bones

Earlier this month we reported on a potential Classic Iori skin being spotted on the Chinese version of the game. As was hinted by the art on the disc, Classic Iori is available, and some players already have their hands on him. The Chinese version of the game was released today, and footage of Classic Iori is now surfacing.

While this skin is currently exclusive to Chinese copies of the game, the costume may become available worldwide, as was the case with Classic Kyo and Nightmare Geese. There was also news of more DLC being available for Chinese games in the coming months–but there is no word on whether those are the DLC outfits we already have, or something new.

Source: KOF Online

Brawlhalla is a game that always makes me stop and think. It turns a lot of fighting game conventions on their head, and provides something we haven’t really seen before. In addition to being accessible (and hugely popular, in some circles), it truly stands out in the crowd.

Today we get a look at a new fighter to grace the already impressive roster, bringing the character count up to 28. Cross happens to be a mobster who won a bet with a demon, giving him access to a living shadow that fights for him. Combining his long range shadow pressure with his close range heavy-hitting attacks looks to make one frightening addition to the roster.

Source: Brawlhalla

The rise of the indie developer has been an amazing thing for gamers everywhere: titles that usually would never make it off the cutting room floor in the modern game production landscape can get a chance to find their niche in the gaming public. Fighting games have been seeing more and more entries in particular, giving players more unique tastes than the tried-and-true big name brands.

Another up-and-coming indie fighter is Punch Planet, has recently been greenlit on steam. This guarantees the game a slot in Steam’s library in the future, after the game is finished. Check out the greenlight trailer below!

Sources: Punch Planet (Twitter); Punch Planet (YouTube)

While there are many games that fall under the umbrella of “fighting games,” there is one game that stands pretty far apart from the rest of the pack: Brawlhalla is a game that draws inspiration from Smash’s movement mechanics and League of Legends’ aesthetic, while throwing weapons into the mix and packaging it all as a free-to-play game.

Perhaps because it is so different from traditional fighting games, its getting a lot of attention on the esports circuit, leading to large pot bonuses and sponsors than one would expect on the surface. The game just had its World Championship, with $50,000 in prizes to be won. The tournament has concluded, but this hype reel has been uploaded by the official YouTube channel.

Their top 8 was also uploaded, which you can see below.

Source: Brawlhalla

In the world of esports, sponsors are very important contributors to players and fans alike. With a good sponsor, a team can afford to compensate its players for events, travel, and even living expenses. All of this lets players spend more time honing their skills, bringing a better and more refined game overall to as many tournaments as they can.

Mineski just recently wrote an article discussing the necessity of unusual sponsors in esports. Team NP, a primarily DOTA 2 team, recently acquired a FYM Hot Sauce sponsorship, which some are questioning as unusual. The article goes on to point out Hot Sauce isn’t that abnormal a sponsor, as other food-related companies like Coca-Cola and Doritos having dipped their toes into the esports scene in the past [not to mention Red Bull of course, and to a lesser degree, Bud Light – Editor]. Sponsors like this also allow esports teams to expand and cover multiple games. A good example of this would be Evil Geniuses, which has players in Dota, Starcraft, Halo, and Street Fighter.

While the primary focus of the article is traditional esports, the fighting game community should be paying attention as it continues on the esports path.

Source: Mineski