Author: Lance "Tarnot" Hood

It’s safe to say the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U community isn’t all that fond of Bayonetta. Sure, some have made light of her strengths, and there are folks who genuinely enjoy playing her. I’ll admit she has a fun array of tools at her disposal, but it wouldn’t be out of line to say that the fun tied to these tools stems from the fact that many of them are, in the current state of the game, blatantly overpowered. To make an analogy to Super Street Fighter II Turbo’s Akuma would probably be a bit much, as Bayonetta doesn’t necessarily break the game’s rules, but at the same time, she doesn’t exactly play by them either.

Upon her release, folks were afraid the guest character’s decent-at-best frame data would prevent her from being effective, but her combo potential–among other things–soon dissuaded anyone from calling her out on mediocre buttons. She’s fast, she can tack on damage from a distance, she has numerous ways to turn hits into kill situations at relatively low percentages–and, you know, sometimes at no percentage–and she has Witch Time, perhaps one of the better moves in the game.

It’d be easy to argue that, on paper, a character this powerful demands immediate balancing, especially since players are capable of using her to end grand finals matches in under thirty seconds. The important question, though, is do all of her strengths–and the fact that they largely outweigh any weaknesses she may have–make her worthy of a tournament ban? The Spanish Smash community recently decided that they do.

Now, these decisions are never easy to make–banning a character, barring any obvious game-breaking glitches, is tough, and often brings to question whether or not a given community has taken the time to fully analyze what weaknesses they have, assuming there are any. With this in mind, Team SoloMid’s Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios recently took to Twitter to note that he doesn’t agree with the ban so early in the life of the character, and went on to say that he’d like to learn to beat her–a truly noble cause.

Anyone can make such claims, but ZeRo was quick to put forth ten tactics to use against Bayonetta. Granted, these tactics aren’t going to change the fact that she can potentially secure a stock with little effort, but they’re definitely a start. We’ve included these tips in the drop down box below, so you can give them a look for yourself.

While the Bayonetta ban still isn’t official, ZeRo’s tips should definitely help those in desperate need of advice.

So what do you think? Is Bayonetta worthy of a ban until Nintendo addresses her current state? Let us know in the comments.

Sources: ZeRo, Smash Bros. Spain, Grewardz, Rush Hour Smash

James Chen and David “UltraDavid” Graham just went live with another episode of their weekly community talk show, UltraChen TV.

Tonight, the guys have plenty to discuss when it comes to new fighting games on the market. Both Pokkén Tournament and Killer Instinct Season 3 have caught their eye, so they plan to discuss those as well as the upcoming Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-.

The stream will be live in this article, but you can also visit Twitch to join the chat.

Watch live video from ultrachentv on www.twitch.tv

Source: UltraChen TV, featured image courtesy of Kara “Karaface” Leung

The Marvelous Essentials team returns to Twitch tonight with another episode of their Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 roundtable discussion podcast. If you tuned in to their last episode, you know that Kinderparty will no longer be hosting the show moving forward. While his skills at keeping the conversation going (and looking great in that golden armor) will certainly be missed, Marvel LIVE! will live on.

But it’s not all bad news on the Marvel LIVE! front, as Raynel “RayRay” Hidalgo has become a permanent member of the crew. Tonight, the team will be discussing Final Round 19, NorCal Regionals 2016, and more. As always, have your questions ready for the end of the show.

We’ve embedded the stream below for convenience, or you can head over to Twitch to join the chat.

Watch live video from TeamSp00ky on www.twitch.tv

Source: Team Spooky

The combo system present in Killer Instinct allows for, and encourages, players to get creative when they string together hits. However, the open-ended nature of the system makes direct combo guides beyond an explanation of how the different type of attacks chain together, aside from very specific circumstances like hits following a counter breaker, a little silly.

But there’s still a good deal one can learn from combo footage when it comes to disrespecting opponents after a match completes. In the videos below–one from HurtboxTV, another from VIRUS916–you’ll get a look at some seriously lengthy ways to put an end to those who step into the ring against your Rash or Arbiter.

But before you try these yourself, please consider the psychological damage you’ll inflict by spending over a full minute pummeling someone with an empty health bar.

Sources: HurtboxTV and VIRUS916

Pre-orders for Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- opened up not long ago, and with them came the availability of a demo version of the updated game. Naturally, those who’ve picked up the demo have already been hard at work discovering relevant tech tidbits with both returning and new characters alike.

One such early adopter of the game, Sway, put together a helpful video exploring some early combo options for returning character Jam Kuradoberi. If you’re thinking about giving her a try, be sure to check out the footage below.

Do note that this content appears in the demo version of the game, so all combos presented are subject to change before the title’s official launch.

Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- is set to hit PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 systems on June 7, 2016.

Source: Sway

Pre-orders for Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- opened up not long ago, and with them came the availability of a demo version of the updated game. Naturally, those who’ve picked up the demo have already been hard at work discovering relevant tech tidbits with both returning and new characters alike.

One such early adopter of the game, Sway, put together a helpful video exploring some early combo options for returning character Jam Kuradoberi. If you’re thinking about giving her a try, be sure to check out the footage below.

Do note that this content appears in the demo version of the game, so all combos presented are subject to change before the title’s official launch.

Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- is set to hit PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 systems on June 7, 2016.

Source: Sway

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is one of those games that will almost certainly continue to spark creativity in combo video makers for decades to come. In a recent combo video, Lincoln “MoTemptest” Richie hits the lab and demonstrates their ability to channel some of that creativity, taking full advantage of a team consisting of Hawkeye, M.O.D.O.K. and Strider.

As expected, the video features dozens of combos with each character taking their turn in the point position. It also includes a variety of tricky mixups on incoming opponents, as well as those caught in other situations. Let’s face it: Strider is a pretty mobile dude. He doesn’t need an incoming opponent to slap together a scary mixup.

Source: Lincoln Richie