The Super Best Friends are back with another episode of Friday Night Fisticuffs. This time, the crew wrap their hands around the recently-released Mortal Kombat X.
Having already pushed out an extensive Let’s Play series for the game’s story mode, the crew have a pretty good idea of how to handle a handful of characters. Of course, it wouldn’t be Fisticuffs if they remained within their comfort zone for the whole episode, so there’s plenty of character switching and a good variety of variations throughout the footage.
While duking it out, the team discusses all sorts of issues relevant to the game in its current form including, but certainly not limited to, Ermac’s flight mode meter gain glitch, the origins of Goro’s Dragon Fangs variation, and plenty more.
After about forty minutes of regular matches, the crew move on to Test Your Luck mode, which is exactly what everyone expects it to be: one person getting the better end of the deal every time they re-roll the modifiers. If you’re looking to check out some laid back Mortal Kombat X fights loaded with plenty of witty banter, be sure to check out the video below!
If there’s one common thread that runs through all of Alpharad’s Super Smash Bros. for Wii U videos, it’s that a Little Mac will, at least once, do what Mac does best and misuse one of his attacks and go sailing off the stage to an untimely death. It’s just what Mac does online.
Back in January, Alpharad decided to don the gloves himself and take a swing at some For Glory matches and a final boss battle against a Mii Mike Tyson, and the results weren’t pretty.
Now, after three months worth of hitting the gym and taking early morning jogs in his pink jumpsuit, Alpharad has teamed up with StylesX2 and picked up the gloves yet again. This time around, things are quite a bit different; there are combos, hard reads, and even a down air kill, all paired with the style of humor that this series has become known for. Check it out below.
With all of the flashy combos, brutal special moves, and an entirely new level of gore in Mortal Kombat X, it’s easy to forget about something like stage design. Add in the competitive aspect of focusing on things like proper meaty timings and which variant of the game’s current array of option selects to go for at any given moment, and it becomes even easier to imagine yourself slugging it out on a blank backdrop.
That isn’t for lack of amazing stage design, though.
For as long as we can remember, Mortal Kombat has been bringing players iconic stages, many of which have undergone vast transformations over the years (or, have sadly gone the way of Smoke, Cyrax, and Sektor). Everyone who grew up with these games likely recalls the first time that they performed a stage fatality at The Pit, or their friend’s reaction when they were knocked through one of the many stage transitions in Mortal Kombat 3.
While it’s been quite some time since these moments took place, NetherRealm Studios has done a great job creating a selection of unique battlegrounds in Mortal Kombat X to evoke similar responses from players. Ten years from now, we may still be talking about a time that riding the hook on the right side of The Kove resulted in a corner switch that lead to some tournament victory or another, or just how hilarious chucking Blanche across a crowded marketplace always was.
Whether out at sea in The Kove with monstrous waves lapping at the crumbling dock as dark clouds gather, or at the Sky Temple with tornadoes twisting off in the distance as rains soaks a group of monks, it’s amazing to see how much care went into crafting the perfect arenas for memorable slugfests. To offer a glimpse at some of the creative aspects of stage design and to let fans watch the world of Mortal Kombat X come to life, NetherRealm Studios environment artist Matt Pierson shared a quick highlight reel of their work today earlier today.
Be sure to check it out, and feel free to let us know which stages are your favorites in the comments.
Every time Blanka makes his way onto the screen, there’s a good chance that his opponent will be leaving the match frustrated. Such frustration can come at any point when squaring off against any fighter who relies so heavily on converting shenanigans into damage, and Blanka is one of the best characters in Ultra Street Fighter IV at doing just that.
Whether he’s hopping back and forth and mixing in throws and electricity or setting up perfect spacing with the use of one of his rolling attacks, a good Blanka knows how to crack opposing defenses with a sort of finesse that’s uniquely his.
TL|Cast Blanka, the star of Olympic Gaming’s latest player spotlight, demonstrates a vast knowledge of how to do what Blanka does best. As always, the highlighted player faces off against some top-ranking online warriors and at times you can practically see the frustration bleeding from the screen.
News of Charlie Nash’s inclusion in Street Fighter V came to players back in late February when Capcom released a teaser trailer that showed the stitched-together fighter tossing sonic booms for the first time in ages. Even though the original trailer was just a minute long, there’s much to be discussed about the sort of things Capcom was showed off in that original footage.
As he has done in the past with other Street Fighter V reveal videos, Vesper Arcade has plenty to discuss in this nearly twenty-minute breakdown of the upcoming fighter.
This detailed video includes an in-depth look at everything that Charlie brings to the table, but there’s much more to be discussed in addition to Charlie himself. Things like lighting and physics overhauls, additions to stages, new animations, and plenty more were also included in the teaser.
Do keep in mind that all of the footage discussed involves a game in the early stages of development, and anything that we see is subject to change. Also note that, while Vesper brings up plenty of good points, this information is all speculation at the moment, though he is quite knowledgeable in all areas that he discusses and raises plenty of good points.
Just moments ago, Katsuhiro Harada took the stage on Capcom TV’s Chokaigi Niconico stream dressed in full Pikachu garb–still with his signature sunglasses–to make a much-anticipated reveal regarding Tekken 7. This news came in the form of a new fighter to join the battle: Gigas.
While footage of the fighter throwing down is currently extremely limited, we do know that this new member of the Tekken 7 cast will be making his way to arcades in just two short days on April 28th.
The reveal trailer has not yet been uploaded, but we’ll be sure to get it to you as soon as it does!
Mortal Kombat X players have a lot to look forward to this weekend thanks to Northwest Majors 7. This is the first time that the new NetherRealm Studios title will be making a showing at a major tournament, so it’ll be exciting to see what sort of character mix top players will bring to the fight, as well as what kinds of high-level technology people will be putting to use.
Until then, you can get your Mortal Kombat X fix from today’s community video roundup.
To get things rolling, we’ve got the second in a series of videos from Bafael and Cross Counter TV aimed at easing players into Mortal Kombat X. This clip focuses on applying basic game mechanics such as block breakers, combo breakers, and the universal normals that everyone in the cast shares. Bafael also details the way that the block button works, which is something that everyone should be sure to check out, as it’s not an exact replication of a more traditional “hold back” sort of block.
UltraDavid has been on the forefront of uncovering effective ways to make use of various option selects in Mortal Kombat X. In the ten minute video below, David discusses three different kinds of option selects available in the game, as well as how to go about making them work and, more importantly, why they work. The basic idea centers around making the game forget that you’ve used certain inputs by inputting far too many directional inputs at the appropriate time.
David, of course, covers this in much more detail and does a better job explaining it with examples than this bit of text ever could, so be sure to check it out. This is the sort of stuff that stands to drastically change the way that the game is played and everyone serious about Mortal Kombat X should give it a watch.
Up next, we’ve got a couple of one-off combos. The first, from Rhuel47, features Marksman Erron Black cranking out an alarming 43% damage without spending any meter. Granted, the combo does require the corner, but that’s quite the big combo for not having to spend any bar.
MrOrchazm offers another D’Vorah combo next, which makes use of the fighter’s Brood Mother variant. This mid-screen series uses no meter and still manages to push out 31% damage thanks to the use of some of the tools exclusive to her Brood Mother stance.
Nico Montano has a couple more videos for us to share today as well. The Goro enthusiast seems to have taken a step back from the four-armed fighter in favor of the merciless leader of the Black Dragons, Kano. Below, you’ll find some ways to combo into Kano’s powerup in a safe manner while dealing around thirty percent damage at various screen positions without spending any meter. Of course, these numbers go much higher once Kano starts using meter and beginning the combos while already under the effects of his powerup.
If you’re just looking to put out the most damage possible for little meter use, this second video is exactly what you’re looking for. Passing over the 50% threshold seems to be no big deal for Kano in his Cutthroat variation.
Up next, Hurtbox TV takes a look at plenty of combos across all of Kung Lao’s variants. As always, you can expect a good spread of combo damage and difficulty throughout the video, so there’s a little something for everyone.
They already did a video for Kitana, which you can find here, but Hurtbox TV recently spent a good deal of time with the fighter’s Mournful stance. This homage to Jade plays quite a bit differently than Kitana’s Assassin and Royal Storm variants, so it makes sense to dedicate an entire reel to this single variation. In addition to providing plenty of combos, this video also shows each string a second time in slow motion to help ease the learning process.
Brutalities are one of the more unique mechanics in Mortal Kombat X. They offer a great way to punctuate the match by turning opponents into some sort of bloody mess without the time necessary to perform an entire Fatality, which seem longer than ever in this entry to the series.
As such, we close out today’s roundup with a video from LASummers that showcases a handful of ways to go about comboing into various Brutalities from around the roster. Be sure to use them when you can to help exert your dominance!
Have you found something brutal in Mortal Kombat X that you can’t wait to share? Drop us a line and let us know; your video could be featured in our next roundup!
We’re now well into the second week of Mortal Kombat X’s life, and the community videos just keep rolling in. Today, we’ve got a nice spread of combo and general strategy videos that apply across the board, so be sure to check them out and pass them along to fellow players.
Bafael, perhaps best known for his Street Fighter IV primer series, teamed up with the folks at Cross Counter TV to bring us the first in a series of Mortal Kombat X tutorials. This video focuses on the absolute basics of the game such as what the buttons do, how to use interactables, and what the stamina bar is for.
If you’re just getting into the game or need to brush up on the basics, this is a good place to get started.
With cast tutorials complete, SupermanSajam has moved on to creating more generalized videos for. The one we’ve included below discusses the importance of neutral ducking–ducking without holding the block button.
In Mortal Kombat X, holding block while crouching actually raises your hurtbox slightly, which is enough of a size increase for every character to go from being able to duck high attacks (like most projectiles) to having to eat some chip damage and blockstun.
There are some other reasons to keep neutral ducking in mind as well, and Sajam covers those too.
Ferra and Torr have some seriously strange wakeup mechanics. In the variants where Torr is accompanied by Ferra, she must be on his back in order for him to perform an armored move. This is because both of the attacks that he can give armor involve Ferra in some way. When the duo find themselves knocked down, they’re split apart briefly and, as you’ll see in the video below from EGP|Wonder Chef, this makes for some interesting wakeup interactions, complete with new animations.
The longer that Mortal Kombat X is out, the more characters seem to have a vortex available to at least one of their variants. This latest offering from brrizzlle showcases a mid-screen option available to Thunder God Raiden.
The execution level is slightly higher than some of the vortex setups that we’ve seen from other characters, since Raiden has to cancel his lightning projectile into a dash to keep the setups rolling, but it’s pretty simple for the amount of pressure that it offers.
Liu Kang’s Dualist mode is one of the more interesting variants available in Mortal Kombat X as his dark projectiles are able to act as traps that can set up some serious damage when used properly. As you’ll see in the clip below, that damage can easily pass over the 70% mark under the right circumstances.
Those circumstances are, of course, pretty unlikely, but when the stars align, the fighter can put out damage to rival even Kotal Kahn.
Nico Montano is back today with even more reasons to give Goro’s Tigrar Fury a try. We saw earlier this week that the Shokan gains some quick high/low options in the variant, and this new video adds various ways to go about using fireballs to hit-confirm and provides some tips for pulling off accurate head stomps.
HurtboxTV has produced a combo video for most of the Mortal Kombat X cast at this point, today adding Ermac and Raiden to the growing list of compilations. As with their previous releases, this one offers up lengthy segments of combos for each variation that both of these fighters bring to the battle.
Have you found something brutal in Mortal Kombat X that you can’t wait to share? Drop us a line and let us know; your video could be featured in our next roundup!
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U’s first downloadable character, Mewtwo, made its way to consoles last week, and players have now had a bit to get a feel for the Pokémon’s moveset. In this time, we’ve also started to see some video tutorials for the fighter surface to help players become more acquainted with his glass canon style.
In the video below, Super Smash Academy breaks down everything that players need to know about the genetically-created Pokémon. This information includes the sweet spots of various moves, how to properly go about recovering, and ways to keep your opponents from returning to the stage. It also covers various setups and other tactics to help secure victory.
Even if you’re not planning on picking up this character, do note that it will be legal at Evolution 2015, so learning the matchup will certainly be worth your time.
In the last week, Alpharad has been hard at work editing and uploading new installments of his How to Play 101 series for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. These videos, which are still as hilarious as ever, became temporarily lost amid a sea of Mortal Kombat X hype.
So today, we’ve gathered up his last three reels for our readers because, as always, they’re worth giving a look. In them, he covers the game’s resident nerf target, Greninja, its newest contender, Mewtwo, and the lovable ball of pink fluff that you better steer clear of when approaching 60%, Jigglypuff.
As always, these videos do feature some NSFW moments, so be sure to watch them in a safe place.
