PNS|Garireo is known in the BlazBlue community not just for his excellent Litchi Faye-Ling play, but also for making an epic comeback when battling CY|Dogura in the Evolution 2014 Grand Finals. With a new victory, it seems that he’s proving his “schtick” as a comeback king. Garireo’s triumph at CEOtaku 2017 in BlazBlue: Central Fiction echoes his most famous moment.
Facing the r/Kappa-sponsored Dora_Bang — a fellow Japanese player — Garireo shows an interesting arc. At first, he lost cleanly to the speedy ninja in Winners Finals. Dora dominated with a 3-0 score, overwhelming the Litchi user with mix-up. However, Garireo fought his way from the losers bracket to Grand Finals. Lo and behold, Garireo barely resets the bracket with a clutch victory right around the 20-minute mark.
Tune in to the view the lengthy but electric set below:
The clip below, of their earlier matches, shows a very different story:
Garireo spoke to BornFree at Evo recently where he shares his thoughts on a wide variety of topics, including his BlazBlue Chronophantasma battle in 2014.
Twitter user Uri captured the comparison between the two comeback moments very well in a tweet:
Fan-created clips really know no bounds. Imagine if Street Fighter’s classic combatant Dhalsim crossed paths with Nintendo’s fitness personification, the Wii Fit Trainer. The blue figurine fighter’s fitness principles clash with the stretchy Yoga-flame warrior. Who will emerge on top?
This is the battle in this latest clip from DBX, an off-shoot of ScrewAttack!’s longer Death Battles. “Work hard to tone that tummy!” the Trainer says as she enters the battle. Both fighters seem to be fairly evenly matched. Do you agree with the result? Either way, it’s great to see some pixel art again, especially for those who play Street Fighter V and miss that style.
An exciting reveal from the Tokyo Game Show was the Monster Hunter from Capcom’s RPG action series. She seems to fit surprisingly well into the cast of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. So far, we’ve seen some footage of her in action, but with Japanese commentary. Maximilian has since produced an overview of the character, explaining what tools she’s using to score victories.
Monster Hunter fights using three weapons: a giant sword, two smaller swords, and a bow to cover herself at range. While those are used in a variety of attacks and special moves, she can also cancel into a backward roll and a forward roll. Her lunging attacks are very slow, but damaging. Furthermore, there’s super armor on some of them, but Monster Hunter still takes normal damage while executing the move.
The clip ends with some additional explanations in English and Japanese. For more footage, check out our posting of the TGS Monster Hunter matches and her reveal trailer. Quest complete!
Monster Hunter is coming sometime before the end of 2017 as DLC for MvC:I.
The New York City anime scene is known for their popular Next Level Arcade and Team St1ckbug events. While they have local tournaments all the time, a November event is looking to heat things up by encouraging a few players from the fighting game to participate. With player support, there will be select Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 and BlazBlue: Central Fiction competitors, who have never been to a TSB event, joining the fray.
“As one of the premier Anime Locals in the country, we are always looking to grow, reach out to the community, and involve all of our viewers in the experience, no matter where they are,” the Matcherino event page states. The TSB staff elected three players from across the United States for BlazBlue and Guilty Gear.
For Guilty Gear, we have:
Voguekun — Kum Haehyun
Mr. Dolphin — May
Faulty Defense — Answer
As for BlazBlue, there are:
Tectal_Eastside — Mu=12
Fame96 — Susano’o
Milk Kaichou — Rachel
Visit the TSB Yabai Invasion page on Matcherino for more details about each entrant. It’s possible to vote for an entrant for free by entering “Yabai” into the voting form. The tournament will take place on November 11th.
It’s time to dust off the protagonist, Ragna the Bloodedge. The main character of BlazBlue: Central Fiction received some tuning in the 2.0 update. As typical for most of the cast, these aren’t really sweeping changes that dramatically affect his gameplay. However, there are some new combo paths and more optimal sequences that can boost your damage and bring on more pain to the opponent.
Hentaitop comes back with another combo collection video. As usual, they provide a really good primer at the beginning that explains notation, and all the move names in Japanese and English. Every combo has damage and inputs listed. You’ll see a variety of combo starters to give you all-around knowledge of Ragna’s combos. The video ramps up the damage later on as it reaches Rapid Cancel and Overdrive sections.
During the Tokyo Game Show 2017 Twitch presentation, Toshimichi Mori from Arc System Works got on stage during a special BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle event. The panel presented an overview of the crossover in Japanese, resuming some already known information, like slides showing Yosuke Hanamura and Linne.
Toward the end of the panel, Mori announced a few dates and locations — BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle will be playable at certain events around the world for the first time! Check out the timetable below:
For those going to New York Comic Con, that means that BBXTAG will be playable for them in as little as about three weeks. After that, three more locations around the world will host a playable build, ending with Arc System Works’ own ARC REVOLUTION CUP in Japan. While there were no character or content announcements, that is really soon!
Stay tuned to Shoryuken as we hear more about BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle.
No more infinites in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, eh?
Players are busy figuring out the limitations of the newly released Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. In desk’s latest videos, he finds something interesting. By testing out combos made entirely out of normal attacks, it seems like Capcom put in an awkward-looking stopper to infinites.
In the video below, you can see combos from Captain Marvel and Chun-Li made out of normal attacks only. It appears that the combo automatically drops after the 38th hit lands. The opponent simply flips out in the air. desk calls this a “true end” to the combo, meaning it’s not possible to continue it further, regardless of hitstun decay. He speculates this could be linked to using light attacks, or that there’s an actual hard limit on combo hits.
Conversely, rooflemonger, in the video below, explores a different aspect. According to his testing, the combos seem to end based more on damage, than hitstun. He goes about discovering this in a different method, though: by doing highly damaging combos nearing 4.8K. Maybe there are two different ways a combo can be forced to drop?
Let us know in the comments below what you’ve dug up so far about MvC:I and how these combo stoppers actually work. Check out our MvC:I tutorial round-ups for more coverage on the game.
It’s time for the next episode of the Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 exhibition series, Tension Pulse! We’re looking at a special show this time, as it’s the Pre-CEOtaku Special. Unlike usual, when we have four players battling each other, we’re going to have eight!
Boomcube (Slayer) vs. XAQshinor (Dizzy)
BxA|dotNova (Jack-O’) vs. Mr. Dolphin (May)
1UP|PepperySplash (Johnny) vs. Kami (Zato=1)
TheArm.exe (Ramlethal) vs. zenzen (Ky)
That’s a lot of matches! Boomcube against XAQshinor will be first. Let’s hear from some of the players to see what they have to say about their opponents and how confident they feel in the match-up. Some of them are returning players, so it’s interesting to see how they have changed since participating in the exhibition since last time.
Boomcube
On the match: “After watching Xaq’s footage and taking a full inventory of my own knowledge of the match-up, I feel like my only real path to victory is to abuse Slayer’s inherent buffoonery and whisper mispronunciations of Xaq’s handle into the mic. I am definitely nervous, and trying to prepare as much as I can. I think, at the very least, I’ll be able to put on a good show and exorcise some stream nerves at the same time.”
On his opponent: “I know he’s surrounded by an extremely active Gear scene, including some strong Slayers, and he has tournament results that prove he’s very solid. I have an assumption about how he’s going to play the match-up, and if I’m right, it’s going to be incredibly important that I don’t tilt.”
On his own play-style: “I like making bigger reads early on in a set using backdash cancel, instant air-dash, and forward dash pressure to gain early momentum. I feel like this can disrupt the opponent’s gameplan and force them into situations that reveal how they react to Slayer in general and will allow me more time to adjust as needed. I’m also perfectly content with making people deal with Slayer’s nonsense (dash through cross-up, Helter Skelter, IAD resets, BDC jump) until they prove they have an answer for it.
Or, more succinctly, trash.”
XAQshinor
On the match: “This should be an entertaining set. Slayer is a very volatile character and can end rounds in a heartbeat with one clean hit. At the same time, Dizzy has the lowest stun so the threat is amplified, I’m definitely going to try to keep those explosive situations to a minimum during our games. Slayer also has backdash cancel so it can be tough for you to pin him down sometimes. Dizzy has an easier time of this than other characters though so hopefully I can showcase this a bit. More likely than not, this set will be decided by the neutral.”
On his opponent: “I’ve played Boomcube online before so I know firsthand how deadly his Slayer can be. He’s a strong player and shouldn’t be taken likely. I expect him to surprise people with his strength. He’s definitely someone to keep an eye on in the future.”
On his growth since the last exhibition: “Since the last time I was featured in this steam league, Dizzy got some buffs. Some changes dealt with some important flaws with her design and allow her to play a lot more open-ended than before. She’s not as telegraphed, and she also received help with some of her conversions. I feel that many people don’t give her enough credit and I’m hoping that I can show some of what she is capable of this time around.”
BxA|dotNova
As a competitive player, what kind of value do you get from an exhibition like this?: “Being able to play people in a competitive setting is super valuable. Being broadcasted or having something on the line really brings the tension and adrenaline one would feel at any tournament. It’s hard to replicate those kinds of conditions on normal netplay when you’re winding down from work or just casually relaxing. The experience is always appreciated.”
On his opponent: “I’ve heard good things about Mr.Dolphin. I’ve only very briefly played him a few months back, so it’ll be good to have an opportunity to play him in an extended set. He’s a programmer like me so he also understands pain and suffering. I look forward to the May experience as the only consistent experience I really get is against TectalEastside. Playing against another play-style will definitely help me recognize weaknesses in my play.”
On his growth since the last time: “Since my last exhibition, I feel my situational awareness has improved and I’ve developed a lot more Burst-safe routes. I’ve definitely become more comfortable with extending pressure and combos with servants and recognizing unique situations that happen due to the character’s nature. Recently, I haven’t been focusing on FGs at all, but I’m sure this match and CEOtaku will help bring my focus back.”
Mr. Dolphin
On the match: “I think the Tension Pulse series is a really cool idea, you get to see some players you probably wouldn’t have heard of/watched before and it’s something fun to watch on the weekends.”
On his opponent: “I think dotNova is strong, I was a pretty big fan in his Potemkin days, we’ve played before and I enjoyed our matches. A lot of folks hate Jack-O’, but I actually really enjoy that match-up, the interactions with the houses and stuff add a fun sort of mini-game aspect to it where I gotta kill them or her. I’m definitely looking forward to playing against him.”
On his growth since the last time: “I’m not sure if I can tell how much I’ve grown since my last exhibition to be honest, I think my play-style has sort of stayed the same. I just kind of go with the flow.”
Catch the next episode of Tension Pulse live on Silva_hime’s Twitch channel on Sunday, September 17th. It’s more sets than usual, and we’re starting at 9:00 PM ET/8:00 PM CT/6:00 PM PT. HellaBrett and drunkthechicken are going to commentate this extended episode.
Looking to catch up on the last episode of Tension Pulse? Catch up on that below.
As the end of Burst League — “the unified anime circuit” from smash.gg — is nearly upon us, their Twitter account announced a couple of exciting things for the upcoming second season.
For one, we’re getting some cool numbers: it turns out that since its inception in April 2017, 348 events took place under the Burst League banner, with players earning points to compete in a global ranking. As for players, that number is close to 7,000, but that’s counting repeats, it seems.
*Note: players is across all 348 events. Uniques is around 3K from what we were told. Still amazing to see in the AFGC!
Currently, Burst League covers Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, BlazBlue: Central Fiction, and The King of Fighters XIV. There’s good news though: the Burst League organizers have been listening to feedback and decided to add Under Night In-Birth and Vampire Savior to the mix! There will also be an event in between Seasons 1 and 2, in the winter.
Whether your copy of Melty Blood: Actress Again is sitting gathering dust or not, this jazzy cover by the Consouls is a great tune. The band, which has performed a long list of videogame-themed songs, is looking to celebrate the upcoming anime-centric tournament in Florida: CEOtaku.
Blood Drain is the game’s opening theme, which also has vocals. It’s also Eltnum’s theme in Under Night In-Birth. Though the original in Melty Blood has some of that subtlety, the Consouls really take it to the next level with a smooth saxophone and more piano. Give it a listen below — maybe they’ll do more anime tracks in the future?
The group has also done Slayer’s theme from Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, and collaborated on Karin’s theme from Street Fighter V.
