Author: Luke "Woocash" Siuty

Navigating NicoNico can be confusing if you don’t speak Japanese, especially if you don’t have a premium membership. Openrec.tv has been on the rise recently, and although it looks quite similar to NicoNico–it’s a platform for streaming and hosting videos–it has a slightly more modern interface.

You can create an account on Openrec.tv  with a social media account, such as Twitter, and the profile options tend to be in English. We’ve covered a few videos from Dora, who started to make BlazBlue: Central Fiction videos in English. One channel that’s worth “Following” on Openrec.tv–which is done by starring it–is Shinjuku Sportsland. The arcade tends to broadcast BlazBlue tournaments on Wednesdays and Fridays. If you’re an ardent Twitch user, they also occasionally go on that service at Twitch.tv/sslhonkan01.

In order to stay on top of things via Twitter, @WHITE_ABSOL is the person to follow, as they are part of the Shinjuku Sportsland stream.

The Japan e-Sports League has also been broadcasting on Twitch, and their archives are available, like this recent set between Koike Litchi and Ikamen Azrael.

For some YouTube matches of BlazBlue and other anime games, the GAMEacho account is good to follow.

Finally, for a database of matches that can be sorted by specific characters, look to Keeponblaz.in.

Sources: Openrec.tv; @WHITE_ABSOL; Japan e-Sports League; GAMEacho; Keeponblaz.in; tips from @2dJazz

A special event from Arc System Works is coming up, and with it, they’re celebrating some of the best players for their two respective air-dashers, BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-. The Arc System Works Fighting Game Award 2016 pits crowd favorites and recent Toushinsai champions against each other with a special tournament in Japan that will take place on January 4th, 2017.

Some of the participants, due to their high placements, are automatically qualified in the first four spots:

GGXrdR:
Machaboo Sin (Evo 2016 Champion)
Omito Johnny (Evo 2nd place)
Tomo Leo (Toushinsai 1st)
Sabamiso Bedman (Toushinsai 2nd)

BBCF (which was a team competition at Toushinsai):
Fenrich Jin (Toushinsai 1st)
Iwashi Ragna (Toushinsai 1st)
Ryuusei Carl (Toushinsai 2nd)
Yuuta Jin (Toushinsai 2nd)

The remaining four spots for each game will be determined in the following ways: through a Kansai (West) qualifier at Neo Amusement Space Game A-Cho, and another qualifier at Kantou (East) qualifier at Shinjuku Sportsland–those will reveal one combatant each, and the final two, for both BBCF and GGXrd, are up to the fans. Arc System Works opened up a voting page, and anyone can vote for their favorite players until December 11th.

The Guilty Gear Voting Page has the following contestants:

• GG: Ain Ky
• Rion Ky
• Kedako May
• Nakamura Millia
• E-T Chipp
• Samitto Chipp
• 310 Venom
• FAB Potemkin
• Nage Faust
• Koichi I-No
• Ogawa Zato
• Takehara Ramlethal
• Dei Elphelt
• High-Niki Elphelt
• Hamburg Elphelt
• Svampen Jack-O’
• Purepure Jack-O’
• Dogura Raven
• Zadi Raven

The BlazBlue fan vote includes:

• Tetsu Ragna
• Miya Jin
• Shino Noel
• N-O Rachel
• Tetsuwo Rachel
• Barell Tager
• Kurari Litchi
• Mio Litchi
• Souji Arakune
• Dora Bang
• Fukuu Bang
• Itou Sae Carl
• Chiri Carl
• Camelia Hakumen
• Konan Tsubaki
• Suya Valkenhayn
• Mokemoke Relius
• Asai Bullet
• Ikamen Azrael
• Kiabui Azrael
• Zexo Azrael
• H.H Mu-12
• Tennti Izayoi
• MurakuneUnit Celica
• Hyoubu Lambda
• Tamaisan Hibiki
• Nezu Hibiki
• Aoi Nine
• DISA Nine
• Fumi Nine
• Saki Mai
• Kubo Mai
• Kuroten Izanami,
• Sadie Izanami
• Tsujikawa Izanami
• Minami Izanami
• Monster Izanami

You get one vote per day for each game. The pages have Twitter links with short messages from the participants, and the bottom button is for voting; hit OK on the confirmation message. The main event page (in Japanese only) has additional information about locations and game formats.

Don’t forget that the voting in the Tenkaichi Budokai League is also ending on December 2nd.

Sources: Arc System Works; Silva (candidate names and some breakdown translation)

Over at the Team Stickbug’s website, SKD published an analysis of the current metagame in BlazBlue: Central Fiction. He provides his own tier list in addition to explaining what pushes certain characters in front of others, and what the low tiers lack to be more relevant in highly competitive gameplay.

His tier list is as follows:

Top(S+/S/S-): Izayoi > Nine, Rachel > Carl, Arakune, Izanami

Great(A+/A): Tsubaki Jin > Valk, Azrael, Mu, Litchi

Good(A-,B): Amane, Makoto, Celica, Naoto, Relius > Ragna, Hibiki, Platinum, Hakumen, Kokonoe, Mai

OK(B-): Lambda, Nu, Terumi, Es, Tager, Hazama, Tao

Bad(C,C-): Bullet, Bang, Noel > Kagura, Susanoo

(Not ordered within “>”.)

As a disclaimer, SKD explains that tiers matter mostly at high level, competitive gameplay. Something that players view as “broken” may just appear so until someone figures out how to deal with it–this tier list came up by knowing well what the cast members’ constraints are.

What defines the more flawed (B- and below, approximately) characters? An inability to maintain pressure and pull stable rewards in neutral. That’s easy to see from characters like Kagura, Bang, and Bullet, who have not only have trouble approaching but staying in on their opponents, and they don’t have enough in their toolset to surprise the high-tier echelon. SKD puts Hibiki as a marginally tournament-viable character, who lacks a little bit in the mix-up and rush-down departments, but it’s solid enough, and he can also score some good conversions while remaining relatively safe.

SKD continues to explain why he placed certain top tier characters (slightly) above others and explains how their neutral and pressure makes them powerful. The article is still a work in progress, but definitely a worthwhile read over at the Team Stickbug website.

Sources: Team Stickbug; @SuperKawaiiDesu

If you’re tired of playing random people over the Network Mode and can’t travel much to tournaments, an online Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- league might be your solution. A competitive online league is coming soon for the PS4/PS3 title to match up fighters in North America in team battles. Dubbed “Salty Circuit,” the league is a grassroots effort that’s actively developing, but the sign-ups for the first season are ending soon!

The rules to join this are as following: each team must have three North American members with one designated Team Captain; the tournament is character-locked, so you must stay with the same character through the season; two of the same characters can’t be on the team; and the players will have a week to schedule games with their matched opposing team in a 3v3 round robin, first-to-three. Participants then record the highest number of wins to moderators.

Since it’s an online tournament, not everyone’s connection experience will be perfect, so the rules state to report to moderators if the delay counter in game is eight frames or more. The organizers urge having a wired connection, and have translated an official port-forwarding guide to Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- from Arc System Works.

Sign-ups are open until midnight PST Friday, November 25th. Season 1 will last eight competitive weeks.

“Sign-ups are free, but we are always looking for volunteers to either help organize, record matches, or to join our media projects that will soon be underway,” said TSC|faultydefense, who established Salty Circuit and is one of the moderators. “We’re speaking with a few people about a website or a more official avenue of presenting everything, but we want to move forward for the players as soon as possible, most likely before these avenues are set up. Please support us as we attempt to grow through and after our first season.”

Looking to join or find out more? Follow this Discord invite to get started and ask one of the moderators.

Source: TSC|faultydefense (Twitter)

In BlazBlue: Central Fiction, Hades Izanami is a force to be reckoned with. Some of her scariest abilities include stopping time to freely damage her opponent, command throws, an intense air-to-ground mix-up thanks to a floating mechanic, and the infamous “ribcage,” which grants limited super armor.

Learning to defend against the monstrous Imperator is no small task, but Dora, famous for his Bang play in BlazBlue, made a new video where he shows a typical Izanami attack string and shows ways to get out of it. While Izanami activates her Drive, she can’t block, but she can fill in the gaps in her pressure with projectiles, firing at will.

Typically, many players try to Barrier Block her attacks and then jump out, but blocking the projectile brings them to the ground right away. Dora recommends letting yourself get hit by the projectiles to tech above as a different strategy to get out. Furthermore, he explains her 2A jab and points out that her standing C is a good moment to activate Overdrive.

Watch the clip over on Openrec.tv to learn from Dora. Unlike his other videos, he made this one in English with subtitles, so let’s show our support–Dora says he’s eager to make more BlazBlue content if people like it.

Source: Openrec.tv, tip from Spectro

This winter, the action over at one of Japan’s premiere arcades for competitive Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, Mikado, is heating up for league action. Tenkaichi Budokai returns this year for a second coming, and it will be hosted on Joniosan’s Twitch stream. Thanks to information provided by MajinObama, we have a full guide regarding the event and descriptions of participating players and how viewers can get involved.

Unlike other leagues, which nowadays happen online, “Tenkaichi” (meaning “best on Earth,”) takes place offline in the arcade. The format for the league entails eight players who get split into two groups, who play round-robin FT10 sets with each other. The winner gets to go to the final round, while second and third place fighters get another chance to qualify.

Who’s going to enter? Three players are decided by a double-elimination tournament that will take place on December 10, 2016, at 2pm JST. Karinchu, who triumphed at the last Tenkaichi Budokai, gets a spot automatically. As for the four remaining players — that’s where fans get to come in, as a voting poll determines the rest of the competitors.

Ftg-reversal.net has a section on Tenkaichi Budokai, which lists the players to vote for. In order to vote, you must login with Twitter, which is done by clicking the button in the upper-right hand corner of the website. After that, return to the Tenkaichi Budokai page, select up to four players by clicking checkboxes, and click a large button at the end of the player list. You get to vote once a day until December 2nd.

Here’s a guide to all the candidates, written by MajinObama:

小川 (za) Ogawa

@ogawazato

Character: Zato-1

• ­Famous for his SBO Tougeki victories and your Evolution 2015 champ (and awkward yet hilarious celebrations), the infamous Ogawa will once again challenge the best in eastern Japan for the title of “Best Under Heaven.” Ogawa finished runner-up in last year’s event, and is eager to claim the throne this time around…

Ogawa vs Mocchi 2016 Tenkaichi Budoukai

 

サミット (ch) Samitto

@summit812

Character: Chipp

• One of the top Chipp players in Japan, Samitto is looking to make a statement, and add another accomplishment to complement his SBO Tougeki 2007, 2009, 2010 Top 8 finishes, as well as his GODSGARDEN 2015 championship.

Slash Series: Top Garen vs Samitto

 

310 (ve) Sato

@310_progressive

Character: Venom

• One of the strongest and hardest working Venoms in Japan, Sato is looking to enter the fray and impose his will on the league. Known for his strong labwork, he left a really deep impression on the foreign audience with his performance at Evolution 2016, almost singlehandedly removing the 2015 champion from the tournament.

310 vs Sato (EVO 2016 Pools)

THE RUNBACK (EVO 2016 Top 32)

 

ナゲ (fa) Nage

@nage_pink

Character: Faust

• Top 4 finalist from SBO Tougeki 2010, KSB 2015 and 2016; Evolution 2015 Runner up. Faust sage and one of the top players of the game. He faltered in the A league during last year’s event (losing to Mike [Jack-O] and Karinchu [Johnny]), and no doubt looks to improve on those results this year.

Nage vs Machabo- and Omito at KSB 2016

Nage vs Woshige Losers Finals EVO 2015

 

トゥーリオ (in) Tourio

@ino_tsukai

Character: I-No

• Fresh off of a Top 4 performance at Arc Revo 2016, Tourio is looking to cement himself as one of the premier I-no players in the world with a Tenkaichi Budokai performance.

Toushinsai Top 8 Tourio vs Haaken

 

ザディ (rv) Zadi

@SOorXTC

Character: Raven

• With Raven’s release, Zadi has exploded with awesome performances using this character. Qualifying for Toushinsai and setting Mikado weekly tournaments ablaze, his terrifying, dynamic playstyle that incorporates Raven’s tools in unique ways is sure to be fun to watch!

Zadi Matches from Mikado

 

FAB (po)

@gou4th_fab

Character: Potemkin

• No introduction necessary. A fan favorite and legend of the game, if you don’t know who this is, you don’t know fighting games. His accolades include top 8 finishes in SBO Tougeki 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, Arc Revo 2013, 2015 and 2016. He came in 3^rd in his group last year, and will no doubt look to add a win here to his list of achievements.

Danger Time

 

りおん (ky) Rion

@lionhiro

Character: Ky

• One of the strongest Ky players and one of the most consistent players of the game today. Rion’s tournament results speak for themselves: Evolution 2015 7^th, Evolution 2016 3^rd, GODSGARDEN 11 2^nd, and several other top 8 finishes at stacked events.

Evolution 2016 Top 8- Rion vs Kazunoko

 

あいん (ky) Ain

@ainman0107

Character: Ky

• Another one of the strongest Ky players, Ain’s balanced playstyle has earned him numerous accolades and strong praise in the arcade. Something he is looking to do is put more event titles under his belt, to accompany his GODSGARDEN #10 runner-up finish. As a player who is primarily arcade based, this event offers him a good opportunity for him to perform in his natural setting.

GODSGARDEN #10- Ain vs Tomo

 

中村 (mi) Nakamura

@nakamura_mi

Character: Millia

• Perhaps the finest Millia in eastern Japan, Nakamura has stunned players and fans alike with his awesome execution and aggressive playstyle. As one of the other players with a high degree of tournament placing consistency, he looks to impose his will on the Tenkaichi Budokai. His accomplishments include Tougeki SBO 2008 Top 4, and Top 4 finishes at KSB 2015, Evolution 2015, and Evolution 2016.

EVO 2016- Nakamura vs Ogawa

 

mike (jc)

@_suineko

Character: Jack-O

• Although he is famous for his Jam play in XX, for Xrd competitive play he uses Jack-O and Johnny. Famous for his numerous SBO Tougeki top 8 appearances across multiple titles (including Sengoku BasaraX, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, Aquapazza, and FATE UNLIMITED/CODES), Mike has a history of being something of a crowd pleaser. Last year, using Jack-O, he fell in the A league to Koichi and Karinchu. He undoubtedly hopes to return this year and make a stronger run for the throne.

Tenkaichi Budokai A League- Nage vs Mike

 

かっこう (ra) Kakkou

@kakkou_K

Character: Ramlethal

• Kakkou is one of the few players to remain loyal to Ramlethal after her wings were clipped in Sign version 1.10. However, through his struggle he has grown into one of the premier players of the character. His high arcade rank and tournament entry record show a high degree of hunger. He wants to show the world what Ram is capable of against even the best players.

Kakkou Matches from Mikado

 

ふも (el) Fumo

@humo_ah

Character: Elphelt

• Fumo has emerged as one of the premier Elphelt players in Japan. Fumo’s name appears in high tournament placings across Gear and BB, from his XX days as a top ABA player, to his SBO Tougeki BB Championship with Arakune. After a disappointing performance at Evolution 2016, he is looking to make his mark and challenge his fellow Mikado regulars for the throne.

The Mikado Open Grand Final: Nakamura vs Fumo

 

押田撲滅委員会会長 (di) Kazuki aka “Oshida Extermination Chairman”

@cucumbergod

Character: Dizzy

• Kazuki is one of the classic Dizzy players from eastern Japan. With Dizzy’s recent addition to Xrd this year, you can see he has been hard at work in the arcade, quickly ascending the ranks as one of the top Dizzy players in Japan. It is his wish to destroy FAB in front of a live studio audience at Tenkaichi Budokai.

Kazuki Matches from Mikado

 

エン (sl) En

@en_turuou

Character: Slayer

• One of the top Slayer players in Japan, En wants to make a strong impression with this event. As a player that emphasizes thinking about match flow (not the restreamer), yomi (no, not david sirlin’s card game), and overall match strategy, he is a player viewers can expect to bring fireworks to the league. With a second place finish at SBO Tougeki 2008, and a top 8 finish at Arc Revo 2015, En has his sights set on Tenkaichi Budokai.

En matches from Mikado

The final match of SBO Tougeki 2008

 

あぜすけ (ma) Azesuke

@tukupin

Character: May

• Azesuke has been playing May in Guilty Gear since the release of GGX in 2000. He doesn’t have a detailed record of high tournament placings, but he is a strong, veteran of the game and wants to challenge the best in eastern Japan. He has been competing in Japanese national tournaments and events for over a decade. As one of the best May players at Mikado, look for him to turn heads!

Godsgarden 11: Azesuke vs Machabo-

 

ロイ (so) Roi

@Ume_MK2

Character: Sol

• One of the classic Sol players, Roi has been training to bring his Xrd performance to the level fans of his GGXX series play would expect. With 3 top 8 placings at SBO Tougeki tournaments from 2006 to 2010, Roi’s history is quite decorated. Although we haven’t seen much from him in Xrd series tournaments, he wants to make his mark on this league with a strong performance against the best in eastern Japan.

Roi Matches from Mikado

SBO Tougeki 2010 Top 4: Roi vs Shonen (Testament)

“Whether you are a Guilty Gear veteran or a casual fan, Tenkaichi Budokai will give spectators a riveting example of what makes fighting games special, and why the arcade scene is so irreplaceable,” MajinObama wrote.

Make sure to keep this guide handy as we race closer to the event. Vote on Ftg-reversal.net for your favorite players, and tune in to the action at www.twitch.tv/joniosan, for English and Japanese commentary provided by MajinObama and Jonio.

Sources: MajinObama; Joniosan

What is Nakamura’s current rank? What color does Machaboo always use? And who the heck is this てれさ blowing people up as Jam?

Those are some of the questions you may have, while trying to figure out who’s who among the Japanese Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- elite. The Arcade Reference Sheet, in Google Doc format, displays players–with a lot of pertinent information–to make them easy to identify: character used, favorite colors, typical or recent ranking, their name in English characters as well as Japanese, and a few descriptive tidbits about them.

This should come in handy to keep track of names, or to recognize who plays on Mikado streams!

Big thanks to breadsticks!, VioletSniper, and shoujozenzen for compiling the information.

Source: breadsticks! (Google Doc)