Author: Sam "Trilby" Foxall

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Nature Will Rise Against You as Swamp Thing Joins Injustice 2

Rising from the mire to protect his habitat, Swamp Thing has joined the Injustice 2 roster. Using plant life and clones of himself, Swamp Thing commands nature to fight for him in order to defeat his enemies. Great at mid range, Swamp Thing excels at grabbing opponents out of the sky with twisting vines, then smacking them into the ground with tons of force. These command grabs remind me a hell of a lot of Kan-Ra’s bandage throws from Killer Instinct, as Swamp Thing flings his opponents through the air. He can sprout trees out of his back to stop any opponents trying to jump in on him, and can summon logs to kick towards incoming enemies.

Swamp Thing takes some elements from Noob Saibot too, summoning clones to lay the smack down on anyone that tries to meddle with nature. His super is especially brutal, dragging his opponents into the depths of the earth and beating the ever-loving tar out of them with giant fists of plant matter. He can even disappear into the swamp, with his crouch having the bottom half of his body submerged within water.

Swamp Thing also comes with a new stage, with heroes and villains battling it out in the bayou that the big green guardian protects. The huge alligator hanging in the background is a great touch and with NetherRealm’s love of Easter eggs, I’d love to see Reptile occasionally sneaking around the swamp in the background.

You can check out this not-so jolly green giant giving Robin a harsh lesson about environmental conservation in the video below, courtesy of IGN.

Source: IGN

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Nature Will Rise Against You as Swamp Thing Joins Injustice 2

Rising from the mire to protect his habitat, Swamp Thing has joined the Injustice 2 roster. Using plant life and clones of himself, Swamp Thing commands nature to fight for him in order to defeat his enemies. Great at mid range, Swamp Thing excels at grabbing opponents out of the sky with twisting vines, then smacking them into the ground with tons of force. These command grabs remind me a hell of a lot of Kan-Ra’s bandage throws from Killer Instinct, as Swamp Thing flings his opponents through the air. He can sprout trees out of his back to stop any opponents trying to jump in on him, and can summon logs to kick towards incoming enemies.

Swamp Thing takes some elements from Noob Saibot too, summoning clones to lay the smack down on anyone that tries to meddle with nature. His super is especially brutal, dragging his opponents into the depths of the earth and beating the ever-loving tar out of them with giant fists of plant matter. He can even disappear into the swamp, with his crouch having the bottom half of his body submerged within water.

Swamp Thing also comes with a new stage, with heroes and villains battling it out in the bayou that the big green guardian protects. The huge alligator hanging in the background is a great touch and with NetherRealm’s love of Easter eggs, I’d love to see Reptile occasionally sneaking around the swamp in the background.

You can check out this not-so jolly green giant giving Robin a harsh lesson about environmental conservation in the video below, courtesy of IGN.

Source: IGN

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An Away Victory for the USA as Nairo Wins Tokaigi 2017

Acting as the country’s biggest Super Smash Bros. for Wii U invitational, Tokaigi 2017 was the place for Japan to show off the national talent that may not be able to make it to out of country tournaments. While many lesser known Japanese players got their time in the sun, the USA reigned supreme with NRG|Nairo taking the crown.

For Nairo, it was revenge for his second place finish last year, where Abadango narrowly fought off the world’s best Zero Suit Samus to keep the Tokaigi title in its home country. Nairo even took out LG|Abadango on his way to Grands, defeating him 2-0 in Winners’ Finals and securing himself at least a second place finish. Abadango would eventually get third, losing to top Japanese Sonic KEN and Nairo’s rival during his trip to Japan. The Tokaigi Grand Finals was actually a repeat of last week’s Umebura qualifier, with KEN resetting the bracket 3-0 from Losers’ but failing to seal the deal in the second set. KEN will no doubt be gunning for Nairo in the future and with the Sonic main attending Frostbite later this month, he’ll be grinding out top level Zero Suit Samus experience any chance he gets.

Japan did mount an effective defence for the rest of the bracket, with top Lucario Tsu-, Villager god Ranai and hidden boss Kirihara taking the fourth and fifth placings, with the next highest foreign player being RNG|Dabuz at seventh. Dabuz was actually sent into Losers’ in the very first round, losing to world’s best Olimar Shuton who will be also making the journey to Frostbite. He defeated Japanese Bayonetta Hiro and C9|Ally, before falling to KEN and earning him seventh. SHIG|9B joined him at the seventh spot, with the rest of the foreign detachment of PG|ESAM, eLv|Mr. R and Ally getting ninth. In a rather underwhelming performance, DNG|Kameme didn’t even take a game in the bracket, going 0-2 to both ESAM and Tsu-. Both regions must starting to be catching up to Megaman’s bag of tricks.

With more Japanese players coming to US tournaments with the aforementioned Frostbite, as well as Frame Perfect Series 2 later in the year, the Eastern and Western edges of the Smash world are growing ever closer. As seen with the performance of the Japanese Duck Hunt triumvirate at Genesis 4, both nations are capable in putting major dents in each other so let’s hope for more back and forth action as the year goes on.

Source: Tetra_76; NicoNico

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Cloud 9 Follow Mango’s Dramatic Melee Journey at Evo 2016

While Evo 2017 fever has gripped fighting game fans over the past few weeks, others have been looking back to 2016’s event in readiness for the future. Continuing on with their profile series about one of the five Super Smash Bros. Melee gods, Joseph “Mango” Marquez, Cloud 9 have released their latest documentary episode about Mango’s journey through Evo 2016.

Mango already has a storied history with the event, winning Evo 2013 and 2014 but missing out on the fabled three-peat with a fifth place finish in 2015. With Melee growing to be the third largest event at Evo and there being a clear desire to regain his Evo title, Mango’s Evo 2016 was going to be dramatic in any case.

With the documentary full of interview clips from the man himself, it really explains just how physically and mentally draining competing at such a big event can be, especially when you have a legion of fans chanting for you to triumph.

Source: C9ggTV

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Phoenix1 Expands into Super Smash Bros., by Signing Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey

Yet another esports organization enters into the world of Super Smash Bros., as Phoenix1 signs Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey as their first player. Having previously only fielded League of Legends players, Phoenix1 joins the current avalanche of esports organizations who are jumping feet first into the world of Smash.

Currently 17th on the PGR, Tweek is ranked as one of the world’s best Cloud mains, having previously cut his teeth as the world’s premier Bowser Jr. player back in 2015. With ninth place at Genesis 4, fourth at 2GGC: Genesis Saga, second at Olympus, third at Glitch 2 and second at Collision XIV to name but a few of Tweek’s high placings, this New Jersey native is only set to improve as 2017 goes on. Tweek has also started to turn heads with his Donkey Kong, getting first place at Mega Smash Mondays 81 with the great ape by beating top level threats like Mr. E, Tyrant, 2GG|komorikiri and even FOX|MVG|MKLeo.

Speaking to ESPN Esports, Phoenix1 co-owner Michael Moore said that the team “identified [Tweek] as one of the best up and coming talents in Smash”, saying that they “couldn’t be more excited to bring him into the Phoenix1 family.” Tweek will be sporting his brand new Phoenix1 jersey at 2GGC: Midwest Mayhem Saga in Santa Ana, California this weekend so watch to see if his new team will help him light up the bracket.

Sources: Phoenix1; ESPN Esports

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Get Street Fighter V Lessons from Haitani, Courtesy of YOUDEAL’s Game Lesson Program

If you’re living in Japan, struggling to improve at Street Fighter and have some money to burn, YOUDEAL may have something just for you. As part of their new “Game Lesson” program, the company are offering one to one tutorials from specific pro players to help improve your game. Like previous teaching initiatives like Cross Counter’s lessons, these can be done online via programs like Skype or Discord, while really dedicated players can pay extra for special in-home sessions, where pros will come round to your house to teach you.

Super Smash Bros. lessons were be intended to be part of this initial Game Lesson launch alongside SFV, with LG|Abadango and VGBC|aMSa acting as the tutors for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Unfortunately, the two have declined YOUDEAL’s offer, meaning that Haitani is currently the only fighting game tutor on the program. However, with Yukadon being a fellow YOUDEAL sponsored player, it’s fair to expect that he may also be teaching Street Fighter V lessons in the future.

Prices will vary from tutor to tutor and from game to game but lessons will initially start at around ¥4,500 which is roughly $39 for an hour long online lesson. For players to come tutor you at home, lessons will be two hours and start from around ¥11,000 or around $97. You do need to live in either one of Tokyo’s 23 central wards or inside Osaka city limits if you want a Haitani home visit.

Sources: LG_Abadango; RocketNews24 via Hachima Kiko

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The Warrior versus The Kid: Last Stock Legends Recount the Tale of Mango vs. Kage at Revival of Melee 2

The road to success is paved with ups and downs. After successfully proving his skill at East Coast tournaments Pound 3 and Revival of Melee 1, Mango had silenced any naysayers who would not rate him as one of the best American Super Smash Bros. Melee players out there. Going into Revival of Melee 2, the Kid was noticeably confident, even turning up to the event hung over.

But this was Mango, the man of the moment. Surely no one could take him out even when hung over, right? Enter Kage the Warrior, a Canadian Ganondorf main who clearly did not seem to agree. Defeating Mango in Winners side, the two then met again in Losers, where Mango was forced to bring out his feared Jigglypuff to take down this King of Evil. Kage would win that set, but it would sow the seed for a future clash at Revival of Melee 3. Mango would then pick Ganon’s eternal rival and low tier character Link, in an attempt to banish Kage’s Ganondorf in the most disrespectful way possible.

Hearing from the perspective of then East Coast denizen Scar and Kage himself, Last Stock Legends recount the story of one of the biggest shockers during Melee’s era of struggle.

Source: Last Stock Legends

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Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima Hints at Potential Legacy Controller Support for the Switch

With the Nintendo Switch’s launch being just under a month away, everyone is eager to hear about everything the system may be capable of when it launches on March 3rd. In an interview with TIME ahead of the Switch’s launch, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima discussed Nintendo’s future plans for esports, along with the potential of legacy controller support for the system.

What does this have to do with fighting games? Well, everyone knows that the Smash community is on tenterhooks waiting for possible news of a port of both Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Melee–maybe even Pokkén Tournament–for the new system. According to Kimishima, “support for certain controllers may be considered for a future update” and that “games from past systems may be re-released for the Nintendo Switch system as either enhanced or original versions.” These criteria match Smash’s situation perfectly so hopefully, this suggests that Nintendo are open or are even currently working on remasters for the Switch.

As for esports, Kimishima stated that it “is the business that many consumers expect us to engage in now and in the future” and that “titles such as Splatoon 2 and ARMS for Nintendo Switch have suitable elements for eSports.” However,  the company are still “considering what Nintendo-like eSports can be in terms of the business model,” so don’t expect anything forthcoming about some kind of Nintendo-supported Smash circuit any time soon.

Source: TIME

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Iron Galaxy Release Footage of TJ Combo, Maya and Tusk’s Ultimates for Killer Instinct

As a welcome start of the week treat, Iron Galaxy decided to release footage of the remaining three Ultimates that are to come in the first Ultimate Master Pack on February 14th. Having previously shown off Jago and Chief Thunder‘s finishers, it’s now the turn of TJ Combo, Maya and Tusk to show their Ultimates off to the world.

First is Maya, who summons her enchanted daggers to carve up her foe, before slamming down on her poor victim’s head with a heel drop from the heavens. Did I forget to mention that her daggers also float just underneath her opponent’s head, ready to skewer them following the overhead kick? Yeah, this is a gnarly one.

Next up is TJ Combo, who powers up for a supercharged flurry of punches. This one is a bit underwhelming I’d have to say, I was expecting some sort of megaton punch to send the losing player flying into next week.

Finally, we have the immortal warrior Tusk and his is truly something. Heating up his sword, Tusk sets the ground on fire with a plunging strike and then charges through the flames to finish his opponent off. The look on his enemy’s face as he pulls his massive sword out of their chest is quite something. Personally, I think Tusk and Jago are tied for the best Ultimate out of this initial set.

The first Ultimate Master Pack is free to all Killer Instinct players when it releases on February 14th. 15 characters are set to get Ultimates so expect two more Master packs to release in the coming months.

Source: Killer Instinct

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Master the Street Fighter V Training Room with This Two Minute Tutorial from PugilistPenguin

After a short break, PugilistPenguin has returned with another of his helpful Two Minute Tutorials for Street Fighter V, this time on using the Training Room correctly. Many newer players see the Training Room as just a place to practice flashy combos, but its real asset is allowing players to simulate certain situations without the fear of lag or a pesky opponent to interrupt their practice.

Using his main F.A.N.G as an example, PugilistPenguin works through a set up that doesn’t seem to work on paper, but works in live tests. His experimentation leads to a set up which leaves F.A.N.G plus on block and causes opponents to attack in the wrong direction if they attempt to get out with a Shoryuken. By using the training dummy correctly rather than just using trial and error, sessions in the Training Room become helpful learning experiences, as opposed to just mindless combo drills.

The tips PugilistPenguin imparts are for Street Fighter V, but proper use of a Training Mode is vital in getting better at fighting games as a whole, so give this a watch no matter what game you play.

Source: PugilistPenguin