GCC Majors Brings the Fighting Game Communities of the Arab Gulf Together in Bahrain from December 23rd-24th

The fighting games communities of the Middle East are really starting to make their mark on the global stage, with big tournaments in Kuwait and Dubai bringing players from across the world to see this growth of this burgeoning scene. In that vein, the Gulf Cooperation Council–which represents the countries of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman–is coming together to finish 2016 with one last massive tournament.

Hosted at the Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa in Bahrain, GCC Majors 2016 will bring players from all across the Arab Gulf and hopefully, the world, to compete in a variety of fighting games. GCC Majors will be running Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, The King of Fighters XIV, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Street Fighter V as its main games, with side events for both BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Super Smash Bros. Melee. The first day, December 23rd, will see Street Fighter and Guilty Gear combatants go at it on the main stage, while the second day will have The King of Fighters XIV and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U players seal out this event.

If you are looking for some fighting game viewing as you are wrapping those final presents ahead of Christmas Day, the GCC Majors could help you soldier through that last bit of tricky ribbon-tying. All the action will be streamed on the GCC Major Twitch channels, and if you are looking to find information about tickets and hotels to attend the event, more information can be found on the GCC Majors website. If you want a glimpse of what a GCC event usually looks like, check out the video below, which teases GCC Dubai from December last year.

Source: GCC Majors

Effectively Punish Karin’s Ressenha With This Street Fighter V Tutorial from MrHoward123

Karin’s Ressenha can be a right pain to deal with, as its speed and status as an overhead means it can easily catch you out if you are not in the correct position. While you can punish it on reaction with a well placed crouching normal or a reversal like EX Sonic Scythe, careful players can bait the Ressenha and punish Karin with a heavy damage combo.

Every character can punish the recovery of the Ressenha with certain crouching normals, but it requires some practice to get the timing just right. MrHoward123 shows how every character, including Karin herself, can punish the Ressenha. MrHoward123 does note that it is quite difficult to punish the Ressenha on reaction, so it’s best to use fast crouching normals if you are just trying to react to the overhead.

If you are a fan of MrHoward123’s work, make sure to check out his videos detailing how to blow up V-Reversals with almost every character on the Street Fighter V roster.

Source: MrHoward123

The Jump-In Podcast Talks Changes to the Capcom Pro Tour, Street Fighter V Online and More with Infiltration

Following the Capcom Pro Tour Asia Finals at the G-Star Expo in Busan earlier this weekend, Kim1234 of the Jump-In podcast got the chance to catch up with Razer and Viewsonic’s Infiltration to discuss lots about Street Fighter V and the Capcom Pro Tour. Discussing his recent character usage at premier events, Infiltration says that following Evo and people starting to figure out how to defeat Nash, it made sense to figure out other characters and gain essential match up knowledge ahead of Capcom Cup in December. He feels the meta has changed wildly since an event like Evo, so premier events are the perfect places to test out his more diverse character pool ahead of the real competition at Capcom Cup.

Infiltration shed some light on his warm up routine, saying that he prefers to visualize matches and theorize possible situations, rather than playing friendlies. His reasoning is that he plays Street Fighter V so much anyway, that he isn’t suddenly going to forget a combo because he didn’t warm up so mental preparing is more important. He briefly touched on his opinion on the current qualifying system of the Capcom Pro Tour, stating that he actually prefers elements of the old system, like seeding passing down through players who have already qualified so that deserving players aren’t gatekept at stacked tournaments.

All this and a lot more is discussed during this interview, where the translation for Infiltration’s answers is provided by fellow top quality FGC content creator Gerald Lee from Core-A Gaming. Make sure to give the whole interview a listen, as Infiltration’s answers are pretty enlightening.

Source: The Jump-In Podcast

DMG Maister Sets Lasers to Kill in this ROB Combo Video for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Producing some high quality videos, both in terms of play and editing, the DMG Alliance is back again with another Super Smash Bros. for Wii U combo video. This time, they are focusing on DMG Maister and his lethal ROB, showing just how dangerous this robot can be when neutralize.exe is activated.

Gyro juggles, rocket dunks and brutally efficient edgeguards ensue in this montage, as the young ROB main from Texas displays his prowess piloting a killer toy robot. ROB does feel like one of those characters with untapped potential, as some of the ledge traps and off stage juggles it can get with its gyro are highly impressive. If you are impressed by the work DMG Alliance does, you can also check out this previous CMV, dedicated to CaptainZack’s Bayonetta.

Source: DMG Alliance

Marvel Legends ChrisG and Filipino Champ Throw Down in These First to Three Sets in Street Fighter V

Swapping X-Factor and DHCs for V-Triggers and Critical Arts, NYChrisG and PG|Filipino Champ have been dueling in the world of Street Fighter V, showing off their skills with Urien and Dhalsim respectively in the depths of the CFN. While F Champ has been adept with Dhalsim since the days of Street Fighter 4, ChrisG has had to channel the spirit of his Marvel 3 Morrigan into his Sonic Boom heavy Guile, as Sakura is not yet playable in SFV.

As seen in the video, he has started experimenting with the Illuminati boss to some success, with a recent seventh place finish at the Last Chance Qualifier at Red Bull Battle Grounds. The sets go fairly close, with ChrisG’s Urien holding its own against F Champ’s veteran yoga master and even pulling off some tricky Aegis Reflector setups over the course of the two sets.

Source: DeadAceBS

Chart the Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Bayonetta in This Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Retrospective

Bayonetta’s presence in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has sparked quite a few vigorous discussions in the Smash community, let me tell you. From the initial excitement of her launch, to the violent backlash to her playstyle and the joy at her nerfing earlier this year, the Umbra Witch has had a bit of a rough time of it since her inclusion in February of this year.

To chart these substantial shifts in thought about Bayonetta, GRTr4sh has charted the timeline of the character, showing just how massive these changes in opinion have been. She’s gone from the golden girl, to an overpowered mess that is ruining competitive Smash 4, to useless to a potential top three character in less than a year. What results is quite the hilarious video, displaying just how divisive Bayonetta has been in her short time in the Smash series.

Source: GRTr4sh

Kick Up a Stink with These Wario Waft Setups in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Wario is a bit of an oddball in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. His kit mainly revolves around playing defensively and trade occasional hits with his amazing aerial mobility, before closing in to send foes flying with a ripper of a Wario Waft. It’s not silent, but it’s very deadly and can KO foes as early as 50% near the edges of the blastzone. As Wario is his own most-played character, and because consistently landing a monster fart can prove quite difficult, My Smash Corner has made a video detailing some noxious Wario Waft setups.

These setups mostly involve a fully charged Waft, which takes roughly one minute and 50 seconds to charge, but its massive hitbox means it can counter almost every vertical and horizontal recovery option. Blowing up Wario’s bike with the Waft increases its hitbox, making this bung blast super dangerous. Wario can lock opponents in place easily with his dash attack and forward-air, so My Smash Corner lists all the percents where Wario is able to lock his opponents and lead into a fart kill.

Source: My Smash Corner

Kick Up a Stink with These Wario Waft Setups in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Wario is a bit of an oddball in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. His kit mainly revolves around playing defensively and trade occasional hits with his amazing aerial mobility, before closing in to send foes flying with a ripper of a Wario Waft. It’s not silent, but it’s very deadly and can KO foes as early as 50% near the edges of the blastzone. As Wario is his own most-played character, and because consistently landing a monster fart can prove quite difficult, My Smash Corner has made a video detailing some noxious Wario Waft setups.

These setups mostly involve a fully charged Waft, which takes roughly one minute and 50 seconds to charge, but its massive hitbox means it can counter almost every vertical and horizontal recovery option. Blowing up Wario’s bike with the Waft increases its hitbox, making this bung blast super dangerous. Wario can lock opponents in place easily with his dash attack and forward-air, so My Smash Corner lists all the percents where Wario is able to lock his opponents and lead into a fart kill.

Source: My Smash Corner

Season One of the Rivals Championship Series Comes to a Close at Genesis 4

Acting as the finale of its Championship Series and recently added to the games list at Genesis 4, Rivals of Aether is going to have a big presence at the Smash supermajor. Rivals of Aether singles and doubles will be taking place during the event, as well as a special Rivals meetup to bring all fans of the game together to celebrate the fighter they love.

There is already a $5,000 pot bonus for Rivals of Aether singles, graciously provided by the developers, with the potential for it to reach $10,000 if its goal on the Genesis 4 compendium is reached. In that vein, there is an assortment of Rivals-related items to purchase on the Genesis 4 shop, including a special Genesis Forsburn skin, an Orcane plushie, a Rivals Championship Series shirt and an awesome-looking Genesis Forsburn poster.

If you are already registered for events at Genesis 4, you can now amend your details and add Rivals of Aether to your list of tournaments you are entering. Do note there is a cap of how many main and side events you can enter at Genesis 4, so keep this in mind when planning your time at the San Jose Convention Center.

Source: Rivals of Aether via Dan Fornace

Samurai Shodown VI Is Coming to the US PlayStation Network Store on Tuesday, November 22nd

In their ongoing PS2 to PS4 series of remasters, Sony has announced that the last 2D Samurai Shodown game, Samurai Shodown VI, is coming to the US PlayStation Network Store next Tuesday. This port of the arcade version contains pretty much every version of every character from the entire Samurai Shodown series, including four brand new “EX” characters which were exclusive to this console port.

Similar to the Grooves in Capcom vs. SNK 2, there is a Spirit Select system in Samurai Shodown VI, where players can choose between the six different fighting styles from previous Samurai Shodown games. If you are looking for a Samurai Shodown title which captures the entire history of this SNK series, this is the one to get. Unfortunately, due to the fact it is a straight port of the PS2 version, there will most likely be no online multiplayer–but there will be trophy support.

With the original Samurai Shodown scheduled to release on PSN before the end of the year, these last two months of 2016 act as the perfect time to become acquainted with the series.

Source: PlayStation Blog