Author: Zavian "mushin_Z" Sildra

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Beginner’s fighting game primer “From Masher to Master” now available in English, Spanish, & Japanese!

Stop mashing, and start mastering–now available in three different languages!

While it was written well before the games we primarily play today, From Masher to Master, Patrick Miller’s ebook that describes the concepts and mechanics of fighting games to beginners, is still an excellent starting point for players that want to learn and work on fighting game fundamentals from the ground up. Using Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a model, it breaks down the core principles and philosophies that all fighting games share.

Originally published in English (and offered for free by Shoryuken), From Masher to Master is also available in Japanese–and now, thanks to the efforts of Daisy Del Carmen, a Spanish translation is now available as well.

For those that haven’t had a chance to read the original, it is available to read or download as a .pdf here. The new Spanish translation is likewise available here, as well as an additional translator’s foreword from Daisy Del Carmen here. The Japanese version can be found here.

from masher to master cover EN
from masher to master cover JP
from masher to master cover ES

You’ll want to check one of these out (as suits your reading language of preference) if you’re new to fighting games–or even just to reinforce your understanding of the basics. And then: “The answer lies… in the heart of battle!”

from masher to master heading to evo

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The SRK Rollback: Best of May 12-18, 2017

Welcome to the Rollback: a frame-by-frame look back at our past week’s most notable news–and our favorite SRK articles–from May 12 to May 18, 2017!

Zavian “mushin_Z” Sildra, Editor-in-Chief:

Frame 1:
Javier MorenoTexas Showdown’s TO, Javier Moreno, discusses the event’s history, his FGC roots, and future goals

El Cubano Loco chats up the force behind Texas Showdown, giving us a look at what it’s like to have longtime roots in the FGC–and what it takes to make an ailing event great again.

Frame 2:
Darkseid Omega BeamsUnsure who to main in Injustice 2? Check out Method|REO’s character breakdowns

Injustice 2 finally hit stores this week! If you’re unsure what hero or villian “defines you,” REO has got you covered with these character breakdowns.

Frame 3:
senko_no_ronde_2Senko no Ronde 2 is coming to PlayStation 4 and PC this September

This unusual game looks promising–I love stuff that’s a bit off-the-beaten-path, and this fighter/shmup mash-up is bound to be entertaining.

Sam “Trilby” Foxall, Assistant Editor:

Frame 1:
bytebarqThree new characters revealed for ARMS; Global beta “Testpunch” announced

Along with showing off three brand new characters for spaghetti-armed fighter ARMS, Nintendo announced that there will be a special “Testpunch” event for Switch users to get to grips with the game. Time to get practicing.

Frame 2:
MvCi_coverMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite variant covers coming to Marvel Comics titles this August

Marvel is going in on marketing for MvC:I, by releasing 20 different Marvel vs. Capcom variant covers to celebrate the launch of the game. With Venom, Black Panther and Thanos getting variants, is that a sly confirmation that they will be playable?

Frame 3:
bkfSomehow, there’s a Brief Karate Foolish “World Championship” in Kyoto, Japan on May 21st

If you loved what Mikado have been doing with their legacy tournaments, you’ll be well into this. The Megabit Convention is holding a world championship for parody fighting game Brief Karate Foolish. Kusoge fans should definitely tune in.

Keegan “Interrobang!?” Spindler, Features Editor:

Frame 1:
UDON sf vs darkstalkers cvr 1 cropUDON’s Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers issue #1 is in stores today!

It’s been a rough road for Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers, but it’s finally out and looks great. I’m a big fan of the art in this series, so hopefully the comic is as good as it looks. I can’t wait to find out.

Frame 2:
Tekken-Retro-Recap-Part-1Brush up on Tekken’s lore: Part 1 of the “Tekken Retro Recap”

I’m a big fan of Tekken, but even I have to admit that somewhere along the way I lost track of exactly what is going on. I know that it’s something to do with the Mishima Zaibatsu and also the Devil Gene and–actually, just watch the video and see for yourself.

Frame 3:
Superman Batman Injustice 2UltraDavid explains the unique hit-stun properties of Injustice 2

With the release of Injustice 2, there are no doubt a whole host of new people giving NRS’s Superhero brawler a go. UltraDavid breaks down how things are a little different in these parts, and how to keep track of Injustice 2’s unique hit-stun.

Extra Frame:
risingup_introRising Up: Ed bread and butter combo guide — Punishes, confirm combos, juggles, & more

Did you get a chance to try Ed in the Street Fighter V CFN beta test? We don’t know when we’ll get to play him again–hopefully most of this tech holds up in his official release version.

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article and the selected posts are solely those of the writers, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

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Get ready for Toryuken 6–Toronto’s Capcom Pro Tour Ranking event–this weekend

The competition will be fierce in Toronto’s own annual major fighting game event!

This weekend–from May 19th to 21st–Toronto will be rocked by their annual FGC major: Toryuken! As a Capcom Pro Tour Ranking event, Toryuken will draw in hardened competitors from around the globe for Street Fighter V, and for the variety of other tournaments, as well–including the majors debut of Injustice 2!

Featured tournaments:

  • Street Fighter V
  • Injustice 2
  • Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 [demo version]
  • BlazBlue: Central Fiction
  • The King of Fighters XIV
  • Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
  • Mortal Kombat XL
  • Super Street Fighter II Turbo

Side events:

  • Ultra Street Fighter IV
  • Garou: Mark of the Wolves
  • Street Fighter Alpha 2
  • Street Fighter V (teams)
  • Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 [demo version] (teams)

As you can see above, there’s a lot going on at Toryuken 6! Notable players expected to travel in to the event include Echo Fox|Justin Wong, EG|Ricki Ortiz, RB.CYG BST|Snake Eyez, OG|Shine, Flash, EG|K-Brad, Splyce|FChamp, and UVG|Noel Brown, among others. Naturally the top local players will be in attendance, such as Chi-Rithy, SJ, Italdan, Shane Walker, STDxBlitzman, Snafoo, OCV L.E.S., Honeybee, Biohazard, Hayatei, and more.

The event will be streamed by TorontoTopTiers on both a main and a secondary Twitch channel; the stream schedule can be viewed here.

More information can be found on the TorontoTopTiers Facebook page, the Toryuken page, or on smash.gg.

TORYUKEN - CapcomHeader

Sources: TORYUKEN; smash.gg

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Get ready for Toryuken 6–Toronto’s Capcom Pro Tour Ranking event–this weekend

The competition will be fierce in Toronto’s own annual major fighting game event!

This weekend–from May 19th to 21st–Toronto will be rocked by their annual FGC major: Toryuken! As a Capcom Pro Tour Ranking event, Toryuken will draw in hardened competitors from around the globe for Street Fighter V, and for the variety of other tournaments, as well–including the majors debut of Injustice 2!

Featured tournaments:

  • Street Fighter V
  • Injustice 2
  • Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 [demo version]
  • BlazBlue: Central Fiction
  • The King of Fighters XIV
  • Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
  • Mortal Kombat XL
  • Super Street Fighter II Turbo

Side events:

  • Ultra Street Fighter IV
  • Garou: Mark of the Wolves
  • Street Fighter Alpha 2
  • Street Fighter V (teams)
  • Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 [demo version] (teams)

As you can see above, there’s a lot going on at Toryuken 6! Notable players expected to travel in to the event include Echo Fox|Justin Wong, EG|Ricki Ortiz, RB.CYG BST|Snake Eyez, OG|Shine, Flash, EG|K-Brad, Splyce|FChamp, and UVG|Noel Brown, among others. Naturally the top local players will be in attendance, such as Chi-Rithy, SJ, Italdan, Shane Walker, STDxBlitzman, Snafoo, OCV L.E.S., Honeybee, Biohazard, Hayatei, and more.

The event will be streamed by TorontoTopTiers on both a main and a secondary Twitch channel; the stream schedule can be viewed here.

More information can be found on the TorontoTopTiers Facebook page, the Toryuken page, or on smash.gg.

TORYUKEN - CapcomHeader

Sources: TORYUKEN; smash.gg

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UDON’s Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers issue #1 is in stores today!

After a number of delays, the first issue of UDON’s new series has arrived!

UDON’s wildest fight yet begins at last today with the release of Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers issue one! The kick-off issue features a number of cover variants, and comes packed with two bonus (and exclusive) UFS cards.

UDON sf vs darkstalkers cvr 1
SFvsDS1_CVRB_Bliss
SFvsDS1_CVRD_Incentive-Homage
SFvsDS1_CVRE_Incentive-Guest-Artist

sf vs ds preview day one

You can pick up your copy of Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers #1 at a comic shop near you–or check it out digitally on comiXology. Issue #4 is currently available to pre-order, and keep an eye out for the upcoming Street Fighter & Friends Swimsuit Special.

If you happened to miss out on the UDON Street Fighter Wrestling Special issue for Free Comic Book Day, there’s still a little time to enter their draw for a copy.

udon sf wrestling fcbd cover crop

Sources: UDON Entertainment, Gleam

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Injustice 2: Story mode & character endings, Batman, Joker, & Deadshot footage, Scarecrow day one combos

Some Injustice 2 tech and footage to help get you started.

After much anticipation, NetherRealm Studios’ sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us has arrived at last! And naturally, the FGC is abuzz with this new title and finally learning its ins-and-outs firsthand. Here’s a sampling of what is starting to appear out there. Major story spoilers in the videos further below!

VesperArcade is already in there to help you get started with the game, particularly if NRS titles are new to you and you’re more used to the systems from Street Fighter titles. Here’s his walkthrough of Batman’s tutorial:

In this combo video by Cody Dickson–including meterless and meter-using combos–Scarecrow teaches Darkseid what fear feels like:

Of course, Echo Fox|Sonic Fox is tearing it up online–here’s some match footage of him filling his opponents with holes as Deadshot:

Here’s some Sonic Fox Joker footage (and more Deadshot), as well:

If you feel more inclined to comfortably watch story mode instead of play it, Xuses has you covered. Here’s the entirety of the Injustice 2 story mode cutscenes for your enjoyment!

If Batman is your hero of choice, maybe you’d like to see all of his opening quotes and interactions? Half-an-hour of Bat-trash talk, right here:

Want to see everyone’s fate right now? rooflemonger has uploaded the story/Multiverse mode endings for all 29 characters in the opening roster. 100% spoilers ahead!

Sources: VesperArcade; YogaFlame24; XusesGB; rooflemonger

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Rising Up: Ed beta “leftovers” — Follow-ups to heavy charged punch

Another glimpse at Ed’s capabilities–for whenever we can get our hands on him again!

The Street Fighter V second CFN beta has ended, and Ed is unfortunately locked away again, with no release date yet known. However, Bafael wasn’t quite finished with his exploration of Ed from the prior bread ‘n’ butter video, and has added another look at the Young Commander’s “leftovers”–specifically: following up on his tricky charged heavy punch.

Bafael also demonstrates out some fun stuff with Ed’s V-Trigger. Naturally, we don’t know how Ed may be altered before his official release, so we’ll have to wait and see how much of this remains in that version of the character.

Check out ShoryukenTube for more Rising Up, and subscribe for updates!

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Capcom Fighters counts down the top 5 moments from Battle Arena Melbourne 9

See Capcom’s own picks for the high points of hype for BAM 9!

Battle Arena Melbourne 9 rocked Australia this past weekend as a Premier stop on 2017’s Capcom Pro Tour. And as per usual for these big events, Capcom Fighters brings us their own picks for the top five best moments of the event!

In the video below–after witnessing the proof that “the only one strong enough to defeat Daigo is Daigo himself!”–you can see a nasty corner beatdown from RB|Bonchan’s Nash; Echo Fox|Tokido’s “Murdertongue&#8221$$ a tremendous comeback from RZR|Xian’s Ibuki against Tokido; and naturally some action in the finals from Verloren, Bonchan, and Grpt|Fuudo. Check it out:

Capcom’s Matt Edwards was also on the scene conducting interviews with the competitors; you can see his interview with Dark Sided’s Falco here.

Source: Capcom Fighters

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Street Fighter V & Super Smash Bros. currently lead the registration turnout for Evolution 2017

Meanwhile, The King of Fighters XIV currently has the lowest number of registered players.

As we get closer and closer to Evo 2017, the present “leaderboard” for event registration has been shared–and for the most part the results are what one would expect: generally consistent with 2016’s closing numbers, and reflective of each game’s overall popularity:

  1. Street Fighter V
  2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
  3. Super Smash Bros. Melee
  4. Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2
  5. Tekken 7
  6. Injustice 2
  7. BlazBlue: Central Fiction
  8. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
  9. The King of Fighters XIV

Street Fighter V already has a substantial lead, with the two Smash titles finishing the top three, for now. Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 is currently in the 4th spot–but Tekken 7 and Injustice 2 are possible contenders to overtake it as they get into the hands of the gaming public! The Player’s Choice winner Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is presently only in 8th place for its Evo swan song; and newcomer The King of Fighters XIV could use some more love, sitting back in last place.

Of course, we’ve still got about two months for this list to get shaken up a bit with new sign-ups. Registration is still open for Evo 2017 through smash.gg–and you can join additional games after your initial registration too, so get in there and support your favorite titles!

Evo 2017 takes place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 14-16, 2017.

evo 2017 logo

Sources: Evo, Joey Cuellar (Twitter)

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Friday Night Fan Art: Chun-Li and Mai Shiranui face off, plus a fresh look for Alice and Kula’s character models

Check out this spectacular art from fighting game fans!

Welcome back to Friday Night Fan Art! Tonight we’ll pit the poster girls from two big fighting franchises against each other: Street Fighter’s Chun-Li, and The King of Fighters’ Mai Shiranui! These ladies have developed a sort of mascot rivalry, especially since facing each other in the Capcom vs. SNK titles. We’ll be featuring the work of many different DeviantArt artists below; you can decide which femme fatale fights the fiercest.

Since Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Chun-Li has been widely accepted as the “first lady of fighting games,” a symbol of both strength and beauty.

Chun-Li by bicmac996
Chun-Li by pop-lee
Chun-Li by 10tackle

From left to right: digital painting by bigmac996; Chun-Li pinup by pop-lee; Chun-Li spinning into action by 10tackle.

Chun-Li [alternate] by BROTERS707
Chun-Li by Endling
Chun-Li (portrait) by bledrebel

From left to right: Chun-Li in her Street Fighter IV alternate by BROTERS707; a little more kawaii-styled by Endling; and a fantastic pencil/charcoal portrait by bledrebel!

SNK’s fiery Mai Shiranui is definitely one of the most prominent faces for The King of Fighters series, thanks in no small part to her sex appeal. She actually got her start way back in Fatal Fury.

Mai Shiranui by Tecnomayro
Mai Shiranui by bocodamondo
Mai Shiranui by RaphooN

From left to right: gorgeous Mai airbrush by Tecnomayro; anime-style by bocodamondo; Mai taking a rest, by RaphooN.

Mai Shiranui by IvannaMatilla
Mai Shiranui by DickZAN
Mai Shiranui by pyawakit

From left to right: digital painting by IvannaMatilla; DickZAN‘s flirty rendition; “oh my mai” by pyawakit.

Chrissy-Tee works with the lighting and poses on character models from various games to create new fan renders; getting their hands on some models from The King of Fighters XIV has resulted in some new images that help show off how detailed the KOFXIV character models actually are. Here’s Alice, and the meme-worthy “fingerguns” Kula:

Alice (test render)
Kula (fingerguns)

Also, because it wouldn’t be right to end without another picture of Guilty Gear Xrd’s Baiken, here’s one by :

Send us leads on the tipline if there’s any great fan art out there you want to see featured next week on Shoryuken!

Sources: bigmac996; pop-lee; 10tackle; BROTERS707; Endling; bledrebel; Tecnomayro; bocodamondo; RaphooN; IvannaMatilla; DickZAN; pyawakit; Chrissy-Tee;