Use Okinawan Karate (and more) to bust open some old-school-style heads in this upcoming indie game.
Indie developers Steven Miller, David Miller, and Gary Angelone are aiming to bring some retro-fueled violence to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with “intense, skill-based” action-platformer Okinawa Rush, a love letter to classic side-scrolling brawlers, platformers, and RPGs in one. Behind the cartoony sprite art, the game sports a gameplay engine that borrows heavily from fighting game sensibilities: utilizing a broad move set, a combo system, and “parry anything” mechanic.
In addition to single or multiplayer action, the game will feature RPG elements in the form of a detailed story mode, shop system, multiple playable characters with different backstories, and dojo maintenance that will affect your fighter’s abilities. You’ll even be able to improve your stats by practicing katas.
To try the demo, head over to the game’s Steam Greenlight page. You can watch the Super Best Friends try it out for themselves in their YouTube video below (note, NSFW language!):
As of this writing, Okinawa Rush has met its crowdfunding goal, and there are still about twelve hours left. Head over to their Kickstarter page for more detailed information about the project and its developers; they have claimed that if their goal was met, the game would include a guest character: the Baz from Divekick! We’ll have to keep an eye out for confirmation as the project goes forward.
Get a closer look at the in-development Omen of Sorrow with this preview exhibition.
AOne games brought their in-development horror fighter Omen of Sorrow to First Attack 2017 a week ago, and have since uploaded the footage of an exhibition match they held at the event. Bolillo pits his Vladislav III against Mcfly’s Zafkiel, while commentators James Chen and UltraDavid provide their thoughts. Watch it here:
Learn more about AOne’s Omen of Sorrow on their official website.
While there are no DLC characters or costumes expected to be added to Street Fighter V this week, server maintenance will still lock us out of CFN for a few hours: from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM PT, to be exact.
We will perform server maintenance from 11am to 3pm on 9/12 PDT. Thank you for your patience and support.
As Menat just joined the cast, it’s unlikely this has anything to do with the last character expected to be added as part of Season 2: Guy’s lost master Zeku. We’ll see this afternoon if this is just routine maintenance for CFN, or if some surprise content/patching will be slipped in.
Welcome to the Rollback: a frame-by-frame look back at our past week’s most notable news — and our favorite SRK articles — from September 1 to September 7, 2017!
The bane of Squall Leonhart and his fellow SeeDs in Final Fantasy VIII will be joining the arcade version of Dissidia, and consequentially the upcoming console version in January. We should be running out of bosses soon!
Bafael provides some combo foundations via ShoryukenTube for Street Fighter V‘s latest roster addition, to help accelerate the training of aspiring fortune tellers.
Famous for its converters and Universal Fighting Board, Brook is getting into the controller game with their new Mars pad. As SRK’s resident pad player, I’m looking forward to giving this a whirl when it launches.
Killer Instinct missed out on a lot of potential players when it launched on Xbox One back in 2013. Its Steam version is coming out in a few weeks and luckily, all KI players will be able to play together, thanks to the announcement of cross-network play.
With Gundam Versus rolling out later this month, our editor-in-chief and ace mobile suit pilot mushin_Z gives us his early impressions, based on the game’s open beta.
Red Bull’s Gods and Gatekeepers event was a fun twist on competitive Melee, and it was awesome to watch. Hopefully we see more of the format going forward — even if the number one seed ended up winning!
As someone with a Korean stick in my controller of choice, I’ve been trying to preach the virtues of K-sticks to all my pals. This mod kit will only make it more appealing, and they’ve definitely got a sale from me.
One of the best things about a popular game is the data that grows up around it. It’s fascinating to look at the opinions of top players, especially when it’s all collected together like this. It’s fun to talk about who you think the best character in the game is — this data tells you for sure…
After adding in the religious big boys Buddha and Jesus (but unsurprisingly shying away from touching anything related to Islam) and becoming available via Steam Early Access, this odd and increasingly controversial fighter is suddenly getting a lot attention; its gameplay mechanics are also broken, or maybe just too “godlike” for mere mortals.
Bandai Namco’s Gundam Versus landed briefly on Western PlayStation 4 consoles this past weekend for its first (and likely only) open beta test. Naturally, we jumped into the cockpit to give this mech-smashing arena fighter a shot.
Multiple configurations
The beta offered a number of both online and offline modes to sample. Online, you could dive into the usual two-on-two team battle, a more frenetic three-on-three version, or duel a single opponent one-on-one. It was also possible to set up a lobby for battle yourself; however, the options on configuring the battle type were very limited, with no option for one-on-one fights that I could find, and there was no means to invite a friend directly — you could only scan from the other side for friends’ lobbies to join. No idea at this point if this is simply due to limited beta features, or if this setup will carry to the Western release build; if it does, players might be left relying on outside channels (i.e. PSN messaging, or Discord) to coordinate fights alongside or against the teams/players of their choice. It seems like a significant oversight, but we’ll see how things go in the release version.
The online fights were a mixed experience in terms of connectivity and matchmaking. 2-on-2 fights were relatively easy to get into, with not too much in the way of connection problems. 1-on-1 duels seemed slightly less popular when we tried — the wait time was generally much longer. If I recall correctly, I had only one fight of this type with unplayable lag. 3-on-3 however, that was a bit of a problem: I had only one battle with a solid connection. Every other fight was reduced to a tragic slideshow by lag, often dropped mid-fight under a connection error. Compounded by long wait times to even try the mode, we didn’t get that much of a chance with 3-on-3, unfortunately. If getting six players into a match at once is proving difficult for their netcode, I hope the beta provided the data needed to improve it — 3-on-3 has the potential to be a lot of fun, by dropping that much more violence into these large arenas. A positive point that I already noticed from the build we played at Evo 2017: you get to practice your mobile suit’s moves in a holding lobby against a dummy opponent while you’re waiting to connect — a little touch that makes the wait time pass more easily, and that Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (another arena fighter, also on beta test last weekend) could really benefit from.
Interestingly, a good chunk of single-player content was included as well: you could play two series of a survival-type mode against CPU opponents in Ultimate Battle, and take on specific challenges in a Trial mode. Both of these modes offered the ability to play with a CPU partner, or invite along a friend to help you out. A nice touch, to allow the chance for two players to take on these modes together over PSN. You could also set up CPU battles how you liked via a “Free Battle” mode.
I actually enjoyed the single-player content more than the online, in this instance — it allowed time to relax into the game’s groove and really get a feel for it without lag, or the pressure of battling more-experienced human opponents. Dashing and boosting around the level maps while blasting low-health enemies was enjoyable, and both the enemy waves and the boss fights are fun nods to their respective anime origins, as enemies from similar eras come out together, and it’s easy to get pumped up to take on a mobile armor or high-powered mobile suit you recognize as your boss enemy.
Taking control
For someone unaccustomed, the controls of Gundam Versus are not exactly intuitive. While they are fairly straightforward once you get the idea, jumping right in and pressing buttons will not quickly lead you to understanding the controls well. This is compounded by the staggering number of mobile suits to choose from, each with slightly different weapons and abilities. Even worse: the tutorial was left out of the beta test — visible on the main menu, but locked — so you were on your own (outside of some helpful outside tutorial content like this, of course). Some time examining the control configurations helped — there are multiple layouts for a Dual Shock user to try, but keeping to the game’s arcade origins, I wanted to use an arcade stick. The “joystick” preset layout most closely matches the placement of the buttons as they would be on the cabinet (square: long-range attack; triangle: melee attack; R1: jump/boost; X: lock-on; circle: Striker [assist]; the other buttons serving as other functions, or combinations of the main three). Comfortable access to the shoot/melee/boost buttons individually and in combination is vital; series veterans have long discussed different “ideal” button layout for various controllers, but it shouldn’t be a challenge to find something that works for you, either in the preset layouts or by personal customization.
Having some more time to study the layouts and experiment gave me a much better idea of how to play than I got from my limited time at AnimEVO’s event — not to mention more of a chance to see exactly how massive the roster of playable mobile suits and Strikers are included in this game. The many Mobile Suit Gundam series, and the suits and characters they each contain, seem very well-represented — there’s enough here for a fan to dive deep into, and for a newcomer to get totally lost. The ability to make a shortlist of favorites (tied to the R1 button at the selection screen) is a welcome feature. As each suit plays a little (or sometimes, a lot) differently, I recommend newcomers choose a single suit and stick with it to get a feel for the gameplay before mixing it up too much. (Basically: pick a main!) Suits are each designed to favor a different type of play; some excel at long-range projectile combat, while some are built for close-up melee combat. I ended up exploring the latter primarily, via the Barbatos from Iron-Blooded Orphans. It wasn’t long before I got a good handle on the slippery close-range rushdown this Gundam Frame is built for. Being a somewhat lower-costed suit often served my teammates well while I was learning the ropes, as having a lower load value (300) made my repeated destruction less costly to our team.
Some older footage of Mikazuki Augus and his Gundam Barbatos in action, from the Japanese beta test.
“Hey Orga, is this the place?”
Overall, this open beta proves promising toward the upcoming final product we’ll be getting later this month. In terms of localization, only Japanese voices were available for the pilots in this beta, and lacking subtitles as well (except for the very chatty Haro, which has its own speech window to continually chirp at you). Hopefully those are in the works for the final product, if it isn’t too late already. But in terms of presentation and gameplay: the game is looking great, sounding great, is loads of fun to play offline and online (when the connection is stable), and is a great diversion from traditional fighters. I look forward to spending more time with it soon.
Gundam Versus hits the PlayStation 4 in North America & Europe on September 29, 2017, and is available to pre-order now from a variety of retailers, or digitally through the PlayStation Store. (PSN pre-orders get an exclusive theme in addition to the usual pre-order bonus: the GN-005 Gundam Virtue, ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos Lupus, and BN-876β Hot Scramble Gundam mobile suits.)
The ARIKA EX game continues to make the event rounds as it proceeds though development.
ARIKA’s work-in-progress (and still officially untitled) fighting game will be playable at the upcoming Indie Megashow Tokyo, set to take place in Roppongi, Tokyo, on Wednesday, September 20. The event, presented by Dangen Entertainment, will showcase a variety of indie titles, including Senko no Ronde 2, and the innovative shooter SUPERHOT. See the event’s Facebook page for the full list, and for other ticket/event information. In-house music will be provided by Mega Ran and DJ Uppercut.
The event will be streamed on Twitch, but the channel is not yet specified. No word yet if ARIKA has any new surprises to show when they bring their game to the Megashow.
A look at more of the mobile suits and pilots you can play with in the upcoming Gundam Versus.
Bandai Namco continues to showcase the pilots and machines you’ll be able to take into battle in their arena fighter Gundam Versus, this time giving us a look at the classic characters and mobile suits from the classic Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ series:
Welcome to the Rollback: a frame-by-frame look back at our past week’s most notable news — and our favorite SRK articles — from August 25 to August 31, 2017!
Compiled by @streetfighterlegacy to mark thirty years of Street Fighter, this free-to-view fan art anthology is a wonder to behold — and a big tribute to the love for this series!
Menat’s design and highly-technical play have really caught the attention of Street Fighter V players. Looks like Rose’s fortune-telling apprentice has a bright future head of her.
Absolver‘s developers really want to create a game where the strategy and dynamics behind real martial arts make a difference. It’s available now; we’ll see how well the FGC receives it!
A variety of logistical problems made this year’s Absolute Battle a disappointing experience for a number of players. Woocash looks into what went wrong, and how it can be avoided next time.
A massive artbook detailing Street Fighter’s thirty-year history, Undisputed Street Fighter: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective looks like a must-have for Street Fighter fans.
Forget getting married on a beach or in a cathedral, a couple in Japan held their ceremony at Japan’s fabled Mikado arcade. Rather than having a first dance, they played a set in Tekken 6!
It seems we may be getting Dragon Ball‘s desert bandit in DBFZ, as Yamcha’s Japanese voice actor has revealed he’s recorded lines for the anime fighter. Let’s just hope he’s an actual fighter, rather than just the dummy in Training Mode…
As a special memento for Street Fighter’s 30th anniversary, iambit are selling special colored reprints of the SNES version of Street Fighter II. While they are playable, these cartridges may set your SNES on fire if you actually use them!
August 30 was the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Street Fighter; this infographic breaks down the progression of the franchise that followed.
Can this smaller budget stick hold its own in a fight?
Players looking to try out an arcade stick — but not wanting to invest $150-$300 in an arcade-quality product — may turn their attention to low-cost “budget” sticks that utilize components of lesser quality than Sanwa Denshi, Seimitsu, or HORI’s more durable offerings. The HORI Fighting Stick MINI 4 falls into this category, but with the edge of being manufactured by a company that also produces arcade-spec parts for its higher-end products. How does this budget stick compare? HORI provided SRK a sample so we could find out for ourselves.
The “MINI” in the name is the operative word — this stick’s primary feature (and arguable selling point) is being small. And small it is. It is only just over eight inches wide, and the case is barely over an inch deep. The face pushbuttons are only 20mm across — while 30mm is the usual standard size for full-size pushbuttons, or 24mm for start/select versions. Even the balltop is slightly smaller than a usual arcade balltop. The result is truly MINI — it’s almost kinda cute, looking like “it’ll be a real fightstick when it grows up.”
The functions and features on this stick are bare-bones. It’s got the PS button, OPTIONS/SHARE (START/SELECT), and a switch to shift between PS3/PS4 compatibility (it is not advertised as PC compatible, but my PC did recognize it, and it worked fine). There is no turbo, or button reassignment — a shame on the latter, as that leaves the R3/L3 buttons completely inaccessible.
While in use, the lever and buttons actually feel pretty good. Not as good as Hayabusa or Sanwa Denshi stuff of course, but the buttons aren’t spongy, they have a quick, short throw and good snap. The square-gated lever feels almost identical to a Hayabusa or JLF — and even sounds the same — and I found both to be about as responsive in-game as their larger arcade-spec counterparts. (Upon closer inspection of the insides, it looks like the microswitches in the lever are the same type used in full-size sticks, just set in a much shallower base.) I could play and perform combos in Street Fighter V almost as well as usual; with time and practice, one could adjust to using this.
The issue, when it comes to gameplay, comes back to the unit’s size and weight. It’s tiny, so your hands are closer together; it’s very light, so if you put this on your lap you need to be very controlled and careful with your inputs, or the stick is just going to take off with you. The base has small, flat rubber feet, so on a tabletop that’s somewhat less of an issue. But if you play with the stick on your lap — which is clearly the most common — there’s a problem. This is too bad, as the small size and low weight make this little stick ideal to transport to events, or to a friend/rival’s house.
The size of the buttons themselves will prove a hindrance to some as well. If you have big hands, you’ll find everything here much too close together. On the other side: if you have small hands, it’s possible that the size of this stick and its lever/buttons may actually suit you more than a full-size fightstick. So: comfort will vary. Important to note: this is definitely not a mod-friendly product; unlike something like the slightly pricier Mad Catz FightStick Alpha, the case is so shallow that swapping buttons isn’t even a consideration — added to the fact that, as you can see below, the pushbuttons are soldered directly into a single board.
At $39.99-$49.99 USD, it seems pretty clear that the market for this stick isn’t hardcore fightstick warriors, but the casual market. And casual players may indeed find this controller entertaining, as it does essentially emulate the arcade “experience” for a reasonable price. If you just like mashing buttons in a fighter now and then, and want something a bit closer to an arcade configuration, you should get your money’s worth. I found it somewhat fun, but I would definitely prefer to use an arcade stick, or a pad. This stick’s design drawbacks don’t make it a practical substitute for a full-size fightstick, even if the idea of a portable fightstick seems appealing. Serious players — or even players looking get that arcade “feel” — will get more mileage and a better experience out of one of HORI’s larger products, such as the Real Arcade Pro line.
Pros:
Got small hands? This tiny stick may be more comfortable for you
Compact and light, easy to transport
Lever and buttons perform to nearly arcade-level specifications
Low price
Cons:
Got big hands? This tiny stick will be really uncomfortable for you
Too light to hold effectively on your lap during a fight
Compact integrated components rule out modding/repair
A tool to further increase the power of the Neo-Shadaloo Commander.
True unblockables are few and far between in Street Fighter V; in yesterday’s Menat roundup, we referred to an Ed unblockable that’s been making the rounds. In the video below from (appropriately-named) Young Commander, you can see the setup in question, and a breakdown of how it works: if the Psycho Cannon projectile and a charged Psycho Snatcher (V-Skill) meet on the same frame, the blocking opponent gets grabbed by the V-Skill.
Delayed wakeup (or invincible reversals) will beat this setup. Something to keep in mind for Ed mains — or when facing the Psycho-powered boxer as an enemy.
Shoryuken review: How does Absolver stack up as a fighting game?
Team Mew2King defend the throne at Red Bull Gods and Gatekeepers
Arcade Stick Indonesia announces release of modular Korean stick modification kit
Learn your Super Smash Bros. for Wii U match-ups with this huge MU chart, courtesy of inktivate
The issue, when it comes to gameplay, comes back to the unit’s size and weight. It’s tiny, so your hands are closer together; it’s very light, so if you put this on your lap you need to be very controlled and careful with your inputs, or the stick is just going to take off with you. The base has small, flat rubber feet, so on a tabletop that’s somewhat less of an issue. But if you play with the stick on your lap — which is clearly the most common — there’s a problem. This is too bad, as the small size and low weight make this little stick ideal to transport to events, or to a friend/rival’s house.