Everyone has a fighting chance
The folks over at VG BootCamp recently went live with another installment of Smash @ Xanadu from Xanadu Games in Baltimore, Maryland. These weekly broadcasts provide a great look at the region’s Smash community, with tonight’s stream focusing entirely on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
The stream is live below, but you can also head on over to Twitch to join the chat.
Watch live video from VGBootCamp on www.twitch.tv
Source: VG BootCamp
After numerous issues kept them from making their original May dates, Level|Up Series is ready to present the next official installment of SoCal Regionals in October. While still a little ways off, outside support is starting to pour in.
Mortal Kombat X players will have an additional $10,000 to compete for courtesy of NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Games, following previous contributions to both Evo 2015 and Community Effort Orlando 2015’s respective prize pools.
Though generally one of the largest fighting game events in the United States any given year, this should go a long way in attracting players from other regions who may have been on the fence about attending SoCal Regionals.
SoCal Regionals 2015 is scheduled for October 9-11. More details can be found through the event’s official website.
Source: Level|Up Series
One of the first names that any new fighting game player with aspirations to do more than spam buttons against the AI will likely learn is that of Victor “Spooky” Fontanez. Over the years, Spooky has become a household name in the fighting game community, and with good reason. Esteban Martinez recently released another short segment from his upcoming documentary FGC: Rise of the Fighting Game Community wherein Seth Killian talks about why Spooky is such an important piece of the scene that we all love.
Among other things, Killian says Spooky “isn’t looking to build some elaborate franchise or sell you some slick thing or anything like that. He’s just a guy, like a lot of us, who loves what he does.” And that love for what he does transmits though his quality streams, helping our genre of choice grow by reaching a much wider audience.
To check out the full, unedited clip, be sure to watch the video below.
Source: Hold Back to Block
Yesterday, David “UltraDavid” Graham uploaded a video exploring Street Fighter V option selects relating to the game’s V-Reversal mechanic. The idea goes that any special move ending in a forward input can be used alongside a V-Reversal, and the appropriate attack will come out depending on whether or not your character is in block stun.
As tends to be true with option selects, the layers of these inputs go quite a bit deeper. In order to fully explore the, well, options that this option select affords, Zissou has broken down how Street Fighter V prioritizes buttons, throws, Critical Arts, and everything in between. With this knowledge, players can pile on a variety of inputs to create option selects ideal for a variety of situations.
Source: Zissou
Remember that Mortal Kombat X exhibition we reported on last week, wherein veteran Carl “RZR|Perfect Legend” White was scheduled to take on current NetherRealm powerhouse Dominique “cR|Sonic Fox” McLean at Summer Jam 9? Well, it happened, and it wasn’t pretty.
But first, some backstory. As we mentioned in our earlier story, the pair settled on the match after a bit of back-and-forth on Twitter. It was a story as old as time: Perfect Legend, a two-time Evo champion in Mortal Kombat 9, was going into this as a way to prove he still had what it took to hang in the upper echelons of competition. And while Sonic Fox’s intentions weren’t as clear, it was readily apparent his victory at Evo 2015 had lit an internal fire that was ready for all comers.
Unfortunately, the weekend didn’t start out so well for Perfect Legend. As Summer Jam’s Mortal Kombat X tournament began, he faced immediate opposition in pools. “Got eliminated by Kitanas and have to face a Kitana player,” Legend mentioned on Twitter, alluding to his upcoming exhibition. “This is what I’ve signed up for.”
Though typically regarded as an Erron Black player, Sonic Fox has bounced between characters as it’s suited him. Over the course of a few months, the young player pulled out Ermac, Tanya, Predator, and Shinnok during competitive play, but would be focusing on his relatively new (but certainly battle-tested) Kitana in the exhibition against Perfect Legend.
The stage was set. Tournament organizer Eric “Big E” Small allotted them some time on the main stage, Spooky was ready to stream, and the players were ready to settle this once and for all.
Over the course of 40 minutes, Sonic Fox completely obliterated Perfect Legend, shutting him out 10-0. Afterwards, Sonic would jump on the house mic for some much-deserved boasting.
“This is my popoff moment, alright? So, Perfect Legend, you’re good, you’re really good with Kung Lao. But you had to run your mouth on Twitter saying you would body me, and I told you I would 10-0 the shit out of you. Did I not say I would 10-0 you? It’s been about four years since I’ve played you in about four different games,” Sonic Fox said, pacing the stage. “I’ve played you in Dead or Alive, I’ve played you in Mortal Kombat, Injustice, Mortal Kombat X…I’ve won in every single one man! But not once did Carl get up and say, ‘I got outplayed.’ It always had to be a different excuse. So Carl, tell me, after this 10-0, what’s the excuse?”
“First off, Sonic Fox, I wanted to let you know–like I have many times–you are fucking godlike. I’ve been saying that to you forever. I have never ever ever ever said he was a bad player,” Perfect Legend replied, speaking half to his opponent and half to the crowd heckling him. “I’ve never said he sucked. I’ve said his fundamentals were bad, I said that. So, before I get into a super long story, what I did say was that I would destroy his Erron Black, and as you saw, that character was not on the screen.”
It was at this point that Big E intervened, calling for a best-of-five to see if Perfect Legend could back up his statements. Sadly for him, it went about the same as the previous set, and Sonic Fox would walk away with a record of 13-0 in an exhibition that was originally scheduled as a first-to-ten.
<thepriceisrightlosinghorn.wav>
Sorry Carl, had to get one joke in there.
Sonic Fox is good, there’s no doubt about that, but I also have to give props to Perfect Legend for believing in himself almost to the point of absurdity. This tenacity is likely what made him a champion in years past, and luckily it appears as if the younger generation is coming up with the same fighting spirit. Sonic is an absolutely dominating force in the NetherRealm scene today, and I’m personally excited to see who steps up to test their luck next.
Source: Team Spooky
Despite frequent update, something always seems to fall through the cracks with Mortal Kombat X. After the release of a rather extensive patch yesterday, players discovered that Tanya has been given a little extra something something that was likely unintended by the developers.
For those unaware, Tanya’s Pyromancer variant comes equipped with a special named Dark Shroud. While it can be useful in combos, the move’s real purpose is to inflict the opponent with a unique status that causes Tanya’s fireballs to deal out more damage. Since the most recent patch, however, Dark Shroud also gives a boost to her throw–and when we say a boost we mean a boost, as demonstrated in the video below.
Yep, you read that right. 32% off a basic throw. To put that in perspective, throws generally do around 12% damage. And unlike with fireballs, the shroud doesn’t disappear afterwards, meaning a few decent reads could lead to a rather easy victory. We look forward to the upcoming hotfix that corrects this oversight.
Sources: Skkittles (tip via NightmareSteam), Test Your Might
NorCal StrongStyle is one of those rare big events that not everyone gets to watch online due to the fact that it’s not streamed. After a bit of a hiatus, the event’s organizers returned with a preference on making the event for the players and the community over putting on a show.
For those who weren’t able to attend and wish they caught some of the best Tekken Tag Tournament 2 action on the west coast, Team Spooky was fortunately on hand to record the finals. These matches feature some of the best Tekken players from the United States, such as Mr. Naps, Bronson Tran, Lil Majin, Inkognito, Just Frame James, and Starscream, as well as Nobi of Japan and South Korea’s Saint.
We’ve included some of the tournament’s later matches below, but you can find the entire top sixteen here.
Source: Team Spooky
Long considered one of the most promising free agents in our scene, Japanese competitor Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi has been signed by Red Bull. This development is the latest in a long string of fighting game collaborations for the energy drink manufacturer, who also brought American Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis on board this summer.
Often seen as one of the strongest Street Fighter players in the world, Bonchan has been an absolute tear over the last few years, culminating in a second-place finish at Evo 2014. Since then, this high-level player has seen success at events like Thaiger Uppercut, Community Effort Orlando, and Red Bull’s own Kumite invitational, proving that he has what it takes to hang with the best on a global scale.
As for the future, Bonchan has set his sights on Capcom Cup and its $500,000 prize pool. While he’s yet to secure victory at a premier event, he currently stands as the fourth-highest non-qualified player in terms of ranking points.
Source: Red Bull
For their latest Ultra Street Fighter IV player spotlight, Olympic Gaming head across the pond to take a look at an up and coming Juri player – Havrez “Fuhajin36″ Narcisse of Belgium.
In the video, Fuhajin36 pits his Juri against some of Belgium’s finest, including P1|Phenom, Easyman, and Boltstrike, living up to his moniker with his generous use of his character’s unique fireballs.
As with all of Olympic Gaming’s spotlights, be sure to check the interview in the video’s description for more information on this promising competitor.
Source: Olympic Gaming
As any Guilty Gear veteran would tell you, good okizeme is one of the keys to performing well in the series, and that holds true even in the latest installment, Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-.
In order to give the community an idea of how Jack-O’s own oki game plays out, 彩々recently uploaded a quick guide to demonstrate what the newcomer is capable of. Through judicious use of her minion spawns, Jack-O is able to maintain pressure on a knocked down opponent while also using their detonation to add on more damage in the follow-up combo.
Source: 彩々 via Mark of the Gear