Pick Up Some Basic and Intermediate Combos for the Entire Rising Thunder Cast

The team at Radiant Entertainment recently sent out their largest wave of Rising Thunder technical alpha test invitations. If you found yourself among those with a shiny new key in their inbox and are looking to get a jump start on exactly what to do once you’ve settled on a character, this extensive combo video from Pan should be just what you’re looking for.

Pan broke the combos up by character and then arranged them from simplest to most difficult. The scaling in difficulty often involves an increase in both Kinetic and super meter expenditure, so grabbing a couple of combos from both ends of the spectrum certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Source: Pan

Pick Up Some Basic and Intermediate Combos for the Entire Rising Thunder Cast

The team at Radiant Entertainment recently sent out their largest wave of Rising Thunder technical alpha test invitations. If you found yourself among those with a shiny new key in their inbox and are looking to get a jump start on exactly what to do once you’ve settled on a character, this extensive combo video from Pan should be just what you’re looking for.

Pan broke the combos up by character and then arranged them from simplest to most difficult. The scaling in difficulty often involves an increase in both Kinetic and super meter expenditure, so grabbing a couple of combos from both ends of the spectrum certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Source: Pan

SoCal Regionals 2015: Prelude II Scheduled for August 29

scr-2015-prelude-2After a successful opening event in June, the folks at Level|Up Series are set to put on another prelude to this year’s SoCal Regionals event this month. Just announced, SoCal Regionals 2015: Prelude II will take place on August 29, packing a ridiculous amount of competition into the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, California.

Continuing their tradition of including a wide array of games, Prelude II will feature tournaments for Ultra Street Fighter IV, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat X, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Killer Instinct, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Dengeki Bunko FIGHTING CLIMAX.

Registration is now open, so feel free to visit the official website for more details.

Source: Level|Up Series

Daigo vs. Ogawa?! Pro Gamers Take on the Kings of Guilty Gear at Toshin-Gekitotsu

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Daigo makes a return to Guilty Gear? To fight Ogawa?! Sony is making that and more happen at TOSHIN-GEKITOTSU, a Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- event that pits professional gamers against the gods of Guilty Gear in a team battle to determine who is truly the best.

Previously announced to be taking part in Toshin-Gekitotsu are Daigo Umehara of Mad Catz, joining the pro gamer alliance team; and FAB and Nage, joining the Guilty Gear king team. Newly revealed are sako of HORI, Kazunoko of Zeveron, and Machaboo for the pro gamer team; and Ogawa and Susumu for the Guilty Gear king team.

In addition, the fight card for the event has been announced.

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Battle 0 – ARCREVO 2015 representative vs. Evo 2015 representative*
Battle 1 – Susumu (Chipp Zanuff) vs. Machaboo (Ky Kiske)
Battle 2 – Nage (Faust) vs. Kazunoko (Sol Badguy)
Battle 3 – FAB (Potemkin) vs. sako (Zato-1)
Battle 4 – Ogawa (Zato-1) vs. Umehara (Sol Badguy)

*To be announced at a later time.

Sony has also released a promotional video for the occasion, with interviews with each player (in Japanese).

Joining each team are five more players who made their way through the online qualifier for two full teams of ten. Four qualifying players for each team are currently decided, with the final to be determined in the fifth online qualifier on August 9.

Pro Gamer Alliance

Takehara (Ramlethal Valentine)
TAKA (Slayer)
Koichi (I-No)
Kiisha (Faust)
Winner of 5th online qualifier

Guilty Gear Kings

Nakamura (Millia Rage)
Nakasu Bedman (Bedman)
Roi (Sol Badguy)
Mocchii (Sol Badguy)
Winner of 5th online qualifier

Toshin-Gekitotsu is set to go down on August 22 at nicofarre in Tokyo, Japan. You can find more information on the event through the official site.

Sources: Sony, Gamer

HORI Reveals Real Arcade Pro V Kai for Xbox One and Xbox 360

While PlayStation 4 owners have been spoiled with a plethora of arcade stick options, Xbox One owners have had no such luck. Fortunately, that’s about to change, as HORI has just announced their new Real Arcade Pro V Kai for Xbox One.

This stick shares a similar form factor to their previous RAP V4 Kai for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, featuring a larger cable compartment and slimmer overall chassis. As for the parts used, it comes equipped with HORI’s own Hayabusa lever and Kuro buttons.

The big difference between this new stick and other controllers for the Xbox One is that it is also fully backwards compatible with the Xbox 360. Additionally, the stick is fully compatible with Windows on PC, with full licensing and support from Microsoft.

The Hori Real Arcade Pro V Kai for Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC will be available starting on September 1. Those interested can currently pre-order from Arcade Shock, with listings planned to appear on HORI USA and Amazon shortly.

Vega’s Spanish Ninjutsu Has Some New Thorns in Street Fighter V

The world’s most beautiful ninja is back in Street Fighter V! If you’ve seen the new trailer, you’ve probably noticed that Vega’s style has changed quite a bit from previous games in the series. He still has his trademark claw, but with his new techniques, including the ability to switch between armed and unarmed styles, this isn’t the same old rose. Japanese site Gamer has more info on the evolution of Spanish ninjutsu in Street Fighter V.

From Gamer:

Vega, The Rondo of Conflict Plucking the Strings

sfv-vega-4gamer-01A fighter representing Spain and a high-ranking member of the evil organization Shadaloo. A narcissist that believes beauty is best.

Height: 186 cm
Weight: 84 kg
Occupation: One of the Four Heavenly Kings of Shadaloo
Likes: Beautiful things, himself, roses

Vega’s usage of his trademark claw is quite different from previous games. In Street Fighter V, Vega can fight from an advantage with his claw equipped using his longer reach, but if he receives too much damage to the claw, he is disarmed, just like in past games.

However, if he is disarmed even once he can no longer retrieve the claw. For that reason, he can frequently unequip the claw with the move Switching Claw to prevent disarming, as well as make use of Ground Izuna Drop, which can only be used while unarmed. This allows Vega to fight based on the situation like never before!

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V-Trigger: Bloody Baiser Rouge (Bloody Kiss)

Vega tosses a rose at the opponent. If it hits, he rushes at them at very high speed and slices them to pieces. It has three versions based on whether Vega is standing, crouching or airborne, so watch the opponent’s movement and surprise them!

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V-Skill: Matador Turn

Like the name suggests, Vega nimbly evades the opponent’s attack like a bullfighter. It has upper body invincibility, so you can use it to slip past moves likes projectiles. If you hold the button, Vega follows with a claw attack!

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Special Move: Crimson Terror

Vega rams the opponent with a series of rolls and finishes with a heel drop. It has little recovery, so it’s useful for pressuring the opponent while chipping away at their life.

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Special Move: Ground Izuna Drop

Vega grabs the opponent from behind, jumps off the wall and slams them into ground in this throw move that can only be used while unarmed. Vega still has his air Izuna Drop, so use each based on the situation.

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Special Move: Switching Claw

Vega unequips his claw. If Vega takes a certain amount of damage while wearing the claw, he will be disarmed and cannot retrieve it, so keep in mind to frequently switch out while fighting!

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Critical Art: Bloody Rain

Vega kicks the opponent in the air and delivers a finishing blow with all his might. Ending in a shower of rose petals, it’s a splendid move that just screams “Vega”!

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Street Fighter V is scheduled for release on PlayStation 4 and PC in spring 2016.

Sources: Gamer, 4Gamer

Killer Instinct Season 3 Coming March 2016, Guest Character Rash Available Today

At their press briefing at Gamescom 2015, Microsoft had some exciting news for Killer Instinct fans with not just one, but two major announcements for their flagship fighting game.

First up, Season 3 will be coming to both Xbox One and PC (Windows 10) next March. As was previously announced, both versions will be connected by cross-platform play, and content purchased for one will automatically transfer to the other. They also confirmed that all existing controllers will work on PC.

While that’s a big enough announcement, Microsoft had another surprise in store. Rash from Rare’s Battletoads franchise will be coming to Killer Instinct as its first guest character. Not only that, but he will be playable in-game later today as part of a beta test for players who own either Killer Instinct or Rare Replay on Xbox One.

For those interested in trying Rash out, Microsoft has put up a quick breakdown over on the official Killer Instinct community site. The beta will run from today all the way to September 8.

Sources: Microsoft, Ultra-Combo

Rising Thunder Patch Works Towards Fixing Disconnect Issues, Adds Special Move Variants

By now, lucky fighting game fans have been able to get their hands on Rising Thunder through the indie title’s alpha test. Developed by Seth Killian and Radiant Entertainment, the studio headed by Evo organizers Tom and Tony Cannon, Rising Thunder is a fighter that aims to be accessible at all skill levels and shake up the way we look at the genre.

While opinions have been generally positive, the one thorn in Rising Thunder’s side has definitely been its online component. Issues have been raised over the last week concerning frequent disconnects during netplay, and the team has taken the first step towards correcting these problems with a patch released earlier today.

In addition to fixing bugs, this update also adds some new visual and audio effects, introduceds two new special move variants, and tweaks the existing roster a bit. The full list of changes can be found below.

Rising Thunder Patch Notes, Build 1235

New Special Move Variants

  • Edge’s Binary Flux (S1v2) is a new double-projectile which powers up his S2!
  • Chel’s Stinging Wind (S3v2) is a new advancing attack with faster startup and recovery!

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed one major disconnect issue. You should no longer see the “Waiting…” message after the first game in a match.
  • Computers with slow load times should no longer display an odd camera angle and “Waiting…” message when loading is complete.
  • Improved performance during normal gameplay and rollbacks.
  • Change Character and Change Loadout buttons are now disabled while searching for a match.
  • Fixed desync with multiple hit volume overlaps.
  • Fixed issue where some moves were not properly dizzying opponents.
  • Fixed combo counter malfunction that sometimes permanently maxed out the juggle limit.
  • Fixed a bug where some moves were not triggering proper knockback after block damage KO.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Talos from falling gradually after wall bounce.
  • Fixed a bug that caused characters to get stuck beyond screen boundaries after using Kinetic Deflect against a cornered opponent.

Character Updates

  • Extended hurt-boxes on some moves to better match their active hitboxes:
    • Chel’s c.M, c.H, and F+M
    • Crow’s far s.H
    • Edge’s far s.M, far s.H, c.L, and c.M
  • Standardized block pushback caused by normal sweep attacks:
    • Chel’s c.H, Edge’s c.H, Talos’ c.H, and Vlad’s c.H
  • Corrected an issue that gave the first hit of Chel’s F+H and Edge’s close s.H -> H an extra frame of hit stun.
  • Chel’s Overdrive damage has been reduced from 275 to 250.
  • Edge’s Overdrive damage has been reduced from 300 to 275.
  • Edge’s Gathering Storm (S1v1) recovery has been increased slightly.
  • Edge’s Relentless Pursuit (S3) behaves more intuitively after passing under a jumping opponent and stops automatically when reaching a wall.
  • Talos’ crouching Light attack startup has been reduced by 1 frame.
  • Talos’ feet now become projectile invulnerable during air Spartan Rush.
  • Talos’ fully charged Titan Smash (S2) no longer causes extreme pushback against cornered opponents.

(This is not intended as a comprehensive balance pass. These changes should have relatively minor impact on how characters are played.)

Visual Improvements

  • Added a new look for Kinetic Advance shadows.
  • Armor hits are conveyed more clearly with VFX.
  • Lifebar displays combo damage, block damage, and armor damage more accurately.
  • Smoothed out animation timing for Talos air throw, making it easier to identify the follow-up window.
  • Fixed a strange movement issue with Crow’s forward throw against Dauntless.

Audio Improvements

  • Armor hits now have unique SFX to stand out from normal hits.
  • Kinetic Deflect activation has SFX.
  • Sound mix updates.

The developers also mentioned on Twitter that this patch was accompanied by their largest wave of invites yet, so be sure to check your email if you’ve yet to receive an alpha code.

Source: Rising Thunder

Mega Man’s Metal Blade Slices the Competition in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Mega Man’s Metal Blade may not be quite as powerful in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U as it was in Mega Man II–that is, it isn’t the one-stop shop for obliterating all comers–but it’s still a devastating tool when placed in the right hands.

In the video below, StylesX2 offers a fast-paced series of tricks and setups that stand to return the Metal Blade to its original glory. You’ll find a handful of methods to effectively take stocks, including B-reversals into up tilts, clean up-air hit setups, a jab lock option, and plenty more.

Source: StylesX2

Mega Man’s Metal Blade Slices the Competition in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Mega Man’s Metal Blade may not be quite as powerful in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U as it was in Mega Man II–that is, it isn’t the one-stop shop for obliterating all comers–but it’s still a devastating tool when placed in the right hands.

In the video below, StylesX2 offers a fast-paced series of tricks and setups that stand to return the Metal Blade to its original glory. You’ll find a handful of methods to effectively take stocks, including B-reversals into up tilts, clean up-air hit setups, a jab lock option, and plenty more.

Source: StylesX2