Category: Fighting Games

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Churning the Butter #42 feat. Ultra Street Fighter IV Streaming Live from San Francisco, California

The folks behind Churning the Butter have just gone live with another installment of their weekly tournament series.

Tonight, they have once again taken over Folsom Street Foundry in San Francisco, California to put on an Ultra Street Fighter IV tournament for the regional players. If you’re interested in seeing what the NorCal cats have up their sleeves, be sure to check out the stream below and show your support. You can also head on over to Twitch if you prefer to chat.

Some of the players you can expect to see compete tonight include EG|Ricki Ortiz, Julio, pH|LPN, HooDaMan, Alex Myers, Mike Ross, and more.

Watch live video from showdowngg on www.twitch.tv

Want to check these tournaments out for yourself? Well, you’re in luck, because even if you missed out this week, Churning the Butter is held every Thursday at 8:30 PM PDT during ShowDown’s game night at Folsom Street Foundry.

Source: ShowDown

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Put a Stop to Rolento’s EX Roll in Ultra Street Fighter IV Once and for All

Of all the characters in Ultra Street Fighter IV who spend their time bouncing off walls, teleporting, and generally making themselves a hassle to pin down, Rolento may be the worst. This is due in no small part to his evasive and annoying EX Mekong Delta Attack. Not only does this special spring from an ambiguous situation, but on block it leaves Rolento safe against many attacks.

Balrog in particular finds this attack difficult to stop, but as JavitsArias shows in the video below, a proper read of the incoming roll followed by a backwards jump can leave the boxer at prime distance for a massive punish.

Of course, this sort of punish applies to more characters than just Balrog. Give your own character a try and see what sorts of punishes that you can come up with!

Source: JavitsArias

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The Marvelous Vikings Burn Up Opponents with X-Factor Super-Skrull in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Anyone who tuned in to the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 top eight at this year’s Evo got to see–if they didn’t know already–just how scary Super-Skrull can be in an anchor position. More than once, ApologyMan was able to turn the tides of battle in his favor when Kl’rt was his last hope.

With that in mind, fallb0rn of the Swedish Marvel team The Marvelous Vikings recently put together a combo compilation showcasing the villain when powered up by a level three X-Factor. As you might expect, meter isn’t necessary for Skrull to finish the job once these hits get going, nor is a specific screen position or opening strike required in order to leave Skrull standing above a broken opponent.

If you’re a fan of flashy combos, be sure to check out the video below.

Source: Marvelous Vikings

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Evo 2015 Guilty Gear Runner-Up Nage Discusses How He Limits Nerves During Tournaments

At any level of competition, no matter your chosen field, learning to control anxiety and focus on the match at hand is a valuable asset. While I’m sure there’s some folks out there who can stroll into a tournament with very few worries in their mind, it’s probably safe to say everyone experiences these feelings at some level.

Fresh off a second-place Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- finish at Evo 2015, Japanese competitor Nage (pictured above, center) has compiled a few of the ways he deals with nerves during tournaments. Of course, these are all very personal strategies that may not work for everyone, but there may be one or two details you can pick out and apply to how you approach these same situations.

Some are pretty obvious, like focusing on having fun over winning and acknowledging that your opponent is probably nervous too, but a couple in particular stands out.

Nage has found that having a routine that shifts his thought processes into a more competitive mindset is beneficial to combating any nervousness he feels leading up to a match. He mentions incredibly specific actions that he tries to adhere to, such as wearing something pink, selecting his character at particular times, and drinking water or tea beforehand. “It’s more of a superstition,” Nage admits, “but it helps turn the switch on when playing a big tournament match.”

Another interesting tactic Nage employs is to make sure he can explain why he made certain decisions in a match to himself in order to keep his mind from going blank. “To avoid this, during casuals I try to think, ‘I did X because I wanted to do Y!’ and rationalize my playstyle,” he explains.

Again, these are personal strategies that Nage employs for himself, but I think there’s enough overlap within competitive minds that most of our readers will be able to find something useful for their own pre-tournament rituals. Be sure to check out the full translation of his writeup by TENMA0105 for even more tips.

(image courtesy of Robert Paul)

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Guilty Gear 2: Overture Boss Raven May Eventually Become Playable in Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-

With such a lengthy history, there’s no doubt Guilty Gear has a bevy of character within its universe that could one day be playable. In Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, for example, we saw Guilty Gear 2: Overture protagonist Sin Kiske make his debut in a traditional fighting game, and the same may eventually be done with Raven in Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-.

“But who the hell is Raven?” you may be asking yourself. I admit, I had extremely vague inklings of his importance in the Guilty Gear storyline myself, but let’s first get the technical aspects out of the way. Much like Sin’s first appearance in -SIGN-, Raven reportedly makes cameos throughout -REVELATOR-‘s story mode by way of a similarly fleshed-out, in-game model, leading many to believe that he’ll follow in the flag-wielder’s footsteps in the future.

According to the Guilty Gear wiki, Raven was first introduced in Guilty Gear X. A follower of series antagonist That Man, Raven’s inherent immortality has allowed him to survive throughout the ages and act as a “witness to history.” Apparently, he also shares some sort of link with Axl Low; some speculate that Axl will one day become Raven through some “dramatic” event, but the true nature of their connection is still unclear. Although he’s been confined to story mode scenes over the years, Raven acted as a boss in Guilty Gear 2: Overture.

As for how Raven will play, that’s really anyone’s guess. Previous appearances have seen him employ spacial distortion abilities similar to Faust, needles that have the ability to stun opponents, and groups of attacking birds.

But honestly, we’re getting a little too far ahead of ourselves. There’s currently no word from Arc System Works as to Raven’s future in the Guilty Gear series, and it’s likely we won’t hear much on that front for some time, if ever.

Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- is currently undergoing its final phase of location testing in arcades across Japan, with an official release planned for sometime this summer. For more details concerning gameplay and story, be sure to keep up with the Dustloop thread dedicated to new information as well as their recently expanded front page coverage.

Sources: Kuma, Hiroki via Sourenga

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Be the Best Rufus You Can Be with These Ultra Street Fighter IV Videos from King Funk

There’s no shortage of information out there surrounding Ultra Street Fighter IV’s fast-talking master of the dive kick, but Julius “King Funk” Vissing–a name that some of our readers may recall from Shoryuken bylines in months past–has put together a handful of videos that cover nuanced areas of Rufus play that will help make him even scarier.

The first offers a look at Rufus’ options for ambiguous dive kicks directly following a successful Ultra 1 against a cornered target. This setup takes into account the timing necessary to allow Rufus to react to the technical message in the event that opponents decide to delay their wake up, while still offering an ambiguous offense to keep the pressure high.

Next, Vissing covers a counter hit setup following a mid screen forward throw that keeps Rufus safe from players who would prefer to mash on their wake up rather than block. If performed correctly, this setup offers a frame trap that works against 3-4 frame options and throws.

And finally, King Funk proposes an optimal way to follow a successful EX Messiah Kick. Typically, players with enough meter will opt for an FADC into Ultra 1 immediately following the Messiah, but Rufus can pile on a little extra damage by adding in a Snake Strike just before the Ultra. The specific version and timing of the Snake Strike that should be used depends entirely on screen location and opponent, but some variant of this option works against the entire cast.

Source: MrKingFunk

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Sanchez Shares Two Quick Bits of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- Knowledge

Although we’re typically sent lengthy tutorials covering every tiny piece of information someone might ever need to know for a character, sometimes quick morsels of knowledge are better for specific situations.

Case in point, Sanchez recently shared with us two short Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- videos, one covering how to deal with Zato-1 pressure using Dead Angle and the other providing a counter for Bedman’s Sinusoidal Helios reversal. While the second is pretty self-explanatory (the attack’s 8 startup frames after the super flash allow you to punish with a throw or your own invulnerable move should you be close enough), you may want to keep annotations on for the first in order to get the full picture.

Source: Sanchez

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Pick Up Some New Sheik Strategies in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Sheik’s arsenal of mobility and safe attack options in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is hard to top. Thanks to this tutorial on instant needle canceling and c-bouncing from Deku Tree, the gap between Sheik and the other members of the cast may be widening just a bit.

Instant needle canceling allows Sheik to begin a dash, travel the distance that she desires, and stop dead in her tracks. While that alone makes this technique worth picking up, it seems that she can also use it to throw out instant tilts from a dead sprint, opening up easy combo starting options from an approach that previously limited such things. And that’s only the first half of what Deku Tree shares in the video below.

If you’re a Sheik main or spend lots of time defending against her onslaught, be sure to check out this tutorial and see what you can pick up.

Source: Deku Tree via Smash Boards

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Big E Gaming Announces Over $10,000 in Pot Bonuses for Northeast Championships 16

Big E Gaming’s Northeast Championships tournament series has always provided some of the hypest competition on the east coast. Held in December of each year, these events typically serve as the culmination of a whole year of competitive play for many games and communities and, as such, many players are eager to get one final shot in before the year ends.

For this year’s tournament, it looks like there’s going to be even more incentive to show what you’ve learned over the past few months. Big E Gaming has just announced the prize pool bonuses for some of the games, and they’re quite generous.

The biggest pot bonus at the moment goes to Dead or Alive 5 Last Round at $3,000. Northeast Championships 16 represents the final tournament of the Battle Royale tour, so this isn’t unexpected. However, other games are getting hefty, four-figure additions as well; check out the confirmed list of bonuses below.

  • Dead or Alive 5 Last Round – $3,000
  • Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- – $2,000
  • Soulcalibur V – $1950-$2,250
  • King of Fighters XIII – $1,000
  • Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late – $750
  • Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 – $750
  • Skullgirls 2nd Encore – $1,000
  • Killer Instinct – confirmed bonus from Big E, amount unspecified

Be sure to note that this isn’t all we’ll see, as the tournament organizers are also considering a bonus for Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Additional information will be shared after Summer Jam 9.

Northeast Championships XVI is scheduled for December 4-6.

Source: Big E Gaming via Dustloop

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Blaziken Erupts in First Pokkén Tournament Gameplay Footage

Hot on the heels of the announcement that Blaziken was still in the game and would be coming in an update in August, The Pokémon Company has released footage of the fiery avian doing what it does best in Pokkén Tournament.

The video in question showcases some of Blaziken’s moves, including a plethora of fiery projectiles and its signature Blaze Kick. Give the footage below a spin and share your thoughts on this Pokémon’s abilities in the comments.

Source: The Pokemon Company via Crunchyroll