UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Late[st] launches in Japanese arcades tomorrow! In celebration, Arc System Works is broadcasting a pre-release stream with French-Bread producer Nobuya Narita and sound producer Raito joining as guest. Of course you’ll get to see the game in action as well, including a small tournament with Arc and French-Bread staff.
At Evo 2015, Capcom revealed its first original character for its upcoming fighter Street Fighter IV, Necalli. If you’re looking to find out more about this savage warrior, 4Gamer has details on his profile and selection of his moves, translated below.
An ancient warrior who consumes the souls of the strong. He sniffs out mortal combat and stands in the way of the mighty. With his overwhelmingly destructive power, he slaughters everything.
Height: 190 cm Weight: 113 kg Occupation: Ancient warrior Likes: The souls of the strong
V-Reversal: Michibiku Yobigoe (“Guiding Call”)
Necalli blows the opponent away with a powerful roar! After striking back, rush in.
V-Trigger: Chikara no Honryu (Torrent of Power)
Necalli releases his original power! His attacks become powered up with no time restraints, but he can no longer use V-Reversals, making it a double-edged sword. Crush the opponent with your ancient power!
V-Skill: Chikara no Shuyaku (Culminated Power)
He can release a shockwave from the ground. The positioning can be changed with directional input. You can use this V-Skill at long range to check the opponent.
Special Move: Enban no Michibiki (“Guidance of the Disc”)
Necalli shreds with both hands as he rushes forward. Use this for surprise attacks and as a combo finisher.
Special Move: Taichi no Kamen (“Mask of the Earth”)
After grabbing the opponent’s head, Necalli slams them into the ground in this simple yet intense move. You can see his incredible power as he flings the opponent with ease with a single hand.
Critical Art: Meiyo no Gishiki (“Rite of Honor”)
After roaring he strikes, knocking the opponent into the wall and bathing them in attacks. It may be a primitive attack, but it must be a fatal blow if hit. If done during V-Trigger…!?
Street Fighter V is set to hit PlayStation 3 and PC spring 2016, with its first online closed beta test starting July 23.
While thousands upon thousands of dedicated fans were watching the Evolution Championship Series play out this past weekend both in person and across the world, one unlikely source was also eyeing the largest fighting game tournament in the world: ESPN’s SportsCenter.
In the day since Evo 2015 closed out, the folks at SportsCenter have reported on Woshige’s heartbreaking counting error against Ogawa in the early rounds of the Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- finals as a testament to the costly mistakes made in competitive events the world over. Much like an American football player who drops the ball before entering the end zone, an early celebration cost Woshige a match and sent him to losers bracket, though he did end up placing third when all was said and done.
For a look at how the sports world views our most prestigious competition, give the clips below a bit of your time.
While most of the fighting game community was squarely focused on Evolution 2015 this past weekend, BlazBlue players in Japan were focused on something else – the first location test for BlazBlue: Central Fiction.
These location tests represented the first time that players were able to get their hands on the new game. In addition to this, the location test was also streamed via Niconico Live.
For those of us who missed out, AbelcruEX was able to capture some match footage from the test’s live broadcast, which you’ll find below. In addition to returning characters like Tager, Ragna, and Hakumen, the videos also provide us with a closer look at newcomers Hibiki and Naoto.
One of the things fans look to the most with a new Street Fighter installment, is the return of characters who may not have made it into the previous installment of the game. With the in mind, Capcom surely didn’t disappoint with their latest announcement for Street Fighter V at Evo 2015.
Necalli will be the first of four new characters that will be joining the game’s initial cast of 16 characters. The dreadlocked wildman was first teased at the end of the Ken trailer. His Evo2015 debut shows of some sick moves including some claw slashes and a divekick, while activating his V-Trigger makes his already wild hair look even wilder, while providing him with some as of yet unknown buffs.
We’ve got a blurry capture of the wildman from the stream here. We’ll be sure to update with more media and details as they become available.
Street Fighter V is coming to PlayStation 4 and PC in spring of 2016. Meanwhile it’s first beta on PlayStation 4 will start this Thursday, July 23.
While Evo 2015 rages on in the US, developer EXAMU is hosting its yearly tournament EXAMU CUP 2015 in Japan. The event will feature NITROPLUS BLASTERZ singles, ARCANA HEART 3 LOVE MAX SIX STARS!!!! 2on2, AQUAPAZZA 2on2 and Daemon Bride -Additional Gain- singles.
If you want to watch some high-level action in these fast-paced fighters, check out the stream on Niconico Live.
The first day of Evo 2015 is in the books! If you were wondering how things finished, below you’ll find the final results for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, along with semi-finals results for Ultra Street Fighter IV.
The Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Tekken 7 and Killer Instinct tournaments will wrap up on Saturday, while Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Mortal Kombat X, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will be narrowed down to the final eight competitors. Stay tuned for more results!
With just one day remaining before the fighting game community descends upon Las Vegas to commence Evo 2015, everyone is undoubtedly scrambling to figure out which streams to watch and when to go about doing so.
If you’ve got plans to check out the Ultra Street Fighter IV competition, you’ll be pleased to know that this infographic–embedded below–has been created to ease the process of locating top players.
On top of being useful, this graphic combines caricatures of the biggest names in Street Fighter IV with the characters that they’ve come to represent over the years, resulting in some images that are often hilarious.
If you’d like to check out a full resolution version of the image, you can follow this link to Imgur and download one.
Pepeday exploded into the public Street Fighter consciousness with an astonishing win at Mad Catz’ Ultra Street Fighter IV tournament at Tokyo Game Show last year, blowing past some of the best players in the world – including Daigo, Mago and Bonchan – to secure a trip to Evolution 2015.
From there, a series of successful crowdfunding campaigns put together by the subreddit r/Kappa helped send the El Fuerte player from Fukuoka to a number of foreign tournaments, including The Fall Classic 2014 (5th place), Canada Cup 2014 (1st place in singles and teams), and Northeast Championships 15 (2nd place).
Since the start of 2015, Pepeday hasn’t had many opportunities to travel overseas, but he’s still performed well in Japanese tournaments, winning the WAR BEGINS!! team tournament in March, and teaming up with Justin Wong, Pugera, Ryan Hart and Poongko to tie for 3rd at the 5th Topanga Charity Cup.
He also just wants to have fun, as you’ll see in this interview, where we ask him about his history playing fighting games, the finer points of maining Fuerte, his goals for Evolution 2015, and that time he was saved by Mike Ross.
Jason: Starting off, can you tell us a little bit about your history playing fighting games?
Pepeday: I started playing fighting games in summer 2009, about midway through vanilla Street Fighter IV’s lifespan. At the time, I was going to arcades to play Gundam vs. Gundam, and a friend suggested I should start playing Street Fighter. The rest is history.
Jason: I didn’t know that! Do you still play Gundam Vs.? Did any skills transfer to Street Fighter?
Pepeday: I’d like to play with my friends again sometime, but I don’t think I’m going to get too serious about it. (laughs)
As far as things that helped me when I started playing Street Fighter, Gundam definitely taught me a lot about reading ahead in situations and following the flow and momentum of a match. Probably the same kind of thing you pick up from any competitive head-to-head game.
Jason: Did you originally play El Fuerte? What made you decide to pick him?
Pepeday: I was originally interested in playing Ken, but I couldn’t really do his combos. There were tons of other players using shoto characters, so they had lots of matchup experience. I couldn’t win at all, and was on the verge of giving up.
But then I ran into 501, a local Fuerte player from the same prefecture as me, Kumamoto. He’s the one who showed me what was so cool about Fuerte, and is pretty much the guy who taught me everything when it comes to playing the character. I mean, I had no idea Fuerte was even in the game before that! (laughs)
After I saw 501 play the character a little, my reasons for picking him were basically, “He’s so cool! Like just the way he looks! And the stuff he says! And he’s really fast! And tricky! And he can run!” (laughs)
Other characters have to work their way forward inch by inch, fighting to control the pace of the match. Fuerte lets you control the pace, and landing the El Fuerte Flying Giga Buster on someone is the best feeling ever! No other character in the game is as cool as Fuerte, period!
Jason: If you had to narrow down your favorite thing about the character, what would it be? Is there anything you don’t like about Fuerte?
Pepeday: I think my favorite thing about Fuerte is how everything about him just exudes positivity and fun, like just watching him run around at neutral, all his win quotes, everything. And he’s infectious! People who play him just naturally find all this positive energy welling up within them!
What do I not like about Fuerte? …Nothing. (laughs)
Jason: Compared to previous versions of Street Fighter IV (Arcade Edition, ver. 2012, etc.) how strong do you think Fuerte is in Ultra Street Fighter IV?
Pepeday: He’s definitely gotten stronger! Honestly, he was probably bottom five in 2012. He didn’t have any way to combo easily from normals, so he lacked damage and consistency. They fixed that in Ultra by buffing his Quesadilla Bomb. He can combo into it from normals now, and the EX version was made into a good invincible reversal that can beat backdashes and focus attacks.
The old Q-Bomb didn’t combo, and even if you tried to react to focus attacks with it you’d still lose randomly due to how slow the startup on it was. Tons of characters had guaranteed punishes on it too, so I didn’t use it at all. Even after Ultra came out, I had a hard time believing the news that they buffed Q-Bomb. “Did they really make it stronger?” I wondered.
The first step was to completely re-familiarize myself with the move and integrate it back into my existing game plan, which took a while (about 10,000 bombs?). While I couldn’t land the move at first, I slowly started to realize what a potent counter Q-Bomb was to other characters’ options, and at this point I’ve basically figured out when and why to use the move to destroy my opponents’ plans in a lot of situations.
Jason: How do you practice? Do you spend a lot of time researching matchup-specific tactics to beat other characters?
Pepeday: I go into training mode to experiment with things I notice while playing against other people, but for the most part I practice by just playing a lot of matches. There are tactics and matchup-specific things you can only notice by playing people, you can practice combos during matches, and even if you make mistakes I think playing people improves your nerves and overall mental game.
And I mean, more than anything, the strongest thing about Fuerte from the original version onwards wasn’t his Q-Bombs or wakeup game, but the strength of his footsies and neutral game. He’s the only character in the game who can run, after all! To improve your neutral game, you have to play tons of matches against all sorts of characters, players and personalities.
What I’ve polished the most over the years from playing is my frame of reference for everything. Rules of thumb, basically. I didn’t own the console version originally. Training mode didn’t exist for me. So my background is built on that kind of arcade-centric experience of playing tons of matches.
Jason: Any advice for aspiring Fuerte players around the world?
Pepeday: First, you have to get used to using Q-Bomb. I’m pretty sure there were a lot of players who never used it up until the changes in Ultra. I never used it myself, which meant I had to struggle constantly as I got acclimated to using it again, but if you just stick with it you’ll get used to it, guaranteed. Once you get used to moving while maintaining a charge, you’ll be able to experience firsthand just how much scarier it makes your neutral game. I still haven’t mastered it myself, but it’s a move that will save you as a Fuerte player in tons of situations. When things seem bleakest, that move will light the way forward.
The second important thing to polish and master is precise, delicate spacing. I imagine a lot of people out there probably watch the way I use Q-Bombs and think, “Oh, that Pepeday! His playstyle’s so crazy!” But the only reason I use Q-Bombs the way I do is to force the opponent to move or resort to other options. What’s essential to making that work is good spacing.
My mentor starting out was the legendary Fuerte player TKD, and I can’t recommend watching his match videos enough to get an idea of correct spacing for the character. I’m still watching them to this day, and in total I’ve probably watched his videos more than anyone in the world. (laughs)
Also, even though Fuerte was buffed in Ultra, he has low HP and no good reversal moves without spending meter, so he requires very strong defense to survive. If you put in hard work and research, though, your defense will improve. You need to master every element of defense, from when to backdash to delayed crouch techs. Whether you can execute your defensive options better than your opponents is going to affect your win rate more than anything else.
Fuerte isn’t a character you can learn and master in a few days, but if you put in hard work, you’ll absolutely be rewarded. Don’t give up!
Jason: You had the opportunity to attend The Fall Classic and a few other tournaments in the United States and around the world last year thanks to crowdfunding efforts from r/Kappa. How was that experience for you?
Pepeday: The Fall Classic was actually my first overseas tournament, but I was extremely interested in going to one since watching Evo a few years ago. When I found out I was going to be successfully crowdfunded, I was so happy I practically jumped out of my seat!
Compared to Japanese tournaments, the atmosphere was completely different. That goes for players as well as spectators. I’m not saying one’s better than the other, but the way players show respect to each other even if they lose at foreign tournaments is wonderful! Even if they’re people they’ve never seen before! When I shook hands with players after a match, I could feel they meant it from the heart.
And the spectators were amazing, too. They didn’t discriminate, and went wild when either player put on a show and played well. That kind of environment can draw out a player’s potential and make them play even better than usual. I’m hoping we can bring more of that kind of culture back to Japan and have tournaments with an even more unique atmosphere than what we currently have in the future.
I also can’t thank everyone who helped fund me enough, especially drmike from r/Kappa, who helped set everything up. To give a chance like that to me, someone from the middle of nowhere in Japan…seriously, thank you.
Jason: You played Snake Eyez in a first-to-ten at The Fall Classic last year. What did you take away from the experience?
Pepeday: I was pretty confident going in. I have a lot of experience in the Zangief matchup, and had the opportunity to practice with some of Japan’s top Zangiefs prior to the event. Once I actually played Snake Eyez though, it became clear to me that even though he wasn’t an expert on the Fuerte matchup, his sheer tech, reads, and reactions made that nearly irrelevant. If he;s studied the matchup since then and we played another first-to-ten, the outcome would probably be different. I could feel just how good he was from playing, and I was blown away by some of the stuff he did, to the point where I just had to stop and give him a thumbs-up. (laughs)
I’ve lost to Japanese Zangiefs in first-to-tens before, and while I’m honestly not sure which character has the advantage in that matchup, that exhibition with Snake Eyez helped me acutely understand just what makes him such a popular player worldwide.
I mean, I knew about him from Evo 2014 and other events, the same way I knew about iPeru’s Fuerte. I kind of underestimated him and figured he wasn’t that strong compared to Japan’s Zangiefs.
But like I said above, once I got to play him in person all of that changed. This simple, pure feeling – “I want to root for this guy!” – welled up inside me. Once I found out he was the same age as me, I couldn’t help but become a fan of his…and start thinking of him as a rival. (laughs)
With him being the same age as me, and knowing how awesome a player he is, I’m hoping one day to have the chance to fight alongside him, regardless of country or team affiliations.
Jason: What was running through your head when Poongko took his shirt off during Canada Cup 2014’s grand finals? How did you push through that pressure, and what made you decide to imitate his behavior at later tournaments?
Pepeday: When Poongko took his shirt off, I was thinking, “This freakin’ guy!” In a good way. (laughs)
Poongko has this ability to draw people to him, either through his personality, the way he talks and acts, or yeah, him taking off his shirt. I respect that so much, and I really want to try to become a player like that. You can think of my decision to remove my shirt during the grand finals against Smug at Northest Championships as an act of respect towards Poongko.
As for pushing through the pressure in that situation and the mindset it took to come back…I was completely up against the wall, so I erased all negative thoughts and hesitation from my head, buckled down and told myself, “You have to take risks and make a stand or you’re not going to win!” That, more than anything, is why I was able to make that comeback against Poongko happen.
I mean, I always want to play with that kind of spirit, but a lot of the time cold hard logic comes to the fore and I end up prioritizing theory over hard reads. Fuerte, on the other hand, is a character who’s all about making the read, setting the play, and winning. Being able to make the other player ask, “Is this guy serious?!” is essential. So being on a big stage, fighting for my tournament life against a world-class opponent was actually the best possible situation for me to be in. It forced me to play like a madman.
Jason: After winning, Canada Cup Gaming’s Chi-Rithy said you told him that “Fuerte isn’t Street Fighter!” What did you mean by that?
Pepeday: It’s something I often say to players who are having trouble with the Fuerte matchup. Fuerte’s a Street Fighter character, sure, but there’s a huge line separating his gameplan from everyone else’s. The biggest difference is that he can always force decisions on the opponent due to how many 50/50s he has built into a lot of his moves, so you have to have a solid, consistent plan to deal with his shenanigans. I think that’s the main reason people tend to hate him. (laughs)
You can almost think of him as being a minigame within Street Fighter IV. Once you realize, “Oh, this is a different game,” I think you’ll be able to have more fun fighting him and figuring out the matchup.
Jason: Your Twitter profile lists Mike Ross as one of your “Gods,” and after Canada Cup you wrote that you were “saved by Mike.” Can you talk about the background behind that a little? Have you had the opportunity to play Mike at all in Street Fighter?
Pepeday: Even now, Mike is one of the gods I worship! Back when I was preparing to head home to Japan after Canada Cup, my flight ended up getting canceled due to bad weather. It was then that Mike showed up and helped both me and Poongko out with sincere friendliness, handling the steps to set up our return flight, and taking us around sightseeing in the meantime.
Everyone I’ve had contact with overseas has been great, but Mike Ross’ compassion and warmth has stuck with me the most. And I played him, but he wasn’t using Honda – he was using Makoto! Or as he called himself, “the best Makoto!”
Jason: Can you talk about some of the strong players from your local community? Anyone you think more people should know about worldwide?
Pepeday: There are tons! First up are EX Pugera and Michael-tan, two teammates of mine from Fukuoka Gamers Club. They’re pretty much world-class, and they’ve both had experience competing overseas (Pugera got 9th at Evo last year and recently attended NorCal Regionals and Community Effort Orlando). And they’re both so young! I mean, I’m 26, so I’m still young, right? But they’re even younger than I am, and super good to boot! I’m looking forward to seeing how both of them do in the future.
There’s another player from my home area of Kumamoto named Yamachan (he also sometimes goes by the name Niku-udon Z) who I want to put out there. He’s a Cody and Rolento player, and as far as Cody goes I think he might be in the top three worldwide. His footsies and knowledge of character matchups is incredibly thorough, but his greatest strengths are his razor-sharp hit confirms, immaculate decision-making, and precise spacing for every move he throws out. No other Cody comes close when it comes to those areas, as far as I’ve seen. And more importantly, I’ve never been able to beat him! Even though Fuerte’s supposed to have the advantage in that matchup! (laughs)
I also want to nominate a Chun-Li player named Matsuri. She’s easily the strongest female player I’ve played during the course of my career, and I think the fighting game scene needs to promote female players and draw in people from all genders and walks of life. The one unfortunate thing is that she doesn’t have a lot of experience in big tournaments, especially overseas ones. If she had the chance to go overseas, I bet she’d get a lot of support. I really want to see that happen.
Jason: Do you have any other plans for Las Vegas besides attending Evo? Any sightseeing?
Pepeday: I wanted to bring my family along, but with two young kids to take care of and a lot of uncertainties about the trip, we ultimately decided against it. Whenever I attend tournaments, I always want to check out the area and do some sightseeing, but I’m also there to win, so I have to make sure I’m in condition to deliver a top performance.
That said, my goal at Evo this year is to win! I’m attending through completely different and new means than all the other tournaments, and I’m hoping to turn that into strength that will push me through to the top! And then I want to go to Capcom Cup!
Jason: Besides winning, do you have any other goals you want to achieve at Evo? Any foreign players you want to get games in against?
Pepeday: I’m aiming to win above all else, but I’ve dreamed of attending Evo for a long time, so I really just want to have as much fun as I can up there on that stage of dreams. Winning and having fun go hand in hand, you know! (laughs)
As for who I want to play against…Poongko! And if grand finals somehow ends up being me and Poongko, I want it to be my Seth vs. his Fuerte up there on the Evo main stage. (laughs)
Early this week, Arc System Works announced the latest and supposed final chapter to the BlazBlue series, BlazBlue: Central Fiction. If you’ve been clamoring for more information on the title, wait no longer! The latest issue of Famitsu gives you a full dose what’s new with BlazBlue.
From Weekly Famitsu, Issue 2015/07/30:
The Conclusion of the Azure Story! The Final Chapter of the Battle Begins!
The 2D versus fighting game series BlazBlue is known for its highly strategic gameplay and grand story. The latest entry in the series will launch in arcades this winter! BlazBlue: Central Fiction marks the conclusion of the story surrounding protagonist Ragna the Bloodedge. New systems, new characters, and an “azure story” at its greatest scale in series history thrusts the fierce battle to its climax. The first batch of information brings you details the new story and renovated fight system.
The Stage of Battle Returns to Kagutsuchi!
Central Fiction’s story moves the previous game Chronophantasma’s setting from Ikaruga to the place where everything started, Kagutsuchi. In a world of unease where the events of the past seem to be repeating themselves, what will the protagonist Ragna see? A new, unknown chapter of BlazBlue begins!
Renewed Battle System and Graphics
The stages, game screen graphical elements as well as battle system that is the fight’s core have been renewed, further polishing up the quality. Character illustrations have been newly drawn by Arc System Works artist Yuuki Katou.
The character select screen and versus screen get a makeover.
Over 50 stages from Ikaruga and Kagutsuchi make appearances. This truly is the series’s culmination.
New System 1 – EXCEED ACCEL: Super Moves During Overdrive
Two new systems have been added in Central Fiction that will change the face of battle. The first is Exceed Accel. It’s a super move performed by pressing all four buttons while in Overdrive, a temporary power-up of the unique Drive abilities. If the attack connects an exclusive cinematic initiate as you land massive amounts of damage.
A new option has been added to Overdrive. It has easy inputs, activated by simply pressing all four buttons simultaneously.
New System 2 – ACTIVE FLOW: The Bolder the Attack, the Greater the Advantage!
If you continue to take active actions like hitting the opponent with attacks, the character will enter Active Flow state. While active, attack damage is increased and the regeneration of the Burst Gauge, used for Overdrive activation, quickens.
The change in the vitality gauge’s character icon indicates that Active Flow is active. Exceed Accel is also greatly strengthened and the cinematic becomes extremely flashy.
Two Newcomers Make an Impactful Entrance!
Two new characters join the Azure Story’s battle! Fitting additions to the culmination, bringing the character count to 30.
Naoto Kurogane
Voice: Nobunaga Shimazaki
Protagonist of the novel BLAZBLUE Bloodedge Experience. He’s a current high school student who carries the “Hunter’s Eye” in his left eye, joining Central Fiction as a stranger from another world. He’s a standard-type character who fights with Bloodedge and his fists.
A Comment from Nobunaga Shimazaki, the Voice of Naoto
This fiery boy who perfectly fits the image of “The Protagonist”. Each of his moves are really cool and as a game character he’s very straightforward. For those interested in knowing more about hit, please also check out the novel.
Naoto is a standard-type character who fights with his bare hands. He has a play feel with no peculiarities, making him easy to pick up.
Drive Ability: Bloodedge
Naoto’s Drive ability is Bloodedge. He can unleash slashing attacks with a blade formed of his own blood. One feature of the Drive is that the attacks have normal and charged versions. The normal versions have long range, but charged the attacks reach even farther and have a guard crush effect. Try fighting using the two forms of attack skillfully.
Unique Ability: Enhancer
Enhancer is a unique ability that alters special moves when performed while dashing. The attacks gain new effects such as multiple hits.
Naoto’s hair turns white!? Taking advantage of the novel’s setting, white-haired Naoto also appears in Central Fiction, bridging the media with a shared story universe.
Hibiki Kohaku
Voice: Mitsuhiro Ichiki
Hibiki, who appeared in the previous game Chronophantasma’s story as Kagura’s outstanding secretary, joins the battle. He’s a technical-type character with tricky attacks using his offshoot.
A Comment from Ichiki Matsuhiro, the voice of Hibiki
Sorry for the long wait. Hibiki finally makes his battle debut. I had a hard time waiting myself. When the game launches, please have fun with Hibiki’s signature tricky actions. And let’s face off in the arcade.
In Chronophantasma, Hibiki served as a support to Kagura, who revolts against the Librarium.
Dive Ability: Double Chase
Hibiki’s Drive is an offshoot move. Pressing the D Button unleashes the image in front of him. Combining this with directional input, Hibiki can take over the image, moving his actual self forward.
Hibiki splits into two and unleashes a rush attack. The player can freely choose which image to control.
Special Move: Zanshoukyaku > (Follow-up) Senba
Hibiki nimbly leaps into the air. From here, he can branch off into a variety of moves. Senba unleashes a countless number of projectiles from above!
Hibiki’s advantages are his surprise teleportation abilities and his speed. Combine his speed with Double Chase and freely move about the stage, vertically and horizontally!
Hibiki’s Exceed Accel, Sakuougi “Haraebina”. Hibiki uses the swords in each hand and instantly minces up the opponent!
