Category: Fighting Games

While we’ve seen a fair amount of major competitions take part over the past few months, Niconico is set to put an interesting spin on the normal invitational format at Game Party Japan 2015 later this month.

Also known as Tokaigi, Game Party Japan is a spin-off of Niconico’s Chokaigi fan event, devoted entirely to video games. As part of the festivities, they will be hosting an Ultra Street Fighter IV exhibition tournament featuring sixteen of Japan’s strongest players. The twist, however, is that they will be paired up randomly, giving us a look at how certain individuals compete when such a decision is taken entirely out of their hands.

Confirmed attendees include Daigo Umehara, his Mad Catz teammates Mago and Tokido, Bonchan, -6, Razer’s Fuudo and Itabashi Zangief, Kazunoko, Uryo, Sako of HORI, Haitani, Evil Geniuses’ Momochi and Chocoblanka, Matsuri, The Black Eye’s Nemo, and Pepeday of Fukoka Gamers Club.

Tokaigi is scheduled to take place from January 23 to February 1 and will be streamed here for those unable to attend in person.

Source: Niconico, translations courtesy of USD.

Apex has been in the news quite a bit lately thanks to this year’s record-breaking installment and a partnership with Nintendo, but new developments for the Smash scene’s largest tournament are far less positive.

Over the course of the past few days, a number of community members have bravely stepped forward with allegations against Apex CEO and co-creator Johnathan “Alex Strife” Lugo, accusing him of repeated harassment that, as of yet, had gone unchallenged on a wide scale. While his abysmal behavior wasn’t limited to female Smashers, as described in accounts from CLASH Tournament’s Mark “Chibo” Korsak, they were frequently the lightning rod that attracted his attention.

These revelations brought quick outcry online, with prominent player Kris “Toph” Aldenderfer saying he wouldn’t be able to commentate at Apex 2015 in good conscience as long as these accusations went unanswered and community pillar Wynton “Prog” Smith going as far to call for Lugo’s resignation.

Fortunately, it appears as if changes are already being made. In a statement released to Smash Boards and Melee It On Me, Apex social media coordinator Will Hsiao has announced that Lugo will be giving up the duties he performs for the tournament series.

At this time, Alex Strife will be stepping down from his duties at Apex. We will be moving forward with Apex 2015.

As it stands Apex 2015 is the largest Smash Brothers tournament ever and the Apex staff hopes to bring you the best experience we can.

In a Reddit post following the initial statements that brought this about, Tristate player Tyrell “NAKAT” Coleman urged the community at large to not conflate Lugo’s actions with Apex as an organization.

“Apex isn’t Alex Strife. Apex is You, I, and the thousands of people who attend and watch the event,” Coleman explained. “I am hoping Apex is put in the hands of someone stable, respectable, and generally well-rounded.”

As of now, no word has been released by Apex regarding new management, but a quick perusal of their staff page will show a number of capable community members who are also involved in running the event. Let’s only hope it will be in their hands moving forward.

Sources: Smashboards, Melee It On Me

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been reporting on a bunch of new arcade sticks for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 from HORI. Now, here’s another to add to the list, one that you can pre-order now through Amazon Japan and AmiAmi.

As the name implies, the HORI Real Arcade Pro V Hayabusa comes with the same HORI Hayabusa lever and Kuro buttons found in all of the company’s top of the line arcade sticks. Meanwhile, it shares its form factor, including the touchpad on the rear panel, with HORI’s Dead or Alive 5 Last Round stick and the Real Arcade Pro 4 Kai.

What differences, if any, this HRAP.V Hayabusa has with the latter are as of yet unknown. Based on HORI’s naming scheme, the HRAP.4 Kai may come with the slightly wider layout seen first in the HRAP.V3 Kai, though it’s possible that the names could just be a regional thing, with the HRAP.V Hayabusa coming to Asia only and the HRAP.4 Kai coming out only in the West.

For those interested, the HORI Real Arcade Pro V Hayabusa can be pre-ordered from Amazon Japan for ¥14,264 (~$120 USD) and AmiAmi for ¥13,390 (~$113 USD).

Sources: Amazon Japan, AmiAmi, tip via bakawind

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been reporting on a bunch of new arcade sticks for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 from HORI. Now, here’s another to add to the list, one that you can pre-order now through Amazon Japan and AmiAmi.

As the name implies, the HORI Real Arcade Pro V Hayabusa comes with the same HORI Hayabusa lever and Kuro buttons found in all of the company’s top of the line arcade sticks. Meanwhile, it shares its form factor, including the touchpad on the rear panel, with HORI’s Dead or Alive 5 Last Round stick and the Real Arcade Pro 4 Kai.

What differences, if any, this HRAP.V Hayabusa has with the latter are as of yet unknown. Based on HORI’s naming scheme, the HRAP.4 Kai may come with the slightly wider layout seen first in the HRAP.V3 Kai, though it’s possible that the names could just be a regional thing, with the HRAP.V Hayabusa coming to Asia only and the HRAP.4 Kai coming out only in the West.

For those interested, the HORI Real Arcade Pro V Hayabusa can be pre-ordered from Amazon Japan for ¥14,264 (~$120 USD) and AmiAmi for ¥13,390 (~$113 USD).

Sources: Amazon Japan, AmiAmi, tip via bakawind

Cajun Faycott (left) and Mai Natsume (right)

When BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND arrives on consoles in April, it will do so with two new characters…at least in its story mode.

The latest issue of Famitsu reveals that the title, which is set to include an update story mode, will feature appearances by a pair of characters from the franchise’s Remix Heart manga: Mai Natsume and Cajun Faycott. As two of the main protagonists, both will play a large part in a new chapter that supposedly retells the printed story.

As of now, no concrete signs point towards Mai and Cajun being part of the playable cast, but Arc System Works has been known to first announce story relevance before finally revealing a character’s further importance to the gameplay.

BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND is scheduled to launch in Japan on April 23.

Source: Famitsu via Hachima Kikou and Gematsu

After experimenting with free-to-enter games at Northeast Championships 15, tournament organizer Eric “Big E” Small is ready to implement a similar system at the next installment of Winter Brawl.

Earlier today, Small took to Twitter to announce there will be no charge for a trio of Bandai Namco titles. If you happen to be interested in playing Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, or Soulcalibur V, all you’ll have to do is pay your entry into the venue and you’ll be set!

But that’s not to say these games won’t have some nice prize pools to make competing all the sweeter; Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will feature a $1000 pot while Tekken Tag Tournament and Soulcalibur V will both be given $500 for their finalists.

Winter Brawl 9 is scheduled for February 20-22 in Philadelphia, Pennyslvania. More details can be found through the official website.

Source: Eric Small