Do you like charge characters? Do you like throwing motorcycles? Do you like being the biggest, baddest alien on the planet? If any of these are true, then you’ll like the new Punch Planet character, Maxx… and you’ll also like knowing that he’s live, right now:
As the new big body drops down, Punch Planet itself is getting renovated: you can check out the full patch notes for 0.3.1 here. This is also an excellent place to pick up details on the Brawling Bouncer’s toolkit, complete with property breakdowns and video examples.
That’s not all — to celebrate Maxx’s long awaited reveal, developers Sector K Games are putting Punch Planet on a 25% sale for the next two weeks. If you haven’t experimented with this great Early Access indie fighter yet, now is the time to do it.
That not enough for ya? Shut up, chug your Buff-U, and listen: Those in attendance for Evo 2018‘s Punch Planet side tournament have a chance to win Steam Keys, with first place getting this out of this world Panzer stick:
Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 remains a main stage game, pulling 629 entrants — according to Mr. Wizard’s tweet. It’s obvious that the interest in the game is high (notably, it’s higher than ever before, during the XX series). Last year, REV 2 pulled an even more impressive 825 fighters, so there is a notable drop.
There could be a couple of reasons for that. For one, the interest in REV 2 was much higher last year, as the game was fresh. Released on May 26th, it had incubated in the community long enough to have some training period and yet remain fresh and relatively undiscovered. Having a demo period earlier also helped a lot. Two new characters, Baiken and Answer, breathed some life into the game (even though they turned out rather underwhelming from a strictly competitive standpoint) alongside some balance changes — Raven, for instance, changed significantly, and his excitement meter started to make more sense. Omito’s Johnny emerged as the top player, showcasing dominance with the rest of the Japanese players, who filled out the top 8 at Evo 2017.
How much changed about the game since then? There has been a pretty significant balance patch 2.1, which altered some characters fairly drastically (like Baiken and Millia), gave some new tools to Johnny, and made other changes across the board. It was a pretty big tune-up patch, but it doesn’t feel like the game “changed,” but it was certainly refined. Yet characters like Answer, Baiken, and Ramlethal remain relatively weak, while Millia and Johnny stay dominant.
Omito returns, and it’s not really a risky prediction to say that he’ll make top 8. Machabo’s performance last year was a little underwhelming (17th), but maybe his very solid Ky will take him to the top? Ky also seems like a strong character — and speaking of the thunder-wielder, it would be great to see rising American star Hamad take it up with the Japanese. He was very close to getting to the Grand Finals at Combo Breaker this year.
We have many non-Japanese hopefuls entering the tournament, just like last year. The mainstays are KidViper (Johnny), PG|MarlinPie (Zato=1), Hotashi (Elphelt), LostSoul (Elphelt), ElvenShadow (Faust). There are many more exemplary players we could list, who have been winning several tournaments, but we’ll really have to see who will emerge in the top 8, 16, and 32. Breaking through the infamous Japanese players is always a huge achievement. Though they are infamous for their skill, nowadays, I feel that gap has been decreasing; but there’s a difference in habits and customs. Western and Eastern players practice in divergent conditions; anything from cabinet vs. console latency, arcade and locale settings, to different timings on patches and releases account to smaller or bigger influences on the community.
Arc System Works have expressed that they would like to see more American players in top Evo 2018 spots; Toshimichi Mori has said that “…all the ASW games really favored Japanese players, in the sense that an arcade release had a huge impact on them understanding the game, breaking it down sooner than everyone else around the world.” The company has expressed awareness of this gap; both REV 2 and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle have made long strides toward this. The arcade scene is still a dear spot for Arc System Works, as well as a big money maker. At least we can be assured that the next chapter in the Xrd saga won’t leave Westerns behind for a significant period.
Which moves us to the big question: what is next for the series? As fans continuously ask for their favorite Accent Core +R characters to return, we have to realize, that’s not so simple. Specifically for REV 2, Ishiwatari was given a budget for two characters, designated for one new (Answer) and one returning character (Baiken). However, this isn’t necessarily a pattern that’s supposed to continue, as Ishiwatari stated in a more recent interview with Shoryuken. It’s not about what Ishiwatari wants to do; it’s about budgeting. As much as some less-sane people want to see Holy Order-Sol come back, they might have to take a seat for an indefinite period of time.
Story-wise, the saga is reaching a culminating point. With the actual identity of That Man has been revealed — the mysterious arch-villain and Sol’s true rival (sorry, Ky) — we should very well see him as an original character. Everything in Xrd has teased an upcoming major battle, a final confrontation of sorts. In addition, some longtime favorites have also been teased, less or more overtly. The obvious picks are Zappa (I dread this one) and Robo-Ky, the humorous droid-version of the stout king. Anji Mito has shown up in Baiken’s arcade mode. In terms of popularity, Bridget remains the most-favored character in Japan.
While fans clamor for the return of their favorites, the system mechanics might also significantly change up. In that same interview, Ishiwatari says that he wants to circle back to the core of Guilty Gear and maybe shave off some things. “Simplify” is a dreaded word in a game known for its layers of complexity, but more accessibility would invite an even bigger audience to this game. Though it would require more balancing, I wouldn’t mind if ArcSys removed Blitz Shield. Also, not everyone is a fan of Danger Time. It’s hard to tell what Ishiwatari is thinking about exactly, as he isn’t a balance specialist; however, he would like to see the series figure on the Nintendo Switch.
I do think it’s time for the next chapter, as the “REV” era has dragged on for a bit (with REV 2 being an addendum to -REVELATOR-). With the recent focus on the BlazBlue series, it’s Guilty Gear that needs some hype overdrive. For REV 2, this will almost certainly be the final test of strength among the world’s best players to see who emerges as the best player — that is, until the next version comes around.
With Evo being the biggest fighting game of the year, it’s no surprise then that NIS America and SNK are bringing SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy to the event. What may come as a surprise is that the former will be bringing the “launch day build” of the game; in other words, the version at Evo 2018 will be the same game that’ll go on sale in September.
As part of this, they will also be revealing the identity of the final character for the game at Evo 2018. We’ve already seen some hints of who this is — the trophies for the game seem to indicate that it’s Terry Bogard. Of course, “Terry” could actually be misdirection, and it could be someone like Alice, who’s pretty much a fan of Terry Bogard, and the Fatal Fury crew in general. Looks like we’ll find out who this really is at Evo 2018.
SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy arrives in North America for PlayStation 4 and Switch on September 7. Evo 2018 takes place this weekend, August 3 to 5, at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, NV.
The recently-announced Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour originally featured seven major events, where winners receive one of seven Dragon Balls. Since then, Bandai has added Dragon Radar Events to the Tour, and more were just scheduled.
Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball FighterZ existed without an official tournament circuit for nearly five months. On June 22nd, the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour was announced, and the first event was just a few days away at CEO on June 28th. CEO marked the first of seven Saga events, where champions receive one of the seven Dragon Balls upon their victory — and a spot in the Tour’s Grand Finals.
More recently, Bandai announced the implementation of smaller, ranking events within the Tour. Dubbed Dragon Radar Events, winners of these tournaments receive free travel and lodging for any Saga event of their choice, or the Last-Chance Qualifier for the Grand Finals in January. A slew of DBFZ’s Radar Events have now been disclosed, with August chock full of Super Saiyan action.
Notable Radar Events this month include the Taiwan Fighter Major, coming up on the 18th of August, as well as Ireland’s Celtic Throwdown, France’s Ultimate Fighting Arena, and Indonesia’s C3 AFA Jakarta x Game Start. SoCal Regionals likewise joins the ranks of Radar Events for September, with Canada Cup and the Thailand Game Show following in October. Sweden’s DreamHack Winter also stands as a Radar event, with two other, online Radar events within the same month.
DBFZ’s Radar Events provide an important avenue for players without means of travel a chance to compete in the Tour’s Saga Events. With more regions represented in the Tour, as well as a number of Online Radar Events, Saga Events could very well see a rise in competition very soon. A full list of the Tour’s events can be found here.
If you are active in the Dragon Ball FighterZ competitive scene, there’s no doubt that you’ve ran into some trouble when facing a Bardock main. The father of Goku has quickly become a force to be reckoned with since his March release date, so much so that some are wondering if he should be nerfed in Dragon Ball FighterZ‘s upcoming balance patch.
In their latest video, TrueUnderDawg gaming zeroes in on some of the moves that have many believing that Bardock is the strongest character in his game. Check it out below to see if Bardock should take it down a notch or if his opponents should just “git gud”.
Prepare for this year’s throwdown with this video retrospective of last year’s epic event.
Evo 2017 was the biggest to date, and this year is gearing up to blow it out of the water with an even bigger fighting game bash. But before we tackle all of the excitement of this Evo, take a moment to relive the best moments of 2017 — the upsets, the losses, the epic wins — in this video retrospective.
Injustice 2 will return to the Evolution Championship Series this year with a very different tournament landscape. With the game now into its second year of competitive play, the honeymoon phase is over — the players who were interested in exploring a new game have given way to those who were willing to keep up with the waves of patches and DLC characters that have redefined the game.
For those that remain invested, Evo 2018 is the fourth premier stop on the 2018 Injustice Pro Series, with a pot bonus of $10,000. Multiple balance changes and polarizing match-ups have led to a metagame fueled by counterpicks, forcing top players to adapt quickly or learn more than one character to stay ahead of the field.
The overall field is certainly smaller than last year, with a decrease in players from 880 to 361. A few factors outside of the game may have had an adverse effect on the community’s growth, including NetherRealm Studios’ late announcement of the 2018 Injustice Pro Series and speculation over the potential announcement of Mortal Kombat XI. Regardless, the players at the top of the game continue to push Injustice 2 to new heights.
The Regime – Players to Watch
Each of the pro series events so far this season has been won by a different player and a different character. Last year’s Evo and ELEAGUE Injustice 2 champion, ALG|Dragon chose to withdraw from this year’s pro circuit for personal reasons, leaving the door open for a new player to claim the crown.
Top seed bc|Biohazard is the only player to reach top 8 in all of the premier events so far, using a mix of Black Adam, Starfire, Bane, and Cheetah. Noble|Tweedy earned the second seed after winning Combo Breaker and finishing second at CEO with Starfire and Doctor Fate.
Third seed Noble|Semiij and his Catwoman have dominated the War of the Gods online tournament circuit and performed well at several offline events, but he finally broke through to win his first major tournament with a grand finals reset at CEO. While other players have adopted secondary characters as potential counterpicks, Semiij has shown that Catwoman is well equipped to deal with a variety of match-ups.
Two more character specialists, bc|HoneyBee and PG|Hayatei, earned top seeds with the Flash and Robin, respectively. HoneyBee was the Evo 2017 runner-up, winning over the crowd with his lightning-paced Flash play. Hype for underused characters doesn’t translate to wins though, as both players have yet to take home the top spot at a Pro Series event.
Of course, no NRS tournament is safe with Echo Fox|Sonic Fox in the bracket. Last year’s Pro Series champ has admitted that he is prioritizing Dragon Ball FighterZ over Injustice 2 this year but he continues to post solid results. With less conventional picks like Captain Cold and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sonic Fox seems determined to win with his own style in spite of the characters currently dominating the game.
God Tiers Among Us? – Character Picks
Injustice 2 features some of the strongest zoning strategies in modern fighting games; Starfire, Black Adam, Doctor Fate, and Firestorm are just a few of the characters capable of controlling the pace of the game at long range. Starfire in particular has drawn the ire of many players, her wide range of tools and safe reversal moves have made her a common pocket character. The strength of the zoning game is what results in the game’s frequent counterpicks, as some characters lack the tools to succeed in certain match-ups.
Reminder! I'll play any Starfire in the mirror for $100 at EVO.
I'll also use Black Adam vs any Starfire for $100.
The money doesn't have to come from the Starfire. Come on guys if there's no depth to fighting her and she's just broke lets do it @Gross_DR@SylverRye
Zoning certainly isn’t the only winning approach; Catwoman is still considered one of the strongest characters in the game despite their lack of true zoning tools. Batman’s unique trait and diverse moveset have kept him in the upper tiers of the game since launch. Brainiac, Blue Beetle, and Atrocitus can still find plenty of success at mid to close range, too.
Though some of the more popular characters seen at the launch of the game have seen nerfs in the past year, Superman, Green Lantern, and Supergirl remain solid picks for their balance between zoning and close range fighting. Hellboy and Black Manta have shown themselves to be the strongest among the second wave of DLC characters and will likely see a good bit of use at Evo too.
Injustice 2 pools and Semi-Finals will be held on Friday, Aug. 3 starting at 8:00 a.m. PT/ 11:00 a.m. ET on Twitch.tv/Evo5. The top 8 finalists will play on Saturday, Aug. 4 at Noon PT/3 p.m. ET on Twitch.tv/Evo. Brackets are available on smash.gg.
Be sure to check the full schedule for Evo 2018 and follow all of Shoryuken’s coverage of the biggest fighting game weekend of the year!
eSports Ecosystem, a new organization that is developing cryptocurrency that can be utilized for FGC events, has joined Cygames and Nissin Cup Noodles as an official sponsor of Evo 2018.
It is with great honor to announce that we will be a sponsor to the world's largest Fighting Game tournament this weekend. It's going to be epic! See you there!#EVO2018#esportshttps://t.co/ketc9ZBf8T
Though it’s not quite complete, I think most people expected SoulCalibur VI to make its way to Evo 2018 in some way, whether at Bandai Namco booth or a side tournament. With the announced SCVI Evo 2018 tournament, attendees now have an opportunity to try out the game in a competitive setting — some, for the first time.
It still remains to be seen how the game will perform in a tournament, or even as an esports title. The SoulCalibur series occupies a spot close to its Tekken brother in the 3D fighting game subtype; but as Tekken has shaped up to be a more complex title, SoulCalibur is the more “casual” fighter with a broader appeal. While it has had success as a competitive title, a long gap in development support has given little forecast for its impact.
SoulCalibur VI is nothing short of a reboot for the series. Rebuilt in the Unreal Engine and soon appearing on Steam’s digital shelves for the first time, The Stage of History never looked better. A weapons-based, 3D-modeled fighter has a lot more visual clarity than say, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, already making it a lot more “watchable,” and with gorgeous stages to match. Bandai Namco producer, Motohiro Okubo, has been the face of the game in many interviews; he often brought up the small development touches that make the game more “esports-geared.” That’s mostly seen in the notable slowdowns during certain techniques like Guard Impact (I really think it unnecessarily slows down the tempo with that one, by the way…) and Reversal Edge.
Reversal Edge is a cinematic showcase, staging a showdown between two fighters, pausing the frenetic action for a moment as players try to outwit (or straight up guess) each other’s next move. Okubo pushes this as an equalizer for the more casual players, since the technique parries attacks of any level and initiates a guessing game. SRK Assistant Editor Crow_Spaceboy isn’t a big fan of the mechanic — and from the perspective of a competitive player, he may be on point. I do wonder though if Bandai Namco can tune up the mechanic a little more; after all, despite the randomness of this mechanic, the one who used it gets slight advantages: like more meter, and a guaranteed win on the second clash. However, a blog post from Okubo teases there might be a bit more to the mechanic than we know, so it’s possible it will get re-tuned somewhat. Still, it doesn’t seem likely that Reversal Edge will significantly change.
By now, there’s a hefty amount of footage to sift through if you happen to be going to Evo. The 8WayRun forum posters have been busy compiling impressions, move lists, and combos from their brief experiences with the game. Several players have had a chance to play the game at multiple events, sticking with one character, and showing more mastery than those who jumped in. Not to mention, the game still doesn’t have a Command List available, so there still could be moves out there that we are missing. I would particularly highlight ESL Arena gameplay and the CEO 2018 exhibition. The latter especially had great Ivy, Siegfried, and Taki performances. Those players used fairly optimized combos, bringing us closer to the way those characters will be played once the rest of us have had time to grind them out in Training Mode. Even if you haven’t played the game, you can study up quite a bit about your character to be more prepared. I played a Combo Breaker SCVI build that didn’t have Yoshimitsu, but I’m still planning on using him!
Among the 192 entrants who made it into the Evo 2018SoulCalibur VI side tournament, there aren’t too many famous names (free entry surely enticed many people, and the number is capped). I would point out a couple of names like Fame96, UYU|BeautifulDude, BxA|PartyWolf, and Kayane, of course. I’m not certain how many members from the French scene will make it, but Hayate — who has been making many great overview videos of the game — is not competing.
Hopefully, the Evo 2018 build will showcase the most recently-announced characters, Talim and Voldo. Bandai Namco is playing it fairly safe, trying to please as many fans as possible by returning series’ staples, with Grøh and Geralt the only new characters so far (and both are also rather safe choices). In fact, the only “wild” thing in its character roster is that Bandai Namco unabashedly persevered with Ivy’s outfit despite a change in climate for generally less-sexualized costumes (with a notable shift in the design for the next Dead or Alive game). As you may remember, ESPN wasn’t a big fan of R. Mika’s costume during Evo 2016’s Street Fighter V Grand Finals!
However, SoulCalibur VI doesn’t need to aim for ESPN. The game’s hallmark was always its single-player content, setting a standard to follow for other titles. I think, thanks to that, this series will always be special in the hearts of its fans at large, not just those who actually identify as part of the FGC. Whether the game will get its own circuit or not is in the hands of the competitive scene, streams, and tournament organizers; those influencers have power in shaping Bandai Namco’s esports strategy, if there will be any (and sales numbers do as well, of course). The company traditionally hasn’t supported this series much post-launch.
Still waiting on a Mitsurugi to do this sequence from one of the SoulCalibur 6 trailers pic.twitter.com/Tso2WBQNVR
This will be the biggest testing ground for the game, and there are only three months left before the title’s October 19th release. We might see some more reveals at Gamescom, which is later in August, but I have a feeling Bandai Namco is holding out some hype to show post the Tekken 7 Sunday finals. Will we see Cervantes at last, or maybe Character Creation mode?
Time is ticking by, and soon, all content will have to be revealed.
While hearing developers talk about the actual development process of their games is nothing new today, this was something almost unheard off back in the 1990s. As such, it’s always a treat when developers get to talk about their games from that era.
In a recent issue, as part of their coverage of the upcoming NEO GEO Mini, Famitsu got a chance to talk to some of SNK’s developers who worked on some of the classic games back in the 1990s. This included designers Noboyuki Kuroki, and Naoto Abe, as well as the sound team’s Hideki Asanaka.
Among the game’s they discuss are the original Fatal Fury games, where Asanaka discusses how they were left to their own devices, allowing their diverse influences to be heard in the soundtrack. They also discuss how the voice work in the first game was originally done by the staff, before they transitioned to hiring the Osaka Drama Troupe for the second game onward, and then having voice actors for The King of Fighters series from the very start.
Speaking of The King of Fighters, they discuss how different the lead character, Kyo was, from their previous work. Kuroki states that their first reaction to seeing Kyo in a school uniform was “Wow.” Especially considering how much more “macho” their character designs in Fatal Fury were.
In addition to this, they also go a bit into Garou: Mark of the Wolves specifically about how it never got a sequel, and how that sequel would have turned out had it been made. Abe states that he recals that the scenario for the story had already been written up to the ending (beyond the original, which ended on a cliffhanger). Additionally, Kuroki also states that he had already created new moves for Rock Howard and B. Jenet.
Of course, this is just part of what they talk about. Check out a translated version of the interview over at Siliconera.
