Category: Fighting Games

Arc System Works is teasing a preview of the upcoming Kill la Kill title during their weekly stream.

Enthusiasts of the Kill la Kill anime, there’s a treat for you tonight. The official Arc System Works Twitter account is sharing the itinerary of their weekly ArcLive stream. Unexpectedly, it looks like we’re going to get a look at the recently-announced Kill la Kill game. After that slightly anti-climactic countdown, it’s not certain what the preview will amount to, yet.

Maybe it’s not too much to hope for a gameplay teaser? We don’t know a lot about the game yet, but we do know that it’s not a traditional fighting game — it’s more of an action title. ASW is publishing the title, while A+ Games is developing, but hopefully that still means there will be a lot of that special ASW touch in the anime adaptation. It will be 1-2 players.

Commentator Samifish will co-host the show, showing off some of the new BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle DLC characters as well. Watch it tonight at 5:00 PM PT on Twitch.

Tonight, join @Samifish11 as he helps host the newest episode of #ArcLive! Delve into the latest #BBTAG fighters and learn more about a certain new game…

It all starts at 5pm PST at https://t.co/AFaPlaDZTZ pic.twitter.com/tBgDvxK4tX

— ArcSystemWorks (@ArcSystemWorksU) June 20, 2018

Refer to our Kill la Kill game announcement post for screenshots and a trailer of the game.

Source: Arc System Works (Twitter)

The possibilities are endless for efficiency and accessibility with elite controllers and fighting games.

The recently-announced SCUF Vantage controller was on display at E3 2018 and Shoryuken was invited by SCUF Gaming to take a closer look at the exciting peripheral. While not marketed directly for fighting games, its numerous features could prove beneficial for players of all levels.

The SCUF Vantage feels immediately comfortable, especially for folks like me who prefer the “Xbox-style” layout. The rubberized grips ensure stability during the high-intensity bouts found in fighting games. The weight can also be adjusted by removing the vibration modules; this also helps out people who prefer to be free from the haptic distraction. Also, the wireless models can have their Bluetooth deactivated to function as native wired controllers for the lowest latency at tournaments. [Not to mention easier device-connection management at events. – Editor]

The four map-able paddles and two additional Side Action (SAX) Buttons give players a plethora of choices in how they want to key in their combos. For example, with the SAX buttons, you can readily utilize Square for light punch, S2 for medium punch, and R1 for heavy punch without needing to move your fingers from their places. For kicks, just use the two back paddles and the X button. Any of the extra inputs can be mapped and remapped for whatever fits your situation. One thing that would make this feature better, however, would be an official application built into the PlayStation 4 itself, like the Xbox Accessories app available on the Xbox One. Instead, all of the mappings must be done manually via the map switch — which is easy enough, but dedicated software would bring the whole experience together.

The triggers are also customizable in a number of ways. They can have their tension adjusted to match the perfect pull, they can have their pull shortened to require shorter presses, and can be swapped entirely with longer buttons to match your comfort zone. Personally, I found shortening the pull distance allowed for much faster inputs, making the triggers more like buttons. Whenever fractions of seconds are what can make the difference, a short press could be all one needs to win. Don’t forget there are concave and domed styles of sticks, with varying lengths for your preferred playstyles. Fighters can take advantage of the concave sticks for tighter control, but if the domed sticks are more comfortable, then give them a shot.

One of my personal favorite customizations of the controller is the Control Disc, a replacement for the traditional D-Pad. The control disc is made out of a grippy rubber that allows just enough give for your thumb to slide while being in full control. This allows swooping motions, perfect for quarter and half-circle inputs. This also allows for better diagonal control, which works great for charge moves. The D-pad itself works well, and is certainly preferable in comparison to the squishy default Dual Shock 4 controller. The definitive click made by the D-pad and the control disc creates a physical and audio queue for the player, helping to note success inputs.

The SCUF Vantage does deliver a lot on choice — and players are able to remove any of the extra functions that don’t suit their fancy. That means if you don’t want to use the SAX buttons, you can take them off. If you only want to use one paddle, just remove the rest of them. If you change your mind about how you want your SCUF Vantage to look. there will be customization packs available in different colors that can also act as replacement packs if your controller starts to wear down.

The controller and others like it will be allowed for use at Evo (legality was confirmed with a representative), which allows a completely new experience for tournament play. Fighting games are all about experimentation and finding new and interesting ways to succeed. The concept of an “elite” controller has never really been applied to fighting games before, by either their manufacturers or their users — most people view these controllers as being designed exclusively for the first-person shooter genre. That being said, learning how to use a fight stick can be daunting for players who have grown accustomed to using a standard controller. Those wanting to invest in a more-versatile controller that creates a stronger overall experience — and houses plenty of applications that benefit fighters — can find all of that in the SCUF Vantage.

The SCUF Vantage’s asking price is definitely something that may give some users pause ($169.95 wired and $199.95 wireless, not including shipping — basically arcade stick price range), but this looks like the best the PlayStation 4 has to offer in this hardware category so far. Sony themselves have yet to enter the elite controller market, instead licensing out those peripherals through third parties like SCUF, Razer, and HORI.

Pre-orders have begun for the SCUF Vantage — which can be customized in a variety of colors, from its magnetic faceplate to its anti-friction rings — on the product’s store page. The controller is set to release sometime in August 2018 (which likely will miss Evo 2018, but there are plenty of other events on the horizon to follow).

PlayStation performed an unboxing of the unit at E3 to showcase everything that comes with the device. The controller comes with a variety of accessories right out the gate, as one would expect at the given price point, but with that investment, users will have everything they need to perfect their way of play. Take a look at PlayStation’s unboxing of the SCUF Vantage below — and expect a more in-depth look at the controller and its functions from Shoryuken in the near future.

Sources: SCUF Gaming; PlayStation

Blanka-Chan battles Chun-Li and Hot Ryu in this new spin on an iconic image.

Attending Evo 2018? You can now purchase an exclusive Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition t-shirt with art by Dave Wilkins that calls back to the original Street Fighter II: The World Warrior box art for the SNES, but updated with Street Fighter V costumes:

The shirt is available on the Evo 2018 registration page on smash.gg (look for the “Merchandise” tab, once you’ve signed up). Proceeds from the shirt — which costs $10 to pre-order, for pickup at the Evo venue — will go to buff the prize pool for SFV at Evo 2018. Michael Martin elaborates on Capcom-Unity:

100% of the revenue generated from the shirt will go to boost the prize pool for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition at Evo 2018. The expanded prize pool will be distributed towards the lower end of the brackets – from 9th place to 32nd place – meaning more people will be rewarded!

Furthermore, once we reach 1,000 shirts sold ($10,000 additional prize pool), then Capcom will provide a free shirt to every entrant in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. It will take the full effort of the community to reach this goal and make the shirt available to Evo Street Fighter competitors.

These shirts can then be picked up on-site at EVO 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. You must show up for your pools to receive this shirt. Please note, registrants who purchased a shirt and contributed to the 1,000 shirt goal will not receive a second shirt.

Interested registrants and Street Fighter fans, go check it out on smash.gg! The shirt is available starting today (June 20) until registration for Evo 2018 closes on July 20th.

Evo 2018 hits the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 3-5.

Source: Capcom-Unity

Aside from reviving  the franchise, SoulCalibur VI represents another milestone for the series — it’s the first time a new installment of the series will launch on PC. As such, many players are likely wondering what the game’s hardware requirements may be… now, wonder no longer.

Nvidia has posted an update on their site detailing what the minimum and recommended system requirements for the game will be. The minimum requirements are par for the course for most Unreal Engine 4 games, requiring only a Core i3-4160, 6 Gigabytes of RAM, and a GeForce 1050 or equivalent (or a GTX 660 or 750TI for those on older video cards). Recommended specifications follow the same trend, requiring a Core i5-4690, 8 Gigabytes of RAM, and the equivalent of a GeForce 1060.

Both specifications mention DirectX 11 and Windows 7 64-bit, so for anyone still running older versions (such as Windows XP), then it’s time to upgrade.

Of course, being on PC this means that, with powerful enough hardware, the game can be made to run at full 4K resolution and 60fps. Nvidia has already previously released footage of the game running at this resolution.

SoulCalibur VI will launch on PC, as well as PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 19.

Source: Nvidia

Check to see how your own team members have been affected.

Dragon Ball FighterZ has received a new balance patch today, updating it to version 1.10. Bandai Namco has dropped the change notes onto social media for us to peruse — and you can also see them here by clicking the gallery below:

Mostly general bug fixes, with some balance changes to a number of FighterZ; Vegito (SSGSS) and Piccolo have the greatest number of adjustments in the latter category.

C-c-changes!…#DragonBallFighterZ pic.twitter.com/W0oMssHmq2

— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) June 20, 2018

Source: Bandai Namco US (Twitter)

To the victor goes the spoilers.

The trophy list for the PlayStation 4 version of SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy has been revealed, and it seems that with it comes the identity of the final two members of the cast. Specifically, the trophy lists identify these characters as Mui Mui and Terry Bogard.

The trophies have been listed in trophy-hunting site Exophase. The specific trophies in question require players to complete the game’s story mode with a team using Terry or Mui Mui.

Of the two, it’s the addition of Terry that is quite surprising, considering that by no means does he fit the definition of a “Heroine”. Whatever his reason is for being in the game, he’s currently the only male character in it (unless the final boss does turn out to be Kukri… or should we say, Sandel Dark).

SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is set to launch on PlayStation 4, and Switch in the West on September 7.

Source: Exophase

Stylish new outfits that are sure to charge up your Devil Trigger.

A new slew of Crossover Costumes are incoming for Street Fighter V: this time, three World Warriors are getting in touch with their more devilish sides in a triple-header of Devil May Cry costumes (to mark the announcement of Devil May Cry 5 at E3 2018). The new outfits allow you to deck Ken out as Dante, Laura as Gloria, and Ed as Nero:

If you’re unfamiliar with the series, you can read more details about these characters over on Capcom-Unity.

The Dante and Nero outfits will be Premium Costumes you can purchase through the Shop for $3.99 USD each, becoming available on June 25. The Gloria costume will be obtainable through the Extra Battle mode; as usual, to get the outfit you’ll have to complete weekly challenges in Extra Battle to earn each costume component and complete the four-part set. Each challenge costs at least 2500 Fight Money to complete. The challenges begin in July:

This makes Ken the first fighter to get two Crossover Costumes to call his own. Capcom is also already teasing the next costume to follow these, and it will give Rashid his second Crossover Costume as well — this one will be for Air Man from Mega Man 2.

Source: Capcom-Unity

Also: Cody is arriving one day early!

Survival Mode is one of the most reviled aspects of Street Fighter V: obnoxiously difficult while punishingly random, only the hardest of the hardcore have spent any significant time with the frustrating single-player gauntlet — especially after it became possible to unlock costume colors with real money.

Capcom has finally decided to address this promising new features that will roll out alongside the latest DLC fighter, Cody — now arriving June 25, not June 26. The Capcom-Unity blog describes a myriad of changes:

*CURRENT SURVIVAL MODE

As you likely know, Survival Mode is a single-player mode where you’re challenged to fight a consecutive number of CPU opponents until you either beat them all or are defeated – if you fail, you must start from the very beginning. There are four separate difficulty settings with different rewards:

• Easy
  • 10 consecutive opponents
  • Unlocks Color 3 for Default, Story, and Extra Battle Costumes
  • EXP awarded for the first time completed with each character
• Normal
  • 30 consecutive opponents
  • Unlocks Colors 4, 5, and 6 for Default, Story, and Extra Battle Costumes
  • EXP awarded for the first time completed with each character
• Hard
  • 50 consecutive opponents
  • Unlocks Colors 7, 8, 9, and 10 for Default, Story, and Extra Battle Costumes
  • EXP awarded for the first time completed with each character
• Extreme
  • 100 consecutive opponents
  • Unlocks a title
  • EXP awarded for the first time completed with each character

What’s new, then…? According to Capcom-Unity:

BATTLE GOODS

Similar to Battle Supplements, Battle Goods can be used to give you advantages or improve your chances of winning the next round. Unlike Battle Supplements, Battle Goods are consumables, meaning they will disappear once you use them. You can also use up to five of them between rounds whereas you can only use one Battle Supplement.

Once this update goes live, you’ll automatically receive some Battle Goods in your inventory to get you started. You can obtain more Battle Goods by completing Survival Mode – the higher the difficulty, the more rewards – or by participating in the new Fighting Chance mode, which will be discussed below.

CARE TO CONTINUE OR SAVE YOUR PROGRESS?

Currently, once you are defeated in Survival Mode, you must start from the very beginning. With this update, you can now spend Fight Money to continue after a loss. If you are defeated, you can spend 1,000 Fight Money to continue without losing progress. When continuing, you will start with a full health bar, EX Gauge, and V-Gauge to make the match fair.

100 consecutive matches can take a while! That’s why we’re adding the ability to save your progress so you can resume at a later date. After clearing a stage, you’ll have the option to open the Save Menu at the Battle Supplements screen. Upon doing so, you’ll be prompted with the ability to Save and Quit. Once you decide you’re ready to continue, you can head to Survival Mode again where a prompt will ask if you’d like to resume play.

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

When playing Survival Mode, you can now select Standard or Random, which will affect the CPU opponents. In Standard, only the initial 16 characters will appear in a predetermined order. In Random, all currently-released characters, including those from Season 1-3, will appear in random order – except for the “boss” character that appears every 10 stages.

Finally, any unused V-Gauge will also be carried over into the next stage giving you more options as you take on the increased CPU difficulty..

As you progress in each attempt, you’ll rack up score depending on how quickly you defeat the opponent. In between rounds, you have the option of spending some of your score to purchase a Battle Supplement, which will help you against the next opponent in various ways.

Quite significant changes, enough to potentially make the mode worth a new look. But what is this new “Fighting Chance” all about…? Basically, Menat is setting up shop to do some fortune-telling, Street Fighter style:

INTRODUCING FIGHTING CHANCE

Battle Goods are potent items that can greatly increase your chance of completing Survival Mode, especially with the increased difficulty. This brings us to Fighting Chance, a new system where Menat will open up shop to tell your fortune! By spending 500 Fight Money, you can obtain a Fantasy Fortune Reading, which Menat can help you decipher. These readings contain multiple items, including some exclusive to Fighting Chance.

• Battle Goods for Survival Mode
• New colors only obtainable in Fantasy Fortune Readings
• Rare costumes only available via Fantasy Fortune Readings
  • Cammy’s Cannon Spike costume [below] is one of these rare costumes
  • We’ll introduce more rare costumes as time goes on!
• Classic pieces of Street Fighter art from across the series

Entertaining additions, quite possibly — though a bit disappointing that these features are going to part players with their Fight Money, rather than offer some new ways to earn the currency that has become scarcer and scarcer in the game’s system. Look for the new-and-improved Survival Mode, the Fighting Chance feature, and Cody to land in SFV on June 25th.

Source: Capcom-Unity