Category: Fighting Games

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ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational: Commander Jesse and JB complete the full lineup

The full roster of 24 competitors is now clear to all.

eleague the challenger sfv reality tv logo 750x400

With the conclusion of ELEAGUE’s The Challenger: Street Fighter V reality show competition, we now know who is filling those last two spots on the ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational roster. First, Commander Jesse emerged victorious through the show’s challenges and earned the promised spot; but the reason for the fact that we’ve only heard from 22 other players so far was soon revealed, as 2nd-place finisher SB|JB claimed the surprise additional Challenger spot.

The full list of competitors is now as follows:

  • Echo Fox|Punk [2017 ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational Champion]
  • Echo Fox|Justin Wong
  • Echo Fox|Tokido
  • Echo Fox|Momochi
  • Hx.Twitch.CYG BST|Daigo Umehara
  • CYG BST|PR_Balrog
  • CYG BST|Fuudo
  • RISE|MenaRD
  • RISE|Smug
  • NVD|Phenom
  • Mouz|Problem X
  • 801 Strider
  • F3|Brolynho
  • Fudoh|Haitani
  • iDom
  • Fudoh|Fujimura (formerly Yukadon)
  • Filipino Champ
  • CO|Dogura
  • ARES.RB|Luffy
  • RB|Snake Eyez
  • NuckleDu
  • PG|Infiltration
  • Commander Jesse
  • SB|JB

We’re still waiting to see how the Groups will be divided this year; that should become clear very soon. The ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational kicks off on June 1st with Group A. Want to see the action live? Tickets are available.

eleague sfv invitational 2018 schedule banner 1

Sources: ELEAGUE; Jesse Espinoza (Twitter); Alex Valle (Twitter)

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SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy releases September 6 in Japan, adds Love Heart

The sky pirate returns for what may be her final SNK game appearance.

A recent issue of Famitsu has revealed a couple of important details about SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. Alongside announcing the game’s Japanese release date, it also revealed a character some thought wouldn’t make it into the game. The issue reveals that SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy will launch in Japan on September 6 — one day before the game’s September 7 release date in the West. Additionally, the issue reveals that Love Heart will be joining the cast, this time dressed up as a policewoman.

The reveal of Love Heart may be quite surprising for some. Some time back, Highlights Entertainment acquired a number of SNK’s pachislot assets, including Sky Love, the game where Love Heart hails from. With this, there was some speculation that her The King of Fighters XIV appearance would be her last in an SNK game. That said, some of SNK’s previously released promotional images for SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy did hint that she would be returning.

Of course, this still doesn’t really give a clear answer as to what her future is in terms of appearing in SNK’s games, and this still may very well be her last.

In the meantime, check out this preview of the issue and screenshot of Love Heart from Famitsu.

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Famitsu_SNK_Heroines_Love_Heart

Sources: Famitsu; MMCafé

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The latest Blade Strangers trailer showcases Emiko — and her gigantic cat, Shakemaru

That’s a really big cat she’s riding!

Nicalis has released yet another character trailer for Blade Strangers. This time, the trailer focuses on Emiko from Saynara Umihara Kawase.

The main thing that sets Emiko apart from the other characters is that she comes riding her giant cat: Shakemaru. Indeed, Shakemaru actually does the brunt of the fighting for Emiko in the game. Fighting game veterans will likely be reminded of “Bust” mode Nakoruru/Rera from the Samurai Shodown games, except Emiko rides on Shakemaru pretty much all the time.

With this, the only characters who have yet to get a trailer are Solange, Ali, Master T, and Lina.

Blade Strangers is set to launch on PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC this Summer.

Source: Nicalis (Twitter)

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Rumor: Are Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII going to be guest characters for SoulCalibur VI?

Are even more Final Fantasy characters coming to a Bandai Namco fighter?

final fantasy vii advent children tifa

YouTuber Dynasty has offered up a tantalizing but questionable rumor, based on a supposedly leaked internal agenda document for the upcoming E3 2018. The agenda reportedly includes a reference to a SoulCalibur VI reveal trailer that will introduce not one, but three prominent characters from Square-Enix’s fan-favorite Final Fantasy VII: Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth.

How likely is this, really? Well, Square-Enix and Bandai Namco are already on pretty good sharing terms lately, seeing as the latest DLC fighter for Tekken 7 was none other than the star of Final Fantasy XV, Noctis. And while three additional guests from a single property may seem extreme, SoulCalibur is no stranger to guest fighters, and lots of ’em. But why Final Fantasy VII in particular? Clearly, Square-Enix has a strong interest in promoting FFVII to build and retain interest for the in-development Final Fantasy VII remake, which is also expected to have some new footage revealed at E3 this year.

As Dynasty points out in the video, Cloud had been a contender for inclusion in SoulCalibur II already. And this isn’t even the first outing for these characters in a Namco 3D fighting game: all three of them were included in the PlayStation version of the DreamFactory-developed Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring, along with three other FFVII characters (only Cloud and Tifa were in the Namco-published arcade version, however).

So basically, this rumor isn’t outside the realm of possibility — depending on how hard you believe Square-Enix wants to push the FFVII franchise, and how amenable you figure Bandai-Namco would be to throwing three FFVII characters into their upcoming title. Alternatively: maybe only one of the three is coming as a playable fighter, and the trailer description in the agenda is a red herring? We won’t know for certain until E3 hits Los Angeles on June 12-13, and this “leak” is confirmed as genuine, or killed outright.

final fantasy vii advent children cloud sephiroth impaled

Source: Dynasty

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pdcsky expands the Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Ryu Punish library with Blanka, Sakura options

For a few months now, we’ve been covering the massive project that is pdcsky‘s Ryu Punish playlist for Street Fighter V. This huge undertaking maps out Ryu’s optimal punishes and responses versus every character in the game — and just when he finished Season 2, it’s time to start again with the new characters of Season 3! No good deed goes unpunished.

This is an excellent start for rookie players who want to learn how frame data works, and as a study guide for veteran World Warriors.

Source: pdcsky

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ESAM demonstrates a new anti-Luigi edge-guard for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Even as the world prepares itself for the newly announced Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo Switch, Panda Global’s ESAM continues to push the meta against new threats in the current Wii U tournament scene. The latest example out of ESAM’s lab is the discovery of a fatal flaw in the rising-in-popularity Luigi — the plumber’s up+B has virtually no hit-stun.

Because of this weakness in one of his primary recovery tools, it’s easy for a lot of characters in the cast to simply throw themselves into up+B then get another guaranteed hit after getting knocked up by the uppercut. This knowledge will help you rack up the damage quickly versus the weird and wild plumber.

Source: imESAM

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ARIKA shows off new gameplay footage of Fighting EX Layer’s Hayate

As ARIKA tip-toes closer and closer to their presentation at Combo Breaker 2018, the developers of Fighting EX Layer have steadily revealed new gameplay footage on their official YouTube channel. Most of it has centered around the characters revealed since the launch of the previous beta test, and today’s new video is no exception:

The above video is an excellent showcase the new character Hayate, and his aggressive toolkit. Armed with a sword, a feint-able special, fast DP, and rekka-like shoulder tackle that appears to leave him either at frame-advantage or near neutral, Hayate is an excellent pressure-heavy addition to the FEXL cast.

Source: arika

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ETC Chile shows off 20 minutes of high-level Mortal Kombat II exhibition matches on “Free to Play” TV show

Some of Chile’s best Mortal Kombat players had the opportunity to spread their NetherRealm love on Free To Play, a cable TV show centered around video games, comics, and more. NGC 2016 finalists VTR and Ivanovic, Keytonne 2016 finalist Pelao Eis, and ETCChile founder McFly were all in attendance to show off, in particular, the high-level gameplay of Mortal Kombat II.

While Ultimate Mortal Kombat III might be the retro MK fighter of many players’ choice for its high-octane pacing and combos, the ETC Chile crew prove in the 20-minute exhibition above that there’s more than enough life to be had in the more methodical world of MKII.

Source: Elite Tournament Chile

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Learn how to unlock hidden fighters in Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter III titles, coming soon to Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

Evil Ryu, Akuma, Dan, and others… a lot was locked behind codes in the arcade era!

sf 30th games

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection — expected to arrive in a little more than a week, on May 29th — will include “arcade perfect” versions of virtually every Street Fighter main-line title ever made. This includes games like Street Fighter Alpha: Warrior’s Dreams and Street Fighter III: New Generation — titles that hid playable fighters behind codes à la Akuma in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.

In the video below, CCW|MRpeck324 looks at how to access these fighters in the Alpha and SFIII arcade titles. As the Anniversary Collection aims for authenticity, we can expect that these codes will carry straight over to their respective games — though we won’t know for certain until the game hits store shelves.

Characters that can be unlocked:

  • Street Fighter Alpha: Warrior’s Dreams – M. Bison, Akuma, Dan
  • Street Fighter Alpha 2 – Evil Ryu, Chun-Li (classic costume)
  • Street Fighter III: New Generation – Yang
  • Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact – Akuma

Know any characters that they missed? Let us know in the comments!

Source: CCW|MRpeck324

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Beefy Smash Doods show off more deadly 2-on-1 combos in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Two Smashers are better than one.

The Beefy Smash Doods have shown us before how nasty things can get if a player finds themselves against two opponents in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. If you’re down to the last stock in doubles, or the unfortunate target of a surprise alliance in a three-player battle, you can expect some deadly damage coming your way if your enemies have their teamwork together!

Kicking off their fifth installment of team combos with Pit and Wario ganging up on an unsuspecting Pac-Man, the Beefy Smash Doods show off numerous impressive sequences with Zelda and the Villager, Dr. Mario and Pac-Man, Duck Hunt and Charizard (arguably a three-on-one), and others — but not double Cloud, which is probably for the best.

For another angle, have a look at what characters are best at protecting their allies in doubles.

Source: Beefy Smash Doods