Category: Fighting Games

In a recent multi-post Twitter series, longtime Ken main Chris Tatarian has called the Ken community to take new action on behalf of Ken’s gameplay issues in Street Fighter V. After having tweeted at and emailed Capcom multiple times over the past year about various Ken inconsistencies, Chris is saying enough is enough.

This call is stemming from a larger range of frustrations the Ken community at large has been sharing, on Twitter primarily. Most complaints involve serious inconsistencies with Ken’s combos (BnB’s dropping on counter hit, juggles not connecting seemingly at random, moves not linking that normally do, etc.) and the lack of resolve on Capcom’s part to make Ken a “fully-functioning” character. At this point — after having his DM’s filled with Ken mains across the world begging Chris to speak out definitively — Chris is calling for an outright protest of the character. Using the hashtags #StopPlayingKen and #FixKensInconsistencies, players are starting to join the fray.

Part 1.This is for every Ken player who has tweeted to me…DM'd me… asked me to speak for the past 2 years… follow me into this movement until we get what we deserve…not What we want…But What we deserve. pic.twitter.com/w9Hj97rQ5X

— Chris Tatarian (@Chris_Tatarian) February 12, 2018

You can view the following videos on Twitter.

Source: Chris Tatarian (Twitter)

We now know when our boy Blanka will be coming back to us, and we also know what his V-Skill and V-Triggers will be. However, what many longtime Blanka players are wondering is how his movelist has transitioned into Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. Well, now we know, since Capcom has uploaded Blanka’s full movelist onto the CFN Portal site.

In Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, it seems that Blanka has retained most of his moves from previous games, and his moves still retain the charge motions as in previous games, and even the multi-tap (or piano) input for his electricity (with no directional input option added, like in the case of Chun-Li’s Hyakuretsukyaku). The main new addition to his moveset is the Wild Hunt command grab. This is done by a half circle back plus punch input, which may also give us some clues on its properties (most command grabs starting with a forward input have longer, more visible start ups).

As for his “Dynamic Rolling” Critical Art, unlike Guile, Blanka does not require a charge input. Instead, he simply has to do two quarter circles forward into punch to execute it.

In addition to his movelist, the CFN Portal also shows his stats. Both his life and stun values are listed as 1,000 — basically middle of the road, with him not being too squishy, or too chunky. This information should help players prepare to play as Blanka once he arrives next Tuesday, February 20.

Source: CFN Portal

In 2017, the largest midwestern major of the year — Combo Breaker — played host to one of the largest Super Street Fighter II Turbo events in a long time, with 117 players vying for a chance to take home a tabletop arcade cabinet supplied by Paradise Arcade Shop. While nothing of that nature has materialized this year (yet), there are still other incentives to encourage people to play.

One Frame Link has recently announced that they will be supplying ST with a $500 pot bonus for Combo Breaker 2018. When you factor in that this is also a stop on the qualification circuit for the Tournament of Legends 3 — which will culminate at Canada Cup 2018 — you have multiple reasons to show up to Chicago to play this event.

Play Super Street Fighter II Turbo at COMBO BREAKER 2018 and earn your share of the $500 pot bonus from @OneFrameLink! https://t.co/AYRGXjpXul pic.twitter.com/Yn14SNAE5K

— COMBO BREAKER (@ComboBreakerFGC) February 8, 2018

AND Combobreaker is a TOL qualifier, so not only is there the $500 pot bonus courtesy of @OneFrameLink, but the winner will qualify for TOL! #TofL3 #SSF2X https://t.co/Ed9zLrrlIE

— Atari あたり @WinterBrawl (@AtariFGC) February 9, 2018

Sources: Atari; COMBO BREAKER

Ahead of his release next week, Capcom UK are going to show off Blanka tonight during their regular Tuesday night WSO Sessions. As normal, expect a full breakdown of Blanka’s normals, specials and both of his V-Triggers from Capcom UK’s Matthew Edwards and Logan Sama, before some of the UK’s best Street Fighter V players show off the electric beastman in some live matches.

Join @WSOLogan & @TheStreetWriter tomorrow evening for the @WinnerStaysOn Blanka Showcase, live from @Capcom_UK on Capcom Fighters ⬅️➡️☄️

Expect thunder & lightning ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ pic.twitter.com/OGcZnGOXZL

— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) February 12, 2018

For those wanting to watch live, this Blanka showcase will be over on the Capcom Fighters Twitch channel at 8:00 PM GMT/12:00 PM PT. Don’t worry if you don’t catch this stream, as Capcom Unity will also be running its own Blanka showcase stream at 3:00 PM PT.

Source: Capcom Fighters

As Japan goes all-in on esports, Capcom have announced that they will officially be entering the Japanese esports market in 2018. According to an official press release, Capcom are looking to hold more tournaments within Japan in the coming year, to compliment “its existing North American esports business activities”.

The expansion in the world of Japanese esports will begin on February 17th, with the opening of the Capcom Esports Club at the Plaza Capcom arcade in Kichijoji, Tokyo. From this starting location, Capcom is hoping to expand into arcades across the country, with the view of holding regular qualifying tournaments for Japan’s new pro licenses.

This press release also confirms that Tokyo Games Show 2018 will be a Premier event on the 2018 Capcom Pro Tour, with Capcom hoping to “offer pro licenses to the winners of this event.”

While it certainly bodes well for the future of Street Fighter V in Japan, the worry is that the introduction of pro licenses will sharpen the division between those with licenses and those without. Capcom have stated that all Capcom Pro Tour events will remain as open bracket tournaments, but there is the fear that pro-only invitationals may become the norm in Japan.

Source: Capcom Japan

New reasons to check out this platform fighter on Nintendo’s Switch.

The latest patch for Brawlout on the Nintendo Switch (version 1.1.0) is presently live, updating the game with a number of new features and improvements, including:

Brawlout TV

• Watch live and recent matches from players worldwide!
• Check out your own online match history and watch replays of your previous online battles.

Smarter AI

• AI opponents are now able to use DI (Directional Influence), both to escape combos and to dampen the impact of otherwise fatal blows. In general, AI should be a little harder to combo and KO.

New Achievements

• Tons of new achievements, which give players extra rewards to help speed up the process of acquiring piñatas.

Mastery Skins

• Two new special cosmetics can be unlocked for each character when players reach Mastery Levels 10 and 15 with each.

Exclusive character gear items

• Special cosmetics have been added that are obtainable by redeeming codes given out during special events.

This is on top of bug fixes, which include general fixes as well as specific character balancing; the patch notes can be viewed here.

To celebrate the new patch and the success Brawlout has seen on Switch so far — with over 80,000 players reported to have joined the fight — new players can pick up the game at a 25% discount on the Nintendo Switch eShop. Offer applies to the US and Europe, and expires on February 14th, so act fast if you want to get in on the brawl at a discounted price.

Source: Brawlout [press release]