Power levels are reaching well above 9000 — I mean, 8000 — in BornFree’s latest video, in which he discusses why he’s excited for the brand-new Dragon Ball FighterZ (released today)! More so, he’s here to talk about why this title is such a significant release, and how a game in this style, made with the attention to gameplay and love of the source material that DBFZ has been, holds the power to join different parts of the FGC (and other communities) together.
And for those that want to see even more of BornFree’s rage-induced power level spike, check out the extended cut of the “Subpar Saiyan” sequence:
Guys from the future just think they know everything.
Samurai Shodown V Special was one of our favorite re-releases here at SRK in 2017. This is both because it’s a fantastic game in SNK’s retro library, and because its got surprisingly decent online play — something that usually doesn’t happen with a reissue like this. It seems like we’re not the only ones impressed by the re-release, as SNK made this announcement:
In celebration of the very first EVO Japan, and SAMURAI SHODOWN V SPECIAL's sidetournament this Fri. (JST), we're pleased to announce that SNK will be releasing free PS4 and Vita Themes for you to download on SIE's PS Stores shortly!Please keep an eye out for them this Fri. (PST) pic.twitter.com/ieyv3TIzAc
Starting today (Friday), you can get the above Samurai Shodown V Special themes for your PlayStation 4 and Vita, adorning your home screen with Yoshitora and Haohmaru. It’s timed perfectly to coincide with the SamSho side tournament at Evo Japan this weekend — and hopefully, more awareness (and events) for Samurai Shodown V will follow!
It’s very rare that two people find themselves pitted against each other across multiple majors, yet this is exactly what happened to Super Smash Bros. Melee players Mango and Armada. Up until Genesis 5, the American and the Swede always seemed to have their paths destined for Grand Finals, despite the odds of this happening repeatedly.
In this video from theScore, we see how their tournament paths crossed, and the circumstances surrounding each of them. It also shows how Armada has had the upper hand at the series, having beaten Mango 3-1 in Grand Finals sets.
Now, now… I know how we all feel about Arakune players in BlazBlue: Central Fiction. To say that they are not the most-liked is a polite understatement. But just in case you aren’t aware of just how vile, disgusting, unfair, overpowered Arakune is, this is the video you need to see and share in misery with friends.
SugoiSmallFry took nine precious months out of his life to create ｢Unspeakable Evil｣, a combo video and character tutorial monstrosity in one. Starting out with a story edited from BlazBlue‘s sprites and animation, the lengthy clip goes into showing how to perform the dirtiest cross-ups and hard-to-blockable setups, that may result in ragequits. The visual editing is fairly impressive (occasionally meme-ing a bit), showing button inputs and even a chart that displays what type of mix-ups Arakune can perform in a “Block with me” sequence.
The latter half is a compilation of pretty practical situations that Arakune can turn around into a full Curse and some character-specific tricks. SugoiSmallFry shows how to get around common tools and defensive measures from fighters like Ragna, Lambda-11, Rachel, Jin, and others. Arakune can even disgustingly combo into a full Curse from a Counter Assault. Though the video is technically about CF 1.0, Arakune is relatively unchanged, combo-wise, in the current version.
And it seems like Arakune players have new theme songs to brand them, which are, bizarrely enough, remixes of I Feel Good and Wonderwall (though it’s actually called Wallspin). Yes. You read this correctly.
This weekend is the inaugural Evo Japan! An event that has been years in the making, the Evolution Champion Series has joined forces with the major tournament organizers of Japan to put together three days of competition in seven of the most popular fighting games of today. With over 5000 registered players, this tournament will be a chance for many to compete in their very first Evo event.
Evo Japan 2018 Official Games
ARMS
BlazBlue Centralfiction
Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2
The King of Fighters XIV
Street Fighter V Arcade Edition
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Tekken 7
The first two days of Evo Japan will take place at the Sunshine City Bunka Hall in Toshima, Tokyo. Day 3 will be at Akiba Square in Akihabara. Finals will be spread over the three days, with ARMS on Friday, The King of Fighters XIV and BlazBlue Centralfiction on Saturday, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 and Street Fighter V Arcade Edition on Sunday.
In addition to the official games are a wealth of side tournaments on both arcade and console. A number of upcoming titles will be in playable form at the event, including BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Fighting EX Layer, and SoulCalibur VI.
Thousands of players, from beginner to world-class, will be competing over the weekend. For brackets and player lists, check out Smash.gg.
Evo Japan will have two streams for English viewers. Evo will be providing the main stream for the event, while Capcom Fighters will be providing dedicated coverage for Street Fighter V. Japanese coverage will be on OPENREC.tv, with five streams total.
January 30th is just around the corner, which means that fans will be able to enjoy the full console version of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT very soon. Continuing to help prepare those anxious for this game’s release, Maximilian has created yet another character breakdown, this time focusing on the highly-popular (and also highly-unpopular!) Squall Leonheart.
If you are among those who claim Final Fantasy VIII as their favorite game of the franchise, there is a good chance that the gunblade-wielder will be the leader of your three-man team. If that is the case for you, there’s quite a bit you need to know before you go off hacking and blasting on the battlefield, especially if you want to seize victory (and impress Rinoa). Max has got you potential Squall mains covered in his breakdown video, which you can check out below. (If you’re more of a Final Fantasy VII fan with a dark side and a fondness for very long swords, be sure to check out his Sephiroth breakdown as well.)
The release of Dragon Ball FighterZ is nearly upon us, and you may have already been doing whatever you can to get the upper hand on the competition, including playing in the beta version. While there’s already a good amount of footage available online — particularly on YouTube — it’s not the most handy resource to search. Thankfully, there’s something better.
keeponrock.in, who has similar websites for BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, has made an online video database for Dragon Ball FighterZ. It’s a very useful tool, particularly if you know exactly what you’re looking for; you can narrow the search terms with a lot of parameters, such as specific characters, channels, players, and even versions. So if you want to see players who have used Beerus with Gohan and Frieza, or any other combinations, it’s a wonderful service.
What’s more, you can always catalogue videos by adding them to the site. Click an icon in the upper left-hand corner and press “add a video” to proceed. If you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out to keeponrock.in via Twitter, and refer to this handy visual guide:
If you talk about Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, one name is forever etched into its annals of greatness. Chile’s ZeRo has more tournament wins than the rest of the top players combined, and his commitment to being the best came to an abrupt end this month as he announced a hiatus from the game.
theScore chronicles his career, where he started from poverty and a tumultuous family life in Chile, to his dedication to grinding to be the best at the game in America. They also talk about not only his greatest achievements, such as a 53-tournament winning streak, but also his downturn after recovering from injury.
Evo Japan is about to kick off in Tokyo this weekend, and you won’t want to miss any of the action! The streaming timetable is set, so check it out below to see where you can catch your favorite titles, and in the language you prefer.
It’s also been revealed who will be lending their talent and personality to commentary at the event. Be sure to tune in and share their passion for this historic competition! The English stream starts at 4:00 PM PT today on Evo’s Twitch channel!
With the days continuing to tick away until the launch of Dragon Ball FighterZ, Maximilian continues his series of character breakdowns for the entire base roster, this time choosing to focus on the former top pupil of the Crane School, Tien Shinhan.
Tien’s Volleyball Fist is a multi-hitting attack that can be controlled with multiple button presses, similar to a Rekka chain, beginning with an armored state that can transition into a forward lunge before hitting foes low, and then launching them with the final hit for continued aerial combos. The heavy/EX version of the first hit serves as a command grab that goes into the full Volleyball Fist attack, but is difficult to combo after without using Vanish or Assists. EXing the second or third hits of the move will cause Tien to go into the air faster and stop quickly, providing him with some unique air combo opportunities. The Aerial Volleyball Fist is simply the final hit of the chain, but will always be a soft knockdown unless EXed to become hard.
The Crane Strike is a grounded overhead attack that can also be used in the air, but is difficult to combo into due to its massive startup. Tien’s Ki attacks appear pretty slow, though the Dodon Ray does serve as his assist, giving him some unique utility. His final special, Telekinesis, involves summoning Chiaotzu — in a manner similar to Android 17, Zamasu, and the Ginyu Force — to paralyze Tien’s opposition from full-screen if they’re grounded.
Perhaps the most unique aspect to Tien are his super special moves. The signature Tri-Beam is a level 1 that covers the ground area upwards, but the level 3 Neo Tri-Beam is where Tien really shines, as it can be enhanced with up to four more Ki Gauges to deal massive damage to a character, at the cost of doing non-recoverable damage to himself.
Finally, his second level 3, Farewell Mr. Tien, recreates the iconic scene from the Saiyan Saga that sees Chiaotzu attempt to self-detonate himself while on Nappa’s back. It’s a fast attack that hits from behind for good damage, but will also cause you to lose access to Chiaotzu’s abilities for the remainder of the match.
You can see the full video below, along with links to his previous coverage of the remaining cast.
Dragon Ball FighterZ will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam this Friday, January 26th in the West, while a Japanese release will follow on the same platforms Thursday, February 1st.
