This past weekend in Brussels, Belgium, the fourth and final Brussels Challenge Road To Evo Japan event was held, with the winner of the Street Fighter V Singles tournament earning a trip to Evo Japan later this month. With additional action in Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, The King of Fighters XIV, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and an SFV 2v2 Team tournament — along with top players in every title from multiple regions –it was guaranteed to be an exciting night of international action.
1. Epsilon|Takamura (Ken) and SS (Urien)
2. Epsilon|Brick (Zangief) and Sbire Chun Li (Chun-Li)
3. Mouz|CCL (Chun-Li) and Epsilon|Keftaroz (Rashid)
4. Shadow|Kashama (Balrog) and Fuhajin (Juri)
The Mikaten matches continue with another excellent FT10 between two very skilled Japanese players. As usual, Joniosan’s channel is host to top-level Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 talent. This time, it’s Fumo’s famous Elphelt versus 2Rio’s excellent I-no.
Both characters are rather offense-oriented and lack defensive options sans Tension. Therefore, the fights get very one-sided from time to time; while I-no excels at quick movement with fast knockdowns into okizeme setplay, Elphelt sometimes only needs one good hit to eat away most of I-no’s lifebar. Fumo used to play A.B.A. in previous versions, so he’s a rather methodical, smart player. It shows how evenly they are matched, too, especially in the score, going head-to-head in the first few sets.
Also, make sure to adjust your computer’s sound settings to hear MajinObama give informative commentary in English. Levels on the left have Japanese sound, and the right ones emit English.
The forums will survive — possibly even better than before!
We were on the verge of closing a page on FGC history, but the massive — and heartwarming — community response has provided a means to continue this significant FGC hub, as well as galvanizing its importance. From Tom Cannon:
Update! Based on the feedback from the community, we’ve taken a hard, long look at ways to preserve as much of the forums as we can. Thanks to all your thoughts and suggestions, we have a plan that I think is workable, which is to keep the forums up, fully operational, and migrate to Discourse.
Not only will this significantly reduce our costs, but we’ll be able to add some cool new stuff like:
– Infinite scrolling instead of page indicators
– NO ADS
– Perks for users who support the site through Patreon
We’re working now with the team Discourse on a transition plan. The goal is to migrate over with little to no downtime.
Stay locked on to Shoryuken for updates to our forum system as they are rolled out, and thanks for your patience and support!
As we inch ever closer to the release of Dragon Ball FighterZ later this month, Maximilian continues his character breakdowns following his trip to the Bandai Namco Entertainment America offices by taking a look at another one of the characters in this weekend’s open beta: Adult Gohan.
Though he bears some similarities to his teen counterpart — including both having an uppercut as their Assists — Gohan’s older, more-experienced incarnation breaks away from his youthful self in a variety of different ways. His launching command normal, the Ultimate High Kick, which allows him to send his foes into the sky without the standard jump canceling other characters have to do, in a vein similar to the universal launchers found in the Marvel vs. Capcom series.
The Jet Uppercut seems to be the Adult equivalent of Teen Gohan’s Dragon Flight, which has slight invulnerability, with the heavy/EX version doing a bit more damage, for overall standard fare. The Machine Gun Kick is another shared special, and seems to function similarly to Chun-Li’s Lightning Legs, and can only be preformed in the air (just like his younger version).
The Ultimate Back Attack is unique to Adult, and allows Gohan to setup dirty mix-ups, since it’s an overhead that can cross-up foes depending on the strength used, though it seems you won’t get much off of it. However, the most unique aspect of this fighter — given that he hails from the Majin Buu Saga — is his unique install super, Potential Unleashed.
Adult Gohan can spend up to a full 7 bars of Ki Gauge to go into his “Mystic” form, which provides a small damage buff and grants him new specials, such as the Machine Gun Punch, which improves his Chain Combos, and will also add a tracking property to the Ultimate Back Attack, providing Gohan with a dangerous, full-screen instant overhead, that can go behind your opponent, for some truly grizzly tactics.
However, once you hit Level 7 and reach full Potential is where things get truly insane. Once fully-leveled up, Adult Gohan will gain the unique ability to “reverse beat” his combo chains, something no one else in the entire roster is afforded, so long as he doesn’t repeat the same attack multiple times in a single combo.
For those unfamiliar with the term, this means Level 7 Unleashed Adult Gohan can ignore the normal rules of combo chaining that the rest of the roster is forced to follow, as he can then chain his normals together in any order that he wants. Combined with Assists, his newly-acquired Machine Gun Punch, enhanced Ultimate Back Attack, and launching Ultimate High Kick, players will be forced to block Level 7 Adult Gohan in ways they don’t have to block against any other member of the roster, leading to unique pressure situations only he can pull off.
You can hear Max’s full thoughts in the video below, along with links to all previous character breakdowns.
Dragon Ball FighterZ will be released outside of Japan for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam PC on Friday, January 26th, with the Land of The Rising Sun receiving it on the same platforms on Thursday, February 1st.
This coming weekend is going to see some incredible action in anime games. Players of the highest caliber in Japan are gathering for intense show in the name of Arc System Works. The Fighting Game Awards 2017 (numbered that way, as it looks at last year) gathers top competitors in Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 and BlazBlue: Central Fiction. Among the online qualifiers and the invited players — who are mostly from Japan — is one American.
PAG|Grover is a BlazBlue player, famous for his achievements as Carl Clover. Being the highest-placing non-Japanese player at Evolution 2017, he is invited to the ASW Fighting Game Awards. It’s a unique opportunity to inject some overseas competition into the more traditional “top-tier” Japanese participants. We’ve capitalized on this opportunity to catch up with Grover and ask him some questions about his training, impressions of his previous stay in Japan, and strategies for the tournament.
Woocash: You’ve represented USA before at Arc Revo in 2017, what was the experience like for you? What did you draw from it?
Grover: Overall, the experience was great. I enjoyed my time in Japan with friends, and I am excited to be able to come back. For Arc Revo 2017, it was a little irritating having heard of the cabinets being switched to Nesica 2 with only a three-day notice when it was not announced publicly to the players, but it’s their decision and we would just have to adapt to that final decision. Aside from that decision, the atmosphere of the event was amazing. It was fun trying to talk to a few other players at the event participating in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and BlazBlue, as well as playing a bit of the new Blazblue Cross Tag Battle build that included Hazama and Rachel.
As for results, well, I think you’ve seen what happened. SuperKawaiiDesu and I couldn’t make it further than we had hoped. One thing I definitely noticed was the change of gameplay there was from playing in an arcade setting as opposed to playing in America. Aside from the input delay, they are well versed on how to approach matchups/opponents, probably due to being able to play stronger players as well. It also helps that every match they play (in arcades) is like a money match that is also three out of five rounds.
Woocash: How are you preparing for the ASW Fighting Game Awards? What’s your regimen like? For example, how do you divide your time between labbing and playing people? Do you pick specific people to play against?
Grover: The way I am preparing for the event is mostly watching videos of the players, the characters, and using training mode for certain situations, both on the offense and defense. There is a decent amount of Carl footage on the internet, thanks to Jourdal, so watching what their decision-making in matches is like helps me see what I should be doing or could be doing better. I do watch my matches at times as well and try to apply the small details that I picked up and try to incorporate them into my play in the future.
Unfortunately, I do not really play too many people, if any. I do not really enjoy netplay. It can be a different game at times and if the delay is big enough, it can make playing Carl kind of annoying and a struggle. The added frames do affect certain setups. If I can not manage to pull it off, then it feels like I am not really playing to my fullest. I can only see myself netplaying if I had no other means to play. I can only really play by traveling up to TSB for offline games, but even that is a trip from New Jersey.
Woocash: What are your thoughts on the other Japanese players in the tournament?
Grover: I think the other Japanese players are all strong. ASW has already revealed the bracket, so I have a good idea of who I will play against and who I might play against. My first opponent being Iwashi Ragna. I think I am okay fighting Ragna, but matches vary, as do playstyles. My second match will be either between Fenritti’s Jin or Gackt’s Hakumen. Personally, I would like to get the chance to play Fenritti. I enjoy watching him play a lot. His Jin is very cool, artistic, and it would be a pleasure to be able to play him in tournament. On the other side of the bracket, I hope I get the chance to player either Monster or Dora. In my time at Arc Revo, Monster was one of the few players I was able to socialize with, as best as I could. As for Dora, he is also a friendly person to socialize with. The times we did meet in tournament, I failed to beat him on more than one occasion. Getting a runback, again, would be cool. Seeing as there are not that many Kokokonoes and Lambdas in the states, I would like to get the chance to also play Meister/Matoi. However, in a tournament setting, anything can happen, which means I will play whom I must.
Woocash: When watching high-level tournaments like these, what should people watching pay attention to?
Grover: The thing most people should pay attention to, I think, would be the players’ decision making and adaptation. Many times people will want to learn why did this thing work out for him, but not for me. There are a lot of quick decisions that are made on the spot, based on what the opponent has presented to the other (does he recognize this situation or not), on each of their resources, testing the opponent’s reactions, etc. It is why a lot of times when people analyze match videos, they can take the time to slow things down and realize, to an extent, what could have been running through each players’ minds. With the tournament being a double elimination, two-out-of-three format, it also gives players more time to adapt to their opponent. Every move a player makes serves a purpose.
Woocash: Any comments to our readers? Anything you’d like to share or say?
Grover: The event is soon, I will be traveling to Japan very soon (Jan 10th). The players are all strong, so it is definitely an event that should be exciting to watch. As opposed to Arc Revo 2017, this event will be played on console, so I have the luxury to be able to play on pad, but with that being said, I do feel a bit more pressure to perform better. My first Blazblue game was Chronophantasma, and looking back at my five years of play, I would have never imagined that I would be given this opportunity by picking up a game, that has been out for some time, so late.
I would like give shout outs to Lord Knight, SKD, Lich, the NY scene, friends over at Rutgers, and Psykotik (Canadian Carl player), who have all helped me improve. I probably would not have reached this point without a strong scene. As the only American in this event, wish me luck. I have seen a number of negative comments about me being the chosen participant, but those comments will never affect my mentality. To everyone else who is cheering me on or enjoy watching me play, thank you.
Tune in to Arc System Works’ Twitch account on Saturday (Friday night in some countries) to catch Grover playing BlazBlue: Central Fiction, and the other Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 matches.
Gearing up for the January 28th release of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, Square Enix and Maximilian Dood have teamed up for a mini character breakdown series. The first character in the series is none other than the Final Fantasy franchise’s most iconic villain: Sephiroth.
As expected of the notoriously powerful One-Winged Angel, Sephiroth has a set of robust moves in his arsenal. Using an in-depth commentary coupled with high-res demonstrations from the actual game, Max breaks down what those moves are, how they can be executed, and how they will come into play in a real battle.
A pinned comment from Max reveals that the next character he will break down will be Ramza of Final Fantasy Tactics, and that he is planning to make six character breakdowns total, the rest of which he is open to fan requests. In the meantime you can check out the Dood’s full Sephiroth breakdown below.
We’re only 10 days into 2018 and the calendar is already filling up with big FGC events to attend. If you’re trying to plan out your travel expenses, you’ve got another event to add to the list, as Undefeated 2018 has just been announced for this June. Hosted by Yipes and Persia, this two-day event will see the best of the Southwest battling it out over eight main games — from Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 to Dragon Ball FighterZ. The exact games line-up is as follows:
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition
Tekken 7
Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
If that’s not enough, there is also going to be a Curleh Battle Royale — which will no doubt see Marvel’s finest facing off in both UMvC3 and MvC:I. Early registration for Undefeated 2018 is live over on smash.gg, with normal registration prices coming into effect on February 2nd. For details about the Undefeated venue, along with hotels in the area and a preliminary schedule, check out the official Undefeated Events website.
Square Enix held one last pre-launch stream for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT just before its Japanese release today. While the stream covered a lot of topics, the most interesting has to be the hints regarding future DLC characters for the game.
While no names were named, Square Enix did give out descriptions for the 6 upcoming DLC characters for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. This included which half of the numbered Final Fantasy series they’re from.
New male character (from new half)
New male character (from old half)
New female character (from new half)
New male character (from new half)
Returning female character who previously appeared in a Dissidia Final Fantasy game (from new half)
New male character (from new half)
Now if these hints aren’t enough, in a previous interview, they also stated that characters who didn’t get much screen or story time would likely have their interactions fleshed out in future DLC. So looking out for which characters fit the bill in the story mode could serve to give more hints as to who the DLC characters will be.
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT for PlayStation 4 launched in Japan on January 11. It will hit the rest of the world on January 30.
Body Count Fighting is back with their fourth entry into SoCal’s title-defense series, BCF4. BCF4 will take place on Saturday, February 3rd and will feature matches in Street Fighter V, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Tekken 7, Injustice 2, and the upcoming ArcSys/Bandai Namco fighter Dragon Ball Fighter Z.
You can watch BCF4 live on Twitch at 7:00 PM PT. The event will be hosted by comedian Kyle Shire and will feature commentary from ASuperShyGuy, Vicious, Samifish, and WonderChef.
If you were interested in attending the event in person, you’ll be happy to know that it’s free! All you have to do is head on over to the BCF4 Eventbrite page here and order your tickets. Doors will open at 6:00 PM, and there will be food trucks parked outside and casual gaming stations set up inside for everyone to enjoy.
With the recent announcement of the esports pro licenses in Japan, along with other teams starting up mentoring initiatives, Japanese esports organization Scarz have begun their own Street Fighter V training scheme. Titled the “Scarz Youth Project,” the program will have one player training under Scarz|Sako to become a pro player.
The first phase of the audition process was an online bracket, where 19 Japanese players between the ages of 18 and 25 fought against each other with Sako spectating. From that initial 19, Scarz whittled the candidates down to six finalists, who will then compete in an offline audition on Saturday to determine who will become Sako’s pupil. The six finalists are as follows:
Seeing as the online audition was streamed, it stands to reason that the offline portion will be streamed as well — most likely on Sako’s Twitch channel. With more and more Japanese organizations running these schemes to train up the next generation of Street Fighter players, I wonder who will be the first Western esports organization to run a similar training program.
