Everyone has a fighting chance
The big regional finale for 2017’s Capcom Pro Tour in North America is almost upon us, set to take place at Red Bull Battle Grounds in Boston this weekend! On this week’s Wake Up Wednesdays recap show from Capcom Fighters, Michael Martin breaks down who are the players to watch in these NA finals — and who might earn a qualification for Capcom Cup 2017 at the event.
Source: Capcom Fighters
Red Bull’s Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi had arguably one of his roughest years on the circuit in 2016. Having frequently been on the verge of qualifying for Capcom Cup, he was never able to take anything higher than fourth place on the Capcom Pro Tour, including at the Asia Regional Finals in Busan, South Korea — his last chance to make the cut.
Not only was he excluded from Capcom Cup, he faced the same fate of fellow Nash players Infiltration and Yukadon in a painful nerfs to his signature character. However, he was able to take Nash at his worst, and produce results that made him a shoe-in for Capcom Cup 2017. Having redeemed himself on the circuit this year, will he be able to go one step further and take the title?
Having spent the entirety of the Street Fighter IV series as one of the deadliest Sagat players on the circuit, Bonchan had to go to the drawing board for Street Fighter V. While there was no true equivalent to Sagat, Nash was the next obvious choice — the character could zone well, but could also dole out a large amount of damage when up close. Similarities, however, does not mean equivalency, and I feel like this was part of Bonchan’s problem last year. Nash in Season 1 relied more heavily on the close-range game than Sagat, and Bonchan relied most on Sagat’s zoning game. While he was still able to utilize this aspect of the character, it was definitely outside of his comfort zone.
If you compare that to a player like Infiltration, who was already used to dancing in and out of range with Akuma in Street Fighter IV, it makes perfect sense why these two players who lost their mains in a new game had totally different stories.
As strange as it sounds, it was when Capcom nerfed Nash’s backdash and defensive options that we started to see Bonchan’s best. It was as though the nerfs challenged him to truly learn how to play an oppressive offensive game, and use it to its fullest. And while Nash players abandoned the character left and right due to their distaste with Capcom’s design choices, it was Bonchan himself that held true for the longest time to the character, and reaped the benefits of using the offensive tools against people who had dismissed Nash’s viability in Season 2.
But then, even the Nash stalwart finally decided it was time to make a change. While he kept true to Nash until Evo, in the three events we’ve seen him in since, he has been using far less of the character and more of Karin. This is definitely an unusual switch for him, but now that he has his footing in the close-range game, it makes sense. Her poke game is far superior to that of Nash’s, and can deal large swaths of damage on any good touch.
One of the biggest things that makes Karin work for Bonchan is her ability to control the ground so well with easy to space pokes. A trademark of good Sagat players is controlling the ground game so well that it forces players to take to the skies. When you combine that with exquisite anti-airs — which Karin has — it makes this a great fit.
The last time we saw Bonchan run the character in September at Tokyo Game Show, there was still some sloppiness in his play. So long as he’s been practicing the character since then, he should have plenty of time to tighten up the screws before December.
But this switch could be a difficult one for him to pull off. It’s worth calling into question that switching to Karin mid-season could be a big mistake when all of his tournament wins were on the strength of his Nash play. Why fix what wasn’t broken in the first place? Was not making top 8 at Evo deflating enough that he felt the need to make the shift?
This is not a massive issue, as we saw NuckleDu make constant shifts in characters over the course of last season before he ultimately settled on Guile and R. Mika. It’s possible that Bonchan has found his rhythm — and it’s not as though Nash has completely disappeared off the face of the earth for him. The last event he attended — D3 — saw him run both characters. But he looks to be banking on Karin more than Nash right now. This means he’s injecting another Karin into a Capcom Cup that already features three — and all three have been playing the character far longer than he has. This is also a character that has long been one of the most popular on the circuit. It’s not as though players won’t be ready for his Karin.
Another issue that I have with him is that since D3 at the beginning of October, Bonchan hasn’t been seen on the circuit. It seems that he’s taking a break from the competitive circuit in preparation for Capcom Cup 2017. This was a similar issue I had with Infiltration last year, as it’s hard to truly learn to beat your top opponents without getting out there and playing.
The bright side — and the key difference between his break and Infiltration’s — is that he has still been grinding it out online. While this doesn’t replace tournament experience, it will be helping him keep sharp for Capcom Cup.
Between his character switch and his results since, it’s hard to bet on Bonchan. I won’t dismiss him as a threat — any time Bonchan is in the hot seat, he is capable of making everyone else sweat. My guess is at best that he’ll make top 8 — but again, anything can happen.
Check out our prior articles in the Capcom Cup 2017 Player Analysis series!
Hoping to usher in a new era of FGC events in the St. Louis area, the Apollo tournament series is setting off on its maiden voyage on December 16th. Based out of the new Moonbase Market in St. Louis’ historic Soulard neighbourhood, this two-day monthly looks to give the Missouri FGC a new event to rally around.
For its first outing, Apollo: The Maiden Voyage will be hosting tournaments for the following games:
If ARMS and Guilty Gear get at least 16 sign-ups, the Apollo TOs will increase the pot bonus to $100. If any of the other games reach over 32 entrants, $100 will be added to their respective prize-pots. For all the details concerning registration, pricing and scheduling, check out the Apollo: The Maiden Voyage smash.gg page.
Source: Moonbase Market
The climb is never done. Once you’ve had tastes of victory as a rookie, you want more! Soon, if you’re diligent, you’ll find yourself climbing from Bronze, to Silver, and on to Gold. But should you stop there?
No — because the real test comes when trying to reach Platinum rank and beyond. Frabisaur, who previously has offered guidance on how to climb to Silver and Gold, now sets his sights on getting you to Platinum. By first illustrating how to do delayed throw techs and shimmies, he focuses mainly on your mental game in this episode. He illustrates how observing your opponents’ play and forcing them to do what you want is the key to victory as you climb in rank.
Remember to check out Frabisaur’s Twitch stream on Thursday night, as this week will focus on the application of what is covered in the above video!
Source: Frabisaur
Electric Wind God Vids is back with some more character counter-strategies: today we’re tackling Eddy’s “Relax” stance. Its name is good advice for those that may be struggling against it — it’s not as scary as it initially appears!
With its small hurtbox and powerful mix-up options, Eddy’s “Relax” stance is, at first, frustrating and powerful. However, many of the transitions into Relax are very unsafe, and if you know your options, you can shut it down.
For more TEKKEN TRAINING, be sure to subscribe to ShoryukenTube! And if you have any specific questions about Tekken gameplay you’d like covered in a future video, let us know in the comments!
Romance’s endeavors to continue to hype the The King of Fighters XIV are paying dividends as his flagship tournament — The Las Vegas Championship — is coming closer to occurring. The tournament — which is sponsored by SNK — will commence on December 2nd, and will be a destination for some of the top KOF players in the world.
As a testament to how strong the field will be, Taiwan’s ZJZ Bridget will be attendance. He has previously been known for his 4th place finish at Evo 2017, and his silver medal performance at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan this year.
#KOFXIV Vegas will be hosting world class KOF #DEC #LVC come and experience a unique KOF show https://t.co/YA3XKW84Kf pic.twitter.com/5jfQKjdfVH
— kofROMANCE (@itzRomance) November 9, 2017
Source: Romance
Bandai Namco Game’s latest character introduction trailer for Dragon Ball FighterZ focuses on none other than Android 18. As one of the two surviving Androids from the “Androids/Cell Arc” of Dragon Ball Z, Android 18 is bound to play an important role in the events of the game.
The trailer below focuses on some of the moves she can do while calling her twin brother — Android 17 — for help. This includes a combo, as well as her level 3 super combo that has the both of them (assuming that her husband Krillin isn’t on the team to take 17’s place) ganging up on her opponent before finishing them off with a double ki blast.
Check out the full trailer below. Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out the other trailers for Android 16, Captain Ginyu, and Nappa.
Dragon Ball FighterZ launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on January 26 in North America and Europe, and February 1 in Japan.
Source: Bandai Namco Games
It finally has a name! After months of calling it the “Mysterious Fighting Game”, ARIKA have finally christened their new fighter “Fighting EX Layer” — an obvious call back to the original Fighting Layer. Not only will Fighting EX Layer be playable at PlayStation Experience, but it will have a two week PS4 beta test which starts on December 11th.
The characters playable in the demo are as follows:
The main role of the beta test is to thoroughly test Fighting EX Layer‘s network match function, so be sure to leave your feedback if you choose to play in this beta.
As part of this announcement, ARIKA’s founder Akira Nishitani has explained the things he wants to accomplish via Fighting EX Layer‘s Gougi system — where players can unlock certain power-ups by performing specific actions in battle. Nishitani mainly wants to change the flow of your average match, by having players constantly reacting to each Gougi as it activates. You can read Nishitani-san’s full reasoning behind the Gougi system over on the PlayStation Blog.
Sources: ARIKA; PlayStation Blog
For the next round of his anime and manga reference videos for the ever-increasing cast of Dragon Ball FighterZ, IKevinX looks at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament Champion — and one of the original Z Fighters — Tien Shinhan.
Having his own titular Saga in the original Dragon Ball, as well as being on the front lines during the Siayan Saga, his given the developers quite a bit to work with — despite the fact that he’s wearing his new attire from Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ and Super. As such, most of his moveset comes from his legendary battles in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament against the likes of Yamcha, Jackie Chun and, of course, Goku. Though he also draws on moves used in various video games, his fight with King Piccolo’s son Drum, the Dodonpa, which he only used once in the original manga, and of course assists from Chiaotzu.
We also see his Level 3/Meteor Attack, the Neo Tri-Beam, which was used to pin down Semi-Perfect Cell in a desperate last stand to prevent him from absorbing Android 18 (which in-game will cost his very life force to empower, in exchange for doing massive damage to your foes).
As always, you can see the full video below, along with links to all of IKevinX’s coverage for other characters in DBFZ.
Dragon Ball FighterZ will be released outside of Japan on January 26th, 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam PC, with standard, FighterZ, Ultimate and CollectorZ Editions. A Japanese release will follow on February 1st for the same platforms. An open beta test will also occur sometime before the title’s full release.
Source: IKevinX
When SNK was acquired by Chinese mobile gaming company 37games, the acquisition itself was not as big of a bombshell as the future 37games envisioned for them. CEO Zheng Jianhui announced strategies to pull out of the pachislot business and focus solely on SNK’s rich IP library, likening SNK’s path to that of Marvel’s: they wanted to license their history and characters in as many mediums as possible. (In hindsight, perhaps this should have been the first clue to Geese Howard appearing in Tekken 7.)
Well, almost two years into that commitment, SNK is seeing the reward. As originally reported by gamebiz.jp, Net sales up 33.7% year over over, operating income is up 27.3%, and the final profit is 3.105 billion yen. Considering the previous year’s 558 million yen deficit, this is a remarkable turnaround for a company many may have thought was down-and-out.
Combined with the expansion of SNK’s Esports division and reports of new fighting games already in the works, SNK’s new path seems to be the right one.
Source: gamebiz.jp