Mikado Arcade’s SSFC2017 continues with forgotten SNK title “FIGHT FEVER”

When you enter any multi-tournament event at Japan’s Mikado Arcade, you have to expect the strangest games may show up. And you have to be ready to play your best, because even in something as niche as SNK’s Fight Fever, the Mikado patrons won’t hold back.

Fight Fever is very much a product of its time. Developed in 1994 by South Korean based Viccom, this SNK-published effort occasionally had some fresh ideas (check out the highly mobile — and highly effective — grappler Chintao!) but largely looks and feels like the Street Fighter clone that most fighting games were back then. Also, the American basketball-player-turned-fighter character is named “Magic Dunker,” which is so exceptional that I feel it deserves a special mention.

The game will never look better then in the hands of Mikado players, so be sure to check out the above tournament for some classic 2D footsies. If you missed any of the previous tournaments in the SSFC2017 series, be sure to check them out here! You can follow the action by subscribing to Mikado’s official YouTube channel, and you can even try to catch the action in real time when they livestream.

Source: Mikado

Robert Garcia is suavity personified in Persona Entertainment’s latest The King of Fighters XIV combo video

Adjust your collars, boys. It’s time to do some Robert combos in The King of Fighters XIV.

Persona Entertainment‘s latest effort shows both practical damage and ridiculous, impractical entertainment. It’s certainly worth your time to learn the dive kick loops in max mode and 100%s, but you can probably do without the (incredibly swaggy) intentional Ranbu super cross-under whiff. Then again, learning and executing something like this is purely for style- and there’s nothing more in the spirit of Robert Garcia than that.

Source: Persona Entertainment

Master the way of the blade (of grass) with WhiteChocolate’s Pokkén Tournament DX Sceptile combo guide

In Pokkén Tournament DX, few characters have as many moving parts in their combos as Sceptile. Command jump cancels, loops, Just Frames, and Phase point management are all required skills to get the most out of this Grass Gladiator.

While this setup-heavy, trap-chucking Pokémon may not be the most beginner-friendly character, he is a rewarding one. Already a strong tournament pick, Sceptile received a number of buffs and new options in Pokkén Tournament DX that make him downright frightening. WhiteChocolate Pokken‘s launcher guide can give you a good starting point for learning this highly-technical, highly-rewarding powerhouse, but your execution will need to level up with Sceptile for long-term success in tournaments.

Source: WhiteChocolate Pokken

Good Gamer Show interviews Mark “BornFree” Sheridan on Street Fighter’s legacy, in-game voice chat, and more

Typically when we talk about Mark “BornFree” Sheridan, it’s in the context of his work as one of the FGC’s hardest-working interviewers. Today, though, he’s on the other side of the mic — answering questions as a fighting game player and lifelong Capcom fan.

David Gama of FGC News had BornFree on the latest episode of his FGC podcast, Good Gamer Show, and the two bonded over a forgotten feature of Street Fighter IV: in-game voice chat. This ties in to the larger theme of the entire hour-long show: the community-building aspects of Street Fighter, what’s changed, and what can be improved. With the recent announcement of Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, the two also share their wishlist of modes for the title update.

Source: FGC News

Dance crew pays tribute to Mortal Kombat at Asia’s Got Talent

While most of us express our love for fighting games by playing and competing in them, this certainly isn’t the only way to do so! One dance crew from the Kyrgyz Republic demonstrated another way to do so at Asia’s Got Talent.

The crew, named ADEM, performed while dressed up as Mortal Kombat characters, set to an MK-inspired dubstep mix. The performance was impressive enough that series co-creator Ed Boon from NetherRealm Studios took notice of the crews performance. You can see Ed’s tweet, as well as the actual performance by ADEM, below.

Mortal Kombat is currently celebrating it’s 25th anniversary, so expect Ed Boon and NetherRealm to highlight more ways fans are celebrating the franchise in the coming weeks.

Sources: Ed Boon; Asia’s Got Talent

X-Kira explains Zeku’s transformations, hints at stages, costumes, & characters coming to Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition

Infamous dataminer X-Kira is back again, with a message on his Facebook page clarifying a unique aspect of Street Fighter V‘s final Season 2 DLC character Zeku, who was revealed at South East Asia Major 2017 in Singapore.

Eagle-eyed viewers might have been taken aback when Guy’s master, the 38th Grandmaster of Bushinryu Ninjutsu (last seen during Street Fighter Alpha 2) transformed from a wise old sage to a younger man, who bears a striking resemblance to Strider Hiryu from the Strider series. X-Kira notes that the “Ever-Changing Ninja” will be SFV’s first stance-based character, similar to Gen in the Street Fighter Alpha series and Street Fighter IV. In the video description of his official trailer, Capcom notes that, “Zeku has reappeared, looking to start his own ninja group and find a new fighting style.” This will be reflected in his stances, as the default “Old Zeku” will battle with this new style of Ninpo he has developed, whereas the younger Zeku will utilize the full power of Bushinryu, playing similarly to his star pupil, Guy.

Though this was a “short and sweet explanation to the ones who hadn’t understood what happened,” X-Kira was not done giving us more nuggets of information about the future of Street Fighter V.

On his Twitter account, he once again notes that the Dramatic Battle mode, seen in Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, will be returning in January with the release of SFV:AE, allowing two players to engage a computer-controlled foe in handicap matches. He again insisted that each fighter will be receiving a second V-Skill and V-Reversal, in addition to the second V-Triggers that were confirmed in the announcement trailer. He also noted that two new stages, Shadaloo Corridor A (as seen in A Shadow Falls) and a special arena set within the streets of Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan, will also be on the way to commemorate the franchise’s 30th anniversary.

Moving on to the subject of Season 3 DLC characters, X-Kira notes that there will be some returning legacy characters, but that there will also be two more all-new challengers. As a hint, he says that, “Sticks will be present.” While some fans are speculating that this could foreshadow the returns of veteran fighters such as Eagle, Maki, or Rolento, some of X-Kira’s other tweets, combined with his new profile photo, seem to imply that we’ll be seeing the playable arrival of the female member of Ed’s Neo-Shadaloo organization, seen at the end of his Character Story. This woman bares a striking resemblance to Cammy, and can be seen carrying a baton or spear — similarly to the Shadaloo Doll Santamu.

Lastly, X-Kira has promised a lengthy upcoming video detailing the history of his datamining, during which he could possibly leak even more information about the game. You can see all of his posts below, as well as other tweets confirming more Nostalgia Premium Costumes from Street Fighter IV, showing off the new Barrel Bonus Stage, and confirming that the edition-exclusive Volcanic EX01 Colors will finally be coming soon to the PS4 version.

Sources: Mikami_XKira (Twitter); Miyuki Chan (Facebook)

Sharpen your swords for 2GGC: MKLeo Saga, coming to Esports Arena on November 4th

Following Fire Emblem Saga this weekend, 2GGaming and Esports Arena have announced that the final Saga before the 2GG Championship will be 2GGC: MKLeo Saga. Dedicated to the lion of Mexico and swordsman supreme MVG|FOX|MKLeo, this will be the final chance for someone to break the infamous Saga Curse before this year’s Championship.

With the Curse currently 19-0, having defeated greats like NRG|Nairo and TSM|ZeRo, Leo has the chips stacked against him if he wants to be the man to break the spell. He couldn’t do it at Fire Emblem Saga, so he’ll have to dig deep if he wants to lay the Curse to rest at his own event.

Following Fire Emblem Saga last weekend, where MVG|Salem took the gold against Nairo, the 2GGC Leaderboard has experienced quite the shake-up. Salem surged into second place, bumping Dabuz down to third and 2GG|komorikiri to fourth. Japan tightens its grip on the bottom spots of the top 16 with T, KEN, Shuton and Kirihara holding onto the 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th spots respectively. With big hitters like bc|Mr. R, Ranai and IMT|ANTi currently out of the running for the Championship Finals, expect an influx of players making a pilgrimage to the Esports Arena come November 4th for one last throw of the dice, before the Last Chance Qualifier in December.

Registration is now available over on smash.gg and make sure to check out the current 2GGC standings to see who is in the danger zone.

Source: 2GGaming

Check out Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s new batch of premium costumes

Aside from bug fixes and the new DLC characters, it seems that today’s Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite patch has added some extra content for fans; Capcom has now dropped details on the games first batch of premium DLC costumes.

The costumes include some of the ones hinted at by Funko’s MvC:I POP! figures, that they showed off some time ago — specifically, Chun-Li’s “Street Fighter II ending” outfit. The rest, however, are new and run the gamut from just alternate outfits that the characters have worn over the years (such as Captain Marvel’s Warbird costume), to actual alternate versions of the characters (Ultimate Thor, DmC Dante, etc.).

The costumes are divided into three distinct packs, based somewhat on: Avenging Army, featuring Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, Dante, Spencer, and Arthur; World Warriors, featuring Ryu, Chun-Li, Chris Redfield, Captain Marvel, Captain America, and Hulk; and Mystic Master, with Dormmamu, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Nemesis, Firebrand, and Morrigan.

Avenging Army

Click to view slideshow.

World Warriors

Click to view slideshow.

Mystic Masters

Click to view slideshow.

The costumes will be available for purchase on PSN, Xbox Live, and Steam for $3.99 each, or $11.99 per pack. Those who want to get all of them at the same time can simply avail of the Premium Costume Pass for $29.99.

Source: Capcom-Unity

Mysteries of Bushinryu revealed: Capcom shows off Zeku’s V-System, Critical Art, and alternate costumes

Capcom-Unity gives us some more details on the long-lost Bushinryu master!

sfv zeku official art

The reveal of Zeku — the final Season 2 character for Street Fighter V — this weekend was fully expected due to leaks; the character’s connection to the Strider universe was not, however!

sfv zeku young strider smash akuma

Zeku hasn’t been heard from since Street Fighter Alpha 2; once Zeku’s student, Guy, became the 39th Bushinryu master, Zeku vanished. He now returns — apparently seeking to gather new students to train in a new martial arts style he has developed.

sfv zeku akuma chop
sfv zeku akuma ink kick

Zeku’s default form uses the new, slower-moving style; however, the Ever-Changing Ninja has the ability to transform himself into his younger (Strider-resembling) self, whose attacks are Bushinryu-based (and slightly more similar to the Guy techniques we’re familiar with).

V-Skill: Fukuro (older self) / Tenpo Kari (younger self)

Zeku’s V-Skill transforms himself into his alternate form, complete with a different moveset! Directional input will affect the teleport location.

V-Trigger: Bushinryu Shinge Kiko

A vanishing dash that can be followed up with a custom combo. Used in both of Zeku’s forms.

Critical Art: Batsuzen Gaisei

Zeku kicks his opponent into the air and follows up with a series of aerial strikes, in both of his forms. This attack is used by both young and old Zeku.

Capcom-Unity also has given us some good looks at Zeku’s Story, Battle, and additional Nostalgia costumes — each with a old Zeku/young Zeku variant:

sfv zeku story costume
sfv zeku young story costume

sfv zeku battle costume
sfv zeku young battle costume strider

sfv zeku nostalgia costume guy
sfv zeku young nostalgia costume guy

Zeku will join the Street Fighter V roster on October 24, 2017. Check out his movelist here!

Source: Capcom-Unity

Walk the path of the ninja with this breakdown of Zeku’s movelist in Street Fighter V

Following his reveal at South East Asia Major over the weekend, wannabe ninja are scrambling to find out more information on the Ever-Changing Ninja, Zeku. Luckily, Capcom have been on the ball for this character reveal, and have compiled a comprehensive breakdown of all of Zeku’s moves.

First off, let’s tackle the whole Young/Old Zeku transformation. Zeku is Street Fighter V‘s first stance character, with the gentleman ninja being able to switch stances mid-fight by pressing Down, Down with two punches. While it can be done by itself, Zeku can combo into his stance switch off of his V-Skill, as seen in his character reveal trailer.

For Old Zeku, he is focused around keeping the opponent out with his Bushin Gram kicks. There are three variations of the kick: one hits medium, one hits high and the other one acts as an anti-air. He also has his Bushin Jakura flip, which has three variations, being a punch, a kick and a command grab.

Old Zeku Movelist

If you were a Guy player back in Street Fighter IV, Young Zeku will be right up your street. Like Guy, he has several target combos for reliable damage, as well as a wall jump and a Hayagake command run. He also has access to the Hozanto shoulder bash, along with an air grab which is used extensively in his character trailer.

Young Zeku Movelist

As for his V-Trigger, Zeku gains access to the special Idaten command dash. This teleporting dash has different frame data depending on whether you use Old or Young Zeku — but both can attack out of the dash. If you land a hit during Idaten, Zeku can combo together normals of ascending strength. Both forms have a unique ender which can be used to finish off the Idaten combo, so experiment to see what sequences you can come up with when Zeku launches on October 24th.

Source: Capcom