If you are an avid Do-It-Yourself nut and looking for an arcade stick, you are at no loss for option on the market to build your own. FightStickAsia has been known for their replica MadCatz TE bodies originating from Hong Kong for quite a while, but are now entering the market with their own original stick casing, known as the EXC Samurai Metallic.
This is a hefty all-metal fightstick casing with a hinge and latch to hold down the top panel, as well as not one, but two exit points for your USB cable. Jonyfraze was sent a body to review from the folks at the company, and found the case sturdy and well weighed, but commented that the slick bottom of the case needs some anti-slip surfacing in order to keep it from sliding on your lap.
The BlazBlue series has always been known for its high level of technicality and BlazBlue: Central Fiction is no exception. Though the game’s mechanics have certainly solidified over the years, there are still elements in it’s latest iteration that can make even the basics seem challenging compared to simpler fighting games.
In his latest video, YouTuber Raidhyn has created a useful guide aimed at teaching BlazBlue beginners the best way to approach their opponents to begin their offense. There are many unique ways to move in BlazBlue and learning to move strategical through the air and on the ground is important to controlling the pace of a game that can can so easily get out of hand.
Check out Raidhyn’s How to Approach guide for Blazblue: Central Fiction below, and if you get the chance, be sure to read up on more of Shoryuken’s BlazBlue coverage.
As the first Mortal Kombat guest character in Injustice 2, Sub Zero has big shoes to fill — for a time, Scorpion was consider top tier in the original Injustice. He hasn’t lived up to that potential, and has yet to see any real usage in majors.
While this guide notes that he is weak against long-range combat — Sub Zero is still capable of being strong in the right hands. He has very useful combos which deal a lot of damage. He does however need more work than most of the cast due to his very limited range of combo starters.
While Capcom has made headway into correcting a lot of the issues the community has had with the game in the last year, there are still some pressing issues that are present within Street Fighter V today. After previously doing a community poll last year, /r/StreetFighter has done so again, and has just released the results from the new poll.
While the usual suspects are high on the list, such as fixing the netcode and one-sided rollback, the community is also asking for more defensive options and new ways to use the V-Meter.
An accompanying video has discussed the data in further detail.
Naoki “Nemo” Nemoto is one of Japan’s FGC greats, with tournament results going back to Capcom vs SNK 2, Guilty Gear XX #Reload, and Street Fighter IV. His aggressive, dynamic style of play can be seen in all of these games, and it has served him well in SFV with his character of choice: Urien.
Victory “Punk” Woodley represents a very different breed of player in the FGC. He’s young. Street Fighter V is where he’s made his name. He’s carved his path with Street Fighter V‘s Karin, employing smart and patient footsies in the offense heavy world of SFV. It was smart of Team Spooky and East Coast Throwdown, then, to get these two in a high stakes exhibition at ECT 2017.
The clashing of these giants is among the very best first-to-10s of Street Fighter V that you can find. Regardless of who you’re rooting for — Old School or New School — you’re not going to be sure who’s downloaded who until the end.
People are still jumping in the lab with Menat, and we’re increasingly seeing some amazing stuff with this character. As such, the amount of material coming out is rather large, so we’re doing a weekend roundup just in case you can’t get enough of her.
Firstly, we have TrueUnderDawgGaming who has compiled a great video chronicling her normals and specials into an amazing tutorial. He also chronicles a few of her best bread and butter combos.
rooflemonger has put together this great okizeme guide for dealing with your opponents’ wakeup safely. Menat has some great buttons and frame data to make it easier to deal damage on knockdowns.
Next up, we have desk with yet another Menat combo video. How does a 60-hit combo that shows obvious loops sound to you?
After seeing a very situational combo from Sako earlier in the week, Nick Polmolea decided to do something to try to optimize it. The results are pretty awesome.
Finally, we have Go1, who has been showing major promise recently with Menat. Now he’s going up against two of the best Master ranks in the business. How does he fare? Really well, showing some insane potential with her mixups and footsies.
Samurai Shodown 2 (known in Japan as Shin Samurai Spirits) is arguably one of the most beloved fighters in the SNK catalog, both within and outside the FGC. While the series itself has had it’s ups and downs from a tournament viability standpoint, Samurai Shodown 2 has remained a consistent, popular entry in the series.
Not that “tournament viability” would stop the masters at world famous Mikado Arcade from running a tournament for any game. The Japanese arcade is known for the skill of its fighting game players across a broad range of (sometimes classic, sometimes obscure) titles, so it’s no surprise to see the strength of the players here. With its refined POW meter, new movement options and methodical footsies, this is the perfect Samurai Showdown game for Mikado’s patrons to throw down in.
Today is the last day of Bandai Namco’s Gundam Versus open beta for the PS4. If you’ve been curious about the game but unsure of how to approach it, Sabator just recently made a simple introductory video that covers the basics of movement and attacking. It should be enough to get your gears moving!
You can download the Gundam Versus open beta from the PS4 store for free right now. Tonight will be your last chance to try it before the game officially drops in the west on September 29, 2017.
Riders from across history battle in a clash of the ages
Kamen Rider fans unite! Bandai Namco announced a PlayStation 4 exclusive fighting game featuring the iconic characters from the famed Japanese franchise titled, Kamen Rider Climax Fighters. The announcement trailer was first shown during the broadcast of its most recent series, Kamen Raider Break. The trailer holds mostly pre-rendered cutscenes but there is a brief glimpse of gameplay at the very end. Based on the small showcase of gameplay, it appears to be a for player arena-based fighter.
Whether the title is going to have four players fighting simultaneously or two players battling with two partners similar to J-Stars Victory VS or JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven has yet to be seen. Everything is speculation at this point, but this appears to be a diversion from the more traditional 1v1 style from the earlier Kamen Rider Climax Heroes titles.
For those less aware of the Kamen Rider franchise, it all began 46 years ago when Cyborg 009 creator, Shotaro Ishinomori developed the series for Japanese television. Kamen Rider focused on more personal plots with a singular main character as opposed to the group based structure of the Super Sentai series. The series has spawned multiple seasons and is featured in a variety of media.
An American adaption of Kamen Rider Black RX was released in 1996 called Masked Rider and ran for a total of 40 episodes. The series was produced by Saban Entertainment and Toei Company, Ltd, the same companies behind the massively popular Power Rangers series which adapts content from the Japanese Super Sentai franchise. Kamen Rider saw a brief revival in 2008 with the independently produced, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight. This series was adapted from Kamen Rider Ryuki and also lasted for 40 episodes but was not enough to ignite massive western interest like the Power Rangers.
It would be great to see more Kamen Rider content in the west, so here’s to hope that the game sees localization. Watch the announcement trailer below and brush up on your Kamen Rider knowledge to get the most out of the upcoming title! Henshin!
Digital prospectors are still working hard in the Street Fighter V datamines, trying to find any hints of new content that could be coming in Season Three. The most recent finds have been a new EX flash which sees characters glowing red, and a potential change to Ryu’s V-Trigger.
First off, let’s deal with the EX flash. Found by Killbox, this new animation has characters surrounded by a red aura, instead of the usual yellow EX flash. You can see it on Menat in the Tweets below:
Naturally, people have been speculating as to what this red EX flash could relate too. Some think it could be tied to the final DLC character’s EX moves or that it may be to do with the rumored changes to Street Fighter V‘s V-System, based on its red coloring. Hell, maybe it’s the return of Street Fighter IV‘s Red Focus.
As for Ryu’s V-Trigger change, this comes from a new video from X-Kira which shows off a new animation for when Ryu activates V-Trigger. The animation change is only slight — Ryu has his left hand open, instead of having it closed when he goes into V-Trigger. While this looks like credible evidence for a new V-Trigger for Ryu, X-Kira has jumped the gun and said that this is a prototype stance for an Evil Ryu transformation. With the Ryu model lacking any extra details or associated particle effects, this is quite a leap to assume that this is Ryu transforming into his Evil form.
Based on the Story Mode for Street Fighter V, it’d make more sense to have Ryu tapping into the Power of Nothingness, rather than the Satsui no Hado. In any case, it’s looking more and more likely that Capcom are planning to overhaul Street Fighter V‘s V-System in Season 3, with all characters potentially getting new V-Triggers.
