With things like his slow moving V-Trigger projectile, flexible juggle options, and several unique combo states, Ed makes a great character for combo videos. The character’s move list is dense with possibilities, which is pretty surprising, given he was originally billed as having the “easiest” input method of any character in Street Fighter V.
But those one-button specials don’t hold back creativity: Doopliss’s combo video “Soul Fist” is not what you want to watch for optimal combos. It makes extensive use of Ed’s flicker special, which, while hurting overall damage, maximizes difficulty and flashiness.
Soul Fist might also have one of the silliest uses of Urien’s Reflector yet in a combo video. I’m going to propose a new rule for SFV that states any Ed that can somehow get the multi-stun fierces on a Urien reflector in a real match should automatically win the round.
Back in 2013, Nyu-Media hosted an Indiegogo campaign for Yatagarasu Attack On Cataclysm, an updated version of the original Yatagarasu created by former SNK developers for Steam. While the campaign itself was funded and the game got its release on Steam, some of the physical rewards for the game’s backers have yet to be released — until now, that is.
In an apologetic email sent out to all backers, Nyu-Media has announced that the long delayed physical rewards are now being shipped out to the backers. According to Nyu-Media, around 80% of the physical rewards have already been shipped out from Japan. The remainder of the rewards will be shipped out over the rest of the month.
For anyone who is waiting for their rewards to arrive, Nyu-Media has given the deadline of August 15. Anyone who does not receive their rewards by then is encouraged to get in touch with them via email.
After a break to return to Marshall’s Dojo with AceUnlimited, Genex|Frabisaur is back with episode 12 of The Fighter’s Dojo. After covering how to best fight against the grapplers of Street Fighter V, Frabisaur now takes a look at how to deal with the game’s primary zoners: specifically Guile, F.A.N.G and Dhalsim.
Noting that zoners in any game thrive off of the psychological aspect of frustration, Frabisaur advises practicing patience, testing the player’s defense, maximizing knockdown opportunities, and forcing them to be put into scramble situations they may be unable to handle properly.
For Guile, Frabisaur recommends waiting out the initial storm of the Air Slasher’s zoning, as most of the Guile’s he’s encountered will tend to get frustrated and begin approaching, allowing you a chance to mount your own attack, without having to wade through the minefield of Sonic Booms, Flash Kicks, and Sonic Crosses. He also notes that there are two key times when you can successfully jump against Guile, without fearing the threat of a Flash Kick. Either when he has recently walked, as he won’t have enough time to prepare a charge, or if you know you’re going to cross him up, as he has nothing to effectively cover that type of attack. Lastly, Bazooka Knee and Reverse Spin Kick are -2 and -3 on block, so feel free to challenge them.
On the subject of battling Yoga master Dhalsim, knowing when to move is imperative. Frabisaur suggests reacting to his fireball animations, dashblocking after guarding one of his Heavy normals, and don’t panic when he uses his V-Skill.
Finally, Frabisuar moves on to the self-proclaimed “Number Two” of Shadaloo, F.A.N.G. Declaring him a “lure” character, as he has the outward appearance of a zoning character, with none of the actual strengths of the archetype. Frabisaur advises to exploit him trying to place Ryobendas, as they’re an important facet of his entire game, as the other poison attacks are too weak and slow for him to effectively time anyone out. His standing heavy punch is also -2, so it shouldn’t be respected, and his turn has ended.
For more tips, as well as match footage of Frabsiaur putting these tactics into practice online, watch the full episode below.
If you’d like more assistance or have any other questions, you can contact Frabisaur on Twitter, or join his weekly streams on Thursday nights at https://www.twitch.tv/frabisaur, starting at 7:30 PM EST.
With Eliza set to be released as paid DLC to all players starting tomorrow, we learned that she’ll be bringing even more new content along with her to Tekken 7. Revealed during the MASTERCUP Tekken Fight Club niconico stream earlier this week in Japan, a free set of 10 customization items from the rhythm game series Taiko no Tatsujin will be available — which will allow players to equip their favorite fighters with taiko characters, featuring various humorous and sound effects. It was also mentioned that Eliza herself will set you back a cool 500 yen (or about $5.00 USD here in America) if you were unable to pre-order the game or purchase a Day 1 Edition with a working code. You can see what some of these items will look like in-game, based off of their previous Arcade release back in August 2016, here.
Are you excited about any of this new content coming to Tekken 7, and will you be utilizing any of these new items with your characters? Let us know in the comments section below.
In Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st], Yuzuriha has always been regarded as one of the more difficult characters to master. Well, fear not — for if I have learned to play her to some degree, so can you! Some say that she’s slightly more accessible in Late[st], the newly released console update. Whether or not you’ll master her is fine; what’s more important is that you’ll play the coolest character in the roster.
We have a translated version of a Yuzuriha combo guide via Evernote, written by probably the most famous Yuzuriha player in Japan, Kure. The guide begins with explaining certain notation and a couple of good things to know in order to practice Yuzuriha combos effectively. Then, it delves into various starters at portions of the screen; for instance, midscreen A and B starters, then throw and corner sequences. There are useful explanations throughout.
If you’re more of a visual learner, there are some UNIST Yuzuriha videos as well:
If you know nothing about Yuzuriha and need an overview, check out the subbed video tutorial below, though it is a little outdated. The concepts remain the same.
NEV’s ARMS University series has been focused on breaking down the meat behind the system of Nintendo’s rather experimental fighter, ARMS. In their most recent video, they tackle the rules and data behind the most crowd-pleasing part of any fighter: the combo system.
The video covers everything from the three-hit structure of a combo, the damage scaling that occurs on each hit, and the impact status effects can have on the combo system. If you’ve ever been unsure of how to go about making a combo in ARMS, this is the video you want to watch.
Adel Anouche, a.k.a. NASR Esport’s Big Bird, is a 19-year-old up-and-comer from Abu Dhabi, UAE, who first made his name towards the end of the Street Fighter IV series with his dynamic Guy play. He made an even bigger splash last year in Street Fighter V at Red Bull Kumite 2016 — defeating the likes of Alioune, GamerBee, and Xian with his aggressive Ken.
So far in the 2017 season for the Capcom Pro Tour, Big Bird has had strong results in CPT Europe events, such as Sonic Boom (2nd), The Colosseum (2nd), FFM Rumble 10 (4th), and DreamHack Summer 2017 (5th) with his lowest placings being at Ultimate Fighting Game Arena (25th) and Evo 2017 (33rd). He is currently 5th in the Europe rankings, and 25th globally overall in the CPT standings.
Shoryuken caught up with Big Bird to discuss his first Evo, the Abu Dhabi competitive scene, Street Fighter V, and more.
Marcos “El Cubano Loco” Blanco: How was your first Evo experience?
Adel “Big Bird” Anouche: Ah, what can I say… Evo was a magical experience for me. I never thought Evo could be this good, but I was wrong. I enjoyed every minute of it. The off-stream matches were hype, since there were a lot of big names fighting off stream. I just couldn’t get to watch all of them. I had to run around from station to station to be able to catch up with everything that’s happening.
I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be, since it’s my first time. I was just excited to finally be there! I loved meeting most of the Americans that I’ve been interacting with on social media for the first time since at least four years ago — that was probably my favorite part of Evo! It was a long trip, but I’d definitely do it all over because the experience is amazing. You just have to be there at least once in your fighting game career.
El Cubano Loco: You got 33rd in SFV. Who did you lose to? How do you feel about your performance at Evo and what do you need to improve and do better?
Big Bird: I lost to Moke in winners top 64 [Moke went onward to later menace the top 8 with his deadly Rashid. – Editor], and then I lost to Bonchan straight after in losers. I feel like I did well against them since I lost 2-1 to both of them, but I know I could’ve taken them out. I was just unlucky in some of the games. They played better than me for sure. I just felt like both of those sets could’ve gone either way.
To be honest, I don’t know what I need to improve on. Maybe match-ups? I honestly have no idea. I won’t blame my losses on me not knowing the match-ups, because I know Rashid very well and I have a good idea about Nash. I just wasn’t the better player that day. What I need to do is to focus on what’s in front of me rather than start making plans on what’s next. At every tournament I basically keep checking on what my path to top eight could potentially be, when I just need to take it one match at a time. I think that’s the most important thing that has been sticking out to me recently!
El Cubano Loco: How is the scene in Abu Dhabi? A lot of people don’t know about it.
Big Bird: There are quite a number of players who play the game, but if I had to count the number of players who actually take this game seriously, I’d say two to three including me. The rest either casually play the game or just play it on the side. We have strong King of Fighters players here, as well as decent Tekken players.
El Cubano Loco: How come you picked Ken as your main in SFV? What drew you to him?
Big Bird: Ken is the closest thing to Guy, I felt — he’s an in-your-face type of character, he has average normals compared to the top tiers, but once he gets in, he can potentially finish the round as he corner carries in one combo. He has a run which is similar to Guy as well. I feel like I can be different from other Ken players with hit confirms, anti-airs, etc. It’s like I have a little room to express myself (aside from throw loops, of course).
NASR|Big Bird (Ken) vs. LUP|Calipower (Kolin, Rashid) at the 31:25 mark.
El Cubano Loco: You made your name towards the end of the Street Fighter IV series. How was the transition to SFV been for you? Do you enjoy the game?
Big Bird: I honestly thought I was gonna be irrelevant coming from SFIV to SFV, but I guess I’m more relevant than I’ve ever been in SFIV. I won’t lie — I was scared for a bit in the beginning, though. I do enjoy the game when I play against high level players — I won’t deny that. But when I play against mid to low level players, I don’t really enjoy the game much, so I usually switch to other characters so I can learn them.
El Cubano Loco: What do you consider the positives and negatives of SFV? What would you add or change to improve the game?
Big Bird: The positives are the lack of crouch tech, it’s a fast-paced game, and it punishes you heavily for your mistakes, so you better be careful. I wouldn’t say it’s a footsie-oriented game, though. As for the negatives, oh, where can I start. First of all, the Crush Counter system needs to be adjusted. The risk/reward of throwing a crush counter normal is heavily skewed, it’s low risk/super high reward most of the time, and characters shouldn’t be able to get a full dash-in combo after a normal randomly crush countering in the neutral. There’s absolutely no need for that. Also, V-Trigger-canceled normals on block should always be minus no matter what. Heavy normals should be -4 or -5, mediums should be -2 and lights should be zero. I don’t care about the reward on hit. Just increase the risk. Let people be forced to hit confirm into V-Trigger.
Also remove anti-air jabs, or whatever needs to be adjusted in order for them to stop working. They’re so scrubby in my opinion, and sometimes it’s more rewarding than an anti-air DP. Also add more defensive options. I don’t like the removal of jump back OS. It honestly added layers of depth to both the offensive and the defensive gameplay, and made the game more fun, but that’s just me. There’s more, but this is all I can think of.
El Cubano Loco: Do you miss Guy? Would you want him in SFV? How would you want him to play in this game?
Big Bird: I do miss playing Guy honestly, he was really fun and my first serious main in a fighting game as well, so I’m kinda attached to him [laughs]. I’d want him to play the same as he did in SFIV. He’d honestly be strong that way.
El Cubano Loco: There’s a rumor that Guy’s master, Zeku, will be in Season 2. Would you drop Ken to play him, if he plays similar to Guy?
Big Bird: I wouldn’t say I’ll drop Ken for him, but I’ll definitely make an effort to learn him. I can’t drop Ken since I’ve invested a lot of time in him. It’ll honestly be a waste of effort if I did, but I’ll definitely give Zeku a fair shot.
El Cubano Loco: What are your initial impressions of Abigail?
Big Bird: I haven’t seen much of him besides the trailer. He looks like Hugo, as he’s big enough. I played Hugo in SFIV on the side, so I don’t know. I might end up trying him later. I’m honestly interested in seeing StormKubo, Infexious, and Alucard try him actually.
El Cubano Loco: What’s next for you in the CPT season? Any upcoming tournaments you’ll be competing in?
Big Bird: I’m going to Fight Club NRW in Germany in August. Maybe VS Fighting as well, depending on my visa. Esports Festival Hong Kong, EGX, SGB, and other European ranking events. I’ll go to as many events I need to go in order to make it. I have 450 points now, so I’m really close to making it to Capcom Cup!
El Cubano Loco: What drives and inspires you to compete in SFV? What are some specific goals you’re looking to accomplish both in and out of competition?
Big Bird: I’m just playing for fun — it’s still a hobby for me at the end of the day. I’m currently studying environmental health and safety at Abu Dhabi University, so that’s the priority. Since I got sponsored recently, I have a duty to fulfill to my team, so yeah, I guess that motivated me a lot to compete this year, since I barely showed up last year. I just hope I can do my team proud. If they’re happy, then I’ll be happy!
With crossover fighting games becoming the big trend this year, it shouldn’t be surprising that companies are bringing out new installments of their fighting series. Such seems to be the case with Sega’s Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax franchise.
However, before any fans of the series get too hyped about the announcement, there are a few things that might put a damper on the excitement. First, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition Mobile Edition is, as the name indicates, a mobile game. Second, the game, developed by 91Act, is for the Chinese market only — set to be released only in China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
For those still curious about the game, however, it’s set to get a proper debut at 91Act’s booth at the ChinaJoy 2017 Expo in Shanghai this weekend. The rest of the fans will have to keep waiting for a proper new arcade or console installment.
Grapht-sponsored Japanese gaming god Tatsuya Haitani had a busy week during Evo 2017. It wasn’t just because he traveled to the world’s largest fighting game tournament — a few days prior to his flight to the US, he got married!
This is just one of the many areas covered in the continuing Evo interview series by Mark “BornFree” Sheridan. Over the course of the 30 minute interview, the three (including translator @discovigilante) discuss Haitani’s training, his favorite player to watch (UK’s Infexious won him over!), his first fighting game, and more.
Need something to play this weekend? Sirlin Games are running a free test period for their under-development fighting game Fantasy Strike, running from July 28th to 30th. This build will feature eight characters and four stages, along with online cross-play between PC and Mac users. There is also local versus, arcade, and a fully-featured training mode for players who want to delve deep in Fantasy Strike‘s easy-to-pick-up, hard-to-master combat system.
Do keep in mind that this build of Fantasy Strike is pre-alpha, so there will be bugs that need ironing out, features that need tweaking, and characters that need balancing. Treat the weekend as a tasting session so you can see if its pared-back fighting system clicks with you.
You can download the Weekend Test build right here, with it activating at 1:00 PM PDT on Friday. The full version of Fantasy Strike is set to launch on PC, Mac, Linux and PlayStation 4 in late 2018. If you want to get ahead of the curve before Friday, look below for the character spotlight for Grave, the electric swordsman:
