Category: Fighting Games

Moving on with the character balance changes coming to Street Fighter V at the end of this month, VesperArcade now turns his attention to Ken. Mr. Master’s patch notes are pretty light, as he only received the universal changes to his medium and heavy Shoryukens that were covered in a previous video, and his Thunder Kick going from -2 to -4 on block, making it punishable, like it was in Season 1. Though it may seem like a minor change on paper, Vesper feels it has significant ramifications for Ken, and wanted to discuss them in much greater detail.

In Season 1, Ken’s Thunder Kick was already punishable, but in Season 2 it was changed to -2 on block, making it now safe against even the fastest normal attacks. The biggest change, however, is to the advantage on hit, which was changed to +2 from 0. Now, this might not sound like much, but Ken can now combo from his Thunder Kick overhead if it hits crouching opponents, because it actually becomes +3, since it hits them meaty. To be fair, he can’t do this on Birdie, Zangief and Urien, since they’re taller characters, and he’ll only be +2 on hit.

Vesper goes on to showcase the plethora of setups this can provide Ken with, due to having 3-frame specials in his Light Shoryuken and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, as well as other ways he can mixup with it in the corner for dangerous offense.

So, Capcom making this -4 on block but keeping its combo potential seems like a compromise, without nerfing it too hard. For one, most overheads in the game are -6 right now. You can’t combo after most of them afterwards, yet they can be punished harder than Ken’s overhead after April. You also might argue that Ken’s overhead is slower than normal, since Capcom increased the startup from 23 to 26 frames, the same as Chun-Li’s, so we could definitely spin in circles debating on how to balance this.

Lastly, Vesper provides his traditional “final verdict” on Ken’s standing.

My final verdict on Ken, based on these changes alone, is overall nerfed. Ken will still have his wold corner game, since his throw loops remain untouched, but his opponent can now punish him if he reads correctly on a blocked Thunder Kick. And Ken players might think twice now, before using it when they’re really low on health. Capcom obviously wanted to even out the risk and reward, balance out the scales a bit on this overhead attack, so after this change, I wonder where Ken will end up? I honesty think right now, Season 2 Ken is somewhere in the top 10 region. I personally think he’s the best shoto of the three. But after this change, and Akuma getting a slight buff to his HP, I’m really curious where he will land.

You can view the full video above, and if you’re curious about other changes coming to SFV, you can check out his previous coverage at these links:

• Uppercut changes
• Jump back throw OS removed
• V-Reversal and charge changes
• Alex
• Guile
• Ryu
• Urien
• New moves & Air Force Base changes
• CFN features & Kanzuki Private Beach changes
• Nash
• Akuma
• Vega
• Birdie
• Balrog

Source: VesperArcade

The wide selection of assists in Pokkén Tournament means that there’s a lot of variety for combo video makers to really push their creativity. Player meLo oLem, one of the community’s best-known Pikachu Libre innovators, has proven this with his latest Libre video: “Fresh & Clean.”

Libre’s place in the cast is that of the heavy option, low damage mixup ‘mon. To see that character archetype pump out 300+ damage from a mid screen jump in, and not even spend its Burst, is eye-popping. What’s even more surprising is some of the tech meLo uses to put these combos together: I can say for certain I’ve never seen a Libre video use j.X wall jump cancels mid combo, or use the backside of Latios assist to rebound wall opponents.

Source: meLo oLem

Sweep away your old perceptions. Sand-master Kukri received a ton of new dirt in the new King of Fighters patch, and Apolo Loussalier is here to examine just how strong it’s made this monster.

Hitbox improvements, hurtbox shortening, improved cross ups, and a wild amount of improvement on his air flip kick Bossa-Shougeki allow Kukri to rush down like never before. All of this combined together, as Apolo demonstrates here, allows for even tighter frame traps and pressure–for a character that didn’t necessarily suffer in that department in the first place.

Source:  Apolo Loussalier

Mikado Arcade knows what players like. 17 years later, Project Justice: Rival Schools 2 still enjoys healthy popularity both in Japan, and in the hearts of many worldwide.

As a Capcom 3D fighter with heavy emphasis on jump cancel launchers, long combos and cross-under mixups, Project Justice is entertaining from both a spectator and player stand point. Its balance may not be the best Capcom has ever put forth (Hi, Roy and Momo) but Project Justice still has a healthy character selection in tournament play even today.

Source: Mikado Arcade

“String Fighter” reinterprets classic Street Fighter themes and merges them into a single impressive medley.

In their latest video, Setnomessej takes a number of iconic themes from Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Street Fighter III, and merges them to form “String Fighter”–a new acoustic medley. It opens with a haunting rendition of Vega’s SFA3 theme “Crimson,” and moves through a number of other well-known Street Fighter melodies–including an Ennio Morricone-inspired “spaghetti Western” take on Ryu’s classic theme–to close, of course, on a somewhat more elegant version of that most popular Street Fighter theme that goes with everything. Fans of Street Fighter’s musical legacy won’t want to this little piece of auditory exploration–have a listen below!

Source: Setnomessej

Next up on VesperArcade’s analysis of Street Fighter V’s upcoming April balance changes is Balrog; in Season 2, the Dirty Bull was given many more ways to break through his opponent’s guard and mix them up for a world of pain. With an extra 25 health, crouching medium kick hitting low in exchange for reduced range, standing heavy punch becoming a Crush Counter, throw invincibility on the first 9 Levels of Turn Punch, and several normals gaining more block and hit advantage, Balrog has become quite the force to be reckoned with in SFV’s sophomoric season.

Though some players may currently call him a “robbery character,” due to his high damage output and the powerful comeback potential of his V-Trigger Crazy Rush, it seems the boxer was mostly spared the rod, as the only change he will be receiving will be his health getting reduced back to 1,000. Vesper proceeded to give his thoughts on the matter:

Balrog has some of the highest comeback potential of any character in the game right now. This is definitely mostly due to his V-Trigger. Your health could be gone in just a second. To have Balrog in such a healthy condition with his V-Trigger up seemed pretty overkill I would say. I’m sure not even Balrog players were expecting a health buff in Season 2, and even though Balrog lacks some defensive options, it looks like Capcom only wants grappler characters to have over 1,000 health in the game right now. I see a lot of people talking about “losing or gaining 25 health is not a big deal,” but you have to consider that in Street Fighter V, when you’re low on health, you take less damage. Balrog being a comeback character that can rob you at the end of a match, having above-average health is something to consider, to [not] give Balrog more chances than he should get.

After showing off his current mixups, Vesper provided his final thoughts.

My final verdict on Balrog overall, is very, very, slightly nerfed. I guess in a bubble it would seem like Balrog got nerfed. The fact that this was the only balance change means that Balrog got off CLEAN! I’m honestly surprised Capcom didn’t address his EX Dash Straight. They went after Urien’s EX Tackle and Birdie’s EX Bull Head, but for some reason, Balrog’s EX Straight is the same. This is not only safe on block, this is +1, meaning that it’s still Balrog’s turn. I feel like Balrog will still be one of the strongest characters in the game, even after this very slight nerf.

You can catch the full video above, as well as his previous coverage of other changes coming in the patch:

• Uppercut changes
• Jump back throw OS removed
• V-Reversal and charge changes
• Alex
• Guile
• Ryu
• Urien
• New moves & Air Force Base changes
• CFN features & Kanzuki Private Beach changes
• Nash
• Akuma
• Vega
• Birdie

Do you think this health reduction was enough, or do you feel more should’ve been done to Balrog? Tell us in the comments!

Source: VesperArcade