Category: Fighting Games

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Next Injustice 2 character reveal scheduled for Friday, April 28th

With less than five weeks to go, we’re finally in the home stretch of Injustice 2’s release. Following gameplay trailers for The Flash and Captain Cold, as well as a series of Watchtower livestreams, Injustice.com has once again updated–claiming that the next character reveal will be taking place on Friday, April 28th, a mere 18 days before the title releases.

With the revelation that Mr. Freeze would be a premier skin for Captain Cold in the “Your Battles, Your Way” trailer, and only 11 slots remaining on the Injustice website–10 of which are likely reserved for DLC characters–we could be looking at the final fighter joining the base roster.

All signs point to the Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker, making his glorious return; NetherRealm Studio’s Ed Boon even recently tweeted a vine of Tara Strong (who voices Harley Quinn in both the Injustice and Arkham series) together with Mark Hamill, the original voice of the animated Joker–who, despite stating he’d retire from the role after Arkham City, has returned to voice the character in a few other projects. Richard Epcar voiced the Joker in the original Injustice, however. You can view the tweet below.

Or perhaps this is elaborate misdirection? Either way, we’ll find out in a few short weeks. In the meantime, don’t forget to tune in to today’s Watchtower live stream, featuring character breakdowns for Gorilla Grodd, Scarecrow & Firestorm!

Sources: Injustice.com; Ed Boon (Twitter)

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Infiltration cancels NorCal Regionals appearance, stating he’s not ready to attend Capcom Pro Tour events

At this time last year, there was one name at the top of the Capcom Pro Tour leaderboards; Razer’s Lee Seon-woo–more commonly known as Infiltration–had dominated the Tour, winning the first two Capcom Pro Tour events, Final Round 19 and NorCal Regionals 2016. What a change that a year (and a balance patch) can bring, as not only was Infiltration not at Final Round 20, but it looks like he’ll won’t be at NCR 2017 as well.

In a recent tweet, Infiltration confirmed that he would not be attending NorCal Regionals 2017. According to him, he feels that he is not yet ready to attend Capcom Pro Tour events.

While this seems like such shocking decision from a decorated player–having won multiple tournament wins including three Evolution championships–it’s not entirely unexpected for those following his performance as of this year. With the changes to his previous Street Fighter V main character Nash, Infiltration has been on the lookout for a new character to use. While he’s been playing a lot with Juri and Rashid, even using them at TBS’s ELEAGUE, it seems that he still doesn’t feel confident in his ability to bring them to the finals of a Capcom Pro Tour event.

Source: Infiltration (Twitter)

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Big bad wolves beware: Sylvie’s new Red Riding Hood costume for The King of Fighters XIV

The King of Fighters XIV is getting a bunch of new DLC costumes today; we’ve already seen the first two of these: Kula Diamond’s sundress and Meitenkun’s pajamas. Now, SNK has dropped a trailer for the third costume.

Newcomer Sylvie gets ready to head to grandma’s house with a new Little Red Riding Hood costume. Of course, fighting game veterans are already aware that little girls in red hoods are big trouble, and with the recent changes brought about by the 2.0 balance patch, Sylvie promises to also be so–as the video below demonstrates.

Source: KOF WORLD

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For those about to Rock (Howard)–here’s a combo roundup for The King of Fighters XIV

Combos, combos, and more combos for Geese Howard’s returning son.

Of the new DLC characters now arrived in The King of Fighters XIV, Rock Howard’s jump from Garou: Mark of the Wolves to the KOF main series might be the most notable. The fan-favorite is certainly getting lots of combo-video love; here’s a few selections to help ignite the Burn to Fight!

Among others, Persona Entertainment has included a possible maximum damage combo (487) for Rock, in this video:

We’ve featured HurtboxTV’s Yamazaki combo video already; here is their Rock Howard offering, featuring combos both useful and flashy:

The COMBONAUTS are having a great time with the new DLC fighters, of course; here’s their characteristically over-the-top combo exhibition for Rock:

For more Rock Howard tech (and tech for other fighters, too), check out our prior recent roundups for The King of Fighters XIV version 2.0:

As usual, thanks to everyone that sent in tips!

Sources: Persona Entertainment; HurtboxTV; COMBONAUTS

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VesperArcade discusses the changes Birdie will be feasting on in Street Fighter V’s April update

As the end of the month draws ever nearer, VespserArcade continues his series of looking at all of the changes coming to Street Fighter V in its April update.  This time, he focuses on the “Headbutt-Happy Glutton,” Birdie. In their developer comments, Capcom mentioned that Birdie was initially designed to have a powerful neutral game, and though he overall improved offensively, his Season 2 changes veered away from that vision.

In an attempt to correct that, Capcom has eased up on some of Birdie’s prior nerfs, such as expanding crouching medium punch’s hitbox upwards for active frames 4-5.

Capcom is slightly buffing Birdie’s main anti-air. At the start of Season 2, Capcom actually nerfed Birdie’s cr.MP. First, they added a forward hurtbox to active frames 5-8, to stop it from beating out far jump-ins. They also shrunk the forward, back and upper hitboxes on active frames 2-5, just making it overall a weaker anti-air that will trade more with other character’s attacks, especially if they have good jump-ins. On top of this, Capcom made it knock further back in the air as well, so Birdie players had a tougher time mixing up the opponent with follow-ups afterwards. By expanding the hitbox upwards, it should help Birdie players not trade as much with the opponent’s jumping attacks, as long as it’s timed correctly.

While his crouching medium kick will still have a shrunken upper hitbox and an expanded lower htibox, it has now regained its 10-frame startup from Season 1, making it a slightly more effective tool in Birdie’s neutral game.

Perhaps Birdie’s most significant change is his EX Bull Head, both in and out of V-Trigger, going from -2 to -5 on block, making both versions punishable.

This one is kind of strange I think, because in Season 1, EX Bull Head was -10 on block, and the V-Trigger version was -7 on block, but then in Season 2, they made it only -2 on block. Many Birdie players would just randomly throw this out during the match, and would get huge damage (even though it was reduced on both versions) and a knockdown if it landed of course, or it was just simply safe on block. What made this change even more scary, is that when Birdie’s in V-Trigger, his EX Bull Head has Armor on Frame 1, so he can use this as a reversal if he wants that’s safe when blocked.

Finally, EX Bull Horn is now fully armored from frames 1-20, like it was in Season 1, giving Birdie another defensive option. Vesper also gives his thoughts on where the Alpha veteran now stands.

My final verdict on Birdie, is overall slightly buffed. Birdie got three Season 1 nerfs reverted, and a large nerf to his EX Bull Head, making it unsafe now, but not as much as it was in Season 1. Birdie got some great offensive changes in Season 2, especially with the increased range and hit advantage of Standing Medium Punch, and his improved Crush Counter standing heavy kick, but he did lose some defensive options in return.

You can catch the entire video above, along with links to VesperArcade’s previous coverage of additional changes coming to SFV:

Source: VesperArcade

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Injustice 2’s “Your Battles Your Way” trailer gives a more in-depth look at the gear system

It’s all about having the right gear for the job.

Injustice 2 released a new trailer for the highly-anticipated fighter, that focuses on the variety of customizations players can make on their characters. These customizations are a lot more than simply cosmetic. They alter your fighter’s stats and special moves as well. Thanks to the new system, there are nearly countless combinations leading to incredibly distinct characters, in terms of both aesthetic and playstyle. There are some gear combinations that replicate iconic looks from DC’s past, such as the Red Son Superman Battle Crest.

Those interested in looking stellar but not focusing on stat boosts will be able to play without the bonuses, if both players decide to do so before a battle. There will also be a competitive mode that focuses on the fight, not the added gear bonuses, from the get go.

Be sure to watch the new trailer below to catch a glimpse of the possible loadout customizations for your favorite DC heroes and villains!

Source: Injustice

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UDON’s Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers #3 is now available for pre-order

Capcom’s worlds continue to collide in the next installment of UDON’s comic crossover!

We’ll be seeing the first official issue of UDON’s wild new comic crossover series soon; meanwhile, Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers #3 is now available for pre-order! What’s in the issue, according to UDON:

As Chun-Li loses one of her allies to the darkness, things look grim for the World Warriors. Meanwhile, Morrigan learns she’s not the only succubus in this fight, as she comes face-to-face for the first time with the mischievous Lilith. The crossover chaos continues in STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS!

As with prior issues, four different covers featuring different artists will be available, including the Midnight Bliss tribute cover that links with issues 1-4 to form a single image, and the classic horror movie tribute cover! All issues of this series will be available digitally through comiXology, and of course at a comic shop near you!

Cover A
Cover B (Midnight Bliss tribute)
Cover C
Cover D

STREET FIGHTER VS. DARKSTALKERS #3
32 pages, full color; $3.99; available June 2017
MAR172153 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #2 (OF 8) CVR A (HUANG)
MAR172154 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #2 (OF 8) CVR B (PORTER)
MAR172155 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #2 (OF 8) CVR C (10 COPY INCENTIVE)
MAR172156 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #2 (OF 8) CVR D (20 COPY INCENTIVE)

Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers #0 is available now, issue #1 is expected in April, and issue #2 is expected for May.

Other recent UDON goodies include Street Fighter Unlimited’s first two hardcover volumes, and UDON Collectibles’ new Street Fighter 30th Anniversary T-shirt series!

Source: UDON Entertainment

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Phoenix1 continues its Super Smash Bros. expansion by signing James “Duck” Ma

After signing top Cloud and DK main Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U earlier this year, Phoenix1 have now thrown their hat into the Melee ring by signing world’s best Samus and MIOM Rank #15, James “Duck” Ma. It seems that birds of a feather flock together, even in esports.

Rated as the best player in Michigan, Duck has been a consistent presence at the top levels of many Melee events, with a second place at Full Bloom 3, seventh at Smash Summit 3, ninth at Shine, Evo, and Canada Cup 2016. With wins over players like CLG|SFAT, IMT|Shroomed, MSF|The Moon, G2|Westballz, and a current 3-1 positive record over TSM|Leffen, he has the potential to raise his MIOM ranking even higher in 2017.

Duck was previously signed to Denial Esports, but agreed to a mutual separation in August after issues with player payments–these issues have since been resolved. The Midwestern bounty hunter will be sporting his brand new orange and black jersey at CEO Dreamland this weekend.

Source: Phoenix1

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Polygon interviews the original development team behind SNK’s Samurai Shodown: “Samurai Gumi”

James Mielke over at Polygon scored big: he managed to get together Samurai Shodown series creator Yasushi Adachi, background designer Tomoki Fukui, and composer Norio Tate for a long form interview about one of the most beloved weapons-based fighters in gaming history. These three titans were a part of Samurai Gumi (literately: Samurai Team), and in their exclusive interview give an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the series’s development, budgets, and why the title had it’s “w” sliced out.

Of particular interest to the FGC is Adachi’s call to arms for old Samurai Gumi team members to get together and make a new IP, and his admission that they are not presently involved with SNK on development of a new title.

You can read the full article here!

Source: Polygon

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GameBattles reopens its famous Super Smash Bros. online ladder, now for Smash 4

Alongside the now defunct All Is Brawl, GameBattles was one of the best places to train during the days of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It helped birth many of the talents we now see dominating the top levels of Smash 4, with its playoffs and online ladder acting as major battlegrounds during Brawl’s lifespan. While Japan still has an active and fiercely competitive online ladder, nothing in the West has really captured the original spirit of All Is Brawl and GameBattles.

However, in a matter of minutes earlier this week after a suggestion by IMT|ANTi on Twitter, GameBattles has set up a new online ladder specifically for Smash 4. Top players like ANTi, TSM|ZeRo and CaptainZack have already signed up to the service, with there currently being over 380 players registered since the ladder’s announcement yesterday evening. You can expect more players to start filtering in over the next week, with MLG hopefully setting up incentives, premium tournaments and playoffs as interest increases.

This announcement has certainly garnered a lot of interest among both Brawl veterans and new-school wifi warriors, so there should be plenty of matches going if you are looking to level up your Smash skills.

Source: GameBattles