Category: Fighting Games

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Check out Vampire Savior & Super Street Fighter II Turbo at GAME a-cho’s “All Capcom Historical Olympics 2017”

Kyoto’s GAME a-cho threw a Capcom-flavored nostalgia party this past week for its “All Capcom Historical Olympics 2017” event; the games featured were obvious: Super Street Fighter II Turbo gave birth to the grounded fighters we know today, and Vampire Savior (AKA Darkstalkers 3) helped form some of the earliest air-dashing mechanics seen in the genre.

Regardless of which subgenre of the FGC you fall under, there’s a part of your gaming history represented here in these games. Relax with some great play from Japan’s finest!

Sources: A-Cho (Twitter)

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Polygon tells the rise and fall of Mad Catz in the eyes of the FGC

If you grew up in the general gaming community, the death knell heard as Mad Catz filed for bankruptcy was probably music to your ears. If, however, you have been a part of the FGC, Mad Catz’s demise sounded more like a dirge. Responsible for putting arcade sticks in the hands of many players over the last decade, the company was one of the sole beneficiaries of the fighting game renaissance experienced during and after 2009, as Street Fighter IV became the hottest fighting game in a long time.

But a lot of their success in the FGC  could be attributed solely to the community itself, with Mark “Markman” Julio’s efforts to shift Mad Catz brand recognition to a positive light, for example. Having started at the company in the role of technical support, Markman ultimately was the one that sparked the SE and TE Fightsticks that became the line we knew today.

In this interview with Polygon, Julio talked about his time there, stating that, “We created an ecosystem where players, competitors and fans can unite under a brand and really make impact-driven memories from the shared experiences.” He also talks about how Mad Catz began sponsoring and selling at events, saying that when he had asked for time off to go to a tournament, “My boss at the time asked me if the event would be willing to help promote the Mad Catz products, or even sell them during the event.”

Source: Polygon

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2GGC: Gekkouga Saga comes to the Esports Arena on May 20th

Decided after Ranai’s Greninja took first place at the special round robin at 2GGC: Civil War, this next Saga will be dedicated to the amphibian shinobi, Greninja. However, as many of the world’s best Greninjas–like iStudying and Some–could not make an event in April, 2GGaming have rescheduled the newly-named Gekkouga Saga (Greninja is called “Gekkouga” in Japanese) for May 20th at the Esports Arena in Santa Ana, California.

As with all 2GGC Sagas, there will be both singles and doubles events for players to try and earn those precious 2GGC Ranking Points, along with a special combo contest dedicated to the ninja frog. Greninja players are infamous for posting incredibly stylish and intricate combos on Twitter, so this event will finally pit them against each other for the title of greatest amphibian. Based on a tweet from 2GGaming, it looks like they will be flying in international Greninja mains like Elexiao, Waveguider, DarkAura, Eddy, Serge, Oisiitofu, Some, and more to compete at the event.

Signups are available over on smash.gg, and expect more details on this Saga as we approach May. 2GG are promising to host another tournament to make up for them missing an event in April, so don’t worry about losing a weekend of top Smash 4 action. Hopefully, it may be the rumored Pokémon Saga.

Source: 2GGaming

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Mid-South Championships 2017 offering $15 registration fee until May 10th

After a successful first event last year, the organizers behind Kumite In Tennessee and Panda X Gaming have teamed up once again to bring “the LARGEST gaming event in Arkansas,” back to Little Rock. Mid-South Championships will be held September 9-10, returning to the Holiday Inn Conference Center, conveniently located near the Clinton National Airport, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The event’s Featured games include:

  • Street Fighter V ($1,000 pot bonus)
  • Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
  • Guilty Gear Xrd REV2
  • BlazBlue: Central Fiction
  • Super Smash Bros. for Wii U [singles & doubles] ($500 pot bonus for singles)
  • Super Smash Bros. Melee [singles & doubles] ($500 pot bonus for singles)
  • Project M
  • Tekken 7
  • The King of Fighters XIV
  • Injustice 2
  • Killer Instinct

Registration is currently live at smash.gg. From now until May 10th, the organizers are offering a limited-time $15 venue fee, as a response to concerns of last year’s high registration cost. Afterwards, the price will increase to the early-bird price of $20, which will further increase to $30 on August 1st. On-site registration will set you back $40, so competitors should act quickly for the discount. Just like last year, the hotel room rate will be $89 per night, with a booking link forthcoming.

Source: Mid-South Championships (Facebook)

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Mid-South Championships 2017 offering $15 registration fee until May 10th

After a successful first event last year, the organizers behind Kumite In Tennessee and Panda X Gaming have teamed up once again to bring “the LARGEST gaming event in Arkansas,” back to Little Rock. Mid-South Championships will be held September 9-10, returning to the Holiday Inn Conference Center, conveniently located near the Clinton National Airport, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The event’s Featured games include:

  • Street Fighter V ($1,000 pot bonus)
  • Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
  • Guilty Gear Xrd REV2
  • BlazBlue: Central Fiction
  • Super Smash Bros. for Wii U [singles & doubles] ($500 pot bonus for singles)
  • Super Smash Bros. Melee [singles & doubles] ($500 pot bonus for singles)
  • Project M
  • Tekken 7
  • The King of Fighters XIV
  • Injustice 2
  • Killer Instinct

Registration is currently live at smash.gg. From now until May 10th, the organizers are offering a limited-time $15 venue fee, as a response to concerns of last year’s high registration cost. Afterwards, the price will increase to the early-bird price of $20, which will further increase to $30 on August 1st. On-site registration will set you back $40, so competitors should act quickly for the discount. Just like last year, the hotel room rate will be $89 per night, with a booking link forthcoming.

Source: Mid-South Championships (Facebook)

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Meitenkun can start sleepfighting in his pajamas on April 12th; see the costume trailer here

Yesterday, SNK released a trailer for Kula Diamond’s sundress DLC costume, first revealed following the KOF XIV World Championship. Keeping up the pace, they’ve now done the same for Meitenkun’s pajama costume, which will also be available this Wednesday, April 12th.

The trailer–which you can see below–shows all 6 color variations (which includes his new cat plushie, that replaces his signature pillow) in addition to a few combos and intros.

Though no pricing details have been announced, Meitenkun’s pajamas, along with Kula’s sundress, will likely share Classic Iori’s price tag of $2.99. What do you think of this costume? Are any of you Meitenkun players eager to pick it up? Tell us in the comments!

Source: Gatoray; via KOF WORLD

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Romance talks to Shoryuken about his passion for The King of Fighters and his partnership with Justin Wong

Jose “Romance” Navarrete’s trip to Indianapolis was born out of a friendship in the FGC with one of the top players in the world. Several weeks before the event, it was announced the Echo Fox|Justin Wong was sending him out for Naptown Clutch 6 to test his mettle in Street Fighter V and The King of Fighters XIV–the two titles he has been training in recently.

The result of that partnership showed potential, as Romance took 1st in KOF and 5th in SFV, showing that he’s a force to be reckoned with in both titles. While at Naptown Clutch, I sat down with him to talk about his progress with the games, and how his partnership with Justin came to fruition.

Corey “Missing Person” Lanier: Congratulations on your win at Naptown Clutch. You looked like the man to beat during the top 4. How did you feel going into it?

Jose “Romance” Navarrete: I have to admit I felt a bit of nerves at first. I had to play against my teammate, TCYoshi, who is a really strong player. It could have went either way.

Missing Person: At the start of Grand Finals, you made a switch off of Nakoruru to Leona. What prompted that change?

Romance: I actually put Benimaru as battery and put Leona in the middle, and wanted to test out Leona. I don’t really like the character, or play her a lot. However, she’s really strong and I felt like it was worth it to try her out as a pocket character.

Missing Person: When you brought Nakoruru back in, you put her as anchor, as opposed to battery in winners finals. Was there a specific reason for this?

Romance: I feel like Nakoruru is one of my best characters. When I play someone who isn’t used to her, I try to use it as a strategy. If they’re not ready for my style of Nakoruru, they’ll be in trouble with her as my battery. In the case of TCYoshi, he knows the way I play her. But since she is my best character, I can leave her as an anchor to finish off what’s left.

Missing Person: With the recent patch to The King of Fighters XIV, how do you feel about the game?

Romance: I am super excited about all the work that SNK Playmore has put into the game. Everyone has noticed how active the company has been in patching the game. They have been giving a lot of support, including into esports. They’ve also been assisting various tournaments, including giving pot bonuses. I’m still looking forward to one more patch prior to Evo. If they release another balance patch, it’ll be helpful.

Missing Person: I actually had talked to Xiaohai in Canada, and he had talked about preferring KOF XIII to KOF XIV. Do you have a preference?

Romance: To be honest, KOF XIII was where I first got my name out there. I traveled a lot for the game and won a few tournaments and made top 8 at Evo twice. So KOF XIII definitely has a special place in my heart. At the same time, I want to play KOF XIV. I really want to support SNK Playmore for doing a good job in working on the game. It’s about adapting to the new mechanics rather than saying, “I don’t like this game. I would rather play KOF XIII.”

I actually like the mechanics that KOF XIV has to offer. I know it requires different strategies than KOF XIII, but I’m just putting in the time to adjust and enjoying the game. I want there to be more titles in the franchise. Especially with all the promotional effort they’re putting forth, including the KOF World Cup.

Missing Person: What would be the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make coming from KOF XIII?

Romance: I feel like the damage you get is different. With Max Mode in KOF XIV, you can get 30-40% damage from one bar of meter. You can get more damage with one bar in KOF XIV than with KOF XIII.

Missing Person: You actually got sponsored by Justin Wong personally to come out here to play. How did that deal come about?

Romance: Justin actually invited me to go to Canada Cup 2016. But because of work and other commitments, I was unable to make it out. But a few weeks ago, he texted me and said that he still wanted to send me out to an event to show me and King of Fighters some love. So I told him I wanted to go to Naptown Clutch because I had never been to Indianapolis, and I have a few friends that live here. He told me he believed I could take it down, and thanks to the effort, I proved him right.

Missing Person: With this win, do you believe he’ll be showing more support down the road?

Romance: I am more than thankful for what he’s already done, and he’s helped me a lot. Even in Street Fighter V, we both play Karin, so he always gives me advice on my play. I would never put my hand out asking for him to give me more than what he already willingly gave.

I’m actually moving to Las Vegas very soon to start a new job. So I’m going to try to manage my time and resources and try to do it on my own. I will be keeping my eye out for sponsorships, but regardless, I will be doing my best in KOF no matter what.

Missing Person: With Street Fighter V, how much time are you putting into Street Fighter with your main focus being KOF?

Romance: For the two weeks leading up to Naptown Clutch, I was at least playing a couple hours a night online.

Missing Person: And it paid off, as you made it to top 8 on the winner’s side. But you have Wolfkrone and NYChrisG still in the bracket. How do you feel about your chances?

Romance: I’ll be honest that I’m still a bit nervous. I’m just focusing on doing my best. I actually sent Wolfkrone to losers bracket. The hardest match on winner’s side is NYChrisG, and I have him to start things off. It’s no disrespect to anyone else in the bracket, but he’s well-known and I know his playstyle. I’ve played him a lot in many games. He’s a really smart guy and a smart player. I’m going to be trying my best.

Note: Romance lost to NYChrisG in winners semi-finals, then was eliminated by Wolfkrone—whom he had put into losers bracket—in the very next match.

Missing Person: With Evo coming up, given your experience, you’d be a favorite to make Top 8. But you also have to deal with the world’s best coming out, including Xiaohai. How do you prepare?

Romance: I’ll just keep practicing with the people around me. I play a lot with some of the best in the region, including TCYoshi and Luis Cha. I’ll be playing as much as I can to gain experience.

Missing Person: Who do you feel is your biggest demon in KOF?

Romance: The player who has been getting the best of me the most lately has been Reynald. But at the same time, I feel like he’s my teammate in trying to defend the US in the game. So while he’s my demon, I feel like it’s more of a friendly rivalry.

[Feature image by Corey Lanier]

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ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational: Group A quarter finals/semi-finals replays, Infiltration interview

The ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational continued on Twitch and TBS this past Friday with the quarter finals and semi-finals for the players in Group A–which consisted of PIE|Smug, PG|Punk, F3|Brolynho, Echo Fox|Julio, Echo Fox|Momochi, and RZR|Infiltration. You can watch the replays below to see which players advanced, as well as the ones who were eliminated from this high-stakes competition.

ELEAGUE also has conducted a player profile interview with Seonwoo “Infiltration” Lee. In this four-minute segment, he briefly talks about his first experience with the Street Fighter series at the arcades in South Korea, his debut at Evolution 2010, and why he has switched to Juri in SFV. Lee’s parents and fiancee are also interviewed in this video, and they share their thoughts and feelings concerning his pro-fighting game career. It’s worth a watch to see a side of Infiltration we rarely get to see.

Source: ELEAGUE

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Looking for online Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 competition? Check out reddit’s player database

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3’s re-release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC has undeniably sparked a revival for the franchise–with players new and old coming back to the title in earnest. However, some players may not be able to make it out to locals, instead having to rely on online play for their competitive fix. Finding a consistent source of online competition in a 6-year old title, with its players spread across a whopping five platforms, can prove challenging.

In an attempt to remedy this, trahh has created an online player database on the /r/MvC3 subreddit, allowing players to indicate their system(s) of preference, location, degrees of availability, and any other details they wish to provide in service of expanding their range of potential opponents. He has also provided a link to the Steam group for UMvC3, for any users who may want to join there.

You can fill out the form to join the list here, and can also view the spreadsheet, which has around 90 players listed at the time of this writing, here.

Source: r/MvC3

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New normals, bad anti-airs, and the lash: In-depth breakdown of Whip in The King of Fighters XIV

Whip is one of the four new DLC characters added to The King of Fighters XIV, as part of its recent version 2.0 update. The lash-wielding sister of K’ was last seen in The King of Fighters XI, skipping out the past two iterations of the franchise. For her return, she sports some changes to her kit (including some new normals) that now define her abilities in the game.

In a 2-part video series, purifyws breaks down Whip’s King of Fighters XIV incarnation. This includes not just going over her moves, but also discussing their specific properties and what he feels are her strengths and weaknesses–especially in the anti-air department.

Source: purifyws