It seems that Arika has pulled off the greatest April Fool’s joke of them all–making people think that something is a fake, and then revealing that was real all along.
While the video they released a few hours ago–of a game with Street Fighter EX characters–stated that it was an April Fool’s joke, the game itself is actually real. Arika is currently streaming a preview of the game, featuring GODSGARDEN Pro’s Ryota “Kazunoko” Inoue.
The game itself seems to be cross between Street Fighter EX and Arika’s other fighting game, Fighting Layer, bringing in the walled stages and sidestep mechanic from the latter. Only three characters are selectable so far, Kairi, Hokuro, and Garuda. Check out the livestream below!
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is one of those classic games that seems to keep on giving as its gets older and its scene evolves. Despite its age, players continue to play–refining the tactics and tech that they use, oftentimes not only finding ways to do things that were thought to be impossible, but eventually finding out how to make them easier to perform.
One such example of this is Makoto’s double Fukiage combo against Chun-Li. An essential part of her touch-of-death combo using Super Art 2, it was long thought that this was impossible to perform on Chun-Li, until about five or so years ago when Telesniper put out a video showing how it could be done. Despite this, the combo was still pretty difficult to land, require pixel-perfect positioning. However, after seeing top Japanese Makoto player Tominaga have so much success with Makoto at this year’s Cooperation Cup while landing the double Fukiage on Chun-Li multiple times, Telesniper decided to go back and see if there was a way to perform the combo more consistently.
It turns out that there is a way to do so. In the video below, Telesniper demonstrates how walking backwards before the first Fukiage makes it easier to land. It seems that walking back with Makoto partially matches Chun-Li’s forward momentum. With this, the window to land the Fukiage now increases to about 3 to 4 frames, instead of the 1 to 2 frames it was before. Take note, however, that this is actually different from how Tominaga does it: which is with a late dash, however this technique requires that the Fukiage motion be done much faster, even if it increases the window by the same amount as with Telesniper’s updated technique.
For those interested in learning more, here’s Telesniper’s original video on the double Fukiage combo on Chun-Li.
In the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 community, the name RUBEKS is synonymous with high-level Super Skrull play. In an attempt to shed some light on what it takes to be a high ranking Skrull warrior, keo c recreates some of RUBEKS’ X-Factor “touch of death” combos in the video below.
Different variations for how the combos start are noted on screen, but it’ll be up to you to determine the specific inputs required for the exact outcome demonstrated. Also note that the use of a Spencer assist is employed, and that has an effect on some of the combos as well. Still, it’s easier to study the essence of RUBEKS in this isolated format, rather than trying catch glimpses of advanced tactics mid-match. This video alone will not make you a godlike Skrull main of course–but it’s a step in the right direction to start playing like one of the best.
Back in the mid-1990s, when the fighting game genre first went 3D, multiple development teams tossed their hats into the ring, doing their best with their own take on the 3D fighter. Now, a new indie fighter Schwarzerblitz pays homage to those early efforts.
Creator Andrea Demetrio states that they were inspired by “countless hours spent in the local arcade playing Tekken 2.” The game itself does its best to capture both the look and the spirit of early-nineties fighters. The former is pretty obvious, with low polygon models and somewhat questionable animations. Making up for that is an eclectic cast of fighters (including an armless fighter who attacks solely with kicks) that would feel right at home in that decade.
In addition to this, the game follows in the footsteps of many nineties 3D fighters that added their own unique twists on resources with a “bullet counter”: a meter used to power the game’s Trigger Attacks –Tekken-style unblockable moves that deal extended stun, allowing for longer combos in an already combo-heavy game. The same meter also powers a counter move called “Trigger Revenge” which acts as a sort of combo breaker that cancels hitstun.
You can see more of the game in action in the video below.
Interested players can dowload the game’s alpha demo over at Itch.io.
Ubisoft has responded to threats of a For Honor boycott by reversing some unfavorable changes to the game’s content, as well as improving the in-game currency system. They are reinstating the popular River Fort, one of the Vikings maps (the other being High Fort) that was removed after issues with online match stability, and they are increasing the value of Steel income across all platforms. In addition to these changes, they announced new Elite outfits for every class in the Viking, Knight and Samurai ranks–a total of 12 costumes divided amongst the three.
Issues with earnings and discarded maps are only two of many complaints, it seems. Poor multiplayer connectivity, balance issues with Heroes, and glitches in the combat system are also high on the list of gripes. To their merit, Ubisoft has responded to the negative feedback rather expediently–and their decision to focus on improving the currency system is hardly random: after a story about a concerned player’s conclusion that it would take either two years or $732 to unlock all of For Honor’s in-game content began circulating, it eventually caught the attention of the game’s director, and these latest developments in the For Honor player/developer relationship show that cries are not falling on deaf ears.
While these updates may be enough to forego any boycotts, there is still work ahead before all of the issues are addressed. Hopefully this show of good faith from Ubisoft will keep players connected with hopes of more progress.
Game a-cho arcade in Kyoto, Japan uploaded two hours of Final Fantasy Dissidia gameplay, giving overseas spectators a good look at what a typical run of this game in an arcade setting looks like. 3v3 Faction Battles seems to be the preferred mode in the two hour stretch, and the clashes make for a thorough examination of what to expect if you were in the sword wielder’s seat.
One of the highlights comes early on when a Squall players summons Ramuh, who showers the stage with lighting attacks and also prevents opponents from summoning for 50 seconds. Not only does it look awesome, it’s interesting to see how the summons change the activity happening on the battlefield. (Videos embedded below are set to start at various time marks.)
Unsurprisingly, most of the footage captured is of teams lead by Squalls, but there is some nice footage of Kuja, one of the newest characters that was announced in January. Aside from the gameplay exhibition that came with his announcement, this is the most extensive in-game Kuja footage we’ve seen yet.
Within the span of the two-hour session many different arenas were used, and they all had their unique aspects that influenced the pace of the match. Below are time marks with battles happening in different stages so you can see for yourself. Fans of the Final Fantasy series can probably pick up on some of the settings.
Overall, great graphics, a diverse cast and a unique style of gameplay is apparent in this footage from Game a-cho. If you enjoyed the above highlights, be sure to check out the full video to see the matches in their totality.
Street Fighter V is also on sale for $19.99, which is perfect timing for those interested in picking up the title after trying out the CFN beta which is currently available for all Steam users until April 3.
Check out the full list of discounted titles here!
VesperArcade continues his series of discussing the character changes coming to Street Fighter V in the late April balance patch, this time looking at Nash. Following the massive success of players such as Razer’s Infiltration, Yukadon and LI Joe in Season 1, Capcom significantly nerfed the “Paradoxical Avenger” in Season 2–to the point where all but Red Bull’s Bonchan have pretty much abandoned him. In an attempt to remedy this–as well as further diversify him from Guile–Capcom will be providing Nash with a few buffs in the upcoming update. Starting with one of the most notable, Nash’s forward dash will have its total movement frames reduced from 19 to 18 frames, making it faster–but still slower than Season 1’s 17 frames.
Now there is kind of a backstory on why Capcom’s messing around with Nash’s dash. Basically, when Nash dashes forward, he actually doesn’t animate himself moving forward until the 8th frame. So when the human eye sees him moving towards them, they don’t really react to Nash until his dash is already halfway done. That was a huge issue, because the fastest dashes in this game are 15 frames, and in Season 1 when Nash had a 17 frame dash, it seemed like 9 frames. The problem is, they didn’t just stop there. Not only did they nerf Nash’s dash by 2 frames, they also made it so Nash moves forward 1 frame faster. It was overkill, I feel, for Capcom to nerf it down to 19, so they just found the middle ground.
Next, VesperArcade explains how the standing heavy punch changes will restore some of the move’s original utility as a Crush Counter, as the hitboxes have been restored to their Season 1 sizes, which is in line with their goal of making him the more offensive Sonic Boomer.
Nash’s crouching medium kick was already improved in Season 2, by having it’s hit advantage when canceled into his V-Trigger, Sonic Move – Hide, increased from +3 to +4, allowing him to link a light attack afterwards. With it increasing to +5, he will now be able to go into Side Knee Attack, which can go into hard Sonic Scythe, to improve his meterless damage.
VesperArcade closes by giving his final analysis on Nash’s changes:
So my final verdict for these changes is slightly buffed. Nash’s forward dash buff has helped his crippled mobility, however I think Capcom could’ve made it 2 frames faster since we have 6.5 frames of input delay and he moves forward 1 frame sooner. Medium Sonic Scythe is a better neutral tool now if he safely spaces it. Standing HP can be used in neutral now, with a high reward if it Crush Counters and crouching MK will help his neutral when he has V-Trigger up. EX Sonic Scythe gives him a reversal option, but I still don’t think that helps when he doesn’t have a 3-frame normal. Obviously Capcom’s goal is to make Nash much different than Guile. They wanted Nash to be the rushdown character in Season 2. I think these buffs make sense to help his offense. I still think his V-Trigger got hit a little too hard, and he does have some issues, compared to what the top tier characters are now. But I don’t think Nash is that bad of a character. When they nerfed him, they gave him different tools to change the kind of character he was. I feel like Nash is in an OK spot right now, and I don’t think he’s in as bad a spot as some characters that were nerfed, with nothing given back to compensate.
You can see the full video above, along with coverage of the other patch notes and PC CFN beta discoveries below:
Are you ready to graduate from Street Fighter Academy?
Capcom’s CFN Portal site is offering a new minigame for April Fool’s Day (in Japan): The Street Fighter Academy quiz! Challenge Chun-Li, Ryu, or Juri with your knowledge of Street Fighter history, moves, music, and more to see if you can prevail.
The game’s banner and link seem to indicate this is a bonus available on the CFN Portal site only for today, so head over to test your Street Fighter trivia chops. You can play the game in Japanese or English, just go to the Portal site main page to set the language to your preference.
The CFN Portal profile for Sheng Long has also gone public for today!
Go to a public place, shout this in the middle of a crowd, and note people’s reactions. Most people will ignore you–or give you a strange look–but there is always someone who gets it. Though, there is a chance that there is someone else in that crowd for whom those words have special significance.
Evo Moment #37’s significance can’t be overstated. It inspired a new generation of fighting game players, and to this day, remains one of most iconic moments in competitive gaming. When we discuss famous FGC-related media, this is no doubt the most relevant one, globally. However: did you know that another famous FGC video had a similar influence on the Japanese FGC? Years before Daigo Umehara parried his way across cyberspace, he was V-ism Demon Flipping a young Alex Valle on Japanese national television.
Umehara mentioned in passing, on his show BeastTV, how this broadcast had a strong influence on Street Fighter Alpha 3’s lifespan. According to multi-time Evolution champion (2005, 2007 CvS2, B5 Alpha 3, 2006 GGXX Slash) and winner of the 2nd official Alpha 3 national tournament (in 1999) D44|BAS, this broadcast had a similar effect to the parry video, though on a smaller scale and specific to Japan. From the time it aired in 1998, it helped cement Alpha 3 as a high-impact title in the Japanese arcade gaming scene, and was no doubt important for media visibility for fighting games going into the golden era of the early 2000s.
Over the years there were several Alpha 3 National tournaments held, but as Capcom released more titles they stopped holding official events for the game. That’s when events like the “Ultimate Zero” series stepped in and continued to run national-scale events for the game. [Reminder for those unaware: the Street Fighter Alpha series is called Street Fighter Zero in Japan. – Editor] I decided to attend the Ultimate Zero 12 tournament on March 19, 2017.
-Ultimate Zero 12-
The tournament was held at Try Amusement Tower, a popular arcade in Akihabara. Try is a 6-floor arcade (floors 2-8), with each respective floor housing a variety of music games, UFO catchers, classics, and fighting games.
The strongest Alpha 3 players from all over Japan gathered on the 8th floor of this arcade, where the Ultimate Zero 12 tournament was held! Ultimate Zero 12 ran a singles event and a 3v3 team tournament. The format is traditional Japanese style, FT1, single elimination. Bas mentioned that by his estimation, the average age of participants at this event was over 35 years old.
The Ultimate Zero tournament series is a grassroots event that started in 2001. This year’s event–the 12th installment–ended a 6-year hiatus the event took after 2011.
19 years after its initial release (1998), Alpha 3 continues to maintain a small community of players in certain arcades. In Eastern Japan (Tokyo Area), Alpha 3 is still played at a high level at Big-One in Saitama, as well as the tournament venue, Try Amusement Tower. In Western Japan, A-cho in Kyoto and Monte 50 in Osaka still have gatherings regularly. In addition to many top players from these areas, this event boasted strong representation from various regions all over Japan.
Fortunately for the foreign audience, this event was streamed live thanks to Twitch Japan staff and K8.
Alpha 3 exists in a strange space amongst core SF players because of the way the game developed, and of course, its infamous V-ism infinites. Thanks to a system exploit referred to as “crouch canceling,” these infinites are possible, and the V-ism gauge has a large influence on in-game decision-making. Beyond that, it also has strong influence on character strength and tiers.
While this style of combat has something of a mixed reception amongst SF players, there was a unique sense of discovery and creativity that came with Alpha 3. Combine that with the art style and the music, and it is no wonder why this game garnered such a following. You can see in the above photo, artist Urushika drew support art for the various players from around the country who attended. This game was a high-impact title in the late ’90s, and this tournament pays homage to those heady days.
-The Tournament-
The singles tournament had over 74 entrants, and some great exchanges throughout the bracket.
Amamiya made clever use of Juli’s air V-ism activation invulnerability to make Harasho’s DP whiff. This opened the door for Amamiya to steal back the round with a V-ism confirm of his own, and send Harasho–one of the strongest Cammy’s in Japan–back to West Japan in the early rounds!
Catapult had a high-impact performance with his rare X-ism Boxer, upsetting Mukai, a high profile V-Dhalsim player, to qualify for top 4! Using counterhit confirms into dash punch after slide, he erases Mukai’s health in seconds for a big upset.
Aojiru and Fuchi face off in a high-profile East vs. West Japan matchup. Both players were a little nervous, it seems, as the first round had both players “juggling” the round. Despite this, Fuchi recovered, and punched his ticket to top 4!
Things get crazy as Amamiya takes on Gabe, a notable Akuma player. Gabe beats Amamiya’s air V-ism activation, but can’t convert after. After tagging Gabe out of V-ism, Amamiya bets it all after blocking Gabe’s hop-kick.
Takedaru exhibits some awesome patience, use of drills, pressure, and acute decision making against the defending Ultimate Zero 11 champion, Igari. Note how Takedaru uses slide against Igari’s V-ism activations on his way to top 4.
Takedaru forces Amamiya’s hand, and burns him alive after an anti-air LP V-ism activation in the corner. With this match, Takedaru sealed his seat in the Grand Finals.
Fuchi eliminates Catapult in the most Alpha 3 way possible. With this, the Grand Final is decided: Takedaru vs Fuchi.
Amamiya shows nice footsies and reactions to shut Catapult down in the mid-range during this consolation match for 3rd place. Note the jab checks on the rush punches!
In this Grand Final set, we saw Takedaru completely shut down Fuchi’s ground game with limbs and drills, and even neutralized his V-ism activations. Takedaru did such a great job of frustrating Fuchi, slowing the match down, and playing at his pace. After a couple of key anti airs in the second round, Takedaru closes out the tournament.
Singles results:
Takedaru (Dhalsim)
Fuchi (Ryu)
Amamiya (Juli)
Catapult (Boxer)
The 3v3 team tournament had 68 entrants, and the Grand Finals saw Team Soinpo go up against Team @35. Team Soinpo featured Makoto (Zangief), Nishikawaguchi (Dhalsim), and Tabatake (Sakura). The lineup for Team @35 was S (Sakura), Mukai (Dhalsim), and Igari (Ryu). This matchup was interesting because both teams had a lot of Ultimate Zero tournament history. Team @35’s Igari is the defending Ultimate Zero 11 champion (he won singles & teams that year), and his teammate, Mukai, has a 2nd place performace at Ultimate Zero 9 under his belt. Team Soinpo features Nishikawaguchi, who has a singles tournament (Ultimate Zero 2) and 2 team tournament (Ultimate Zero 9 and Ultimate Zero Direction) as wins in his portfolio. Nishikawaguchi’s teammate for those two wins was none other than Makoto. Tabatake also has a singles tournament runner-up performance at Ultimate Zero Direction, and a team tournament win at Ultimate Zero 7. Given their performance histories, this was a great lineup to close out the team tournament for Ultimate Zero’s comeback event.
In the final face-off of the team tournament, Nishikawaguchi Dhalsim, a longtime Alpha 3 Dhalsim player, went up against S, who played anchor for Team @35. Nishikawaguchi has a reputation for being very good with anti-airs, and today was no exception. In the final match against S, he displays awesome movement, patience, air control (some demoralizing airthrows in the first round of his game vs. S). S, on the other hand, also showed some incredible patience and great ground game skills himself, especially when it came to challenging Dhalsim’s limbs in the mid-range. In the end, S ate a counter-hit fierce from Nishikawaguchi and he answered with a bad air tech, giving Nishikawaguchi the window to activate V-ism and snipe Sakura out of the sky, for the win.
Teams results:
Team Soinpo
Team @35
Of course, there was much more to this event than the clips you see here. Feel free to check out the entire event archive on Try Amusement Tower’s Twitch channel, here!
-The Legacy-
The cool thing about title-centric events like the Ultimate Zero series is that it gives a single game’s scene a platform to express themselves to the fullest. Events like these feel more like celebrations of scene history, relationships, and battles rather than actual tournaments. These players come here from all over the country–but not to seek sponsorship, chase money, or find fame. For them, the chance to fight with old rivals, old friends, or even new challengers is more than enough to sustain them. Here, there is no stage, no prize, and no ceremony. Just two chairs, two cabinets, two hundred yen, and a chance to make history.
Looking around the venue, it is as if I am looking at ripples in a pond, from a stone that was thrown long ago. The influence of that 1998 broadcast echoes through their cheers and expressions. Through their battles, we can see the living memories these people share: of a golden age inspired by that ground-breaking battle in San Francisco.
Looking around the venue, it is as if I am looking at ripples in a pond, from a stone that was thrown long ago. The influence of that 1998 broadcast echoes through their cheers and expressions. Through their battles, we can see the living memories these people share: of a golden age inspired by that ground-breaking battle in San Francisco.