Category: Fighting Games

Posted on

Reach for that boiling point with these Heat Rush setups for Ken in Street Fighter V

Keep that pressure on–until it boils!

An important component of Ken’s rushdown game in Street Fighter V is, of course, his Heat Rush V-Trigger. In the video below, World Warrior presents some setups utilizing V-Trigger activation off of a variety of blocked attacks to trap your opponent and tear into them with some heavily damaging combos. Newcomers to Ken will want to integrate this approach into their attack plans–and regular Ken mains might see a thing or two they haven’t tried yet. Check it out!

Source: World Warrior

Posted on

Gerald Lee explores the psychology of character picks, pop-offs, and taunting in Core-A Gaming’s latest video

Regardless of whether you agree with it or not, taunting can do mental damage to players in a match, and is a legitimate attack strategy. Liquid|NuckleDu and Gllty have both acknowledged its usefulness as a tool. But why can such simple acts such as teabagging play such a powerful role in the game?

Gerald Lee explores this in his latest video with Core-A Gaming. In it, he discusses how it can be used to condition your opponent to feel humiliation–one of the most common fears on the planet. He goes even further into the psychology of the game, discussing how even character selection can influence a person’s emotions. He also talks about how you can condition your opponent can do exactly what you want them to, in order to further benefit you down the line.

This video could help you understand why you win, why you lose, and even how you can improve your chances of the former.

Source: Core-A Gaming

Posted on

Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 arcade pre-release stream shows match footage, more Baiken and Answer details

As Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 rolls out into Japanese arcades, there will soon to be plenty of new footage to look at. Until then, Arc System Works put up a pre-release stream that focuses on REV 2 gameplay and once again gives a detailed overview of the newcomers, Business Ninja Answer and the Lone Samurai, Baiken.

The presenter first shows off Answer by going through his move set. The presentation for Baiken is similar, but a little extended. In addition to her special moves, which include a Tatami mat and a mid-range chain, Kabari, she has a special guarding stance called Azami. The follow-ups to this stance can be used during combos as well. Baiken still has a Blitz Shield, but the command is different for her.

Post the one-hour mark, the stream gets some matches started. The new Daredevils face each other as well other members of the cast.

Arc System Works did a similar–though not as thorough–overview of Baiken and Answer previously at a weekend event.

In the coming days, as Japanese players get their hands on the Arcade release of REV 2, expect a lot of footage and analysis on the game to gear us up for the console release in late May.

Source: An Ace In The Darkness; originally streamed from NicoNico

Posted on

VesperArcade explains Urien’s upcoming nerfs in Street Fighter V’s April balance update

VesperArcade continues his series looking at the changes that will be coming to members of the Street Fighter V cast in the upcoming balance update–set to be released in late April–by turning his focus to the final Season 1 DLC character, Urien.

The “Dominating Light” is currently seen as one of the most powerful characters in Season 2 of SFV, having received a large amount of buffs, with nary a nerf in sight. He made quite the splash when Alienware’s Nemo won TOPANGA League 7 with him, in appropriately dominant fashion. According to Capcom’s CFN website, he also has the highest online win rate of the entire cast for February 2017, and was the 4th-most-used character behind the Shotokan trio of Ken, Akuma and Ryu, with him being selected in 5.208% of February’s bouts.

Unfortunately for his plans for global conquest, Urien will be receiving some nerfs in this forthcoming patch, such as his crouching medium kick going from +2 to -2 on block.

This normal was initially changed in Season 2, it went from +1 on hit to +4. It means he’s now able to convert off of it. You can easily confirm into a crouching light punch, for example. You can even do better if he gets a counter hit, he can go into a medium for more damage. But that’s not the main reason why it was crazy. They also made it +2 on block from -2. This was one of the most requested changes for Urien, especially since there are so many long-range normals that were made minus on block in Season 2, like Karin’s st.MK, Rashid’s st.HK. I’m sure Capcom wanted Urien to have a threatening, long-range low that could convert when the opponent’s stuck in Aegis Reflector. I’m glad Capcom kept the +4 intact and just went after the block advantage.

Urien will also be getting a single buff in this update, as the hitbox of his jumping light kick has been expanded downward–it was reduced in Season 2.

Urien was given a cross-up in Season 2 with jumping light kick , but like most cross-up light attacks, the range is quite poor. So if I’m not jumping at the right angle, it’ll just miss entirely. But at the same time, I have to jump-in really deep as well, because the hitstun on light attacks is very low as well. But by expanding the hitbox downward, Urien doesn’t have to jump-in as deep as he does right now, which means I can hit the button earlier and get the hit, so it’s a better cross-up overall.

Urien’s final change is that EX Chariot Tackle will go from 0 to -2 on block, with reduced pushback.

This is a pretty bad number for Urien to be at in general, since he doesn’t have a 3-frame light attack. Urien’s fastest normal is 4 frames, so being -2 is worst than most characters. If he tries to challenge with a light attack, Urien can be beat by nearly anything from the opponent. If EX Tackle is blocked, Urien is on the defensive now and he has to be guessing what the opponent will do next.

In closing, VesperArcade gives his final thoughts on Urien:

My final verdict on Urien is, overall, nerfed. Even though Urien is definitely the hardest-nerfed character in all of the April patch notes, his V-Trigger, combo potential and damage output remains unchanged. He still has all of his previous setups, his combo potential is still much better than Season 1. I feel Urien still remains a top tier character and Capcom did a good job of keeping his core character intact and fun to play.

You can see the full Urien video above, as well as his prior coverage of the patch notes so far in the links below:

Sources: VesperArcade; CFN Portal

Posted on

PQube announces Fight of the Gods, a new mythological fighting game

Bringing together gods from the pantheons of various world mythologies, PQube and Taiwanese developer Game Crafter have announced a new fighting game titled Fight of the Gods. Set for release on Steam this summer, this mythological fighter has figures like Zeus and Odin battling it out for the fate of the world.

So far, only Zeus and Odin have been shown off, but silhouettes in the announcement trailer hint at figures like Medusa and Athena also joining this clash of the titans. According to Fight of the Gods’ Steam page, it will be “a four-button fighting system with tremendous depth,” with players fighting in locations like the slopes of Mount Olympus, or the Garden of Eden.

From first glance, the art style is divisive–with Odin looking more like a generic beefy evil villain, instead of the knowledgeable and mysterious All-Father. The graphics also aren’t going to set the world on fire, currently looking more like an up-rezzed mobile game than something specifically designed for PCs. Hopefully, this is still alpha and Digital Crafter have some time to give these gods more of a polish befitting their divinity.

For more details, check out the Fight of the Gods Steam page.

Sources: PQube; Steam

Posted on

Mr. Wizard reveals even more Pokkén Tournament events sharing in Evo’s promised pot bonuses

First NorCal Regionals–now, eight more happy recipients revealed!

As promised, Evo is offering a $1000 pot bonus to ten different Pokkén Tournament events this year, in recognition of the Pokkén community’s fierce devotion to their game–and the money they helped raise for Make-a-Wish International as part of the Evo 2017 Player’s Choice donation drive. NorCal Regionals was the first to be announced as a recipient; now, Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar has revealed eight more events that can expect the $1K Pokkén bonus. The list so far:

  • NorCal Regionals
  • Summer Jam
  • The Fall Classic
  • NEC
  • DreamHack Austin
  • DreamHack Atlanta
  • DreamHack Denver
  • Momocon 2017
  • Defend the North

As mentioned before, the tenth event will be determined by a fan vote:

Support for Pokkén Tournament remains strong, despite the ongoing wait for arcade-parity DLC characters and balancing for the Wii U version; here’s hoping for a year full of great Pokkén action wherever it gets played!

Source: Joey Cuellar (Twitter)

Posted on

Next Injustice 2 character reveal scheduled for tomorrow, March 30; cover of Injustice 2 #1 revealed by IGN

After the electrifying return of Black Adam last week as part of the “Shattered Alliances” Part 3 trailer–which focused on Supergirl’s role in the Injustice 2 storyline–we already know when the next challenger is going to step into the ring. Injustice.com was recently updated, revealing that we’ll see another new character reveal tomorrow: Thursday, March 30th. Perhaps we’ll get Shattered Alliances Part 4, focusing on the Society and fully revealing Captain Cold, who we caught a glimpse of in Part 2…? Could Scarecrow fill our hearts with his fear toxin, or will The Joker finally put a smile on our faces? Either way–we’ll find out tomorrow.

Yesterday, IGN also revealed the first cover of Injustice 2 #1, by Jim Lee. The sequel game will also be receiving a prequel comic book series like its predecessor, covering the five-year time gap between the two games. The cover features a unified Justice League, consisting of the Insurgency’s Batman and Green Lantern, the Regime’s Superman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg, as well as the currently-unaffiliated Supergirl and Aquaman, facing off against the new threat of Brainiac. The cover’s inks are by Scott Williams and the colors by Alex Sinclair. The digital-first comic will be written by Tom Taylor, with art provided by Bruno Redondo.

“I’m a big fan of Injustice and thrilled to be part of the Injustice 2 comic launch,” artist and DC Co-publisher Jim Lee told IGN. “Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo have an exciting story in the works that will only add to the massive anticipation around the upcoming game.”

IGN will also feature an exclusive interview with Taylor, who is returning to Injustice after working on several chapters for Years 1-3 of the original book, in addition to the first and fourth Annuals.

You can see the cover below:

Injustice 2 #1 cover by Jim Lee

Injustice 2 will be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 16th, 2017!

Sources: Injustice.com; IGN

Posted on

Go1 talks to Shoryuken about Capcom Cup, his “King of Poverty” status, and more

Most people in the FGC are aware of Japan’s CO|Goichi “Go1” Kishida. Making top 8 at both Evo and Capcom Cup last year with his aggressive Chun-Li play has done a lot to cement his name. Far fewer players know of his background as a “King of Poverty”—playing many of the anime titles that take the side stage at most events.

While at Frosty Faustings IX, I talked to Go1–with the help of PG|Kyohei “MarlinPie” Lehr in translation–about his play in various anime games, as well as his expectations going into this season of the Capcom Pro Tour.

Corey “Missing Person” Lanier: You had a very successful event at Frosty Faustings, with victory in multiple titles across the anime subgenre. How do you keep sharp in all of these titles?

Goichi “Go1” Kishida: I don’t really want to admit it here, but I don’t really play these games anymore. I used to, but I mainly enter them just because they exist at these events. Lately, I’ve been focusing on Street Fighter V. For the anime titles, I’m relying on my experience back when I did play these games actively, as well as maintaining solid fundamentals.

Missing Person: What do you feel that America lacks in the airdash-style fighting games that allows you to come to these events and dominate?

Go1: America lacks an ability to abuse the system mechanics to their favor. In Guilty Gear for example, there are ways to avoid lows, mids, and throws by doing what is called fuzzy guard in Japan—which means something completely different in English. It is actually similar to the English term of option selects. Japanese players know how to do this correctly, and they practice using their defensive options as such. So the key difference between the two regions is their usage of defensive techniques.

Missing Person: Talking about Guilty Gear, you and Dogura both had struggles against the American players at the event. Do you feel that America is starting to catch up in the title?

Go1: I’m not as qualified to answer this question, but the average level between the two regions are fairly close. The average American player in Guilty Gear is shockingly high.

Missing Person: You had a really strong showing at Capcom Cup 2016, especially for it to be your first time there. How did it feel for you to be on the big stage in top 8?

Go1: One thing was for sure: I greatly desired to be on the main stage at Capcom Cup. Between my own personal desire and going there with a sponsor, I wanted to make top 8 to make them proud and to represent my team.

Missing Person: With your sponsorship, did the feelings change between making top 8 at Evo and making the top 8 at Capcom Cup?

Go1: I wasn’t really nervous at Capcom Cup. At Evo, it was my first time in a large tournament like that. On top of that, it was also my first time being that close to making such a big stage. There were definitely a lot more nerves at Evo.

Missing Person: With Street Fighter V’s season 2 changes, Chun-Li received a lot of nerfs. How do you feel about her viability this season?

Go1: I’ve always felt that with Chun-Li’s design in Street Fighter V, she is far too difficult to ever fully utilize every weapon in her arsenal. I have to do a lot of homework with her, and continue to improve myself to make her viable.

Missing Person: With your sponsorship by Cyclops Osaka, do you see yourself coming events overseas more than you did last season?

Go1: I’m trying to go to every Capcom Pro Tour event that happens this year, regardless of the location. Dogura has also been training up in Street Fighter V, so he will also be joining me. But moreover, I want to also attend all the events that have the games that I excel at, like UNIEL and Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax. With my sponsorship, I actually have a chance to do just that this year.

He has went on to do just that. Having won first in Under Night In Birth Exe:Late, Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, and Melty Blood Actress Again—not to mention fourth in Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- and ninth in Street Fighter V at Frosty–he has since made his way to Final Round 20, the first Capcom Pro Tour Premier event of the season. There, he finished a solid thirteenth while unveiling his Guile. Given that he will be attending far more events—with a particular emphasis on Premier events such as CEO and Evo—we can only expect bigger things from him this year.

[Feature image courtesy of Frosty Faustings]

Posted on

Street Fighter V’s PC CFN beta test: new moves & new breakable stage elements

Here’s a glimpse of some of the new things surfacing in the Capcom Fighters Network PC beta test.

Capcom is currently running the PC beta test for the new CFN build, planned for a late April release for Street Fighter V. This beta test is also running on the game version that we’ll see in the next balance patch, so PC players have been getting a chance to try out the upcoming changes a bit ahead of schedule–and some interesting things are being discovered.

Zangief’s new leg-grabbing counter–Tundra Storm–is an unusual move; it causes high damage but has limited utility. Here’s what it looks like:

The move can only counter horizontal kicking moves at a certain height, making it extremely specialized. Finrod Inglorion compiled this list detailing exactly what Zangief’s new counter works against:

Cammy’s new air throw, while sure to prove somewhat useful, is getting some criticism for its… interesting animation:

The move’s side-switching property does provide a good corner escape.

VesperArcade breaks down the new moves appearing in the CFN PC beta in this video; in addition to the moves above, he discusses Dhalsim’s new Thrust Kick low attack (that grants Dhalsim a non-sliding low attack, handy for combos), Ryu’s new standing hard punch (new animation, but functionally the same), and Zangief’s new stun-heavy Flying Headbutt and anti-crouching Harasho Choke Slam throw:

DNG|Itazan and hameko show off how powerful the new aerial headbutt can be in this nasty stun combo:

But new moves aren’t the only thing showing up in the beta–Capcom snuck in some changes to at least one of the new stages, too–there’s a lot more going on in the background of the Air Force Base now, and the crates on the sides now break when a fighter is thrown into them. Check out the details in the video below:

The discussion as to how well CFN itself works in the beta has been mixed on social media, with some praise for the new features but also complaints of frequent disconnections. Hopefully the beta will serve its purpose of ironing out the bugs before the new CFN is officially introduced.

Sources: Bear (Twitter); Finrod Inglorion (Twitter); Phoxx (Twitter); ハメコ。(Twitter); VesperArcade

Posted on

Sanwa Denshi 3rd generation silent joystick available for pre-order soon from Arcade Shock

A new version of Sanwa Denshi’s silent joystick is on the way!

The third generation of Sanwa Denshi’s silent joystick is almost upon us. The second generation of stick was not only quiet, but too smooth–offering not enough resistance “feedback” as the microswitches were hit, making it more difficult for some players that are used to the feel of the standard stick. The third version of Sanwa’s silent joystick addresses this concern by using microswitches that offer the resistance players are used to, but is still as quiet as a “silent” stick should be.silent_stickcomparison

The new switches are the only difference between the 3rd and 2nd generations of the silent joystick, and the 2nd generation version will remain available for those that prefer its smoothness. For those that want to try the new version, Arcade Shock will be opening pre-orders for the new joystick at 8:00 AM PDT on April 9, 2017.

ARCADESHOCK-2017-3-BANNER-3RDSILENTSANWA

Sanwa Denshi’s Japanese promotional information for the new silent joystick, featuring MOV and M’:

sanwa 3rd gen silent joystick flyer

Source: Arcade Shock