Have you ever started a potentially massive combo only to find that it’s been dropped due to your opponent being in a crouching state? Not only is it disheartening, a mistake of this nature could cost you a match, a round, or at least a meaty punish from your opponent.
Thankfully, Gato Ray has gone through the trouble of finding several crucial attacks that will whiff on crouching opponents so that you don’t have to discover them the hard way. The video covers many characters, so whoever you main, there is most likely a useful bit of information that can be taken away from every exchange. Though the clip is only about a minute and a half long, it could save you a lot of time, energy and salt by following along and taking quick notes.
You can subscribe to Gato Ray for all things King of Fighters.
How a 1984 jazz song sets the structure for possibly the most popular piece of Street Fighter music ever.
File this under “you might not have heard yet”$$ however, it has been known for a couple of years now that Guile’s spectacular theme from Street Fighter II wasn’t the first song to go with everything. Japanese jazz-fusion band T-Square (called The Square at the time) released what sounds a lot like–at times, nearly identical to–the Air Slasher’s jam on their album Adventures in 1984. The song is called “Travelers,” composed by Hirotaka Izumi.
In the video below, you can hear a direct section-to-section comparison making clear how much “Travelers” inspired the Street Fighter II theme for Guile–that would be carried forward through different remixes into Street Fighter IV and V, too!
Here’s the full version of “Travelers” by T-Square for your jazz enjoyment:
And here’s the original CPS-1 arcade board version of the Family Man’s music:
Platform fighters like Super Smash Bros. and Rivals of Aether obviously owe a lot to platform games. An emphasis on free movement, fast reactions and of course platforms; all of these are integral to making a platform fighter. But, what would happen if you took the movement techs of a game like Melee, and used them to make a platformer?
Well, rologfos’ WaveLand does exactly that. Taking techniques like wavedashing, air dodging, shine stalling and wavelanding, rologfos has created a high speed platformer which requires players to utilize these techs to complete levels. You slowly unlock these techniques as the game progresses, teaching players how to perform each ability before throwing them into a fast-paced gauntlet of lasers, spikes and instant-death pits.
If played with a GameCube controller, WaveLand may be a fantastic way of mastering something like wavedash, outside of boredom of Training Mode. I cannot wait for a Melee speedrunner like Fuzzyness to get their hands on their platform fighter inspired platformer.
The Capcom Pro Tour is heating up with its second event. Game Over Tournament will be going down in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and is the first ranking event and first Latin America event for the season. In addition to Street Fighter V will be events for Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, The King of Fighters XIV, Mortal Kombat XL, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Some of the top Latin America region players you might remember from last year will be in attendance, like GAM|DR Ray, GAM|Caba, eSPR|Mono and MGT|MenaRD, along with a few players from the US, like FlashMetroid, Nacer and Lord Knight.
After taking a look at the Central Intelligence Agency’s David Spender and Gillian Leigh, the Shadaloo Combat Research Institute returns with more Activity Reports on characters within the Street Fighter universe. Our next profiles take us back to 1999’s Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, to look at more of the characters found within the main cast’s endings. As always, they are explained by loyal low-ranking Shadaloo Soldier, Private Nakagawa.
First up, we have David and Gillian’s boss, Wayne Nakamura!
Private Nakagawa: “The boss of David Spender and Gillian Leigh. He’s an important figure in the American Central Intelligence Agency. He devotes much of his energies to train and guide the younger members. He’s currently investigating the mystery of the Man with the Iron Mask.”
Basic Info:
Name: Wayne Nakamura
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Blood type: A
Birthday: February 22nd
Home Country: USA
Likes: Cigars, His Subordinates
Dislikes: Fried Food
Private Nakgawa: “He’s a veteran, having been in charge of difficult cases and bizarre, mysterious, phenomena for 30 years. As an experienced analyst for the HQ, he doesn’t miss even the smallest detail. He still continues to investigate a man in a trenchcoat, whom he once spotted in an American port. [Perhaps they’re canonizing Q’s “cameo” in Ken’s Street Fighter II Stage, as seen below?] He watches over the ‘odd couple’ of David and Gillian, kindly and strictly.”
You can see him in Q’s ending with his subordinates below.
You can see a photo of what appears to be Q in Ken’s old Street Fighter II stage here:
Next up, we have a friend of Masaru’s who is defeated by Makoto in her 3rd Strike ending, Ken’ichi Kakutani!
Private Nakagawa: “A man who appeared in Makoto’s SFIII ending. He was beaten with a single blow and a “Chestoooo!!”, but he’s actually a competent and strong man.
Basic Info:
Name: Ken’ichi Kakutani
Height: 174 cm
Weight: 97 kg
Blood type: B
Birthday: January 2nd
Home Country: Japan
Likes: Dōjō yaburi [Lit., “Dōjō break.” The practice of challenging all the members of a single dōjō and beating them one after another.], Tests of strength
Dislikes: Alcohol (He can’t hold it)
Private Nakagawa: “A karate master and teacher. He travels within Japan in search of stronger opponents. His special technique is a Jōdan Mawashigeri [“High Roundhouse Kick”] called Ittetsu [“One Iron”]. He was an old friend of Masaru, apparently.”
You can see him briefly in Makoto’s 3rd Strike ending below, at the 48 second mark.
We also have the other fighter Makoto defeated in her ending, Somsak! He can be seen at the 50 second mark.
Private Nakagawa: “A man who appeared in Makoto’s SFIII ending. He was beaten with a single blow and a “Doshaaaaaah!!”, but he’s actually a determined man.”
Basic Info:
Name: Somsak [The name likely references Thai pro boxer (not muay thai) Somsak Sithchatchawal, who’s also a southpaw.]
Height: 169 cm
Weight: 61 kg
Blood type: 0
Birthday: November, 20
Home Country: Thailand
Favorite things: His Father, Muay Thai
Dislikes: Lack of Sleep [Yup, so did Gillian…]
Private Nakagawa: “He trained in the Golden Tiger Gym. He’s a southpaw boxer, who’s special move is a violent elbow strike that he calls ‘Invisible Elbow.’ His father was also a muay thai boxer, and happened to challenge the champion Nuakan once. Somsak grew up respecting his father, and became a splendid fighter, then decided to travel the world to test his strength. During his second trip to Japan, he heard the Rindōkan dōjō had a new instructor, and challenged her… much to his chagrin.”
Coming up next, a mixed martial artist who has battled Alex in the past, Gerald Golby!
Private Nakagawa: “He fought against Alex in the semi-finals of the Vale Tudo tournament ‘Eternal Fighting.’ Alex KOed him with a Shoulder Tackle.” [This tournament, incidentally.]
Basic Info:
Name: Gerald Golby
Height: 210 cm
Weight: 140 kg
Blood type: AB
Birthday: June 10th
Home Country: South Africa
Likes: Training, Meat
Dislikes: Losing, Weak People
Private Nakagawa: “A newcomer in the MMA world who very quickly distinguished himself. An elite wrestler who started his training since he was 4 years old. In his university days, he also played American Football. His special move is a violent face crusher called ‘Monster Buster.’ With his forged body, his fans expect much from him each time. Although he did unfortunately lose against Alex in the Eternal Fighting tournament, he’s scheduled to fight in the Pan-American Battle Tournament in which even Ken Masters will fight! Who would win?!”
This battle seems to take place during Ken’s Third Strike ending, as he defeats an African-American fighter to win his third consecutive U.S. Martial Arts Championship, with Mel, Eliza and Sean by his side, as seen below.
Our next profile is very special. Moving away from Shadaloo’s research files, we have a fan-made character design, the newest member of the Iwashigahama Japan Women’s Pro Wrestlers, Kevin! Replacing Private Nakagawa will be the promotion’s biggest star, Rainbow Mika!
Rainbow Mika: “A character born in the ‘Street Fighter Study Corner’ of the Iwashigahama Joshi Pro Wrestling Podcast! For details about the first podcast, please hear us here. Apparently he can use a V-Trigger that allows him to miniaturise himself.”
Basic Info:
Name: Kevin
Height: 3 – 155 cm
Weight: 1 to 40 kg
Blood type: O
Birthday: December 13th
Country of Origin: Foreign Country
Likes: Japanese Sushi
Dislikes: Demons
Rainbow Mika: “His special move allows him to miaturise himself! Then he can use his speed to quickly gain his opponent’s back and stab him with a needle! But… he uses a foreign object! Is he a heel?He’s a 13-year-old middle schooler. His favorite word is ‘Japaaan!’ Also ridiculously good-looking!” [Kevin is brandishing a needle, and behind him there’s a Wadōkaichin, the oldest Japanese type of coin, 2.4 cm in diameter.]
You can learn more about Wayne’s subordinates, who are deeply inspired by The X-Files, here. You can also look at some rejected alternate costumes concepts for Kolin here.
Special Thanks to Midgardsorn for translations and footnotes!
King Of Fighters XIV Player Apolo Loussalier is hoping to help new KOF players with their execution and understanding of the game. To this end, he’s created two short, easy to digest videos for those interested in stepping up their game.
Titled “KOF XIV Classroom”, the series covers both typical 2D fighter fundamentals and KOFXIV system specific mechanics. The buffering video above focuses mostly on execution for combos…
…while his ‘Finding Gaps’ video focuses on exactly that, figuring out when to strike during your opponent’s long block strings. Helpfully, the ‘Find Gaps’ video also is broken into English and Portuguese.
Developer Team Reptile announced today that their projectile-based competitive fighter, Lethal League, will release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 10th.
Lethal League consists of six uniquely designed characters, each with their own style and competitive edge. Players combat one another with an anti-gravity ball that builds momentum with every attack. The frantic gameplay is matched by its “chip-hop” music and energetic designs. Up to four players can compete against one another in either local or online matches. The online features are powered by GGPO to ensure high performance.
The title has been available on Steam since 2014 and was featured as a part of the Evo 2014 Indie Showcase as a part of the tournament’s ongoing efforts of supporting independent developers.
Check out to announcement trailer below to get a glimpse of the dynamic gameplay and the “banging beats”!
In what appears to be a store-wide spring cleaning sale, two fighting game products have been re-priced with a whopping 70% discount: NitroPlus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel and the Power Stone Collection (Power Stone 1 and 2). The former is marked down until 3/31, and the latter is part of a a flash sale that ends very soon on the 27th. You can quickly take advantage of both deals by following these links:
Whether these game are your cup of tea or you’re looking to try something new, you have a limited time to pick up both for a fraction of the cost. Big thanks to Focus Attack for the heads-up!
You must defeat Sushi-X (at Street Fighter) to stand a chance!
It’s the 25th anniversary of the mother of all Street Fighter April Fool’s jokes–Electronic Gaming Monthly’s trick to “unlock” and fight Sheng Long in the original Street Fighter II arcade game. To celebrate, EGM’s Trickman Terry is inviting us all to attend a party at Pixel Blast Arcade in Lisle, Illinois. Creator of the Sheng Long hoax Ken Williams–formerly known in his EGM days as Sushi-X–will be in attendance to answer questions, sign pictures, and take on all challengers in Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting.
Ken Williams will also give a talk on the history of the Sheng Long joke. You can get in with the $10 admission fee for the arcade–that is, unless this is another joke…? No, surely not. Be sure to check it out at Pixel Blast Arcade, if you’re in Lisle on April 1st, at 7:00 PM!
Thanks to Trickman Terry for sharing the invitation.
It’s very rare to see a fighting game make its way to portable systems, let alone as a console exclusive. Fighting games tend to lend themselves to complex controls, which require sturdier controllers or joysticks to execute properly.
Hitman Reborn Battle Arena was one of the gutsy titles to actually appear only on the PlayStation Portable. With no real way to support a sustainable multiplayer scene and its relative unknown status, it has stayed in obscurity. However, a couple of combo videos were submitted to Shoryuken by an intrepid individual named SPK, who come up with some unique combos in the game.
Using its unique slow motion mechanics, sweet spot mechanics that are rarely used in traditional fighters, as well as the fact that dizzy doesn’t immediately knock a character down, you can net some pretty damaging combos with proper execution in the game, including many touches of death.
