Category: Fighting Games

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Are you not entertained? Yahoo! Esports talks the importance of having fun while playing Street Fighter V

In a recent video, Michael Martin of Yahoo! Esports asks Street Fighter V players: are you having fun? It is sort of a strange question to ask any consistent player of a certain game, but Michael explains that the question is inspired by his chats with Capcom. The company hears all the time about what’s wrong with Street Fighter V, but they are more interested in the aspects of the game that they enjoy. says Michael. He also explains how switching to Kolin personally revived his enjoyment of the game, and that character selection has much to do with the overall level of fun any player has.

Michael uses Street Fighter V as an example to make his own experience relatable, but his question of whether players are enjoying themselves is intended to apply generally to all fighting games. You can hear his full thoughts in the video below.

Source: Yahoo! Esports

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Can Dora’s Bang defeat Monster’s Izanami in a BlazBlue: Central Fiction FT5?

BlazBlue: Central Fiction’s Izanami is an oppressive force. Fittingly for a villain, she can dominate a lot of the match easily with her levitate combos that corner carry, and can endlessly pressure the opponent. She does sacrifice the ability to block and can spend a lot of her Barrier Gauge, but that might matter very little in the end. Dora, who’s made some videos to battle top-tier characters, puts himself to the test, right after Monster triumphed at a recent, national Japanese BlazBlue tournament.

Dora shows his fighting spirit in the first, dominant round, not letting Monster do much at all. Things turn around in the second as Izanami starts to unwind her pressure, cornering Bang. The onslaught is endless as Dora uses up all of his Barrier and Monster gets under his Counter Assault (Alpha Counter). The first match gruesomely ends in Monster’s favor.

In the second match, Monster properly shows off his knowledge of the matchup by correctly baiting out an punishing a Drive move from Bang. The ninja manages to last long enough to have Hades enter Danger state, though with correct blocks, she supers out of his pressure. Dora’s comeback, however, shows promise.

It’s really good to see an exciting FT5 between these two top Japanese players. We don’t see Bang much in Central Fiction, so it’s a valuable look at a rare matchup.

Monster just triumphed at Braver’s Revel 2017, so check that out for more Izanami action. Wondering what to do about the oppressive death god? Dora made a “How to Defend Against Izanami” video.

Source: Dora Bang (YouTube)

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Conversations and Fireballs: UltraDavid covers the player and character selection for the ELEAGUE Invitational

Popular FGC commentator David “UltraDavid” Graham sat down with Michael Martin of Yahoo! Esports for an excellent half hour chat about ELEAGUE’s players, characters, and the nature of age in the fighting game genre.

After expressing an overall satisfaction with the player selection of ELEAGUE, UltraDavid gives a reasonably impassioned defense of Season 2’s character strengths and tiers. He points out the wide character variety present with the selected 32, and notes that some players are known to be character wild cards (or example, Infilitration and LPN.) He also pointed out, historically, that the first year of game is played very differently than what ends up being established later down the line. His citation is, of course, the highly inefficient way Street Fighter IV was played when it first came out, and how player base reactions to SFIV mirrors what’s happening with SFV, and most new games in general.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating parts of the interview is UltraDavid’s point to the overall higher level of play of all players in this modern age. “I feel the level of play in low levels is much higher than it was in earlier fighting games,” he ponders aloud. “Thinking back… we were probably not that great at fighting games in the mid/early 2000s. In a room full of 100 people, you pick out the best player in that room, then take that same player and put him in a room full of 10,000 players. Statistically, the best player is probably not the same person anymore. I think now, with so many more people playing, everyone is just better at fighting games now.”

Source: Yahoo! Esports

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BornFree talks to NuckleDu about Street Fighter V changes, training, and life as Capcom Cup champion

BornFree catches up with the Street Fighter V world champion at Final Round 20.

Among the interviews BornFree conducted at the recent Final Round 20 event, we initially overlooked his conversation with Capcom Cup 2016 champion Liquid|NuckleDu; in the video below, NuckleDu talks about preferring R. Mika to Guile between his two Street Fighter V mains (and a desire for R. Mika’s midscreen wall-bounce to return), his fear of facing DNG|Itabashi Zangief, and his pre-tournament training regimen–as well as getting more personal and opening up a bit about his past and family, and much more.

Check out BornFree’s other interviews of top players from Final Round 20:

Source: BornFree

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Take a stance! Understanding King’s Jaguar Step, Crouch Dash, and more in Tekken 7: Fated Retribution

Take a stance! is an article series designed to help you analytically approach the wide world of stances in Tekken.

Last time we looked at stances in Tekken 7, we talked about the wildly evasive Ling Xiaoyu. As she’s one of the most stance-heavy characters in the game, let’s pull back a bit and pick apart someone a little less convoluted: Tekken’s Tiger Mask inspired luchador, King.

“Stances” aren’t synonymous with the feline grappler, and for good reason: King never needs to use them for combo filler, and can win entire rounds by bullying opponents with his great pokes and powerful grab chains. His stances, instead, are supplementary options that flesh out King’s movelist and mobility.

There’s three basic stances to consider for King: Back Turned, Jaguar Step, and Crouch Dash. I’ve listed these in order of least-to-most-likely to encounter in a match.

Note: for those unfamiliar, here’s how to read Tekken notation.

Back Turned Stance

King’s back turned options are a little anemic. Still, can go into back turned manually via a few moves, and he has unique moves from this state, so it’s worth at least acknowledging.

Entry moves into Back Turned Stance:

Input Hit level Impact Frame Block Stun Hit Stun Counter Hit Stun Notes
1+2 m 18~19 RBT -11~-10 -2~-1 0~+1
d/f+4, 3, 4, B l, h, m (TJ) 14 RBT -8 KND CS
d/f+3+4 (Close) Sm (TJ)(, h(Throw)) 28 RG( RBT) Throw(KND) Throw(KND) Throw(KND)
b+4 (Close) h 15 RBT -6 KND KND
b+4 h 16~21 RBT -17~-12 KND KND

As you can see, all of King’s transitions are minus on block. Being able to attack from any of your stance transitions on block relies on your opponent committing to an incorrect option. If your opponent knows their frame data, they will likely either go for a fast mid (i12 or i13 type stuff, typically df+1’s), or jabs and crouch jabs.

But since no one is 100% perfect at reading the situation, these stance transitions are at least somewhat viable for reasons other than frame data. 1+2 is a string starter, so your opponent must be willing to press a button immediately after blocking it. (Which, of course, means you could have landed the rest of the 1+2 string on them instead.) b+4, when blocked at close range, pushes the enemy uncomfortably far away. D/F+3+4 preys on your opponent’s knowledge of its startup animation, as they must crouch, step, or jab this move before it connects with their guard. You have things to play with here, it’s just all risky.

It doesn’t stop being risky once you look at the moves he has access to, either:

Input Hit level Impact Frame Block Stun Hit Stun Counter Hit Stun Notes
BT 3+4 JGS Jaguar Step Transition
BT 1 or 2 h 8 -8 +3 +3
BT 1+2 h(!) 27~29 KND KND KND
BT D+1 or D+2 Sm (TC) 10 -5 +6 +6 Tech Crouch
BT 3 m 13 -16 +7 CS JF with 1+2 for hit throw
BT D+3 l(TC) 14 -14 -2 -2 Tech Crouch
BT 4 h 10 -8 KND KND
BT d+4 l (TJ) 22~24 RC -17~-15 KND KND Tech Jump
BT 1+4 m(!) KND KND KND Tech Jump

Your “safest” options are, as usual with Tekken, your jabs and crouch jabs. You also have access to a generic low kick in BT D+3. In addition to these, you have some very flashy, high damage, high risk options.

BT 3 is awful on block (-16) but hits grounded (useful after some knockdown setups!) and, if you input a just frame 1+2, leads to an attack throw. If your opponent doesn’t know how unsafe this rarely used option is, congrats: you’ve just got away with murder.

BT 1+2 and BT D+4 both exist for the same reason. These attacks brutally punish standing blocks (the former being an unblockable, the latter being a knockdown low), but have technically react-able startups. These are great tests of your opponent’s animation reactions.

A King player whiffing 1+2 for a Back Turned Moonsault setup.

BT 1+4, King’s famous Moonsault, is another curious unblockable. Its slow startup makes it technically even more reactable then BT 1+2, but it jumps very high and it has a wide hitbox to the side, so it’s possible to clip someone when they try to step it. There’s two correct ways to deal with this: either enter a sidewalk and completely move around it (it’s easier if you sidestep, then backdash cancel away from King so he doesn’t clip you.) Or! You can jab him as he’s coming down and float King for a full combo. The timing is somewhat precise here–do it too early and King will go over your jab, and do it too late and you’ll get, quite literally, bodied.

King, like we mentioned in the Ling article, can also pivot away from back turned stance by inputting a down-back direction. This creates space and, after some transitions, can allow you to whiff punish some poor button choices. This may potentially frustrate your opponents to chase you down with dashes or longer range (and slower) attacks. If they start doing this, they are now open to all your BT attacks!

All in all, King’s BT isn’t enough to base your entire game plan around, but peppered in enough versus an opponent, especially in longer sets, can give you some valuable information on how much your opponent really knows about King. Landing BT 3 JF, BT D+4 or BT 1+2 will make your opponent stop and think long and hard about their lives (and rapidly disappearing lifebar).

Jaguar Step

Jaguar Step will likely seem unwieldy when you first encounter it. No strings or moves cancel into it. Almost all options are steppable, and the ones that aren’t (JGS df+3) are unsafe on block. Gross, right? So why would you use this?

There’s some curious quirks about the way JGS works. First off, it instantly tech jumps. With the right read, it can easily blow up auto-pilot crouch jabs. If you hold JGS, you continue to spin. “Charging” this stance makes your moves more powerful and safer on block. That step killing kick mentioned before that carried so much risk becomes a frame trap after two spins, for example. Any opponent that remains passive versus JGS will find themselves dealing with a more frightening mixup than if they had just tried to jab you.

Ah, but since you’re jumping, they should always just jab you anyways, right? After all, that’ll float you for a full combo. What risk do they have?

Let’s jump into JGS’s full range of options…

Input Hit Level Speed Block Stun Hit Stun Counter Hit Stun Notes
3+4 (to JGS) (Special) (TJ)(JGS) Tech Jump
b+3+4 (to JGS (backwards)) (Special) (TJ)(JGS (backwards)) Tech Jump
3+4, 1 (one spin) h 19(43) -5 CS CS
3+4, 1 (two-five spins) h – -1 CS CS
3+4, 2 (one spin) m 11~12 (35) -9~-8 +2~+3 (+13~+14 OC) +2~+3 (+13~+14 OC)
3+4, 2 (two-five spins) m – -2~-1 +2~+3 (+13~+14 OC) +2~+3 (+13~+14 OC)
3+4, 3 (one spin) m (TJ) 22(46) -5 KND KND Tech Jump
3+4, 3 (two-five spins) m (TJ) – -1 KND KND Tech Jump
3+4, 3, 2+3 (Close) m (TJ), (throw) 22(170) RG -15~-11 OC KND KND
3+4, 3, 2+3 m (TJ) 22(170) RG -10~+6 OC -13~+3 OC -13~+3 OC
3+4, 4 (one spin) h 17(41) +8 KND KND Tail spin
3+4, 4 (two-five spins) h! – KND KND KND Tail spin
3+4, d/f+4 (one spin) m 17~18 (41) -17~-16 KND KND
3+4, d/f+4 (two-five spins) m – +8~+9 KND KND
3+4, 1+4 or 3+4, 2+3 h(Throw) 12(36~) Throw

Right away you’ll notice the relative strength of JGS 2. This mid is safe and i35 at its fastest speed (that includes the JGS startup). While blocking this may be easy for the opponent, jabbing it on reaction is a little trickier, particularly when King could just JGS into block/duck. And pity the ragdoll that gets hit by this move while crouching–that’s a free crouch grab attempt for King that must be broken by the opponent. All crouching grabs have the same startup animation for King, so it becomes a pure 50/50. JGS 2 is a powerful tool.

So, let’s say they decided to just sit there and stand guard. You may have noticed you have no lows from JGS, but you do have JGS 1+3 and 2+4. These throw startups cannot be distinguished from each other and lead to hilariously high damage grab chains. Between JGS 2 and JGS chain grabs, you have a brutal, respectable mixup.

Maybe they can try crouch jabbing? Not only would a held JGS blow this up, but JGS 3 is a jumping mid that knocks down and is safe on block.

There’s a lot of good things to say about most of the JGS options. Many are safe, lead to combos and work in conjunction with each other to keep the opponent guessing. Your only real weakness is the slow startup of the stance, but once again, the options and freedom of the stance outweigh this hurdle.

Two quick asides: one, you can also do a retreating JGS with b.3+4. Two, you can do JGS from back turned. It sends you in the wrong direction. Why you would do this is anyone’s guess, but hey, it’s there.

Crouch Dash

Crouch Dashing is great for anyone that has it, as it provides forward movement and ducks at the same time. However, it is not universal. Not every character has a crouch dash and not every character’s crouch dash is executed the same way. King, for example, can CD with:

f, n, d, d/f

But he cannot cancel immediately into another CD the way, say, the Mishima’s can. If you want to do repeated crouch dashing with King, it’d have to look something like this:

f,n,d,d/f,  f,f, n, d, d/f, etc…

It’s a little tougher! But it’s also mostly trivia, as King isn’t nearly as reliant on Crouch Dashing as, say, a Mishima is. Still, your options from a CD are solid.

Input Hit Level Speed Block Stun Hit Stun Counterhit Stun Notes
f, n, d, D/F (Special) RC Recovers Crouching, allows WS and FC options
f, n, d, D/F+1 l (TC) 30 RC(34~) -9 KND KND
f, n, d, D/F+4 m (TJ) 15(19~) -9 CS CS
f, n, d, D/F+1+2 m 20~22 (24~) -10?~-9s? KND KND
f, n, d, D/F+2+3 or D/F+1+4 h(Throw) 12 Throw(KND)

In particular, his CD contains an assortment of very strong, practical mids. Of these, CD+4 is of note, as it’s a counter-hit combo starting mid that is very, very fast for what it does. Since he attacks with his knee, this also means it cannot be countered by parries.

Don’t forget that since CD gives you incredible forward movement, so you have access to one of the most irritating mid pokes in the game–a forward moving WS+4. Generic WS+4’s are the fastest WS punish options across the board and by doing a crouch dash, you can add range to yours that others cannot. The difference between CD+4 and CD into WS+4 is that you hold down-forward when inputting CD+4, whereas you let it go then press 4 to get the WS attack.

A King player mixing up CD and Backdash to lure out whiffed pokes, before finally dashing in and landing a chain grab starter.

As with most things CD related, it is worth noting that his CD is also a chain grab starter. Just like with JGS, CD+1+3 and CD+2+4 have identical animations, so your opponent cannot go by sight to break these. They must either anticipate duck, or guess 1 or 2 to break.

CD+1 is also worth noting, as it tests the reaction time of your opponent. This attack is very slow and easy to block, but also safe. Remember how I mentioned WS+4 is a generic fast option for all characters? King has a parry for kicks. So, you intentionally make them block CD+1, and parry- since WS+4 is the go to button for many players, you’ve just scored yourself some surprise damage, a knockdown, and a frustrated opponent!

If you’re fighting against a CD-happy King, remember that the real threat is when he gets in–chain grabs have to be at point blank range and his only lows from a CD are the seeable CD+1 or the low damage, disadvantage on hit lows like FC+3 and FC+df+4. You can intercept him easily out of CD with longer range pokes, or just block mid at ranges you know he can’t chain grab you from.

And that’s it! As King player, these options aren’t so much the centerpiece of your game, as much as they are options to flesh out your main neutral tools. And because they aren’t your main tools, they serve as great knowledge checks for unsuspecting foes. And as a King opponent, it’s important to know these tricks are in King’s back pocket at all times, particularly his chain grab starters and distance-munching crouch dashes.

Sources: INATEKKEN [for frame data]; TekkenZaibatsu

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Final Round 20 Mortal Kombat XL champion Dragon talks about going from online warrior to beating SonicFox

For competitive Mortal Kombat fans, one of the biggest shockers coming out of Final Round 20 was that EchoFox’s SonicFox did not win the event. Long considered the most dominant player in the game, SonicFox lost to Noble’s Dragon, who finally secured a major tournament win against the former, after defeating him online in the Kombat Cup.

In the latest installment of the Condiment Cast, PND’s Mustard talks to Dragon, discussing his win over Sonic Fox at Final Round 20. As part of this, they look back to Dragon’s first-ever major tournament, where he lost to SonicFox–who was his first opponent in his pool. They also go into Dragon’s history as being mostly an online ranked match warrior, and how much he’s achieved since then.

In addition to this, they also talk about Dragon’s approach to character choice. Known for picking multiple characters, Dragon discusses how he basically picks whichever of his characters is best for the matchup.

Of course, this isn’t all they discuss. Hit up the interview below to learn more, including Dragon’s thoughts on Injustice 2, and which characters he’ll pick in that game.

Source: Ketchup & Mustard

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Following last year’s success, Syndicate returns to Utrecht from September 23rd-24th

Acting as Europe’s largest Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament to date, along with the Netherlands’ biggest Super Smash Bros. Melee event, Syndicate is returning in September 2017. Held in Utrecht in the Netherlands, Syndicate 2017 will host singles and doubles for both Melee and Smash 4, gathering top talent from across the continent.

Hosted by seasoned European TO teams Avalon and GGWP, Syndicate 2017 hopes to follow up on the overwhelming success of last year’s event by breaking more attendance records. There will be an initial cap of 256 players for each game, but based on last year’s success, expect these caps to be lifted as sign ups flood in. Registration will be available from May 1st, so check back in on Syndicate’s smash.gg page once May Day rolls round. Syndicate’s venue is the Jaarbeurs Utrecht, the Netherlands’ premier location for holding big events and conventions. It’s located right next to the country’s largest train station, so getting to the event couldn’t be easier.

While Melee’s ruleset is locked in, the Syndicate ruleset for Smash 4 is still up in the air. With Europe now starting to make the shift to 2 stock following BEAST, expect an official ruling from the TO team to confirm if Syndicate will be following suit.

Sources: Syndicate; smash.gg

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HORI’s Sako now also sponsored by SCARZ, will discuss Street Fighter V and STEEL COMBAT on Famitsu

Earlier this month, Japanese Esport team SCARZ made their Street Fighter V debut by signing the 2013 Capcom Cup Champ Naoto Sako (from HORI) as their lone fighting game representative.

Fresh off the heels of obtaining a second sponsorship, Sako will be appearing tomorrow on the web show of famous gaming magazine Famitsu to discuss both Street Fighter V and VR Fighting Game STEEL COMBAT. It’s a bit of a surprising game to bring up, but Sako is someone known to play well in virtually any fighting game, appearing on TV in the past for Pokkén Tournament and having expressed interest in For Honor.

The web show will be streamed on several platforms, including YouTube.

Source: Famitsu

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He’s back–Black Adam challenges the House of El in Part 3 of Shattered Alliances for Injustice 2

As promised during their most recent Watchtower stream, NetherRealm Studios has released the 3rd Shattered Alliances story trailer for Injustice 2. Shattered Alliances Part 3 focuses on series newcomer Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, and her cousin, Kal El, the deposed Superman who was the ruler of the Regime from the first Injustice game.

Things start out well for the cousins, with Kara seemingly taking out Black Adam (who’s return this trailer has confirmed) after he attacks her cousin. However, all is not well, as Kal El’s belief in leading through fear conflicts with Kara’s own values, with her pointing out to her cousin that the symbol on their chests is the Kryptonian symbol for hope. Looks like they’ll end up being on opposite sides for Injustice 2’s story.

Source: NetherRealm Studios

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Incoming CFN improvements detailed for Street Fighter V, along with a beta test for PC users

New features and fixes revealed by Capcom–promised to roll out shortly after the beta test concludes.

In addition to the incoming balance patch, Capcom indicated they were working to address the myriad of complaints centered on the Capcom Fighters Network and Street Fighter V’s online playability. Today’s post on Capcom-Unity offers a look at what improvements to SFV’s online game we can look forward to; additionally, PC players will have the opportunity to try the new online experience–along with an early shot at the upcoming rebalanced gameplay–by participating in an online beta test for the new CFN between 1:00 PM PDT on March 28 and 12:00 PM PDT on April 3. Steam users, keep an eye on Capcom-Unity to find out how to sign up. Sorry PlayStation users, console gamers cannot participate in this beta test.

Here’s a breakdown of the incoming Capcom Fighters Network (and other) changes to expect:

  • Rage Quit Penalty System
    The special Player Profile Icons will work correctly, and matchmaking logic will take into account your online behavior and frequent disconnectors will be matched with similar opponents.
  • Ranked and Casual Match Loading Times
    There will be a shorter transition when going into a Ranked or Casual Match.
  • Battle Lounge Country Flags
    Country flags will now properly load in Battle Lounges, allowing players to locate competition in their region.
  • Training Mode: User Settings Saved
    Training Mode settings will now save and carry over to the next time the mode is accessed.
  • Matchmaking Improvements
    It should now take less time to find an opponent in online matches, and logic will be added to avoid frequently being matched with the same opponent repeatedly.
  • Fighter Profile Stats
    More detailed stats will be tracked and presented on your Fighter Profile.
  • Country/League Based Rankings
    Players will be able to filter leaderboards based on Country or League.
  • Friend Management System
    In addition to adding a player to your Favorites, you will be able to add Friends and follow them on CFN. You will also be able to Blacklist players.
  • Interactive Timeline
    On the CFN home menu, a live feed of your Friends’ activities will be presented on an interactive Timeline. Using the Timeline, you will be able to immediately add a recent match to your Replay List, view a Fighter Profile, manage your Friends, and adjust Timeline display settings.
  • In-Game Announcer Voice
    The in-game announcer will give you stats on both you and your opponent using data pulled from the server.

CFN banner

Source: Capcom-Unity