Pocket Rumble is a very distinct game in today’s market: being one of only a handful of successfully-crowdfunded fighters, in addition to capturing the look of a two-decade old handheld game, there’s certainly a distinct air about the title. While the game isn’t officially out yet, the recent announcement of the Nintendo Switch version heralds the game finally coming out of Early Access on Steam as well.
While the game is releasing in its full capacity soon, that doesn’t mean it’s new for everyone–some have been playing the game for quite a while, and there’s already high-level footage of the game in action. We have some of that for you here today, featuring Waasiq as the ethereal June and TheBodyBoy playing electric businessman Parker.
One of the big talking points within the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 community is whether the PlayStation 4 version–the one that many a TO has been using as the tournament standard since December–has more input lag compared to the old Xbox 360 version. To find out, DisplayLag ran tests on both versions, as well as the Xbox One version, to see if that really was the case.
The tests–the results of which you can see in the video below–ran on the latest updated versions of the game on all three consoles, and were conducted using the same controller using a Brook Universal Fighting Board, on the same ASUS VG245H monitor. The latter helps ensure that any measured lag isn’t due to the hardware being used.
The results are pretty shocking to say the least. While both Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions clock in at around 5 frames of input lag (rounded up from 4.6 on the Xbox 360 and 4.8 on the Xbox One), the PlayStation 4 version seemingly has an extra frame of delay at about 6 frames. This means that the current tournament standard in use in most events is actually slower than the old standard.
The question now then is how both Capcom and the community handle this moving forward. Will the delay be addressed in a future patch, or will the community be forced to switch standards once again? Additionally, there’s still the question of the PC version, which wasn’t tested here.
Shoryuken invincibility restored, among the other changes described in the upcoming patch’s notes.
A second pass over Season 2’s balance changes for Street Fighter V was promised a while back–it was expected we’d see it in play before the Capcom Pro Tour started up for 2017, and while it’s a bit too late for that we can now expect to see the results of Capcom’s rebalancing re-evaluation by “the end of April.”
After taking into account their own observations, their intentions for Season 2, and community feedback, a significant number of changes can be expected for Street Fighter V when this new patch drops. Here’s a rundown of some overall adjustments from Capcom-Unity’s blog:
V-Reversal input delay on crouching block has been shortened by 1F. Developer Comments: When the V-Reversal command was input from a crouch block, it took one frame longer to activate than when standing. This change makes it so that once a V-Reversal is input, whether a character is standing or crouching, it activates at the same time.
It is no longer possible to escape throws while inputting up during the throw escape. Developer Comments: Correctly guessing an opponent’s next move is one of the hallmarks of Street Fighter. Option selects, which allow multiple options to be covered with overlapping commands, directly conflict with this idea, as the guesswork is removed, leading to a positive result quite frequently. This low risk, high reward scenario can be frustrating to fight as it seems that the opponent is always guessing right. One such option select in Street Fighter V is the “jump back, throw select” in which the back jump command is input simultaneously with the throw input. This allows a player to cover two options on wake-up. If the opponent attempts a throw, they’ll tech it. If not, the player will jump away and reset the spacing between characters, all with very minimal risk. With the new change introduced here, players will now have to make the proper read against their opponent to get the desired result, resulting in much more interesting matches.
The number of frames necessary to complete charging for a charge move has been increased from 6F to 10F. Developer Comments: The initial change, where we reduced the total number of frames needed to perform a charge move, was made to keep unintentional attacks from coming out. Unfortunately this has made those same charge moves all that much harder to pull off. To fix this, we’ve increased the number of frames needed to perform a charge move, but have still kept that number of frames lower than Season 1. We think that this will ensure that the charge moves will come out much more reliably, while feeling that much easier to perform.
Invincible “Shoryuken” Attacks–Shoryuken type attacks have seen a change across the board. The changes are as follows below: • L Shoryuken attacks – maintain throw invincibility • M Shoryuken attacks – added airborne invincibility • H Shoryuken attacks – added attack and projectile invincibility
This change affects Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Cammy, and Juri. Developer Comments: Invincibility on Shoryuken attacks has been a polarizing topic. For players who learned how to use these attacks in Season 1 as an anti-air or counter attack, this change has severely affected their success with their favorite character. Conversely, those who have had to fight against these attacks, completely praise the changes as they felt meterless reversals were far too strong. After analyzing player data, we felt that the change to invincible Shoryuken attacks resulted in a risk/reward ratio that has become risk intensive, yet yields little reward. Additionally, as Shoryuken attacks now occasionally trade with jump-in attacks, players who use characters with Shoryuken attacks are no longer confident in using this attack as an anti-air as intended. We feel that with the changes made to Shoryuken attacks, the attack now yields the right risk versus reward. Players who utilize these attacks will still have to exercise proper timing and a bit more decision-making to be effective, but now they will be rewarded accordingly. For the opponent fighting against these Shoryuken attacks, they will have to exercise a little more caution, but shouldn’t feel as frustrated as they did in Season 1.
In addition to these changes, extensive adjustments to individual aspects of each of the cast members are described in detail on the full patch notes post on Capcom-Unity; best go have a look to see what’s changing about your main–for better or worse–and start getting ready for Season 2 “redux.” The patch notes also detail the official list of bug fixes that were made to the game when Kolin was introduced on February 28.
The rivalry between Echo Fox|Justin Wong and Twitch.Hx.CYG BST|Daigo Umehara is arguably one of the most well-known in gaming. While it doesn’t heat up like other rivalries, encounters between these two players in any game tend to lead to amazing matches.
This Thursday at 3:15 PM PDT, the rivalry heats up again as Daigo and Justin face off once more to help promote the launch of Marvel’s Iron Fist series on Netflix. The interesting thing about this exhibition is the games that they’ll be playing. While Street Fighter V should come as no surprise, the announcement on Daigo’s twitter also states that they’ll be facing off in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Now, while it can be assumed that he means Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which is the most current version of the game, and the one that runs on PlayStation 4, the same console as Street Fighter V–it could be possible that they actually are playing the older Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Daigo did compete in MvC3 after all, with the team of Wolverine, Dante, and Haggar–using the synergy between the two so called “best friends” Wolverine and Dante, while also abusing Haggar’s lariat assist. The older game may also allow for a more even playing field as Justin is more familiar with the Ultimate version (which he won at Evo in 2012). That said: since this is for the Iron Fist launch on Netflix, Justin could simply use his Iron Fist team against Daigo if they do play Ultimate.
While many players reminisce about fonder memories of the Street Fighter IV series, you can’t ignore that the game had some weird things happening in it… Regardless, the game did always prove to be entertaining, easily maintaining its status as the premier game of the FGC for as long as it did.
In this compilation video, you learn what an El Fuerte mirror might actually look like, why you should never play with your food in a match, and how Daigo Umehara can get hit with two Ultras in one game and still win, among other things.
Liquid|Nairo is fresh off his victory in Japan’s Tokaigi event for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and he also just recently took first place in the Smash event at KI Con. Michael Martin caught up to him on the latest episode of Conversations and Fireballs; in it, they discuss the state of Smash in Japan, where Nairo points out that there are far more character specialists in Japan than the West. They also talk about how Smash will change with the discontinuation of the Wii U, should the game not be ported to the recently-released Nintendo Switch.
It’s no secret that Ryu received a myriad of nerfs in Street Fighter V’s second season, which have lead many players to drop the Wandering Warrior for other characters entirely, or at least pick up some alternates for his bad matchups. Twitch.Hx.CYG BST|Daigo Umehara continued to soldier on; however, falling to Tampa Bison and Panda Global’s Punk to finish 33rd at Final Round 20–the first Premier Event of the Capcom Pro Tour 2017 season–has potentially changed his outlook.
According to tweets from Splyce’s Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez and fellow Ryu-comrade-in-arms Miky “XSK Samurai” Chea from Winter Fox, Umehara has seemingly given up on Ryu, and now claims he will be maining Guile (seen as one of the most powerful characters in Season 2) going forward. Though he initially played the character at the beginning of Season 2 for a bit, he soon retunred to Ryu.
Daigo promised me no more RYU!! He playing Guile woooot
This would not be the first time Umehara has abandoned the Shotokan warrior when his strength has come into question, as he mained Yun and Evil Ryu throughout Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and Ultra Street Fighter IV, and even has a history of playing the “Family Man” in Super Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (2012), Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Capcom vs. SNK 2. With Razer Xian’s switch to Ibuki from F.A.N.G leading to a first place victory at Final Round 20, it would be very interesting to see how Umehara can perform in tournaments with the Air Slasher by his side.
VesperArcade also discusses this in his latest video, providing some additional context from Umehara’s recent tournament history:
If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can check out some Season 1 match footage of Daigo’s Ryu here. What do you all think of this development? Would you be sad to see Daigo leave Ryu behind, or do you believe this is exactly what he needs in order to achieve future victories?
TSM|ZeRo is continuing his meta analysis of the current state of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U; recently, he took a look at what he considers the worst characters in SSB4, including Jigglypuff and versions of the Mii avatars (without modifications). This time, ZeRo explores characters that aren’t that bad, but their move sets aren’t as powerful–so they either don’t see that much competitive play, or very rarely win major tournaments.
ZeRo takes a closer look at the following characters in his video, in order:
Ike
Pac-Man
Kirby
Palutena
Wario
Roy
Wii Fit Trainer
Duck Hunt
Falco
Charizard
Dr. Mario
Shulk
Mr. Game & Watch
R.O.B.
Pit / Dark Pit
ZeRo also recently took a closer look at Lucas in SSB4. What are your thoughts on this tier list? Share them in the comments below.
Iron Fist has perpetually found himself as one of the least-often-used characters in the competitive realm of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Having been relegated to low tier status very early on in the game, he never really has found his way out of that abyss.
Regardless of whether he is competitively viable or not, the Jeet Kune Do practitioner has some pretty flashy combos: combined with a team of Nova and Spencer, he can string along some amazing stuff, including several OTGs in one combo.
Julio Fuentes takes on Street Fighter V challengers for some spirited matches to promote the streaming platform’s launch.
Echo Fox|Julio Fuentes is teaming up with Collide to support the launch of the new streaming platform at SXSW Gaming’s event this week in Austin, TX. As part of Collide’s launch, Fuentes will host open Street Fighter V exhibition matches tomorrow (Wednesday, March 15) and Thursday at the Collide House between 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM Central, which will be streamed live via Collide, viewable either on the website or using the iOS app.
Collide–officially launching today–was founded by Robert Earl, CEO of Planet Hollywood International, as a means “to bring content creators closer with their audiences than ever before.” You can learn more about this new streaming platform on Collide’s home page.
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