While it has always had its place at Super Smash Bros. Melee events, Melee doubles has grown in prestige and popularity in the past few years, with dedicated teams forming specifically to compete in team events. With the quality of play also drastically improving for Melee doubles, the TO team behind Genesis have decided to nurture this part of competitive Melee with a brand new circuit.
Titled Fuse, this circuit is set to run for the first half of 2017, with teams gathering circuit points to lead to an eventual invitational held on Evo Sunday, to make up for Melee’s absence at Evo 2017’s Sunday finals. There will be a minimum pot of $5,000, with $2,000 going to the winning team. Similar to circuits like the Capcom Pro Tour or the Killer Instinct World Cup, events in the Fuse circuit are divided between Premier and Major events, with teams earning points based on their performance at said events. The three Premier events are Genesis 4, CEO Dreamland and another as-yet-unannounced event, while the six Major events are BEAST 7, Full Bloom 3, Smash ‘n Splash 3, HFLAN and two other events which are yet to be confirmed.
Seeing as this is a circuit to celebrate Melee doubles, teams earn points as a unit, rather than players individually earning points. To take BEAST 7 as an example, where SFAT did not compete with usual partner PewPewU, but with dizzkidboogie; in order for the BEAST points to count, SFAT would have to lock dizzkid as his partner, which would forfeit his Genesis 4 points, acquired by competing with PewPewU. The opposite is true, so SFAT will not gain the points he won at BEAST if he chooses PewPewU as his partner. The main point of Fuse is to celebrate the achievement of static teams, rather than just rewarding players who partner up with the next best player to guarantee easy points.
All teams must be locked before the final Major in June, with the ability to gain more points stopping around two weeks before Evo. The top eight teams will be invited for the Fuse finals, to be held somewhere in Vegas at a time which should hopefully not clash with finals for Smash 4 or Street Fighter V. So, if you are at all interested, get a partner and start practicing your team play! The prize pot may rise via crowdfunding, so teams could be earning quite the pretty penny should they take the whole circuit.
World warriors, at last you can plan your training pilgrimage!
After bits and pieces of 2017’s Capcom Pro Tour season trickling out over that last couple of months, Capcom now promises to reveal the full details of Capcom Pro Tour 2017 next Monday, February 27 (the day before Kolin officially joins the Street Fighter V roster)!
Finally, we will be able get the full picture as to the events that will comprise this year’s lead-up to Capcom Cup 2017. Competitors and spectators both, get ready!
A closer look at something that unites the FGC: the struggle to play a better game.
The drive to improve, the urge to compete–feelings well-known to fighting game fans! In his new documentary Road to Evolution, director Jonathan Rouzier explores these concepts as they are expressed through his cousin Cliff Rouzier: inspired by a trip to Evolution 2011 to step up his Super Street Fighter IV game, to compete as best he can in at subsequent Evo events. With commentary from his friends and family, we get a profile of what sort of man takes on this sort of challenge, the trials he faces, and the lessons learned in the pursuit of one more win.
The film is stuffed with footage from both Evo and other major FGC events, clips of the games themselves and well-known FGC personalities like James Chen and UltraDavid, and delves deep into Cliff’s own experience through interviews and candid glimpses into his life and Street Fighter training. Check it out on YouTube below, and scroll down further for some more insights from the film’s director.
In anticipation of this documentary’s release, I had the opportunity to ask the director a few questions after I had the pleasure of watching the film myself.
Zavian “mushin_Z” Sildra: What particular aspects of your cousin’s experience with Street Fighter inspired you to commit his story to film?
Jonathan Rouzier: Growing up, Cliff was always the best at Street Fighter and Smash Brothers. Between our group of friends, it was rare that anyone would beat him. After we watched Evo 2011, his eyes were opened to the FGC. We had no idea there were people competing at such a high level in the games we loved so much. To see it take place on such a grand stage was inspiring. After watching the event, Cliff decided that he wanted to start training for Evo. This is when I thought it would be a great opportunity to document the beginnings of someone’s journey in the FGC–which is something you rarely get to see. Usually, films follow the top players of their respective games, but I wanted to give viewers a look at what it is like for someone to step out of their comfort zone and start facing a much higher level of competition. It is definitely a humbling experience for a “local hero” to become a complete novice at the pro level.
mushin_Z: When you started filming, what target audience did you have in mind for the documentary? The FGC specifically, gamers in general, or a broader audience?
Rouzier: When I started filming, my intention was to create a short piece about Cliff’s 2012 tournament season, and yes, it was geared specifically to the FGC. However, like many creative projects, sometimes it evolves into something else as you work on it. Once I started interviewing more people, particularly his dad, I started to realize there was a potential for a larger audience for this film. To me, the film can appeal to anyone, from hardcore gamers to parents who might not understand why their kid who loves video games so much would want to make a career out of it. The love of competition is a driving force, but gaming has brought me together with some of my closest friends, and I think that is another amazing aspect of the FGC.
mushin_Z: Your cousin’s struggle for wins at Evo and other events yields mixed quantitative results–but we see the growth of his dedication and character: his “fighting spirit” only becomes greater. Was it your intention to highlight the “value of the journey” this way?
Rouzier:“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” This is one of my favorite quotes, and it’s something that has always stuck with me. Fear holds so many people back from doing what they truly love. If you have the will to push through all the failure, there is nothing stopping you from reaching your goal. I always had faith that Cliff could do well entering tournaments, but no one ever got great at any sport overnight. To me, the journey is much more interesting than the destination–in any story.
mushin_Z: In your view, what do large events like Evo offer the average fighting gamer?
Rouzier: I think it’s very important to have events like Evo, which stand as the Mecca of your sport. It gives people something to strive towards. From an entertainment standpoint, it gives people a chance to see matchups with players from other countries they would never get to see otherwise. For example, the feeling of being in the audience during top 8 of Evo 2016, as the audience was giving their all to cheer for LI Joe, was better than any other sporting event I’ve been to in the past.
mushin_Z: It seems to me you took time and effort to really depict the experience of attending a large tournament to the viewer. Were you hoping to encourage viewers to take up their own challenge to compete?
Rouzier: My hope is that viewers would see how fun and exciting these events can be. Even if they were usually reluctant to participate in tournaments due to the fear of losing, they would see the benefits of challenging yourself to face higher-level opponents. Everyone is always searching for a place to belong, and I think that there’s no better way for gamers to come together than at these events.
mushin_Z: As he’s the subject, what does your cousin think of the finished film?
Rouzier: I let him see a few segments while I was editing over the last few years. When I finally sent him the finished product, he was speechless. This whole journey into the fighting game community has been life-changing for him, so I can only imagine what it’s like to watch the events of the last few years of his life as a film.
mushin_Z: How much do you play? How’s your Street Fighter/Smash Bros. game?
Rouzier: I’m a gamer, but not on a competitive level. I enjoy coming up with combos more than anything, so I would say Marvel 3 was my best game. Back in 2004-2005 I had a pretty solid Fox in Melee, and recently we’ve resurrected Smash 64 at my office, it is kind of a daily ritual now to prove who is the best. We get into some pretty heated competition, but it’s great to step away from editing and play a few games to clear our minds.
Road to Evolution is available to watch on YouTube now. You can also watch Cliffdog stream on his Twitch channel.
The Injustice 2 reveal trailer for Swamp Thing showcased some of the nature-based attacks that he will bring to battle, but the specific “nature” of each attack is difficult to determine based on the trailer alone. Shedding some more light on the mysterious green entity, IGN’s gameplay walkthrough for Swamp Thing breaks down some of his basic moves, and how they lay the framework for his play style.
As the footage from the trailer indicated, Swamp thing is a relatively slow-moving character, but he has a number of long-range attacks that give him a presence on just about every part of the stage. He is also described in the video as a “grappler” with a set of powerful grabs at his disposal, so it seems he will be a formidable foe from up close as well as from a distance. It is apparent that his weakness will be characters with quick attacks and high mobility, so the emphasis will be on controlling the pace of the match when using Swamp Thing.
Check out the video to see the specific attack names, and how they will manifest themselves in a match.
Here’s a piece of news not many expected, but many fighting game fans will appreciate. While Game Informer has been taking a look at esports analysis this month with some focus on the FGC, an unrelated list titled “The 10 Most Underrated Games of this Generation” mentions the Lab Zero Games brawler.
Among titles like Salt & Sanctuary, Danganronpa, and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is Skullgirls: 2nd Encore. The venerated games magazine extolls the 2D fighter for its approachability for newcomers and rich, quality content that includes a fully voiced Story Mode and other ways to play.
“A colorful 2D brawler with gorgeous hand-drawn animation, Skullgirls channels classic Capcom series like Darkstalkers and the Versus games in its gameplay, but stands apart with its distinct personality and quirky characters,” Game Informer writes.
The clash between the World Warriors and the Night Warriors begins today!
Announced last year, today we can finally get our first real taste of UDON’s new mini-series through issue #0 of Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers. From UDON Entertainment:
These time-tested warriors may have already met in arcades and on your game consoles, but nothing can prepare you for their impending comic book clash! When the likes of Ken, Chun-Li, Rashid, Sagat, and Akuma face off against Morrigan, Felicia, Jon Talbain, Bishamon, and Donovan, who will be left standing in the end? The answer to that question and more lie in wait within the pages of Street Fighter VS. Darkstalkers!
Check out these preview pages below, in which Street Fighter V’s Rashid seems to find his curiosity leading him into some serious trouble!
STREET FIGHTER VS. DARKSTALKERS #0 32 pg, full color; $3.99; available February 2017
Diamond order codes:
DEC162023 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #0 CVR A (Story cover)
DEC162024 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #0 CVR B (Variant )
DEC162025 STREET FIGHTER VS DARKSTALKERS #0 CVR C (Movie Poster Homage Incentive)
The Brook Universal Fighting Board is probably the most popular aftermarket circuit board on sale today. It gives any joystick the ability to work on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, even Nintendo Wii U easily. The only downside to using the board in ready-made sticks such as older MadCatz models was that the home panel didn’t retain full functionality–unless you had a lot of electronics know-how.
That is changing quickly. Matthew Gummo has unveiled a new product, called the MadCatz Home Panel Replacement board. This board allows you to swap out your old home panel board, and fits perfectly into its place on both Xbox 360 and PS3-modeled sticks. Not only does it do this, but it allows you to have LEDs work with your Brook board easily by running wiring between the two boards. But it doesn’t stop there! Using the joystick input switch and the turbo button, the HPR gives you access to the L3, R3, and Touchpad buttons easily.
Despite being a game that goes relatively unrepresented at tournaments, there are still a few players invested in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. In their recent endeavor to go back and make content for this game, YouTuber Persona Entertainment is steadily covering the cast. We recently covered a few of their combo videos in the past, and this time they’re tackling the oddball mascot that is Teddie.
Teddie was a very strong character when the game was played competitively, but this combo video showcases a lot of fun–but impractical–kill setups. Whether or not you’ll be using these in real matches, this video shows off just why you should never judge a bear by its cover.
The Skullgirls community has been continuously ramping up since 2013, albeit at a slow and steady rate. The size that the community has grown to–combined with the game finally reaching its conclusion with no further updates being made–has some members of the scene excited to sit down and be able to pour everything they have into learning it without fear of it changing anymore.
If you’d like help getting into the game and improving yourself, Mr Peck is here with another Tuestorial (tutorials posted on Tuesdays) featuring Cerebella. Cerebella’s Tumble Run move has four followups; Battle Butt (armored headbutt), Kanchou (slide into butt poke), Pummel Horse (overhead hit-grab), and Run Stop (cancels the run). These moves help Cerebella deal with a variety of situations, and can be used in conjunction with assists to great effect, and this tutorial will help you get these moves as fast as possible 100% of the time.
Keep the pressure on with these meaty back-rise pursuits.
You’ve got to keep the rush going if you’re going to rush your opponent down! This kind of aggression is in Ken’s DNA, and in the video below, World Warrior demonstrates a variety of meaty setups to keep the pressure on a back-rising opponent (in this case an unlucky Urien). The key spacing/timing components being a crouching medium punch and a forward dash–followed by a generous mix of Ken’s options for some hefty damage.
