Category: Fighting Games

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BEST_KOREA Is Street Fighter V’s Best Online Player? More Like Best Hacker, Actually

Another PC user exploits Street Fighter V’s online game to take the top spot.

For those that fight online to secure a hard-earned rank in Street Fighter V, it certainly isn’t encouraging to see the game’s LP system itself, gamed. And while this is hardly the first time a PC-based SFV user has broken the ladder and climbed to the top via cheats or hacks, it isn’t exactly comforting to see it still happening.

The “God-Like” user BEST_KOREA has climbed to over a 10,000 LP lead over Wolfkrone’s #2 spot:

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A look at their profile starts to indicate that something fishy is going on–as it becomes apparent that there’s a strange discrepancy between the “WIN” indications. The player with the winning marks on the replay display isn’t the winner in the main fight list.

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Replays indicate clearly that BEST_KOREA isn’t really playing to win–it doesn’t appear to be a bot, but more like a player just occasionally mashing light kicks, with a parry or taunt thrown in sometimes. They usually lose, but still get that WIN indicator on the list–and lots of LP of course. Generously, the opponent also seems to get LP for their victory, so no harm done there?

A few Twitter users have called out @SFVServer about BEST_KOREA, but as of this writing the user has not been penalized or removed from Capcom Fighters Network. The fact that hacks like this are possible is not surprising, but it is a bigger problem that Capcom isn’t quicker to correct it when it occurs–if they don’t, what meaning do the online rankings even have?

Source: Street Fighter V [in-game], via tip from DJ Ghost Phrat

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Capcom Kicks Off Street Fighter’s 30th Anniversary Celebration with the Announcement Trailer for Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers

If the SNES was your introduction to Street Fighter II, get ready for a blast of nostalgia…

Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono made an appearance on this morning’s Nintendo Treehouse stream to show off live gameplay of the new Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers. The official announcement trailer was also revealed, and it leans heavily into the nostalgia that longtime fans of the franchise surely felt at the sight of this game!

Tidbits of information about Ultra Street Fighter II–much provided by FOX|Justin Wong, who is also attending Nintendo’s New York Treehouse event and has been providing comments on his experience via Twitter–suggest more and more that it is a very different animal than the much-maligned Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. It appears to be a fully rebalanced version of the classic game, and allows the player to switch between a full HD mode with UDON’s redrawn visuals and a new soundtrack, and a classic mode that replaces the in-fight backgrounds, sprites, and soundtrack with the originals.

Questions remaining include USF2’s actual release date, price, and whether or not it will be Switch-exclusive–as well as what other plans Capcom has to mark Street Fighter’s 30th anniversary over the year–of which more has been promised. At the moment, we’re just urged to keep our eyes on Capcom’s social media for future news.

Additionally, YouTuber Xuses clipped the new USF2 gameplay footage from the Nintendo stream, and it can be viewed here:

Sources: Street Fighter; Yoshinori Ono (Twitter); FOX|Justin Wong (Twitter); XusesGB

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The SRK Rollback: Best of January 6-12, 2017

Welcome to the Rollback: a frame-by-frame look back at our past week’s most notable news–and our favorite SRK articles–from January 6 to January 12, 2017!

Zavian “mushin_Z” Sildra, Editor-in-Chief:

Frame 1:
cooperation cup top 8Relive All the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Hype with the Top 8 Footage from Cooperation Cup 15

It was a blast to see the high-level competition unfold in this iconic entry in Street Fighter’s history; let this game be never declared dead–if that’s even possible with the attention it still draws!

Frame 2:
dissidia_kujaDissidia Final Fantasy Arcade’s Newest Character is Kuja from Final Fantasy IX

The cast of Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy fighter keeps growing… I’m really hoping to hear about a console release date soon; I’m eager to try this game out!

Frame 3:
battle kroadBattle K-Road: A Game That Deliberately Ignores the Idea of Wake-Ups

An interesting look at fighting game design gone both right and wrong at the same time–and a reminder that mechanics we might take for granted are open to reinterpretation–or removal.

Sam “Trilby” Foxall, Assistant Editor:

Frame 1:
misfits-new-logoImmortals Gains Major Investment from Lionsgate, While the Miami HEAT Partners with Misfits

Big news from the world of esports, as Immortals and Misfits are the next teams to snag investment from companies with household names. With both teams having Super Smash Bros. Melee representation, expect them follow Echo Fox’s lead into the FGC soon.

Frame 2:
esports community fgcAre We Fully Considering the Impact an Esports Mentality Has on the Fighting Game Community?

As a suitable counterpoint, SRK writer Zidiane questions if the esports juggernaut is necessarily good for the FGC, as it may cause older games with niche communities to be swept away in favor of the big money.

Frame 3:
Balrog SFV ResizePR Balrog Encounters Glitch that Lets Him Play Season 1 Version of Balrog Online in Street Fighter V

Balrog seems to be moonlighting as a time traveler, as a recent glitch allowed PR Balrog to play as the Season 1 version of the boxer in Ranked matches. I wonder if this glitch is explored enough, you could revert the game all the way back to Super Street Fighter II…

Keegan “Interrobang!?” Spindler, Features Editor:

Frame 1:
Arms Nintendo SwitchARMS Launches onto the Nintendo Switch This Spring

Alright, bear with me on this one. It might not look like the most hardcore fighting game we’ve ever seen, but with promises that there is plenty of depth to be plumbed, I think this has potential. Just imagine what might happen if Nintendo really goes all in on it as an esport–could we have divisions, belts and weigh-ins in our future? I wouldn’t be complaining.

Frame 2:
injustice_2_batman_vs_flash_750Ed Boon Reveals Injustice 2’s Release Date

We knew it was coming but finally, finally, we know when. It’s still a few months away, but with so much of the roster still to be revealed, we should be in for an action-packed wait. 

Frame 3:
duck-at-dairly-belovedJames “Duck” Ma Leaves Denial Esports; Cites Lack of Pay

This might not seem like the biggest news at first–James “Duck” Ma isn’t the biggest name in the FGC, after all. Here’s the thing though; he wasn’t paid for his time with the team, and with so many young esports teams out on the prowl, this suggests that it might be best to be safe rather than sorry. With all the musing we at SRK have been doing about whether esports is healthy for the scene, Duck’s departure is a warning sign that we can’t just ignore–especially since it’s not the first departure due to a lack of pay in recent times.

Extra Frame:
USF2_750Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers–featuring Evil Ryu & Violent Ken–Coming to Nintendo Switch

Viewers expected some kind of fighting game-related news from Nintendo’s Switch reveal event–but this was not expected. It’s an interesting, strange, and welcome announcement, and it could really help give this classic game some extra attention from new players!

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article and the selected posts are solely those of the writers, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

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Skullgirls 2nd Encore Physical Release Update: Manual Screenshots, Lobbies on Console, and Slight Delay

As you may remember, Lab Zero Games held a limited sale for a physical release of their flagship fighter, Skullgirls. This version of the game was only available for that short period (so no future copies are likely to be available) but having met their goal with pre-orders, the team was able to afford the licensing costs of bringing the Japanese voices to the game.

Just recently an update to the status of this release was given; we got some shots of the promised full-color manual coming with the game, which we’ve gotten a peek at before. The images here include the control setup page, a page on Squigly, and a game lore page.

Click to view slideshow.

In addition to this, we were given promising news about the state of console lobbies. They are confirmed to work on PS3, Vita, and PS4, all allowing crossplay with one-another. Prior to this update it was stated that the PS3’s memory limitations were causing problems getting lobbies to fit, but after some development-magic they seem to be fully functional and ready to go.

While this is all good news so far, it was stated that there was a delay to the shipment of the physical release and the patches to digital versions. The full details can be read on the update page, but essentially due to complications from holidays, Sony’s submission policies regarding “remasters,” paperwork, and the multiple companies involved, the original timeline of a January release can no longer be guaranteed. No ETA on the release was given, but it sounds like the brunt of the work is finished and all that’s left is managing the back end.

Source: Skullgirls

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Misfits Signs Larry Lurr as Their First Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Player

Joining Super Smash Bros. Melee player Ryan “The Moon” Coker-Welch on the roster, esports team Misfits have signed Larry “Larry Lurr” Holland as their first Super Smash Bros. for Wii U player. Larry had parted ways from Team Elevate at the very end of 2016, entering 2017 as a free agent and on the hunt for a new team.

Based on his latest performances, including first at PPT Winter, second at 2GGT: ZeRo Saga, second at LA City Smash, and second at 2GGT: Abadango Saga, it was no question that a top level esports team would be looking to sign the world’s best Fox main, With this pick up signalling Misfits’ entry into Smash 4, it’s clear that they are here to play.

With Misfits recently partnering with the Miami HEAT, Larry not only has a huge brand name backing him on his future endeavours, but technically means that he and The Moon are players for the Miami HEAT. That’s definitely something to put on the resume.

Larry is currently in the Netherlands, competing at NHSmash 3 over the weekend before taking the long trip across the Atlantic to compete at Genesis 4. Expect him rocking a brand new Misfits jersey as his Fox tears its way through the brackets.

Source: Team Misfits

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Catch Some Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers Gameplay — Footage of Evil Ryu & Violent Ken in Action

Just last night we got a huge bombshell dropped on us: Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers. This game is more than a simple port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, or another upscale in graphics or balance changes; two characters new to the SFII series were added: Evil Ryu and Violent Ken.

Here we get our first look at the actual gameplay of these two characters from the Dengeki Online channel, and it lives up to the expectations. While these two players are just messing around, we do get a look at some of the new effects and assets that have been added. Evil Ryu has a teleport and a hop kick, which is in addition to both characters having purple Hadoukens. We’ll be getting a more in-depth playthrough later today on Nintendo Treehouse in New York, so keep your eyes peeled for more footage.

Source: 電撃オンライン

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A BlazBlue Title is Coming to the Nintendo Switch

Unlike Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, which was briefly shown in the Nintendo Switch presentation, there’s another fighting game name that quietly popped up on the Nintendo website.

thirdpartyswitch

The above image displays a number of third party titles coming to Nintendo’s new console, some of them teased previously. Among them is the logo for Arc System Works’ BlazBlue franchise. There’s no official information from Arc System Works other than this mysterious Taokaka tweet, so a release date is anyone’s guess. Most likely, it’s going to be the current fighting game Central Fiction, though the series has numerous spin-offs by now–like a beat ’em up Android mobile game.

BlazBlue titles also tend to come out on the PlayStation Vita after releasing on Sony’s stationary console, but it seems that Arc System Works has made the… Switch.

Two-player BlazBlue anywhere sounds rad, provided that the Joy Cons feel right, or fight stick support comes to the Switch.

Source: Nintendo Switch JP Site

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Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers–featuring Evil Ryu & Violent Ken–Coming to Nintendo Switch

While the Nintendo Switch reveal stream featured a ton of announcements for the upcoming console/portable hybrid, it was light on things fighting-game related. However, there was one thing that caught the attention of many players: during a sizzle reel showing glimpses of upcoming Switch games, a short clip was shown of what appeared to be Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

This upcoming game, however, isn’t just a port of SSF2T HDR; rather, Capcom has confirmed that it is an new Street Fighter II game called Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers.

As indicated by the footage from the Nintendo presentation, the game will feature the updated graphics from SSF2T HD Remix, as well as a cooperative mode that allows two players to team up against the CPU. In addition to these, the game will feature 2 new characters: Evil Ryu makes his return (after his last appearance in the Street Fighter IV series); joining him is a character who has never appeared in a Capcom-developed Street Fighter game–Violent Ken. Appearing only in SNK Playmore’s SvC: Chaos, Violent Ken represents a Ken that has been brainwashed by Shadaloo and imbued with M. Bison’s Psycho Power–a concept originally from the classic Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.

Another notable feature is the ability to switch between the update UDON art from SSF2T HD Remix, and the original “pixel” sprite art.

More information on Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers will be shared on a Nintendo Treehouse stream featuring special guest Yoshinori Ono on January 13. In the meantime, check out these images from Capcom-Unity.

Click to view slideshow.

Source: Capcom-Unity

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ARMS Launches Onto the Nintendo Switch This Spring

Well, it’s not quite the announcement many were hoping for, but Nintendo has revealed at least one fighting game for their new console. Titled ARMS, this fighter is part boxing, part shooter and part platformer, as various colorful characters bounce around a wild arena, trying to land that desperate one-two knockout.

ARMS has players holding two JoyCons like boxing gloves, firing off punches with giant springy arms. You can curve punches round your opponent’s guard, jump and dash round your opponent’s extendo-limbs and unleash big special attacks to knock out your enemy. I could see ARMS becoming a great side event at big events, as opponents duck and weave in real life to dodge their opponent’s blows. Combine this with the ability to pair eight Switch systems together in local multiplayer, and tournaments would be a breeze to set up. ARMS would definitely suit CEO’s wrestling ring or the Mandalay Bay arena, I’ll say that much.

The Nintendo Switch will launch simultaneously in all regions on March 3rd, costing $299.99, with ARMS set to release sometime in the spring.

Source: Eurogamer

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Enjoy a Good Blast from the Past? Get Your Fix with This King of Fighters 2002 CMV

Remember the good old days? Back when fighting games had a lot more artsy combo videos: with largely varying production quality, with random bootleg VHS anime scenes spliced in? As the years passed video creation got more generalized–with people learning from each other–and most of the old tendencies players had when making combo movies just faded away.

Luckily, while these methods of combo movie-making may have died off, the actual videos have not. YouTuber 8Sin-Am has a stockpile of archaic anime CMVs that he’s been uploading recently, the latest of which features The King of Fighters 2002. Take a peek back through time with this marvelous video–explicitly stated to not be a “Combo Movie”–from the long-forgotten era of the early 2000s.

Source: 8Sin-Am (YouTube)