Fighting Games – Page 852

December 20, 2016

XusesGB Chronicles Urien’s Amazing Comeback Potential in This Street Fighter V Montage Video

One thing that Street Fighter V has made happen over the course of this year is a slew of amazingly exciting comebacks. With the game’s mechanics allowing players to always stay in the hunt even with the magic pixel, all you need is smart use of your buttons and defense, and it can happen to you.

While all characters can mount amazing comebacks, some manage to do so better than others. Urien falls into that category. How strong is his comeback potential? To reference South Park: “We need a montage.”

Thankfully, XusesGB has already provided one for us–so watch away, and tremble at his might.

Source: XusesGB

December 20, 2016

Relive Akuma’s History–And Prepare for His Return–Through Maximilian’s “Akuma Legacy” Series

Akuma returns tomorrow–check out his legacy in these gameplay videos.

To herald the imminent arrival of the Master of the Fist in Street Fighter V, Maximilian has been revisiting the games that make up Akuma’s history: starting with Super Street Fighter II Turbo, of course.

Maximilian doesn’t hesitate to implement whatever codes or hacks are necessary to make Akuma playable in the titles in question. Check out his journey-in-gameplay below for a closer look how Akuma has evolved over the years: in Maximilian’s release order, from SSFIIT, to X-Men: Children of the Atom; Street Fighter Alpha (first appearance of the Raging Demon super combo); Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (Cyber-Akuma!); Street Fighter Alpha 2; Street Fighter EX+; Pocket Fighter; Marvel vs. Capcom 2; Capcom vs. SNK 2; Street Fighter: The Movie; Street Fighter IV; Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max; Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness (for the Z-Gouki mech); Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact; Street Fighter X Tekken; and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

When Maximilian first started the series, Akuma had not yet been 100% confirmed for SFV. Note also that Maximilian’s commentary is sometimes NSFW!

Source: Maximilian Dood

December 20, 2016

Here Are the 90 Teams for This Year’s Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Cooperation Cup

As 2017 rolls around, so does the most prestigious Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike event in the world. This year’s Cooperation Cup, an annual 3rd Strike team tournament hosted by Game Newton, will boast a line-up of 90 teams comprised of 5 players each.

This year’s event is made even better by the fact that the tournament will be broadcast in English as well as Japanese.

Here are the 90 teams that will be playing in this year’s Cooperation Cup, with special thanks to Sang “Hismit” Lai for the translation:

1. [Temma Kokusai keisatsu]
Chance(MA)/Loli(DU)/Shie(KE)/Hayao(HU)/Kousei(KE)

2. [Heisei Ishingun]
TAX(EL)/Nouten(DU)/Ikeda(MA)/Setotchi(CH)/Jinraijiko(KE)

3. [LALA]
Kera(MA)/Hyacinth(YU)/Mori-B(KE)/Higa(IB)/Chakky(CH)

4. [HAPPY LOTIONS]
Heaven(UR)/Harano(UR)/Tamakon(DU)/Shaboten(RY)/Taihei(UR)

5. [Lupin 122]
Shiro Jersey(YU)/Tanaka(DU)/Hiyokko(OR)/Sugawarosu(EL)/Vodka(CH)

6. [Asa-rd bu (kari) buinboshuuchuu!!]
Irabu(IB)/Aomi(DU)/Marcio(Q)/Zui(UR)/Boiboisan(YA)

7. [Magical Yanma Power]
Taiyo(KE)/Aiharamaki(Q)/Meganesuki(AL)/Chugen(DU)/Yanma(YA)

8. [VGM Robot Fukaya]
Doriru(GO)/Tetsuo(DU)/Shimano(UR)/Takumi(YA)/BIG(YU)

9. [MAD CATZ]
Spellmaster-J(KE)/Bamu(DU)/Masabo(KE)/Michu(MA)/Taoru(YU)

10. [Bakumatsu Roman Daini maku ~Gekka no Kenshi~]
Inu(CH)/Yane(KE)/Maro(UR)/Junro(YA)/Chika idol-zei(MA)

11. [Utada Nukeru 3]
Fabo(AL)/Alecky(RY)/Onbashira(KE)/Moriyoshi(EL)/Takigawa Oblate(NE)

12. [Brofessional]
Yoshihara(NE)/Souhei(CH)/Aoki(KE)/Betten(UR)/Hidari(AL)

13. [Kitaryou]
Hirokazu(YA)/UNO(IB)/Shisokuso(KE)/Pupurun(RY)/Nobu(MA)

14. [Tekken 5]
Vegawo(MA)/Deboru(KE)/Fuguri(Q)/sdz(UR)/Kousuke(KE)

15. [DDP-san ni omakase]
DDP(AL)/Zenma Iunagi(KE)/Himajin(KE)/Hiden(UR)/Kenumisu(MA)

16. [Jinsei Hit kakushin]
Gold River(UR)/Kokui(RY)/Kuzusan(MA)/Tsubaki(UR)/Plus(AL)

17. [(kabu) Shachiku]
Ikeyama(NE)/Fugu(OR)/Sano(HU)/Torigomoku(IB)/Matsuno(DU)

18. [The Bantetsu]
OJA(YU)/Katagiri(Q)/hei(TW)/Saijo Plaza(NE)/Suzuki(OR)

19. [CIMA Watchers]
Chelsea(OR)/Orochinoppo(DU)/Atarime(DU)/Futana(UR)/Ignition Mura(KE)

20. [Shura no kuni kara 2017]
Benzo(DU)/Yuurei(YA)/Kouji(UR)/Yuuri(YA)/Takami(CH)

21. [Shibuya]
Chuuashi Zesshou TKD(YU)/Issei(YU)/Ma Junior(YU)/Misawa(KE)/Shimono(UR)

22. [Baba Mikado]
BBK(DU)/Tarokichi(CH)/Ringo(IB)/Roshihikari(YA)/Kaeru(DU)

23. [Milky Boys]
Mami(MA)/Ben(YU)/Lance(CH)/JP(GO)/Nasty Nate(YU)

24. [Kizuna -NEXUS-]
Fujinari(Q)/Zaiyuri(UR)/Makotsu(KE)/Kurea(KE)/Ninenme(CH)

25. [Oi, Goto!]
Combat Echizen(OR)/Karanage(NE)/Tsuji(YU)/Ishibashi(UR)/Oppeke(NE)

26. [Game Panic Kofu]
Karasu(CH)/Acid(KE)/Nanashi(YU)/Sougiya(Q)/Zanto(NE)

27. [Z Senshi]
Kuni(RY)/Nuki(CH)/SHO(YU)/Tokura(YA)/Genki(AL)

28. [Fundo no Genei Suzaku]
Olga(YU)/Derun(YU)/L(YU)/Red(IB)/Minoru(RE)

29. [Class of 1999]
Yukiotoko(GO)/FCF(NE)/Hirochan(AL)/Umemon(EL)/Naga(KE)

30. [LEGEND]
AFM(CH)/TK(GO)/Take(RE)/Namijin(RY)/Pierre(UR)

31. [Gokesshu]
Yamatora(MA)/Kuzumochi(DU)/Calorine(UR)/A(KE)/Toba(RE)

32. [Food Court ni iru Player to shiriaitai]
Kouya(RY)/Rakio(DU)/Taiyou(MA)/Yukito(OR)/Hiroyuki(CH)

33. [Chou Makai Shura]
Deshiken(KE)/Ushi!?(YU)/Shirokuro(CH)/RB(UR)/Hirahata(DU)

34. [Kanto Gochin]
Konitan(NE)/Houkei(DU)/Batch(MA)/Zuriyama(CH)/Taiwan Massage(GO)

35. [Heaven Net Kanazawa]
Edo(UR)/Ky(CH)/Arunaka(AL)/Koba(YU)/Tanapero(YU)

36. [Texas UFO]
Sin(YU)/Luke(GO)/Izco(NE)/Sasuga Trevor(KE)/Shin(KE)

37. [Man Godzilla]
Terubou(YU)/Kitagawa(KE)/Kokujin(DU)/Masa(Q)/LUKA(MA)

38. [BM Jiro ~Shinjuku MORE~]
YSB(HU)/TM(Q)/Sugiyama(NE)/Ruu(UR)/Pierrot(RE)

39. [Zutto niku wo yaitekimashita]
Fujiwara(DU)/Bistachio(TW)/Ryo-chin(RE)/Dejiro(UR)/Kagecchi(DU)

40. [Senjo ni sakuichirin no Chidegi]
Asahi(CH)/Shain(KE)/Chando(KE)/Aida Haeki(MA)/Hama(CH)

41. [Tomishiken dainigun]
Abu(IB)/Matsushima(CH)/Pechi(UR)/Kameyama(RY)/Udo(GO)

42. [Ore no mentaiko, umakatchan!]
Two Moon(RE)/Koudai(YA)/S(YU)/Dot(GO)/Takaoman(RY)

43. [Casino Kyomachi]
Koupun(IB)/Nihiro(UR)/Mr.Mikami(OR)/KAS(Q)/Matsudatcho(KE)

44. [Aoshima Shuto]
Terunosuke(AL)/OUT(Q)/KOH(YA)/Hanachouchin(CH)/Bagoooon(YU)

45. [This is 3rd Strike]
Nica KO(YA)/Mutant XP(NE)/Frankie3s(KE)/Gavin(CH)/Hold Dat(AL)

46. [Master Course]
Arashi(GO)/Kyabetsu(KE)/Moto(YU)/Nitto(YU)/Rikimaru(CH)

47. [PS3OE mura daihyou]
BLUE(IB)/Tengu(KE)/Domachi(DU)/Yamcha(YA)/TALER(MA)

48. [Nishinihon 42-gun]
Tosanosato(Q)/Komeichi(KE)/CASA(EL)/Daikou(EL)/Boiler(EL)

49. [Naoya Club]
Naoya(UR)/Osoban(YU)/Akaken(GO)/Satou(KE)/Yoidore(CH)

50. [Koutetsu no Ginga]
FAKE(MA)/Boko(TW)/Kuma(AL)/Doujima(UR)/RURIO(YU)

51. [Darkstalkers]
Kowappa(YU)/Komemaru(CH)/Wantarlen(YA)/Panpina(UR)/Norio(UR)

52. [PURORESU G]
Jonas(KE)/Blink(KE)/D5(EL)/Arlieth(MA)/Duralath(AL)

53. [Capsule Nagayama]
Tamu(NE)/Kochiya(MA)/Daikan(KE)/Sakurada(AL)/d(DU)

54. [“Dan”]
Myu(UR)/Haregoro(AL)/Hisa(CH)/Nikei(KE)/Fair(MA)

55. [Hon-Atsugi Palm Top]
Chako.(UR)/Inoue(OR)/rKf(UR)/Yomoda(DU)/Mochi(CH)

56. [Gekitotsu! 100 oku Kusoripu no senshitachi!]
Rumina(Q)/DOI(NE)/Otani(OR)/Zodd(UR)/Shirai(YU)

57. [Dicks Out!]
Aaron(NE)/Dusty(YA)/Fern(DU)/Phil(DU)/Face(CH)

58. [La Cobra]
Marko(CH)/Gunfight(DU)/Ryan(CH)/Yaz(CH)/Massi(YU)

59. [Okahoshi]
Nights(YU)/Tsubo(CH)/KZ(GO)/Nisu(KE)/M2C(MA)

60. [Yatagarasu denkousenki from Shining-zei]
Urzica(KE)/Kage(HU)/ZackyWild(KE)/Kumada(MA)/Ajinosashimi(RY)

61. [Konnichiwa GameInn Kakeo-ten desu]
Kakusan(Q)/Kappa(MA)/Mutchi(KE)/Anupo(DU)/Eda(CH)

62. [Origin Bentou (Minami-Urawa BIG ONE shiten)]
Bentouya(Q)/HHH(HU)/Teishoku(NE)/Goto(DU)/Haku(YA)

63. [all for shigeo]
Kani(DU)/HT(KE)/Nekonohi(GO)/Bleach(UR)/Shigeo(KE)

64. [volume-MAX]
Volium(CH)/Komatsuna(KE)/Hijiki(UR)/Kokeshi(KE)/Nidaime Nariaki(KE)

65. [K.O Family]
K.O(YA)/Kashi(KE)/Hirai(KE)/RX(UR)/Yakkun(YU)

66. [Last Dinosaur]
Afro(UR)/Teppei(EL)/Shikarobin(RE)/Goe(IB)/Munakata(OR)

67. [57 nen sedai yonin + 54 nen sedai hitori]
Tominaga(MA)/Match(GO)/Boss(YU)/Furo(YA)/K(CH)

68. [Shimura NEWTON (kari)]
Chokkin(EL)/Yuri(GO)/Tsukun(YU)/Honmono(Q)/Heikichi(MA)

69. [LAST Kawasaki Wonders]
Goinkyo(AL)/SAMBO(IB)/Iemon(YU)/Nagatsu(YU)/Hoimin(RY)

70. [CrimsonRug]
Ebara(HU)/Pearl Rice(CH)/Koro(OR)/Keikun(YA)/Zabi(GO)

71. [KKUM]
Ion(YU)/Ponta(MA)/Nihachi(YA)/HellMaster(UR)/Ototo!(MA)

72. [F-ZERO]
Uematsu(AL)/Imai(UR)/Hyottoko(DU)/Cuhullin(KE)/Aopan(AL)

73. [The Matsuri]
Efu(DU)/Nishikawa(YA)/Shinta(YU)/Dekoi(GO)/Seikun(AL)

74. [Baba Fumika]
Tokusan(MA)/Kin(DU)/Fujimon(KE)/Kaku(HU)/Notchi(UR)

75. [Panasuno!]
Curry(KE)/Zon(CH)/Fugi(CH)/Bacchus(NE)/ES Shoubou(UR)

76. [Paper Company Kouenji CUBE]
Shacho(CH)/Atsugari(EL)/Goroneko(DU)/Sane(MA)/Initial G(MA)

77. [Maruyama Gundan]
Shibu(MA)/Maruyama(KE)/Saki(MA)/Ippei(CH)/Chisa(YU)

78. [Kouenji Hakkotai!]
Heboryu(KE)/Hiyama(CH)/Model(CH)/Atsushi(IB)/Tarou(UR)

79. [Funabashi Fun Fun]
Mimora(MA)/Kazuya(AL)/Magu(RY)/Felicy(DU)/Aloha(CH)

80. [Tokai Saikyo Gouki]
Uraken(GO)/Danna(DU)/Moritaka(KE)/Tatsujin(CH)/Maekawa(CH)

81. [Shoshinsha no tachi]
Kiraki(KE)/Komaki(MA)/Yachi(CH)/Max(CH)/Kancho Kendama(KE)

82. [Ouka]
Raoh(CH)/Mester(YU)/INO(MA)/Matsuken(KE)/Shintarou(YU)

83. [Over200]
DDA(KE)/Talbain(EL)/Yama(TW)/Kami(DU)/C(MA)

84. [Mada awateruyouna jikan janai]
Machiken(KE)/Kamata(MA)/Hashiru(CH)/chaken(CH)/Rieru(CH)

85. [Home Ground]
Haitani(MA)/MOV(CH)/Momochi(YU)/Vanao(RY)/Saru(YU)

86. [Mikado Gekijou]
Takahashi(YA)/Negicchi(AL)/Nagi(MA)/Abecchi(YU)/Takeshi(NE)

87. [100 Mega Shock]
Umezono(CH)/NEO-G(RE)/Kindevu(YU)/Eita(KE)/Kiyomatsu(KE)

88. [Quick Game Club]
Ease(KE)/Yoshinani(OR)/Paku(CH)/Date Megane(GO)/Crepe Kids(GO)

89. [Gamen yori Figure no pantsu mitekattetai]
Gorgeous(NE)/Taka(Q)/FK(GO)/Neruo(Q)/Futon(YA)

90. [Sei Thanatos gakuen]
Sei(EL)/Thanatos(OR)/Tempura(DU)/Akagaeru(AL)/Aoi(UR)

With a five-on-five team event, you’re bound to have decent character representation, and Cooperation Cup always proves this true. here is the character breakdown of this tournament:

Ken	63
Chun-Li	53
Yun	45
Urien	42
Makoto	40
Dudley	39
Yang	23
Alex	22
Necro	21
Gouki	20
Q	17
Ryu	13
Elena	13
Oro	13
Ibuki	12
Remy	8
Hugo	7
Twelve	4
Sean	0

Source: hismit

December 20, 2016

PR Balrog Talks to World Esport About His Life Since Pro Gaming

Eduardo “PR Balrog” Perez-Frangie has been one of the biggest names in America for Street Fighter for quite a while. Since his debut at Evolution 2009, he has turned a lot of heads with his namesake Balrog play.

Over that time, he has been on a number of esports teams, including Dominion Method Gaming and his most recent organization, Evil Geniuses. With his expertise in the industry, he sat down with World Esport to talk about his life in professional gaming, which he called “a dream come true,” and how he believes the esports will soon be bigger than physical sports.

Source: r/StreetFighter

December 20, 2016

It’s a Christmas Miracle! Capcom Releases Full Patch Notes for Street Fighter V Season Two

They’re finally here boys and girls. In a post over on Capcom Unity, Capcom has posted the entire change-log for Season Two of Street Fighter V for everyone to study in readiness for tomorrow. Forget reading Daigo’s book over this Christmas, expect Street Fighters to be glued to their copies of the Season Two patch notes over the festive period.

Seeing as the notes come to about 92 pages of changes and it would take ages to recap the highlights here, Capcom have put all the information together in a handy PDF for players to download and read at their pleasure. As such, you can search for specific characters and see exactly what has changed and what has stayed the same between Season One and Season Two.

Don’t forget that alongside Akuma and the Season Two balance changes, the special seasonal DLC, along with Ryu’s B-Boy and Chun-Li’s B-Girl costumes will be available for purchase tomorrow. You can buy the whole holiday bundle for a discounted price of $19.99/€19.99/£15.99 and remember that they will disappear come the end of the Christmas season, so buy now to avoid having to wait till next year to hear the amazing ‘Christmas in New York’ theme while playing.

Check out Capcom Unity for all the information on this Season Two mega update and click here to download the patch notes PDF for your own personal use.

Source: Capcom Unity

December 20, 2016

PugilistPenguin’s Two Minute Tutorials Helps New Street Fighter Players Deal with Common Mistakes

With Season Two of Street Fighter V on the way tomorrow, there is going to be a new influx of players wanting to try out this new version with all the new characters, bells and whistles they’ve added since its launch back in February. To help those novice players who may be struggling break that initial difficulty barrier, Texan F.A.N.G main PugilistPenguin has started a new series, dedicated to advise players how to deal with bad habits and common mistakes.

Titled “Two Minute Tutorials,” this concise guides focus on how to conquer a specific topic that players may be struggling with. For this first episode, PugilistPenguin shows how novices can kick the habit of jumping way too much to start their offense. For newer players, jumping will probably be their main source of movement, hopping about the stage and throwing out loads of unsafe attacks. Curing this habit early may stop some of the frustration newbies have of not actually hitting their opponent and show them the importance of both the aerial and ground game.

Source: PugilistPenguin

December 20, 2016

Every Week Is Shark Week with These Garchomp Combos for Pokkén Tournament

Put the chomp on opposing Pokémon with these damaging combos.

If this dirt-swimming shark monster is your Pokémon of choice in Pokkén Tournament, RoksoTheSavage has a treat for you: namely a video full of high-damage combos for Garchomp. While mainly focused on Duel Phase–particularly corner-carrying juggles–there’s some Field Phase options in there as well. Check it out below, if you want to make this mean beast of yours even meaner–or if you want to see what it’s capable of, before you face it again in Ferrum Stadium.

Source: RoksoTheSavage

December 19, 2016

Liam Showcases Potentially Game-Changing Instant Overhead Tech for Skullgirls 2nd Encore

Skullgirls is a unique fighting game, in that most of the mechanics are specifically designed to reward resets over long combos. A successful reset–intentionally dropping a combo to start a new one–rewards the attacker with more damage than any basic combo, more meter gain, reduced meter gain for the defender, as well as more corner carry. The attacker may also get the use of their assist back–as an assist can be used once per combo–meaning more damage and meter gain, as well as using that assist to make the next reset attempt safe.

The bottom line is: the more you reset the more damage and resources you get, so learning the best ways to reset and capitalize off of correct reads is essential.

As for today’s tutorial, Liam brings us some tech that is widely underused by today’s players. This technique involves a 1-2 frame double jump cancel period at the start of a normal jump, which allows certain characters to instantly overhead faster than they otherwise are able to. While this is a bit difficult to pull off–especially on a traditional arcade stick–this seems like the kind of tech that could help define a character like Robo-Fortune.

Source: Liam

December 19, 2016

Big Potential Damage Changes are Coming in Killer Instinct Patch 3.6, and Iron Galaxy Confirms Kilgore as a New Fighter

It seems tomorrow is the big day for fighting game patches, as Iron Galaxy is also releasing a big balance patch for Killer Instinct on December 20th. The main focus for KI Patch 3.6 is to respond to the recent balance survey about potential damage, which asked players if the damage regained from successfully combo breaking should be tweaked.

Seeing as guess breaking is so powerful in KI Season 3, this potential damage change should still ensure players land damage on their opponent, no matter how many times they guess break. You now gain only 50% of your potential damage when you successfully combo break and you start regenerating that left over grey health after three seconds, rather than one second. As well as encouraging people to try for longer combos, this change also cut down the amount of post-combo breaker scrambles that tend to happen, as there is less reward for continuously hitting that breaker.

This change is also to nerf ARIA, who Iron Galaxy thinks is the best character in Season 3 right now. As you are now still racking up damage on your bodies even after successful combo breaks, ARIA players are now forced to switch between different bodies to keep all their combat options open. This stops ARIA mains from simply staying in the same body, rather than switching to preserve the health of an important but damaged body.

This patch does hit quite a few characters with the nerf bat, with Fulgore receiving heavy changes to his meter gain while in Instinct, Spinal’s meter gain off Searing Skull getting reduced by 25% and Arbiter’s Overhead and Lunging Slash becoming less safe on block, among other things.

Iron Galaxy has also confirmed the existence of Kilgore, with this robot coming to Killer Instinct in January. This early Ultratech prototype has two miniguns for arms and can jet around the stage with some rocket boosters in his feet. While he is not yet playable, there is a chance to fight against Kilgore in Shadow Lords mode by reaching a certain point. Some say that by reaching the Forgotten Laboratory with ARIA, you can battle up to 3 Kilgore units for a sneak peek of his eventual kit.

Read all of the patch notes, check out the patch rundown below and prepare for more KI content, including new fighters in 2017.

Source: Ultra-Combo; thanks to Arnold for the Shadow Lords tip.

December 19, 2016

Shoryuken Review: HORI RAP4 Kai (Colored Version) Fight Stick for PlayStation 4

How does the latest version of the Real Arcade Pro 4 Kai hold up?

The HORI Real Arcade Pro 4 Kai sits in that price range where it isn’t a “budget” stick, but at $150 USD, still a solid $50 USD cheaper than most other sticks that utilize brand-name buttons or levers. Prior versions of this stick are already commonplace for this reason; how does the latest iteration compare? Let’s have a closer look at one, courtesy of Arcade Shock!

It’s all about style.

This new RAP4 Kai feautures a very specific selling point: color. This new stick is available in unique red, white, or blue versions, featuring colored cases and buttons (at least for HORI) that you won’t find elsewhere. A gimmick? Yep. But they do look good, and these colored cases open up new possibilities for customizing your own stick’s look.

Have a look at what Arcade Shock built around the blue variant:

arcade-shock-sf-hori-rap4-kai-mod

I chose a white one–not because of the season–but because it looked the most strikingly different from the RAP4’s classic appearance. And how!

The color scheme is indeed an eye-catcher, and the light use of metallic elements to the surface graphics adds some extra style that pictures don’t really do justice. As appearances go: this stick is very slick.

Evolution of the Kai.

This stick is mostly the same, in terms of components and design, to the previous models of the Kai. The lever is a standard square-gated HORI Hayabusa–this will be good or bad news according to your preference. It’s a fairly noisy stick, and just a tiny bit looser to the touch than I prefer. Not my favorite lever, but it works.

The face buttons are new, however–instead of the HORI Kuro buttons from prior models, this one comes with the new Hayabusa 30mm pushbuttons. At first touch I wasn’t sold–I thought they felt kinda “spongy” compared to the Kuro and Sanwa OBSF buttons. But in play, that tiny bit of extra firmness actually felt quite good. The matte finish these buttons sport also helps a little bit, feeling slightly more “grippy” to the fingertips. I like these buttons.

hori-rap4kai-white-buttons

The OPTIONS button on prior models also suffered from HORI’s strange 24mm button-quirk, in which the plunger sinks below the button edge–kinda weird to the touch, and a common complaint. I was happy to see that with the 24mm button on this stick, that issue is no more.

The RAP design places a PS4 touchpad on the upper back edge of the case–that’s still there. The “extra” buttons (R3/L3, the PS button, SHARE, and the control switches for the stick) are all on the right side panel of the case, tucked under the flaring lip of the RAP’s trademark shape. This lip made these controls a bit more annoying to access during use, as they’re hidden from view. It looks like HORI took a step to address that by adding a reference strip to the panel artwork pointing to the buttons in question–it’s a small touch that I found actually made a handy difference.

This RAP4 Kai is compatible with the PlayStation 4 and 3, and supports X-Input for PC. A minor change on the side panel is that the PS4/PS3 switch now includes a PC setting for this purpose–this would have been handy when I was playing on my old Kai at Mixed Virtual Arts in Montréal–an all-PC venue–and running into stick recognition problems. This model still includes programmable rapid-fire settings, and the ability to remap the face buttons through Assign Mode.

The USB cable for the Kai is a comfortable length at almost 10 feet long, and can be tucked up into a storage compartment in the upper left of the case. The plastic door of this compartment is notoriously easy to pop off, and this one is no different than prior models. The plastic case is mounted on a metal base, giving the stick a decent bit of weight (nearly 5 pounds). The base features two rubbery patches to help keep the stick from sliding around–in my experience, they aren’t that effective on your lap, but work well on wood or glass tabletops.

hori-rap4kai-white-bottom

In play: the stick performs great. This is a comfortable, well-established stick/button layout, and I experienced no issues with its in-game performance. There’s a good reason these are everywhere–they are quite reliable.

The hidden feature: it’s mod-friendly.

The only reason anyone that already has a fight stick might consider grabbing one of these: with the new color selection, it’s a great opportunity to customize a stick unique to your own personality. And fortunately, this new Kai shares a a distinct trait with its predecessors: it is so easy to mod these with new parts. How easy? Let’s tear off that warranty sticker and look inside.

hori-rap4kai-white-inside

All you need to modify a Kai is a Philips screwdriver, a flat-head screwdriver (to help remove the joystick balltop), and maybe a plastic pry-tool to help get at some of the buttons, if you feel inclined. The rubberized connectors on the HORI wiring can be popped off the buttons more easily than anything I’ve worked on before, and Sanwa 30mm snap-in buttons can be substituted instantly. (Some of the buttons sit very close to case elements that make them tricky to snap out/in, hence why a pry-tool might help. This also means screw-in buttons won’t fit into some positions.) The Hayabusa can be easily removed from its mounting bracket to make way for a Sanwa JLF–if that’s your stick of choice–or another stick.

The PCB is also fairly easy-access, so if you’re intrepid, you can take the modding even further with this one. The case is a little cramped, though, limiting some options. The top panel artwork is also a permanent fixture–meaning for full customization, you’d need to pry off the plexi cover and artwork, and replace–tougher than on some higher-end sticks out there.

The final verdict?

The HORI RAP4 Kai is hard to beat for the price. It’s only slightly more expensive than some budget sticks, that require fairly work-intensive modding to replace their inferior switches with HORI or Sanwa parts. On the other hand, $50 USD more can get you a Razer Panthera, a MadCatz TES+, or the upcoming Qanba Obsidian–which already sport Sanwa Denshi parts, and in some cases very nice additional features–so if you are already a Sanwa fan, you’re going to have to pay extra to add the parts you prefer. But many players are happy with HORI parts–these Hayabusa buttons are very nice–and $150 USD is still easier on the wallet if you’re looking to jump into the fight stick game, or maybe thinking of a new customization project. For that, the Kai works just fine. I expect to keep seeing it at events for years to come.