While games like Marvel and King of Fighters revolve around teams of characters, it’s very rare that traditional fighters allow players to team up to fight against others. The Super Smash Bros. series has always prided doubles as part of its competitive scene, with teams events growing in popularity and prestige over the past few years. Esports teams like Alliance and Counter Logic Gaming have even signed players down to their skill in doubles play, showing just how advanced and respected Melee doubles has become over the last few years.
To celebrate the “unique power of Melee teams”, the latest mini-documentary from Last Stock Legends focuses on CLG|PewPewU, CLG|SFAT, and WFX|Shroomed, some of the USA’s best doubles players as well as Norcal natives as they compete throughout Genesis 3. The documentary presents a potted history of Melee doubles in California, as well as shedding light on why Melee doubles is so unique and appealing in a competitive world which usually values singles play, by talking to other notable players like Armada and Shroomed’s erstwhile doubles partner Alan. As with any LSL documentary, expect some top-notch production values and high quality interviews from various players from the upper level of Super Smash Bros. Melee.
It’s a good time to be a Spinal player, as Iron Galaxy have just released the combat changes for patch 3.5 of Killer Instinct. Along with a whole host changes to Shadow Lords mode and the addition of Shadow Skins, the system changes in this patch mainly focus on fixing the reverse dash issue following a cross-up, as well as problems with blocking certain meaty cross-ups.
Sabrewulf received increased damage on several linkers, Omen had a flat 30% meter gain reduction on all of his special and normals, while Maya’s Dagger Assault activates 50 frames quicker than before, so she can start her pressure quicker. Besides various bug fixes and the addition to missing counterhit windows for a number of characters, the fighter to receive the most substantial change was the skeleton warrior Spinal.
He now has a new Shadow move named Shadow Skull Summon, which is performed with down, down and three punches. For one bar of Shadow meter, Spinal can summon three Skulls. While this move is slow, it allows Spinal to regain momentum by turning meter back into Skulls, closing the gap and limiting your opponent’s resource gain so they cannot snowball and flatten the poor skeleton. The other major Spinal change is upping the meter gain from Searing Skull by 100%, actually giving Spinal meter to play with when combined with his bouncing Instinct Skulls.
Over at the Team Stickbug’s website, SKD published an analysis of the current metagame in BlazBlue: Central Fiction. He provides his own tier list in addition to explaining what pushes certain characters in front of others, and what the low tiers lack to be more relevant in highly competitive gameplay.
OK(B-): Lambda, Nu, Terumi, Es, Tager, Hazama, Tao
Bad(C,C-): Bullet, Bang, Noel > Kagura, Susanoo
(Not ordered within “>”.)
As a disclaimer, SKD explains that tiers matter mostly at high level, competitive gameplay. Something that players view as “broken” may just appear so until someone figures out how to deal with it–this tier list came up by knowing well what the cast members’ constraints are.
What defines the more flawed (B- and below, approximately) characters? An inability to maintain pressure and pull stable rewards in neutral. That’s easy to see from characters like Kagura, Bang, and Bullet, who have not only have trouble approaching but staying in on their opponents, and they don’t have enough in their toolset to surprise the high-tier echelon. SKD puts Hibiki as a marginally tournament-viable character, who lacks a little bit in the mix-up and rush-down departments, but it’s solid enough, and he can also score some good conversions while remaining relatively safe.
SKD continues to explain why he placed certain top tier characters (slightly) above others and explains how their neutral and pressure makes them powerful. The article is still a work in progress, but definitely a worthwhile read over at the Team Stickbug website.
Being the most prevelant game from generations past, Super Smash Bros. Melee is a very unique title. Not many other games from as long ago are attracting new players today. Melee also has some of the most comprehensive material teaching newer players how to play the game, which is frankly impressive.
Here we have SSBM Tutorials providing us with another guide to help inform newer players: this one revolves around Luigi, focusing on his strengths, weaknesses, playstyle, and matchup with the best characters in the game. While the famous Mario brother may struggle in some instances, he definitely isn’t without his niche strengths.
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.
Yusuke Momochi of Evil Geniuses doesn’t need to think about proving himself. He’s been here before. He’s done it. I’m not quite sure if he received a T-shirt, but he certainly received a trophy and a fat payday for his trouble.
But this was in the Street Fighter IV series. This is a whole new game, and if there’s anything we’ve learned this year, it’s this is anyone’s tournament to win. But will experience count, and Momochi become the first person to win two Capcom Cup titles?
Strong from the Start
Like Infiltration, Momochi didn’t take too long to come out of the gate swinging. He may not have had as quick a start as the Korean player, but Momochi was able to take a title to secure his entry into Capcom Cup within a few short months of play. He started off with 33rd place at Final Round but outside of Evolution, where he lost surprisingly early to Arturo Sanchez to put him into an impossible losers bracket, he has not finished lower than that in any event he has played. On top of that, he has earned a string of seconds and thirds, with only a couple of instances of finishing outside of top 8.
Further, Momochi was a proverbial menace to society during Street Fighter V Crash. Particularly in the finals he ran through a five-game winning streak for Team Topanga, besting Fuudo, Infiltration and Xian of Team Razer in decisive fashion. In recent times his attendance to events has been sparse, but when he has shown up, he has shown up to win. In only 11 events scored on the circuit, he has earned enough points to nestle himself into 6th place on the SRK global leaderboard.
Immune to Pressure
If there’s one thing that can be said about Momochi, it is that he is a cool customer under the pump. He’s been in these high-pressure situations before. He’s won in these high-pressure situations before. He just isn’t fazed, and can maintain focus on the match no matter what is going on.
Most people will never be able to forget his part in the joystick fiasco at Evolution 2015. With his joystick shorting out, and ZOWIE|GamerBee taking the 2nd round by default, it looked like the type of situation where Momochi would simply crack. He didn’t, and—with a new and unfamiliar stick–in an amazing display of focus and execution, took the title over GamerBee in one of the most dramatic displays we have seen in the FGC.
It’s one thing to win Capcom Cup. It’s one thing to win Evolution. But to do these two things back to back, and to finish it off in a situation where it seems like Murphy’s Law is slapping you in the face? Momochi did just that, and showed the iron jaw that he has in the face of adversity.
Too Many Pots on the Stove?
One of the things that has kept Momochi’s tournament schedule limited this year has been that he has been busy with other endeavors aside from competition. He has been hosting a stream with his wife and teammate–Yuko “ChocoBlanka” Kusachi. The two of them also have formed a company aimed at training promising Japanese players for tournament play, called Shinobism.
Much like RZR|Infiltration—who has spent his time splitting interests between coaching up and coming players in Korea with commentary duties with Spirit Zero—with these two things alone, Momochi has had to take his focus away from competitive play. When you divide your interests, it detracts from your results. And, at times, the results have visibly been less impressive than Momochi can actually put up. In this season, he has only won one event–the Stunfest tournament that got him into Capcom Cup. When he won three tournaments in 2015 and two in 2014, that is simply not up to par with what Momochi can do–if and when his sole purpose is competing. Does he need to pick a hat to wear and keep it on?
He Knows What Tournament This Is
But here’s the thing–despite the low level of focus on recent tournaments and the other things he has on his mind, Momochi knows where he’s going. He knows when Capcom Cup is. It’s hard to think that he would not be preparing for this. Even if Shinobism is his primary focus now, what better way to cement the brand in the minds of impressionable Japanese players than to have the head coach of the team win the most prestigious circuit in the FGC–for the second time?
You can expect Momochi to show up with his A game. He is still showing up to the events he does play at his best, and it is paying off. It may not be netting him trophies, but you can most definitely believe that if he’s going to be aiming to win one tournament, it’ll be Capcom Cup.
Passing Him By
If you had asked me in June who the better player was between Tokido and Momochi, I would have said Momochi. That would have netted a lot of counter-arguments, but I believe it to be true. Momochi was already a complete player, and was playing Ken with enough efficiency to beat anyone standing in his way. He wasn’t struggling with matchups, and he was looking comfortable. Tokido looked great, but he still looked like he was figuring out which direction he was wanting to take his Ryu, and what it would take to make it to the top of the heap.
Ask me today, and I would say the results have flip-flopped. It’s Tokido looking comfortable, and Momochi who hasn’t been pulling out all the stops.
If Momochi is still playing like he can, and I’m sure he will be knocking rust off rapidly this month, then he hasn’t been surpassed by others in the field. But players like Qanba Douyu|Xiaohai, Liquid|NuckleDu, and Tokido–who have made large strides in his absence–stand to give him a run for his money at Capcom Cup.
Final Thoughts
This is a very gutsy pick, but I have a feeling Momochi is showing up with all limiters removed. His clutch factor and his ability to ignore tournament nerves are something that cannot be ignored even if he has played in fewer tournaments this year.
I look for Momochi to join Tokido in grand finals, for the ultimate match of which shoto is better.
Freeser is really starting to cook with Birdie, finding some hard-hitting setups with this portly punk. Experimenting with the juggle potential after a whiffed V-Trigger activation, he has discovered some corner mixups which can be more damaging than your typical guaranteed V-Trigger stun combo. By making the flame that Birdie spits out deliberately miss your opponent, you can utilize the juggle points gained off the missed V-Trigger to maximize your damage.
Freeser also covers ways to account for back recovery following these longer juggles, but cautions that you cannot cancel into Critical Art to finish this extended juggle. While you do gain extra juggle points, they run out before you can finish with Birdie’s Critical Art. You can cancel crouching heavy punch into CA after the whiffed V-Trigger activation, but it seems like a massive waste of meter for the actual damage it does.
The Capcom Pro Tour’s decisive battle is almost upon us!
Street Fighter V’s ultimate battle looms: the last stop on the Capcom Pro Tour’s first journey for SFV is in Anaheim, California–December 3, 2016. Over $350,000 is on the line, and the first CPT Street Fighter V champion will at last be decided from among the greats that have struggled to earn a place to compete in 2016’s final fight. Check out Capcom’s official event trailer below!
Keep your eye on Shoryuken for continuing coverage of Capcom Cup 2016!
The fighting games communities of the Middle East are really starting to make their mark on the global stage, with big tournaments in Kuwait and Dubai bringing players from across the world to see this growth of this burgeoning scene. In that vein, the Gulf Cooperation Council–which represents the countries of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman–is coming together to finish 2016 with one last massive tournament.
Hosted at the Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa in Bahrain, GCC Majors 2016 will bring players from all across the Arab Gulf and hopefully, the world, to compete in a variety of fighting games. GCC Majors will be running Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, The King of Fighters XIV, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Street Fighter V as its main games, with side events for both BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Super Smash Bros. Melee. The first day, December 23rd, will see Street Fighter and Guilty Gear combatants go at it on the main stage, while the second day will have The King of Fighters XIV and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U players seal out this event.
If you are looking for some fighting game viewing as you are wrapping those final presents ahead of Christmas Day, the GCC Majors could help you soldier through that last bit of tricky ribbon-tying. All the action will be streamed on the GCCMajorTwitchchannels, and if you are looking to find information about tickets and hotels to attend the event, more information can be found on the GCC Majors website. If you want a glimpse of what a GCC event usually looks like, check out the video below, which teases GCC Dubai from December last year.
While initially hopeful about their chances at launch, American players had something of a rough start with Street Fighter V. It seems that it was only during the later stages of this year’s Capcom Pro Tour that they seemed to hit their stride.
In a new article called “State of the Union,” Red Bull eSports takes a look at the performance of some of the top American players, talking with them as they share their thoughts on the game and their standing compared to Asia.
On a whole, they seem very optimistic. Evil Geniuses’ Justin Wong states “”I think America’s chances in SFV is way higher than Street Fighter IV.” He continues by explaining that the lack of an arcade version giving Japan a head start has helped them–and other regions–out a lot. “Street Fighter IV was super hard because Japan had arcades for it, they had the game a year in advance, and it was really hard for America to catch up. Since Street Fighter V came out at the same time, it doesn’t look as dominant. Even now, when Asia wins, before it was always Japan winning, and now Japan doesn’t win all the time.” It should be noted that Justin was the first American player to win a Capcom Pro Tour ranking event in Asia, at Manila Cup.
The other thing discussed was the break out performance of Team Liquid’s Du “NuckleDu” Dang. Du recently posted back-to-back wins at Canada Cup and Red Bull Battle Grounds. According to Evil Geniuses’ Ricky Ortiz, Du was able to unlock his potential as a top player during the latter part of the tour allowing him to take these events. “I think when you’re a player and getting better, it’s really hard to know when you’re good or not, but NuckleDu unlocked that potential of actually becoming a great player”
That sad, Du states that he surprised even himself with his performances. “It didn’t kick in until, like, the third day I came back home. I was like, ‘Holy crap, I just won Canada Cup.’ It felt good, because no American had won a Premier event this year, and America is generally seen as the weaker region.”
Despite this progress however, they’re still looking to how Japan trains as a way to catch up. Control Gaming’s Raynel “RayRay” Hidalgo notes their work ethic, and how he feels they work harder than Americans. “I personally think we’re not too far behind, I just think their most talented players are way harder workers than our most talented players,” RayRay states. ” I feel like we have Justin, Ricki and NuckleDu, to me they’re the best players in America and only Du is trying his hardest. I don’t think they’re trying as hard as they could be.”
Meanwhile, Justin Wong states that the fact that America is a much larger country and players are spread much further apart is a problem they need to face. “NuckleDu is all the way in Florida, we’re from California, there’s strong New York players, strong Texas players. It’s really hard to get together unless we go to an event. When I spent time in Japan for two weeks, I noticed that every top player that comes to America or that is a household name, they all live in Tokyo, and they all play against each other.”
Of course, that’s just part of what they talk about in the article. You can read the rest over at Red Bull.
With Capcom Cup almost upon us, one of the things many fans are looking forward to–aside from the all the high-level Street Fighter V action–is the possibility of new announcements from Capcom. Now, it seems that we may be getting one, according to Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono.
In a tweet thanking all those involved in 2016’s Capcom Pro Tour season, Ono mentioned having something in “Blanka’s pocket” at Capcom Cup.
Thanks for joining to #CPT 2016season and watching these tournament! See you next time at Capcom Cup! Blanka's pocket will have something! https://t.co/nGOMmg1XaL
Now, while this isn’t outright confirmation of an announcement, it’s likely the closest we’ll get to one from a producer who’s become known for his love of hinting, teasing, and outright trolling at times.
Capcom Cup 2016 will take place at the Esports Arena on December 2, before moving to the Anaheim Convention Center on December 3. With Akuma playable at the PlayStation Experience already, it would not be surprising if another character was announced alongside him–but we’ll have to wait until Anaheim to know for sure!
