Category: News

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Bandai Namco’s Tokyo Game Show 2018 schedule includes Tekken 7 Pro Championships, Jump Force, SoulCalibur VI, and more

Tokyo Game Show 2018 is drawing upon us, and it has lots of promising showings from a multitude of fighting game developers, among them Bandai Namco. The developer and publisher released their TGS 2018 schedule, slotting time for each of their major, ongoing fighting game franchises.

Some of the highlights include:

  • A special showing for Jump Force, taking place at 2:30 PM Japan Time (10:30 PM PDT on September 19th in the USA. This will be on YouTube).
  • Tekken 7 Pro Championship finals on September 21st from 12:30 PM JPN (8:30 PM PDT on the 20th).
  • SoulCalibur VI “Is Your Soul Burning?!” special stage which has voice actors behind Seong Mi-Na and Grøh, and producer Motohiro Okubo. Maybe we’ll see the Raphael trailer, since he was leaked alongside Cervantes (12:10 PM JPN on September 22nd, which is 8:10 PM PDT on September 21st).
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ will have a special stage with Shallot’s voice actor, and possibly more that haven’t been announced yet (1:30 PM JPN on September 23rd, which is 9:30 PM PDT on September 22nd in the US).

Most of the action will be streamed on Bandai Namco JPN’s YouTube channel.

Check out the full schedule below:

September 20

  • Main Stage
    • 11:15 to 12:00 – Bandai Namco Entertainment Tokyo Game Show 2018 Opening Stage (YouTube, Niconico)
    • 13:00 to 13:45 – Special Stage – Details to be announced at a later date.
    • 14:30 to 15:15 – Jump Force Special Stage

September 21

  • Main Stage
    • 11:00 to 11:45 – Special Stage – Details to be announced at a later date.
    • 12:30 to 16:30 – Tekken Pro Championship Japan Representatives Finals (YouTube, Niconico, Twitch, Openrec) – Featuring players AO, Karei, Take., Double, Nobi, Noroma, Hakaiou, Pekosu, and Yuu, MC Masao Koori, live streamer Hameko., and commentator Tanukana.

September 22

  • Main Stage
    • 10:15 to 10:30 – Bandai Namco Entertainment Tokyo Game Show 2018 Opening Stage (Niconico)
    • 11:00 to 11:40 – Special Stage – Details to be announced at a later date.
    • 12:10 to 12:55 – Soulcalibur VI Is Your Soul Burning!? Special Stage (YouTube, YouTube English, Niconico, Twitch, Bahamut Chinese) – Featuring Takahiro Sakurai (Groh voice actor), Chinatsu Akasaki (Seong Mi-na voice actor), Motohiro Okubo (Bandai Namco Entertainment), and Oosaka (Bandai Namco Studio).
    • 14:45 to 15:30 – Sword Art Online Game Series 5th Anniversary Special Stage (YouTube, YouTube English, Niconico, Periscope, Bahamut Chinese) – Featuring Kazuma Miki (Straight Edge), Shinichiro Kashiwada (Aniplex), Rina Hidaka (Silica voice actor), Sachika Misawa (Strea voice actor), Yosuke Futami (Bandai Namco Entertainment), and Yasukazu Kawai (Bandai Namco Entertainment).
    • 16:00 to 16:45 – God Eater 3 Special Stage (Youtube, Niconico, Periscope, Bahamut Chinese) – Featuring Shun’ichi Toki (Zeke voic actor), Ayaka Nanase (Lulu Baran voice actor), Yuusuke Tomizawa (Bandai Namco Entertainment), Yuuya Tomiyama (Bandai Namco Entertainment), Hiroshi Yoshimura (Bandai Namco Studio), and Wataru Atsumi (Bandai Namco Studio).
  • Tokyo Game Show Event Stage
    • 14:30 to 15:30 – The Idolmaster: Shiny Colors Talk & Mini Concert ~Light Up!!! Illumination Stars~ (Niconico) – A numbered ticket is required to view this stage event. Featuring Hitomi Sekine (Mano Sakuragi voice actor), Reina Kondou (Hiori Kazano voice actor), Mayu Mineda (Meguri Hachimiya voice actor), Youzou Sakagami (Bandai Namco Entertainment), and Yuusuke Takayama (Bandai Namco Entertainment and BXD).
  • Family Game Park Kids Stage
    • 13:00 to 13:30 – Neko Tomo ~Nekoko and Tomomo’s Special Photo Session~ – Featuring Nekoko and Tomomo.

September 23

  • Main Stage
    • 10:45 to 11:00 – Bandai Namco Entertainment Tokyo Game Show 2018 Opening Stage (Niconico)
    • 11:30 to 12:15 – Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Special Stage (YouTube, Niconico, Periscope, Bahamut Chinese) – Featuring Sakki Yukino, Megumi Han, Sunao Katabuchi (scriptwriter), Keiki Kobayashi (composer), Kazutoki Kono (Bandai Namco Entertainment), and Manabu Shimomoto (Bandai Namco Entertainment).
    • 13:30 to 14:15 – Dragon Ball FighterZ Special Stage (YouTube, Niconico) – Featuring Kenji Akabane (Shallot voice actor) and other special guests to be announced at a later date.
    • 15:00 to 15:45 – One Piece: World Seeker Special Stage (YouTube, Niconico) – Featuring Romeo Hirata (Bandai Namco Entertainment), Kuzan Yahata (Bandai Namco Entertainment), and other special guests to be announced at a later date.
  • Family Game Park Kids Stage
    • 13:00 to 13:30 – Pro Yakyuu Famista Evolution ~Home Run King Contest with Full Swing Suzuki~ – Featuring Full Swing Suzuki.
    • 15:00 to 16:00 – Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun! eSports Challenge Stage! Get Wonderful Prizes by Defeating Famous Names! – Featuring guests Goregous and Game Center CX‘s Shinya Arino, and chairman Kousuke Hiraiwa.

Source: Bandai Namco JP; translation by Gematsu

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ACA NEO GEO Samurai Shodown is on sale on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch

With the announcement of the new Samurai Shodown, some players might be looking into trying some of the older games in the series. If you’re one of those players, then you’re in luck: the ACA NEO GEO version of original Samurai Shodown is currently on sale for PlayStation 4 and Switch.

The ACA Neo Geo release of Samurai Shodown is currently subject to a 40% discount on both the PlayStation Store and Switch eShop from now until September 19. This means that interested players can grab a copy of the game on those systems for only $4.79, instead of the usual $7.99.

Hamster corporation’s ACA NEO GEO titles are basically the original arcade titles running on modern consoles via emulation. This means that those who purchase Samurai Shodown will get to experience this classic game as it first appeared on the original NEO GEO back in 1993 — nothing added, nothing removed!

Source: r/SamuraiShodown

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Tencent’s Ring of Elysium Battle Royale Game to Launch on Steam on September 19th

If you’re looking for a new battle royale game to play, look no further than Tencent’s Ring of Elysium, formerly known as Europa. The game will be free to play and will be arriving on Steam on September 19th. Players will be trying to survive other players as well as the dangers of the Arctic. Players will be in a race to claim one of four seats on a helicopter in order to win the match.

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The Immortal Pirate Cervantes officially joins SoulCalibur VI’s Stage of History in newest trailer

“Taste my power!”

It’s been a long journey, but the Cervantes trailer has finally landed on SoulCalibur VI’s shores.

Cervantes is a bad man in every sense of the term — he has served as the series antagonist since inception, his very form twisted and mutated by the curse that forces him to pursue Soul Edge for eternity. His life, if it’s still a life at all, is intertwined with the fate of the evil blade.

One of the more interesting surprises in the trailer is the first mid-combo Lethal Hit we’ve seen in game-play: his old B2 air throw gunshot. It could very well be clever editing, but if it isn’t, then that means either B2’s air combo has a Just-Frame input, or there could be moves whose lethal hits state is dependent on actions outside of landing the move itself — a unique idea, if so!

Soul Calibur VI launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam on October 19th, 2018.

Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment America

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Aoba Miyazaki, producer of My Hero One’s Justice, talks to the PlayStation Blog about the development of the manga-based arena fighter

“We will continue to work hard to deliver to users what they are looking for.”

The PlayStation Blog caught up with My Hero One’s Justice producer Aoba Miyazaki to check in on the development of the manga adaptation ahead of its upcoming October 26 release. The producer offered some insights into bringing the world and characters of My Hero Academia into the framework of an arena fighting game; how to best work each Hero and Villian’s Quirks into the gameplay is of course central to the game, and according to Miyazaki:

Bakugou, Shoto, and All Might, the characters with rather “straightforward” Quirks were easier to develop. But the characters with the trickier Quirks took a lot of trial and error.

Obviously we didn’t want the power of the Quirks to be the only factor that impacts the outcome of battle, so we tried balancing out the characters by specializing them with either long range or short range strategies. This helped us strike a good balance and, at the same time, reproduce the situations of battle which occur in the manga.

Miyazaki goes on to describe how more unusual Quirks were very challenging to implement in-game, citing shape-shifting Toga as an example:

The most challenging character was Toga. Toga is able to transform into the opponent, but we obviously didn’t want her to copy the opponent’s Quirk Attacks, as that would not be faithful to the original works.

But in a VS game, visually transforming wouldn’t be much of an added value. So what we did was think of how the sidekicks would react if there were two identical characters. That’s why Toga’s attacks while transformation is focused on using the “opponent’s sidekick”, assuming that they would be tricked on which side to be on.

He also discusses his personal favorite Hero, the importance of including the Villians’ story, and what Quirk from the cast he would personally choose for himself (hint: climate control!). Read the full interview here.

my hero one's justice trailer logo e3 750x400

Source: PlayStation Blog

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How strong is the King? VesperArcade discusses Sagat’s strengths and weaknesses in Street Fighter V

“I have to be strong. That is the responsibility of the King.”

If you stop to think about it, Sagat is a Street Fighter archetype from a different breed of game: Street Fighter V‘s love of aggressive rushdown pressure across the roster is something a tried-and-true zoner like Sagat could either provide a breather from — or could drown in. It might just be a bit of both.

VesperArcade is a big fan of the King of Muay Thai, and after some time to get a feel for the latest version of Sagat, he offers his thoughts on what the character’s strengths are and in what areas the King is weaker. Lacking the close-up game that other SFV zoners like Guile and Menat can bring to the fight, Sagat must deal with fiddly Tiger Uppercut anti-air ranges and invincibility, while relying on mixed bag of really good-to-questionable normals and a useful but not spectacular V-System — fighting an “honest” fight in a game known for robbery.

Source: VesperArcade

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SherryJenix joins cryptocurrency developer eSports Ecosystem

An FGC personality is moving up in the world: Sherry Nhan, better known as SherryJenix in the Street Fighter V competitive scene, has gained some new letters in front of her tag. She announced joining the recently-established eSports Ecosystem, a cryptocurrency company, via Twitter.

The Necalli player’s next event is coming up this weekend — SoCal Regionals 2018.

eSports Ecosystem, the company sponsoring Nhan, aims to create a currency that supports the fighting game scene. They were an Evo 2018 sponsor, and they are also sending two online warriors to Canada Cup 2018.

Congratulations to SherryJenix — and if you haven’t yet, give her a follow on Twitter @sherryjenix.

Source: ESE|Sherry Nhan

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Ira Gamagori and Uzu Sanageyama confirmed for Kill la Kill: The Game

While Arc System Works and APlus games stated that they were announcing more characters for Kill la Kill the Game: IF at next week’s Tokyo Game Show, it seems that they’ve been revealed early in this week’s issue of Famitsu.

Joining Ryuko Matio and Satsuki Kiryuin in Kill la Kill the Game: IF are the Elite Four’s Ira Gamagori and Uzu Sanageyama. For those not familiar with the franchise, both are members of the student council at Honnouji, serving under Satsuki. Both come with three-star Ultima Uniforms as part of their rank.

As can be seen from the small preview of the article From Famitsu, both seemingly come with the first versions of their uniforms from the anime.

kill_la_kill_gamagori_sanageyama_famitsu_smol

As per previous reports, both are expected to be playable at the Tokyo Game Show next week.

Source: Famitsu

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Final Fantasy XI’s Kam’lanaut is Dissidia Final Fantasy NT’s next DLC Character

During their recent livestream for the game, Square Enix finally revealed the identity of the next DLC character for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.

Joining the cast of Square Enix’s 3-on-3 arena fighter is Kam’lanaut from the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI. For those not familiar with him, he’s one of the two remaining Zilart princes. He’s actually a boss that players can battle twice as part of a couple of quests in that game.

As part of the announcement, Square Enix released a trailer showing off some of what Kan’lanaut can do in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.

Kam’lanaut will first arrive in the game’s arcade version, Dissidia Final Fantasy as part of the September update. He will then be available for purchase on PlayStation 4 in October.

With this announcement, only two more DLC characters remain as part of the game’s Season Pass. These are a female from the newer half of the Final Fantasy series (one who’s a veteran of the previous Dissidia games), and a male character from the same half of the series, who is making their Dissidia debut in this game.

Source: Square Enix