Category: News

At E3, it was revealed that Dragon Ball FighterZ would be making its way to the Switch. Now, we also know exactly when the game will be hitting Nintendo’s hybrid console (at least, in Japan). Bandai Namco will release their hit Dragon Ball-based tag-team fighter in Japan on September 27. And when it arrives, it will come with some features specific to that version of the game — the biggest of which is a new “Extreme Type” control scheme.

This new control scheme allows players to pull off special moves much more easily by pressing the the L and R buttons alongside a combination of other buttons (e.g. L and R plus Heavy Attack activates a Meteor Smash). This is so that the game can be played using the detached Joy-Con controllers.

In addition to this, the Japanese release will come with a few other extras, including a download code for Dragon Ball Z Super Butoden. Originally released for the Super Famicom back in 1993, this was one of the first fighting games based on the Dragon Ball Z franchise! Meanwhile, the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan versions of Goku and Vegeta will also be unlocked early. Finally, it will also come with a SR card for Super Dragon Ball Heroes, the Dragon Ball Z: Data Carddass game.

For those interested in picking this up, Dragon Ball FighterZ for Switch is set to retail for ¥6,800 — lower than the original price of the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions.

Source: Ryokutya2089

“The damage is too high.” “Burst sucks.” “DP and Reversal moves are scrubby.” “The game is easy, and execution and skill don’t matter” — those are some of the opinions you may have seen floating around BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. Indeed, the game does make some bold design decisions, but, according to accomplished BlazBlue: Central Fiction player PG|SKD, naysayers shouldn’t dismiss the game too quickly.

“In a nutshell, I think this game really rewards good strategy and application, so I think those are two aspects that make it a good fighting game,” writes SKD in a post on Team St1ckbug. “There is a high ceiling for deep, effective strategies. The game gives you so many options, the ensuing ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’ can become really layered. Calling it ‘RPS’ is not really applicable at that point though, because the practical outcome is that a lot of wins come down to coming up with better strategies and applying them rather than winning the RPS.”

SKD goes on to counter a lot of the negative opinions and misconceptions floating around BBTAG. He said that the damage isn’t too high, unless it’s a Reversal Action punish or a non-mix-up starter. Tagging partners helps counter the high chip damage in the game, especially from Resonance Blaze mode. SKD does bring up Jin and this strategy (Jin can effectively spam his full-screen super to chip down an opponent’s health to 1) and recognizes that it’s a little too strong currently.

He gives a lot of advice about Cross Bursting, as some people believe that it’s too strong and others that it’s too weak, since it loses to anti-airs, assists, and Reversal Action. According to him, the key is watching the Cross gauge and understanding how much resources the opponent currently has. SKD also addresses the auto-combo system and the notion that some characters are watered down from their respective games:

“I see a lot of things like ‘I wish I could do Hyde’s 6B! How could they deprive my favorite character of his best normal?” The best normal in UNIST context is not going to be the best normal in BBTAG context. You may not actually need to, or want to use that normal, and that’s fine. Even if it was good, Hyde did not have an assist in UNIST,” he writes.

“You have to play these characters in BBTAG, not in their original games. To be honest, I do think that the characters were ported relatively well, and retain the meat of what made them ‘them.’”

It’s definitely worth to check out the whole article on Team St1ckbug as SKD addresses a couple more misconceptions. All in all, SKD professes that BBTAG is worthy of your “love, respect, and admiration” and is a good game on the competitive (and casual) level.

Source: Team St1ckbug website

Last March, we reported that the organizer of Community Effort Orlando, Alex Jebailey, had reached out to Kenny Omega and New Japan Pro Wrestling to put on a live professional wrestling event in Daytona Beach, Florida during the event’s first night. Well, as we’re now less than two weeks away from the festivities, we now have the full match card from top to bottom, as well as livestream details. Mark your calendars, because those who are unable to attend live can still enjoy the action of what looks to be an absolutely stacked card, featuring many of the Japanese promotion’s finest. The matches we’ll be seeing are as follows:

• Special Tag Match: The Golden Lovers (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) Vs. Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion/ Best of the Super Juniors 25 Winner Hiromu Takahashi)
• Special Tag Match: Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) Vs. CMLL’s Dragon Lee & Ryusuke Taguchi
• Special Tag Match: Bullet Club’s Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa) Vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
• Special Singles Match: Jushin Thunder Liger Vs. Roppongi 3K’s Rocky Romero
• Special Singles Match: Jeff Cobb Vs. The Bullet Club’s Chase Owens

Tickets for the event are on sale now, ranging from $20-$100 (before fees, via TicketMaster. Over 8,000 seats at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center will be available on Friday, June 29th.

For those unable to attend in person, CEO and NJPW are going to ensure that no one has to miss out on this top-notch wrestling action, as the entire event will be streamed live on twitch.tv/ceogaming at 8:00 P.M. CST.

There will also be a special commemorative event shirt that can be bought on-site, featuring the entire match card listed on the back, while the front has JeBailey and Omega re-enacting the infamous handshake from X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, which will also be made available on Pro Wrestling Tees for online ordering for a full week after the event. You can see a picture of the shirt, as well as match graphics, below.

No meet and greets are planned for fans to interact with the NJPW stars. Unfortunately, as many of the Strong Style practitioners are traveling directly from Land of the Rising Sun for this show — but if something can be arranged, Jebailey will make a formal announcement to let everyone know. There will also be Dark Matches for the live crowd in attendance, in addition to the 5-match Main Card scheduled to run around 2 1/2 hours.

No commentary team has been announced for the streamed broadcast, but provided they don’t get some FGC notables on the mic, we’ll potentially receive the English New Japan World duo of Kevin Kelly and Don Callis. Stay tuned to Shoryuken for any additional developments concerning the event. For additional concerns, visit the FAQ section of ceogaming.com/njpw.

Source: ceogaming.org/ceoxnjpw

The Los Angeles Red Bull Conquest Qualifier is now complete and Dankadillas (Street Fighter V), Yanflip (Tekken 7) and UYU Kizzie Kay (Guilty Gear Xrd REV2) will represent the Los Angeles region in the Red Bull Conquest National Finals in Washington D.C. this November.

Red Bull Conquest is a regional fighting game circuit designed to let players represent their local fighting game scene and against the rest of the country. The Conquest circuit kicked off earlier this year in Chicago and will continue through the summer with 15 qualifiers in cities across the country and a single online qualifying event. The winner of each game at the qualifying events will earn a trip to the National Finals in Washington D.C. this November.

Southern California is home to some of the country’s most well known fighting game players and the competition was certainly fierce. You can view the LA qualifier brackets here and the full stream of the tournament below courtesy of Red Bull Esports.

Watch Red Bull Conquest – Los Angeles Regional Final from redbullesports on www.twitch.tv

For bracket information and results from past qualifiers, visit smash.gg/RedBullConquest. You can find more information and your nearest Conquest qualifier at RedBullConquest.com.

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition

1) Dankadillas (Dhalsim) Qualifies for National Finals
2) SonicBoxx|JB (Rashid)
3) Pnoy (M.Bison)
4) Filipinoman (Menat/Cammy)
5) Chris Nguyen (Akuma)
5) Flash (Urien)
7) Dropkick| Valiant
7) ThirdPixel| Saliou (Urien)

Tekken 7

1) Yanflip (Xiaoyu) Qualifies for National Finals
2) Inserity (Hwoarang)
3) twitchShangles (Lucky Chloe)
4) WayGamble (Leo)
5) Paul Z (Aliza)
5) ShinPaulo (Akuma)
7) UYU|Suiken (Eliza/Shaheen)
7) Galo (Nina/Bryan)

Guilty Gear Xrd REV2

1) KizzieKay (Sin Kiske)
2) Toki (Axl)
3) Viro (Slayer)
4) Red Herb (Faust)
5) Hursh (Venom)
5) Beautifuldude (Zato)
7) Lord Zappa
7) aether9k

Among the various franchises involved in Bandai Namco’s Jump Force, the one most conspicuous by its absence in the game-play videos has to be Death Note. Now, we know why we haven’t seen any game-play of these characters — they aren’t playable!

As reported by Gamespot, producer Koji Nakajima confirmed that the Death Note characters such as Light Yagami are involved in the game’s plot, but aren’t there to actually fight. Specifically, Nakajima states (via a translator) “This game is going to feature a story around this unique situation, and that’s where Death Note comes into play. To kind of weave the story together. So, Death Note is not [going to have] a fighting game character.”

Additionally, Bandai Namco PR manager Nick O’Leary also confirmed as much in a separate interview with ComicBook.com. He stated that Light Yagami wasn’t exactly an action oriented character, while there would be certain limitations if they added Ryuk.

Of course, even without playable Death Note characters, Jump Force still contains characters from some of the biggest Shonen Jump franchises of all time.

Jump Force hits PlayStation 4, PC, and XBox One in 2019.

Source: Gamespot, ComicBook.com

WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE 6

E3 2018 was a very exciting time for fighting games, with many titles available to play by anyone who attended the event. One of the most exciting upcoming fighters, however, was not on the showroom floor.

Shortly before E3 2018 officially began, Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja announced Dead or Alive 6, the next iteration of the popular 3D fighting game, and it surprised many with its more refined design, dynamic action sequences, and new overall direction. With the game being announced so close to the conference, many wondered if the title would have a presence at E3. After looking at the floor plans of the two event halls, it was clear this was not the case, but that didn’t mean Dead or Alive 6 was missing in action.

Shoryuken was invited by Koei Tecmo and the Team Ninja community manager, Emmanuel ‘”Master” Rodriguez, to get an early look at the title at the Koei Tecmo meeting room — and it’s clear Team Ninja has a new mission for a favorite franchise: making Dead or Alive 6 familiar, accessible, and — above all — action-packed.

Dead or Alive 6 breaks new ground with the Break Gauge system

Dead or Alive 6 is just as fast, furious, and technical as it’s been known for. Jumping into the demo with Kasumi, a series mainstay, felt familiar. Her strikes were accurate and graceful, and her old combos worked in similar fashion. Everything you’d expect from the kunoichi was there — except for her familiar outfit, which was replaced with a new battle suit more focused on actual combat. What was different this time wasn’t necessarily the characters themselves, but the new mechanics put in place as part of the title’s combat system. Accessibility is king when it comes to the current climate of the recently-developed fighters, and it’s on full display with the new Break Gauge system, the first super meter system for the franchise.

The system is utilized through the new special button, (RB or R1) and even activates an auto-combo when pressed repeatedly on its own. This new mechanic is known as the Fatal Rush. Once activated, the Fatal Rush cannot be stopped by the opponent, allowing a guaranteed combo. Players must be cautious on both ends of the Fatal Rush — not to leave yourself open by not making contact, and not to allow yourself to get caught if you are on the other side.

Pressing the special button (RB or R1) + up or down initiates a side attack where players can avoid their opponent and go right on the offensive. This is a great way to make your sidesteps count, especially when being rushed by the opponent.

Neither of these methods use up any meter, so mixing these new mechanics in with regular DOA tactics is going to be what creates the most successful players in this new entry.

By pressing forward + special (RB or R1), players activate a Break Blow, an incredibly devastating attack that uses the entire meter and initiates those new dynamic close-up shots. The Break Blow is also a great way to burst through the opponent’s strikes as it goes straight through low and mid attacks. Players can lead into the Break Blow through the Fatal Rush if there is enough meter built to execute it, allowing new players to feel a surge of success when pulling off that stunning string of attacks.

Depending on the character, the Break Blow may strike the player in the face as shown in the reveal trailer, giving a zoomed-in look at all of the messy new details on display in DOA6: showcasing all the scratches, cuts, and bruises brought on through the heat of battle. For Kasumi, her strike focuses on the body of the character, blowing them back with extreme force. This matches her character a bit more than a sucker punch to the face, and is just as visually stunning to see in action.

The Break Hold is the defensive version of the Break Blow, and the only way to counter the attack. It also uses a full bar of meter and is activated by pressing backward + special (RB or R1). It doesn’t do as much damage, but that is the trade-off for being able to counter the intensity of the Break Blow.

Definitive details discovered during DOA discussion

Certain costumes are destructible, this is indicated by a red star icon next to the outfit being selected. The feature shows off the dynamic damage system. Damage occurs with significant attacks at their point of impact.

Players can decide upon using a four-way or three-way hold system before entering the versus mode, allowing newer players the option to learn the fundamentals of holding before diving into the full scope of complexity available.

Stages are still as dynamic as ever, and are filled with hazards like electric rings and rowdy bystanders, and destructible elements like crates, cars, and dumpsters. Stage transitions are still up in the air, with the game still being very deep in development.

That being said, you couldn’t tell this game had an early 2019 release window because of how incredibly polished the entire experience was, even if the demo only had four characters to choose from.

Kasumi, Zack, Jann Lee, and Helena (who I found the most success with) felt like complete fighters waiting for the rest of their friends and foes to join in on the fight. The gameplay was solid, the characters were well-defined, and the new mechanics worked incredibly well without sacrificing the series’ long-established identity.

I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the roster along with their new designs and the story that will tie them all together. Most of all, I am excited to see where this installment will take the franchise, and hopefully open itself up to a whole new audience looking to fight in style. Dead or Alive 6 is set to release early 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC — and will be playable to the public for the first time at Evo 2018 later this summer in Las Vegas.

Source: Team Ninja