EA has earned a rather dubious honor today with Star Wars Battlefront 2 the subject of the most downvoted Reddit Post in history. The post was made in response to a Redditor who wrote on the subject of how heroes are unlocked in the game. The thread is called “Seriously? I paid $80 to have Vader locked?”
– A:IR Closed Beta Sign Ups Begin for Korean Version
Bluehole has opened up closed beta registrations for the Korean verion of Ascent: Infinite Realm (A:IR). The first closed beta event will kick off on December 13th. Interestingly, you and friends can sign up for CBT as a group. At this time, there is no listing of how many testers will be included in the event and it appears to be region-locked.
“Let’s hunt!” — Final Fantasy XV’s Noctis joins the cast of Tekken 7 in Spring 2018
In a weekend that has now had two hype character reveals, Bandai Namco decided not to be beaten by NetherRealm Studios’ announcement of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Injustice 2. At tonight’s Tekken World Tour Finals (after a brief discussion about the input lag situation in Tekken 7) Executive Producer Katsuhiro Harada, alongside Michael Murray, walked off the stage saying, “Merry Christmas.”
Their early Christmas present to the FGC was a reveal trailer of the third DLC guest character: with Square Enix’s blessing, Noctis Lucis Caellum — the lead protagonist from Final Fantasy XV — has entered the Iron Fist Tournament (apparently to help his buddy Lars!). Equipped with his Royal Arms weapon selection and warp strikes, the character from the storied RPG franchise will make his way to the game — alongside a Final Fantasy XV Hammerhead repair shop stage — in Spring of 2018.
Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Shut down tech rolls with Bryan’s taunt tracking in Tekken 7
Do you remember when it was discovered in Tekken 7 that Kuma’s taunt allowed 100% tracking on any moves cancelled from it? Well, he’s not alone. Sort of.
Bryan has always had tracking on his taunt to a degree in older games so that he could catch tech rolls, but there was speculation that Bryan had lost some of his tracking in Tekken 7. To catch your slippery foes with Bryan, you’ll need to preform either a Dashing Taunt or a Double Taunt — both of which are demonstrated in JinMasta‘s latest tutorial video. Learn to realign your taunts, and you’ll blow up everyone that foolishly techs in front of you.
Source: JinMasta
New leaks look at the future of Street Fighter V, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and Soulcalibur VI
In fighting game circles, November has become a prime month for leaks, what with many competitive circuits seasons coming to an end, as well as the PlayStation Experiencing drawing near. This year is no exception as a pretty massive leak has just dropped over on Reddit.
The leak concerns itself with a number of fighting games (and a couple of non-fighters). While it’s easy to dismiss this leak as just someone on the internet making stuff up, there is some evidence that indicates that it may be worth taking seriously. Specifically, the same person had apparently leaked the inclusion of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Injustice 2‘s Fighter Pack 3.
Regarding Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, the leak talks mostly about DLC characters currently in development for the game (beyond the 6 currently announced characters). Specifically, it mentions Star-Lord, Ms. Marvel, Green Goblin, Wolverine, Cyclops, Psylocke, Magneto, Storm, Deadpool, Doctor Doom, Daredevil, Asura, Lady, Gill, Rashid, Captain Commando, Nina, Deis, Regina, Gene, Vergil, Akuma, and Apollo Justice. While the number seems imbalanced towards the Capcom side, it does reflect the fact that the current DLC pack is Marvel heavy. Now not all these will drop at the same time, the leak indicates that these are split up into multiple seasons, and that the game is set to have at least five seasons’ worth of characters.
In addition to the above, there’s also mention of other updates coming to the game. These include a an upgrade to the game’s graphics and UI, a four player 2v2 team mode, and the addition of Ultron-Sigma as a playable solo character (in the vein of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom‘s giants).
Now as for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, the leak mostly talks about the characters coming to the game. Specifically mentioned as DLC characters are Sagat, Sakura, Cody, and Sodom. This is in addition to 2 newcomers, one of which may be Roxy, and the other, a Shadaloo Doll. In addition to these, there is also word of Crimson Viper, Q, Necro, and Oro being added as free characters.
In regards to Critical Arts, of which we recently learned there would be no second critical art at launch, the leak states that the original plan was to add them at launch, but that they will no be added at a later date.
Not content to focus on game’s getting updates, the leak also has some info on some of the 8 DLC characters for Dragon Ball FighterZ. Three of the DLC characters are supposedly Broly, base form Goku, and base form Vegeta. In addition to these, Bardock, Raditz, Goku Black are also supposedly in development, and even nearly complete, however it’s unknown if they’re part of the launch roster, or are being held back as DLC.
In addition to this, the leak talks about a version of Dragon Ball FighterZ coming to Nintendo Switch sometime later in 2018.
The most surprising bit of information in the leak is that Soul Calibur VI is supposedly in development. The game is supposedly in development for PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch (with no Xbox One version). The Switch version will supposedly have Link return as a guest character. The game, or at least the PlayStation 4 version should be revealed at PSX.
Beyond that, the leak covers some non-fighting games, with information on the status of the Resident Evil 2 remake, and the existence of Devil May Cry 5 and a Pokemon game for Nintendo Switch.
Of course, being leaks, we advise our readers to take all of these with a grain of salt, and to stay locked on to Shoryuken for more on this and related stories as they develop.
Mikado Arcade’s Super Street Fighter Carnival 2017 tournament series continues with Street Fighter EX2+
“Super Street Fighter Carnival 2017” is the regularly occurring tournament series of Japan’s famous Mikado Arcade, featuring revolving classic arcade titles for its patrons to compete in. If you’ve missed any of the past action, there’s a month’s worth of hype tournaments to catch up on!
It’s interesting to go back and look at EX2+ after obsessing over any new footage for Arika’s latest unnamed project. This tournament — and Mikado’s excellent players’ competence with the full cast — really shows off the strength of the EX exclusive characters move-sets and design. It’s also a reminder of just how popular (and powerful) Doctrine Dark and Area were in EX2+, in case you’ve forgotten what “EX-plosive” oki felt like.
If you want to keep up with SSFC2017, you can subscribe to Mikado’s official YouTube channel. You can also try to catch the action in real time when they livestream.
Source: Mikado
UDON presents Hitoshi Ariga’s classic Mega Man tales in color in the new MEGA MAN MASTERMIX comic series
The Blue Bomber’s battles rage on!
UDON Entertainment is bringing the original Mega Man back to comic book stores with MEGA MAN MASTERMIX: a quarterly, 80-page comic series presenting Hitoshi Ariga’s classic Mega Man stories, now in color for the first time! (Volumes of Ariga’s Mega Man manga have been previously collected by UDON in black & white as MEGA MAN MEGAMIX & MEGA MAN GIGAMIX.) The series will launch in January 2018, and features colors by Josh Perez. First issue synopsis from UDON:
The Birth of Mega Man! In a world where humans and robots live and work together, six powerful robots have suddenly turned against their programming and set their sights on causing chaos and destruction! Only one heroic robot stands in their path – Mega Man, the greatest creation of Dr. Light!
MEGA MAN MASTERMIX #1 will ship with two standard covers: cover A by Hitoshi Ariga, and cover B by Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz. A Blank Sketch cover (cover C) will also be available, and Rob “Robaato” Porter’s Retailer Incentive cover (cover D) homages a classic comic cover from the 1980s. Two exclusive covers will also be produced for the issue. The first is for Fried Pie Comics, and features Mega Man battling the enormous Yellow Devil robot (illustrated by Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz); the second is UDON’s own online exclusive cover, showcasing four classic Mega girls — Kalinka, Plum, Splash Woman, and Roll — illustrated by Aki Li. This cover is available exclusively through Focus Attack.
Pre-orders are up now on Focus Attack for all cover variants — or look for it in January at a comic retailer near you!
MEGA MAN MASTERMIX #1
DETAILS: 80 pages, full color, $7.99 USD/$8.99 USD
RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2018
DIAMOND ORDER CODES:
- NOV171997 MEGA MAN MASTERMIX #1 CVR A [ARIGA]
- NOV171998 MEGA MAN MASTERMIX #1 CVR B [CRUZ]
- NOV171999 MEGA MAN MASTERMIX #1 CVR C [BLANK SKETCH]
- NOV172000 MEGA MAN MASTERMIX #1 CVR D [10 COPY INCV.]
Sources: UDON Entertainment [press release]; Focus Attack
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 “Hero Colosseum” trailer shows it’ll always be fun to play with toys
Excuse me, “action figures.”
Bandai Namco released a trailer that acts as a brief overview of the upcoming Hero Colosseum game mode for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. The new mode pits players against one another in a contest of champions…made of plastic!
Players assemble teams of their favorite characters in action figure form of varying levels, rarity, and abilities to claim victory over the battlefield. Figures can be upgraded to Limit Breaker forms as well, advancing their power and special skills. After arranging them in a strategic order, the figures fight automatically. Their attacks can be boosted by successful quick time events as well.
Seeing the Hero Colosseum in action really helps explain how the new mode will work. It appears to be a kind of fusion of the arcade game Dragon Ball Heroes and the mobile game, Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle. It will be interesting to see how popular this mode becomes once it releases. Hero Colosseum is set to release soon as a free update to all Xenoverse 2 players.
Bandai Namco also recently announced that the Nintendo Switch version of the game has sold over 400,000 copies since its release on September 22, 2017. The Switch version includes the original Dragon Ball Xenoverse story levels including the “GT Era” missions. This exclusive content allows Switch owners who never played Xenoverse 1 to experience the complete history of the series.
In other Xenoverse 2 news, the next raid is going to be a battle against the dastardly abomination, Fused Zamasu. No word on when the raid will go live, but odds are all of these updates will coincide with the release of the recently announced Extra Pack 1 DLC.
“My form is justice! My form is the world! Revere me. Praise me. This noble and beautiful… immortal and most powerful god… Zamasu!”
A new Raid is coming to DRAGON BALL Xenoverse 2!
️
— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) November 8, 2017
Don’t forget, Extra Pack 1 is set to release sometime this autumn, including Tapion, Android 13, Majin Buu (Gohan Absorbed), Dabura, and other additions. The illusive Extra Pack 2 content will include an original character and a brand new form of Goku, at an undisclosed date. Also, those who own both Xenoverse 2 and Dragon Ball FighterZ will also receive special content. So much Dragon Ball, so little time.
Sources: Bandai Namco; Siliconera
Team St1ckbug’s Yabai Invasion is live, inviting Guilty Gear and BlazBlue players from across the United States
New York City’s Next Level Arcade is famous for its top tier competition and Team St1ckbug events. During Fall, the Team raised the stakes by hosting a voting competition for various anime players across the country for BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Guilty Gear Xrd: REV 2. The good news: the organizers raised enough money to bring all six players!
For Guilty Gear, we have:
- Foo — Kum Haehyun (in place of Voguekun, who couldn’t make it)
- Mr. Dolphin — May
- Faulty Defense — Answer
As for BlazBlue, there are:
- Tectal_Eastside — Mu=12
- Fame96 — Susano’o
- Milk Kaichou — Rachel
Here is the schedule for tomorrow (in ET; PT start time will be 8:00 AM):
This Autokal page is an excellent primer on who will be attending TSB Yabai. Tune in to TSB|Blaze’s Twitch page to watch all the action. Currently, a warm-up to the tournament is taking place, featuring multiple exhibitions:
Foo vs. PG|MarlinPie
TSB|Mynus vs. dorek2k
2 vs. 2 BlazBlue matches vs. Fame96 and Tectal_Eastside
7 vs. 7 “Guilty Gear Invaders“ vs. NYC Players
Source: TSB|Blaze
Tekken World Tour Finals spotlight: Players, recaps, and predictions
The Tekken World Tour is almost finished!
16 players, representing the combined Tekken scenes of 9 countries, will throw down in San Francisco this Sunday, November 12th at the Tekken World Tour Finals. Since this grand event is just around the bend, now seems like a good time to revisit the road these players took to qualify.
Below each player is a sample match from the World Tour, their main character, summary of their TWT Tour performance, and a prediction on how they’ll do at the TWT Finals. All data is based off of @Peet_SS‘s exhaustive chronicling of every TWT event and point distribution, which you can reference here.
JDCR
Where is he from? Korea.
What characters do we expect to see? Almost certainly Dragunov. Has a very strong Heihachi, but has gone on record saying that playing Mishimas on PS4 is too tough.
How did he qualify? Automatically qualified by winning EVO 2017.
What are the odds of his winning? Unbelievably good. As both the 2017 Evo champion and one of Tekken’s gods, the odds are overwhelmingly in JDCR’s favor. There are a few cracks in his armor, though: fellow countryman Qudans has shown multiple times that not only does this Tekken god bleed, but that he can consistently keep up with him. JDCR has also fallen versus Joey Fury in the past, whom would love nothing more then to make lightning strike twice.
Speedkicks
Where is he from? Georgia, USA.
What characters do we expect to see? Hwoarang.
How did he qualify? While Speedkicks has had a strong showing at a number of events, he’s mostly been racking up smaller points at Challenger events. There’s two notable exceptions to this: his second place finish at DreamHack Denver all but guaranteed his slot in the TWT Finals, accounting for 40%+ of his Tour Points, and he picked up some extra padding with a 1st place finish in the Steam Online Tournament.
What are the odds of his winning? Good. Speedkicks is the only Hwoarang user in all three regions, and his character is typically known as a high-skill, high-reward pressure monster — it’s exactly the sort of thing that can make even a pro crumble if they don’t come into the match-up prepared. Many of Speedkicks’s points are from 2nd place finishes, though — there’s something very small holding this powerhouse back, and he needs to find it before TWT Finals.
Jimmy J Tran, a.k.a. Mr. Naps
Where is he from? California, USA.
What characters do we expect to see? Bryan.
How did he qualify? By winning DreamHack Denver, where he scored 60% of his points.
What are the odds of his winning? Very good. Tran doesn’t have the travel experience of many other players on the list during this tour (his points come from just three events), but it’s not like he’s an unknown warrior: with over $20,000 in earnings from winning Tekken tournaments over the years, Tran has been at this for a very, very long time. A victory over a top tier Korean player still barely eludes Tran, unfortunately — he’s gotten into last round, last game situations versus Knee and Jeondding, but fell just short both times. Still, he has closed the gap more then the vast majority of non-Korean players — and that alone would make him a favorite to win.
Anakin
Where is he from? Georgia, USA.
What characters do we expect to see? Jack-7, possibly Paul.
How did he qualify? Consistency and travel, 3 early Challenger wins (DHATL, SMJ, ABS).
What are the odds of his winning? Decent. Anakin is a veteran and possibly one of the most well-traveled players in the circuit, and no one doubts that he’s earned his spot through pure skill and tenacity. But there’s a glaring fact when you look at his overall stats: he’s hoarded points from early, smaller Challenger events, and dropped out in surprising placements at larger events. Anakin has a reputation as one of the best players in the world, but steady consistency isn’t enough to win TWT Finals, particularly when your placements seem to be worse as the meta advances. Having a Paul/Jack-7 team is certainly not the most unexpected set of picks in the qualifiers, either — does he have new tricks to surprise his well-prepared opponents?
Joey Fury
Where is he from? New York, USA.
What characters do we expect to see? Jack-7
How did he qualify? Consistency and travel, several top 8 finishes.
What are the odds of his winning? Coin flip. Joey Fury and Anakin are in very similar situations: they are excellent and well-traveled players that have carved their path by being strong enough to consistently top 8 everywhere they go. Anakin (rightfully) has more points and more consistency, but Joey Fury has something few other players in the world have: tournament wins over JDCR and Saint. Also like Anakin, his Jack-7 pick is safe and tournament tested — the sort of thing that clears out weaker players, but brings no surprises to a group of the world’s best.
P.Ling
Where is he from? California, USA.
What characters do we expect to see? Ling Xiaoyu.
How did he qualify? Consistency, travel, PS4 Online Qualifier victory.
What are the odds of his winning? Low. P. Ling is a fearsome player, but his performance on the tour has paled in comparison to those above him in the Americas. It also can’t be overlooked that he’s here because of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the visa denial of Crespo. Despite this, you shouldn’t count out P.Ling — not only is this his second time making it to TWT Finals, but he’s also going to be going in with the empowerment of a second chance he didn’t know he’d get. Arguably, no one else has more to prove, and P.Ling has shown incredible heart when backed into a corner before.
Tissuemon
Where is he from? Italy.
What characters do we expect to see? Master Raven.
How did he qualify?: Points winner in EU, 2 challenger wins, 2nd at PGW regional and 2nd at PGW Masters.
What are the odds of his winning? Good. It’s tough to gauge how many of EU’s finest will do at TWT Finals, because they haven’t really interacted with Korea or America during the TWT tour. However, EU Points leader Tissuemon should still be considered a threat — a tournament veteran dating back to at least Tekken 5, Tissuemon has defeated Korean legends Help Me and Knee in older games. There’s no reason to think he can’t do again; particularly since his main, Master Raven, is a character not well-represented in the tournament scene. His recent surprise loss to Blackbeard at PGW will hopefully serve as a major wake-up call to give TWT Finals all he’s got.
Blackbeard
Where is he from? Denmark.
What characters do we expect to see? Josie.
How did he qualify? By winning the PGW Regional.
What are the odds of his winning? Unlikely, but possible. As I stated before, it’s really tough to judge the EU qualifiers, mostly due to their isolation from competing with players outside of their sphere. Blackbeard is particularly difficult to gauge because of his consolidation of points exclusively from one event. On top of all of that, Josie is a relatively well-understood character by this point, with decent representation in every region; I’m not sure who among the 16 qualifiers will be unprepared for the match-up. Whatever his impact on the TWT Finals is, though, his impact on the European leaderboard is undisputed: his win came in at the last moment, taking him from 6 points to 306 points, and knocking two Challenger-event tournament winners (Caiper and Ghirlanda) out of the running in the process. He’s beaten the odds before, can he do it when it matters most?
Super Akouma
Where is he from? France.
What characters do we expect to see? Akuma, possibly Lee.
How did he qualify? 2nd at two Masters events.
What are the odds of his winning? Low. Super Akouma has proven his prowess in Europe, but when he encountered JDCR in Grand Finals of TGB, the divide between the two was massive: JDCR only dropped 2 rounds in the best-of-5 set, both in the last game. Even without JDCR’s interference, Super Akouma has yet to secure a win of his own in Europe. It’s hard to see a path forward for him to reach 1st at TWT Finals without considerable training and effort. Can he bring it home for France?
Kaneandtrench
Where is he from? United Kingdom.
What characters do we expect to see? Yoshimitsu.
How did he qualify? Challenger win, 4th at PGW Regional.
What are the odds of his winning?: Coin flip. Kaneandtrench’s greatest threat to success will likely come from his fellow European players that know his tricks. As the lone Yoshimitsu in the TWT finals, he has the distinct advantage of being an incredibly smart player, using a character that has almost no representation in high level tournament play. (Let’s not forget that he’s also the UK National Champion.) The video I included for him may be of his loss to JDCR, but it’s to prove a point: even the best player in the world had trouble with him, only barely clutching out game wins. Kaneandtrench is my pick for the tournament’s biggest wildcard. If he doesn’t win outright, I predict he’s going to at least blindside one player expected to go further. [Exactly what I expect of a Yoshimitsu main! – Editor]
Fergus
Where is he from? Ireland.
What characters do we expect to see? Asuka.
How did he qualify? Consistency, and by the skin of his teeth at the PGW regional.
What are the odds of his winning? Low. Fergus is in a similar situation to the likes of Anakin and Joey Fury: he has several lower placements at many events, but no big wins under his belt. Fergus, however, has one of the most unique situations in the top 16: he was tied on the regional leaderboards with spanish player Caiper, who had won two smaller events on his own. What resulted in the tie? Fergus placing higher then Caiper at PGW Regional — which, in the event of a tie, is the first criteria in the TWT rules used for a tie breaker. Fergus’s placement is the very definition of a photo finish, but he’ll need more then luck to overcome anyone in the TWT Finals.
Saint
Where is he from? Korea.
What characters do we expect to see? Jack-7.
How did he qualify? CEO/TTM wins, top 3 finishes nearly everywhere he travels.
What are the odds of his winning? Very good. How can you can count out Saint? He’s a former Evo Champion, and he’s the returning Tekken World Champion. His training partner and teammate JDCR is the current Evo Champion and the odds-on favorite to win. If Saint has any sort of Achilles heel, it’s simply the fact that his playstyle (and character) has been, and probably will always be, one of the most-scrutinized among all competitors. He has a target on his back, and we’ve seen him fall victim to upsets more often then his Echo Fox counterpart.
Qudans
Where is he from? Korea.
What characters do we expect to see? Devil Jin.
How did he qualify? By winning SEAM.
What are the odds of his winning? Very good. Though it’s easy to be skeptical of someone’s chances when 63% of their points came from only one event, Qudans is a veteran who has experience and execution on his side. He’s bested JDCR, he dominates with Mishimas (despite claims that’s impossible to do so in a PS4 tournament scene, see above) and there’s only three people he’s lost to on the tour. Two of those players made it to TWT Finals: Saint and JDCR. I would be very surprised to see Qudans place outside of top 3, and given that he’s in the very small group of people with a victory over JDCR, it’s easy to see him taking the whole thing.
Noroma
Where is he from? Japan.
What characters do we expect to see? Jack-7.
How did he qualify? Defeating JDCR from losers bracket to win TWT Korea, 2nd at SEAM.
What are the odds of his winning? Good. Noroma’s points are almost completely consolidated from two events: his 2nd place finish at SEAM, and by his incredible bracket reset at TWT Korea to defeat Korean legend JDCR. Noroma’s other placements were less impressive, which gives the immediate impression that there may be a consistency problem with the Japanese Jack-7 pro when it comes to the highest level of play. Still, if he can play the way he did versus JDCR at TWT Korea, it’s hard to see how he can lose.
Nobi
Where is he from? Japan.
What characters do we expect to see? Dragunov.
How did he qualify? Consistency and Travel, PS4 online win.
What are the odds of his winning? Coin flip. Despite being a legend in the Tekken community, Nobi just hasn’t found the success of other players in the Asia-Pacific leaderboards. There’s a nearly 200 point difference between himself and fellow countryman Noroma, and this largely because all of Nobi’s offline finishes are 2nd place or worse. In fact, were it not for Nobi’s PS4 Online Tournament victory, he wouldn’t be here at all — without those 70 points we would have had a tie-breaker between Kkokkoma and Doujin. Nobi is a strong bet to go far, but his character selection is tournament-standard and he is likely the most vulnerable Asia-Pacific player to a potential upset from EU or American players.
Knee
Where is he from? Korea.
What characters do we expect to see? Bryan, possibly Feng.
How did he qualify? 2nd at REV, Challenger win.
What are the odds of his winning? Good. Knee is one of the most knowledgeable players of the game, seemingly always streaming and training with the entire cast. It’s tough to bring out something Knee isn’t prepared for, but he almost didn’t qualify due to lack of travel and never securing a win beyond the ABG Challenger. In a strange way, he’s probably glad JDCR is auto-qualified through Evo — because if he wasn’t, Knee’s 6th place spot on the Asia-Pacific leader-boards would prevent him from attending. His sets versus JDCR during both Winners and Grand Finals at REV 2017 shows the real threat he brings to the tournament, despite his relatively low accumulated points.
The Tekken World Tour Finals take place on November 12, 12:00 PM – 10:00 PM PT in San Francisco!
