Category: News

While development ended almost two years, the competitive Project M scene shows no sign of stopping. The meta is starting to reach a place of equilibrium, now is a good a time as any for the Project M backroom to release a new tier list. There are still characters who have the potential to rise up — one only needs to look at the success of ThundeRzReiGN and his DK — but the top tiers of PM have more or less been decided.

As a result, this tier list is less of a definitive “these are the best characters now and forever”, and more of a symbol of the current Project M meta. Things will change and expect 2018’s list to have its own quirks and changes. In the abstract accompanying the tier list release, the PMBR notes factors like Falco’s fall down the tier list and the rise of DK, along with other points of contention among the panelists. You can read these full thoughts over on the Smashboards post, as well as see the full list of panelists. The tier list is as follows:

In comparison to last year’s list, ROB has fallen 20 places from A Tier to C Tier, while characters like the Ice Climbers and Sonic have seen a huge leap up. Meta Knight and Wolf have successfully booted Fox and Diddy from S Tier, while Bowser and Kirby still languish in the depths of bottom tier.

If you’re interested in learning more about Project M and its tumultuous history, keep your eyes out for Rewrite: The Project M documentary which is scheduled for release in 2018.

Source: Smashboards

Announced during West Side Saga, 2GGaming and Esports Arena have announced that Fire Emblem Saga will be the Fall season finale for the 2GG Championship Series. As it is dedicated to Nintendo’s tactical RPG, 2GG is looking to invite as many Fire Emblem character mains to compete in the penultimate Saga before the actual 2GG Championship. So far, the confirmed invited players are:

• MKLeo (Marth, Corrin)
• Pugwest (Marth)
• Mr. E (Marth)
• Ryuga (Corrin)
• Ryo (Ike, Roy, Corrin)
• Cosmos (Corrin)
• Captain Levi (Roy)
• Dath (Robin)

I could see both Earth, Fuwa, Nojinko and Rizseau from Japan getting invited through this Saga’s compendium, alongside Europe’s best Roy TheFlow and top New York Ike San. With ZeRo having a tournament-ready Lucina and Nairo having a pretty good Robin, we could see the Saga Curse being broken by someone winning with a Fire Emblem character.

Following the events of West Side Saga, the 2GG Championship points table has been shaken up a fair bit, with Tweek knocking komorikiri off the third place spot. ZeRo is still way out in front, gaining an almost 500 point lead over second place Dabuz following his fifth Saga victory. With Fire Emblem Saga being the Fall season finale, players will receive double points if they manage to place highly, so expect that points table to change even more.

For more information on Fire Emblem Saga, check out its official smash.gg page.

Sources: 2GGaming; smash.gg

After taking a break to rejig and re-evaluate the format of their PG Key events, Panda Global are back with a new online league for those Smash 4 WiFi warriors. Titled PG Key: WiFi Warriors Circuit, it will see players racking up points via regular online events, with the overall league winner getting free flights, housing and entry at Genesis 5 next year.

Much like smash.gg’s Burst League and the Curleh Circuit, any event can become a potential WiFi Warriors event, as long as it is approved by Panda Global. There will be special PG Key events within the circuit, which will grant additional points and other prizes. For a full list of current WiFi Warriors tournaments, as well as the details on how to make your event part of the circuit, check out its dedicated smash.gg page.

Unlike previous PG Key events, WiFi Warriors events are not restricted to North American entrants. Hopefully this will give other regions a chance to get someone to Genesis 5.

Source: smash.gg

If there’s one crucial feature that’s missing from ARMS on the Nintendo Switch, it’s the ability to change controller configuration. When it first shipped, ARMS players were stuck using the default config that the game gave them. That, it seems, will be changing soon.

ARMS‘ official Japanese Twitter account has confirmed that the game’s upcoming version 3.0 update will finally let player change their controller configuration.

Ver.3では、ボタン配置を自由に変更できる「コントローラーの設定」を追加します。
このボタンでラッシュを発動したい、ガードしたい…そんなアナタにアジャスト！いいね持ちのセンサー感度まで調整できます。
お好きなボタン配置で、いっちょアームズ！ pic.twitter.com/3Zw5KS0yZt

— ARMS（アームズ） (@ARMS_Cobutter) September 8, 2017

While ARMS‘ default controls are perfectly serviceable, the inability to change them is somewhat baffling in a genre where customizable controller configurations have long become a standard. This new update finally fixes that, allowing players to use whatever configuration suits them best.

Source: ARMS (Twitter)

Earlier this week, Big E, the organizer behind the upcoming NEC18 tournament, tweeted out a poll asking fans which games should receive up to $3,000 added to their prize pools for the event, via a crowdfunding goal on Matcherino. The contenders were arguably the four biggest current titles in the fighting game community today: Street Fighter V, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Injustice 2, and Tekken 7. The results are in, with a total of 9,147 votes cast, and NetherRealm Studio’s DC universe fighter took the victory by an absolute landslide, scoring a whopping 65% of the votes cast. Tekken 7 will also receive a bonus by coming in second with 18%, while Capcom’s pair of flagship titles didn’t fare so well, with the soon-to-be-released MVC:I taking 3rd place with only 9% of the votes, while SFV comes in at dead last, with a mere 8%. You can see the tweet from Big E Gaming below.

#NEC18 will have 2 @matcherino_ crowdfunding campaigns w/ a $3000 goal & YOU get to pick the games! The top 2 w/ the highest percentage win!

— Big E Gaming (@BigEgaming) September 5, 2017

This is certainly fantastic news for the NRS and Tekken communities and should make the annual end-of-the-year competition that much more fierce. Not to be left out of the party, Arc System Work’s Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 and BlazBlue: Central Fiction, which will both be main games at the event, will be getting a $300 and $100 pot bonus, respectively. SNK’s The King of Fighters XIV will also be receiving a $950 pot bonus, though these monetary values are subject to change.

NEC18 takes place on December 15-17 at the Valley Forge Casino Resort at 1160 First Avenue in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. More details about the event will be coming soon at http://bigegaming.com/nec-18/

Source: Big E Gaming (Twitter) via Test Your Might

While younger sibling Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is going gangbusters, Japan’s Melee scene is struggling to keep up with the rest of the world. Hoping to explain the unique challenges facing the Japanese community, Japanese TO Watch has written a blog post which lays out the major roadblocks which are restricting the growth of the scene.

Japan’s strict anti-gambling laws are a big factor, as TOs cannot provide cash prizes generated from the tournament’s venue fees. The only way a cash prize can be given out is through a third party sponsor that is no way linked to the running of the event.  Sponsors may be prosecuted if they are found to benefit from the tournament and even then, the upper limit on cash prizes is a measly $1000.

The Melee scene is Japan is also very small, with Watch estimating there to be 500 players in the whole of the country. Out of those 500, only 200 of them attend tournaments or Smashfests regularly. Japan does not have the wealth of streamers, writers, content creators and TOs to support a thriving scene. When you also factor in Japan’s strict work culture that bars many players from taking time off to attend events, the community is in a tight spot.

Watch is nevertheless optimistic and has set out a plan of action to grow Japan’s Melee scene. Along with increasing viewership for Japanese events, Watch wants to run a major Japanese tournament — similar in size to Smash 4’s Umebura Anniversary events — where overseas players are invited to play. He also wants more Japanese players to practice abroad, to increase their skills and bring more attention to the community.

This approach has certainly worked with the Japanese Smash 4 scene, which regularly has players traveling to and from Japan to compete. If US and European community leaders and organizations like smash.gg can rally support for Watch’s mission, Japan’s Melee scene could grow into something special.

Source: mgn-ssbm