Category: News

Longtime gamer and professional photographer, Bartosz Hołoszkiewicz, aka Renton Holmes, has been working on quite a few projects surrounding the Street Fighter community. Over the last year, Holmes has been working with writer and fighting game player Nicholas “Majin Tenshinhan” Taylor to create a story surrounding the FGC.

With Holmes from Poland and Taylor from Sweden, the tag team duo has begun their work in Europe with hopes of reaching Asia and the United States. “We want to cover not only competitions but also more private lives of players,” said Holmes.

Holmes has created two stories already in Japan, one of which was published in 2014 by Technology-based magazine and website, Wired Japan. The second story is waiting to be published. Most recently, Mr. Holmes began a portrait series as a side project while at Capcom Pro Tour Premier, DreamHack Summer 2016. Videogame website Kotaku wrote an article about the photographer and his stellar photos.

We reached out to Holmes to have him describe his experience shooting photographs of the event and the players themselves.

“Even though it was a Premier event, it felt very intimate,” said Holmes. “No huge stage, everyone was sitting together, playing together, with no visible boundary between pros and casuals in the audience.”

Holmes appreciated the atmosphere provided at the tournament and felt it created a strong sense of unity within the community. “You could walk to Phenom, Tokido, well anyone, and ask for a game if they weren’t waiting for their match. I loved it.”

Holmes feels that the fighting game community offers something truly unique in the world of competitive gaming.

“…In my opinion, the fighting game scene is very different when compared to other big eSport games. You get big events but they are still much more open to everyone. Most competitions are open, even the biggest ones, anyone can sign up.”

Holmes attributed his success in creating his portraits to the openness and the welcoming nature of the fighting game community itself. “That’s what I like and want to show. That’s why I was able to do these portraits.” The longtime gamer and professional photographer continues to show his passion for the industry and community through his works.

For more on Mr. Hołoszkiewicz’ works, here’s a link to his professional website.

Click to view slideshow.

Sources: Renton Holmes, WIRED Japan, Kotaku,

If you’re a dedicated console user, the wait for Rivals of Aether is almost over, as it comes to Xbox Game Preview on July 13th. The Xbox version will be exactly the same as the PC edition, complete with all the characters and online features, along with the extensive training mode players can use to lab out combos and test certain situations for DI mixups and so on. Similar to Steam Early Access, buying Rivals of Aether in Game Preview will give you access to all future updates, as well as the full game on launch.

However, unlike Steam Early Access, there will be a short delay on updates for the Xbox version, as updates have to go through certification before they are officially released. At present, the only major thing the Xbox version is missing is Ranked Leaderboards, but they should be added in a future update around mid-August. The current Xbox build that is releasing is at patch 0.1.4.2, same as the PC version so there are no balance differences between the two versions at this time.

The major downside of playing Rivals on the Xbox is that you cannot use a Gamecube controller, which seeing as Rivals is a platform fighter in the same vein as Super Smash Bros., it may deter some players from making the jump. However, most players who would play it on the GCC have it already on PC, so it’s not the biggest of deal breakers. Rivals of Aether is priced at $14.99, which is the same as the PC version so there are no fears of console players getting a raw deal.

Source: Rivals of Aether

Ready to get your Boxer into fighting shape? Just one day after his release Balrog is already looking like a heavy hitter in Street Fighter V, and we’ve got some tech to help you start putting some weight behind those punches.

As usual Desk has provided a dazzling combo video showcasing Balrog’s impressive damage and juggle potential. Videos uploaded by Mickdo8640, show how Balrog can can maximize his damage from crush counters and V-Trigger. We’ve also got some day one meaty setups from D’Nyce, SomeFreshGuys and Digital Demolition to help  keep the pressure on.

More and more tech will be popping up over the weekend, but you can follow this Youtube playlist to see the latest videos as soon as we do.

The folks at Dell Alienware Japan are proud to announce that Naoki “Nemo” Nemoto will be flying their flag for future Street Fighter V competition.

Nemo is a well-rounded competitor with obvious skill in a number of fighting titles, but is perhaps best known (in recent memory, anyway) for his Rolento play in Ultra Street Fighter IV. His take on the baton-twirling mercenary involved rolls, wall dives and dashes aplenty; he seemed to never stand still. If you caught him on the right day, he also seemed never to block, instead opting to use superior movement to overwhelm his opponents and force them to defend or die–often both.

Nemo, an engineer by day, will be saving nights and weekends to throw down as the new face for Alienware Japan. He hopes to send a message that anything is possible, and skill in fighting games isn’t tied directly to the hours played, but the way played time is spent.

While Nemo has picked up Vega in Street Fighter V and has made his way to a handful of events, one can only assume that we’ll be seeing much more of his Spanish Ninjutsu in coming months thanks to this sponsorship.

We at Shoryuken wish both Nemo and Dell Alienware Japan the best with their partnership.

We now have an official release of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 straight from Bandai Namco. The title will release in North America on October 25 and in Europe on October 28 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One home consoles. The PC version will be made available internationally through Steam on October 28 as well.

To commemorate Anime Expo 2016, Bandai Namco also released a brand new trailer for the game, showcasing more of the story, environments, and gameplay mechanics.

Bandai Namco also announced that DJ Steve Aoki will remix a variety of fan favorite songs for the new game, including “Cha-La Head-Cha-La” and “We Got Power,” just to name a couple. The DJ can also be found within the game as a non-playable-character.

For those more interested to see how the game plays on its own, here is a video showcasing the versus mode by IGN.

Sources: Bandai Namco, IGN, Gematsu, DualShockers

As Arc System Works is gearing up for a console release of BlazBlue: Central Fiction, they released a brand new console promotional trailer.

The first part recaps some of the plot from the first three games, and then shows a lot of new footage. There are many fully-animated scenes, which could possibly be Story Mode scenes or from the not-yet-revealed console opening.

This first promotional video ends with a quick look at Es, who will be a launch DLC character. She’s the protagonist of XBlaze–Code Embryo.

Dustloop user Tokkan provided translation of some of her moves from a recent Famitsu article:

The Wheel of Fate begins turning once again on October 6, 2016, while North American and European fans can expect the localizations of BlazBlue: Central Fiction sometime this winter.

Source: Arc System Works, Dustloop

Street Fighter V isn’t the only game getting new characters this July. The official Pokkén Tournament Twitter account recently announced that a new Pokémon will soon be making its way to the arcade version of Pokkén Tournament.

The new playable Pokémon, which is set to be revealed on July 14, will be part of an update coming to the arcade version of the game on July 20.

If you missed the video from E3 that hinted at this announcement, you can find that here.

Source: Pokken Official via Gematsu

In an interview with Siliconera, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Producer, Masayuki Hirano, discussed some of the changes that are being made to the fighting game sequel and how many of the new additions were based on fan feedback.

“Based on user feedback, we got responses from fans who said they were playing online and the opponent does long range attacks and then keeps running to try to win with a time out,” said Hirano.

Hirano and the others at work on the title are hoping to fix this issue with a new system mechanic.

“…with Xenoverse 2 we are adding a new system called the Reverse Dash, which you can use to automatically pursue an opponent,” stated Hirano.

“During this dash if you put in a special command after you dash towards the opponent you will be able to change the direction you’re flying to get behind them. You will be able to dodge and prepare for a counterattack at the same time.”

There will also be a new mechanic called the “Stamina Break.” This will allow players to take away an opponent’s stamina while following up with a quick combo. This addition to the system was created after fans said it was too difficult to pull of combos due to the quick teleportation mechanic in the previous title.

Hirano was then asked about how the development team handles different kinds of feedback from competitive players and more “technically light” gaming fans.

“It may be a little difficult, but we want to listen to both,” said Hirano. “In terms of Dragon Ball Xenoverse, we wanted to make it easy for everyone to join in and fight, but keep the combat system deep. This way people that are hardcore fighting game fans will be able to enjoy the game as well.”

Hirano later confirmed that the game would include the same number of playable races from the previous game, but that they “are going into each race and expanding the experience with each one.”

The interview ended with discussion around the hub world, Conton City. Hirano stated that there will be a variety of side quests, and that players will be able to teleport to different areas within the Dragon Ball world to explore.

More recently, Bandai Namco UK announced that Frieza’s brother, Cooler, will play a role within the game’s story mode. Taking what Hirano said into consideration, this is likely to be one of the quests that takes players to other explorable locations, this quest’s being the planet Namek.

What was Cooler doing on Namek? You’ll discover it in #Xenoverse2! Out this Autumn on PS4, Xbox One and PC!pic.twitter.com/SqXuqFdAIt

— Bandai Namco UK (@BandaiNamcoUK) June 27, 2016

If you are interested in seeing further breakdowns of the new combat system, YouTuber Ndukauba, has a video showcasing a few of the new mechanics.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 will release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC later in 2016.

Sources: Siliconera, Bandai Namco, Ndukauba

New York City’s Next Level Arcade has built a reputation as a premier hub for the fighting game community, fostering some of the toughest competition in the country. After five years of operation the gaming center will move about 12 blocks north to 874 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY and expects to be open for business next week.

Wednesday night marked the final Next Level Battle Circuit at the familiar 9th Avenue location, with tournaments for Street Fighter V and Guilty Gear Xrd. The SFV bracket’s 54 competitors marked the most entrants in about two months for the weekly event, and the tournament was streamed as usual by Team Spooky, with Arturo “Sabin” Sanchez at the helm.

Though he’s still working out the decor, Next Level’s Owner, Henry “Golden” Cen, said that Next Level’s new venue will be ready on Wednesday for next week’s NLBC. It’s a welcome turn of events for the arcade, whose future seemed uncertain just under a year ago.

In August 2015, Cen announced that Next Level would be closing in February of this year due to disagreements between the ownership and the landlord. At the time, Cen maintained that he would continue searching for a new location for the arcade. There wasn’t much news after that, as frequenters of the arcade and fans of Next Level Battle Circuit speculated as to its fate.

Cen said the store’s original five-year lease was indeed expected to end in February, and he was not able to come to an agreement on its renewal. However, he was able to convince the landlord to extend the agreement on a month-to-month basis, keeping Next Level open as he searched for its next home.

After searching through a number of potential locations, Cen began working to finalize a deal with the new property’s owner in March. After two months of negotiation he was able to secure the location under another five-year lease with an option to renew for a full decade. The new space has a basement level in addition to the main floor, and boasts a backyard–a rare find in the dense city. During an interview on Wednesday, Henry mentioned that there may even be some barbecue in the arcade’s future with the added outdoor space.

A sneak peek of the new store pic.twitter.com/KJmGfgl0fF

— Henry Cen (金神) (@goldencen) June 27, 2016

Tournament competitor and volunteer Michael “Wyseguy” Coleman said he wasn’t fully aware of New York City’s fighting game scene until he made his way to Next Level. Though he had visited Chinatown Fair (an arcade that served as one of New York’s original fighting game hubs) a handful of times over the years, he was shocked to hear of its sudden closing in 2011.

“I thought, ‘is this it?’ And then I found out Next Level was gonna be around so I had to come here, and that’s why I started getting into it,” he said. “Essential, is what this is.”

Next Level has certainly been essential in harboring New York’s fighting game community. Next Level arose as CTF’s spiritual successor, opening in Brooklyn with a new business model and a focus on competitive fighters. Even in an era where online play is more popular than ever, the players at Next Level will be the first to tell you that there is no substitute for playing in person.

“It’s a new game, new players are coming in, there are still a lot of established players who still come out to Next Level,” Javits Arias, who placed 7th in the SFV tournament with Alex, said. “If you want to improve you’ve got to come out and support your local scene, play in person, and know what it’s like to play next to someone and feel the pressure.”

Though he had already built a reputation as a strong player in the Midwest, Antwan “F3|Alucard” Ortiz wasted no time making his presence felt at Next Level after moving to New York. He said being able to play against strong players more often at a place like Next Level has improved his overall performance and results at major events.

“It helps me out a lot, my game has like tripled in value just by being out here and being able to play these guys every week, instead of every month,” Alucard said. “It’s definitely a privilege to me.”

Alucard would eventually earn third place in the evening’s tournament, falling twice to OG Shine. Shine would go on to reset the bracket and win NLBC for a second consecutive week after beating PIE|Smug in two sets of Karin mirrors. On the Guilty Gear side, Venom player DaiAndOh took first place.

Next Level will re-open at 874 4th Ave, Brooklyn NY 11232. For those who are familiar with MTA transit, the location is accessible through D, N or R subway trains via 36 St. Station. The B70 and B35 bus also stop at 36th Street and 4th Ave.

Sources: Henry Cen, F3 Alucard, Wyseguy, Javits Arias, feature image c/o Simon Z Chetrit

While people can quite easily name the best individual Smash player for each game, no one has determined who is the best overall Smasher across all 4 officially sanctioned Smash titles. Well, Super Smash Con seeks to (maybe) put an end to this question with its new Smash Masters event, which sees 4 players known for their proficiency across multiple Smash titles competing to find out who is the best all-around Smasher.

There are only 4 contestants for this initial competition, with Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman, Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios, Eric “ESAM” Lew and Justin “Wizzrobe” Hallett all vying for the title of Smash Master. The way the tournament will work is that, rather than striking stages, players will strike games in the series at the start of a set, until only one game out of the 4 remains. Players then play a best-of-3 set in that game using standard tournament rules, with the loser of the set picking the next game. This will happen until all games in the series have been played. If the set is tied 2-2, the set will be decided by individual game victories and if that still doesn’t decide the set, Super Smash Con will then decide who wins based on so called “Big Victories,” which is if someone wins via a 2 stock in Brawl and Wii U, or a 3 stock in 64 or Melee. It’s all a bit confusing to tell you the truth, but full details on the rules and the bracket can be found on the official Super Smash Con website.

Such a small bracket makes sense when you have to play on 4 different games, but the obvious lack of a certain non-sanctioned Smash game makes the whole situation awkward should a 2-2 result happen. What would make more sense is if the final round was played out on Rivals of Aether or maybe even Wavedash Games’ unannounced platform fighter. In any case, it should be a fun side event which gives each Smash title its time to shine.

Source: Super Smash Con