Category: News

The Steam version of Skullgirls 2nd Encore just received a new update patch. This patch made no changes to the game’s balance, but did bring a pleasant change to Quick Match. After finishing a match, players now have the option to play again in a best-of-five set.

There were a few other quality of life changes made in this update, which you can view here. There’s no word on whether this change will make its way to the PS4 version, but with a Lobby patch still on its way for the indie fighter, there’s a chance that console owners could receive this and any other bug fixes between now and then. Major changes are unlikely with Lab Zero working on Indivisible, so this may be one of the final changes made to the game.

Source: Steam

More images have surfaced–courtesy the Japanese side of the Street Fighter blog–of the upcoming Kanzuki Private Beach premium stage and Karin’s corresponding premium costume, both revealed to be available as part of the July 1st Street Fighter V update. VesperArcade has compiled these additional images and shared them via YouTube.

Click to view slideshow.

VesperArcade also discusses a question that has arisen regarding the Beach stage, relating to competitive play: the images show that fighters’ feet may be obscured by the seawater, leading to potential difficulties in determining range and distance.

It’s too hard to tell at this point exactly what the water effects will look like in motion, so this question will have to remain open until we see the playable result–once the update drops this Friday.

Source: VesperArcade

At CEO 2016 last weekend, Capcom revealed that not only Ibuki, but also the Street Fighter II classic character Balrog will be dropping in the Street Fighter V update this Friday. If you’re hungry for more info on the cash-obsessed boxer, Japanese new site 4Gamer has more details on Balrog’s profile and how his fighting style has evolved in SFV, translated below.

From 4Gamer:

Balrog, The Greedy, Powerful Puncher

One of the top members of Shadaloo. He is short-tempered, greedy and true to his own ambitions. He recklessly charges his opponents and unleashes devastating punches.

Height: 193 cm
Weight: 135 kg
Job/Affiliation: One of Shadaloo’s Four Kings
Likes: Women, Bourbon, Money

V-Trigger: Crazy Rush

After activating, Balrog can use his remaining V-Trigger gauge to follow up any of his specials with Charging Buffalo and Bursting Buffalo. Find an opening and turn a single hit into huge damage!

V-Skill: KKB

A special maneuver where Balrog turns his body while advancing forward. During the maneuver, he can evade projectiles and has the option to perform follow-up attacks.

Balrog can go into KKB before certain special attacks connect, making him a technical close-range fighter.

Special Moves

Dash Straight

As the name implies, Balrog puts his force into a powerful straight punch! The distance traveled varies with button strength.

Dash Ground Blow

A dash into a low attack. It’s effective at catching the opponent by surprise.

Turn Punch

The damage and the amount of invincibility increase the longer the move is charged.

Screw Smash

An upward punch that can launch the opponent. It’s also effective as an anti-air.

While V-Trigger is active, Balrog not only can follow-up all of his specials, but he can also string together the follow-ups until the V-Gauge runs out.

Critical Art: Gigaton Punch

Balrog builds power into his fist and hits the opponent with a single blow with all of his might! While it’s a simple Critical Art you can feel its devastating power. You can connect into Gigaton Punch after a variety of moves, so use the technique in your combos.

Balrog’s Character Story, Alternate Costume and Stage Will Also Be Available!

Balrog versus F.A.N.G, a showdown between Four Kings members. Is this a falling out, or something else…?

Balrog plotting something with Urien. Look forward to finding out their connection in the Cinematic Story Mode.

After clearing Balrog’s Character Story Mode, you can purchase this costume with Fight Money. With the golden gloves and white suit, this flashy outfit brilliantly shows off Balrog’s tastes.

Balrog’s Street Fighter II Stage is resurrected in Street Fighter V! The nighttime streets are colored with flashy neon lights, while the crowd drawn by the fight is heating up.

Source: 4Gamer

While the majority of our community is focused on Street Fighter V at the moment, it’s always nice to take a trip down memory lane, to see just how much Capom’s top fighting game series has evolved over the years. From its humble beginnings in the eighties with the original Street Fighter, to becoming an entire franchise that has spanned not only a myriad of sequels and spin-off games, but numerous movies, comic books and animated series, SF has been on quite the journey.

As part of his Johnny Vs. series, YouTube game reviewer SomecallmeJohnny takes on a retrospective of Street Fighter, from the past to the present, with a few interesting facts about the franchise thrown in along the way.

He notes that this is a personal retrospective, as opposed to a historical account, so more time will be spent on some sections than others. It’s also important to consider that his brief overviews of the games come from a more casual perspective.

If you’re up for an entertaining trip memory lane, or if you’re a newer member of the community that came in with Street Fighter IV or V, and want to see where the franchise has come from, check out the video below.

Be warned though, some of the language Johnny uses is NSFW.

Source: SomecallmeJohnny

Japanese gaming news site 4Gamer recently interviewed the King of Fighters XIV developers and revealed some pertinent information about the upcoming fighter. Though the original interview is in Japanese, the information has been extracted and translated on MadMan’sCafe.

Some of the information revealed explains the company’s decision to go 3D, an explanation and acknowledgment of the shading and lighting issues, why they went for the aesthetic they did over cell shading, and an explanation of their “old school approach” to many aspects of the game’s design. They also commented on potential DLC, stating that they used all of their resources on the main roster, so there is no room to think about DLC characters at this time.

More details were also revealed about matchmaking, specifically that there would be 12 person lobbies for players and spectators to join. The game style is also said to adopt the best characteristics of KOF’98, KOF’02, and KOF XIII.

There is a lot more to this interview, so be sure to read up on it here.

Source: MadMan’sCafe, 4Gamer, with tips from 6let and Patrick H.

FGC Academy has just released a new video detailing Zangief’s V-Trigger, Cyclone Lariat. Those who have been caught in the whirling spin of the Red Cyclone know how dangerous it can be, but this tutorial will help players understand how it works.

Cyclone Lariat is one of Zangief’s few combo tools in SFV, and can also be used to setup highly damaging mixups. FGC Academy explains how Zangief can utilize different versions of the V-Trigger ability for different effects, such as comboing into his Critical Art and launching for resets.

Remember that if Zangief draws in a blocking opponent with his vacuum effect and does not hit with the lariat, he is at a -6 frame disadvantage and can be punished with an attack or grab. If the opponent doesn’t not block the suction, Zangief is at a +3 frame advantage, meaning that spinning pile driver and jab will both beat any attack that is not invincible.

Once you get a grip on how Zangief’s V-Trigger works, you can try employing the suction effect as a meaty on the opponent’s wakeup to put Zangief at an even greater advantage. This video by Mr. Slay n Man shows how Zangief can score up to +15 frame advantage when using Cyclone Lariat after a knockdown.

Sources: FGC Academy, Mr. Slay n Man

Austin Watson, known better by his WWE stage name of Xavier Woods, is no stranger to nerd culture. We are also no stranger to him, as his YouTube channel UpUpDownDown has garnered quite a decent amount of hits from the fighting game community, due to his setting up matches between various WWE personalities. He has also made various references to gaming in his WWE promos, including one to the Georgia native’s home grown major, Final Round.

So it should come as no shock to anyone that the man who makes a living off of pro wrestling would be in attendance at the Orlando pro wrestling-themed major, CEO. While having an exhbition between himself and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Kenny Omega in Street Fighter V, Woods also talked to ESPN, who was in attendance at the event.

In the article, Woods discusses his background with video games and how they still play a major role in who he is today. He talks about how he used games to overcome social awkwardness, which certainly aids him in being a public figure. Moreover, he discusses how he used video games to deal with being bullied in school, as well as talking about how video games have helped bring together the WWE backstage area during their down time. He even adds some encouragement to kids to use video games however they can to help them, including becoming big in the FGC.

This article is certainly worth a five minute glance, to see how a passion for games has driven someone to success on a platform that doesn’t inherently have anything to do with gaming.

Source: ESPN via RagingStormX

Last year, KOEI Tecmo and Team NINJA held the first Dead Or Alive Festival. The event gave the Japanese Dead Or Alive 5 community a chance to compete and shine in a game that’s traditionally dominated by the west.

The event is set to return this July with players from not just Japan, but all over Asia coming to compete for a chance to go to the Dead Or Alive 5 Last Round Battle Royal finals at Final Showdown at NEC. In their way will be three of America’s finest DOA5LR players: Xcalibur Blades, BBoy Dragon, and Air Gear.

The event itself will take place on July 9 at the Osaki Bright Core Hall in Tokyo, Japan. In addition to the tournament, there will be other events at the festival including cosplay and illustration competitions. Exclusive merchandise will also be available at the event including a special costume voucher that’s free for all attendees.

The biggest thing to look forward to, however, is the possibility of a major announcement related to the Dead Or Alive franchise. Last year’s event saw the announcement of the DOA Xtreme 3, this year however, with the company’s previous hints of a big  surprise for the game, many are expecting something related to Dead Or Alive 5 Last Round.

Source: Team NINJA

Eightarc and Qanba have been around the FGC for some time now. Their previous line of arcade sticks provided dual console compatibility at the cost of using unlicensed chips that skirted official certification from Sony and Microsoft.

Now, both companies have come together for their first officially licensed arcade stick for the PlayStation 4. Called the Eightarc Drone, this new arcade stick is notable for a couple of things. First, this is a budget arcade stick, retailing for only $89.99. This brings it more in line with the previous generation Qanba Q1 than the top of the line dual console sticks such as the Eightarc Fusion. It also means that it’s using Qanba parts instead of actual arcade parts from Sanwa, Seimitsu or HORI.

The second thing about this stick, one that’s quite noticeable even just from the pictures, is that it basically looks like a cut size copy of HORI’s current generation Real Arcade Pro. While this shouldn’t really be a concern for anyone who just wants lower cost arcade stick, it might bother some folks, especially when the Real Arcade Pros cost just $30 more.

The Eightarc Drone is now available for purchase over at their official site.

Source: Eightarc

As expected, Capcom Digital Media director “haunts” took to the Capcom-Unity blog this morning to bring us further details about what we can expect from Balrog when he joins the Street Fighter V playable roster in the DLC update this Friday.

Balrog stays true to form as the “Crazy Buffalo” with a focus on chaining together devastating punching attacks, mixed up with some dirty fighting.

V-Skill: KKB

Balrog’s V-skill is a twirling sidestep that allows him to dodge projectiles and other attacks, and then immediately advance so he’s ready to punish. Useful at long or close range.

V-Trigger: Crazy Rush

Balrog gets so hungry for that fight money that steam rises from his body and he goes berserk–granting him the ability to chain together special moves like his Bursting Buffalo and Charging Buffalo.

Critical Art: Gigaton Blow

Nothing too fancy, fittingly: Balrog just likes punching things really hard. Balrog just pummels whatever’s in his way until it stays down. This simple but powerful CA is of course linkable, and is sure to be a strong finish to his combos.

Naturally, Balrog comes equipped with an alternate costume for Story Mode and a Battle Costume that you’ll need to grab from the Shop, if you haven’t already picked up the Season Pass.

He’s also following in Guile’s footsteps and bringing an updated version of his classic Las Vegas stage along. Just in time for Evo! But that’s not the only new stage coming our way: the new Kanzuki Private Beach will also be available for 70,000 Fight Money, and a new matching summer outfit for Karin will be available from the shop for $3.99/3.99€/£3.29–joining the other premium costumes as previously announced.

Following up on the tease of Juri and Urien at the end of Balrog’s trailer, we also get a look at their official character art. They’ll be playable in the Cinematic Story Mode, but not in other modes–yet.

Source: Capcom-Unity