Category: News

Earlier this month, Game Daytona ran a 20-player exhibition pitting two factions of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike players against each other. The competition was fierce, and you can watch it right now, for free, on NicoNico–that is of course, assuming that you have at least a free account that you’re logged into.

There’s a wide character selection present in these replays: Alex, Remy, Necro, and more all make appearances. There are some impressive runs from Teppoudama’s Ryu and Dokura’s Yang, in particular. And, of course, no Japanese 3s event is complete without some insane YSB Hugo parries. Sit back and enjoy the high level action from across the waters!

The players representing each side are:

East

Funyosu, Talbain, Baru-nyan, Akagaeru, Hiroyuki, Atsugari, Heboryu, Ebara, Tamihe, Match, Mimora

West

Shibata, Teppoudama, 339, D5, HT, Y・S・B, Thanatos, Dokura, Tominaga

Source: Game Daytona

Over the last few months we’ve seen a lot more of TSM’s Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios on YouTube than we have in competition thanks to a finger injury that has left him unable to compete. That’s all set to change this weekend however, as ZeRo has managed to land himself a last minute berth at Get On My Level after fifth seed PULSE|Zinoto had to pull out. This first came to light when it was Tweeted by Elliot “Ally” Carroza-Oyarce and was later confirmed by the man himself in another Tweet.

This means that ZeRo’s attendance at GOML has gone full circle–he initially registered at the event but, thanks to his finger problems, was unable to take part. However, his registration was still paid for and valid which meant that, when Zinoto had to unfortunately drop out of the tournament, ZeRo was already signed up and primed to take his place. Since ZeRo is now the highest ranked player in attendance, pools are set to be reseeded–though since Zinoto was already the fifth seed, it should be a relatively simple matter.

With the addition of a man who many believe to be the best player in the world, GOML has rounded out a lineup of high-quality attendees that include Nairo, hometown hero Ally, and Mexican wunderkind MKLeo, who will be making his very first international appearance. With such a surplus of top-level talent in attendance to challenge a rusty ZeRo, Get On My Level is primed to be a wildly exciting tournament with all manner of upsets on the cards–and that’s just Smash 4! With only PPMD missing, 5 of the top 6 Melee players will be battling alongside a whole host of challengers to lay claim to the Melee crown. It looks like Get On My Level is going to be a terrific event and, for those of us who can’t get to Canada, there will be multiple streams for our viewing pleasure. Check out the schedule below to see where and when you can feast your eyes on the best Super Smash Bros. action around.

Sources: Ally, ZeRo

The CFN Portal continues to add concept art depicting how characters fit into Street Fighter V’s world, recently turning the focus to Laura Matsuda’s family tree. In addition to her younger brother Sean (who we’ve already met through Street Fighter III, and Street Fighter V’s story mode), we are introduced to her grandfather Kinjiro from Japan, her parents Yuichiro and Brenda, and her older brother Fabio. We also learn she has two cousins, Enzo and Manuela, who practice capoeira.

Kinjiro; Yuichiro; Brenda

Fabio; Laura; Sean

Enzo; Manuela

Speaking of capoeira–Elena makes an appearance in additional new artwork that shifts away from the Matsuda family to focus on some well-known fighters from Street Fighter III–and also some side characters, namely Dudley’s loyal butler Ortho K. Gotch and Ibuki’s ninjutsu classmate Sarai.

Elena; Makoto; Oro

Q; Yun; Yang

Dudley; Ortho K. Gotch; Sarai

Last but not least, we get to meet Texas-born Byron Taylor: Guile’s commanding officer, seen overlooking the fight in the background of Street Fighter V’s Air Force Base stage.

Byron Taylor

Japanese-speakers can check out the full character profiles in the CFN Portal Shadaloo Activity Report.

Source: CFN Portal

Lately, it seems that we’ve been spoiled when it comes to King of Fighters XIV content. Aside from the latest 24 character public build of the game, SNK has also been putting up trailers almost every week, and screenshots almost every single day.

Well, it seems that this flood of information isn’t going to turn into a trickle anytime soon. SNK have just announced that they will be debuting a brand new public build of the game with 36 playable characters on May 28 in Japan.

This new build represents a chance for fans to get a glimpse at characters who we’ve yet to see in action, as well as some like King and Angel, who were noticeably missing from the 24 character build, despite being playable in earlier ones.

In addition to this, SNK will be taking said 36 character build to different locations all over Japan in the weeks following its debut.

Source: SNK via Gatoray

The Smash community has been abuzz the last few days with speculation about the 1.16 patch. Some may have had their hopes up for surprise additional content, but most were just looking forward to balance changes. And, oh boy, did we get balance changes.

The most controversial character in the game right now has got to be Bayonetta. Excitement for the umbra witch and her impeccable style upon her reveal started to look more like resentment and frustration with how strong she really ended up being upon release. While the community has made a big push recently to discover and share counters to some of her stronger options, it looks like they won’t have as much to worry about moving forward; Bayonetta is the sole recipient of any balance changes in the 1.16 patch, and unfortunately for her, it’s not pretty.

First uncovered by reputable Smash dataminer Random Talking Bush, the folks on SmashBoards quickly began doing some research and have a comprehensive list of changes Bayonetta is set to receive. The list includes lower damage, slower attacks, and smaller hitboxes that are guaranteed to leave as many players rejoicing as crying. But without seeing the new Bayonetta in competition, the question of how potent these nerfs really are, as well as what effect they’ll have on her place in tournaments, remains to be seen.

While this information does currently appear to be all the update includes, more data may be uncovered in the coming days. Stay tuned.

Sources: Random Talking Bush, SmashBoards

Despite not being as big a name as other fighting games, Dead or Alive 5 has had a steady competitive presence throughout the past few years. This is thanks to constant updates and a company sponsored competitive tour.

That said, many may be wondering what’s next for Dead or Alive. Well, based on recent statements from producer Yosuke Hayashi, it seems that Team NINJA still has something in store for the game’s 5th installment.

KOEI Tecmo recently discussed their future outlook for their five big brands, of which Team NINJA is a part. Alongside comments about the other IPs under their belt, Hayashi specifically mentioned that they were preparing a big surprise for Dead or Alive 5’s future.

Dead or Alive 5’s most recent installment, DOA5: Last Round for PlayStation 4, XBox One and PC recently got updated with a new guest character and stages. Whether or not this “big surprise” is simply more of the same or something bigger is still to be seen.

At the very least, we know that Team NINJA is planning to continue support for their game for the foreseeable future.

Source: Gematsu via Free Step Dodge, with a tip from NightmareSteam

In an attempt to provide an official global player ranking for Super Smash Bros for Wii U, similar to that of Melee It On Me’s Top 100, Panda Global has started its own initiative to effectively rank the top threats from around the world. The actual rankings have been decided through work by Panda Global’s own dedicated stats team, made up of PG|Zan, PG|Suar and PG|Dom, as well as a panel of top Smash 4 players from around the world to help make adjustments and accurately place certain players. You can see the criteria for ranking players, as well as the list of panelists on the official Panda Global site.

The bios for each player list their notable wins, their tournament placings as well as a special ‘X-Factor’ stat which indicates the difference between where the player was ranked by the panel, and where they were actually ranked on the official list. So, if a player has a X-Factor stat of say +4, it means that the panelists ranked the player 4 spots higher from where they were actually placed. Again, this is all listed on the official rankings page, which will be regularly updated until it reaches number #1.

As well as being a response to Melee It On Me’s own Top 100, the impetus for this list no doubt comes from TSM|Leffen’s initial visa rejection, which cited one of the reasons for his failed application as there being a lack of ‘an official ranking system’ for Smash as a whole. Hopefully, this list will spur both communities to create legitimate player rankings and some kind of official Super Smash Bros. league to provide up to date ranking information. If you prefer to see the list in video form, Panda Global’s own ESAM has created a short video to detail the entries from number 50-41 which you can watch below.

Sources: Panda Global; ESAM; Melee It On Me; TSM

Europe tends to occasionally be left out when it comes to release dates for some fighting games. As such, whenever a game’s release date is given for Japan and North America, but not for Europe, as was the case for the King of Fighters XIV, fans in the region tend to worry.

Well, here’s some great news then for King of Fighters fans in Europe: Deep Silver have not only announced that they will be bringing the game to the region, but that it will be coming out on August 26, just a day or two behind the releases in other regions.

Regarding this, Klemenz Kundratitz, CEO of Koch Media–the company that owns the Deep Silver label–stated that “[We] are looking forward to adding The King of Fighters XIV to Deep Silver’s portfolio.” He also added that “Publishing the next installment of such an iconic fighting series in Europe, the first time on PS4, supplements our roster of Deep Silver games nicely.”

As part of the announcement, they also released the following European trailer for the game.

Source: Deep Silver via the Shoryuken forums.

Continuing what they started with the Team Japan KOF XIV gameplay trailer, SNK drops another literal bombshell on us in the form of the lovely Mature. She appears with her teammates, just as deadly as ever. Iori and Vice show off what they can do, but Mature steals the show.

We get a look at how some of Mature’s attacks will look, along with a good shot of her Desperation move. Also, viewers may notice that she clearly has both eyes in this trailer.

Since the teams seem to be revealed in the order shown in an earlier trailer, the next team trailer will most likely be Team K’.

Echo Fox is an eSports team best known for its activity in the League of Legends and Counter-Strike circuit. This year, however, they’ve been making moves to expand into other games. One such move includes their recent signing of Super Smash Bros. Melee “God” Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman. 

This isn’t the first fighting game player they’ve sponsored, as they also picked up Julio Fuentes earlier this year to represent them in Street Fighter V.

If Echo Fox wants to make a splash in the FGC, they’ve certainly picked two great players to do so. Following this sponsorship, all eyes will be on Mew2King, as they often are, to see if the Melee master can bring home a victory for Echo Fox at any of the many upcoming majors.

Source: Daily Dot