Category: News

The team behind Killer Instinct recently rolled out a sizable update, focused mainly on fixing the few lingering bugs in season two. If you take a look at the patch notes, you’ll be quick to notice that actual changes to system mechanics, game modes, and characters are scarce, which isn’t unexpected.

While mainly for polish, the update does unlock the ability to purchase XP boosters from the store, which may or may not appeal to your style, as well as Cinder and ARIA shadows in the Shadow Lab. At any rate, those who enjoy popping out Ultra Combos can now do so with even fewer bugs stepping in the way.

We’ve included the full list of changes below, courtesy of the original post on Ultra Combo.

Source: Ultra Combo

Some time back, we reported that voice files were found in the Street Fighter V beta that hinted at the full roster and possible Capcom Pro Tour locations. While these were merely an announcer’s voice, new audio has been sent our way that may further unveil another newcomer

One generous benefactor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has shared with us a number of audio clips that were discovered in Street Fighter V after a recent update. Among these voices is one spoken by a character that identifies himself as “the great Fan,” or “Fan-sama” in Japanese.

This lines up with previous findings that mentioned a character with the same name both in the code and the aforementioned announcer audio. We’re hesitant to say this is concrete proof, but the hints are certainly starting to stack up.

The other files feature Cammy and Birdie in what may be back-and-forth dialogue with Fan from the story mode, giving us a small indication of what they will be up to in Street Fighter V. With that in mind, please note that this audio may contain spoilers, so listen at your own risk.

Street Fighter V is coming to PlayStation 4 and PC on February 16.

As with most new fighting games at the beginning of their media blitz, we know very little about King of Fighters XIV. Sure, the playable cast will include Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, Leona Heidern, and Chang Koehan, and players can expect to get their hands on the final release sometime next year, but that’s really it.

But what if I told you the latest trailer possibly confirmed a rather lengthy roster leak?

Earlier this year, before we even knew King of Fighters XIV was a thing, a rather mysterious list appeared online purporting to detail the entire cast for an upcoming release. Although the original source has since been taken down, this leak apparently originated in China and was shared by a Twitter user named ALX. It stirred up some good discussion when it first made the scene, but quickly fell by the wayside.

That was until Chang showed up in the second teaser, decked out in a Southtown Jail outfit that seemed to indicate he had returned to the shady activity of his past at some point. It’s the prison uniform that brought this list back into the spotlight.

See, while the list names each of the characters that have already been revealed, it’s the mention of Chang’s imprisonment that really stands out. Sure, his criminal past with partner Choi Bounge is well-known by SNK lore fanatics, but could this have really been a lucky guess?

Longtime readers will know that we tend to shy away from these kinds of stories. It’s easy to jump online and put together a dream list with no factual basis, and rumors of this nature lead to dead ends more often than not. But this little detail has raised enough eyebrows that we thought it might be worth tossing out there for more folks to see. Just, please, keep in mind that these are rumors and nothing more. Hell, even if the list is real, it’s likely things have changed during development, so be sure to take this with a grain of salt and all that.

As you likely noticed, there’s a few details missing here and there. Some names were left untranslated and others are simply character archetypes, leading us to believe both indicate newcomers to the series. Another interesting note is the inclusion of pachinko slot mascots Love Heart and Mui Mui alongside Samurai Shodown’s Nakoruru to make up the Alternate World team.

While many of these names are carryovers from the most recent King of Fighters entries, a few are pretty surprising. Not sure how many Tung Fu Rue fans there are out there, but he’s apparently taken the China Team mantle from the Psycho Soldiers for his own purposes. And, personally, I’m pretty stoked to see the Mexican team of Ramon, Angel, and Tizoc suit up for another go-around.

What do you think? Plausible or complete bullshit? Feel free to discuss this list in the comments and let us know which of your favorites may have made the cut.

Source: Cyber Fanatix via MMCafe, NeoGAF

If you’re a Super Smash Bros. Melee player, you’ve probably got a strong opinion regarding the legality the Ice Climbers’ wobbling technique in tournament play. Regardless of your take on the parka-powered infinite, there’s a good chance that you’ll be seeing more of it in the immediate future–barring any rule issues, that is.

This is because Robert “Wobbles” Wright, the man behind the infamous maneuver, recently made a triumphant return from a (brief) retirement period and will now sport the Panda Global tag. On top of popularizing the winter-garbed duo, he is perhaps best known as the Evo 2013 runner-up, the culmination of a long career that began back in 2006.

Wright bolsters Panda Global’s already impressive Smash lineup, which also fields Justin “Plup” McGrath, Eric “ESAM” Lew, Jestise “MVD” Negron, and Shane “SS” Bruce. The organization also sponsors general fighting game players Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez and Steven “Coach Steve” Delgado.

Panda Clobal CEO Alan “SamuraiPanda” Bunney told The Daily Dot that Wright is “still a top level contender, taking out some of the Melee greats this year alone,” citing both his writing and commentary skills as their key motivation to bring him aboard.

Expect to see more of Wright’s infinite usage, mallet swinging, and commentary at fighting game events moving forward.

Source: The Daily Dot, featured image courtesy of Polygon

After a number of discoveries revealed secrets within the Street Fighter V beta, Capcom has provided some of the first official content in some time, previewing a few of the themes that will accompany characters in the upcoming title.

In the latest installment of the Saikyo Blog, producer Tomoaki Ayano shared snippets of the unique musical arrangements they’ve put together for Vega (known as Balrog in Japan), Birdie, Cammy, Chun-Li, Karin, R. Mika, Necalli, and Rashid, all of which you’ll find in the playlist below. Feel free to give them a listen and let us know what you think.

Vega
Birdie
Cammy
Chun-Li
Karin
R. Mika
Necalli
Rashid

If you missed out on them before, similar previews for Ryu, Ken, and M. Bison’s themes can be found here.

Street Fighter V is scheduled to launch for PlayStation 4 and PC on February 16.

Source: Saikyo Blog via Mike Ross

As you may have already heard, Skullgirls developer Lab Zero Games is currently running an Indiegogo campaign for their next game. While Indivisible is an action RPG, Lab Zero won’t be moving away from their popular fighting franchise entirely according to new details.

Annie of the Stars, who previously had the chance of becoming playable in Skullgirls but fell short in the fan vote, will instead be making her playable debut in Indivisible. If the crowdfunding efforts are successful, Annie and a host of other guest characters from other indie titles will join the game as “Incarnations,” fighting alongside heroine Ajna in the game’s Valkyrie Profile-inspired battle system.

Lab Zero is currently sitting at $623,819 of their $1.5 million goal with eleven days to go. Be sure to visit Indiegogo to see how you can help make Indivisible a reality, and feel free to try out a playable prototype on both PC and PlayStation 4 if you’re still on the fence.

Source: Polygon

Sony recently announced that they would be adding 150 new titles to their PlayStation Now streaming service. For those out of the loop, this platform allows subscribers to play streaming games through their PlayStation console of choice.

This latest group includes a number of fighting games, including Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, and Divekick.

Now, the addition of fighting games to an online streaming service, which pretty much guarantees input delay, can feel a bit counter-intuitive. At the very least, this will allow players to experience titles they’ve yet to get their hands on, even if it is under less than ideal circumstances. Just…don’t make this your main method of playing these games, okay?

Source: PlayStation Blog

During the development cycles of the most recent Street Fighter titles, a contingent of fighting game fans has been adamant about the return of Street Fighter EX characters. Cast members like Skullomania and Doctrine Dark are constantly included in wishlists, and this writer was almost convinced that some of Ono’s previous hints pointed towards Pullum Purna’s reappearance.

Unfortunately, these hopes rarely find fertile ground due to one clear-cut factor: Capcom doesn’t own the EX series’ original characters. Those properties belong to Arika, who functioned as the lead developer on the 3D titles, and they’ve yet to venture out of those confines.

This time around, however, things may be looking up. Arika vice president Ichiro Mihara recently took to Twitter to shed some light on the situation, providing a string of tweets that touched on how things might pan out in the future.

“Regarding Street Fighter EX, as long as we are not discussing Capcom characters (e.g. Ryu), we have the rights to our characters,” Mihara said, setting the scene. “Specially interesting is that we arranged to have the priority in 3D fighting game development with Capcom after Street Fighter EX […] but it seems [the contract] wasn’t valid at the time of Street Fighter IV’s development.”

Despite what he sees as Capcom disregarding a previous arrangement with Street Fighter IV, Mihara gave props to the work producer Yoshinori Ono put into the series. “I feel that game is the direct result of Ono’s effort and passion,” he explained, “and Street Fighter and Street Fighter EX are now two separate series.”

“I guess I can put it as, possibility-wise, there is a possibility of Street Fighter EX characters making guest appearances in Capcom games, so if there’s a future in that area, look forward to that,” Mihara concluded. “We plan to continue to take on the challenge of creating games in a variety of fields, so I might not be able to give a very clear point of view on copyrights, but [Arika president Akira Nishitani] is aiming for user-friendly titles, so we hope you continue to enjoy our games. I’ll fight with the lawyers (laughs).”

While, to the best of our knowledge, Street Fighter V’s cast has been decided through 2016, this opens up a number of routes for the title to take in the future. Of course, these kinds of partnerships are a two-way street, and a suitable agreement will need to be made by both Capcom and Arika before anything happens. Only time will tell if Mihara’s efforts produce results.

Source: Ichiro Mihara, translations courtesy of USD and PandaPeleador