After numerous issues kept them from making their original May dates, Level|Up Series is ready to present the next official installment of SoCal Regionals in October. While still a little ways off, outside support is starting to pour in.
Mortal Kombat X players will have an additional $10,000 to compete for courtesy of NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Games, following previous contributions to both Evo 2015 and Community Effort Orlando 2015’s respective prize pools.
Though generally one of the largest fighting game events in the United States any given year, this should go a long way in attracting players from other regions who may have been on the fence about attending SoCal Regionals.
SoCal Regionals 2015 is scheduled for October 9-11. More details can be found through the event’s official website.
Remember that Mortal Kombat X exhibition we reported on last week, wherein veteran Carl “RZR|Perfect Legend” White was scheduled to take on current NetherRealm powerhouse Dominique “cR|Sonic Fox” McLean at Summer Jam 9? Well, it happened, and it wasn’t pretty.
But first, some backstory. As we mentioned in our earlier story, the pair settled on the match after a bit of back-and-forth on Twitter. It was a story as old as time: Perfect Legend, a two-time Evo champion in Mortal Kombat 9, was going into this as a way to prove he still had what it took to hang in the upper echelons of competition. And while Sonic Fox’s intentions weren’t as clear, it was readily apparent his victory at Evo 2015 had lit an internal fire that was ready for all comers.
Unfortunately, the weekend didn’t start out so well for Perfect Legend. As Summer Jam’s Mortal Kombat X tournament began, he faced immediate opposition in pools. “Got eliminated by Kitanas and have to face a Kitana player,” Legend mentioned on Twitter, alluding to his upcoming exhibition. “This is what I’ve signed up for.”
Though typically regarded as an Erron Black player, Sonic Fox has bounced between characters as it’s suited him. Over the course of a few months, the young player pulled out Ermac, Tanya, Predator, and Shinnok during competitive play, but would be focusing on his relatively new (but certainly battle-tested) Kitana in the exhibition against Perfect Legend.
The stage was set. Tournament organizer Eric “Big E” Small allotted them some time on the main stage, Spooky was ready to stream, and the players were ready to settle this once and for all.
Over the course of 40 minutes, Sonic Fox completely obliterated Perfect Legend, shutting him out 10-0. Afterwards, Sonic would jump on the house mic for some much-deserved boasting.
“This is my popoff moment, alright? So, Perfect Legend, you’re good, you’re really good with Kung Lao. But you had to run your mouth on Twitter saying you would body me, and I told you I would 10-0 the shit out of you. Did I not say I would 10-0 you? It’s been about four years since I’ve played you in about four different games,” Sonic Fox said, pacing the stage. “I’ve played you in Dead or Alive, I’ve played you in Mortal Kombat, Injustice, Mortal Kombat X…I’ve won in every single one man! But not once did Carl get up and say, ‘I got outplayed.’ It always had to be a different excuse. So Carl, tell me, after this 10-0, what’s the excuse?”
“First off, Sonic Fox, I wanted to let you know–like I have many times–you are fucking godlike. I’ve been saying that to you forever. I have never ever ever ever said he was a bad player,” Perfect Legend replied, speaking half to his opponent and half to the crowd heckling him. “I’ve never said he sucked. I’ve said his fundamentals were bad, I said that. So, before I get into a super long story, what I did say was that I would destroy his Erron Black, and as you saw, that character was not on the screen.”
It was at this point that Big E intervened, calling for a best-of-five to see if Perfect Legend could back up his statements. Sadly for him, it went about the same as the previous set, and Sonic Fox would walk away with a record of 13-0 in an exhibition that was originally scheduled as a first-to-ten.
Sonic Fox is good, there’s no doubt about that, but I also have to give props to Perfect Legend for believing in himself almost to the point of absurdity. This tenacity is likely what made him a champion in years past, and luckily it appears as if the younger generation is coming up with the same fighting spirit. Sonic is an absolutely dominating force in the NetherRealm scene today, and I’m personally excited to see who steps up to test their luck next.
Despite frequent update, something always seems to fall through the cracks with Mortal Kombat X. After the release of a rather extensive patch yesterday, players discovered that Tanya has been given a little extra something something that was likely unintended by the developers.
For those unaware, Tanya’s Pyromancer variant comes equipped with a special named Dark Shroud. While it can be useful in combos, the move’s real purpose is to inflict the opponent with a unique status that causes Tanya’s fireballs to deal out more damage. Since the most recent patch, however, Dark Shroud also gives a boost to her throw–and when we say a boost we mean a boost, as demonstrated in the video below.
Yep, you read that right. 32% off a basic throw. To put that in perspective, throws generally do around 12% damage. And unlike with fireballs, the shroud doesn’t disappear afterwards, meaning a few decent reads could lead to a rather easy victory. We look forward to the upcoming hotfix that corrects this oversight.
Andy Lee’s WBO middleweight title defence against Billy Joe Saunders on October 10 in Manchester, has been postponed for a second time after the challenger suffered a cut eye in sparring.
The fight had already been rescheduled from September 19 in Limerick, when Lee picked up a virus last month that disrupted his preparation, and now it is off again due to the injury to Saunders.
“First of all I’m sorry to Andy and all the fans that this fight has had to be postponed again,” said Saunders….
Long considered one of the most promising free agents in our scene, Japanese competitor Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi has been signed by Red Bull. This development is the latest in a long string of fighting game collaborations for the energy drink manufacturer, who also brought American Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis on board this summer.
Often seen as one of the strongest Street Fighter players in the world, Bonchan has been an absolute tear over the last few years, culminating in a second-place finish at Evo 2014. Since then, this high-level player has seen success at events like Thaiger Uppercut, Community Effort Orlando, and Red Bull’s own Kumite invitational, proving that he has what it takes to hang with the best on a global scale.
As for the future, Bonchan has set his sights on Capcom Cup and its $500,000 prize pool. While he’s yet to secure victory at a premier event, he currently stands as the fourth-highest non-qualified player in terms of ranking points.
Some time ago, Mad Catz announced that they would be partnering with Capcom to launch a whole new line of controllers for Street Fighter V. At PAX Prime this weekend, the company gave us a first glimpse of some of these new controllers – the FightStick ALPHA and the FightPad PRO.
The FighStick ALPHA looks to be a smaller, more compact take on the traditional arcade stick. Unlike most modern peripherals, the ALPHA has only 6 buttons on the face, with the remaining buttons bumped off to the control panel. With its smaller form factor, the FightStick ALPHA seems to be perfect for players who are always on the go.
Arguably the more interesting of the two new controllers is the FightPad PRO, a full featured control pad complete with touch pad and dual analog sticks. Like most other controllers of this kind, the pad features an asymmetrical design with a longer right hand grip that allows players to better position their fingers over the face buttons. The directional pad, on the other hand, looks to be an evolution of the circular “Sega” style directional pad from their earlier FightPad designs.
As with the Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition 2 before them, both of these controllers will be compatible with both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. Bear in mind that their designs may change as they are still “pending licensor approval.”
More information will be released in the months to come. Feel free to check out the images below in the meantime.
While the Street Fighter V beta has produced a ton of cool, competition-level strategy over the past few days, the game’s early build also includes some noteworthy quirks. One such oddity was recently sent to us by OD Starwin, who captured a strange glitch involving returning fighter Birdie.
Birdie’s beta booger bug (say that ten times fast) causes opponents to freeze in midair should they be hit with the projectile generated by his idle stance while performing a special move that takes them off the ground. This bears some resemblance to the Vega glitch discovered in Ultra Street Fighter IV earlier this year, but is obviously much harder to pull off in the fog of battle. It’s practically useless but still funny nonetheless!
So what do you think? Is this a useless piece of technology or is Birdie the undisputed champion of the current Street Fighter V build? Let us know in the comments.
If you haven’t had enough butt in your life, Rainbow Mika has a fresh supply in Street Fighter V. The aspiring professional wrestler comes equipped with a variety of throw and pressure moves to overwhelm the opponent from multiple directions. 4Gamer has details on her profile and flashy moves.
The unique and popular Rainbow Mika enters the fray in Street Fighter V! Check out her refined arsenal of pro wrestling moves and her looks!
Rainbow Mika, the Rainbow Bomber
Real name Mika Nanakawa. She admires the legendary “Red Cyclone” Zangief and earnestly aspires to become a professional wrestler.
Height: 168 cm Weight: 70 kg Job/Affiliation: Female wrestler Likes: Zangief’s pro wrestling, special training (Beach running, finger push-ups, neck bridges)
V-Trigger: Nadeshiko from the Front
Mika’s wrestling rival Nadeshiko makes an entrance! Depending on the directional input, Nadeshiko from Behind and Nadeshiko from Above, changing from where she appears.
V-Skill: Nekketsu Mic Performance (“Zealous Mic Performance”)
Mika speaks on the mic! After the performance the damage of her next throw move is increased, but the damage increases further as you hold the buttons to continue speaking.
Special Move: Shooting Peach
Mika aims for the opponent with a butt attack! The jump distance changes based on the light, medium and heavy versions. Just like it looks it’s a great pushing move to pressure the opponent.
Special Move: Rainbow Typhoon
Mika grabs the opponent by the feet, spins them and tosses them in this giant swing throw. Try to combine her wealth of throw moves and strikes.
Critical Art: Badly Peach
Mika and Nadeshiko work in perfect sync in this Critical Art! The two combine their power and squish the launched opponent with a double hip attack! The damage and visuals are exceptional!
By pre-ordering Street Fighter V from a handful of North American retailers, players will be able to outfit Ryu, Chun-Li, Cammy, and M. Bison with unique new bonus costumes, according to recent details from Capcom-Unity.
From a bearded Ryu to an updated battle suit for Cammy, these alternates show distinctly different sides of these classic characters and make this writer wonder why they weren’t used as their default costumes in the upcoming title instead.
Battle Costume Ryu (GameStop)
Battle Costume Chun-Li (PlayStation Store)
Battle Costume Cammy (Best Buy)
Battle Costume M. Bison (Amazon)
Unfortunately, there’s no way to receive all four at this point in time except for establishing pre-orders at every participating retailer, so let’s hope Capcom releases a complete package further down the line.
Also revealed was a special collector’s edition of Street Fighter V that includes a ton of extras, including a Ryu statue, a 48-page artbook, various UDON comics, and more. This package will run you $99.99 when it lands in North America.
At Evolution 2015, Sanwa Denshi once again released a limited edition set of of wooden ball and battops for their JLF arcade levers. These were sold on site and only those who were at Evo were able to buy them–until now, that is.
Due to overwhelming demand, Sanwa, in cooperation with Arcade Shock, will be releasing these parts for purchase via the distributor’s website.
These limited edition arcade parts come in two types of wood. The first is rosewood, which is a lighter but richly hued timber with darker veining. The second option is Burma Padouk, a dark, mahogany-like wood with an interlocked grain and large open pores.
These are now available for $50 at Arcade Shock. Supplies are limited, however, so interested folks should order as soon as possible.
