Category: News

Although it’s been out for less than a week, NetherRealm Studios has already released a patch for Mortal Kombat X. The ver.1.02 update fixes an issue regarding throws and applies some changes to Imposter Shinnok, Grandmaster Sub-Zero, and Shirai Ryu Takeda.

Additionally, Ronin Takeda has been granted a new move that brings his sword back without having to perform an attack.

The full patch notes can be found below, so be sure to check them out and let us know what you think.

• General – Throws (regular or command grabs) will no longer sometimes connect on a grounded reacting opponent off a counter hit
• Shinnok (Impostor) – He can now control the location of a stolen Goro Stomp.
• Sub-Zero (Grandmaster) – Combos on a grounded opponent frozen by the Ice Klone will now scale properly.
• Takeda (Ronin) – Added a new move “Quick Kall” (Down, Towards, Front Punch) which quickly returns a dropped blade without doing an attack.
• Takeda (Shirai Ryu) – He will now always teleport to the other side when doing the Air Shirai Ryu Port

Apart from the balance adjustments, this update also added a free Sub-Zero skin that dresses the ninja up in one of his classic outfits as well as previews for the first round of Kombat Pack alternates–Pharaoh Ermac, Vampiress Mileena, and Kraken Reptile–all of which have been included in the following gallery.

Source: NetherRealm Studios via Test Your Might

While most eyes will be on brand new playable cast member Beowulf, today’s Skullgirls Encore patch also brings with it an extensive list of general adjustments and character changes that will further update the indie fighter’s gameplay.

Starting out with aesthetics, a number of stages have seen improvements made to their lighting and overall performance, and fans can now access the amazing Real Soviet Announcer sound pack voiced by lead designer Mike Zaimont. Finally, the amount of color palettes available to each character has been pushed to 25, allowing players even greater freedom in deciding what their team looks like.

Fans should also be happy to hear a number of updates have also found their way to the game’s training mode and overall heads-up display, providing a greater amount of information to folks during practice sessions and matches.

Of course, a large portion of the update is dedicated to balancing Skullgirls’ existing roster, from recent additions like Eliza and Fukua to characters who have been in the game since the beginning. For a complete look at how this title is set to change, check out the full patch notes here.

Beowulf is currently available on Xbox 360 worldwide, and should arrive on PlayStation Network and Steam sometime this afternoon. We have also been informed that a last-minute scheduling change will push his release in Europe back to April 24.

Source: Skullgirls

Ultra Street Fighter IV will be making its way to PlayStation 4 on May 26, according to an official announcement made on the PlayStation Blog earlier this morning.

Developed by Other Ocean Interactive, this port will include every piece of downloadable content released for the title so far, and reportedly removes the input lag issue faced by its predecessor on PlayStation 3.

Both Evo 2015 and Community Effort Orlando 2015 are scheduled to utilize PlayStation 4 in their competitions, and we assume additional Capcom Pro Tour premier events will make the switch now that a concrete release date has been revealed.

For a preview of how this updated version will appear on the new console, check out the gallery below.

Players will be able to purchase Ultra Street Fighter IV for PlayStation 4 at a price of $24.99

Source: PlayStation Blog

Some time back, Bandai Namco unveiled a brand new character for Tekken 7, Filipina eskrimadora Josie Rizal, and the wait for her arrival is almost over. The developer announced the newcomer will be hitting Japanese arcades next Tuesday, April 21, with Korean arcades following sometime soon after.

Designed by Mari Shimazaki of Bayonetta fame, Josie is Tekken’s first fighter of Filipino descent. Her name is an homage to Philippine national hero José Rizal and was coined by none other than Mad Catz community manager Mark “MarkMan” Julio, who is of Filipino ancestry himself.

With Josie’s impending launch, we look forward to more footage of her gameplay coming out of the arcades.

Source: Bandai Namco via Avoiding the Puddle, thanks to Great Dark Hero for the tip.

While the arrival of a new character and various balance changes have rightly dominated Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS discussions this morning, one curious Reddit user recently discovered sound files in the handheld version that may point towards appearances by Street Fighter’s Ryu and Fire Emblem’s Roy.

According to their findings (which have subsequently been confirmed by the folks behind The Cutting Room Floor), these new themes pull music from both characters’ respective franchises with very little editing, leading us to believe they may be leftovers from earlier development or just in the beginning phases. We’ve included all of these tracks, along with a preview of the sound work being done for Lucas’ release in June, below.

So, what do you think? Might we eventually see Ryu and Roy join the game as downloadable characters? Feel free to let us know in the comments.

Sources: r/SmashBros via NeoGAF, The Cutting Room Floor, tip via MegamanXZero

The latest version of Blazblue: Chronophantasma has been out in Japanese arcades for some time now, and players have been competing in tournaments across the country. As with any game over a period of time, players have studied matchups and character strength, placing the cast into rough tier rankings according to their overall power.

Speaking in interviews with Famitsu this week, two of Japan’s strongest players have both provided their own respective lists, along with some thoughts on the game’s overall balance. With the balance patch coming to consoles next week in the form of Blazblue: Chronophantasma EXTEND, now is a very good time to see where the cast stands.

The first player to give us their list is Goro. He is most known for performing very well at national tournaments with Makoto, even sticking with her through versions where she was considered to be a weaker character.

Goro

S	Jin, Nu
A	Valkenhayn, Hazama, Kokonoe, Relius, Litchi, Tager, Taokaka
B	Azrael, Ragna, Tsubaki, Makoto, Bang, Izayoi, Carl, Noel, Kagura
C	Rachel, Platinum, Bullet, Celica, Mu, Lambda
D	Amane, Terumi, Hakumen, Arakune

“There’s a difference in strength when you compare tiers A to D, but it’s not that much of a difference when talking about tiers A to C. Ragna, considered by many a strong character, was placed in the B tier,” he went on to explain. “Regardless of how strong Ragna may be, he’s still Ragna. His ‘IAD crossup 623D’ is certainly a very strong mix-up tool, but the rest of his mix-up does not work against seasoned players that consistently appear and place well in tournaments. In other words, it becomes difficult to imagine him not having a hard time against many characters when his mix-up is subpar and he needs to fish confirms on neutral.”

Dora also provided his thoughts. A consistently strong performer, he plays very well in Japanese tournaments with Bang and also travels overseas to compete in North America from time to time. During his last trip here, he placed third at Evo 2014.

Dora

S	Hazama, Valkenhayn, Jin, Nu
A	Kagura, Kokonoe, Azrael, Relius, Makoto, Litchi, Tager, Taokaka, Tsubaki, Ragna, Carl, Izayoi, Hakumen, Bang
B	Noel, Rachel, Arakune, Platinum, Amane, Bullet, Mu, Celica, Lambda
C+	Terumi

When speaking on his reasoning, he had this to say: “The four characters placed in the S tier are the ones considered extremely strong this time. As a whole, the game seems well balanced – when comparing the S and B tiers the difference in strength is visible, but it’s not the case when it’s between S and A tiers. In general, right now it seems like, for the most part, it’s more important to consider the character match-ups rather than how strong a character is.”

Source: Famitsu, special thanks to Hiago for bringing this to us and providing translations.

Although traditional controller usage is a bit more common than in other scenes, news that Mortal Kombat X would support the previous generation’s arcade sticks on PlayStation 4 made the proposition of upgrading for the new title a bit more enticing for many members of the community. Unfortunately, it appears as if it’s not being implemented as simply as Lab Zero Games envisioned when they were developing the driver for Skullgirls Encore.

According to Mad Catz community manager Mark “MarkMan” Julio, playing Mortal Kombat X with an older peripheral still requires the presence of a DualShock 4. This means, obviously, that if you want to jump into some matches with your friend but only own one PlayStation 4 controller, one of you is going to be twiddling their thumbs while the other performs their easy fatalities.

As the driver doesn’t normally require anything special to function, Lab Zero’s Peter Bartholow and Mike Zaimont believe the way NetherRealm Studios is handling profiles for things like trophies is to blame for these odd circumstances.

Mortal Kombat X is schedule to arrive on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sometime this summer, releases we assume will support legacy arcade sticks just fine.

Sources: Mark Julio, Peter Bartholow