Category: News

Ten years ago was perhaps the most famous moment in fighting games, dubbed “Evo Moment #37″. Evo 2004, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, Daigo Umehara Ken vs. Justin Wong Chun-Li. You’ve probably seen it countless number of times. If it’s been a while, here’s a refresher:

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Umehara’s Full Parry, Super Arcade is organizing a tourney that brings back the classics titles of the 90s and 00s, hosted at the original site of Evo 2004, Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, California. Also featured are some of the greatest players of the fighting game community: Daigo “The Beast” Umehara and Justin Wong, the two players that made the Moment; Capcom vs. SNK 2 champion D44 BAS; Mike Watson, Alex Valle and John Choi, the “3 Kings of Cali&#8221$$ Marvel vs. Capcom 2 god Sanford Kelly; and Street Fighter II legend Tomo Ohira. If you’re a fan of the classic, you won’t want to miss this.

Tournament Line-up

• Super Street Fighter II Turbo
• Street Fighter III 3rd Strike
• Marvel vs. Capcom 2
• Capcom vs. SNK 2
• Ultra Street Fighter IV

Stream

Super Arcade will be providing the primary stream for the event. Level|Up will also be providing a secondary stream for Saturday.

SuperDojo

Watch live video from SuperDojo on www.twitch.tv

LevelUpLive

Watch live video from LevelUpLive on www.twitch.tv

Sources: Moment 37 Reloaded, SuperDojo, LevelUpLive

If you just can’t wait to try out Skullgirls Encore’s unique new grappler Beowulf, then here’s some great news: the wrestler and his stage, the NMO Arena, are now available for testing in the game’s Endless Beta on Steam.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, the Endless Beta is Lab Zero Games’ special playground for testing upcoming Skullgirls changes. This beta was made available to certain tiers of backers from their Indiegogo crowdfund drive.

For those who aren’t able to access the Endless Beta, Mike Zaimont showed off Beowulf during the most recent Salty! stream. We’ve included a highlight video below, and you’ll find the full archive here.

Skullgirls Encore is currently available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC (via Steam), with PlayStation 4 and arcade versions of the game currently in development. No release date for Beowulf has yet to be set.

Source: Lab Zero, video via Rakurin

Though fans outside of Japan were able to get their hands on Arc System Works’ Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- demo by setting up a foreign PlayStation Network account, an early look native to North America will be available very soon.

According to this week’s installment of PlayStation Blogcast, a demo for the PlayStation 4 version of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- will arrive on the North American PlayStation Network next Tuesday, November 25. Much like the Japanese version, this will only be available to PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Specific details weren’t divulged during the podcast, but one can assume that the North American demo will carry the same limitations as its Japanese counterpart, where only Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske were playable in the arcade (set to beginner) and tutorial modes.

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 in Japan on December 4, arriving in North America shortly after on December 16.

Source: PlayStation via Gematsu

While Killer Instinct’s Kan-Ra will certainly be the main focus for players when he is released next week, the update that makes him playable will also extend balance changes to the existing cast members. These range from simple bug fixes to other adjustments that will further affect gameplay and, in turn, competition.

After finishing up their live stream this morning, Microsoft creative director Adam Isgreen took to the Ultra-Combo forums to provide a full rundown of the system and character changes that will go into effect on Monday, November 24. You’ll find this entire list below, so peruse it at your leisure and get ready for the tweaks the update will bring.

Additionally, Isgreen mentioned that they will soon be providing an option for players to upgrade to Ultra Edition, which will allow them to get their hands on new content and other bonus material sooner. This won’t be open forever, however, so be sure to take advantage of this offer while it’s available.

Kan-Ra will join the Killer Instinct cast for Ultra Edition owners on November 24, with a later release for Combo Breaker packages scheduled for November 30. More details can be found in Isgreen’s official post.

Source: Ultra-Combo

Yes, the time is finally here: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is now available in North America through the Nintendo eShop. While the handheld version served as a great warm-up, tonight’s release is sure to serve as the main source of competition.

If you took advantage of Nintendo’s pre-download program, you should be able to patch Super Smash Bros. for Wii U with the last bit of unlocking data you need to play it. Those of you outside that camp, however, will need to purchase the game digitally or wait until tomorrow morning to pick up a physical copy.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U will continue its release campaign into Europe and Japan on November 28 and December 6, respectively.

Are you among those already playing this new installment? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Over the past few months, Northern California has been stepping their collective game up with regards to consistent events, and one of the big groups behind all this is competitive gaming organization ShowDown. Their weekly Churning the Butter tournament has only been running for a couple weeks, and yet they are garnering a player base on par with other local tournaments around the country. And, as we highlighted in videos from their second outing, some fantastic talent is showing up to throw down and improve their own game.

Tonight, they have once again taken over Folsom Street Foundry in San Francisco, California to put on an Ultra Street Fighter IV tournament for the regional players. If you’re interested in seeing what the NorCal cats have up their sleeves, be sure to check out the stream below and show your support. You can also head on over to Twitch if you prefer to chat.

Watch live video from showdowngg on www.twitch.tv

Want to check these tournaments out for yourself? Well, you’re in luck, because even if you missed out this week, Churning the Butter is held every Thursday at 8 PM PDT during ShowDown’s game night at Folsom Street Foundry. The group also plans to eventually get a ranbat series off the ground at the same venue, so stay tuned for more.

Source: ShowDown

Another Thursday night means another round of Omega details from producer Tomoaki Ayano. Similar to past breakdowns, his latest post provides us a quick look at the interesting changes coming to a handful of characters in Ultra Street Fighter IV’s unique remix mode.

This time around, the game’s Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike characters get in on the action, receiving parries, counters, feints, and more in the process. Massive grappler Hugo has even been given a Shoryuken-esque move that can be FADC’ed into his Ultra 2 for huge damage.

Check out the full list of updates below and let us know what you think.

Ibuki

Kagenui: Throw a kunai at your opponent’s feet to stop them in their tracks.

Since Ibuki is a character that specializes in attacking on the ground using her command normal and target combos, I feel that Kagenui will give her another viable option for her ground-based attack game.

The EX version of Kagenui uses two bars of super meter and turns into Yami Shigure!

This was a major part of Ibuki’s 3rd Strike arsenal, and it’s finally making a return in Omega Edition!

Ibuki has also received sweeping changes to her command normals, regular moves, and special moves, and her target combos have been changed up too.

My inspiration: More bang for your buck!

Dudley

Sway: We’ve changed Dudley’s Short Swing Blow into a follow-up move, and in return we’re giving him Sway and Sway Back. Sway is done with the light attack. He has upper-body invincibility while he’s posing.

The medium and fierce versions will give him Sway Back. It’s a much bigger Sway with throw invincibility! Press a punch button during Sway for a new move, Cutting Upper, or press punch during Sway Back for Short Swing Blow.

Pressing a kick button during Sway or Sway Back will give you Step In. It has projectile invincibility and is better than Ducking for really getting in there.

It’s not easy to tell from looking at the pictures, but we really wanted to emphasize Dudley’s boxing skills in Omega Edition, so we’ve added feint moves, which I think will make him more fun to play.

My inspiration: A very technical heavyweight champion!

Makoto

In Omega Edition, we really wanted Tanden Renki to be used more offensively, so Makoto can now do it with two or more bars of super meter! The startup time and duration will change depending on how much meter she has when she activates it.

While active, all of her special moves (with the exception of Karakusa) will be modified for offensive use, and even her basic movements will change!

Performing a Focus Attack during Tanden Renki will give her the Kumoharai, armor that protects her from damage and eliminates block and hit stun when receiving an attack. It’s a parry-like move similar to Ryu’s Hanagashi.

Isana: Makoto steps in and delivers a powerful headbutt. It doesn’t have a lot of reach but it can be used in combos. It breaks armor and is faster than Oroshi, so it should be useful for keeping your opponent in check.

For Omega, we wanted to make Makoto into a character who unleashes her true potential once she’s in Tanden Renki, like Hakan does when he’s oiled up. Her new offensive moves mean that she can be really scary once she starts to put the pressure on! Omega Makoto is one character that won’t be afraid of getting all up in her opponent’s business!

My inspiration: This homegirl is so angry, she’s turned beet-red.

Yun

Shukuchi Rimon Chochu: Press F, F, Punch for this unique quick elbow strike.

Although the commands make this move look like a command normal, it’s actually a special move and can be canceled into accordingly. This move works well with Yun’s Genei Jin super, and it should be fun integrating it into his combos.

During the EX version, press two punch buttons after it hits for Renkan Shoko.

It uses an extra bar of meter, but it’ll launch the opponent, leaving you set up to perform some prime follow-up attacks.

I feel like this move might become the basis of Yun’s combos and offense. His existing moves have changed as well, so you’ll have new ways to play whether you’re on the ground or in the air.

My inspiration: A freestyle kung fu artist!

Yang

Rengeki Tourouha

EX Tourouzan uses two bars of meter and on hit becomes a powerful multi-hit striking move! It deals a lot of damage and can be comboed into, making this a move you’ll definitely want to use.

Honshin: A counter move. The attack changes based on the strength of the button pressed, and the EX version also has another variation. If you get a good read on your opponent’s attack patterns, you can use this move to turn the tables in an instant! It feels great to make a good read and get a solid counter-attack in, don’t you think?

My inspiration: Yang reading his opponent’s every move!

Hugo

Victory Column: We weren’t quite sure what we wanted to do with Hugo in Omega. So the first step, naturally, was to give him a Shoryuken. The EX version is completely invincible.

This can be FADC’ed into his Ultra 2!

Time for a royal smackdown!

Diamond Body: A counter move with armor properties, similar to a parry. Like Ryu’s Hanagashi, it eliminates any hit or block stun, and Hugo will be able to perform moves afterwards with additional inputs.

Hugo’s huge body makes it difficult for him to put up much of a defense if his opponent goes into rushdown mode, so in Omega we wanted to expand his defensive options so that he can be menacing even while standing still.

My inspiration: A titan hovering above us.

Elena

Sylph Amulet: A super combo that calls upon the power of nature!

The power of wind draws the opponent in…

…and an explosion of force sends them flying! It doesn’t do a lot of damage but it’s completely invincible, so it’s sure to be useful in close-range battles. There’s something else to this move…but I think I’ll let you figure out what that is on your own.

Giraffe Neck: Elena goes into a handstand and performs a downward-angled kick with both feet.

Elena’s specialty is mid-hitting attacks, and this is a move that’s very difficult to get a good read on. A good fit for Elena, I’d say.

Omega Elena is good at getting past the opponent’s defenses using mid and low attacks. We’ve also adjusted her existing moves to give her more flavor. We really like the balance job we’ve done with our energetic, stretchy friend!

My inspiration: Godlike feet.

 

Source: Capcom-Unity

Last year, it was revealed that Skullgirls would appear in Japanese arcades courtesy of Taito’s NESiCAxLive network. While it was originally scheduled to release in August 2013, that month and those that followed came and went without any updated information about the title. Fortunately, news broke today that should definitely reignite the hopes of the indie fighter’s eastern following.

According to a recent announcement, Japanese publisher M2 will be holding special Skullgirls Encore location tests at Osaka’s Taito Station and Akihabara Hey in Tokyo the weekend of November 28. This will allow fans to get their hands on the port and provide feedback on how well it has transitioned from consoles to arcade.

While no word has been given as to when Skullgirls Encore will officially release in arcades, this is definitely a huge step towards achieving that goal.

Source: M2 via Skullheart, tips via JJK and Zid