Category: News

Earlier this morning, Nintendo of Europe announced their plans to change the release date of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U in the region. Fortunately, it’s being pushed forward instead of back.

The console sibling to the previous handheld title will arrive in Europe on November 28, one week ahead of the previously announced launch date. This puts it only seven days out from North America and shifts it earlier than the Japanese release, a feat usually unheard of with other global releases.

In addition to shortening the waiting period for fans in Europe, this should also help to spread out the surge of new players competing online into separate waves.

Source: Nintendo of Europe via Nintendo Life

 

You’ve probably gotten a fair look at what Ultra Street Fighter IV’s upcoming Omega Mode add-on is bringing to the original Street Fighter II world warriors Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, E.Honda, Blanka, Zangief, Guile and Dhalsim (if you haven’t yet, check here and here!). Now, Capcom-Unity has the latest from assistant producer Tomoaki Ayano on how this zany edition is shaking up the Grand Masters and boss characters: Balrog, Vega, Sagat, M. Bison, Akuma, Gouken, and Seth.

Balrog

Gigaton Blow: A powerful EX follow-up to Balrog’s EX Dash Straight.

The Gigaton Blow uses three bars of EX meter, so you’ll need full meter to pull it off after an EX Dash Straight. Maybe this could be just the move you need when you want to put your opponent down for the count…

You can’t really hit-confirm it, so you’ll have to think of good ways to land it.

Horn Breaker: A command throw.

Balrog goes all-in with head blows. You could call this a special move version of his Dirty Bull. It dishes out quite a bit of stun.

Balrog also has new options for his close and long range attacks, making him into a more aggressive character.

My inspiration: A wild bull with giant horns.

Vega

Rose Thorn: A new variation that can be triggered from Vega’s Barcelona Attack. As the name suggests, this is a sharp, dangerous kick move. It can be performed after flying over an opponent’s head, making it a difficult move to read. You might get hated on for using it. Heh heh.

Ryu: Is this gonna be the throw? Or the claw attack?!

Vega: Rose Thorn!

Crimson Crucify: A version of EX Rolling Crystal Flash that uses two bars of EX meter. This is a rushing multi-hit move that does big damage.

Though Vega mainly specializes in single-poke attacks, now he has a multi-hit combo that does big damage too.

We always conceptualized Vega as a character who is strong in the air, so we wanted to expand on that concept.

My inspiration: An even thornier Vega.

Sagat

Tiger Raid: A kick combo that finishes with a powerful flying kick. This is very similar to the move from the Alpha series.

This move can be linked from a medium kick, so if you’ve got the meter you can look for ways to hit it after one of those. And since it sends the enemy flying, you can use it to help push your opponent into a corner too.

Sagat also has target combos and feint moves, making him a character who can use his legs pretty freely. And with his projectile he can keep up the pressure at both close and long range.

My inspiration: Sagat going beyond the title of The Emperor of Muay Thai!

M. Bison

Psycho Crusher Omega: A more powerful version of the Psycho Crusher that uses two EX bars. After hitting his opponent with the Psycho Crusher, M. Bison can pound his enemy with an uppercut for an explosion of Psycho Power!

After the hit he even gets his trademark pose in! This also counts as a hit!

Psycho Sever: A new move—the fierce and EX versions give Bison the overhead he’s always wanted.

Now you can repeatedly pressure your opponents with Double Knee Presses, and then break through their defenses with the Psycho Sever.

The properties of Bison’s existing moves have been changed, and with new command normal and special moves you’ll have fresh new ways to play Bison!

My inspiration: The evolution of a dictator!

Akuma

Shura Rengoku

During the forward-moving kick version of Ashura Senku, use two bars of EX meter for another version of the Shun Goku Satsu. Trick opponents into thinking it’s a normal Ashura Senku, then hit them with a surprise attack!

There have been many changes and additions to Akuma’s EX moves, starting with Hyakkishu. Try some of them out and it won’t take long for you to discover that you’ve got a completely different Akuma on your hands.

My inspiration: Akuma having a lot of things to do in the air!

Gouken

Fudoshin

A striking attack that can be used in combos. It doesn’t have a whole lot of reach but it comes out fast and doesn’t cause a lot of pushback, making it easy to use in combos. You can also use it together with EX Focus Cancels to create various new combos.

Pictured above is the EX version. It’s not only powerful, but also causes crumple stun.

Now you can send Gouken’s EX Hadoken flying in three different directions depending on your button combinations. You can use this in combos, and it’s also good for keeping your opponent in check.

Gouken’s versatility has really improved. Take a good look at all of his moves and choose the play style that’s right for you.

My inspiration: Gouken with a stronger ground game!

Seth

EX Sonic Boom

EX Sonic Boom stays still on the screen for a bit before flying towards the opponent. I guess you could call it a set-up move.

Follow after it to apply the pressure, or…

Use a Yoga Teleport while the Boom is holding to teleport behind the opponent for a mix-up.

And there’s a new special move too—the Chariot Tackle! Use it for new combos!

Seth has always had a lot of moves, so we’ve balanced them to make them easier to use.

My inspiration: Seth coming at you from both the ground and the air.

Source: Capcom-Unity

Last weekend, Capcom revealed that they will eventually roll out a brand new line of Ultra Street Fighter IV costumes, turning the entire cast of their flagship fighter wild in animal outfits. While live stream screenshots are well and good, the latest installment of Tomoaki Ayano’s Saikyo Blog includes much cleaner versions of the previously unveiled sketches.

As you see below, the developers have taken some interesting liberties with the appearances of some of their most iconic characters, most notably giving Ryu a fierce-looking wolf outfit and Dudley a super appropriate English bulldog transformation. Though Cammy’s is a little weak in that they felt giving her some cosplay accessories was enough to give off a fox-like vibe, we’re excited to see what happens with the rest of the characters.

Ayano also uses his post to go over a few more Omega Mode changes, so stay tuned for the translated information to make its way to Capcom-Unity in the near future.

Source: Saikyo Blog

For all you folks looking forward to new information about Mortal Kombat X (and possibly even interacting with the game’s developers yourself), you won’t have too long to wait for that chance.

NetherRealm Studios will be dedicating an entire stream to the upcoming fighter next week. Much like their Injustice: Gods Among Us broadcasts, this will give the community the perfect opportunity to check out additional footage of the game and speak to the folks directly involved with its creation.

I would personally ask (politely, might I add!) when they are going to reveal Rain but, hey, that’s just me.

The developers are in the process of taking questions from fans to answer live, so be sure to use #KombatKast on Twitter to possibly have your voice be heard.

NetherRealm Studios’ Mortal Kombat X stream is scheduled for Wednesday, November 5, at 1 PM PDT, 4 PM EDT.

Source: NetherRealm Studios via Test Your Might

Despite seeing diminishing numbers in the United States, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 continues to pull huge crowds in other regions, most notably Japan. With signups for this weekend’s MASTERCUP.7 closed as of September 21, we now have a good look at how attendance for the latest installment of the annual tournament series has shaken out.

According to the event’s official website, 176 teams have registered to compete, meaning a total of 880 players are ready to throw down in the popular 3D fighter.

Since its inception in 2007, MASTERCUP has become one of Japan’s premier Tekken events, regularly drawing enormous crowds of both competitors and spectators. In fact, attendance has continued to grow even over the past few iterations; 625 took part in the competition at MASTERCUP.5, a number that grew to 750 at the following event.

The scene’s dedication to MASTERCUP is also reflected in the level of talent these tournaments regularly exhibit. The sixth installment saw players like FRB|AO, Nobi, Yuu, Genkids, and many more come together to compete, resulting in some of the fiercest competition Tekken Tag Tournament 2 has seen since launch.

It’s unclear whether the game’s continued success in Japan can be attributed to the surviving game centers (they use the Unlimited arcade version), the country’s relatively consolidated fighting game community, or some other factor, but one thing is for sure: it’s great to see competition, no matter the title, continue to thrive.

MASTERCUP.7 is scheduled to take place this Sunday, November 3, at 8 AM JST. A live stream will be provided through Twitch.

Source: MASTERCUP via Katsuhiro Harada

With work on Eliza finished and Beowulf currently in development, Lab Zero Games wrote a lengthy update collecting a number of pertinent Skullgirls Encore news topics, including the former’s recent release on various platforms and what the latter is looking like in early builds. While much of the information isn’t new for those who regularly follow news on the game, they did provide something cool for folks who like to get a work-in-progress look at their favorite games.

This glimpse came in the form of a handful of concept images for Eliza. From unused attacks and sketches of future moves to fun interactions between her and the rest of the cast, these pieces of art share some interesting perspectives on the new character that you may not have received from her final release.

We’ve included a few of these images below, but you’ll find many more over in Lab Zero’s official post. Be sure to follow the links below each image if you like the artist who created it, and let us know which are your favorites.

 

Source: Lab Zero Games

Video enthusiasts, rejoice! Today, YouTube has followed through on their plans to add support for 60 frames-per-second footage to their hugely popular platform. While this is obviously great for anyone using or planning to use the service, who cares about cute cats and skydiving videos when there’s fighting games to be watched?

(Full disclosure: I’m still very much interested in cute cats, please include them in your combo videos.)

At this point, there are still a few stipulations. First off, you need to be using Google’s Chrome browser to access videos of this caliber, and be sure to bump up the quality of the footage you’re checking out to YouTube’s high-definition options (720p, 1080p, etc.) if you aren’t already doing so.

Okay, enough words. While it doesn’t appear as if this bump has been applied to older videos uploaded to the website, new gameplay footage has started to make its way online. Feel free to check out the beautiful Mario Kart 8 video below (hey, Mario Kart’s been at Evo!) and let us know what you think. We’ll be sure to highlight some fighting game footage as soon as it becomes available.

Though not a fighting game, watching the above footage should make it super clear why this is a big deal for our community. The added smoothness and clarity afforded by the 60 frames-per-second video will allow viewers to see the game much closer to how it appears in real life and, hopefully, learn a few more things in the process.

Source: Kotaku, tip via Saki

To celebrate Halloween, Team NINJA has some special treats prepared for Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Core Fighters players. Starting today and lasting through Friday, ten of the franchise’s most popular characters will be unlocked in the free-to-play version of their flagship fighter.

Kokoro, Lei Fang, Tina, Mila, Jann Lee, Brad Wong, Rig, and Bass, as well as Virtua Fighter guests Pai Chan and Jacky Bryant, will be playable for those who have yet to purchase them.

The developers are also adding two new additional grades for ranked matches. Online warriors can now level up to Sapphire and Diamond ranks in both Core Fighters and the normal retail version of the game.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Core Fighters is available exclusively on PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network.

Source: Team NINJA

 

As many of you probably saw over at UltraChen TV, the folks behind the Evolution Championship Series released the very first trailer for next year’s event. While sparse on details, we now have enough to start planning our trips to Las Vegas.

That’s right, Evo 2015 will take place July 17-19 at Bally’s / Paris Las Vegas, returning to the hotel it called home back two years ago.

Details on the tournament lineup will be announced sometime at the beginning of next year, so stay tuned!