The arcade-adjusted update to Nintendo’s surprise Wii U hit in 2015, Pokken Tournament DX, is now less then a month away from release. While each of the demo characters has something new to try out in DX, by far the biggest draw of the new Nintendo Switch demo is the new Steel Penguin, Empoleon.
And now that Switch users have home access to Empoleon, the Pokkén community can sink their teeth into the previously arcade exclusive character’s moveset.
Empoleon brings a fairly unique flavor to the game: his normal movement is very slow, but he comes equipped with a wide variety of non-standard movement options that allow him to zip around the field quickly. Among them is Ice Beam, a projectile that freezes the ground and allows him to slide forward, and Surf, a jump-cancelable option from his HM Stance. If you are a Pokémon fan outside of the fighting games, you may smile at knowing Empoleon is the Pokkén’s first canonical HM Slave.
Arcade Empoleon Combos
If you’re interested in trying out the new way-of-movement Empoleon brings, the free demo can now be downloaded on the Nintendo Switch. Pokkén Tournament DX itself drops on September 22nd.
Ken’s mobility is always something that can cause a lot of issues in every game. In Street Fighter V, it works further in his favor and makes it possible to instill fear into people who would dare to back rise.
Using a combination of his V-Skill and light Tatsu, Ken has a devastating array of options to punish his opponents’ back rises with meaties. Naturally, they’ll only work if the opponent doesn’t have access to or doesn’t do an EX wake-up reversal to punish it. There are, however, exceptions with Urien and Ed where he can do character-specific neutral jump setups to punish them for even thinking of doing a reversal on a back rise.
When a game is still in development, there’s nothing like watching the developers take the game out for a spin, giving players glimpses of how the game’s characters are designed to be played. This is what get get in this Dragon Ball FighterZ video from Maximilian.
In the video below, Maximilian butts heads with some staff behind Dragon Ball FighterZ. With the devs in hand, this gives us a glimpse of some of the near-optimized setups, mixups, and combos (both solo and tag) that can be found in the current (Gamescom) build of the game.
When a game is still in development, there’s nothing like watching the developers take the game out for a spin, giving players glimpses of how the game’s characters are designed to be played. This is what get get in this Dragon Ball FighterZ video from Maximilian.
In the video below, Maximilian butts heads with some staff behind Dragon Ball FighterZ. With the devs in hand, this gives us a glimpse of some of the near-optimized setups, mixups, and combos (both solo and tag) that can be found in the current (Gamescom) build of the game.
Bandai Namco has released character trailers for pilots from two different sides of the Gundam multiverse: pilots Io Fleming and Daryl Lorenz of Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt as well as Kou Uraki and Anvel Gato of Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory can be seen in action in the following videos.
Pilots and mobile suits from multiple dimensions will clash in Gundam Versus when it releases for PlayStation 4 on September 29th. Be sure to download for the open beta that will run in early September, and stay tuned to SRK for more Gundam Versus updates.
Just yesterday, Street Fighter V received its 5th Season 2 DLC character, in the form of Menat. As is customary with any new addition to the roster, Capcom UK’s Community Manager, Matt Edwards, provides us with a brief introductory video to the character, along with a brief description of her V-System and playstyle, followed by a combo showcase.
As some may know by now, Menat is the apprentice of a “famous Italian fortuneteller,” who battles with a crystal ball that she controls with her Soul Power. Her V-Skill, Soul Reflect, will allow her to reflect standard projectiles back at the opponent while she has the ball at her side, but she will absorb them to fill her V-Gauge if the ball has been sent out — in a similar fashion to Nash’s V-Skill, or her mentor’s own Soul Reflect from previous games. It also possesses a hitbox and can be used to add hits to her combos. Her V-Trigger, Wisdom of Thoth, summons six orbs, with each of them tied to one of her six attack buttons, and can be sent out in any order she likes. They even boast unique trajectories for crouching, standing or aerial releases, which can lead to some disgustingly deceptive mix-ups and pressure opportunities.
Edwards notes that being able to successfully switch between keeping the ball on hand to increase Menat’s overall attack range, and knowing when and where to send it out for traps and mixups against your foes — especially when you recall it — is key to unlocking the character’s true power and potential.
Lastly, Edwards states that, “Three Special Moves may seem fairly conservative, but when you factor in Menat’s crystal sphere, highly-versatile V-Trigger and almost-instantaneous air drill (Khamun Kick), she’s easily a top contender for the most technically rewarding character in the game.” You can see the full video below.
For more on what Menat is capable of, you can check out our day 1 tech roundup here.
Make sure to not miss a new episode of Tension Pulse later tonight! We have some big names this time around. The online Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 exhibition is featuring a returning player, ElvenShadow, and his infamous Faust! His opponent is none other than pro player PG|MarlinPie. Those two fight each other with some frequency, so it will be thrilling to see who emerges on top.
That’s on deck tonight, but before them, we also have UltraToast’s Ramlethal against dejixal’s Jam. It’s not a match-up we see all that often. Let’s see what the combatants have to say about each other.
ElvenShadow
On the match: “I’ve fought MarlinPie numerous times in top 8s in the past. As always, this set is going to be one hell of a challenge. Sometimes I’ve won, sometimes he’s won, but the last couple of times we met he managed to get the win. It’s almost always pretty close. I believe the last time we fought in a tournament was top 8 of Frosty Faustings IX (about 7 months ago), where I managed to pull off a pretty impressive comeback 2nd to last round when the set was tied 1-1, and while the last round was pretty close, he outplayed me and took the set. It’s been a while since I’ve played a very long set against him, so I think there will be a good amount of adapting back and forth between us both. We both know each other’s playstyles well, so I think it will come down to who can make adjustments faster. I’m sure he has improved since we last played.”
On his opponent: “MarlinPie is one of the most veteran GG players who is still very active in the scene from way back in the XX series. In my opinion, he is still one of the strongest players in the US. He has both excellent execution and a sharp mind and is able to adapt very well. I’ve teamed up with him many times before, but today he will be my opponent and I welcome the challenge and look forward to a great set.”
On his growth since the last time: “The last exhibition I played for Super Steam/Tension Pulse was in March of this year vs. Zidane, so about five months ago. I lost, and was not happy with my play in that set. I’m not really sure if I’ve changed very much since then as I haven’t had much time to actively practice lately, aside from an hour or two of netplay every week if I’m lucky, and I still attend local tournaments a couple times a month. I can’t attend any more majors this year due to real life restrictions, so my drive to grind has not been as strong recently.
However, since being asked to do this exhibition, I have been making an effort to practice against other Zato players online and had about an hour of practice against a very strong Zato last night on Steam to (hopefully) help prepare myself. In all honesty, I feel like my growth as a player has become a bit stagnant, since recently I have been focusing more on being a tournament organizer and taking care of my family, but I still have the desire to improve and love playing.”
PG|MarlinPie
On the match: “Feels to me as if I’m just playing him in a casual setting on a casual day. Not much of an exhibition from my feeling.”
On his opponent: “My answer to [the prior question] is like that probably because we’re so familiar with each other. We first played at March Madness in 2003 or something.. an old, big event.”
On his own playstyle: “I’m working on altering my playstyle a little. I’ve been more focused on neutralizing the opponent by force, but I’ve been noticing I need to move accordingly to opponents’ decisions. It’s definitely more difficult to play ‘counter’ style, but to achieve more consistency in this game, I think it’s necessary.”
dejixal
On the match: “I think the exhibition is great — it puts the spotlight on some of the upcoming players people wouldn’t normally hear about while also being able to provide hype matches. I’m pretty nervous about my match, but I’m excited to see how I do.”
On his opponent: “I don’t know much about UltraToast other than that he is a strong Ramlethal player that performs very well at WNF. Ramlethal has a very strong mix-up game, so my goal during the match will be to try to stop him before he gets started.”
On his own playstyle: “I think my own playstyle is very centered around reading my opponent and trying to overwhelm them before they can react. I believe Jam is a very linear character, so to make up for that, I like to incorporate hard reads and gimmicks into my gameplay to keep my opponents guessing.”
UltraToast
On the match: “I’m happy to be a part of Tension Pulse! I feel a little nervous about the exhibition because it’s my first time participating in something like this. I have played on other streams before though, so the nerves aren’t too bad. I just want to put on a good show and have some great matches that I can learn from!”
On his opponent: “Honestly I don’t know too much about dejixal. However, everyone that I’ve talked to that knows dejixal have told me that he’s a great player that I need to watch out for. I personally don’t like fighting Jam, but I’m still looking forward to playing dejixal.”
On his own playstyle: “I feel like with Ramlethal I play this weird mix of rushdown and active run away/active keepout. Like if I can smell the blood, I’ll just go in and play as aggressively as possible, maybe even a little too aggressive. But if I feel like I can’t do that against my opponent/opponent’s character, I’ll just run away all day and set swords until I get a clean hit. More often than not though I think I prefer to run away and wait for my turn.”
Catch the next episode of Tension Pulse live, tonight on Silva_hime’s Twitch channel. The first set, which is between dejixal and UltraToast, starts at 9:30 PM ET/8:30 PM CT/7:30 PM PT. RaphTx and James Chen will commentate their match as well as the ElvenShadow and MarlinPie set which follows the first one.
Looking to catch up on the last episode of Tension Pulse? The last episode included hectic matches between four players:
With Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite less than a month away from release, many in the community are preparing to say farewell to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. This includes a number of combo video creators who’ve spent years figuring stuff out for the game.
Two of these combo video creators are Amongst Shadows and TheKoreanDrifter. Both of them have created combo videos meant to say “farewell” to the game they’ve been breaking down for the past seven years.
The first video — from Amongst Shadows — features creative combos done in actual matches both by and against his team of Nova, Doctor Strange, and Strider. As such, expect to see a lot of the familiar stuff that we’ve seen in competition throughout the years.
TheKoreanDrifter’s video takes a more somber tone, not just because their saying farewell to UMvC3, but also because this may be their departure from being a regular combo video creator.
SNK”s CGI animated series The King of Fighters: Destiny is currently on its fourth episode. In this point in the series, team Kyo-Benimaru-Daimon have touched down in South Town and are already interacting with the eccentric, street-fighting casts of The Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury series.
Though KOF: Destiny tends to lean more towards the comical side of things, things are heating up as Terry, Andy and Joe prepare for their first confrontation with Geese Howard, and Kyo Kusanagi searches for the mysterious fighter in the red hat.
While the show is not without its shortcomings, it is hard to say that it’s not entertaining. Besides some noticeable tweaks to the King of Fighters canon, the interactions between all of the characters is fun and familiar to those who play the games. You can watch all four of the current episodes on SNK’s YouTube Channel.
Menat just hit Street Fighter V, and already people are figuring out way to create nasty combos with her. Her floating crystal ball mechanic and her unique V-Trigger seem to allow her to be quite creative in her attack sequences.
Her sphere-generating V-Trigger, the Wisdom of Thoth, seems to be the most obvious source of unique combos. Players have been experimenting with ways to use the six spheres it generates for extra damage, as you can see in the videos below from AaronMan Pazzo, Blackguy500, Jedi P, and Clasico.
Meanwhile, Olaf Redland has taken some time away from analyzing Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite pre-release gameplay to demonstrate how jumping against Menat is a bad idea.
Sonic Flash Kick offers a combo video for her that goes over a number of options, including meterless bread and butter combos, the usual flashy V-Trigger ones, and a few more in between.
For those looking for something meatier, TrueUnderDawgGaming has put out the following combo guide that covers her known combos in order of difficulty.
As expected, combo video wizard desk has also shared his take on V-Trigger combos for Menat. He uses it to set up some interesting and ridiculous-looking combos — including a couple of loops — in the videos below.
Team Razer’s Xian has demonstrated a different loop, this time using multiple jump-ins. More importantly, it works mid stage, and doesn’t need V-Trigger active at the start.
Meanwhile, EchoFox’s Momochi has put together his own impressive combo on his stream.
He also, demonstrated an unblockable set up for her Critical Art, as captured in this tweet. The unblockable apparently works the same way as Ed’s unblockable does.
