Those hoping to plan a trip to Evo Japan should pack their bags and clear their schedule for Jan 26th-28th, 2018! The times and titles are set:
The games appearing at Evo Japan 2018 are:
Tekken 7
Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2
King of Fighters XIV
BlazBlue Central Fiction
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
ARMS
Street Fighter V
There have been no announcements from AnimEvo or other collaborative efforts just yet, but expect communities to set up side tournaments and extra events now that the Evo Japan dates have been announced.
Following the teaser trailer after Melee finals yesterday, Wavedash Games have (at last!) shown off gameplay for their eagerly anticipated platform fighter, Icons: Combat Arena.
Along with gameplay, this trailer also reveals Icons’ sword fighter–the warrior empress Zhurong. She is very similar to Marth, with her aerials and forward smash looking almost identical to that of the Fire Emblem lord. The presentation is a bit underwhelming at present, with hit-sounds lacking any real oomph and character animations being a bit too similar to well-known Smash characters like Fox, Captain Falcon and Marth. Do keep in mind that it is pre-alpha, so there is still plenty of time to polish up visuals and give each character their own unique feel.
It’s certainly got the fluid movement from platform fighters like Melee though, with wavedashes, platform pressure and edgeguarding all intact. With its open beta launching on Steam this fall, platform fighter fans will see if Icons can tempt them away from the likes of Melee and Smash 4, with its lighting fast combat, online matchmaking and free to play structure. You can sign up for the open beta over on the official Icons website.
While there have been rumors that Harada has been in meetings with the likes of Arc System Works (and he’s certainly been close to them, lately), the reveal ended up being a partnership with another big name fighting game company: SNK.
South Town’s biggest boss, Geese Howard, will be slugging it out with the Tekken cast and Akuma (hey, it’s the world’s tiniest version of Capcom vs SNK!) in Winter 2017. Get practicing your pretzel inputs in readiness.
Announced at the end of Tekken finals, Dragon Ball FighterZ producer Tomoko Hiroki revealed a new DBFZ trailer showing off Future Trunks, as well as when signups will open for the game’s closed beta.
Sign ups will open on July 26th, with the beta being available for PS4 and Xbox One. The big news is that there will be nine playable fighters in the beta, rather than just the six we’ve seen in the E3 build. We already know that one of these new fighters is Future Trunks, with the remaining two to be revealed in the magazine V-Jump on July 21st. Personally, I’m betting on Piccolo and Krillin.
Remember to set your alarms for July 26th, as I imagine beta spots will disappear faster than you can say “Demon Containment Wave”.
Arika, the minds behind Street Fighter EX and Fighting Layer, just revealed two new characters for their latest project “Arika EX”. And who were those characters?
That’s right, Street Fighter EX favorites Skullomania and Darun Mister are joining the Arika EX roster! I could write something about how long the FGC has been waiting for these characters to appear, but why not just let them tell you?
Y'all been asking for Skullomania and (Darun) you got him. New reveal at #evo2017 for Arika's Fighting Layer EX (?) pic.twitter.com/PjSHwLhXNn
Arika continues to deliver hype surprises in their signature style. They also revealed that not only is the game in full development for the PlayStation 4 with a worldwide release planned for sometime in 2018, but that a beta is planned for later this year! Expect more details from Arika later this year, with pre-orders for Arika EX going live at the same time as the beta. I wonder if it will release on April 1st, 2018…
After an exciting BlazBlue Top 8 at Evo 2017, Arc System Works have come out with a reveal double whammy. Alongside the announcement that legendary feline swordsman Jubei will finally be coming to BlazBlue Central Fiction later this summer, ASW showed off a trailer for a brand new title named BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle.
As a 2v2 fighter, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle will see fighters from Persona 4 Arena, BlazBlue and UNIEL battling it out in various locations from each game series. Ruby Rose from the hit Rooster Teeth series RWBY will also be joining the battle as a guest fighter, confirming the rumors that BlazBlue creator Toshimichi Mori was planning something to do with the series.
BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is planned for release sometime in 2018, making next year a fantastic time to be a fan of team fighting games!
At the conclusion of Evo 2017’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament, Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez and Peter “Combofiend” Rosas sat down for an exhibition of the latest build of Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite. The best of three set originally seemed like it was there to show off the previously teased Guardians of the Galaxy character, Gamora. After the set tied 1-1, however, Combofiend went back to the (unseen up until this point) character select screen.
After visually demonstrating some Jin strings and how to best utilize them, they move on to putting together a proper Tekken offense. Ace advises new players to avoid playing predictably, and notes that the longer a certain string may be, the more unsafe and predictable it is.
Finally, the duo tackle the topic of movement. With Tekken 7 taking place on a 3D plane, the element of sidestepping comes into play, which can be used to avoid strings with gaps, but is also countered by certain tracking moves. Unlike 2D games, that may have fast normals or invincible reversals, properly utilizing backdashes and sidesteps are the main method of dealing with situations defensively.
Ace also suggests that the best defense is a good offense, by throwing some launchers in alongside your movements, to get full juggle opportunities on predictable tactics. You can see the full video below.
If you’d like more information or have additional questions about these concepts, you can contact Frabisaur on Twitter, or reach AceUnlimited on Facebook. Don’t forget to check out his stream for the occasional episode of Tekken Live, where he and Ace will be looking to teach viewers these concepts in real-time matches. The next episode is set to cover some of the more advanced movement techniques of wave dashing and backdash cancels, so be sure to keep any eye out for it.
Back in May, following 賽 [sài] , it was announced that the arcade version of Tekken 7: Fated Retribution would eventually be receiving the currently console-exclusive characters: Lee Chaolan, Miguel Caballero Rojo, Kuma, Panda, Eddy Gordo and Eliza, as part of a new update.
An announcement video on the Tekken YouTube Channel has confirmed that this update, Version L09, will be arriving to arcades on July 27th. This will give players who prefer to battle in arcades a chance to try out these new fighters, along with the current console balance changes and additional customization items. You can see the post from Tekken Official here. You can enjoy the official trailer below.
Though he will not be legal at Evo this weekend, that hasn’t stopped the Injustice 2 community from exploring the game’s second DLC character, Sub-Zero, following his release this past Tuesday to Ultimate and Digital Deluxe Edition owners.
First up, PND|Ketchup and Mustard have released a “Getting Started” video for the Mortal Kombat ninja, explaining how his tools have transitioned over into the world of Injustice 2, and how to best apply them in this new game.
They also provided us with a look at all of his Shaders, which contain references to most of the other MK ninjas, as well as a series of mirror matches in which they use his Cyrax and Sektor Shaders.
History Behind The Warrior has recorded all of his intros with the entire cast, including the Premiere Skins, which include several great references to Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe.
Shujinkydink brings us a basic combo guide for the cryomancer, as well as a free reset concept off of his command grab.
We have more combo guides and tips and tricks from Noble|Raptor and rooflemonger.
Cody Dickson brings us a combo video showing off what Sub can do from jump-ins and side switches, as well as a variety of freezing setups with Ice Klone and Meter Burn Ice Ball. He also some interesting corner tech.
Finally, though it won’t matter to the competitive side of things, NGSUPERMAN shows of all of Sub-Zero’s Gear Abilities.
Following Evo, more tech for the Grandmaster will surely emerge, especially with a new balance patch on the horizon, so be on the lookout for more in the coming weeks and months. You can also check out Desk’s Sub-Zero combo video here.
