The wide selection of assists in Pokkén Tournament means that there’s a lot of variety for combo video makers to really push their creativity. Player meLo oLem, one of the community’s best-known Pikachu Libre innovators, has proven this with his latest Libre video: “Fresh & Clean.”
Libre’s place in the cast is that of the heavy option, low damage mixup ‘mon. To see that character archetype pump out 300+ damage from a mid screen jump in, and not even spend its Burst, is eye-popping. What’s even more surprising is some of the tech meLo uses to put these combos together: I can say for certain I’ve never seen a Libre video use j.X wall jump cancels mid combo, or use the backside of Latios assist to rebound wall opponents.
While he has had a rough start in 2017 for the second season of Street Fighter V–going 0-6 at the 6th Topanga League, tying for 33rd at Final Round 20–Twitch.Hx.CYG BST|Daigo “The Beast” Umehara is still arguably the most successful and recognizable persona in not only the Street Fighter series, but in all of fighting game history. With his recent switch to Guile due to his longtime main Ryu getting questionably nerfed, and therefore possibly hindering his tournament performances (but Ryu will be getting adjusted in the next patch), Umehara is showing how serious he is about winning as he advances to the quarter finals of the ELEAGUE SFV Invitational.
In this short ELEAGUE player profile interview, Umehara briefly discusses key aspects of his life that lead to him becoming a professional fighting game player. He mentions the public stigma that came with playing arcade games in Japan, his relationship with his martial arts-trained father, his time working at at a hospital–to make a living outside of competitions–helping people with dementia, and his rise to the top in the Street Fighter IV era. You can watch the full video below.
Sweep away your old perceptions. Sand-master Kukri received a ton of new dirt in the new King of Fighters patch, and Apolo Loussalier is here to examine just how strong it’s made this monster.
Hitbox improvements, hurtbox shortening, improved cross ups, and a wild amount of improvement on his air flip kick Bossa-Shougeki allow Kukri to rush down like never before. All of this combined together, as Apolo demonstrates here, allows for even tighter frame traps and pressure–for a character that didn’t necessarily suffer in that department in the first place.
Mikado Arcade knows what players like. 17 years later, Project Justice: Rival Schools 2 still enjoys healthy popularity both in Japan, and in the hearts of many worldwide.
As a Capcom 3D fighter with heavy emphasis on jump cancel launchers, long combos and cross-under mixups, Project Justice is entertaining from both a spectator and player stand point. Its balance may not be the best Capcom has ever put forth (Hi, Roy and Momo) but Project Justice still has a healthy character selection in tournament play even today.
Liquid|NuckleDu had one of the best possible 2016s ever. However, that incredible year has shifted into a struggle to stay on top in the current Capcom Pro Tour season. So far, he has been unable to replicate his late success last year on the tour, finishing 3rd at Final Round 20 and 2nd at South by Southwest.
However, he is taking it in stride. In this interview with Zorine Te of Yahoo! Esports, he talks with her about the adjustments he has had to made to his game in order to continue to compete with a target on his head. He also discusses how his newfound fame has affected his life and his maturity level, and what he hopes to from the new characters in Street Fighter V.
One might think Japan is the last country that should need help with grassroots fighting game community organization. And yet, since Street Fighter V isn’t a part of the land’s still lively arcade scene, a lot of the players tend to stick to netplay rather than meeting face-to-face.
Bonchan stresses how important the human connection is in comparison to just playing people online: “While throwing an event might be an exhausting job, it’s also very rewarding, and it’s always better to have a rival or a friend to play and communicate with rather than playing alone at home online.”
As the article explains, having face-to-face interactions can be a lot more fruitful than netplay. Certain personalities can push you to fight back harder and gain more knowledge, and there’s opportunity to discuss strategy and share tips. This leads to much more improvement.
Bonchan is traveling across 47 regions in Japan and hosting tournaments that randomly match local players to force them to expand past their small circle of friends. This worked well enough, and Bonchan witnessed many players break out of their comfort zones. He’s seeing success so far in Hokkaido and Nagoya, and future stops include Tokyo and Hiroshima (in addition to training himself for the Capcom Pro Tour). He would also enjoy continuing this initiative in 2018.
Read the full story on Red Bull eSports, and let us know in the comments if going to locals significantly improved your play versus sticking to online gaming.
“String Fighter” reinterprets classic Street Fighter themes and merges them into a single impressive medley.
In their latest video, Setnomessej takes a number of iconic themes from Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Street Fighter III, and merges them to form “String Fighter”–a new acoustic medley. It opens with a haunting rendition of Vega’s SFA3 theme “Crimson,” and moves through a number of other well-known Street Fighter melodies–including an Ennio Morricone-inspired “spaghetti Western” take on Ryu’s classic theme–to close, of course, on a somewhat more elegant version of that most popular Street Fighter theme that goes with everything. Fans of Street Fighter’s musical legacy won’t want to this little piece of auditory exploration–have a listen below!
Next up on VesperArcade’s analysis of Street Fighter V’s upcoming April balance changes is Balrog; in Season 2, the Dirty Bull was given many more ways to break through his opponent’s guard and mix them up for a world of pain. With an extra 25 health, crouching medium kick hitting low in exchange for reduced range, standing heavy punch becoming a Crush Counter, throw invincibility on the first 9 Levels of Turn Punch, and several normals gaining more block and hit advantage, Balrog has become quite the force to be reckoned with in SFV’s sophomoric season.
Though some players may currently call him a “robbery character,” due to his high damage output and the powerful comeback potential of his V-Trigger Crazy Rush, it seems the boxer was mostly spared the rod, as the only change he will be receiving will be his health getting reduced back to 1,000. Vesper proceeded to give his thoughts on the matter:
Balrog has some of the highest comeback potential of any character in the game right now. This is definitely mostly due to his V-Trigger. Your health could be gone in just a second. To have Balrog in such a healthy condition with his V-Trigger up seemed pretty overkill I would say. I’m sure not even Balrog players were expecting a health buff in Season 2, and even though Balrog lacks some defensive options, it looks like Capcom only wants grappler characters to have over 1,000 health in the game right now. I see a lot of people talking about “losing or gaining 25 health is not a big deal,” but you have to consider that in Street Fighter V, when you’re low on health, you take less damage. Balrog being a comeback character that can rob you at the end of a match, having above-average health is something to consider, to [not] give Balrog more chances than he should get.
After showing off his current mixups, Vesper provided his final thoughts.
My final verdict on Balrog overall, is very, very, slightly nerfed. I guess in a bubble it would seem like Balrog got nerfed. The fact that this was the only balance change means that Balrog got off CLEAN! I’m honestly surprised Capcom didn’t address his EX Dash Straight. They went after Urien’s EX Tackle and Birdie’s EX Bull Head, but for some reason, Balrog’s EX Straight is the same. This is not only safe on block, this is +1, meaning that it’s still Balrog’s turn. I feel like Balrog will still be one of the strongest characters in the game, even after this very slight nerf.
You can catch the full video above, as well as his previous coverage of other changes coming in the patch:
In today’s Nintendo Direct, Nintendo finally announced a release date for stretchy-armed arena fighter ARMS. Alongside a special neon-yellow JoyCon and a special battery life extender, ARMS will launch worldwide on June 16th. Besides the main release date reveal, this Direct revealed a ton of new information, including a new fighter, a special 2v2 mode and how players unlock additional Arms to use in battle.
The actual Arms are split between several categories, ranging from the standard Glove-type to:
Multi-shot Arms which fire off multiple projectiles
Curve Arms which can hit behind an enemy’s block
Heavy Arms which have a huge surface area
Whip Arms which have a super fast drawback animation
Alongside these types, each Arm can be associated with an attribute like ice, fire, wind, lightning and so on. These attributes become active when your Arm is allowed to charge for a second, giving players access to all sorts of elemental punches. As for unlocking new Arms, players can head to the Arms Getter–a special shooting gallery when you can punch special reward boxes to gain new armaments.
Joining the likes of Spring Man, Ribbon Girl and Ninjara, this Nintendo Direct introduced Min Min to the ARMS roster. Nicknamed “The Ramen Bomber,” this culinary contender uses arms made of ramen noodles to strike at her opponents. Min Min is also a trained martial artist, with her air dash allowing her to kick away incoming punches. She can also charge up her special Dragon Arm for an extended period, unleashing a large beam attack to blast opponents.
Fresh off of getting a breakdown on the latest Injustice 2 Watchtower live stream, NetherRealm Studios has unveiled the gameplay trailer for Scarecrow, whom we first saw in the “It’s Good to Be Bad” trailer. His intro with Batman reveals that the scary, demonic-looking form he takes during combat is a result of Jonathan Crane releasing a tank of his signature fear toxin before each match, causing his foes to hallucinate this ghastly incarnation.
The trailer displays his forward-moving, torpedo-like headbutt, his long-range sickle attacks–reminiscent of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3′s Ghost Rider, or Lobo from the original Injustice: Gods Among Us. He also has a command throw where he fills his enemies with a mouthful of fear toxin, a teleport that allows him to switch sides, and a projectile-destroying special. We also see a few of his Gear abilities that allow him to zone the opponent with a flock of crows, as well as a low attack that keeps foes in a restand state for mixups. He is confirmed to be a Power character.
Finally, once his Trait, the Fear Meter, is filled, he gains access to Traumatize, a fast, low-hitting, fullscreen ground pound that launches for combo opportunities. Lastly, we get another look at his super, which involves him ripping a whole in reality to bury his victims in their own graves.
Let’s explore this terror together in the trailer below.
If you’re looking for more Injustice 2 content, watch the “Your Battles, Your Way” trailer on the Gear System here, and watch out for the next character reveal on April 28th.
Injustice 2 will be released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 16th.
