Only the world-famous Mikado Arcade would start off a week with a Fighter’s History Dynamite tournament.
For the uninitiated, Fighter’s History is an old school, footsie-heavy 2D fighting game made by the now-defunct Data East. The sequel, subtitled Karnov’s Revenge after Data East’s odd mascot, is the much beloved–and most competitive–entry in this series. This four-button fighter shows up regularly at Mikado Arcade, and continues to enjoy a healthy and diverse meta despite its age and obscurity.
Chun-Li, while dominant in Street Fighter V’s first season, was nerfed pretty significantly in the Season 2 build, and the only change she’s getting in the upcoming rebalancing patch is a change to how many button inputs are needed to start a rapid-press Hyakuretsukyaku, to help prevent accidental activations. She still tends to fall into the top ten or upper-middle of tier lists for the game, but she certainly isn’t as formidable as her S1 incarnation–the changes to instant-air-legs may be enough to bring that result around alone.
FreeStep Dutch feels that Chun-Li is far too weak in her current build–maybe even the worst character in SFV, period. Too extreme a view? The arguments–that her pushback, range, and recovery are all far too poor–are broken down instance-by-instance in the video below.
What are your thoughts? Legitimate problems, or just a failure to adapt? Fair assessment, or biased complaints? Any Chun-Li mains sharing this pain? Sound off in the comments!
The Guilty Gear SlashSeries continues over at Japan’s Mikado arcade. As Japan’s REV 2 stars regularly face each other in the venue, American player and organizer Mike “ElvenShadow” Boczar traveled to the country, where he stayed for close to eight years. Of course, he couldn’t go about visiting his second homeland without making some stops at his favorite bars and arcades.
ElvenShadow’s Faust faces Ain’s Ky Kiske in a FT5 set. A bit of a grudge match, it’s fascinating to see this matchup played at high-level especially since it’s a very “random” zoning game. Also noteworthy are the REV 2 changes, such as Ky’s new normal move, which Ain already expertly utilizes to keep up pressure and gain a lot of Tension, and some of Faust’s new “Jackpot” items. We see a few of the latter during the matches. Anyone ordered a box of donuts? There’s also a serving of huge meteor.
Other than quick interviews with the players, ElvenShadow also fights 310’s innovative Venom. Again, English-speakers make sure to set your computer audio settings to right speaker only to hear MajinObama’s insightful English commentary.
Kyoto’s GAME a-cho threw a Capcom-flavored nostalgia party this past week for its “All Capcom Historical Olympics 2017” event; the games featured were obvious: Super Street Fighter II Turbo gave birth to the grounded fighters we know today, and Vampire Savior (AKA Darkstalkers 3) helped form some of the earliest air-dashing mechanics seen in the genre.
Regardless of which subgenre of the FGC you fall under, there’s a part of your gaming history represented here in these games. Relax with some great play from Japan’s finest!
The trailer–which you can see below–shows all 6 color variations (which includes his new cat plushie, that replaces his signature pillow) in addition to a few combos and intros.
Though no pricing details have been announced, Meitenkun’s pajamas, along with Kula’s sundress, will likely share Classic Iori’s price tag of $2.99. What do you think of this costume? Are any of you Meitenkun players eager to pick it up? Tell us in the comments!
The ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational continued on Twitch and TBS this past Friday with the quarter finals and semi-finals for the players in Group A–which consisted of PIE|Smug, PG|Punk, F3|Brolynho, Echo Fox|Julio, Echo Fox|Momochi, and RZR|Infiltration. You can watch the replays below to see which players advanced, as well as the ones who were eliminated from this high-stakes competition.
ELEAGUE also has conducted a player profile interview with Seonwoo “Infiltration” Lee. In this four-minute segment, he briefly talks about his first experience with the Street Fighter series at the arcades in South Korea, his debut at Evolution 2010, and why he has switched to Juri in SFV. Lee’s parents and fiancee are also interviewed in this video, and they share their thoughts and feelings concerning his pro-fighting game career. It’s worth a watch to see a side of Infiltration we rarely get to see.
Whip is one of the four new DLC characters added to The King of Fighters XIV, as part of its recent version 2.0 update. The lash-wielding sister of K’ was last seen in The King of Fighters XI, skipping out the past two iterations of the franchise. For her return, she sports some changes to her kit (including some new normals) that now define her abilities in the game.
In a 2-part video series, purifyws breaks down Whip’s King of Fighters XIV incarnation. This includes not just going over her moves, but also discussing their specific properties and what he feels are her strengths and weaknesses–especially in the anti-air department.
As a Flash main in the original Injustice, this is the trailer I have been waiting for. Showing off the scarlet speedster in action, this introductory trailer for The Flash reveals some of the new tricks he has picked up in between games. Still retaining moves like his Lightning Kick, Running Man Stance and Time Loop trait, The Flash finally has a projectile and some added anti-air options to deal with foes both near and far.
Barry Allen has even gained a dive kick for Injustice 2, with him spiraling head first towards a foe and potentially leading into a juggle when in Time Loop. Taking a tip from Kitana, The Flash has an anti-air similar to the Edenian princess, making opponents float in the air when meter-burned. He can also spin on the spot to create a tornado which can intercept jumping foes, along with an energy projectile to contest enemy zoners.
His new super is truly the star of the show, with The Flash running back in time to slam opponents into some archaeological and paleontological surprises. He then brings opponents back to the present, where they collide headfirst into an alternate timeline version of themselves–starting another beatdown in a separate universe. That’s just the right kind of overkill.
How is everyone liking the new King of Fighters patch thus far?
I’m sure you tried to answer, but I can’t hear you over the chorus of Vanessas in the world right now. Here’s a 2-bar stun combo that’s bound to get some use, since it works off a jump-in mid screen:
Maybe you’re someone that’s been swayed by the new KOFXIV characters, but you’re not totally sure where to begin? TrueUnderDawgGaming has put together a beginner-to-advanced combo videos for Rock Howard, Vanessa, and Whip hopefuls.
What, no Yamazaki guide? No fear, HurtboxTV’s got you crime-loving goons covered.
And as a cherry on top, have an anti-projectile conversion from Pwick1 with KOF’s latest crazy criminal!
Speaking of anti-projectiles, Whip’s new reflect special shuts down a surprising amount of moves in this game, even some things you may not consider projectiles.
DLC characters aren’t the only thing to show off in 2.0, though! KOFXIV’s big boss Antonov shows off some new tricks in KEN TSANG’s combo video.
As with any new game’s release, there’s a lot of exciting content being published all at once. If you missed our previous roundups, go here and here!
With Balrog receiving a multitude of buffs in Season 2 of Street Fighter V, his Turn Around Punch or TAP has gone from a mediocre move, to one of the best moves in his kit. As many players are getting their jaws shattered by this straight punch, Master level Balrog player Brian_F has composed a comprehensive video guide to help people both use and deal with the TAP.
Detailing the varying levels of the Turn Around Punch, Brian lists the usage of each level, its specific properties and when you should or should not use that version of the punch. He also provides a useful frame advantage breakdown for each level of the TAP, helping supplement this almost 20-minute long Balrog analysis.
This lecture is bursting with knowledge, both for Balrog players and for those struggling in this match up. If you are are constantly being put on the bus to Duff City, this video is a must watch.
