Poll results: What are the hopes and expectations for Cody's knife in Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition?
Update: The results are in! Check them out after the jump. We'll likely find out the truth behind Cody's preference for weapons at the end of the Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition tournament at Combo Breaker 2018, if the hints are any indication.
Earlier: As you might already be aware of, the Street Fighter Twitter account recently changed their logo. Whenever this happens, it typically means that a trailer for the next Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition fighter is inbound.
Being that Combo Breaker 2018 is going on this weekend and it's a Capcom Pro Tour event, we're expecting to see a gameplay reveal for Cody Travers near the conclusion of the tournament. I'm sure everyone will be on high alert when the top eight portion of the bracket rolls around on Sunday.
Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition is a rather interesting game in that returning characters often see major differences in their movesets compared to their previous iterations. You might like some of these alterations, and dislike others.
There's been some talk about what might become of Cody's knife mechanic in this game considering that he has a completely new appearance this time around. Is he the new mayor of Metro City? My coworker, Nicholas 'MajinTenshinhan' Taylor, has already speculated on how Cody might change when he is finally released.
In particular, let's talk about Cody's knife. If he is indeed the mayor of Metro City, is it too unbecoming for a mayor to use a knife?
Maybe a ballpoint pen would suffice instead? Then again, Mike Haggar was able to get away with bashing criminals with a steel pipe for many years...
More beautiful fighting game art from Aru-Metalhead
Yesterday we featured a Street Fighter themed gallery from the exceptionally talented Aru "Metalhead" Barros, and today we're looking at some of his work highlighting other fighting game titles.
While Chun-Li and Zangief made it back for another round in the spotlight, so did the likes of Guilty Gear's Baiken, Millia and Jack-O; Fatal Fury's Terry Bogard; Tekken's Asuka; Dead or Alive's Lie Fang as well as a few others.
Much of the art here takes us back to childhood days of Cartoon Network programs, but a few of these pieces are stunningly realistic.
I have a particular appreciation for the three takes on Baiken as well as Barros' Zero Suit Samus.
We've put together a gallery of fifteen images here, but there's plenty more where all of this came from.
Check out the Brazilian artist's Deviant Art page for more of his eye catching work.
Xian styles on Daigo, NuckleDu bounces Daikokugo off a Boom, Nemo pulls off the most stylish Urien combo; Combo Breaker day two highlights
We're two thirds through one the fighting game community's biggest events of the year and Combo Breaker 2018 has absolutely delivered on the entertainment front thus far.
We saw the Street Fighter 5 bracket whittle from 97 down to just 24 today, and watched as some big names fell while others thrived.
Big names like RZR|Xian, FOX|Justin Wong, NuckleDu, UYU|NL, FD|Fujimura, PG|Infiltration and others clashed, and naturally we got some pretty stellar moments of competition as a result.
We've collected a handful to share with you as you wait for tomorrow's final brackets to play out, so kick back and relive some of the hype right here with us.
The action has been non-stop, so let's dig right in and get started.
Here we see the one and only Liquid|Nemo stylin' and profilin' with one of the sickest Urien combos we've ever seen:
Click image for animated version
Combo Breaker 2018 early results, streams ft Go1, SonicFox, Tokido, Fujimura, ChrisG, Infiltration, Daigo, JWong, NuckleDu, Punk, Leffen and more
Updated with live results: This story is being updated with day two results as quickly as we can get them in the story. Keep checking back for more updates throughout the day.
This weekend, we're getting an absolutely gargantuan event taking place in St. Charles, Illinois in the form of Combo Breaker 2018.
It really can't be stated enough how big this event is for a ton of different games, with a whopping 16 games, and the Mystery Game Tournament besides them as well, exceeding 100 entrants each, and with two games exceeding 500 entrants, and another one getting very close.
On top of that, it's a Premier Event for the Capcom Pro Tour and a Master Event for the Tekken World Tour, so people will definitely be showing up to compete. Also, the winner of Dragon Ball FighterZ will claim the final spot in the 16-person event Summit of Power happening two weeks from now.
With so much on the line and so many players showing up, we couldn't possibly begin to list every notable name present, so here is a very small excerpt of who you can expect to see: CO|Go1, FOX|SonicFox, FOX|Tokido, FD|Fujimura, EG|NYChrisG, PG|Infiltration, CYG|Daigo, FOX|Justin Wong, NuckleDu, FOX|Punk, TSM|Leffen, Rise|MenaRD, DouyuTV|Xiao Hai, Liquid|Nemo, Fursan|Verloren, Mouz|Problem X, AS|Reynald, GGP|Kazunoko, CYG|Fuudo, ALG|Dragon, CO|Dogura, PG|SKD, RB|Luffy, FOX|Theo, PG|MarlinPie, RNG|Swedish Delight, Circa|ForeverKing, Tempo|S2J and so, so many more.
The games being played at the event, in order of entrants from biggest to smallest, are Dragon Ball FighterZ, Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition, Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, Injustice 2, Under Night In-Birth EXE: Late[st], BlazBlue: Central Fiction, Killer Instinct, Skullgirls: 2nd Encore, Mortal Kombat XL, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, the ceremonious Mystery Game Tournament, Super Smash Bros. 4, King of Fighters 14, Super Street Fighter 2: Turbo, Vampire Savior/Darkstalkers, Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mortal Kombat 9.
Streaming is being done at Team Spooky, Capcom Fighters, Tekken, NetherRealm, BG Callisto, Funky P, PandaxGaming, Vampire Arcadia and VG Boot Camp.
You can record/playback dummies in Super Turbo now; Training Modes in Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection have some cool bells and whistles
We're just a few days away from the May 29th's release date for Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, but a select few already have the game at home and are delving in as you read this.
The 30th Anniversary collection includes no less than 12 games from SF history, including all versions of Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter 3 and then the original Street Fighter that started it all.
Bringing these iconic titles back to the spotlight in modern day will be very interesting, as new generations will be able to experience the foundations new titles are built upon.
Many of these fighters came about before Training Mode was a thing, forcing players to learn simply by playing in Versus Mode, often at the cost of a quarter for every match.
While not every game has been fitted with a Training Mode in SF30AC, four have: Super Turbo, Hyper Fighting, Alpha 3 and Third Strike. Said Training Modes not only let you beat up on your foes endlessly without having to worry about resetting health bars, they have many of the new bells and whistles of modern games.
dWo: Dudley World Order has put together a few videos showcasing Training along with menus and options so you can see what the experience will be like.
'Dear Mayor Cody' - Capcom gives us another Street Fighter 5 tease in this letter from Mike Haggar to 'Mayor' Cody Travers
Yet another exciting Cody tease for Street Fighter 5 dropped on the official Street Fighter Twitter today, this time in the form of a letter from Mike Haggar to the upcoming DLC character.
We've recently learned that Mayor Travers is all but officially en route to the character select screen in just a matter of days, but today's reveal brings with it some interesting lore.
Ever since we saw his reveal at Capcom Cup in December, fans have been speculating about Cody's apparent level up in status as he's shed his prison uniform for a spiffy vest and slicked hair.
Such attire has suggested that he may have taken on the title of Mayor of Metro City. Today's tease confirms this as Haggar's formal letter explains that former mayors are obligated to reach out to new ones.
He also notes Cody's tendency to go beyond using his fists while fighting, perhaps alluding to the idea that the blonde Street Fighter will be using his trademark knife or another weapon in SF5.
Here's the tweet containing the letter. You can view it by clicking the City of Metro City corporate seal:
Get as many games as possible in without being a jerk; five important do's and don'ts for casual competition etiquette at major fighting game events
I'm lucky enough to be on site at Combo Breaker this weekend, an event that has quickly grown to be one of the fighting game community's most revered yearly majors, and am excitedly happy to be able to look around and proclaim that the amount of attendees and number of games simultaneously being played creates an atmosphere that rivals EVOs of just a few years back.
Newer faces are joining the community, and perhaps those that were unable to travel in the past are doing so now. With so many sharing the same space, of which there is (thankfully) an ample amount at this venue, a general etiquette is necessary for order to persist.
I've spent a good amount of time in the casuals area for Street Fighter (another awesome perk not all events offer) and it's come to my attention that perhaps some of the newcomers could use some pointers in how to go about getting games in when the group is this big.
When hundreds of people are playing casuals (friendlies, if you're a Smasher) chaos is always threatening at the door, but a few unspoken rules can help keep it at bay. I've put together a list of general guidelines to follow so as to keep things efficient when trying to mingle and get games in.
Dieminion qualified in the winners bracket as Ed for the Combo Breaker 2018 Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition tournament
The Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition event is currently ongoing at Combo Breaker 2018. Just like previous Capcom Pro Tour premier events, the pools are increasingly being filled with multiple top players.
Earlier today, SB|Dieminion qualified into the winners bracket at this event. He had to beat FOX|Momochi and BxA|CoolKid93 to get there.
This puts him in the top 96 currently. There's still a ways to go, but his progress so far has been impressive.
While Momochi was using Kolin, CoolKid was utilizing his famous Abigail. Although Dieminion was well-known for his Guile in Street Fighter 4, he hasn't really been playing the character in Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition.
Rather than using Guile at this event, he achieved his victories with just Ed. This Season 2 character is often regarded as a low tier in Season 3. Evidently, it pays to have the knowledge to fight against even the obscure combatants like Ed. at the big tournaments like Combo Breaker 2018.
That certainly isn't to say that it wasn't a close fight against Momochi. Dieminion was able to clutch it out with a pretty sick combo:
Click image for animated version
Poll results: Which newcomers would you be most excited to see in Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Switch?
Update: The results are in! It seems as though King K. Rool is the most wanted character in the upcoming Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Switch title. Hit the jump to check out which newcomers came close.
Earlier: We are now 20 days away from E3 2018. We've received basically no official confirmation for news in regards to the upcoming Super Smash Bros. title for the Nintendo Switch since its reveal on March 8, 2018 -- it's been a long three months.
Details are very scarce, but we know that the Inklings, Mario, and the Breath of the Wild Link will be playable characters in the game. It is also known that the game will be releasing later this year.
I guarantee that every fan of this series has a "dream roster" they're hoping to see. Super Smash Bros. is a franchise that is well known for generating hype among its fans through its newcomer character announcements.
A poll has been created that will allow our users to vote on which fighters they'd be most excited to see. Since there are over 80 choices, each individual is allowed to vote up to 10 times.
For the sake of trying to keep things consistent, I've kept to the guidelines that Sakurai has set for adding third party characters back in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The fighter must have an origin in video games and has made an appearance in a Nintendo game before.
In other words, characters like Goku are excluded from the poll since his origin is from a manga. Still, feel free to make use of the "other" option that is present in the poll.
Cody is en route to Street Fighter 5 just one month after Falke, could it be time for a new stage? Vesper talks all things Cody in his latest video
The Street Fighter 5 community is anxiously expecting one of the game's most anticipated DLC characters to date as all signs are pointing to Cody Travers making his way onto the character select screen in short order.
The Final Fight OG is Season 3's fourth addition, and is coming just one month after Falke. This is especially exciting considering that a monthly release schedule for the remaining characters would mean the entire DLC roster would be available by EVO in August.
It also keeps hopes alive for those brave few that are speculating that Capcom may have more in store than just the six additional characters this season, though there's not a ton of hard evidence to support such a future happening at this time.
In a recent video Vesper Arcade offers a Cody crash course as he discusses the character both from within and without the fighting game franchise.
It's been a decent bit since we last received a new Street Fighter 5 stage (we got Sakura's Kasugano Residence in Januray) and fans surely wouldn't mind seeing another Final Fight themed stage added to the game's battle locales.
Check out Vesper's video below and let us know what you think Cody will bring with him as well as well as how hype you are to get your hands on the upcoming character.
12 minutes of Fighting EX Layer gameplay featuring Darun, Allen, Kairi, Hokuto, Shirase, and Sanane
Fighting EX Layer will be releasing before the end of June 2018. As a result, it's likely very close to completion at this point.
Arika has released a video on YouTube that showcases the gameplay for Fighting EX Layer. In total, six different fighters are shown going at it.
The first match up has Allen going up against Darun. Darun looks like a very powerful grappler but the Allen player shows that he's not afraid of pressuring the opponent up close.
Next, we have a fight between Kairi and Hokuto. While Kairi utilizes armored attacks, Hokuto has access to a counter. This means that both players have to pick and choose the right moments to attack one another while not being too predictable.
Finally, there's a match that pits Shirase versus Sanane. While Sanane is boasting some serious reach with her weapon of choice, Shirase is able to turn invisible thanks to the player's chosen deck (there's a card called "ghost").
It's demonstrated that it could potentially be difficult to get out of the corner against Sanane:
Click image for animated version
Aru-Metalhead's fighting game art makes these Street Fighter characters almost look like they're from a Pixar film
While browsing through Twitter recently I came across the work of Brazilian artist Aru "Aru-Metalhead" Barros and knew almost instantly I was going to share it here.
Barros' art has a very cartoon-like look and feel to it, and has a style not unlike what you may see in a Saturday morning cartoon (when those were still a thing) or even Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles.
We grabbed a handful of Street Fighter pieces for our gallery today, but there's plenty more from other regions of the fighting game world that we'll more than likely feature at a later date.
While much of his work is on the lighter hearted side, he definitely has some more serious pieces as well, all of which are just as intriguing as these.
My personal favorite is Ibuki, with every other one as a close second.
Hit up the comments and let us know what you think of this art and which image is your personal favorite.
What changes would be good for Ryu in Street Fighter 5? Jimmy weighs in for our latest collaboration article
Because of the positive response to this series of articles, I try to get one out whenever I find myself speaking as a friend to a notable player of any character in the game, and this time, I was lucky enough to have a chance to talk to Jimmy, Germany's Ryu expert and long-time streamer.
If you've missed this series of articles, it all started with my own piece on my long-time main Alex. Since then, I've spoken to Tempo|Alex Myers about both Cammy and Sakura, Ixion about Nash, Reiketsu about Vega and, most recently, Atrosh about Birdie.
Ryu was a very strong contender in Street Fighter 5's early days during the game's first season, but after receiving a bunch of nerfs moving in to Season 2, the character has struggled immensely, and most players left him for greener pastures.
At the end of last year, with Arcade Edition/Season 3 coming up, many players were hopeful that Ryu would get some well-deserved changes to make him a more viable pick again, but unfortunately the changes to him both in the first adjustment, and the later 3.5 patch, have been a bit of a mixed bag, and don't seem to have done much for his viability, even with the new Donkey Kick move added.
So, to help us get some insight into what exactly Ryu's problems are and how they could best be addressed, we're going to hear some of what Jimmy has to say about the character, as someone who has stuck by the series' protagonist through thick and thin.
Much like the previous pieces, this will be written in my own words, but based on the opinions of my co-collaborator, in this case Jimmy. While I'll be doing the writing for the piece, I'll be very attentive to not change the meaning of anything he told me during our talk. Now, without further ado, let's get started.
Given Capcom's previous release schedule for DLC, Cody may be launching very soon on May 29th
We haven't had to wait too long to learn more about Street Fighter 5's newest character since the launch of Falke just over a month ago in April.
Capcom began teasing Cody's announcement for Arcade Edition yesterday, and now we now know that his actual reveal will come this weekend at Combo Breaker on May 27th during the SF5:AE tournament finals after another tease.
There's not much time left in the month of May, but looking at the previous release schedules for the past DLC characters shows that there is a good chance the convict turned assumed politician could drop next Tuesday on May 29th.
Since the start of Season 2 for SF5, Capcom has consistently released characters on Tuesdays in the latter halves of the months though they typically reveal the characters around a week before release. That would be a problem for Cody given that there is no 35th of May.
Releasing him on May 29th would put him on the same day as Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection's launch which Capcom might not view as the best strategy.
It's not unheard of for Capcom to release a character two days after their announcement though, so let's take a look at Capcom's previous release schedule to get a better idea of when Cody will bust into the game.
Akuma is so strong he's been banned from Super Turbo competition, but you can play him in Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection ranked mode
While most of us are waiting these last few days to get our hands on Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, some players (like dWo: Dudley World Order) already have it.
Normally we'd be jealous and just leave mean comments on such a player's YouTube page, but dWo has shared with us a bit of interesting information that's worth talking about.
You can reportedly play as Akuma, a character regarded as so overpowered he's been banned at most all competitive Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo events for the better part of the last three decades, in ranked play.
As seen in the video below, players are able to play as the demonic shoto online, meaning it's more than likely we'll see a plethora of Akumas as people instantly flock to the broken character.
We're hesitant to lose too much sleep over this, however, as there very well could be an option for players to avoid any and all Akuma users while searching for online matches.
We'll find out exactly what's going on in this avenue once the game drops on May 29th, but for now check out the video and leave a nice YouTube comment.
Should Mortal Kombat 11 have Injustice's gear system? A run mechanic? Tag options? Maximilian speculates
NetherRealm Studios has found themselves a formula that works with their fighting game releases over the better part of the last decade.
Offering audiences an ongoing one-two punch combination with the Mortal Kombat and Injustice franchises, they've been hitting home runs with both casual and competitive gamers across the board.
With E3 2018 just around the corner, it's about that time again for another Mortal Kombat title, given the company sticks with the schedule that they seem to have been following.
Like most fans of the NRS fighting game experience Maximilian is all but certain MK11 is on the horizon, and has gone into further detail about why and what to expect in a recent video.
One of the most celebrated (and deservedly so) aspects of the Injustice games and two most recent Mortal Kombats is the execution of the single player story mode. NetherRealm has garnered a reputation for setting the new standard for fighting game story experience, perhaps with 2017's Injustice 2 currently holding the blue ribbon.
Check out Max's insight in the video below and let us know what your speculations are for the probably MK11 in the comments afterwards.
Update: Love Heart revealed with new trailer for SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy; launches September 6th in Japan
Update: A new trailer has dropped showing off Love Heart in action along with some of her additional costumes. You can take a look for yourself after the jump.
Earlier: Siliconera has reported on the reveal of Love Heart in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. This comes directly from this week's issue of Famitsu magazine.
Love Heart first appeared in a pachinko machine game called "Sky Love." Most recently, she appeared as a combatant in King of Fighters 14.
Like all the other characters in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, she has a different default costume than what fans might be used to. Rather than having a pirate-like motif, she appears to be wearing a playful police uniform.
She will be joining the likes of Zarina, Sylvie Paula Paula, Athena Asamiya, Kula Diamond, Mai Shiranui, Leona Heidern, Yuri Sakazaki, Nakoruru, and Shermie. There were also a total of five silhouettes shown in the last trailer for the game -- one of which is likely fulfilled by Love Heart herself.
In addition to this, it was also revealed that the game will be releasing in Japan on September 6, 2018. This is only a day earlier than the September 7th release date for American players.
Click images for larger versions
