Top stories stories
Julia Chang and Negan trailers released for Tekken 7, both characters out on February 28th — Tekken World Tour 2019 details also shared
Today, right before the Top 8 was set to take place for Tekken 7 at EVO Japan 2019, we got a little surprise.
Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada and game designer Michael Murray stepped up on stage for an announcement.
First, Harada told everyone about the recent announcement that he will be in charge of eSports for all of Bandai Namco's fighting game titles, meaning Tekken 7, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Soul Calibur 6, moving forward.
They then went on to explain that the Tekken World Tour will receive a number of changes this year, saying that the Tekken World Tour will begin this year at The Mixup in Lyon, France on April 20th, and that they will have many new tournaments added to the circuit. It was also said that the points structure will be changed, with more details to come later.
Another point that's been brought up in the past is the prize money pool for the world tour finals, which Harada said has a lot of obstacles to it because of legal restrictions in Japan, but that they're working their best to be able to increase the prize money this year.
They announced that on March 12th, they will be revealing the full details of the Tekken World Tour, and to please look forward to that. Finally, he also noted that this year, the Tekken World Tour Finals will be held somewhere to-be-announced later in Asia (after being held in North America 2017, and Europe 2018).
Of course, this wasn't all, as they then proceeded to show us a Tekken 7 trailer for the next upcoming character, Julia Chang, and then another trailer for Negan, who hijacked it by threatening Harada to release him alongside Julia. Both characters are set to be released on February 28th.
You can find images here, and the trailers below.
Click images for larger versions
Naoto Kurogane, Teddie, Seth, and Arcana Heart's Heart Aino announced for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
Naoto Kurogane, Teddie, Seth, and Heart Aino have been announced as upcoming DLC for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. These announcements came following the BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle grand finals at EVO Japan 2019.
Teddie (or Kuma in Japanese) comes from Persona 4: Arena. Meanwhile, Naoto Kurogane originated from BlazBlue: Central Fiction.
As for Seth, he typically appears in the Under Night In-Birth series. Finally, Heart Aino is the first representative from Arcana Heart 3 to join the fight.
Naoto Kurogane's title was stated to be "Bloodedge Kindred." Teddie was declared to be "the Beast in Heat."
Seth is simply the "Assassin." Finally, Heart Aino is referred to as "the Angel Who Fights for Love and Justice."
No information about the release dates of these combatants were released other than "coming soon" and "2019 Spring." Notably, the words "next update" appeared before these reveals so they might become available with the next patch.
Click images for larger versions
Amy revealed for Soul Calibur 6
With EVO Japan 2019 in full flare, we were just about to enjoy the top 8 finals for Soul Calibur 6, when the game's producer Motohiro Okubo stepped up on stage.
After detailing some of the season pass which we were already privvy to, he also mentioned that the next character customization pack will be released next week, on February 19th.
However, Okubo correctly predicted that the crowd might not be entirely sated, and had something else prepared to show.
Amy, the adoptive daughter of Raphael, is set to join the fight, and she looks better than ever.
Although no release date was confirmed, Okubo promised that she will be out in the game as soon as possible.
We're still waiting to find out who the fourth character of the season pass is, though with Amy's reveal it seems quite likely that a leak from the end of last year will end up true.
You can find a bunch of images here, and the official Japanese trailer further down.
Click images for larger versions
Jump Force is now available
Bandai Namco's 3v3 Shonen Jump crossover fighter, Jump Force, is now available for purchase.
This fast-paced brawler brings 40 of the most popular and widely recognizable superstars from manga and anime together for the ultimate battle.
Jump Force is out now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The standard edition of the game will run you $59.99 USD, netting you the solo game and all that it includes.
For those who want more out of their experience, you can opt to pick up the Jump Force Deluxe Edition for $89.99 USD. This includes the game itself, as well as The Characters Pass that grants you access to the nine DLC fighters coming post-launch, their costumes, and four days of early access for each.
There also exists a Jump Force Ultimate Edition that comes with everything the Deluxe has, as well as 16 exclusive t-shirts for your Avatar, and a Jump Start pack of in-game items. This package will run you $99.99 USD.
The Characters Pass can also be purchased on its own for $29.99 and will include the nine DLC characters and early access. As of right now, the identities of the post-launch characters is unknown.
Before you buy, you can check out what the critics are saying about Jump Force with our review roundup here. Also, be sure to hit the jump for the full list of playable launch characters and the official launch trailer.
Click images for larger versions
Mai Shiranui returning to Dead or Alive 6 with an as-of-yet unrevealed King of Fighters character, World Championship and costumes also announced
After the Dead or Alive 6 exhibition today at EVO Japan 2019, we got a bunch of new information about the upcoming game.
First of all, it was stated that a Dead or Alive 6 World Championship will be held, which will have a whopping 10 million yen ($90,637) for total prize money, and will have qualifiers for the main event held in Asia, America and Europe.
It was also stated that there'll be a demo version of the game available on PSN and Xbox Live next weekend, February 23-24th, with all 24 launch-available playable characters, some story mode content, training mode and online matches, so if you're on the fence this is a great opportunity to try the game out for yourself. The full game launches a week later, on March 1st.
Finally, they announced the Season Pass, which will contain 2 brand new characters and 62 new costumes, starting off with two "happy wedding" packs, giving wedding-themed costumes to each launch character and presumably the two DLC characters, as well as 2 more packs with 13 costumes each, and 5 costumes each for the DLC characters. It also contains one bonus costume each for Nyotengu and brand new character NiCO.
Furthermore, it was announced that the DLC characters will be part of a collaboration with SNK — Mai Shiranui, who was a guest in Dead or Alive 5, is returning, alongside another SNK character they're not ready to reveal yet.
The collaboration specifically listed King of Fighters 14, so it would make sense for a character who was present in that specific title to be the second guest, but nothing was explicitly confirmed. You can find images of each of these announcements below.
Click images for larger versions
Jade announced for Mortal Kombat 11
Jade has been revealed for Mortal Kombat 11. Although she was absent during Mortal Kombat X and the game's story mode, Kitana had access to a "Mournful" variation that had her utilizing Jade's bō staff.
Now Jade has returned due to popular demand. Like Baraka, Skarlet, and Kabal, we haven't seen Jade since Mortal Kombat 9.
This may not come to a surprise to many as NetherRealm Studios was hinting at Jade's appearance with the "GreenAF" and "FanFav" hashtags. The image of a jade green color was pretty telling by itself.
In her introduction, Jade showcases a handful of moves both new and old. Her Shadow Kick, boomerang and staff are back in full force, but now she utilizes the staff both to harm her foes and for movement purposes.
Jade also has a ton of teleportation movements in her cinematic sequences, adding to the overall flair of her presentation. The character appears as though she may be undead as she now has a grayed skin tone. This would be in keeping with the lore that she's been dead since the events of Mortal Kombat X, referenced directly by one of Kitana's variations.
Here's a quick clip of her in action, continue on for her full trailer:
Click images for larger versions
Game-breaking glitch discovered in Street Fighter 5 gives Blanka an infinite
A new glitch has been discovered in Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition that involves Blanka. Essentially, the Season 3 character is able to freeze opponents on screen when his Critical Art is performed a certain way.
Discovered by TeamPIESci, the original clip showed the Birdie player up against a Blanka online. After being launched into the air, the Blanka player attempted to combo into his Critical Art, but instead activated a weird screen freeze that locked Birdie in place, yet still allowing Blanka to move freely.
WydD later confirmed the bug's existence, showing how it's done. Blanka players have to basically cancel the super into his forward hop using a plink of the punch button and forward + all three kicks.
The timing is strict, as WydD notes that if you wait one frame or more between the Critical Art input and the hop, it won't trigger. However, pulling it off has some major benefits.
For one thing, when the opponent is stuck in the screen freeze their inputs will not come out. This renders them helpless in situations like during a jump in or if they committed to a big attack and are countered with this glitch.
On top of that, successfully activating this oddity negates the use of Blanka's Critical Art meter, despite the bug centering around super. If Blanka does the glitch, he'll still have a Critical Art at his disposal, and you can see examples of both situations below.
Click images to view clips
D'Vorah announced for Mortal Kombat 11
Mortal Kombat X character D'Vorah is returning to the fight in Mortal Kombat 11. She was announced today on the Inside Xbox live stream.
We saw this during the stream intro that featured a few lines from an interview with Ed Boon wherein he talks about the character in MK11. During his brief talk, Boon said the following:
"D'Vorah is one of the ones that we are bringing along into Mortal Kombat 11. We're excited to see her and her new moves as she plays in the game, in this new sandbox."
D'Vorah made her debut back in 2015's Mortal Kombat X and is of the Kytinn species... colonial insects that live inside humanoid bodies. She commands swarms of bugs and has long, pointed legs that extend from the middle of her back.
Her reveal comes alongside Kabal's, as he long-time Mortal Kombat favorite was shown earlier today on the first Kombat Kast for MK11.
Thus far we've only seen a still image in her official artwork, which you can view below.
Click images for larger versions
Sent in by SqueakyBloom.
Kabal announced for Mortal Kombat 11
NetherRealm Studios has just revealed Kabal for Mortal Kombat 11.
We caught our first glimpse of the hook sword-wielding fighter during today's Kombat Kast. This comes with fairly little surprise as Kabal was teased back at the MK11 reveal event in January, and then Tyler Lansdown posted this Tweet just before today's stream went live.
He comes back with many of his traditional moves including his Nomad Dash and buzz saw attacks, and is deemed "more of a mid-range character" by developers this time around. He's also described as fairly basic and easy to play, which is something of a departure from his MK9 days.
While he retains many of his iconic moves, they really don't seem to work in the ways they previously did. It seems he'll play mostly in the mid to far ranges as he excels in both zoning and reach.
We also get a look at one of his Fatalities, which involves the speedy fighter anchoring his foe to himself and dragging them on the ground as he dashes at top speed.
You can view the official trailer after the jump. First, though, check out this quick clip of his Fatal Blow and his Fatality, and a gallery of stills. Please note that there's plenty of NSFW content due to gore and violence.
Click image to view clip
Click images for larger versions
Kano announced for Mortal Kombat 11
It was revealed during the Mortal Kombat 11 Brazil live stream event that Brazil will be receiving an exclusive "Kangaceiro" costume for Kano, a character that was only just now announced.
The Mortal Kombat Twitter account also revealed Kano's default appearance. Unsurprisingly, he still has his iconic cyber face plate and gruff appearance.
His left arm has a tattoo on it. This is visible as he is shirtless aside from a strap that appears to hold some sort of cybernetic chest piece.
Of course, it wouldn't be Kano without him holding his knife. This will very likely be thrown as a projectile attack similarly to how he wielded it in previous Mortal Kombat titles.
Despite typically fighting as a mercenary for Outworld, Kano is actually originally from Earthrealm. His accent has always revealed that he's from Australia.
He's previous run-ins with Sonya Blade and Jax (unannounced) has made him a natural rival for them in the past. We'll likely see this antagonistic interaction return in Mortal Kombat 11.
Click images for larger versions
Capcom Pro Tour 2019 schedule and trailer released; updated with multiple tournament date corrections
Update: Capcom has updated their page with a few tournament date corrections and we've since updated the dates in the schedule posted below.
Earlier: Capcom has released a schedule and details for the 2019 Capcom Pro Tour. A trailer has been provided on Capcom's YouTube channel.
As with every new year, Capcom has made some changes to the rules for these events. One thing that hasn't changed is the fact that there will be 32 competitors qualified by the end of the year. One of them is guaranteed to be RB|Gachikun due to Capcom Cup 2018 champion title.
Last year, events were separated into three categories. They were ranking events, premier events, and EVO. This year, EVO has been replaced with the "super premier events."
While winning EVO awarded 1700 points previously, first place finishes at super premiers will now grant players 1,000 Capcom Pro Tour points.
There are currently three super premiers that players will need to be aware of. They are EVO 2019, the Japan Premier, and the North American Regional Final. Note that the Asia, Europe, and South American Regional Finals are premier events, not super premiers.
It was also declared that there will be less online ranking events in 2019 as opposed to 2018. However, Capcom is also redistributing some events for better coverage across different areas. Regions like Australia and the Middle East are now able to compete despite not being able to before.
Click images for larger versions
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate patch now live, Piranha Plant playable
The patch notes for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are now live as Nintendo America has shared the full list of character changes.
Piranha Plant has also been released and is now playable for those that pre-ordered the game. To gain access to him players will need to follow these steps:
After 2.0.0 is live, restart your console by turning it off (hold power button and select turn off). Once you start Switch back up, hit Plus on the Smash Bros. Ultimate icon and select "Software Update." After the update goes through, you should have Piranha Plant in-game, if you redeemed your code.
Nintendo VS posted the below clip of Piranha Plant in Ultimate along with the caption, "Piranha Plant pipes up in #SmashBrosUltimate as a new playable fighter! Ready your flowerpots for battle with this poisonous powerhouse starting today! Piranha Plant is a free bonus for players who have registered Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and redeemed their code before 1/31.
This new update brings with it changes for more than 50 fighters on the roster as we see King K. Rool has been nerfed while Bowser and Sheik have been buffed. See if and how your favorite fighters have been altered below.
We've nabbed a handful of screen shots of the newest playable character in action. Check out the gallery and then read on to see the full list of patch notes.
Click image for animated version
Click images for larger versions
Dragon Ball FighterZ Season 2 patch notes released
The Dragon Ball FighterZ Season 2 patch notes are now live.
As noted previously by the company, these changes to the game focus solely on alterations to the battle system. Mechanics such as recoverable life, Ki building, Sparking Blast, and more have seen tweaks.
It looks as though these changes will go into effect tomorrow — a day before the first Season 2 characters, Jiren and Videl, are released. The date provided by the Japanese blog was January 30th, but we're still waiting on confirmation of a release time for North America.
Bandai Namco US tweeted yesterday that more information on the changes would be dropping "later next week," which led fans to believe that the patch was coming at a later date. However, it does make sense for them to come alongside Jiren and Videl — or right before their launch.
The patch notes were released in Japanese, and we have the English translation thanks to our very own Nicholas "MajinTenshinhan" Taylor.
You can check out the full list below.
Jiren, Videl, Gogeta Blue, and canon Broly revealed early for Dragon Ball FighterZ Season 2
Jiren and Videl were revealed prematurely for Dragon Ball FighterZ Season 2. They'll be releasing on January 31st.
Gogeta Blue and the Dragon Ball Super version of Broly were also confirmed, and we were shown that Season 2 will feature six characters instead of eight, like the previous year.
It is currently unknown when Gogeta and the movie version of Broly will be released. The release date is January 31, 2018 for Jiren and Videl, just a few days away.
Their trailers were leaked early during the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour Finals, and subsequently taken down, but have resurfaced and are officially available for you to check out below now.
The identities of the fifth and sixth characters were not revealed at this time.
We've gathered screen shots of Jiren and Videl, which you can find below. There's gameplay footage and more to check out.
Street Fighter Pro League coming to North America in 2019 featuring 3v3 team play of professional players
Capcom is pushing their eSports initiative forward in 2019 with the newly announced North American Street Fighter Pro League which is tentatively set to kick off later this April to run alongside the Capcom Pro Tour.
There will be six teams in the league made up of three players each battling it out to take home the championship prize. Team captains will be chosen from the top ranked players from the CPT North American Leaderboards. The second slot of each team will be filled by top players from special online qualifiers, and the third and final spot will be made up of players voted in by the community at large.
Team captains will have the opportunity to draft their prospects at the start of each season which will require more strategy to help with the unique feature of the league.
The North American Street Fighter Pro League is introducing a "character ban" rule where teams can ban any one character at the beginning of each match. Players on the same team must also select different characters from their teammates during matches, so competitors who can balance multiple fighters may be at an advantage over character specialists for an added level of strategic play.
Competition will be split into two seasons with the first scheduled to begin in April 2019 where tournaments will be held every Thursday through the end of May. The season one finale will then take place in June where the top two teams will advance to the second leg.
A second season will pick up in August with another draft followed by more tournament play with the new teams until November leading to the first North American Pro League Champion.
Mortal Kombat 11's story picks up right after X's in the new cinematic prologue trailer
Expectations are high for Mortal Kombat 11's story, as the franchise has set itself apart from others in the fighting game genre for consistently having some of the most enticing and well-told narratives.
NetherRealm Studios and Ed Boon revealed the opening scene of Mortal Kombat 11's story mode which takes place seemingly minutes after the end of MKX's with Raiden torturing Shinnok after his defeat — though before the prior game's credit scene.
The official description for the video states, "Raiden has upset the balance of history with the death of Shinnok. Tired of Earthrealm’s defiance, Kronika, The Keeper of Time will bring order to the universe through any means necessary."
It's very likely that Kronika was the mysterious character we saw at the very end of the game's initial reveal trailer back in December. She and all new Geras look fairly similar and both seem to have powers to manipulate time.
It seems traditional good guy Raiden will be a bit of a wild card in this entry of the series, as while he's fighting for Earthrealm, his policies don't seem to be as moral and pure as you'd expect from the usually upright god.
You can check out the first four-and-a-half minutes of Mortal Kombat 11's story in the trailer after the jump with NSFW content ahead as always.
Geras, an all new character, revealed for Mortal Kombat 11
The Mortal Kombat 11 content just keeps on coming as an all new character by the name of Geras was revealed at today's event in Los Angeles.
"A powerful and loyal servant of Kronika, Geras wields the power to manipulate time," reads the trailer description, and indeed Geras looks fairly similar to the character we saw at the end of the initial MK11 reveal trailer.
The character manipulates the sands of time to pull off a vast array of techniques. He forms sharp and blunt objects with which to punish foes, but can also teleport about by projecting a sand version of himself to another place on screen, then appearing in its place.
Geras can freeze foes in mid air, send them through portals and plenty more. He is also able to rewind time a bit during certain move animations, staying in step with MK's notable reputation for jaw-dropping visual sequences.
We've included a handful of stills from the footage so you can observe some of the finer details about the character's appearance.
You'll see the full trailer, which is extremely violent and NSFW below. Be sure to chime in with you reactions in the comments after you watch.
Click images for larger versions
