Week of January 5th to the 11th, 2014.
Fighting Games Weekly is the weekly discussion thread for all things fighting games. News, events, streams, videos, players, drama, everything fighting game related.
Don't know what to watch right now? Check the FGCPros Twitch Group or Jaxel's Stream Viewer. If you want to watch multiple streams at once, you can use Jaxel's customizable multiviewer as well.
New to FGC-GAF is the FGC-GAF Index which lists the fighting games GAFers plays as a neat reference with some rough statistics to boot. To add yourself to the index, quote this post and use the survey link below. Please remember to save/bookmark the "Edit your response" link so you can edit your responses if/when you buy a game already on the list or a new game that releases in the future.
Last week's thread. An archive of previous FGW threads is available here.
Fighting Games Weekly is the weekly discussion thread for all things fighting games. News, events, streams, videos, players, drama, everything fighting game related.
Don't know what to watch right now? Check the FGCPros Twitch Group or Jaxel's Stream Viewer. If you want to watch multiple streams at once, you can use Jaxel's customizable multiviewer as well.
New to FGC-GAF is the FGC-GAF Index which lists the fighting games GAFers plays as a neat reference with some rough statistics to boot. To add yourself to the index, quote this post and use the survey link below. Please remember to save/bookmark the "Edit your response" link so you can edit your responses if/when you buy a game already on the list or a new game that releases in the future.
Last week's thread. An archive of previous FGW threads is available here.
Kumite in Tennessee 2015 [Additional streams: Arturo, Anime, 3D/Namco, Smash/Mario Kart, Sixfortyfive, Killer Instinct ] [ Schedule ] [ Friday ] [ 4PM CST | 5PM EDT | 2PM PDT ]
- KiT rings in the new year with our first, big multi-game tournament.
- Killer Instinct World Cup Qualifier
- This event continues through Sunday.
- More information is available here.
- Biggest European Super Smash Bros Tournament returns, featuring Melee, Project M and Smash U.
- APEX 15 Qualifier
- This event continues through Sunday.
- Lapchi and co. present the Master Series as a companion event to Canada Cup proper, hoping to make big international matches happen through it's PPV.
- This event continues through Sunday.
- More information is available here.
Every week, FGW will spotlight one GAFer to get a better picture of their history with fighting games, their preferences, and much more. For this week's FGW Player Spotlight, we will be taking a closer look at AAK!
What fighting games do you currently play, what is your all time favourite and why?
My main game is Tekken Tag Tournament 2 which is simultaneously one of my all-time favorite fighting games but Ill get to that more later. I also play all of the other major 3D games: Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, and Soul Calibur 5 whenever I get the chance. I enter all the major 3D games whenever I enter tournaments. I recently obtained Ultra Street Fighter 4 and Guilty Gear Xrd
but Im only really giving time to Xrd and learning that game, but Im struggling like crazy with it.
As for my all time favorite fighting game, as a competitor and a gamer that studies the technicalities of all the genre, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is my favorite. I love Tekken for the sole reason that it is the epitome of core videogame design in a fighter. I play videogames because I get the feeling of escaping reality and taking control of something I can never be. And when it comes to complete "CONTROL", Tekken by and large meticulously designed everything to give me the most access and control to a characters abilities. The game gives the person who knockdowned someone to unleash insane amounts of damage while they're grounded; yet at the same time, gives knocked down player a plethora of options to escape and even counter attack.
And Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the magnum opus of the series combining every lesson and design decision to one magnanimous product that is probably my single favorite piece of software released to date. Honestly, TTT2 is absolutely phenomenal when it comes to character balance, character diversity, freedom in playstyle, freedom in the combo system, and overall level of control of a virtual avatar in any game whether it be fighting, rpg, or adventure. It does kinda suck that most people didnt resonate with this title like I did and instead of improving on this, Namco is basically removing a bunch of things for Tekken 7 .
Ive put almost 3,000 hours since its release in 2012 and this is the first game that motivated me enough to travel to tournaments for and I've made some lifelong friends along the way thanks to this game.
What are your favorite mechanics from the current selection of fighting games and why? What are your least favorite and why?As for my all time favorite fighting game, as a competitor and a gamer that studies the technicalities of all the genre, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is my favorite. I love Tekken for the sole reason that it is the epitome of core videogame design in a fighter. I play videogames because I get the feeling of escaping reality and taking control of something I can never be. And when it comes to complete "CONTROL", Tekken by and large meticulously designed everything to give me the most access and control to a characters abilities. The game gives the person who knockdowned someone to unleash insane amounts of damage while they're grounded; yet at the same time, gives knocked down player a plethora of options to escape and even counter attack.
And Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the magnum opus of the series combining every lesson and design decision to one magnanimous product that is probably my single favorite piece of software released to date. Honestly, TTT2 is absolutely phenomenal when it comes to character balance, character diversity, freedom in playstyle, freedom in the combo system, and overall level of control of a virtual avatar in any game whether it be fighting, rpg, or adventure. It does kinda suck that most people didnt resonate with this title like I did and instead of improving on this, Namco is basically removing a bunch of things for Tekken 7 .
Ive put almost 3,000 hours since its release in 2012 and this is the first game that motivated me enough to travel to tournaments for and I've made some lifelong friends along the way thanks to this game.
I always prefer games that have a tag function. Having access to two characters movesets expanding the repertoire of distinct tools at your disposal is something I love.
In TTT 2 the management of life, damage optimization, Rage, Tag Assault, and Tag Crash is fantastic in my opinion. To explain, if your lifebar depletes to about 60%, your partner enters rage mode, and hence if you tag out and your partner comes in they are capable of monstrous damage for a few seconds before the rage status runs out. BUT, tagging is usually very unsafe and pretty easy for your opponent to punish. The game gives you an option to sacrifice your partners rage and Tag Crash in which they do a leaping attack that covers major ground that puts your opponent into a guard stun if it connects hence getting a safe tag in. However, if your opponent does a Tag Assault combo on you your partner gets in rage status regardless of the life bar. Hence, the mind games at play is always a lot of fun for me since you have to assess how good your opponents ability is to tag in properly along with being aware of the health bars to properly optimize your damage. If I know I cant kill I have to figure out the optimized combo allowing me to setup a situation that can punish both a raw tag or a tag crash. The implementation wasnt perfect considering the number of variables bringing extra randomness at times; but the meta-game involved is one of my favorites.
My least favorite mechanic is rage/x-factor as a comeback mechanic being a generic damage/speed boost. Im a little less annoyed by it in TTT2 since its less of a comeback mechanic and more of a fundamental part of the tagging gameplay because of how integral Tag Crash is and how rage is a punishment for letting the opponent get in safely. Tekken 6 and Marvel 3 are the biggest offenders. SF4, T7 are OK since the comeback mechanic is an ultra move rather than generic damage upgrades on all the moves.
What got you into fighting games? Are there any other genre of games you play?In TTT 2 the management of life, damage optimization, Rage, Tag Assault, and Tag Crash is fantastic in my opinion. To explain, if your lifebar depletes to about 60%, your partner enters rage mode, and hence if you tag out and your partner comes in they are capable of monstrous damage for a few seconds before the rage status runs out. BUT, tagging is usually very unsafe and pretty easy for your opponent to punish. The game gives you an option to sacrifice your partners rage and Tag Crash in which they do a leaping attack that covers major ground that puts your opponent into a guard stun if it connects hence getting a safe tag in. However, if your opponent does a Tag Assault combo on you your partner gets in rage status regardless of the life bar. Hence, the mind games at play is always a lot of fun for me since you have to assess how good your opponents ability is to tag in properly along with being aware of the health bars to properly optimize your damage. If I know I cant kill I have to figure out the optimized combo allowing me to setup a situation that can punish both a raw tag or a tag crash. The implementation wasnt perfect considering the number of variables bringing extra randomness at times; but the meta-game involved is one of my favorites.
My least favorite mechanic is rage/x-factor as a comeback mechanic being a generic damage/speed boost. Im a little less annoyed by it in TTT2 since its less of a comeback mechanic and more of a fundamental part of the tagging gameplay because of how integral Tag Crash is and how rage is a punishment for letting the opponent get in safely. Tekken 6 and Marvel 3 are the biggest offenders. SF4, T7 are OK since the comeback mechanic is an ultra move rather than generic damage upgrades on all the moves.
Never had any arcades where I grew up. My sister had an SNES that I would play MKII on and such
and then when I eventually got the PS1 several years later and I had a demo disc containing a bunch of games. One of them was Tekken 2 where you could only play Lei/Jun
and one day Yoshimitsu randomly did his back throw Izuna drop on me flooring me with how awesome it looked after that I had to play more fighters
but that was what just drew me into fighting games because of the aesthetics.
I only reached this level of obsession with fighting games until Gamespot did their Evolution 2004 coverage showcasing matches like Bode vs Jinkid and Kenbou vs Jackie Tran. Searching a bit more and downloading this Korean vid Tekken 4 using my 56k modem. I was floored at how these guys could express themselves in such a way in a videogame and I made it a mission to one day express myself in a videogame the same way these guys did.
I love a lot of genres I enjoy but primarily it has to be action and adventure games. Im a huge fan of Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Onimusha, and Devil May Cry. But I really havent played any of them since I started travelling for Tekken. I usually look for games that allow me to play couch co op games with friends who dont own consoles.
What is your favorite fighting game character and why?I only reached this level of obsession with fighting games until Gamespot did their Evolution 2004 coverage showcasing matches like Bode vs Jinkid and Kenbou vs Jackie Tran. Searching a bit more and downloading this Korean vid Tekken 4 using my 56k modem. I was floored at how these guys could express themselves in such a way in a videogame and I made it a mission to one day express myself in a videogame the same way these guys did.
I love a lot of genres I enjoy but primarily it has to be action and adventure games. Im a huge fan of Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Onimusha, and Devil May Cry. But I really havent played any of them since I started travelling for Tekken. I usually look for games that allow me to play couch co op games with friends who dont own consoles.
From an artistic design point of view, my favorite character is most definitely Hildegard von Wolfkrone from Soul Calibur 4. I love long hair on females and her armor design along with the princess design was perfect. It wasnt sexualized at all yet still very feminine and handled the balance perfectly well. Along with that she didnt just have a Lance but also a sword in her hand that just stood out nicely. She would also be the first character in the series to dual wield very different weapons. And lastly she was a charge character implemented in a 3D game, that implementation was genius and I have to give Team Soul credit for that.
From a gameplay perspective, Yoshimitsu from TTT2 would be my favorite. I love more than anything seeing people express themselves through their character and I dont see a character that can give that capability more than Yoshimitsu. He is one of the characters in 3D FGs that cant just attack uniquely but move in certain ways in his meditation, helicopter, and flea stances. And then we he puts his sword away he becomes a completely new character; there is a lot of required hard drive space in your brain to play. In the end, I have to say that for the people who stick with him, he must be the most rewarding character to play as.
Describe your style of play, and how do you play (local, online, etc.).From a gameplay perspective, Yoshimitsu from TTT2 would be my favorite. I love more than anything seeing people express themselves through their character and I dont see a character that can give that capability more than Yoshimitsu. He is one of the characters in 3D FGs that cant just attack uniquely but move in certain ways in his meditation, helicopter, and flea stances. And then we he puts his sword away he becomes a completely new character; there is a lot of required hard drive space in your brain to play. In the end, I have to say that for the people who stick with him, he must be the most rewarding character to play as.
Im a fairly aggressive player. I try to go out of my way to make use of every move present in my characters arsenal, and hence a good majority of it demands that I put my opponent in certain situations. In order for everything to work out I usually do have to be the aggressor. But this playstyle only does come out once I understood the gameplay and my character enough to enact my desired playstyle.
I play online whenever I can but I have local gatherings weekly with people in my city. Its been just me and these 2 other guys for Tekken usually and GAFs own Essay for VF once in a blue moon. But I might join the GG crew once I get the hang of Xrd more so.
What do you feel are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a player?I play online whenever I can but I have local gatherings weekly with people in my city. Its been just me and these 2 other guys for Tekken usually and GAFs own Essay for VF once in a blue moon. But I might join the GG crew once I get the hang of Xrd more so.
Biggest strength I guess is that I can sit for 5-6 hours straight playing continuously. I have endurance to play games a long time so I can try to get certain demanding things in fighting games down with perseverance. Im not gifted at all and it takes me a damn long time to get things down, but I guess it balances out with how long I can go in one sitting to get my goals down.
My biggest weakness is that I find it insanely difficult to change bad habits. Majority of my losses have been from the same mistakes I make over and over again. I desperately need better adaptation skills.
Best and worst moments in the your fighting game career?My biggest weakness is that I find it insanely difficult to change bad habits. Majority of my losses have been from the same mistakes I make over and over again. I desperately need better adaptation skills.
Favorite moment is by far getting 2nd at the first CECC for Tekken Tag Tournament 2. I was the only one that come from Ottawa and I managed to take out everyone from Toronto
but I lost to the #1 Montreal guy PotatoBrain for the 3rd time in tournament. (sigh)
My worst moment is getting deuced in a Toronto weekly I was in town for losing to the 2 newbies on the scene... but they deserved it considering how much more work they put in.
What do you want from future fighting games?My worst moment is getting deuced in a Toronto weekly I was in town for losing to the 2 newbies on the scene... but they deserved it considering how much more work they put in.
1. Kill load times AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
2. I want is game developers to support homegrown tournaments and local scenes IN GAMES. I would love for games try to advertise big tournaments happening in their region, I think Dead or Alive 5 did this for Final Round and its awesome. I would also like for the games to help find local competition basically something akin to the regional match making forum in SRK and Tekken Zaibatsu to help the social aspect of fighting games.
3. I want the aesthetics (Tekken in particular) to be far more characterized. Id like everyone there to have unique running, crouching, walking animations rather than the generic ones we see right now. Id like throws animations to be unique depending on the character. It doesnt look right at all when Julia is death valley drivering Ganryu the same way she does to Nina. I hope they take a page out of VF5:FSs book on how throw animations change from regulars to heavyweights like Taka.
4. I want is evolution of characters. Ryu and Chun Li should not be wearing the exact same clothes and hair style and skin condition as Street Fighter 2. Characters need to evolve, get new outfits. Tekken also has been suffering from this after 2004. It was one of my favorite appeals in Tekken from Tekken 1 through Tekken 5 seeing how all the characters would evolve in design.
5. Most importantly is all fighting games should have tutorial modes just like Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution. They should give demos of advantages and disadvantages of each mechanic youre showcasing. Id like for fighting games to go with even more deeper tutorials for characters the same way they do for system mechanics. Steps like these can go a very long way to dispel the myth that people have assuming Tekken is harder to play than other Fighting Games.
Who should be on next week's GAF Player Spotlight?2. I want is game developers to support homegrown tournaments and local scenes IN GAMES. I would love for games try to advertise big tournaments happening in their region, I think Dead or Alive 5 did this for Final Round and its awesome. I would also like for the games to help find local competition basically something akin to the regional match making forum in SRK and Tekken Zaibatsu to help the social aspect of fighting games.
3. I want the aesthetics (Tekken in particular) to be far more characterized. Id like everyone there to have unique running, crouching, walking animations rather than the generic ones we see right now. Id like throws animations to be unique depending on the character. It doesnt look right at all when Julia is death valley drivering Ganryu the same way she does to Nina. I hope they take a page out of VF5:FSs book on how throw animations change from regulars to heavyweights like Taka.
4. I want is evolution of characters. Ryu and Chun Li should not be wearing the exact same clothes and hair style and skin condition as Street Fighter 2. Characters need to evolve, get new outfits. Tekken also has been suffering from this after 2004. It was one of my favorite appeals in Tekken from Tekken 1 through Tekken 5 seeing how all the characters would evolve in design.
5. Most importantly is all fighting games should have tutorial modes just like Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution. They should give demos of advantages and disadvantages of each mechanic youre showcasing. Id like for fighting games to go with even more deeper tutorials for characters the same way they do for system mechanics. Steps like these can go a very long way to dispel the myth that people have assuming Tekken is harder to play than other Fighting Games.
Sayah
Since Dahbomb strongly encourages pre-orders, what games do you plan to buy that have been officially announced?
I have Dead or Alive 5: Last Round pre-ordered for Steam. I will buy a PS4 when The Witness comes out. And Ill eventually get every 3D fighting game that comes out in the future.
Code:
WINTER The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match
02/17 Dead or Alive 5: LAST ROUND (EU: 02/20)
04/15 Mortal Kombat X
2015 Dragon Ball Xenoverse
2015 Rivals of Aether
2015 Skullgirls Encore
2015 Under Night In-Birth (NA/EU)
TBD Beast's Fury
TBD Next The King Of Fighters Title (tentative)
TBD Rise of Incarnates
TBD Street Fighter V
TBD Tekken 7
TBD Tekken X Street Fighter
TBD Yatagarasu: Attack on Cataclysm
TBD Yatagarasu: Legend of Raven
Super Desperation Radio [ 9:30PM EDT | 6:30 PDT ]
- Hellpockets and various other members of the KoF community discuss KoF and happenings in the FGC.
- Out of the ashes of The BOX Arena, comes the San Diego FGC's newest organized weekly for UMvC3.
- Weekly FGC show dedicated to match analysis, teaching, commentary, news, debates, and more! Hosted by UltraDavid and James Chen.
Kachitagari TV (JP) [ 9PM JST | 8AM EDT | 5AM PDT ]
- Bon-chan, Kazunoko and Fuudo's new show, focusing primarily on SSFIV AE ranked matches but is branching off into other games as well.
- NYC VF crew presents VF5:FS tournaments casuals out of The Next Level arcade in Brooklyn.
- New Jersey's largest weekly featuring UMvC3 and Injustice.
- JamessMK & DarKNaTaS host a raw and uncut weekly talk show discussing events in the FGC with various FGC personalities.
- Weekly FGC show dedicated to match analysis, teaching, commentary, news, debates, and more! Hosted by UltraDavid and James Chen.
- iPlaywinner hosts a weekly talk show featuring alpha stream monsters Harrison and Honzo Gonzo.
Game Spot Versus KoF Casuals (JP) [ 7PM JST | 6AM EDT | 3AM PDT ]
- KoF 1998UM, KoF 2002UM and KoF XIII C action from Japan.
- Description needed.
- NYC's biggest weekly at The Next Level Arcade in Brooklyn featuring SSFIV AE, UMvC3 and TTT2. If the Teamsp00ky link is not working, it is likely on the backup stream on Arturo's channel.
- Often, WonderChef will stream Injustice pools up until Top 4.
- SoCal's biggest weekly at Super Arcade in Walnut, featuring Injustice and SSFIV AE. Season details are available here.
HBTB Live [ 8PM EDT | 5PM PDT ]
- Hold Back To Block hosts a weekly roundtable discussion of various happenings in the FGC.
- A bi-weekly Smash podcast discussing recent events, news and issues in the Smash community, hosted by Scar, Prog, Cactuar and Sheridan.
- Galloping Ghost Arcade presents an Injustice weekly out of Chicago.
- A weekly FGC talk show hosted by iPlaywinner, featuring a varying, ensemble cast of prominent members of the fighting game community.
- Aris' new weekly show, discussing whatever he wants to! The format resembles old ATP podcasts.
- The UMvC3 and KoF XIII branch of Wednesday Night Fights also hosted at Super Arcade in Walnut, California.
The Smash Break Bi-Weekly [ 6PM EDT | 3PM PDT ]
- The Break hosts a new Melee bi-weekly to replace Rokunaya Bi-Weeklies which are ending.
- Arturo streams a BlazBlue and Guilty Gear bi-weekly out of Next Level arcade in Brooklyn.
- For those who know how to use Nico Live, also join the GODSGARDEN community page on Nico to know when Ura KaoTV! goes live.
- A bi-weekly Skullgirls event hosted by members of the Skullgirls development team, often featuring preview builds of the game.
Rebel Up [ 7PM EDT | 4PM PDT ]
- Super Arcade's anime bi-weekly, featuring GG, BB, P4A, SG, Gundam and older anime games as well.
GGPO VanBats [ 4PM EDT | 1PM PDT ]
- Weekly GGPO Vampire Savior ranbats streamed by GAFer Rotanibor.
- Level|Up and Team OXY partner up to create a new weekly for the SoCal Melee community, featuring doubles and singles.
On GAF we have various members that stream fighting games from time to time too. If you would like to add your channel to this thread, send me a PM.
Check out previous OTs for a list of handy fighting game resources for newcomers. For a list of NeoGAF OTs for specific fighting games, as well as a list of non-GAF fighting game communities that may be of interest, check out the FGW Archive where these resources can be found on separate sheets at the bottom.
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If you have any suggestions for the OP, please do not hesitate to post in this thread or (preferably) PM me to let me know.
