• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Fighting Games Weekly | April 7-13 | Smash our expectations

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
iCSpHORQmm0uH.gif



Week of April 7th to the 13th, 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.​


ibsB0URLCQgTBQ.jpg

Super Smash Bros. Direct [ Thread ] [ Tuesday ] [ 6PM EDT | 3PM PDT ]
  • Nintendo is hosting a special Smash-focused Nintendo Direct that is likely going to give the most extended look at the title since the initial reveal.
Topanga World League [ Thursday ]
Civil War VI [ Saturday ]
Vector Strike [ Saturday ] [ 8PM EDT | 5PM PDT ]


iUtpKu5GLNKRB.jpg

iN8U6oBWM7nPR.jpg


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 A Pretty Panda's alt account, Professor Beef!

What fighting games do you currently play, what are your all time favourites and why?
Currently, I play SF4 and UMvC3 because those are the only two fighting games out now that I actually enjoy playing. My favorites would probably be CvS1 and 2, Rival Schools 2/Project Justice, Power Stone 1 and 2, Tech Romancer, Super Smash Brothers Melee, Marvel Super Heroes, the Naruto Clash of Ninja AND Ninja Storm series, King of Fighters (11 specifically, but they're all mostly good), Def Jam: Fight For New York, and WWF No Mercy. Top of the heap for me is Final Fantasy Dissidia, which is the best fighting game that nobody will ever play because of the system that it's on.

Dissidia is my favorite if only for the level of fan-service which completely dwarfs anything that even Nintendo, of all companies, has managed to deliver. It helps that the combat system is fun, the characters are balanced (minus Edea), there's customization for each character that doesn't break the game, and it's just fun as hell.
What are your favorite mechanics from the current selection of fighting games and why? What are your least favorite and why?
I don't really like a lot of mechanics that most games have now. I'd say the only one I truly like is EX Mode from Dissidia. When you hit the opponent (or get hit), tiny spheres will fly out, which your character can collect. Once you fill up your EX Bar, you can activate EX Mode which will grant unique bonuses and allow access to a super move. Think of it like Dark Force from Vampire Savior, but with a "controllable" timer. Each character gets their health regenerated (a small percentage every 4-ish real-time seconds), gets a raised critical hit percentage, and one or two special abilities. Some examples include all of Cloud's sword attacks becoming unblockable, Tidus' movement/attack speed being doubled, Terra's attacks hit twice, etc.

The ones that I don't mind would be Rage from Tekken, and Clashes from Injustice. They're not stupidly overpowered to the point where it becomes a constant thing you have to watch. In Injustice's case, it's still something you have to worry about, but it's not overpowered at all and it's done really well.

Least favorite mechanic is X-Factor, bar-none. Pretty sure the "why" has already been discussed to death, so I don't have anything to include to the discussion on that one. The Assist mechanic in Dissidia is really close. I like the spirit of what they were trying to do, but the implementation was horrible, and it ended up changing the metagame for the worse.
What got you into fighting games? Are there any other genre of games you play?
I've been playing fighting games since I was 9 or so, against my cousins or against the CPU. I never decided that I wanted to *really* play competitively until CvS2 came out. I had played in my fair share of Melee tournaments before that. A lot of my friends would complain that I'd win all the time in various games, so I thought "maybe I can actually try and get some recognition for this." I went to my first EVO in 2008, went 1-2 in CvS2, and had a great weekend. Combofiend walked up to me after my 2nd loss and said "did you just play there?" "Yeah." He shook his head, then said "get a stick, bro. Drop the pad." Haven't dropped the pad ever since then.

The other genres I play are mainly RPGs and action/adventure games. Doesn't particularly matter if they're western or not, so long as the game itself is good. In any other game besides fighters, I try to look for support roles (tanks, healers, etc). Especially if the combat isn't any fun.
What is your favorite fighting game character and why?
A lot of people are going to assume I'm going to say T.Hawk. And while I do love playing as him, he's actually not my favorite character. My actual favorite character is Joe Higashi from KoF. The hair, his moves and playstyle, his overall demeanor, I love it all.
Describe your style of play, and how you play (local, online, etc.).
I like using grapplers in fighters, because fuck combos and counting frames. Big damage, lots of health, and good normals are all you need. Any character that plays like that is a character I'm going to gravitate towards. If the grapplers aren't fun, then I'll move to someone who is fast so I can annoy the other player. That being said, the only reason I use Joe/Frank/Ryu in UMvC3 is because they're the only characters in the entire game that I enjoy using. If Joe weren't in the game, I probably wouldn't have bothered with it.

I mainly play online because despite living in the Bay Area, everyone is too damned far away for me to reliably and consistently meetup. Now that I have some money in my bank account though, I can finally start looking for more local tournaments. I've already registered for both NCR and EVO, and all my plans have been finalized.
What do you feel are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a player?
I wouldn't really call it a "strength," but I'm particularly good at remembering what certain moves can or can't do in certain situations, no matter how much pressure I'm under. I'll be watching streams, and I'll yell at my laptop because someone who uses the character(s) I use won't use a move in the right situation - or at all - and it will end up biting them in the ass. When I decide to learn a character, I make sure to find out if there's any sort of hidden things about their normals or specials or anything. It's like how EX Condor Spire will beat Burn Kick - on wakeup or any other time - for free. This is because Burn Kick counts as a projectile hit, and EX Spire is projectile-invincible. It's something that awful Viper players never think about.
Best and worst moments in the your fighting game career?
I have two "best" moments. The first was when me and a friend of mine were playing in a team tournament for Clash of Ninja 2. Two guys showed up and wanted to play, and we stomped a mudhole in them. After they got up, the TO said "ALRIGHT, WE NEED THE NEXT TEAM TO COME UP." We had apparently played our first round match and treated it like it was a regular match against 2 awful players!

My other proud moment was winning two Smash tournaments in the same night. It was during the height of Brawl pre-release hype, and Gamestop was running a multi-stage tournament. I had won the first stage of the tournament, and when I walked outside, there was a huge crowd of people actually chanting my name. Felt damn good (I still have the awful trophy that they gave me, too). It wasn't all that late after I left the Gamestop, so I went to see how my coworker was doing at the nearby Game Crazy, and apparently his store was holding a Melee tournament just for the hell of it. I won the whole thing with Bowser, even beating a Marth in the finals.

My worst moment would be in the next stage of the Gamestop Brawl pre-release tournament. The guy running it forced random stages and 2 minute Timed Brawl. It would only get worse when the stage for the 3rd game was New Pork City, and my opponent got one kill and ran away using Pit the entire time. "Salty" would be a supreme understatement for how I felt that day.
What do you want from future fighting games?
Less ASW games, to be perfectly honest. =P
Who should be on next week's GAF Player Spotlight?
Karsticles, if he hasn't already. If so, then ViewtifulJC.


iknYm15Cbb3g4.jpg

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.
Gootecks & Mike Ross Show [ 10PM EDT | 7PM PDT ]
  • Out of the ashes of Cross Counter Live rises a new discussion show from Gootecks and Mike Ross!
Marvel Mondays [ 10PM EDT | 7PM PDT ]
  • Out of the ashes of The BOX Arena, comes the San Diego FGC's newest organized weekly for UMvC3.
UltraChenTV: First Attack & Lv3 Focus [ 11:30PM EDT | 8:30PM PDT ]
  • Weekly FGC show dedicated to match analysis, teaching, commentary, news, debates, and more! Hosted by UltraDavid and James Chen.


i05jU9MTJVOrL.jpg

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 [ 8PM EDT | 5PM PDT ]
  • NYC VF crew presents VF5:FS tournaments casuals out of The Next Level arcade in Brooklyn.
The Break Weekly [ 8PM EDT | 5PM PDT ]
  • New Jersey's largest weekly featuring UMvC3 and Injustice.
The On Blast Show [ 10PM EDT | 7PM PDT ]
  • JamessMK & DarKNaTaS host a raw and uncut weekly talk show discussing events in the FGC with various FGC personalities.
UltraChenTV: The Tuesday Show [ 11:30PM EDT | 8:30PM PDT ]
  • Weekly FGC show dedicated to match analysis, teaching, commentary, news, debates, and more! Hosted by UltraDavid and James Chen.
The Show That Sucks [ 1AM EDT (following day) | 10PM PDT ]
  • iPlaywinner hosts a weekly talk show featuring alpha stream monsters Harrison and Honzo Gonzo.


ibeoCQqpoXTtfu.jpg

Game Spot Versus KoF Casuals (JP) [ 7PM JST | 6AM EDT | 3AM PDT ]
  • KoF 1998UM, KoF 2002UM and KoF XIII C action from Japan.
TOPANGA TV (JP) [ 9PM JST | 8AM EDT | 5AM PDT ]
  • Description needed.
Next Level Battle Circuit [ 8PM EDT | 4PM PDT ]
  • 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.
Wednesday Night Fights [ 12AM EDT (following day) | 9PM PDT ]


ibuSEViyvaW6s2.jpg


Melee It On Me [ 9PM EDT | 6PM PDT ]
  • A bi-weekly Smash podcast discussing recent events, news and issues in the Smash community, hosted by Scar, Prog, Cactuar and Sheridan.
Ghost Battle Series [ 9PM CST | 10PM EDT | 7PM PDT ]
  • Galloping Ghost Arcade presents an Injustice weekly out of Chicago.
The Fray [ 10PM EDT | 7PM PDT ]
  • A weekly FGC talk show hosted by iPlaywinner, featuring a varying, ensemble cast of prominent members of the fighting game community.
ATP LIVE! [ 11PM EDT | 8PM PDT ]
  • Aris' new weekly show, discussing whatever he wants to! The format resembles old ATP podcasts.
The Runback Season 4 [ 12AM EDT (following day) | 9PM PDT ]


iUsCIlMTxirgq.jpg

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.
KaoTV! (JP) [ 11PM JST | 10AM EDT | 7AM PDT ]
SALTY! [ 11PM EDT | 8PM PDT ]
  • A weekly Skullgirls event hosted by members of the Skullgirls development team, often featuring preview builds of the game.


iDFzpxKo67pi.jpg

Rebel Up [ Secondary ] [ 7PM EDT | 4PM PDT ]
  • Super Arcade's anime weekly, featuring GG, BB, P4A, SG, Gundam and older anime games as well.


ibviiDfGbYQe8.jpg

GGPO VanBats [ 4PM EDT | 1PM PDT ]
  • Weekly GGPO Vampire Savior ranbats streamed by GAFer Rotanibor.
Super Smash Sundays [ 4PM EDT | 1PM PDT ]
  • Level|Up and Team OXY partner up to create a new weekly for the SoCal Melee community, featuring doubles and singles.


ixwKqL3HDm2tG.jpg

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.
Additionally, if you want to really get involved, you may want to check out the various OTs for specific games:
GAF isn't the only FG community in town though. Here are a whole bunch of other FG communities across the internet that may be of interest:
  • 8WayRun - Soul Calibur franchise community
  • DOACentral - Dead or Alive franchise community
  • Dream Cancel - King of Fighters franchise community and resource, more US-centric
  • Dustloop - Forums/community for Arc System Works-developed games
  • Eventhubs - Frequently updated news blog, resource and forums for all things fighting games
  • FreeStepDodge - Dead or Alive franchise community
  • Homing Cancel - Arcana Heart community
  • iPlaywinner - Large fighting game news site and resource, and the home to Teamsp00ky and iPlaywinner
  • Jet Upper - UK-centric news source and community
  • Mayonaka Midnight - Persona 4 Arena community and resource
  • Melty Bread - Melty Blood community
  • Mizuumi - A resource for various "poverty" games
  • Orochinagi - King of Fighters franchise community and resource, more EU-centric
  • Reddit Fighters t- Reddit's own fighting game community subreddit
  • Shoryuken - Mainly 2D, Capcom game centric hub, and probably one of, if not the largest FG community on the internet
  • Skullheart - fan Skullgirls community and resource made official
  • TekkenZaibatsu - Tekken franchise community
  • Test Your Might - Mortal Kombat and Injustice community and resource
  • UKFGC - UK-centric news source and community
  • Smash Boards - The largest Smash Bros. Community™
  • VFDC - Virtua Fighter franchise community site

- - -

If you have any suggestions for the OP, please do not hesitate to post in this thread or PM me to let me know.
 

Busaiku

Member
enzo, you should add Rebel Up to the OP.
enzo, Rebel Up is a biweekly thing on Saturdays at Super Arcade.
The last one just happened, so in 2 weeks is the next.
Jyosua streams Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Skullgirls, and Gundam vs Gundam.
Numakie streams poverty stuff like Darkstalkers, Melty Blood, and other stuff.

Usually starts at like 4-5 PM Pacific.

I think Thank God It's Team Stickbug is a biweekly too, but it's been irregular save for the past month or so.
 

Kumubou

Member
Continuing from last week's thread:

I don't know if I mentioned this before but I despise league players. Balancing a competitive game around spectators? LOL? Also this little gem
Honestly, fighting games are the worst possible case scenario to compare the balancing of anything else to. You're basically comparing tribal witch doctors to John Hopkin's.
What does that even fucking mean when League has the same 15 characters pick or banned and SF4 has the most consistent diverse top 8/16
It always kills me how people says that top SF4/UMvC3 players are immature compared to LoL or SC2 players. It's not that a lot of top FG players aren't liked that -- a lot of pro players in other games are too, but there's enough money to afford PR handlers to divert a lot of that.

And holy shit am I seeing things or is the quote you included blatantly racist?
 
LOL @ calling Beef APP's alt.

Beef, is Edea OP or super weak in Dissidea? I am something of a fan of her.

Also, I am touched that you picked me for next week. I have a lot of typing to do! :D
 

QisTopTier

XisBannedTier
What about Remix Heart.
That's canon too isn't it.

I read it, it's side story comedy/Fan Service stuff but yeah it's cannon it's basically the stuff that happens at the school they all went to and where Kagura is introduced. Noel actually mentions the main character of it in the story mode.
 

Azure J

Member
all i ask for in smash4 is to bring back wall tethers like in ssbm

I just want hit stun and a faster pace. Also, a draw/sheathe samurai or other such sword fighter. Marth gives me some great fencing based style, but I just want to go in swinging big fast normals now. :lol
 

QisTopTier

XisBannedTier
They were the same feelings I felt in the final minutes of Shin Mazinger Shougeki Z-Hen, so...yeah.

Though at least I can expect another game from Arcsys at some point to continue the story, unlike a sequel to Mazinger.

I hope it's a 3 year wait at the most with the new engine GG uses :D
 
Can't wait for Vector Strike this weekend! Finally, I get to see top US VO players clash in Force, and then never touch the game again!

we need to ban gifs and have nothing but fgc webMDs

No site could hold all the Excellent Adventures .webms, even with the reduced file sizes.

Remember when Chrono Phantasma was supposed to be the final chapter.

No, no I do not. Mori (or some other ASW staffer) said that there were 4 or 5 games, depending on what he wanted to scrap, so I expected another cliffhanger. I don't even recognize Extend as a proper installment, so I'm expecting another sequel after the next one.
 

QisTopTier

XisBannedTier
Q, summarize the entire story of BB so far for me. You know you want to.


Sogood.gif
Dude, I don't have 2 hours to spare right now. :lol

I could try a super cliff notes version. But I'm still mind fucked from the ending. Maybe I'll do it later

No, no I do not. Mori (or some other ASW staffer) said that there were 4 or 5 games, depending on what he wanted to scrap, so I expected another cliffhanger. I don't even recognize Extend as a proper installment, so I'm expecting another sequel after the next one.

I remember him saying he wanted it to be a Trillogy. Extend wasn't a new game though as far as story goes it was more of a Directors Cut for the CS story. Though in a sense you could say CT and CS are all one arc of the story if you want to go by story length compared to CP
 
Continuing from last week's thread:


It always kills me how people says that top SF4/UMvC3 players are immature compared to LoL or SC2 players. It's not that a lot of top FG players aren't liked that -- a lot of pro players in other games are too, but there's enough money to afford PR handlers to divert a lot of that.

And holy shit am I seeing things or is the quote you included blatantly racist?

No idea if its racist. Never saw it that way.

What I do know is that League's competitive scene is driven by a business. So they can moderate it. Who moderates the FGC? lol
 
I hope it's a 3 year wait at the most with the new engine GG uses :D
Man, that'd be sweet. Speaking of Guilty Gear, might get in on that series as well. My interest in 2D anime fighters has piqued quite considerably after CP. It helps especially that I know a group of people that play those type of games locally.
 
I got bored of being terrible at execution in BBCP and being stuck in challenge mode so I went and did some arcade mode and surprise I'm terrible at execution and don't have any BnBs commited to muscle memory
 

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
enzo, you should add Rebel Up to the OP.


I think Thank God It's Team Stickbug is a biweekly too, but it's been irregular save for the past month or so.
Will get around to it tomorrow, my bad.

LOL @ calling Beef APP's alt.

Beef, is Edea OP or super weak in Dissidea? I am something of a fan of her.

Also, I am touched that you picked me for next week. I have a lot of typing to do! :D
But not too much writing! Seriously, there's only so much space in OP. I'd say about around as much Beef wrote is a maximum.
 

QisTopTier

XisBannedTier
Man, that'd be sweet. Speaking of Guilty Gear, might get in on that series as well. My interest in 2D anime fighters has piqued quite considerably after CP. It helps especially that I know a group of people that play those type of games locally.

It should be pretty easy to get into Xrd with how they simplified some stuff up, limited roster means less match ups to learn as well compared to older entries. CP is a great game though, I really wish it was on PS4 now just because I dont want to have two systems going for both Xrd and CP.

I got bored of being terrible at execution in BBCP and being stuck in challenge mode so I went and did some arcade mode and surprise I'm terrible at execution and don't have any BnBs commited to muscle memory
Yeah it takes some time, try some short simple stuff first then build up from there :) Optimal stuff is good and all but if you are just starting out using the easier combos while you are still learning about the other aspects of the game isn't a bad idea.
 

Infinite

Member
How do you guys approach learning match ups in sf4? I'm basically trying to learn the game with a new character. I have a different perspective on a lot of things now which turns the way I approached the game before on its head. I feel like I'm playing catch up because I'm still learning fundamentals and match ups people experienced with the older games which I didn't play seriously. I need guidance lol
 
Dude, I don't have 2 hours to spare right now. :lol

I could try a super cliff notes version. But I'm still mind fucked from the ending. Maybe I'll do it later



I remember him saying he wanted it to be a Trillogy. Extend wasn't a new game though as far as story goes it was more of a Directors Cut for the CS story. Though in a sense you could say CT and CS are all one arc of the story if you want to go by story length compared to CP
Just a sentence or two about each character and the overall plot. ;)

Will get around to it tomorrow, my bad.


But not too much writing! Seriously, there's only so much space in OP. I'd say about around as much Beef wrote is a maximum.
Give me a hard word limit.
 

alstein

Member
How do you guys approach learning match ups in sf4? I'm basically trying to learn the game with a new character. I have a different perspective on a lot of things now which turns the way I approached the game before on its head. I feel like I'm playing catch up because I'm still learning fundamentals and match ups people experienced with the older games which I didn't play seriously. I need guidance lol

Play the matchup against decent players is how I do it.
 

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
Give me a hard word limit.
I guess I should set a sort of limit. Right now, I think 1500 words as a hard maximum for all answers (not including the questions themselves) seems like it will work for now. Might need to curtail it a bit more, but we'll see how it goes.

EDIT: Also keep links to a minimum, because they chew up character space like nothing else.
 
Oh yeah, I still have the shitty trophy that I got from the Gamestop tournament, too. They put next to no effort into it, lol
I would love a pic. When I ran chess classes, the company I worked for would buy a bunch of crappy trophies for the kids to make them feel special. Even the losers got a "participatory medal".
 
Top Bottom