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CultureStreet Fighter Alpha Expert Destroys The Game’s Cooperative Battle Mode By Himself
Desk, one of the most creative and technically gifted combo video creators in the fighting game community, has outdone himself with his latest project. Controlling both Ryu and Ken in Street Fighter Alpha’s Dramatic Battle mode, using one hand for each character, he beats the snot out of devilish dictator M. Bison and defeats the…
By Ian Walker -
CultureSamurai Shodown Competitor Shows Off By Dropping His Character’s Sword, Gets Wrecked
Samurai Shodown is a brutal fighting game, where matches often hinge on landing one good attack. That said, Samurai Shodown also gives players a few cheap ways to mercilessly style on an unsuspecting foe, one example of which blew up spectacularly in a competitor’s face during a major United Kingdom tournament last weekend. VSFighting is…
By Ian Walker -
CultureFighting Game Community Mourns Death Of Prominent Louisiana Player [Update]
A weekend that was supposed to be full of fun and excitement took a decidedly tragic turn when it was announced that fighting game competitor Bryand “Krucial B” McIntosh, 34, passed away shortly after competing at Defend the North in New York City. McIntosh was a prominent member of the Louisiana fighting game community, and…
By Ian Walker -
Apex Legends Will Make Cheaters Play Against Each Other
Since launching in February, battle royale Apex Legends has suffered its share of cheaters. Some are even making good money developing cheats for players to use. The game’s developers recently detailed some of the steps it’s taking to squash cheating, including a new system that will match known cheaters into the same games. Cheating is…
By Ian Walker -
CultureSwitch Owners Share Horror Stories Of Trying To Fix Joy-Con Drift
“Joy-Con drift,” which results in a thumbstick that reads movement without player input, has been an ongoing problem for Nintendo Switch owners since the console’s launch back in early 2017. Without large-scale fixes from Nintendo, however, players have taken to fixing their $80 controllers themselves, sometimes with disastrous results. The jury is still out on…
By Ian Walker -
The upcoming Streets of Rage 4 has enlisted a group of world-class composers for its soundtrack. Yūzō Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, who worked on the franchise in its heyday, will be joined by Yoko Shimomura (Street Fighter II), Hideki Naganuma (Jet Set Radio), and Keiji Yamagishi (Ninja Gaiden) on the revival.
By Ian Walker -
Mario Maker 2 Level Is Like If Satan Got His Hands On 1-1
The opening level of the original Super Mario Bros. is iconic. Anyone who’s played it likely remembers exactly where to get the first mushroom, which pipe to enter for the secret coin stash, and how to find the hidden 1-Up. A new Mario Maker 2 level takes that knowledge and dips it in lava, turning…
By Ian Walker -
‘Embrace Death’ Twitter Trend Baffles Everyone, Turns Out To Be Video Game Marketing
Yesterday evening, the hashtag “#EmbraceDeath” began trending on Twitter, to the alarm of people who had not heard of the fighting game Samurai Shodown. The grim marketing motto sparked a variety of reactions from baffled non-fighting game fans. As edgy as“Embrace Death” sounds on its face, the slogan does make sense in context. While Samurai…
By Ian Walker -
CultureSmash Pro Retires After Admitting To Relationship With Teenage Competitor
Elliot “Ally” Carroza-Oyarce is one of the best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players in the world, but his career came to an apparent end recently when the 28 year old confirmed allegations that he had been involved in a romantic relationship with a much younger fellow pro who may have been 16 at the time.…
By Ian Walker -
Fighting Game Tournament Has Too Much Actual Fighting
Community Effort Orlando has grown to become one of the biggest fighting game tournaments in the world, putting it just below the Evolution Championship Series in terms of both size and importance. The event’s 13 different fighting games were exciting to watch, but in a few cases, the excitement got to be a bit much.…
By Ian Walker -
The Coolest-Looking Fighter In Samurai Shodown Is Unfortunately Shit
Since its inception in 1993, the Samurai Shodown franchise has had its share of standout characters, like a child-eating demon, a quick-draw swordsman with tuberculosis, and a weird little dude named Nicotine Caffeine. For me, the coolest guy in the series is Kyoshiro Senryo, and although he managed to make the cut in last week’s…
By Ian Walker -
Tips & GuidesTips For Playing Samurai Shodown
It’s been said about a million times before, but one more won’t hurt: Fighting games are hard. Stupid hard. If you weren’t lucky enough to be born during the arcade’s heyday, when fighting games ruled the world, you’re already at a disadvantage. Samurai Shodown, which launched earlier this week, only exacerbates the issue by carving…
By Ian Walker -
Samurai Shodown Is Slow And Deliberate In The Best Way Possible
Samurai Shodown, which arrives for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One tomorrow, is the series’ first original outing in eleven years. Although it’s unnumbered, this release represents the seventh mainline installment of the storied fighting franchise, bringing its unique brand of methodical swordplay to a generation already overrun with sequels, reboots, and resurrections. My biggest question…
By Ian Walker -
Capcom has updated its official Street Fighter V tournament rules to address controllers capable of simultaneous opposite cardinal direction inputs, or SOCDs. This sets a new standard for box style peripherals: the original Hit Box is legal, while the custom “Gafro box” that Daigo helped gain notoriety is not.
By Ian Walker -
Isabelle Player Proves She Can Take Solid Snake In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Upset
In fighting games, appearances can often be deceiving, but one Super Smash Bros. Ultimate matchup is exactly what it looks like. Solid Snake, the rugged protagonist of “tactical espionage action” franchise Metal Gear, has a clear advantage in many fights, especially when facing the cute Animal Crossing secretary Isabelle. But this lopsided matchup didn’t stop…
By Ian Walker -
Nemo and Itabashi Zangief’s storied rivalry got a new chapter last weekend when the former defeated the latter at Fighters Spirit in South Korea. Despite being a pool match, Nemo celebrated his Street Fighter V victory as if he had won the entire event, leaving ItaZan looking dejected.
By Ian Walker -
Captain Olimar Got Done Dirty In Latest Smash Patch
The most recent Super Smash Bros. Ultimate update addressed a number of concerns in the competitive community, most notably the strength of characters like Captain Olimar. The developers hit the Pikmin protagonist with a number of changes in order to knock him down a peg, but those changes had the side effect of severely limiting…
By Ian Walker