Week of October 27th to November 2nd, 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.
There are currently no events scheduled for this week. Check back throughout this weeek in case this changes.
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 our most energetic member, Joule!
What fighting games do you currently play, what is your all time favourite and why?
Lately I suppose Smash 4 is what I've been playing the most often. It's easy to have a quick session or two with some folks. The game is pretty fun too after having gotten used to the control scheme. Other than Smash I'm trying to get back to playing UNIEL on a regular basis as it's easily my favourite of all the games out currently. I also want to play some P4U but I haven't had a good chance to really sit down with it yet.
My all time favourite is Guilty Gear XX Accent Core. I had gotten to play the original Guilty Gear on the PSX at a friend's place as a kid and was simply mesmerized at how cool the game seemed in its art style and that heavy metal soundtrack. When GGXX hit in North America was when me and my local school buddies really got to into playing fighting games. Even at that point in time I thought that the base mechanics of the game felt really crafted and well designed. As the iterations kept coming, so did the refinement and I felt that the pinnacle of all that was Accent Core.
What are your favorite mechanics from the current selection of fighting games and why? What are your least favorite and why?My all time favourite is Guilty Gear XX Accent Core. I had gotten to play the original Guilty Gear on the PSX at a friend's place as a kid and was simply mesmerized at how cool the game seemed in its art style and that heavy metal soundtrack. When GGXX hit in North America was when me and my local school buddies really got to into playing fighting games. Even at that point in time I thought that the base mechanics of the game felt really crafted and well designed. As the iterations kept coming, so did the refinement and I felt that the pinnacle of all that was Accent Core.
My favourite recently would be Under Night In-Birth's GRD system. It's a really well thought out and crafted mechanic that rewards both good offense and defense with the prize of Vorpal. I won't go into it too in-depth considering Sloth already did that last week, but it's a real nifty thing that y'all should check out. If GGXX counts a current selection I'd also put its Tension meter. Tension is the main expendable resource of the game and with it you can use some of the game's most prominent tools in Roman Cancels, False Roman Cancels, Faultless Defense, Dead Angle Attacks and so forth. Tension is gained through all the usual sort of interactions between players but also by simply moving forward toward your opponent. The reasons I like this meter so much are threefold.
1. I think being a single centralized resource of both offensive and defensive options is an important
point. Because it holds so much potential to it, it's extremely valuable to have and perhaps it could be said that with 100% tension you could make 'anything' happen.
2. Because many things rely on having Tension and in conjunction with the methods of which it is gained,
matches typically play out as a very fluid back and forth between both sides.
3. Tension resets every round so you use it or lose it. In other words use everything you've got to win this round without no need to hold back.
These sorts of 'tug of war' system mechanics are something I favour.
My least favourite is Guilty Gear Xrd's Danger Time. I think it was an unnecessary addition to the game. The way it just breaks up the pace of a match is just silly. YRC can probably be tweaked for the better but I don't see much to be done about Danger Time.
What got you into fighting games? Are there any other genre of games you play?1. I think being a single centralized resource of both offensive and defensive options is an important
point. Because it holds so much potential to it, it's extremely valuable to have and perhaps it could be said that with 100% tension you could make 'anything' happen.
2. Because many things rely on having Tension and in conjunction with the methods of which it is gained,
matches typically play out as a very fluid back and forth between both sides.
3. Tension resets every round so you use it or lose it. In other words use everything you've got to win this round without no need to hold back.
These sorts of 'tug of war' system mechanics are something I favour.
My least favourite is Guilty Gear Xrd's Danger Time. I think it was an unnecessary addition to the game. The way it just breaks up the pace of a match is just silly. YRC can probably be tweaked for the better but I don't see much to be done about Danger Time.
Like most I first got into it through endless hours of playing Street Fighter 2 Turbo on my SNES. It and Super Mario World were the two games I had for it initially. Other contributing factors include: getting pooped on by older folks as a kid in a variety of games, the local arcades with all these (at the time) new and amazing looking fighting games, summers of playing fighting games with some childhood friends. As for when I started playing them a bit more seriously that would be when I started playing GGXX but even then it was a clumsy struggle.
I enjoy playing most sorts of games but particularly rpgs and shmups. I'm not much of an FPS or sports sim game person though. I've been playing a good deal more mobile games too lately. They're more fun than I would have given them credit for a few years ago.
What is your favorite fighting game character and why?I enjoy playing most sorts of games but particularly rpgs and shmups. I'm not much of an FPS or sports sim game person though. I've been playing a good deal more mobile games too lately. They're more fun than I would have given them credit for a few years ago.
My favourite character is Ky Kiske from Guilty Gear and he's also my main in the series. As a kid I got hooked as soon as I saw that the was this cool lightning using swordsman with a really sick character theme. After that I just had to play him and it stuck for the years to come. I do like playing him though. In Accent Core he's a character that's very well rounded with a tool for most situations. For the most part his execution is lax enough for me to perform too! I also do rather like his character and placement in the story for what it's worth.
Describe your style of play, and how do you play (local, online, etc.).
I don't think I've something like a style but I suppose I like to play the mid-range game and look for opportunities to get in. Often enough I lose that patience and rush in like an idiot though. I generally favour playing straight forward characters who have simple execution barriers. Other than that I just try to adapt to whoever I've chosen.
As for where I play, I still meet up with some local friends regularly to play or it's online otherwise.
What do you feel are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a player?As for where I play, I still meet up with some local friends regularly to play or it's online otherwise.
Biggest weakness is probably being slow to adapt. I also find that all too often I go on auto-pilot without much though to what I'm doing at the time which causes me to block with my face at times.
Biggest strength? I suppose I don't get too frustrated even when I am getting pooped on.
Best and worst moments in the your fighting game career?Biggest strength? I suppose I don't get too frustrated even when I am getting pooped on.
I can't think of any particularly bad moments in the time when I've actually been playing. I guess there was this one time as a kid, an older family friend of mine wouldn't let use any other character than Deejay until I could beat him with that character in ST. I didn't know any of his moves and the person in question would never tell me either. Childhood FG bullying 
The best moments are always when my local group meet up. There's something special about that simple gathering of long time friends to play some games. Cheese answer I'm sure but I think it's the truth.
What do you want from future fighting games?The best moments are always when my local group meet up. There's something special about that simple gathering of long time friends to play some games. Cheese answer I'm sure but I think it's the truth.
For all games to have more and more refined tutorials/training modes and online features.
More PC support.
But more than anything I'd just like see more interesting games.
Melty Blood HD sequel.
Who should be on next week's GAF Player Spotlight?More PC support.
But more than anything I'd just like see more interesting games.
Melty Blood HD sequel.
Code:
11/13 Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax (JP) (NA/EU: TBD)
11/21 Persona 4 Ultimax (EU)
11/21 Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (NA) (EU: 12/05, JP/AUS: 12/06)
12/04 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- (JP) (NA: 12/16)
Q4 Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX!!!!! (EU)
Q4 BLADE ARCUS from Shining
Q4 Rise of Incarnates
Q4 Skullgirls Encore
Q4 Yatagarasu: Attack on Cataclysm
SPRING Dead or Alive 5: LAST ROUND
04/15 Mortal Kombat X
2015 Dragon Ball Xenoverse
2015 Rivals of Aether
2015 Under Night In-Birth (NA/EU)
TBD Beast's Fury
TBD Next The King Of Fighters Title (tentative)
TBD Tekken 7
TBD Tekken X Street Fighter
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 Cross Counter Live rises a new discussion show from Gootecks and Mike Ross!
- 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.
Often, some fighting games can seem intimidating to players new and old. Below are a bunch of resources that may be of aid to new players, or handy as references.
- Learn How To Play Fighting Games Free eBook from Shoryuken is a fantastic primer for new players to the genre.
- Footsies Handbook is a guide to the potentially elusive, but integral part of doing well in any fighting game.
- NeoGAF's Arcade Stick Thread is the place to go for questions about anything arcade stick-related.
- Step Up Your Game is an editorial series by Justin Wong that covers a multitude of topics, notably focusing on strengthening your mental game and playing smarter instead of harder.
- Tips for first time competitors will help you straighten out those nerves and expectations when you head out to your first tournament.
- Domination 101 is almost a cult classic article in the FGC, which has Seth Killian telling us how he really feels about the idea of "cheapness" in fighting games.
- Team-building Guide by our very own Karsticles, which helps make it easier to approach team-building in MvC games, and games with similar synergistic elements.
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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.
