Week of April 27th to May 3rd, 2015.
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. If you are looking to see what events are coming up past this week, check out the FGC Event Calendar that our own Malice215 put together.
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. If you are looking to see what events are coming up past this week, check out the FGC Event Calendar that our own Malice215 put together.
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.
Last year, GAFer Shouta helped organize donations from various FGC-GAF members to send fellow member QisTopTier to EVO. Q suffers from Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, but has always wanted to go to EVO and we're looking to double up this year and send him to EVO again!
If you want to help out, you can check out the details and pledge on this spreadsheet.
KVO x TSB 2015 [ Additional stream: GodsGarden (JP) ] [ Friday ] [ 9AM Japan | 8PM EDT Thursday | 5PM PDT Thursday ]
- Team Stickbug hooks up with KVO for an anime, Smash and Marvel tournament out of Japan.
- This event continues through Sunday.
- More information is available here.
- Monster Island Tournaments present a multi-game tournament out of New Jersey.
- 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 favourite tester, Osu 16 Bit!
What fighting games do you currently play, what is your all time favourite and why?
The only game I currently play is Mortal Kombat X. Since the game just came out and we're still working on DLC I've been super busy and don't have time for other games. But even when I'm not busy I generally only play my main tournament game. I will try almost any fighting game out at a casual level just to see what's up but for the past two years outside entering MK9 at majors I only played Injustice. I will say though that even if I don't play a game I will watch it. I follow the SF4 scene fairly regularly, especially the majors. I enjoy the Capcom Cup drama.
My favorite game of all time is probably Mortal Kombat 9. It's corny but that game completely changed my life. My friends, where I live, my job, it's all tied to MK9.
Outside NRS games my favorite game is Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection. I think that game is the peak for Tekken.
What are your favorite mechanics from the current selection of fighting games and why? What are your least favorite and why?My favorite game of all time is probably Mortal Kombat 9. It's corny but that game completely changed my life. My friends, where I live, my job, it's all tied to MK9.
Outside NRS games my favorite game is Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection. I think that game is the peak for Tekken.
My favorite mechanic is obviously the variation system in Mortal Kombat X 
I didn't care for Rage in Tekken. I don't mind comeback mechanics as a rule but this one was uninspired. I haven't followed T7 enough to know if the Rage Arts thing is better.
What got you into fighting games? Are there any other genre of games you play?I didn't care for Rage in Tekken. I don't mind comeback mechanics as a rule but this one was uninspired. I haven't followed T7 enough to know if the Rage Arts thing is better.
I've been playing them since World Warrior and MK1. I played everything, even like Double Dragon V and B.I.O. Freaks. In 2005 I started playing Tekken 5 arcade seriously at my local Aladdin's Castle. I was going there 4-5 days a week to play. I was destroying everyone and wanted to level up and see how I'd do against good players. I had always read about the tournament scene and had been watching tournament footage for years but never actually participated. So I started traveling to St. Louis to play with those guys in Tekken. I got bodied. It was great. I was quickly hooked on the grind and started driving 3 hours to play with them as much as I could. I started going to majors, including EVO, and played Tekken as my primary game until MK9 came out. From there I've been a NRS specialist.
I also a lot of single player games. I play open world games, cover based shooters, and western RPGs. Fighters are the only multi player games I play.
What is your favorite fighting game character and why?I also a lot of single player games. I play open world games, cover based shooters, and western RPGs. Fighters are the only multi player games I play.
Kitana. In MK II Kitana was my favorite since female ninjas are awesome and she was blue. She had high damage, easy juggle combos and could beat Kintaro and Shao Kahn. I'm also partial to Catwoman in Injustice. I'm a fan of Catwoman as a character in other media(her solo book is really good right now!) and her Injustice appearance was awesome. Of course both these characters mean a lot to me because of my success with them too.
Outside NRS games I like Rose in SF, Lili in Tekken(I might try Katarina when I play 7), and Xianghua in SC.
Describe your style of play, and how do you play (local, online, etc.).Outside NRS games I like Rose in SF, Lili in Tekken(I might try Katarina when I play 7), and Xianghua in SC.
My most comfortable style of play is long range footsies, with some zoning. However to make Catwoman work in Injustice I had to rush down and although it was a struggle I ended up enjoying it. Now in MKX I'm back to zoning since I think that's what Kitana excels at.
I play locally at Galloping Ghost Arcade in Chicago. We have an amazing scene, easily one of the top scenes for NRS games. At our peak we play like 3-4 days a week and we have a local every Thursday. We just started up MKX, so if you want to check it out the link is in this thread in the stream section. Our scene is so good because we have a team mentality. Like last year when you were hearing about all the drama at NLBC and how they don't help each other, we're the opposite. Everyone trains together, shares information, people here will even pick up alt characters just to help.
What do you feel are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a player?I play locally at Galloping Ghost Arcade in Chicago. We have an amazing scene, easily one of the top scenes for NRS games. At our peak we play like 3-4 days a week and we have a local every Thursday. We just started up MKX, so if you want to check it out the link is in this thread in the stream section. Our scene is so good because we have a team mentality. Like last year when you were hearing about all the drama at NLBC and how they don't help each other, we're the opposite. Everyone trains together, shares information, people here will even pick up alt characters just to help.
My biggest strength is definitely my drive. I am hyper competitive, to an obsessive, honestly probably unhealthy degree. I have to win. So I work very hard and grind as much as I can to do it. At the same time, I'm a character specialist and only want to play the character I like. So I am in this weird situation where I can't stand losing but want to play Kitana/Catwoman, so I end up working very hard on matchups, which then makes me a much better player for it. In gameplay my biggest strength is probably my ability to play under pressure and my instincts for picking up on player weaknesses.
The worst moments are when my anger gets to me and I act like a dick, even to friends. I'm always salty when I lose but the past year it got real bad. I was so bitter and angry over playing a match up I hate I drove one of our players away until I smoothed things over. That was a wake up call and I tried working on it with limited success. It'd be nice of my passion for success didn't have the dark side but it's there.
Best and worst moments in the your fighting game career?The worst moments are when my anger gets to me and I act like a dick, even to friends. I'm always salty when I lose but the past year it got real bad. I was so bitter and angry over playing a match up I hate I drove one of our players away until I smoothed things over. That was a wake up call and I tried working on it with limited success. It'd be nice of my passion for success didn't have the dark side but it's there.
Best moment was placing top 8 at EVO 2011 in MK9. It came out of no where. My Tekken career was mediocre. I was becoming a decent player and could do ok against top guys but I had bad tournament nerves and wasn't at the level of placing even top 16 at majors. In the early days of MK9 I did very well in casuals against guys that were making top 8 but at my first two majors I didn't do well in the tournament. I was still playing shitty when it mattered. At EVO 2011 for some reason that faded and I delivered. I was super happy to win my pool and make top 64. Placing 5th was just crazy. In top 64 I even beat two of the great St. Louis Tekken players that had bodied me in that game.
Worst was being involved in the rigging scandal of NEC 2012. I am ashamed my drive to succeed and fear of failure made it too hard to pass up the opportunity to get an edge because I knew the guy doing seeding. I've done some dumb stuff when I'm salty but this was unacceptable.
What do you want from future fighting games?Worst was being involved in the rigging scandal of NEC 2012. I am ashamed my drive to succeed and fear of failure made it too hard to pass up the opportunity to get an edge because I knew the guy doing seeding. I've done some dumb stuff when I'm salty but this was unacceptable.
I want to see next gen UI and presentation. Why are games still using the traditional character select, for example? I want a game's presentation to wow me, like Killer Instinct did in 1994. MKX is a good start. I hope SF5 has some cool stuff too.
Who should be on next week's GAF Player Spotlight?
I can't keep track of who has done this already.
Since Dahbomb strongly encourages pre-orders, what games do you plan to buy that have been officially announced?
I will buy every major FG release, except anime games because they're weird.
Part of me thinks I should try to play either Tekken 7 or SF V seriously. Just to prove to myself I could do well in another game. But logically I know I don't have time.
Part of me thinks I should try to play either Tekken 7 or SF V seriously. Just to prove to myself I could do well in another game. But logically I know I don't have time.
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.
- Logan Sama, organiser of the old WSO weeklys in London, invites some of London's finest to Capcom UK HQ for first to 5 sets in USF4.
- 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.
- A weekly show featuring Mago, Tokido, and Momochi. They go over the tournaments they will participate and have participated in overseas and in Japan, as well as the general news in SF. For long periods of the year, there is a student-teacher session involving one of the 3 Topanga members taking a player under their wing and teaching them how to play SF. The show features rank matches (sometimes random char. matches) and ends with a 8 man online tournament featuring players around 4.5kpp such as Poongko, Inco, and more.
- 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.
- SuperDojo 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.
