Here's a bunch of fighting game news, straight from #EVO 2019!
First up Ed Boon & Netherrealm Studios finally showed ONE of the upcoming new DLC characters for Mortal Kombat 11's Kombat Pack , fan-favorite Nightwolf! (Sorry Sindel, and even worse, Mileena fans, nothing for you guys..)
During EVO 2019's big Dragon Ball FighterZ finals, Arc System Works officially announced Janemba and Gogeta with the following trailer. And Janemba's getting released this week no less!
And while I might not be a big fan of it, let's not skip French Bread's update for their 2D fighter Under Night In-Birth: EXE Late[cl-r]. Yeah. Such a weird silly name. But things look pretty decent though:
Slightly ahead of schedule for EVO, thanks to a Valve/Steam leak, the announcement of more Street Fighter V DLC characters! All available right ahead! Fans wanted E.Honda for so long.. and we even got two more Final Fight guest, thanks Ono!
One of the big announcements of EVO was Harada announcing a major update for TEKKEN 7 as well as a new Season 3 that will include a bunch of changes, stages and characters. Starting with a fan much requested return and a newcomer for T7:
BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is getting EVEN MORE characters! It's not the best game ever.. but I love it!
SNK probably confirmed development on the new King of Fighters XV with the following logo:
As well as the full roster of DLC (which includes a free character) for the Samurai Shodown reboot - along the confirmation of a Season 2 coming in 2020 with more DLC characters! PLEASE ADD IROHA, SNK!!
And while we're on the subject, NAMCO revealed the last character coming to Soul Calibur VI....
...As well as a confirmation of a Season 2 which will no less than a guest character from SNK... HAOMARU himself from Samurai Shodown!!! I love seeing all these SNK characters pop up in all sorts of fighters, lately!
But the best announcement came form ArcSys who just announcement a brand new Guilty Gear for 2020! Look how beautiful it looks! Even better than Xrd! It looks like working on Dragon Ball and Kill la Kill sure helped them master this new graphics style & engine!
The first season of DLC for the new Samurai Spirits/Samurai Shodown (Samurai Shodown 12? There's been 7-ysh 2D ones and 4 3D ones...) has just been revealed. Following the announcement of the addition of Rimururu at E3, here's the full roster for this first batch of characters:
Pretty classic. I like it. I'm still waiting for the more out-there characters, like Cham Cham, Mina, Iroha...
Here's some videos:
And here's the official press release:
"For
the first season, we wanted to extend our roster with different
playstyles which can keep all players on their feet. Even though they’re
still in development, we feel that each character has a very unique
playstyle which fans new and old are sure to love. We at SNK truly hope
you enjoy
the newest installment in the Samurai Shodown franchise."
For now, download the first season pass because it's going to be free as long as you download it before June 30th.
Segata Sanshiro himself, the legendary Hiroshi Fujioka starring in a live action ad for the upcoming Samurai Shodown update on the smartphone action RPG King of Fighters: All Star!
What!??
Here is a cross-promotion between SNK's two classic series KOF and Samurai Shodown, check it out, it's well worth a look!
Man... on a related note, I really can't wait for the new Samurai Shodown...!!!!
Right off the recent release of SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, a fanservice "mod" using the last King of Fighters title, SNK announced now a proper modern new take on one of their beloved older series.
A brand new Samurai Spirits/Samurai Shodown reboot of sorts!!
And for the first time I'm glad to say this new 3D fighter from SNK does actually look absolutely AMAZING! Gorgeous even!!
Compared to the past 3D titles, even though I liked those, it does look and feel similar to the original 2D titles for once.
...they're just reborn in much more affordable and convenient packages!
This is the best news of the year for a retro gamer, arcade and fighting games fan.
The Neo Geo is getting a resurrection of sorts this year!
The NEO GEO X is an upcoming bundle re-release of SNK's famous classic system.
Which is great news cause that means a more affordable Neo Geo - which I always dreamt about getting but couldn't for obvious reasons. (even though there's one available at my local game store which has been taunting me for years...)
SNK Playmoreconfirmed that this NEO GEO X GOLD package will include the handheld system, a NEO GEO home console, and a classic NEO GEO joystick.
Simply fantastic!!
A modern produced-NEO GEO console & the classic arcade stick, aw yeah!
The release date has been confirmed as December 6th, 2012.Which would have made a damn' fine birthday present for myself, but I doubt I'd get it at my home before new year! 'Sucks! XD
It will retail for about $199.99 - worth it if you ask me! (I'll get one of these before even thinking about a Wii U or 3DS or Vita personally! 'nuff said!)
While you can use actual old school cartridges, it will also come pre-loaded with 20 classic NEO GEO games:
The full list of NEOGEO X Handheld pre-installed games is as follows:
3 COUNT BOUT
LEAGUE BOWLING
ART OF FIGHTING II
MAGICIAN LORD
ALPHA MISSION II
METAL SLUG
BASEBALL STARS II
MUTATION NATION
CYBER LIP
NAM 1975
FATAL FURY
PUZZLED
FATAL FURY SPECIAL
REAL BOUT - FATAL FURY SPECIAL
THE KING OF FIGHTERS '95
SAMURAI SHODOWN II
KING OF THE MONSTERS
SUPER SIDEKICKS
LAST RESORT
WORLD HEROES PERFECT
Kickass!
It's only really missing Rage of the Dragons if you wanna try to cover a wide range of series. (and why KOF 95 and not 94? Or one of the later ones? Same goes for AoF, 2? not 3? the rest is okay by me though~)
"Great game consoles don't die; they're just reborn in much more affordable and convenient packages," said Tommo CEO Jonathan Wan. "The NEOGEO X GOLD is a love letter to one of my favorite consoles of all time, and working with SNK PLAYMORE to acquire the NEOGEO license, Tommo Inc. looks to provide gaming and entertainment enthusiasts with a classic arcade experience both at home and on the go."Distribution of the NEOGEO X GOLD entertainment system for European and Asian territories will be handled exclusively by BLAZE and Success Company. North American distribution of the NEOGEO X GOLD entertainment system will be handled exclusively by Tommo, Inc..For the latest news as it is released, and for additional information regarding the NEOGEO X GOLDentertainment system, please visit: www.NEOGEOX.com.
I love these re-release of old systems. There's also been a great Megadrive last year or in 2010. (don't remember exactly), which also came with the usual pre-loaded games + the cartridge slot that has been missing from these modern retro-handheld systems.
Now, if only there could also be new official game released, not just homebrew. You knew, like the way Vinyls have resurrected these past years as well. Don't let old mediums die!
Here's yet another result for a TWITTER JAM!
I guess everyone will recognize the characters they asked for!
This time, another King of Fighters/SNK themed one.
Mr Karaté, most of the Korean Team, Marco from Metal Slug, Haomaru from Samurai Spirits/Shodown and Kyo Kusanagi & Iori Yagami from the KOF series.
Me? I've bought and been having fun with Samurai Shodown SEN.
It's the fourth 3D Samurai Shodown game but only the second to have been released for a home console system.
Don't be sad about the lack of 2D sprites in this one! It still manage to keep the gameplay up and be highly fun to play!
I'm guessing this will end up as a pretty underrated game and quickly forgotten, but SNK games have never really been "mainstream" games anyway!
Myself, I really dig it, it's quite immersive and addictive! I play it some minutes only and won't be able to stop!
Sure the graphics aren't that polished and the textures could use some more colors & details...but hey, it's SNK Playmore, what did you expect? The same level of quality and work as the old school SNK? Bwahaha!
I seriously prefer playing this game than the recent Soul Caliburs! Of course it isn't as "shiny" and 3D-next-gen-hi-tec-graphic-tastic as Soul Calibur 4...but it's fun!
(and seriously, no modern Soul Calibur was able to capture the same magic as Soul Calibur or Soul Calibur 2...) At least the characters don't lose piece of clothes/armour in this!
But hands! And arms! And legs!
YEAH!
The gory aspect is only really used in finish moves like in Samurai Shodown IV! (one of if not my fav past Samurai Shodown title!)
And we shouldn't have to compare Samurai Shodown with Soul Calibur since it's pretty different games anyway!
Soul is a more "epic", orchestral fighting game! With shiny effects, not much violence, a blockbuster kind of quality and a 3D gameplay based around combos & juggles.
Samurai games are more about the atmosphere, with a fantastic "era-representative" music. It's more dirty, violent, brutal and closer to chanbara movies (though the Last Blade series' closer to the real chanbara-feel). And it is played on a 2D plane and emphasizes techniques ("super moves"-kinda) and quick reflexes.
