Fighting EX Layer comes to arcade on Nov. 29, Steam on Nov. 30

Arika's successor to the Street Fighter EX and Fighting Layer games will be reaching platforms beyond the PlayStation 4 by the end of November 2018.

Fighting EX Layer will launch in Japanese arcades on Nov. 29 while the game's Steam version will arrive the next day on Nov. 30, a release schedule posted on Arika's Facebook page notes. In addition, the PS4 version of the game will be updated to match the arcade and Steam ports.

While further plans for the game's future have not been revealed at this time, Arika's schedule does note that on Dec. 14 the company will reveal FEXL's 2019 schedule which could unveil any new content planned for the title.

The Steam version of FEXL will cost U.S. players $39.99, with a 25 percent discount ($29.99) for the game's first week of release. Those interested in that release can keep watch on its official page to see when preorders become available. 

Soul Calibur VI update comes to PS4, other platforms starting Nov. 14

Some of the glitches affecting Soul Calibur VI will soon be a thing of the past as Bandai Namco's update to the game will be available in the next seven days across all platforms.

According to Avoiding the Puddle, version 1.02 will remove Tira and Voldo's ability to use metered mechanics without actually having the meter and reduce the range on both Tira and Geralt's unblockable attacks "in certain situations." The patch will also fix an error in the PC version of the game causing ranking info to show the wrong player records.

Soul Calibur VI 1.02 will launch on PlayStation 4 first on Nov. 14, with Steam to follow on Nov. 16 while Xbox One players can expect it sometime between Nov. 16-19. The SC team also promises to "continue to fix unintended effects and bugs in the game when they have been identified."

The end of Sin: Yuna joins Dissidia Final Fantasy

Square Enix has revealed that Final Fantasy X's Yuna will be the next character to join Dissidia Final Fantasy and its console counterpart.

Yuna fights at distance with powerful magic and the help of Valefor, who seems to be able to save Yuna from combo situations. Yuna's stage is the beach of Besaid, which will have both daytime and sunset versions.

Yuna is the fifth of six DLC characters coming to Dissidia Final Fantasy and joins Vayne Carudas Solidor, Locke Cole, Rinoa Heartilly and Kam'lanaut as additional members of the cast. The final character, a male character from the newer Final Fantasy games who has never been part of the series before, will be announced in January 2019.

Readers can watch Yuna's trailer after the jump. She will be added to the arcade version of Dissidia on Nov. 15, 2018, but console players on Dissidia Final Fantasy NT will have to wait until December for her release.

Click to read more ...

New Jump Force footage shows Golden Frieza, SSB Goku, Vegeta

A new trailer for Jump Force has revealed that Goku, Vegeta and Frieza will be able to transform into their more powerful forms just like in the anime and manga.

Instead of using separate character slots as has been done in many other games, Jump Force will activate Super Saiyan Blue and Golden forms via awakening, giving each character more powerful versions of their signature attacks.

Readers can check out the trailer after the jump. Jump Force comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on Feb. 15, 2019.

Click to read more ...

French Bread promises new content to come for UNIST

At the end of Climax of Night 2018, a recorded message from the main battle planner of both Melty Blood and Under Night In-Birth, Serizawa Kamone, claimed that new features will be coming to Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st].

Kamone offered little in the way of details about the new content, but said it would be "surprising" and that the company hopes to share that information "as soon as we can."

He, along with series composer Raito and lyricist, translator and liaison Ryorca, also thanked players for their continued support of the game.

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] is currently available for PlayStation 4 and Steam.

Planned Soul Calibur VI patch to fix issues, provide balance changes

The official Soul Calibur Twitter has announced that a patch designed to correct problems with the current state of the game and add balancechanges to the cast will be forthcoming.

The statement comes right on the heels of the discovery that Voldo can utilize an exploit to activate Critical Edge or Soul Charge even when he has no meter. A similar glitch has since been found with Tira as well.

In addition to those issues, the team claims that it will also fix Ranked Match's search feature, the ending of Casual matches due to "unintended circumstances" and correct "characters having more reach than intended."

No time frame for the update has been given at the time.  

Nonon Jakuzure, Hōka Inumuta spring to action in Kill la Kill the Game: IF

The remaining members of Kill la Kill's Elite Four have been revealed as characters in the upcoming fighting game based on the series, Famitsu reports.

Nonon Jakuzure looks to fight mostly a long range, using sound-based attacks and bombs. Hōka Inumuta, meanwhile, has an Analyze gauge that builds up and can be spent to unleash stronger follow-up moves.

Nonon and Hōka will join fellow student council members Ira Gamagori, Uzu Sanageyama and Satsuki Kiryūin along with series protagonist Ryuko Matoi as current members of the game's cast.

Readers can check out images of the characters from Famitsu, courtesy of Twitter user HDKirin, after the jump. Kill la Kill the Game: IF is scheduled to release on PlayStation 4 and PC sometime in 2019.

Click to read more ...

Dissidia celebrating third anniversary, new character info to be unveiled

The next DLC addition to the cast of Dissidia Final Fantasy will be revealed during a stream celebrating the third anniversary of the game's arcade edition, Square Enix announced.

The announcement will be part of a one-day tournament and broadcast. It is unclear if one or both of the remaining DLC characters will be shown, but they will join Vayne Carudas Solidor, Locke Cole, Rinoa Heartilly and Kam'lanaut as part of the game's cast.

The unveiling will take place on Nov. 10 at 12:00 JST ( Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. PST, 10 p.m. EST) with an official broadcast from the Square Enix YouTube channel.

If the other characters are any indication, players can look for this new character to be released sometime in December 2018. Dissidia Final Fantasy is currently available in Japanese arcades and on the PlayStation 4 as Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.

Omen of Sorrow released, launch trailer reveals new characters

Omen of Sorrow's horror-themed fighting is now available, and a new trailer has unveiled two more characters in the game.

Joining the playable cast as an unlockable character is Arctorious, the headless horseman of legend. Also revealed is the game's main antagonist Thalessa, the game's main boss dubbed "the invisible queen," who "seeks to turn the world back into the place of horrors she once called home," according to a press release.

Players can check out the trailer, which shows some footage of the new characters along with the rest of the cast, after the jump. Omen of Sorrow is currently available for PlayStation 4.

Click to read more ...

Soul Calibur VI bug grants Voldo meterless Soul Charge, Critical Edge

A recently discovered exploit in the newest Soul Calibur entry allows Voldo access to his Soul Charge and Critical Edge whether players have meter or not.

According to Avoiding the Puddle, it seems the transition to back-turned from his Caliostro Rush stance allows him to use metered abilities even when he has no meter. Some players, such as Twitter user isloudas, have already found several practical and effective uses of the glitch, leading to big damage in many situations.

Readers can check out footage of the glitch, which is apparently done by inputting QCF ~ B+K ~ A+B+K, after the jump.

Click to read more ...

Smash Ultimate adds Ken Masters, Incineroar, Piranha Plant, DLC offerings, online options and other modes of play detailed

During the Nintendo Direct on Nov. 1, Nintendo released a multitude of details about the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Starting off, Ken Masters from Street Fighter and Incineroar from Pokémon will round out the game's base cast, with Ken joining as an echo fighter of Ryu. However, they won't be the end of the roster, as there will be post-release characters such as Piranha Plant, who will be available for free sometime after the game's release to players who register their game online before Jan. 21, 2019, and paid DLC. Each paid DLC character will come with their own stage and one music track and cost $5.99, or players can opt for the Fighters Pass and get all five of the planned combatants for $24.99. According to Nintendo, all DLC in the Fighters Pass should be finished by February 2020.

Online play too will see new features as lobbies and voice chat will be part of the Smash Ultimate experience. Voice chat will be used via phone as it is in other Nintendo Switch games such as Splatoon 2, and there will also be an upcoming service called Smash World which will allow players to post and watch videos. Both For Glory and For Fun will be gone in Smash Ultimate, as matchmaking will be based on the gameplay options players select as well as location and skill ranking.

The Direct also showed plenty of new characters—such as Guile from Street Fighter, Yuri Kozukata from Fatal Frame, Akira from Virtua Fighter—who will be making cameos in Smash Ultimate either as new Assist Trophies or via the new Spirit feature and mode that seems somewhat similar to stickers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Much more about the game's other modes, including the game's single-player "World of Light" story, can be found in the Direct, which readers can check out after the jump. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches for the Nintendo Switch on Dec. 4, 2018.

Click to read more ...

Nintendo Direct on Nov. 1 to feature new Smash Bros. Ultimate info

Early on Oct. 30, 2018, Nintendo announced that its upcoming Nintendo Direct stream will offer the final new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate details before the game's release.

The company promises 40 minutes of coverage on the upcoming brawler hosted by the game's director Masahiro Sakurai, along with a Treehouse: Live presentation after. Nintendo did not offer any information on what will be discussed on the Direct, but if the recent roster leak has any truth behind it then some of the unrevealed characters will likely make their official debuts.

The Nintendo Direct featuring Smash Ultimate will simulcast to a worldwide audience starting at 7 a.m. PDT on Nov. 1, 2018, on the company's Twitch channel and other platforms. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches for Nintendo Switch on Dec. 4, 2018.

View to a kill: Christie joins Dead or Alive 6, trailer released

Dead or Alive's assassin antagonist is coming to DOA6 and a short trailer has been released showing her in action.

Christie was first revealed during Paris Games Week, and appears along with a new stage that shows off a destroyed bridge complete with exploding cars. For her part, Christie looks to return to DOA with her signature fighting style and many of her old moves.

Readers can watch Christie's trailer below. Dead or Alive 6 launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam on Feb. 15, 2019.

Click to read more ...

Jump Force adds City Hunter's Ryo Saeba, Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken

Fans of City Hunter and Fist of the North Star will not be disappointed by the cast of Jump Force, as Bandai Namco announced the protagonists of both games as playable characters in a trailer released for Paris Games Week.

City's Hunter's Ryo Saeba fights opponents with an array of weapons including his trademark Colt Python .357 magnum, a bazooka and his fists, while fists are the main weapon Kenshiro wields as he dismantles other fighters with his Hokuto Shinken style.

Readers can check out the trailer for both characters after the jump. Jump Force comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC sometime in February 2019.

Click to read more ...

New update brings reduction in SFV input lag, increased stability

The promised lag reduction update for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition has been released, and with it has come new numbers for players to crunch and observers to judge.

According to both DisplayLag and WydD, the game's lag has been reduced by one frame—down from just above six frames with monitor delay to roughly five on PlayStation 4, or five to four without adding the monitor. While a comprehensive PC test has not been done, WydD also estimates that it too has seen a decerease of almost half a frame.

In addition, WydD also notes that the game's stability has increased, meaning that there a now less lag spikes that shift the average delay of the game.

What all this means is that SFV should now be a smoother, more responsive experience than ever for its players, but those who weren't fans before will not likely be tuning in to find a radically different game if they were hoping for one.

Next SNK Heroines DLC character to be revealed on Oct. 25

The next addition to the SNK Heroines roster will be unveiled before the end of October.

A tweet by NIS America teased the game's third DLC character, showing a silhouette of the fighter with images of animals all around them. The new combatant will be unmasked on Oct. 25 and then playable at MCM Comic Con in London from Oct. 26-28, 2018.

The new character will join Thief Arthur from Million Arthur and ARIKA's Skullomania as DLC for SNK Heroines. No release date or price was given at this time, but it's likely the character will cost players $4.99.

SNK Heroines is currently available for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Season 2 update for Tekken 7: Fated Retribution coming February 2019

The update that will bring console DLC characters as well as the new balance changes from Tekken 7's Season 2 will be coming to the game's arcade version in early 2019.

The news of Tekken 7: Fated Retribution Round 2 was officially revealed during the Mastercup 10 team tournament in Japan, with a new trailer from Bandai Namco and the opening of a website for the content. This will bring Noctis, Eliza and Geese Howard to the arcade version for the first time, along with the recently released Anna Williams and Lei Wulong.

Readers can check out the trailer below. Tekken 7's second season of content is currently being rolled out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam, with Anna and Lei as the first new downloadable characters.

Click to read more ...

Central Fiction Special Edition comes to Switch on Feb. 7, 2019, in Japan

The most recent game in the mainline BlazBlue series will be coming to Nintendo Switch early in 2019 with some bonuses for late adopters.

According to Famitsu, many of the additions to the core of BBCF that were paid DLC in other versions will be included in BlazBlue Central Fiction Special Edition when it releases on Nintendo's console. No list of the content is available at this time, but it seems a good bet that at least all the DLC characters—Jubei, Es and Mai Natsume—will be included.

BlazBlue Central Fiction first released to arcades on Nov. 19, 2015, with a PlayStation 3 and 4 release coming in the fall of 2016. A Steam version of the game followed in the spring of 2017.

Gear up: Arc System Works teaming with SuperGroupies to bring Guilty Gear, Blazblue-inspired apparel to Japan

Backpacks, cardigans and cell phone cases based on the designs of popular Arc System Works characters are coming as part of the company's new collaboration.

The items will be coming from SuperGroupies, a Japanese apparel company that seeks to merge anime and gaming style with that of normal clothing and accessories. 

On the Guilty Gear side, there will be a backpack, iPhone case and Cardigan with colors and designs referencing Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, Ramlethal Valentine and Elphelt Valentine. For BlazBlue, Ragna the Bloodedge, Jin Kisaragi and Hazama will all get phone cases, while Ragna receives a backpack, Jin a smaller should bag and Hazama gets a messenger or laptop-style pack. 

All items are now available for preorder but they don't come cheap, with the cell phone cases costing 5,800 yen (roughly $50) while the cardigans are 12,800 (~$115) and the bags vary from 12,800 to 17,800 (~$115-160). Prospective buyers outside Japan will also need to jump through extra hoops as SuperGroupies does not ship internationally. Those still interested can check out the collection at SuperGroupies.

The zodiac awakens: Pegasus Seiya, Dragon Shiryū join Jump Force

Another classic world has joined Jump Force as two of Saint Seiya's Knights of the Zodiac have been added to the ranks of playable characters.

The series protagonist, Pegasus Seiya, and "most composed" Dragon Shiryū fight with their normal cloths but can awaken their seventh sense and utilize the golden cloths for super attacks.

Readers can check out the trailer for both characters after the jump. Jump Force is scheduled for release on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in February 2019.

Click to read more ...