Archive of Samurai Shodown III & Fatal Fury Special from Mikado Odaiba Great Battle

The people behind Takadanobaba Game Center Mikado in Tokyo, Japan, organized a tournament event dedicated for two of SNK's less prominent fighting games.

Mikado Odaiba Great Battle ~Zansamu vs Garosupe~ was held at Tokyo Culture Club in the city's Odaiba island on April 24. Both Zansamu and Garosupe refer to Samurai Shodown III and Fatal Fury Special respectively. Despite not having the bigger playerbase, the event brought 29 FF Special players while SSIII held out at 24.

The full archive of the tournaments can be found after the jump!

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Hokuto no Ken, Garou & The Last Blade 2 tournaments coming to E-Sports Square in March

Game Newton will host two tournaments at Tokyo, Japan's premiere eSports center this coming March.

At E-Sports Square, both Garou -Mark of the Wolves- and The Last Blade 2 players will converge on March 19 for singles tournament Seika Kyouen. On March 20, the fifth edition of the Seikimatsu Butoukai series will bring many Hokuto no Ken players for a 3v3 team tournament.

Expect Game Newton to stream both events on their Twitch channel. You can check out the trailers, and footage from last year's Seikimatsu Butoukai 4, after the jump.

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New Hori Real Arcade Pro VLX Model Coming Feb. 2016 for PS3 & PS4

Hori will release a fourth version of their premium Real Arcade Pro VLX line for 2016.

A listing on Play-Asia revealed that the popular peripheral company will be releasing another variant of the big arcade stick for February of next year. The newer model is the successor to the original red, white and black edition, the white, blue and metallic DIA and the recent all black VLX Kuro version. Similar to the VLX Kuro, this version will work on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.

This model is based on the modern version of the Vewlix F cabinet sporting a black body with red bezels as well as the red and metallic control panel. Along with featuring Hori's own Hayabusa lever, the new VLX will include their new Falcon buttons. Unlike their previous Kuro buttons, the Falcon has a matte finish and is designed to have lower travel distance as well as smoother edges for a more comfortable press.

The stick is currently planned for Japanese release. While not officially planned for release in other regions, you can pre-order the stick on Play-Asia.

KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation A Session Organized by Former SNK Playmore Artist Falcoon

Osaka game center Kouhatsu hosted a session for one of the 3-D entries in The King of Fighters series featuring a well-known artist formerly involved in it.

Tatsuhiko "Falcoon" Kanaoka, character designer in The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact games, organized a Maximum Impact Regulation A session. Being a free play event, 18 players participated and was streamed on one of Kouhatsu's Twitch channels on Dec. 19, 2015.

Along with the session, Falcoon gave away a custom booklet with new character art along with a move list and beginner combos.

You can find the four hour archive after the jump! Also check out Falcoon on Twitter for some of his newer illustrations!

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Team List for Cooperation Cup 14 Revealed, Biggest 3rd Strike Tournament on Jan. 10, 2016

The annual Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike 5v5 team tournament series in Japan returns in January 2016 with 89 teams!

Over 400 players will be playing in Cooperation Cup 14 to see if any of their teams can dominate the field. Many old and new school players such as Raoh, Spellmaster-J, Kokujin, Nuki, Matsuken and more will be there. The 89th team spot will be given to the team that wins a last chance qualifier.

In addition to the main tournament, Cooperation Cup will have its special character-specific tournament the day before. Both tournaments will be at Tokyo Leisure Land Palette Town.

You can find the full list for both tournaments here! Coopeartion Cup 14 will be streamed on Game Newton's Twitch channel!

100-Man Kumite in Virtua Fighter Feat. Old School Player Ikebukuro Sarah

A legendary player in the Virtua Fighter scene celebrated his 50th birthday on Nov. 5, 2015, by playing what he is well known for.

Player Ikebukuro Sarah fought 100 others in the original Virtua Fighter as part of a kumite event in Takadanobaba Mikado game center. Ikebukuro Sarah is one of the major players of the early Virtua Fighter scene who was able to beat almost 100 players in a kumite years back. Many young and old players of the scene came to participate in this event.

If you want to see competitive old school VF, you can find both videos after the jump!

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Dueling the KOF 14th Season on Nov. 21-23 at Neo Amusement Space A-Cho

The annual Japanese team tournament series for The King of Fighters will be returning this weekend.

 The 14th iteration of Dueling the KOF will be returning to Kyoto's popular Neo Amusement Space A-Cho gaming center. The King of Fighters '98 (3v3), The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match (2v2) and The King of Fighters XIII Climax (3v3) are the featured games.

The weekend event will be streamed on Dueling the KOF's Twitch channel. From Nov. 21-23, make sure to tune in at around 5:00 p.m. PST for the stream.

Mastercup 8, Tekken 7's Biggest Team Tournament, Coming on Nov. 22

The premiere Tekken community tournament series from Japan will be returning for the newest game.

Mastercup 8 will take place on Nov. 22 to decide who will be the best team in Tekken 7. Taking place at Leisure Land Pallette Town in Tokyo, Japan, 187 five-man teams from all over the world will be competing. While a majority of the players reside in Japan, expect some from Korea, Australia and the United States to be competing.

The stream will be split into three channels on Twitch. The Japanese stream will be on Game Newton, a Korea restream will be handled by Green Game Land and the rest of the world can go on the official Tekken channel. Make sure to tune in at around 3:00pm PST for the stream!

Check out the promo video after the jump!

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Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] Coming to Japanese Arcades on July 23

Arc System Works released the intro video for the next version of Under Night In-Birth, and it's found after the jump!

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] will be officially playable in Japanese arcades on July 23. It will feature all characters from previous iterations including PlayStation 3 characters Byakuya and Nanase. New character Phonon will make her debut in this latest version.

System changes found in this iteration includes Vorpal being rewarded to the player who hits first. A variant of Veil Off called Cross Veil Off will allow players to perform the mechanic during combos and will reset bounce restriction in a combo.

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] will be featured as a side tournament at this year's Arc Revolution Cup. There is no news of a console port. Make sure to check out the character changes here.

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Official Tekken 7 Tournament "The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2015" Announced, $80,000 Total Prize Pot

Namco's latest announcement regarding Tekken 7 is about their own big tournament.

The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2015 is the offical tournament to see who is the best in the latest entry of the series. Players—11 or 12—from all over the world can qualify in the 1v1 world finals event in Japan tentatively dated around November or December of 2015. Namco will be providing a total of $80,000 that's spread to their Osaka, Tokyo, Japanese national finals and world finals events.

In addition to the Japanese qualfiers, players can also gain access to the world finals from other zones such as EVO 2015 and in Korea. For EVO 2015, the top two players will be able to qualify.

Even if it's in Japanese, you can check out the official page of the tournament here. The promotional video can be found below.

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Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] Side Tournament at Arc Revolution Cup 2015

The second revision of Under Night In-Birth will get some spotlight at the latest iteration of Arc System Works' annual tournament series.

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] was announced as a side tournament game at Arc Revolution Cup, next to Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. While P4AU will be a 3v3 team tournament, UNIST will be a singles event with 32 players battling it out. Both P4AU and UNIST are the only games to be running on arcade hardware while both Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- and Blazblue: Chronophantasma Extend are on PlayStation 4.

While UNIST isn't available in Japanese arcades, it can be expected that the game will be available before the tournament's Aug. 15 date. The game recently concluded its latest location test that started on June 24.

Trailer & Location Test Information for Upcoming Blade Arcus from Shining Ver. 2.0

Sega's fighting game based on the Shining series will be updated with new characters.

Blade Arcus from Shining Ver. 2.0 was announced and will be playable in three arcades around Japan for location testing. Urayukihime Hayane, Rouna Murasame, Dylan Rowen and Rick Elwood from game Shining Hearts will make their appearance as playable characters to Blade Arcus. Rejection Guard and Reversal Strike will be new mechanics to Blade Arcus 2.0, while there will be changes done to existing characters and the overall system.

For people living in Japan, there will be a week-long location test throughout Tokyo. From June 12, you can visit Club Sega Akihabara, Sega Kaguruzaka and Club Sega Shinjuku to try out the latest update. A trailer is found below.

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Footage of Japanese Killer Instinct Side Tournament from KSB 2015

Along with the anime fighters, Super Smash Bros. and Capcom's recent games, Microsoft's fighting game Killer Instinct was also at the big Japanese tournament series.

With the help of OGTY, KVO x Team St1ckbug 2015 had a side tournament for KI that weekend. Primarily a single elimination tournament, players fought in a best of five matches to determine who was the strongest. Footage includes the first round all up to top four.

The top four finals can be found below with the rest on OGTY's YouTube channel! You can follow OGTY on Twitter. He is organizing an upcoming Japanese online KI tournament on May 16 with a multi-game event in Tokyo on June 13 featuring KI, Mortal Kombat X, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Soulcalibur V and more.

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Players Trying Yoshimitsu on Tekken 7's Practice & Online Match Modes

Tekken's returning Manji Clan leader became playable in the latest edition. Make sure to check out the videos after the jump!

Japanese arcades got their hands on Yoshimitsu to see the changes in his movelist. Guntama recorded himself playing both practice mode and going to online matches against other players throughout Japan. Kuro Kuro also captured footage featuring Yoshimitsu player Owata trying to rise up in the ranks.

If you are a Yoshimitsu player, go check out the videos below before trying him out at this year's EVO! Also read the movelist!

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Yoshimitsu, With New Look, Returning to Tekken 7 as Time-Release Character on May 12

Following Jin, his devil counterpart, Josie and Gigas, the next upcoming character for Tekken 7 is a series regular ever since appearing in the original Tekken.

Yoshimitsu was announced to appear in Tekken 7 as a time-release character planned for May 12 availability in Japanese arcades. Much like every major Tekken entry, the Manji Clan's warrior will be sporting a new look featuring tentacles around his body including his head.

For those who live in Japan, he will be playable exactly at 9:00 a.m. in Japan time. For now you can take a quick look of what he has in store after the jump!

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Top 3 Footage of Guilty Gear Xrd, Under Night In-Birth, Blazblue & More from KVO x Team St1ckbug

If you missed KVO x Team St1ckbug in Japan, check out the best players from multiple anime fighting games duking it out after the jump!

The Japanese streaming group OgreLive streamed the event for English speaking viewers. At KSB 2015, players competed in Guilty Gear Xrd, Blazblue: Chronophantasma Extend, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late, Arcana Heart 3 Love Max!!!!!, Aquapazza and Shin Koihime Musou Otome Taisen Sangokushi Engi.

It features English commentary from St1ckbug himself, Jiyuna and more! You can follow OgreLive's stream on Twitch!

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Archive of Hokuto no Ken 4th Sekimatsu Butoukai Final Tournament 3v3 Team Battle

If you want to watch a large scale Hokuto no Ken tournament, you can find it after the jump!

The Sekimatsu Butoukai Final Tournament is a 3v3 team tournament that took place at e-Sports Square Akihabara on May 4. In addition to the 3v3 team tournament, a team battle exhibition was held where players under 29 years old fought against those over 30.

The whole event was streamed by the Game Newton production team. If you are looking for basketball infinites, fast Fatal KOs or low tier characters beating the top tier with clean quality at 60 fps, make sure to watch!

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Archive of Japan's Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown 5v5 Team Tournament 2015 Pre-Beat Tribe Cup

Japan's Virtua Fighter scene is going strong especially in this big team tournament.

The 2015 Pre-Beat Tribe Cup took place in e-Sports Square Akihabara on April 29, 2015, with 280 players spread around to 56 five-player teams. Like previous editions of the Pre-Beat Tribe Cup, most of the teams who participated use one character while some others have variation.

Game Newton's streaming team helped broadcast the event live on Twitch and you can check out the hours of high level Japanese Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown after the jump!

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Tekken 7 Arcade Update Features Balance Changes To Cast Including New Characters

The latest patch for Tekken 7 in arcades is all about balance changes.

Version Fo8 is the latest build featuring changes to characters including the newer time-release additions such as Josie and Gigas. While fully listed with character-specific moves changed, Namco omitted detailed information on how they act in game. They want players to find out for themselves whether or not their favorite character was modified for better or worse. You can find the full notes below.

In addition to the balance changes, the patch also includes a minor change to an item attack as well as general bug fixes.

Players in both Japan and South Korea gain access to the changes so if you live in any of these countries and play Tekken, go try out the changes yourself at your local arcade!

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Cyberbots, Project Justice, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure & More From A-CHO's Capcom Histrical-vsgame Olympic 2015

Neo Amusement Space A-CHO's annual Capcom Histrical-vsgame Olympic returned to celebrate old and new fighting games from Capcom.

Kyoto, Japan's popular game center recorded their multi-game tournament series on Jan. 12 featuring creations such as Street Fighter EX2 Plus, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Project Justice, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure & Cyberbots. While there is high-level footage of most of the aforementioned games, Cyberbots is the least common of the bunch so footage of that will be new to most fighting game players.

Video archives can be found after the jump! Stay tuned to A-CHO's tournament channel to upload more Capcom fighters from their annual event.

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