Take All Comers - Videos / Short Write Up

Just doing a quick write up about the Take All Comers event that was held this weekend before i go off to sleep.

This event was held in the Millfield Arts Centre, in Silver Street, which was a pretty nice venue.

The KOFXIII tournament was run on what i was told was a newer build compared to the one that was at Super Versus Battle, the only downsides were that Billy and Saiki were not available to play. (Which was a little disappointing considering i was looking forward to testing out some things as well as using them for the tournament.)

From speaking to Gunsmith he says that Billy Kane had to be unlocked by fighting and beating him (in i guess arcade mode), but no idea at the time how Saiki was supposed to be unlocked.

For the duration of casuals and tournament i selected two random select boxes and Athena. Given that i was pretty weak in using most characters and only felt confident in Athena i didn't think it made much difference in who the other two characters were. Also it gave me more of a chance to experiment with more characters without sitting through the loading screen every time i wanted to change characters.

The loading times like at Super Versus Battle were still pretty horrendous (almost as bad as Neo Geo CD), as mentioned when i previously wrote about that event this version was again played on a debug unit so the game was not installed (or capable of doing so).

I found that the game had more cases of slowdown than the version at SVB, i heard different things about this ranging from possibly being a disc problem to being a problem with the debug units overheating.

Even Raidens dropkick somehow managed to cause some slowdown...

Since the game is still considered a beta version i wouldn't read too much into this right now.

One thing i found out from playing with K', i'm not sure if it's common knowledge, but his NeoMax actually does ZERO chip damage if the opponent blocks it...I'm not sure why but i personally thought it was pretty stupid.

I was also told about Clark's autoguard grab (hcf+B) is capable of absorbing a Haoh Sho Koh Ken with no damage.

I don't think there was much else that i managed to discover, if i do remember anything else i'll edit it in to the bottom of this post tomorrow.

For videos, if you missed the stream they auto archived to Twitch.TV, you can check those out below.

The first match in the first video is me vs Cristina, i think these were the only matches that were recorded of me playing.


Watch live video from EXDRAGON Project on Justin.tv

The second video starts from about 17:00 into it, and features the Top 4 matches.


Watch live video from EXDRAGON Project on Justin.tv

In the end i managed to get into Top 8, but didn't play my match within this bracket as these matches were held the day after group stages and i wasn't able to attend the second day.

I think Gunsmith has some more videos from the event, and i'm sure he will do a write up soon so make sure to check out Orochinagi.com within the next couple of days.

King of Fighters-i - v1.01 - A Quick Look

As i mentioned earlier today the update for KOF-i was released and along with the main updates of the characters (Yagami and Elisabeth Teams), and new stages there were also a few other things added to the update.

Firstly as you can see from the opening image the title screen was updated with an image of a few of the characters that appear in the game.

Sound test was also added to this update, within this you can listen to all the music tracks from KOFXIII (including teams who are not in KOF-i), as well as the 'old' themes (mainly KOFXI themes) which i think were selectable in the arcade version of XIII by holding a combination of buttons.

A new challenge mode is available, which if you have played past KOF console versions you may be familiar with. Many of the challenges consist of either performing a combo with a certain number of hits or performing a combo higher than a set criteria.

Within these challenges you are set within restrictions, whereby some of them you may not have access to certain characters, have a set amount of drive bars or super bars.

The new stages that appear on the console version have also been included in this update, as well as the stages that were originally in the first version of KOF-i have been updated to include background cameos.

(For example Iori's Factory stage now has the USA Sports team in the background.)

A new video is also available to view, this was the promotional video that was released a little while ago which also gave the first glimpse of Flame Iori.

The Novel section has been updated to include Elisabeth and Yagami Team background stories.

The Gallery and Trading Cards section have also had more images added, at some point when i unlock all of them i will upload the images unless someone else does it first.

Ash Crimson's float glitch also appears to have been removed. 

I think that's pretty much all i have discovered so far, i'll be continuing the dialogues to include the new characters and will try to get as many of those completed before the console release. (At which point i will most likely stop doing them.)

One last thing before i finish, i'm not quite sure but i think on this below screenshot that a broken Candy Diamond is laying on the scrap heap. (Around the mid point between Liz and Iori.)

EX Kyo and Mr.Karate Leaked As The DLC Characters

Saw this on Orochinagi's forums though i believe it originated from NeoArcadia, the last two DLC characters have been leaked and will be EX Kyo (Multi-Punch Version apparently) and Mr.Karate.

Although EX Kyo (in my opinion) is a nice addition to the cast, i'm wondering why they included Mr.Karate (other than the obvious reasons of easily recycled sprites) and whether he would be his SvC:Chaos version (with dragon punch).

And most importantly if they included Mr.Karate, why didn't they include a new version of Big Bear with four dropkicks!! =_=

On a semi-related note, KOF-i was updated today with the Yagami and Elisabeth Teams as well as a few new stages from the console version (and Mr. Karate's stage), updates to the gallery, and updates to the novel/story section.

I haven't had much of a chance to check everything out yet, as it took me ages to clear out space on my iPod just to get the bloody thing to update and install, but i'll try to do a small write up about it later today.

[Edit]: SpekSNK is reporting that there will be one further addition to the cast and will be available on disc, check it out via Google Translation here. I'm guessing maybe just Naked Saiki or Dark Ash maybe.

KOF-i - New Stage

Saw this over on DreamCancel's forums, apparently the update is available (i think only in Japan, as my version isn't giving me an update yet) for KOF-i, which adds the Yagami and Elisabeth Teams as well as a new stage.

I'm reading that this stage is based on Takuma's stage from the first Art of Fighting game, and note the cameo appearance from Shiki in the background.

Speculation on forums at the moment is that the last two DLC characters will be EX Kyo and Mr.Karate, though personally i would still like to see EX Raiden with four dropkicks. :(

[Edit]: The KOF-i Facebook page has just updated with these bits of information:
 
SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION is proud to announce the worldwide release of free additional content for “THE KING OF FIGHTERS-i” on iPhone / iPod touch from September 9th, 2011!!
  
Via this free additional content, “Iori Yagami”, “Mature”, “Vice”, “Elisabeth Blanctorche", “Shen Woo”, and “Duo Lon” join the original cast of 14 characters in “THE KING OF FIGHTERS-i” for a total of 20 fighters available! These 6 new entries will increase the number of possible teams, allowing you to create a lineup that suits your fighting strategy!

KOF-i - Ash Crimson Dialogue VS Ash Crimson

The final set of Ash Crimson's dialogues from KOF-i, talking to himself this time, i thought it was quite clever that they referenced the Kagura Mirror as a possible explanation for how he is able to fight himself.

The next set of dialogues i will be working on is for K'.

Ash Crimson Versus Ash Crimson:

Also one last image before i finish this post, is the ending picture with Ash.

EU PSN Updates With First Set Of SNK Classics [PSP Minis]

Just noticed that the first set of SNK Classics that were released on the US PSN about a month or so ago have now been released on the EU PSN.

Titles in this set of releases include:

Athena (£1.99/€2.49)

Rating: PEGI 12
Availability: Not available in Australia or New Zealand

Guerilla War (£1.99/€2.49)

Rating: PEGI 12
Availability: All locales

Hal 21 (£1.99/€2.49)

Rating: PEGI 12
Availability: All locales

Marvin’s Maze (£1.99/€2.49)

Rating: PEGI 3
Availability: Not available in Australia or New Zealand

Ozma Wars (£1.99/€2.49)

Rating: PEGI 3
Availability: Not available in Australia or New Zealand

Sasuke vs Commander (£1.99/€2.49)

Rating: PEGI 3
Availability: Not available in Australia or New Zealand

Vanguard (£1.99/€2.49)

Rating: PEGI 3
Availability: Not available in Australia or New Zealand

A bit late, considering i've already bought the ones i wanted from the US PSN, but better late than never i suppose. Also for PSN+ members i've read they are able to download Guerilla Wars for free for a limited time.

Check out the EU PSN Blog for more details here.

KOFXIII Blog Update - Mission Mode / Location Test

SNKPlaymore has updated their official blog for KOFXIII again with some information about the Mission Mode part of the game as well as the most recent location tests held in Fukuoka and Hiroshima.

The Professor from MMCafe has done a translation of the Mission Mode portion of the blog entry, which you can see here.

Also he notes that there will be an additional preorder bonus in Japan, which may be retailer exclusive, of picture/phone cards.

I'm liking that Mai and Yuri swimsuit card :O