Even though I have a post going that is updated with all of the new information I stumble across for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (which can be found here), a Gametrailers user earlier today put up a huge selection of videos from the location test that I feel is well worth its own post. There are quite a few shaky cam moments, but overall, this is the most coherent footage we've seen from the location test of Capcom's new vs. fighting game. I've embedded one below, but the rest can be found at the links underneath it.
With the first location test for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom currently underway in Japan, I've decided to go ahead and post a link thread highlighting some of the random tidbits of information that is coming out of the test. This post will be updated throughout the weekend as new details are provided in regards to Tatsunko vs. Capcom's character roster, game systems, and maybe even the full details on the arcade hardware...
From early details of the event, there are currently only one set of vs. units at the arcade in Akihabara. I'm waiting for a few images of the set up, but once again the no camera policy looks to have been strictly enforced, so images may have to wait for just a bit longer (it seems like it's easier for people to get a few pictures towards the end of the test rather than at its beginning).
Over at Kobayan, the moves list/flyer from the event was scanned and posted online. It's a bit hard to read the moves list, but the four button scheme (weak, medium, heavy, and tag/partner) doesn't seem to be hurting the game much when it comes to their basic move sets. Now whether or not the loss of one attack button will hurt the normal move variety on the other hand is a completely different question...
Based on the list, Gold Lightan was not currently playable at the event. He only served to cap off as the 'boss' of the location test. A shame if you ask me, but I'm guessing Capcom needed a bit more work before they balanced his play type with the rest of the roster... Or perhaps he was never meant to be playable at all?
A few interesting techniques picked up from the flyer found here and here - Assist - Partner/Tag button
Switch Character - 4 + Tag
Baroque - Tag + Any Attack If you have any red remaining in your life bar, you are able to sacrifice the rest of the red bar with an attack cancel that will power you up shortly based on the length of the bar you sacrificed.
Aerial Rave - 23 + Strong Same concept as Marvel, but everyone's Aerial Rave is now performed with Down + Strong.
Variable Aerial Rave - 236 + Tag Switches out a character during an air combo - the light glow that some people may have noticed during the Chun Li switch out portions of the promotional video were probably picking up on the Variable Aerial Raves... It uses up one bar.
Variable Combination - Tag during a Hyper Combo
Variable Counter - 412 + Tag An Alpha-counter like assist maneuver.
Mega Crush - All 4 attack buttons A strong attack that uses up two bars and some life...
Delayed Hyper Combo - Any doubts that this is a vs. game now?
Gamespot now has a short preview up from the location test. Though a lot of the information delves into what we already know, there are a couple of good points to pick up on from the preview. The first is that Capcom is currently testing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom in Taito Viewlix cabinets. This doesn't necessarily imply any specific hardware, but it is an interesting note from the location test. The second bit of information that the article brings up is a great breakdown of the characters at the location test. Though it doesn't go too much into details, the summaries posted are enough for fans to sink their teeth in while they wait for a more in depth analysis.
Shoryuken is reporting that Tatsunoko vs. Capcom will be at EVO 2008 for a location test alongside Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter HD Remix. If you haven't booked your flights for the event, now may be the time to do it...
A leaked image of the character select screen has been floating around now... It showcases the wheel system being used for the location test for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Unfortunately, it doesn't give any sort of hint to the possible number of characters, so I guess we're going to have to keep on guessing. I've heard rumors of around 24-ish, but take those with a grain of salt, as it's anyone's guess right now...
First video from the location test has been posted up on Youtube. With the game being featured on Viewlix cabinets, the monitors are all widescreen displays which is a bit odd considering that every screen shot we've seen so far of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom has had a 4:3 aspect ratio. I'm not sure if the game is being built for a widescreen ratio or if the game at the location test simply had it's display stretched for the Viewlix cabinets...
Over at Game Watch, the first location tests have been announced for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. On the weekend of July 10th - July 13th, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom will be in Tokyo at the Akibahara Hey and Ikebukuro GIGO arcades. On July 25th - July 27th, Capcom will then move the tests to Osaka at the Sega Avion center.
According to the flyer posted, a new character will also be shown off at the event, but astute gamers will probably already recognize that the latest issue of Arcadia Magazine (scans can be found over at Kobayan) have shown that the two characters announced for the game yet not appearing in the flyer are Yatterman Gou and Alex. (Pics can be found here and here). With the two new additions, the character roster now features Alex, Ryu, Batsu, Chun Li, Tekkaman, Ken Washio, Casshan, and Yatterman Gou.
Over at the game's official website, a new update was made to the comic style information pages, including a brief blurb on the location test. On the page opposite of the one that showcases the location test's information, a series of characters are shown in silhouette with the only detail focused on the bottom half of Alex. While it's not clear who the other characters on the page are, it doesn't hurt to speculate...
Based on what I can see, the first silhouette from the left is Yatterman Gou. The second silhouette from the left appears to have bat wings coming from her head, so the basic assumption would lead me to believe it's either Morrigan or Lilith from Darkstalkers. As for the rest of the characters it's a bit hard to say. I can easily see Dante from Devil May Cry being the character just to the right of Alex that looks like he's holding a sword, but that may be stretching it a bit without any more detail.
If I'm right about these two characters, in order to even out the number of Tatsunoko and Capcom characters left in the image the last two characters on the page would have to be Tatsunoko properties.
Anyone have any ideas?
The silhouette in the background looks like it has to be robotic at the very least... I've also heard that the other character that is crouching in the lower right may be Hurricane Polymer...
(Location test information on Game Watch via Kotaku)
(Update - Dengeki Online has some clean images of Alex and Yatterman Gou in game here)
A direct feed video from this week's Virtua Fighter 5R location test has already shown up online. Since Sega has enabled their match replay system for this test, more than likely this is just the start of quite a few more that we should be seeing over the course of this next weekend. If any show up somewhere other than YouTube in a higher quality, I'll be sure to post them. Otherwise enjoy the one I've found so far... (and let me know if you see any others)
MarkMan over at NeoGaf picked up on a great press release sent out from Aksys and the Los Angeles Anime Expo revealing that Arc System Works upcoming 2D fighting game, BlazBlue, will be having its first US location test July 3rd - 6th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Aksys Games will be handling the location test at the event, which should drive some interest for the fighting game (and perhaps promises for an actual US arcade release considering that Arc System Works has already launched an official US website for the game...).
BlazBlue has been going through the testing cycles in Japan quite a bit over the last few months. So far the reception has been well received, despite some early criticisms that the game didn't seem to differentiate itself enough from Guilty Gear. I've heard that it's truly beautiful to see in motion, which isn't hard to believe considering the media we've seen so far. It'll be interesting to follow its successes when it finally launches later this year based on the on-going performance of Guilty Gear Accent Core in Japanese arcades and on the Arcadia charts.
The official website for the Anime Expo can be found here. I'm trying to convince myself I can attend the event, but it's probably not going to work into my budget this time around... If anyone's in the local area and is attending, I would love to hear how it turns out.
This past weekend was the fifth and perhaps final location test for Street Fighter IV. While Capcom didn't show off any new characters, it was the first time that the full network capabilities of the game were put onto display. Players from Akihabara and Osaka were able to compete in versus matches against one another as well as participate in an online-enabled 'leaderboard'.
There have been videos popping on YouTube from the test, so I went ahead and embedded a few below for those interested. From the first hand reports coming out of the event at the SRK Forums, there were only a few changes made between the current build and the build seen at the last test. The game's speed has been increased slightly, there are some alternate character colors now available, and a few minor tweaks have adjusted the tier rankings slightly. Chun Li and Ryu also had their character models update that has improved their overall look.
Zangief vs. E. Honda
Vega/Claw vs. E. Honda
Guile vs. El Fuerte
As a side note, several online sources have been claiming that Street Fighter IV popped up on the Capcom European press site this past weekend with several platforms associated with the game. Supposedly (before the site took down the listing), Street Fighter IV was listed for arcades as well as the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. I think it's safe to say that the PS3 and Xbox 360 are practically a given once the time comes for a home console port, but it should be interesting if the PC is also in the game's future... I'll keep an eye out for any more information.
The first location test for King of Fighters XII was supposed to occur in late April, but it was canceled shortly prior to its unveiling by SNK Playmore Japan. Since that time, gamers have been anxious to find out when the next location test would be scheduled, however, little news outside of a generic (un-dated) flyer has been shown off since.
Earlier today, SNK Playmore Japan updated their news site with a small blurb about the current status of King of Fighters XII. It seems we are going to have to wait just a bit longer for any new updates about the game or its location test, as SNK Playmore Japan has went ahead and notified everyone that any planned location tests are now canceled until further notice due to technical reasons.
From what I've heard, the game is playable and is amazing, so I wonder what the motivations for the delay were... Technical reasons can end up spanning so many different angles, so it's a bit hard to even speculate what may be going on inside SNK Playmore Japan right now. Hopefully it won't be too long before a new series of tests are re-scheduled and the public can get some hands on time with King of Fighters XII.
As promised, earlier today Capcom announced the location and date for the latest (and perhaps last) location test for Street Fighter IV. The location test will be held this weekend, May 23rd - 25th at the Hey Akihabara arcade as well as Sega's AViON in Osaka. The game's official website has been updated to reflect the announcement.
It's been a while since I've posted any new Street Fighter IV news (outside of the DIMPs information from EGM)... Despite the introduction of Rufus (???) and the return of the original Street Fighter 2 'Kings', I haven't been as excited about the game over the past few months as I was when it was first announced. I'm sure it's going to be all sorts of amazing, but I guess in some ways all of the recent pessimism has started to wear down on me a bit.
I'm not blameless in this I know... Reading over some of my older posts on the game I realize I come off somewhere between cautiously optimistic to outright cynical at some of the directions Street Fighter IV has taken with its development. As much as I've wanted to sing the praises of Capcom for bringing back their flagship fighting franchise, I'm still not convinced that what we are receiving with Street Fighter IV is exactly what the core audience wanted and from the rhetoric from Capcom about wanting to bring back the 'old fans', it's clear that Capcom realizes this.
With that said, I still find myself hopeful about the game and it's possible place as a quality tournament fighter. Overall, most of the complaints have been all stylistic on my part (and from most other people). The 'base', while not very innovative, for all intents and purposes is Street Fighter II with some fun new tricks. Everything has been fairly positive from everyone who has had hands on time with the game, so I am able to admit that my apprehension mostly may be coming from the fact that I haven't been able to have that opportunity yet. I'm ready to be a believer Capcom...
So I'm sure everyone's wondering where this rant is leading. Well, based on a couple of posts over at the 'official Street Fighter IV blog', the next location test for Street Fighter IV will be announced this Tuesday and if that's not enough, based on some foreshadowing in a previous Capcom blog post this may be the last location test for the game. I'm a little shocked about this. While I know that the game is set to be available later this summer, after glancing over the official website for the game I can't help how incomplete everything seems about the game at this stage.
I don't know if this is because of the overly familiar cast of characters (we're essentially being given Super Street Fighter 2 the New Challengers with a whole new set of New Challengers) or the fact that out of the new characters only two really interest me, but for whatever reason, it seems like it should be way too early for Capcom to be naming the next location test the final one. I guess however if the core gameplay has been receiving as many positive reviews as it has been, there really isn't too much that would still be holding the game back.
With 15 characters already revealed and one unrevealed but known (Akuma), I'm not quite sure how many more characters Capcom may have in store for us. I know some people are holding out hope that we may get another handful of characters for the game (with some Street Fighter 3 characters making up a good mix I would hope), so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what Capcom has planned for the final testing cycle. I've been told that the game is going to be making a few US appearances this Summer/early Fall, so even if the game isn't seen again prior to its Japanese arcade release perhaps we may see it stateside before its US release.
I still haven't heard anything in regards to potential US distributors for the game for arcades in the US after some early rumors were circulated. I'm not sure how high this falls on Capcom's level of importance right now, but I'm anticipating that despite an early announcement that the game would be made available by Capcom to US arcades there may be some push back in the company that could be holding back this decision. I guess that's just going to be another one of those things that we are going to have to wait on...
I'll keep an eye on everything Tuesday to see what Capcom reveals in their announcement.
I happened to stumble across two new Jubeat location test videos from Taipei over on Bemani Style courtesy of YouTube user Silentastronomy. While I can't embed the videos in the post due to user request, feel free to check them out here and here.
According to Bemani Style, Jubeat's basic engine is similar to the Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan series. A circle appears in one (or more) of the 16 squares forming the play field. As the circles get smaller, you must hit the corresponding circle with the 'beat' of the song. The concept is simple enough, but like most of the Bemani series the dexterity needed to complete some of the songs in 'perfect' order is a bit mind numbing for me.
Direct a single pixel small hitbox through wave after wave of enemy fire? Easy. Unfortunately, whatever hand eye co-ordination I've built up through the years with training on Dodonpachi doesn't translate very well to Bemani applications...
Neo-Arcadia has put up a couple of links to some reports of this past weekend's BlazBlue location test. From the early numbers, Arc System Works should be rather satisfied with the turn out (and general response) that the game has received so far. A French write-up of the event can be found over at the Versus Fighting Club forums. Based on the commenter's statements and those found at Mainichi Daily News, the play queues for BlazBlue reached upwards an hour or two, with some locations snaking out the entrances of the arcades.
I've embedded a couple of the videos below while I look for a few more sources to report on the location test. The Versus Fighting Club post which I found via Neo-Arcadia is a good start, but I'm hoping that someone has done a bit more in-depth analysis on the playable characters (which may be a bit of a pipe dream due to the nature of location tests). The game looks amazing at least, even with the shoddy YouTube quality...
Last weekend a location test was held in Japan for Virtua Fighter 5R. Of course I missed posting about it prior to the event, but coming to the rescue has been YouTube! and the never-ending supply of user-uploaded videos of the game in action. Probably the best source for the location test videos has been user wannafight.us which has 6 videos from the location test period.
I'm going to try to dissect some of the information that I've seen posted in regards to the test, but until then, I recommend heading over to Shoryuken where a few details have already been posted.
Over at Neo-Arcadia, I just spotted that they posted up the dates for the first King of Fighters XII location test in Japan. SNK Playmore Japan has just recently announced that the game will be on test at the Taito Hey Akihabara arcade as well as a location in Namba Hills in Osaka on April 18th - 20th. The company is currently claiming that the King of Fighters XII build that is being showcased is already 40% completed. I'm just hoping that the recent trend of camera lockdowns doesn't continue with King of Fighters XII... I'm eager to see more footage of the game in action, especially with it being played by live opponents...
[Update] After looking at a couple of other sources, it seems this is all coming out of the May issue of Arcadia Magazine. Kobayan has of the details about the latest issue, including a small outline of Virtua Fighter 5 R...
The first YouTube videos of this weekend's Street Fighter IV location test at Hey Akihabara have officially confirmed the presence of Balrog/Boxer and Sagat in the game. Though neither video is very clear, they do at least offer the first glimpse of the characters in action. According to the videos, Sagat is currently the final boss of the build at the location test. After defeating him, a message pops up thanking the gamer for playing.
Based on some reports I'm reading over on Insert Credit's forums and on the SRK forums, Balrog/Boxer and Sagat have both been spotted at this past weekend's location tests in Japan for Street Fighter IV. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any videos or images pop up of the two characters yet (is Capcom still trying to enforce a no image policy after the second day of AOU?), but if anyone out there has seen the two characters on another link or has taken footage themselves and would like to share either, please let me know. I'm eager to see whether or not this information pans true, but based on the "authority" of at least one of the two sources it seems likely that it's legitimate.
It's interesting to note however, that the official developer's blog for the game had a small write up from this past weekend's test and did not mention the presence of either character... Odd to say the least.
When Famitsu revealed the news that all of the original World Warriors would be returning to the cast of fighters, they also mentioned that they had a few other characters that they were shown that they could not reveal yet. I find it hard to believe that if Balrog and Sagat made the cut that Vega/Claw wouldn't as well to finish off the trifecta of sub-bosses from Street Fighter 2. Part of the reason for the lack of an announcement from the two characters is that Famitsu magazine should be coming out today or tomorrow in Japan. Capcom may be holding off officially revealing the two characters for the magazine.
On another note, Capcom has announced a new location test for Street Fighter IV in Japan at the Hey Akihabara Taito Game Center for this coming weekend. With the official announcement that Capcom is looking for a distribution partner in the US for Street Fighter IV, I wonder if they are going to be putting one or two location tests stateside (most likely on the west coast) for a US location test. I would definitely argue that it would be a great show of support for Capcom USA if they tried to work out those arrangements prior to the Japanese arcade release of the game.
Even though the first hands on time for the public will be this weekend with Street Fighter IV at AOU 2008, Capcom has just announced (via Famitsu) a new dedicated location test for the weekend of February 22nd - February 24th at the Capcom amusement center in Kichijyoji. More than likely it will be the same build that's being featured at the Game Developer's Conference and AOU, but perhaps with some minor tweaks. Street Fighter IV is currently on track for a Summer 2008 release.
I've already sang the praises of Subtle Style's Akatsuki Blitzkampf on the PC and for good reason. The 2D fighting game was a unique foray for a doujin studio; one that demanded attention not only for its obvious stylistic qualities, but also its nods to an era of 2D fighting games that existed prior to the dominance of the influence of Guilty Gear on the doujin scene. For this reason, I've been eagerly soaking up as much information about Subtle Style's arcade "follow up" to Akatsuki Blitzkampf.
This past weekend, a small location test was held showcasing the latest build of the arcade release. tsukache from Youtube! was kind enough to take a couple of videos of the game in action which I've embedded below. I'm hoping that a successful arcade release for Subtle Style will allow for a much wider appreciation of the title. They already have my support.
The official Samurai Spirits Sen website has posted the details for the second location test for the game. The location tests will be held starting on December 20th and will end on December 24th.
The first series of tests had a generally positive reaction from fans aside from a few smaller complaints (lack of blood was the main one). I wasn't quite sure about it at first, but the videos and on hand reports are enough for me to at least keep the game on my watch list. For more information about the tests (which are going to be held at four separate facilities), head over to SNK Playmore's Samurai Spirits Sen page.
Like the previous test, I'll be sure to post some pictures and videos as they show up on YouTube, Stage6, and other sites. I have a friend who I think may be heading to the Game World site, so if he does, I'll also post his hands on thoughts as well.
Anyone else get the feeling that Samurai Spirits Sen is going to turn out to be the better 3D transitional game when compared to Street Fighter IV?
In a series of updates from Capcom on the Fate Unlimited Codes official website, the first location test for the vs fighting game was announced for Taito's Hey Akihabara arcade. The location test will open on December 7th and will run through December 9th. I know someone who is going to be in the area around that time, so I'm hoping to try to get a few details and images from the test so long as everything goes to plan. For more information about the test (including the website address for Taito's Game Center), check out the Fate Unlimited Codes website. A few of the media sections have been updated as well, but most of the images and the videos are the ones that have been floating around the net for the past couple of days.
Over at the official Gundam VS website, a new location test was announced for the upcoming arcade title by Banpresto. For the full details on the arcade, check out the Taito Game Center page here. The location test began earlier today and will last through November 4th. For those looking for some new screen shots, be sure to check out the game's official website as well. Four new images were posted this past week. Nothing too exciting, but enough to show off a bit more of the game in action.
[Last update - 9:14 am, Saturday July 12th]
A leaked image of the character select screen has been floating around now... It showcases the wheel system being used for the location test for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Unfortunately, it doesn't give any sort of hint to the possible number of characters, so I guess we're going to have to keep on guessing. I've heard rumors of around 24-ish, but take those with a grain of salt, as it's anyone's guess right now...
Over at Game Watch, the first location tests have been announced for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. On the weekend of July 10th - July 13th, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom will be in Tokyo at the Akibahara Hey and Ikebukuro GIGO arcades. On July 25th - July 27th, Capcom will then move the tests to Osaka at the Sega Avion center. 
MarkMan over at NeoGaf picked up on a great press release sent out from Aksys and the Los Angeles Anime Expo revealing that Arc System Works upcoming 2D fighting game, BlazBlue, will be having its first US location test July 3rd - 6th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Aksys Games will be handling the location test at the event, which should drive some interest for the fighting game (and perhaps promises for an actual US arcade release considering that Arc System Works has already launched an official US website for the game...).
The first location test for King of Fighters XII was supposed to occur in late April, but it was canceled shortly prior to its unveiling by SNK Playmore Japan. Since that time, gamers have been anxious to find out when the next location test would be scheduled, however, little news outside of a generic (un-dated) flyer has been shown off since. 
As promised, earlier today Capcom announced the location and date for the latest (and perhaps last) location test for Street Fighter IV. The location test will be held this weekend, May 23rd - 25th at the Hey Akihabara arcade as well as Sega's AViON in Osaka. The game's official website has been updated to reflect the announcement.
It's been a while since I've posted any new Street Fighter IV news (outside of the DIMPs information from EGM)... Despite the introduction of Rufus (???) and the return of the original Street Fighter 2 'Kings', I haven't been as excited about the game over the past few months as I was when it was first announced. I'm sure it's going to be all sorts of amazing, but I guess in some ways all of the recent pessimism has started to wear down on me a bit.
Based on some reports I'm reading over on Insert Credit's forums and on the SRK forums, Balrog/Boxer and Sagat have both been spotted at this past weekend's location tests in Japan for Street Fighter IV. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any videos or images pop up of the two characters yet (is Capcom still trying to enforce a no image policy after the second day of AOU?), but if anyone out there has seen the two characters on another link or has taken footage themselves and would like to share either, please let me know. I'm eager to see whether or not this information pans true, but based on the "authority" of at least one of the two sources it seems likely that it's legitimate. 
Even though the first hands on time for the public will be this weekend with Street Fighter IV at AOU 2008, Capcom has just announced (via Famitsu) a new dedicated location test for the weekend of February 22nd - February 24th at the Capcom amusement center in Kichijyoji. More than likely it will be the same build that's being featured at the Game Developer's Conference and AOU, but perhaps with some minor tweaks. Street Fighter IV is currently on track for a Summer 2008 release.
The official Samurai Spirits Sen website has posted the details for the second location test for the game. The location tests will be held starting on December 20th and will end on December 24th. 
In a series of updates from Capcom on the Fate Unlimited Codes official website, the first location test for the vs fighting game was announced for Taito's Hey Akihabara arcade. The location test will open on December 7th and will run through December 9th. I know someone who is going to be in the area around that time, so I'm hoping to try to get a few details and images from the test so long as everything goes to plan. For more information about the test (including the website address for Taito's Game Center), check out the Fate Unlimited Codes website. A few of the media sections have been updated as well, but most of the images and the videos are the ones that have been floating around the net for the past couple of days.
Over at the official Gundam VS website, a new location test was announced for the upcoming arcade title by Banpresto. For the full details on the arcade, check out the Taito Game Center page here. The location test began earlier today and will last through November 4th. For those looking for some new screen shots, be sure to check out the game's official website as well. Four new images were posted this past week. Nothing too exciting, but enough to show off a bit more of the game in action.
