Street Fighter x Tekken Gets Fresh out of TGS

Fresh for Tokyo Game Show '11, Capcom has pushed out a new trailer for Street Fighter x Tekken, revealing some new characters and gameplay nuances. Rolento? Fuck yes, I've been begging for this guy in a Street Fighter game, as he was one of my favorites in Street Fighter Alpha 2, also known as the greatest Street Fighter game ever made. Also confirmed are Heihachi, Zangief, Rufus, and some chick named Lili. Lili? Beats the hell out of me. Capcom has also taken the liberty of adding two more joke characters in the form of Toro and Kuro, stick figure cats with huge heads created by Sony Computer Entertainment (PS3 and Vita exclusive). If your game features a big brown bear that farts in a fighter's face - very mature - why not add a few fighting felines?

In addition to new characters, the beans have been spilled on more of the game's mechanics. Most notable is Pandora, a colorful space cube that has the world warriors all purple and bothered. Is this Street Fighter x Tekken's attempt at story? Aw, how cute. In the vein of Marvel vs. Capcom 3's X-Factor, Pandora appears to gives its user a huge boost in power, in exchange for sacrificing their partner's entire life. It sounds like an even trade, but I'm sure it ain't. Ten bucks says Pandora starts way overpowered, with a post-release patch necessary to tune it down. Typical Capcom. 

Some other neat additions are 4-player tag battles, where each player controls one character. This practice should be the norm in tag battle games now, so I'm glad Capcom is adopting the idea. Also, the absolutely insane 4-player simultaneous battle, which is what it sounds like. Fun but head-spinningly confusing. You can practice your tag combos in online training mode, with a buddy across the country, and configure to automatically join an online battle against two others with your partner in tow.

Street Fighter x Tekken is going to be a solid game, there's no doubt about it. The real question is, will Super Street Fighter x Tekken cost $60 when it releases in early 2013?

Update: Joystiq has corraled some info from Capcom's Seth "S-kill" Killian, and it turns out Pandora has stipulations. It can only be activated when one of your characters has less than 25% health, and immediately kills that character. The surviving tag partner will have an unlimited EX meter for 8 seconds, after which that character will also die. Now that's a last stand.

Soul Calibur is Back with Style

That guy in the header image of this post? That's Daishi Odashima, hot shot designer, snappy dresser, and integral member of Project SOUL, the dudes behind the Soul Calibur games. The past weekend, Odashima-san cryptically tweeted "SC is back! Get ready, fans!" along with the above image attached.

Fine ass shirts, a replica Soul Calibur, drawings of the Calibur and the Edge, and a cold emotionless stare. This guy means business! Soul Calibur IV is still one of my favorite fighting games, so if the next installment is anywhere near as intense as the last (and as that shirt), I'm ready to return to the stage of history.

Some Things Should Not Mix

Written by contributing author Pedi Talai

As a short, dorky, buck-toothed 9 year old, I would play video games alone on most days. I didn't have many friends, the combination of little league baseball and video games were my modern day beer and masturbation. Video games were my escape from reality. A reality where getting picked on and staying up all night from reading Goosebumps was the norm. My game of choice was Tekken, my second game of choice was Street Fighter 2. The games I enjoyed the most were each other’s enemies. Usually you liked one or the other, but as a freak of nature, I was obsessed with both. They each stood for something, each different in their own way.

Let me make this clear, Tekken and Street Fighter were enemies. They were rivals, competing for a place in gamers’ hearts, begging to be fed quarters at the local arcade. Their cabinets were always next to each other, longing for attention and change like the local crack head. The people that played one typically stayed away from the other. I enjoyed this rivalry, maybe it was because I was a spoiled brat that owned both. Or maybe, because in a weird sadistic way, I was happy they didn't like each other. Regardless, it was what it was. It was the same thing as Dodgers vs. Giants, or Red Sox vs Yankees. Society accepted and thrived off of their hatred. They almost needed to hate each other, as they were competing in the same genre, for the same demographic.

Then something strange happened. That's putting it lightly, something anarchic. To me it was the equivalent of Ralph Nader and Dick Cheney taking turns giving each other piggy back rides and sharing a single Push Pop. It was like the pretentious hipster in high school trying out for quarterback and dating a cheerleader. What could be this twisted, you ask? The answer is hard to fathom, to speak, even to type; Tekken and Street Fighter are going to be in the same game. Why did this happen? How could this be? It's called Street Fighter X Tekken? When I found out, I did what any sane human would do; drank a bottle of whiskey, shaved my chest, and passed out. The next morning I woke up and stared thoughtfully out my window, wondering if it was just a dream. I turned on my computer and Google searched Tekken X Street Fighter. It was not a dream, this was really happening. These enemies were taking the easy way out. It was like being a virgin and buying a hooker to own up to the brutal truth that you probably weren't going to have sex any time soon. For God’s sake, at least keep trying. 


Over my right shoulder, an angel speaks to me. She calms my nerves, and tells me this may actually be okay. She has big, pierced breasts full of Kool-Aid and Reeses Pieces. "Everything is going to be perfect. You can now combine your favorite characters from each game, and do what you’ve secretly always wanted to do. You can even tag out and swap characters with more of your favorite characters from each series. You don't need to play any other fighting game again, this is it big boy. Namco is even making another game with the same theme, called Tekken X Street Fighter, so you can use Street Fighter characters in the Tekken engine! Be happy, this is going to be great!"

Immediately after she concluded, the Devil on my left shoulder retorted. "This is ridiculously stupid. The World Warriors fighting the Kings of the Iron Fist? Yoshimitsu Isn’t supposed to fight Ken. You mean they’re making Street Fighter X Tekken, AND Tekken X Street Fighter? Why are there two different games? If they’re going to try and pull off this stupid idea, why can't they just package it in two discs? One disc you use the Tekken engine, and the other, Street Fighter engine. This is a poor excuse to make money and to try and bring the world together. There will never be world peace, so quit wasting our time by acting like there will be!"

I don't know how to feel anymore. If I buy these games will I lose respect for myself? What if I actually enjoy these games? I don't have answers for these questions and needless to say, I am confused.

Pedi's first time flipping someone off was when his mother wouldn't buy him Street Fighter 2. Three years later he staged a burglary on his own house, fooling his parents into believing their television and Super Nintendo were stolen. Pedi set up the missing equipment in his closet, where he finally had his very own gaming haven. 

Preview: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

Is there something wrong with me? People within the game journalism game are game for gushing over this game. Me, not so much. Don't get me wrong, it looks good. The action seems fun, the graphics are incredible, but something about Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is rubbing me the wrong way.

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GC10: Knights Contract is a Tough Old Bastard

Knights Contract, a game that opened my eyes back during E3, has returned with a brand new trailer for us to salivate over. It's bittersweet, since it's all cinematic and no gameplay, but that's not turning me off. The gameplay previously shown is good enough for me to trust the action will be hot and fast, like a night in the sack with yours truly. 

This trailer seems to establish our heroes' identity in Europe during the middle ages, facing overwhelming odds against bloodthirsty beasts. The protagonist is a scarred up, grizzled old badass who grunts off cannonball-sized holes in his stomach with the surliness of a true immortal. His ladyfriend is a reincarnated witch of immense power, who he hopes to keep alive long enough to reverse his "curse" of immortality. Curse? Am I the only one who thinks being immortal would be crazy?

Knights Contract, due out on PS3 and 360 in 2011, looks like a hybrid of Ninja Gaiden, Demon's Souls, and Monster Hunter. Sounds like a great mix. I'm looking forward to seeing more in the future, let's hope this one doesn't disappoint.

Street Fighter X Tekken; Capcom Stepping Their Game Up

Capcom is really putting in work lately. The clever way they're handing the Dead Rising 2 demo, the frantic, combo driven pace of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the head-spinning cross-series gameplay of Mega Man Universe, and the downloadable, online play enabled version of Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Capcom is doing big things! 

Biggest of all may be the Capcom and Namco powered fighter, Street Fighter X Tekken. Many rumors were building toward this, but now we have solid confirmation from Capcom themselves. We've been told that Street Fighter X Tekken will play and look similar to SFIV, and while Capcom works on that title, Namco will be working on the separate title of Tekken X Street Fighter, which will play like the Tekken series. The two developers will NOT work with each other for these titles. I'm sensing there's a bit of a friendly rivalry to see who will make the better game. Which sounds more appealing, the fireballs and over-the-top ultra moves of Street Fighter, or the grounded, combo-heavy realism of Tekken? 

So far we've only seen the respective series' poster boys, Ryu and Kazuya, go at it in the Street Fighter X Tekken engine. And interestingly enough, there seems to be some sort of tag or assist mechanic, with Ryu calling on Chun Li during his super combo, and Kazuya summoning Nina. We're still in the dark about many of the game's details, understandably so, since Capcom states Street Fighter X Tekken is still a good two years from release. Ano who knows when we'll get any solid details or media on Tekken X Street Fighter. In the meantime, enjoy the two videos below; a CG trailer done in SFIV's brush stroke art style, and shaky-cam footage of Ryu vs. Kazuya. Watch 'em! Also here are some dope stills from Capcom-Unity.

Update on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 8:30AM by Ernie

Figures a day after I post a story about how Capcom is doing their thing and other developers need to take notice, Kotaku reports Capcom's profits fell nearly 91% in the last quarter.