fighting games

Why Kitana is My Favourite Mortal Kombat Character

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Recently, the ninja princess armed with bladed fans was revealed to be the latest character included as part of Mortal Kombat 11‘s base roster. Though she’s a fan favourite, her late reveal relative to the game’s release date gave me concerns that she wasn’t going to make it this time. Thankfully, she and I will have the chance to slice and dice again!

Though she didn’t solidify herself as my favourite Mortal Kombat character until Mortal Kombat 9, she’s always been near the top of my list. Here’s why!

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Mayflash Magic-NS Wireless Controller Adapter Review

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The Nintendo Joy-Con controllers work great in portable mode, and serve as a handy way for 2-player action when no other controller options are available. However, as a standalone controller in the Joy-Con grip, it falls well short of the standard. Buying a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller isn’t cheap, and you still might prefer the feel of the PlayStation or Xbox controllers. For me, I want to play fighting games with a fightstick, but I’m not ready to pay hundreds of dollars for one just to use on the Switch.

Enter the Mayflash Magic-NS. This USB adapter is designed to let Switch players use a number of different controllers from outside of the Nintendo Switch ecosystem. I recently picked one up to address my fightstick needs, but I also tried it with my DualShock 4 and Xbox One Controller.

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Something I’m Only Noticing Now About the Samurai Shodown Franchise

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Prior to the announcement of Samurai Shodown getting a new entry in the series this year, I started getting reacquainted with the original. My nostalgia for the franchise primarily comes from playing the 3DO version at a computer store demo kiosk. Back then, I didn’t really understand how to play fighting games well.

During my time with the SNES port and more recently, the arcade port to the Switch, I noticed something odd about the game that I didn’t notice before. Unlike almost every fighting game I’ve played that was released after Street Fighter II, Samurai Shodown didn’t seem to have much in the way of combos. For the last little while, I chalked that up to this being the first game in the series, or me not knowing what I was doing.

Most recently, while watching gameplay footage coming out of PAX East of the new game, it appeared that the lack of combos carried over. What’s going on here?

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Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid Review

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For a franchise rooted in hand-to-hand combat, you’d think that the Power Rangers would have a larger foothold in the fighting game space. Save for a bad SNES fighter with the most legendarily overpowered fighting game character of all-time and a mobile game that I think is doing well, they generally steer clear of the genre that probably makes the most sense.

Finally, the world is getting a Power Rangers fighter in the modern era. Published by nWay Games and developed with the help of professional fighting game players Clockw0rk, ShadyK, and Justin Wong, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid aims to provide the thrills of a Marvel vs. Capcom style fighter at a fraction of the price.

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First Time Playing Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid

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It’s Morphin’ Time! I put on my tightest spandex and throw down in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid! Since it’s day one, the level of play is very rough, but you can get a sense of how the game works and what’s possible with more practice!

Never miss a stream by following my channel and turning your notifications on! You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram for stream updates and other cool stuff posted daily!

Buy the Nintendo Switch from Amazon.com

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Kickstart Guide to Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid

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Go! Go! Power Rangers!

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid pits the legendary warriors in spandex in a 3v3 fighting game similar to Marvel vs. Capcom and Dragon Ball FighterZ. While its controls and gameplay systems have been simplified somewhat relative to other tag fighters on the market, you’re going to have to put in the elbow grease in order to access the most damaging combos, head-scratching mix-ups, and brick wall defense. This is by no means a comprehensive guide to the game, but here are a few pointers to get you ready for morphin’ time!

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The Importance of Finding Game Reviews and Coverage from Sources You Trust and Can Connect With

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At a certain point in my life, I became incredibly picky about where I get my fighting game coverage and reviews from.

Don’t get me wrong. I love sites like IGN, Gamespot, Giant Bomb, and Kotaku for their ability to provide news and reviews first. I will go to them to get a sense of what a fighting game’s broader feature set is. I love independent bloggers for being able to provide their personal insight and touch in ways that more generalist sites cannot. Will turn to them for stories about how they had fun with the game or logs of their personal progress in a fighter.

But when it comes to looking for information that will help me inform my purchase on a fighting game, these outlets are not adequate with answering the hyper-specific questions I have about a game. My most recent quests for information pertaining to Samurai Shodown and Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid served as a reminder of that.

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Join Me for Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid Tonight at 8:00pm EST

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It’s (almost) Morphin’ Time! Join me tonight at 8:00pm EST for our first stab at Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid on the Nintendo Switch! I love tag-based fighting games, and this one has fighting game pros like Clockw0rk, Shady K, and Justin Wong as part of the development team! It might be a budget title, but I’m hoping it punches above its weight class!

Never miss a stream by following my channel and turning your notifications on! You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram for stream updates and other cool stuff posted daily!

Buy the Nintendo Switch from Amazon.com

[Purchasing through this Amazon affiliate link gives me a small commission without adding any extra cost or effort to you. Thanks for your support!]

Warming Up to Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid

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The bar for fighting games in modern times is higher than ever.  From AAA efforts like Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and Mortal Kombat 11, to indie titles like Skullgirls and Pocket Rumble, the genre is now packed with games that are built with smart combat mechanics, accessibility, depth, balance, and tournament viability in mind. Even licensed games like Dragon Ball FighterZ headlined the EVO main stage while outselling previous Dragon Ball fighting games by making a title that appealed to both fans of the show and the hardcore tournament crowd.

Though I’ve had my concerns about the upcoming Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid due to it being a licensed game and featuring mediocre graphics, the fact that Justin Wong was working on the game as a balance consultant gave me hope that this might not be a cash grab. After watching the game’s first live stream, I have more hope that this will reach the standard set by other competitive fighting games on the market.

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What I Want to See in an ARMS Sequel

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Having sold over two million copies and ranking as the 8th most played game on the Nintendo Switch in 2017, the odds of the ARMS franchise returning in some form are pretty high. While we may not see a sequel for quite some time based on Nintendo’s track record of generally releasing only one game of each franchise on a platform, here’s a few things I would want to see in a successor to ARMS!

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