Fighting Games Friday: The Great Fighters of the World
I can’t help but laugh at all the times I thought fighting game news would slow down following the conclusion of convention and tournament season, since that clearly didn’t happen. I was well aware of the fighting game schedule at the time, so I should have expected constant updates for upcoming games and those receiving downloadable content to continue. This week was another busy one, where nearly every publisher with an upcoming fighting game or updates for their current one had news to share.
It seemed like Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja were done sharing character reveals for Dead or Alive 6, given how long it had been since the last one. But they likely pushed some back thanks to the two-week delay. The newest one is Raidou, the main boss of the original Dead or Alive… mostly. He was killed by Kasumi and Ryu Hayabusa (also of Ninja Gaiden) in that game, but has been reassembled in a cyborg form by new character NiCO. But the only way he can reach full power again is through finding another character with similar powers, who happens to be… Honoka? Sure, okay. DOA6 will release on March 1st, and there might be more characters to share before release, since four non-guest characters from previous games are still missing.
The second season of Dragon Ball FighterZ officially kicked off this week with the arrival of its first two characters: Jiren and Videl. Both characters were announced during the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour finals, and while the former was fully expected, the latter was a nice surprise. Both characters seem formidable from current playtesting, though keep in mind it’s still early. It will take time for players to find tricks or flaws with each of them. The season will have six characters total, the final two of which will be Broly: BR and Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta from Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The next two are currently unknown, but speculation suggests it will be Kefla and Ultra Instinct Goku. Keep in mind speculation can be wrong.
The final DLC character for Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT is Snow from the Final Fantasy XIII games, who fit the clue of being a male character from the latter half of FF titles. Interestingly, Square Enix is using the darker and brooding version from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII as the base. The gameplay video shows how this is party because this version has more techniques at his disposal, thanks to being infused with dark powers. (I almost said “darkness” due to having Kingdom Hearts on the brain.) But it would be a surprise if this wasn’t also partly due to the LR version bearing a portion of his chest, which is some FF fans enjoy. Snow will arrive sometime this month, along with additional music already added to the arcade version.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate received an update this week, which added a laundry list of minor upgrades to the main game and character balancing. But the biggest is the addition of Piranha Plant as a playable character, who was a free preorder DLC character for a short time. He’s reportedly a unique addition, and players are enjoying that aspect of him. It may not be too long before Joker from Persona 5 is shown, who the developers started working on shortly after he was confirmed as a DLC character at The Game Awards in December.
Arc System Works and developer APlus Games previously mentioned how protagonist Satsuki would have a new outfit for Kill la Kill the Game: IF, and boy were they not kidding. The anime series’ outfits for Ryuko (the anime’s protagonist) and Satsuki were very scantily clad, but this “Junketsu Shinzui” one (scroll down) takes it to the next level. It should provide a lot of, uh, mobility, I guess?
Both Satsuki and Ryuko will have dual wielding variations, with Satsuki wielding the Bakuzan-Kouryu and Bakuzan-Gako and Ryuko wielding the Rending Scissors. More details about the playstyles will be explained at a later date, before the game’s release sometime this year.
NetherRealm confirmed that Kano will return in the recently revealed Mortal Kombat 11. He should be very familiar with anyone who’s even heard of the franchise, and this version looks even more like the late Trevor Goddard’s well-remembered portrayal from the first film in the 90s. Gameplay footage featuring him should be shown soon, considering it’s releasing on April 23rd.
Several who’ve kept their eyes on character reveals for Jump Force had one top question: Where exactly are the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure characters? It’s still one of the more popular Shonen Jump franchises around (even though the last two Parts haven’t been in the magazine), but after months of silence, fans were getting concerned. You thought they might reveal other characters, but it’s him, Dio! There’s also Jotaro Kujo, who was leaked when an ad accidentally went live on Instagram too early last week. Both are appearing in their Stardust Crusaders forms, which is necessary for recreating the series’ final battle.
The World will be able to experience Jump Force on February 15th. More characters could be revealed within the next two weeks, but some will undoubtedly be saved until after its release, given the existence of the Season Pass.
Sure, not every title received news this week — SNK is still remaining tight-lipped about the upcoming Samurai Shodown revival, while there were no updates on Fighting EX Layer from Arika, for instance. But this was more than enough. I’m not even going to bother making predictions for next week, since I’ve learned my lesson. Though I’m curious as to how much news it will have, or whether it will provide a break. We’ll find out.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
