Marvel vs Capcom 3 Galactus Trailer Unleashed!

The Galactic Luchador is here to play!

Some time ago vids of Marvel vs Capcom 3’s final boss filtered onto the web, but were quickly silenced (a bit). Well, some time later, Capcom has finally released the official trailer showing off the Ultimate Bad Guy in the game. You have to hand it to MvC3- there’s no villain bigger than Galactus. You start off the fight battling some metal versions of the main villain team (Wesker, Doom, Akuma and Dormammu), then move onto the Big Kahuna himself. Big G’s pretty excellently rendered, and quite an intimidating sight. Still, while he shouldn’t be a pushover, he shouldn’t be impossible as well. Players can take on the Planet Eater in about a week and a half, when MvC3 is out in stores everywhere.

Tekken Tweets: New Tekken Tag 2 Screens!

Paul and Law give newcomer Jaycee a Welcoming Tag Throw.

Fresh from his latest slugfest with Ono, Tekken Boss Katsuhiro Harada has just posted a few choice screenshots from the upcoming Tekken Tag Tournament 2. This comes on the heels of the recent appearance online of a magazine scan from the latest issue of Arcadia Magazine, showing off several returning characters’ new artworks and some screenshots. Check out the new images in full-size over at Harada’s Twipple.

Lars and his now-young old man get to have a rematch.

So far the game looks pretty gorgeous, but I’m sure all of us are wanting to see it in motion. Just a couple more weeks, dudes- AOU 2011 should be here before we know it. Till then, let’s hope Harada-san doles out some more screens and art.

Devil Jin is back and looks freakin’ awesome.

Lili Rochefort Speaking in French!

“Mon dieu! Sacre Bleu! Escargot!”

It’s been confirmed in past updates from Katsuhiro Harada on Twitter that for Tekken Tag Tournament 2, characters will be speaking their native languages. This will be changing up the way it was done in past games: Lili Rochefort, for example, has been speaking English since her debut in Tekken 5. For TTT2, she’ll be speaking French (the language spoken in Monaco). What would that sound like? Well, one Lili fan on Youtube was intrigued enough to make a simulation video, dubbing over Lili with some French dialogue. Check ot the vid above!
Note: The audio is taken from a French-dubbed episode of the X-1999 anime so they’re not really what Lili should be saying in her win quotes.

My take? I’m gonna miss Lili’s old English voice (maybe they’ll get the same actress, just speaking in French?), but French is a really beautiful language to hear, and that should match Miss Rochefort perfectly. Can’t wait to see/hear TTT2 in action soon!

Ono VS Harada… Round 2, FIGHT!

One shall stand, one shall fall!

Lately Twitter has become a battlefield- well, at least, a mudslinging arena, for the two dueling developers that comprise the leading franchises of the beat ’em up genre today. On one side, Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono, the deceptively jovial producer of the Streetfighter franchise. On the other, Namco-Bandai’s Katsuhiro Harada, iron-fisted director of the Tekken games. Their rivalry started when the two announced the Fighting Game Festival and their companies’ quasi-joint venture in producing two cross-over fighters using both of their iconic titles.

Ono X Harada, in video…

Ono has amped up the conflict, breaking into Namco-Bandai headquarters in the US and vandalizing the premises (well, apparently this was limited to Harada-san’s photographs) and blatantly impersonating Dead Rising’s Frank West. Harada-san attempted a similar invasion of Capcom’s HQ in Japan, but was promptly held up at the lobby when he presented his rather noticeable assault rifle and samurai sword.

Ok, this is really (right..?) all just a continuation of the two producers’ good-natured ribbing at each other as they continue to promote their much-anticipated fighting titles. Supposedly, Ono’s visit to NB USA was to talk about his upcoming Streetfighter X Tekken, which is sadly still very much lacking in any images or video aside from the initial media from months and months ago. Still, he assures gamers that the game IS being developed as of this very moment.

Judging from how long Streetfighter IV and SSFIV took to come out, it may be a bit of time still before we see the Tekken fighters in Capcom’s semi-cartoony/semi-serious graphic style, but perhaps we’ll see more stuff on it by E3 or other game shows later this year. As for Harada’s Tekken X Streetfighter, there’s probably even LESS to see, and supposedly the Tekken team will still be open to fan suggestions on the lineup till the end of the year (no hurry, guys!).

Well, at least fight fans have Tekken Tag Tournament 2 to look forward to in the near future, of which gameplay footage should be available in a couple of weeks when the game appears at the upcoming AOU 2011 Expo on February 18-19. Till then, as has been the case so far, expect screens or art to filter in through the cracks of the interwebs as we inch our way to the gaming shows. More as we get it then!

My Streetfighter X Tekken Match-Up Wish List

I guess that’s why Nina’s called ‘The Blonde Bomb’…

According to what I’ve gathered, Streetfighter X Tekken, the Capcom-developed Cross-over fighter, will be the second game of the Fighting Festival series (which includes the currently-in-development Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and the very-far-away Tekken X Streetfighter). Supposedly Yoshinori Ono and team are going into this title’s development right after their chores with SSFIV Arcade Edition and SSFIV 3D. I also got a tweet response from Ono-san that they will be only taking character suggestions for the roster only for a little while longer, so I guess I should get my ten cents in while he’s still open to it.
So here are my picks for fighters getting thrown into Next Big Mash-up Game. The way I’ve organized my picks is by match-up: a World Warrior corresponding to a nemesis Iron Fist Fighter.

M.Bison vs Heihachi. A no-brainer… these are the two big baddies of either franchise, and both have the seeming-invincibility of Wile E. Coyote. Bison has been obliterated several times but keeps coming back like a psycho-powered Terminator. Heihachi has survived being dropped off a cliff, time-travelling into the dark ages and getting blasted point blank with an mammoth explosion. The Shadaloo Dictator may have flashier powers, but time has proven that a strong enough fist can reach him where it hurts. In the end, maybe it’ll fall to who bribes the referees more.

Guile vs Paul. Once and for all, let’s decide on who has the right to wear the HAIR. Guile’s methodical, deliberate baiting style of fighting may be a hard match against Paul’s steamroller offense, but this should be a pretty good clash between two veteran combatants tested in down-and-dirty brawling.

Dhalsim vs Yoshimitsu. Two very different but very odd fighters match up. Sim with his stretchy limbs and fiery Yoga attacks against Yoshi’s sword techniques and mystical weirdness. Both have teleports and can strike from weird angles and tangents. Who’s more powerful? Who’s more weird? Only one way to find out!

Sakura vs Xiaoyu. These two represent each franchise’s youthful energy. It will be interesting to see how Ling’s style, with her Art of the Phoenix stances translate Streetfighter-style. Sakura’s straightforward offense should be a pretty interesting match against Ling’s deceptive evades and strikes.

Zangief vs King. The iconic grapplers from two worlds clash! Zangief may not have the huge arsenal of moves that King has, but he brings raw power. But ‘Gief may just as easily find himself eating Chain Grapples and a Musclebomber just as easily as he can dispense a Spinning Piledriver.

Makoto vs Asuka. Two hot-headed tomboys, both heirs to martial arts schools and growing up in a boys’ world. Once again, an interesting match-up given Makoto’s penchant for in-your-face, relentless offense versus Asuka’s more versatile style and potent reversals. What will win? Rindou-kan or Kazama-Ryu? Standard Dogi or Hakamas? I wanna know!

Ibuki vs Raven. These two represent the conventional ninja in each of their franchises, complete with shuriken, kunai, smoke bombs, deceptive tactics and efficient killing strikes. Ibuki’s the faster one with an impressive barrage of attacks that come from every direction. Raven on the other hand has an obvious edge in physical strength and enduranbce, plus his own bag of shinobi trickery. This will be a close one.

Karin Kanzuki vs Lili Rochefort Two hot blonde heiresses who both have killer skills to match their killer checkbooks. Both use self-taught martial arts and have tested them against opponents in down-and-dirty streetfights and deathmatches. While Karin and Lili should be a close and deaadly match-up, I think big and burly Ishizaki (Karin’s attendant) is more than a match for old, feeble Sebastian… unless the senior butler turns out to be a super killer werewolf elder master (oh, wait… wrong franchise).

Nina vs Cammy. Though originally matched up with Chun-Li (and in many ways they are kinda matched up, being the first ladies of each franchise), I think Miss Williams is much better ranged against the Delta Red’s former Killer Bee. Both of these blonde bombshells are deadly special forces operatives with similar traumatic cases of amnesia and psychosis. Cammy’s faster and loaded with high-flying attacks, while Nina is more methodical with ground-based grapples. This is one fight that really MUST happen.

Streetfighter X Tekken won’t be happening for a while- but things ARE happening judging from Yoshinori Ono’s recent visit (or invasion is perhaps a better word) of Namco-Bandai’s headquarters in the US. Hopefully there will be more news, perhaps screenshots or even video, coming soon… or at least in the next couple of months. Till then, I’ll be going back to pining for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 then.

Dead or Alive 5 Screenshot?

Are Kokoro and the DOA babes coming to PS3?

This intriguing pic was posted on the Fighter’s Generation Twitter recently, and apparently shows the Menu Screen for an early build of Dead or Alive 5, supposedly for the PS3. As much as I’d love to have a new entry in Tecmo’s sexy brawler, I have a funny feeling this is fake. Kokoro’s character model looks no better from DOA4 (which may be from where it was taken), and everything else can easily be done with some Photoshop work. The inclusion of ‘Chronos’ in the menu, which was the project defunct DOA producer Itagaki was supposedly working on before he left, seems an obvious ploy to rope in fans.
In fact, I’d rather that this really NOT be a look at DOA5, since then I’d be quite dismayed at the apparent lack of improvement of the character models- after such a long time, I’d want the characters to at least look a lot better.

Still, who knows? Maybe this is real… I certainly think that with DOA Dimensions coming out on 3DS, Tecmo-Koei is certainly wanting to go places again with their fighting franchise. We’ll just have to wait and see for more stuff to turn up soon.

Marvel vs Capcom 3 Intro is EPIC!

Up and at ’em, bub!

Just saw what is apparently the full, final intro movie to Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. It’s not hard to go onto Youtube and look for it. Running at almost 4 minutes, the intro shows of a variety of characters in action, including many introduced later in the course of the game’s development such as Phoenix, Rad Spencer, She-Hulk and more.

Unlike the various trailers shown before, the Capcom and Marvel heroes aren’t fighting, but now working together against the powerful villains ranged against them. There’s quite a lot of action, a bit of comedy thrown in at Mayor Haggar’s expense (in a sequence that I think kinda went a bit too long), but the final bit with Ryu and Wolverine should get pulses pumped for some EPIC combat.
Even if the spastic pop-up/pop-in gameplay isn’t quite my speed, I’m quite intrigued enough at the story element of this game to get this mash-up beat ’em up once it launches in a couple of weeks. For now, if you’re not averse to some spoilers, whet your appetites with the intro above.

Tekken Tag 2 Spread in Arcadia Magazine!

Returning fighters’ CG artworks highlight this new article.

We’ve been waiting for a scan or pic for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 from the latest Arcadia Magazine over the weekend, and it’s finally here… posted by Harada-san himself at that! The spread shows off several returning characters’ new portrait artworks, including Lili Rochefort, Devil Jin, Lars Alexandersson and Paul Phoenix.
The few in-game shots show Lili dishing the pain out to her ‘best friend’ Asuka, in one doing a sort of Tag Throw on her. A couple more shots show Paul and Law giving newcomer Jaycee a bit of a welcome… with a tandem attack.

More characters, art and ingame action to ogle.

As far as I can tell, the spread is mainly just a feature to announce the game appearing in the upcoming AOU 2011 Expo, which is set for February 18-19. TTT2 will be playable there, so everyone is expecting videos aplenty to make up for the current drought of media from this much-anticipated arcade brawler.

You can check the original scan over here or at Katsuhiro Harada’s Twipple. It’s not very big, but I’m sure that cleaner, higher-res versions of the art and images in this article should make their appearance online in due time. More as we get it, then.

Marvel vs Capcom 3 Boss Fight: Galactus, Baby!

The bigger they are, the hard- OH MY FREAKIN’ GOSH! He’s BIG!

Here’s a vid of Marvel Vs Capcom 3’s BIG, bad boss, Galactus. The Devourer of Worlds himself, in the cosmic-powered flesh. You apparently battle clone versions of a boss team before taking the Big Kahuna himself. Like Onslaught and Abyss in previous MvC games, Galactus is HUGE, taking up most of the screen while your teeny-tiny fighters chip away at him with their best. The Big G just may take the cake for the largest boss yet in a fighting game, and if you fail at beating him he takes the Earth! Well, study the vid while it’s up (who knows if Capcom doesn’t have it taken down) so you can do better at defending us all from cosmic doom in a few weeks.

Marvel vs Capcom 3 has a Character Model Viewer, Mission Mode

X-23 shows off her goods.

What do you get for saving the world? Scratch that, what do you get when you save two worlds? Well, apparently in Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, you get a Character Model Viewer which lets you ogle the fighter you just beat the game with. PlayrBitz just posted several vids of the viewer along with the game’s Mission mode. Check ’em out! It’s only a few more weeks till some Marvel-Capcom Mashing!

Every good fighting game needs a Mission Mode!