Daigo Umehara's Event Schedule 2015

- Canada Cup's Master Series [January 9-11]
- 5th Niconico Shotenkaigi [January 18]
- Yonpahi radio show [January 23]
- 6th Niconico Shotenkaigi [January 25]
- Taipei Game Show [Jan 31]
- Tokaigi 2015 [Feb 1]

Friday, May 30, 2014

Taito corrects mistakes in USF4 change list

Taito has announced today that there're some errors in the balance change list of USF4 that was released on May 23 for Japan. A corrected version is released today.

Konami launches Cloud gaming for arcades

It's announced that Konami's Cloud gaming service for arcade games has begun since yesterday in Japan.

The service, called e-AMUSEMENT CLOUD, lets you play selected arcade games from home using PC, including playing against players in the game centers from around the country via Internet. Whether you play in the game centers or at home, the data will be saved in the Cloud.

This service won't steal people from the game centers because its service time limits to between 22:00 to 10:00.

Two games, a mahjong game and a Japanese chess game, are supported at launch.

First gameplay of 4 new characters in DBFC

Four new characters were announced for Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, and there was already a location test. But this's the first gameplay video of them.

The video was from last night's Denjin Geccha where the game producer from Sega (red shirt) and planner from French Bread (eyeglasses) came to promote the game.



These characters will be added via an update in June.

[Video] P4U2's new character Ken Amada & Koromaru

New character Ken Amada and Koromaru (counted as one character) from Persona 3 was announced for P4U2, and Atlus has posted an intro video yesterday. Additionally, a video introducing Golden Arena Mode is also posted. The mode will let players fight and grind for EXP (and level up) to strengthen the character's parameters or unlock new skills (max 4, old ones can be discarded). Approximate 150 skills will be available. Some rare or exclusive skills can also be obtained by defeating a boss character or increasing rank of Social Links.

Persona 4 Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold (also officially called P4U2) will be released on August 28 for PlayStation 3.




Thursday, May 29, 2014

Niitsuma's tweet hints about new fighting game?

From Ryota Niitsuma's latest tweet.

Some people in my company said "If you're talking about working with licensed stuff, it's this guy*." Come to think about it, so I'm the only one who worked with Shogakukan**, Shueisha***, Tatsunoko Pro, Marvel? (laugh)

Is this a hint of something? Well, we'll just say new Fate/Stay Night fighting game with Marvel engine. This wild guess comes from the fact that Capcom made Fate/Unlimited Codes (and Tiger Colosseum) and new Fate/Stay Night anime (remake) is coming this Fall. And it makes sense.

*refer to Niitsuma
**Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple
***JoJo HD

TOPANGA TV to replace Bon-chan with Momochi

It's announced tonight on TOPANGA TV that the show will replace Bon-chan with Momochi as cohost.

On next week's TOPANGA TV, Momochi will make his debut and Bon-chan will cohost for the last time.

Bon-chan will still cohost Kachitagari TV on Tuesday however.

Just last week, Momochi (and ChocoBlanka) has finished moving from Nagoya to Tokyo. So you'll see Momochi more often in the events in Tokyo from now on.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

New DBFC exhibition matches posted

Dengeki posted today new Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax exhibition matches played by 4 top ranked players.

Bob (Kuroyukihime/Leafa) vs. Niga (Kirino/Kino)


Niga (Kirino/Kino) vs. Jin (Asuna/Leafa)

OZ (Shana/Leafa) vs. Jin (Asuna/Leafa)


Bob (Kuroyukihime/Leafa) vs. OZ (Shana/Leafa)


Bob (Kuroyukihime/Leafa) vs. Jin (Asuna/Leafa)


OZ (Shana/Leafa) vs. Niga (Kirino/Kino)


Love Live!'s Nozomi joins Mad Catz

Karipaku, the Cody player who seems to be into Love Live! recently, posted her new work just now. It's a fanart of Love Live!'s Nozomi Toujou wearing Mad Catz T-shirt.


(Here, in case you wonder why no Kotori)

Rare photo stickers of Umehara posted by Justin Wong

Justin Wong revealed today photo stickers from the past featuring Daigo Umehara, Ricky Ortiz, Kindevu, and himself.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Shining Hearts/Blade/Ark get price cut

Sega announced today that Shining Hearts, Shining Blade, and Shining Ark on PlayStation Store will get price cut starting from today.

  • Shining Hearts PSP the Best now 907 yen (from 1,619 yen)
  • Shining Blade PSP the Best now 1,389 yen (from 2,476 yen)
  • Shining Ark now 1,389 yen (from 5,333 yen)

For people who are interested in Blade Arcus but never played the RPGs, this's a chance to learn more about the characters.

Notes
- These are PSP games, but also playable on PS Vita. You need a Vita memory card that ties to JP account.
- To add money to JP account, you can buy code of JP PSN card from online store such as play-asia.com. (Buy only code, not actual card)
- These are Japanese RPG. English version doesn't exist.

Monday, May 26, 2014

TOPANGA announces Swiss-system tournament for 3 regions

It's announced that "TOPANGA Banzuke" USF4 tournament will be held in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. The top 2 of each region will earn the right to compete in Taito Station's Grade B (as what they call) tournament finals in October.

The tournament will use Swiss-system (Swiss draw) and take place between June 1 to August 10.

Other details
- First to 2
- Play 2 matches/2 opponents a day
- Play 4 days
- Character is fixed when register
- Entry fee 300 yen
- Accepting 128 players each regions

Ushiromiya Mansion Serial Murders Incident revealed

After praying every night for Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross to get Steam release, this's what we got....

A TABLETOP GAME WITH UMINEKO NO NAKU KORO NI THEME WITH COSPLAYERS ON THE CARDS

Ushiromiya Mansion Serial Murders Incident (右代宮邸連続殺人事件), by 07th Expansion (OMKC maker), will be released on June 1. It's a tabletop game based on One Night Werewolf and The Resistance (video below), where players of one team have to identify a player of the opposing team.

Dengeki has an article about this game today
- For 4 players: 3 survivors, 1 killer
- The objective of the survivors is to pass the time (in-game) 10 hours (so polices can come and rescue in the morning)
- The killer can stop the progress by secretly voting an event card to fail (using face-down X card)
- The survivors must vote pass to an event (using face-down O card)
- An event fails if a X card appears (open one by one, ignore the rest)
- The survivors must gather a clue for deduction, then prevent the killer from voting an event
- There're 7 event cards in a game (distributed randomly at the beginning)
- Event cards require 1-3 players to vote
- An event card that requires 2 players gives 2 hour if cleared
- An event card that requires 3 players gives 3 hour if cleared (but also higher chance to get the killer involved)
- Players take turn to choose an event card and who else to participate the voting
- Each player who participates in an event will temporarily have a set of O and X card for voting
- One face-down O or X (X at 1/5 ratio, then 1/4 after a failed event) is randomly added to each voting so an event can be accidentally voted X (making an survivor look suspicious)
- For example: an event that requires 2 players will have 3 votes (face-down)
- An event card that requires 1 player can create an alibi OR doubt by accident
- The killer can vote O to an event to gain trust, fooling the survivors to choose him for next event


[OMKC] New matches videos from J

J, the top Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross player (even said to be the best), has uploaded his new online matches video last night.

Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross has the deepest system in any fighting game and has no comeback mechanic, so the gap between top player and the players who "autopilot" is huge. You'll find in these videos that people who play without a plan, or don't do meter management, or don't know when to burst will be punished like no other games will.



  1. (J) Ronove & Rosa vs. Chiester 410 & Bernkastel
  2. (J) Kanon & Battler vs. Virgilia & Lucifer
  3. (J) Jessica & Eva vs. Jessica & Eva
  4. Willard & Erika vs. Black Battler & Ange (J)



  1. (J) Willard & Shannon vs. Kanon & Shannon
  2. (J) Willard & Shannon vs. Kanon & Ronove
  3. (J) Willard & Shannon vs. Jessica & Eva
  4. (J) Willard & Shannon vs. Lucifer & Willard

[OMKC] New combo video by J

J, the top Ougon Musou Kyoku player, has uploaded his new combo video last night. This's mostly Eva's jello setup.



Saturday, May 24, 2014

Blade Arcus character survey shows surprising result

Yesterday on Denjin Geccha, there was a realtime survey from Shining series producer Sawada on the topic "Which one of these you want to add to Blade Arcus?" The result was surprising, because Melty (voiced by Rie Kugimiya) dominated the rest, including Misty (voiced by Yukari Tamura) who's supposed to be very popular.

Result
  1. Rouna (19.5%)
  2. Misty (15.5%)
  3. Urayukihime (15.4%)
  4. Melty (49.5%)



Anyway, we already know that Rouna and Melty are in the roster from the hint day one.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Sega's FG event in Sendai to have Blade Arcus

It's announced that Beast Note's most anticipated fighting game Blade Arcus will be playable at Sega's APM fighting game event in Sendai on May 25.

The event will be streamed on Niconico starting 13:00 JST.

Details of the event
  • Playable Blade Arcus
  • Playable Koihime Enbu
  • 16-man Guilty Gear Xrd tournament
  • 16-man Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Arcade tournament
  • 16-man Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax tournament
  • Itabashi Zangief as MC
  • Special guest Sachika Misawa (Kuroyukihime voice actress)
  • Special guest Nagisa (again)

USF4 Ver.1.01 change list released, special stream planned featuring Daigo Umehara

The balance change list of what's called "Ver. 1.01" of Ultra Street Fighter IV is released today for Japan. This contains the changes from original USF4 released in Japan on April 17. You'll also find new detailed information of 4 new characters: Poison (11 changes), Rolento (18 changes), Elena (35 changes), and Hugo (14 changes). For the translation, we'll just let other websites handle it.

Additionally, it's announced that this changes will be demonstrated on a special stream on June 1 (21:00 JST) by Daigo Umehara and Momochi. The latest version of Decapre will also be shown.

R, Nuki, Yuka Kuramochi (model), producer Sugiyama, assistant producer Ayano will come again just like the pre-launch stream.

USF4 final change list released in English

Capcom released just now the final character change list of Ultra Street Fighter IV in English.

Let's look at the changes that affect Daigo Umehara.

Ryu
  • Crouching MK disadvantage on block reduced by 1 frame (-3F → -2F on block)
  • Jump MP 1st hit now cancellable into all versions of Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
  • L, M and H Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku can now be used in air combos
  • EX Hadoken Start-up decreased by 1 frame (12F → 11F)
  • EX Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku hitbox expanded and vacuum effect on hit increased, easier to land all hits
  • L and M Shoryuken → EX Focus Cancel → Forward Dash is now -5 on block
  • EX Shoryuken (1 hit) →EX Focus Cancel → Forward Dash can be followed by all strikes except throws
  • Metsu Shoryuken (UC2) invincibility time increased by 1 frame (8F → 9F)

Evil Ryu
  • Vitality increased by 50 (900 → 950)
  • Crouching MK disadvantage on block reduced by 1 frame (-4F → -3F)
  • Crouching HK start-up reduced by 1 frame (7F → 6F)
  • Target Combo 1 (Close Standing MP → HP) can now be done from Far Standing MP
  • Senbukyaku (6+MK) hitbox greatly expanded downward
  • HK Ryusokyaku start-up reduced by 1 frame (26F → 25F)
  • L, M and H Shoryuken → EX Focus Cancel → Forward Dash is now -5 on block

Yun
  • Far Standing MP damage increased by 10 (50 → 60)
  • Crouching MP damage increased by 10 (50 → 60)
  • Jumping MK active frames reduced by 4 (8F → 4F); Crosses up more often
  • All versions of Zenpo Tenshin now do 1 damage (0 → 1)
  • Ex Zesshou Hohou advantage on block increased by 2 frames (-1F → +1F)
  • Diagonal Jump MK active frames reduced by 4 (8F → 4F); Crosses up more often

Evil Ryu most likely Umehara's new main

When we said Daigo Umehara had been playing Evil Ryu for a while now, some people speculated that he's just checking. The latest news revealed that it's more than that.

TKD reported this morning that Evil Ryu is most likely Umehara's new main.

Out of nowhere, Umehara-san said to me "I found a good character. (smile)"

I thought what's he talking about at first but then I realized that he's talking about Evil Ryu.

TKD is the former El Fuerte player who used to team up with Umehara and Bon-chan and almost won Tougeki 2010. He plays at the same place as Umehara. His main is now Chun-Li.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Nagisa to cosplay at Evo 2014


Nagisa (cosplayer/MC/fortuneteller/model) confirmed last night that she'll attend Evolution for the first time this year. Moreover, she's planning to cosplay at least 2 fighting game characters at the event. (She did mention about Blade Arcus' Altina possibility.)

Nagisa currenrly hosts "Girl Gamer Club" stream on GODSGARDEN's channel on Niconico every Monday. She also often appears as a guest cosplayer in an event.


Monday, May 19, 2014

Koihime Enbu scheduled for this Summer

It's announced that Koihime Enbu will be released in the arcades this Summer (updated from "in 2014").

The second location test of the game is also announced for Club Sega Nagoya Fushimi on May 23-25.

The new Tougeki? Sega's event to feature 5 national tournaments

It's revealed that Sega's arcade gaming event, called "Japan Gamer's Live," will feature 5 national tournaments of 5 arcade fighting games:
  • Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax (August 30)
  • Dead or Alive Ultimate: Arcade (August 31)
  • Guilty Gear Xrd (August 30)
  • BlazBlue Chronophantasma (August 30)
  • Persona 4 The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold (August 30)

It's basically DBFC and DOA5UA national tournament combined with Arc Revolution Cup 2014. More or less, it's a collaboration between Sega, Koei Tecmo, Arc System Works, and Atlus.

Japan Gamer's Live will be held at Tokyo Big Sight TFT Hall on August 30-31. It'll also feature other arcade games (non-fighting) and some free trial. Talk show and live performance are also planned.

In 2012, it was announced that Tougeki will be suspended indefinitely (though we can say that it's dead). If JGL continues like this and becomes a yearly event, it'll not simply replace Tougeki, it'll become a better Tougeki as JGL is backed directly by a group of game publishers that is capable.

Happy Birthday Daigo Umehara

Happy Birthday Daigo Umehara!
  • The most famous fighting game player of all time.
  • The role model of fighting game players.
  • The only man who has qualified to top 8 Evolution 5 consecutive years in Street Fighter IV series (the most competitive fighting game globally).

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Shining Resonance announced, character confirmed for Blade Arcus

It's announced that a new RPG from Shining series called Shining Resonance is coming to PS3 this Winter. The game will have "realtime action battle." The famous illustrator Tony is still in charge of character design.

Story outline from ANN
The game's protagonists are Kōryū Iruban, a dragon, and Kiriha Towa Aruma, a maiden who is the inheritor of an ancient legacy of songs. The power of music will strengthen these friends through resonance. The magazine quotes Kiriha, "I'm sorry, but I have no interest in humans. All I want to know is a dragon's heart…." 

Additionally, we can confirm that at least one character from Shining Resonance will be playable in Beast Note's most anticipated fighting game Blade Arcus. The confirmed character is the armored princess named Sonia.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Sako spotted at Taito Station Shinjuku

It's reported that Sako has visited Taito Station Shinjuku Minami-guchi Game World branch this evening to play Ultra Street Fighter IV. As we often mention, the game center has the highest level of competition in the country. This's where Daigo Umehara usually plays.

It's unusual for Sako to be at the place, since he lives in Osaka (500 km. away). We assume that he has some business to do in Tokyo, because it's unlikely for him to purposely come and train there, especially just after having a new family member.

Also reported this evening
- Umehara, Sako, Eita, were playing Evil Ryu. (Umehara's been playing Evil Ryu for a while now.)
- Nuki and Fuudo were also there.

ECT organizers admit to rigging brackets

So East Coast Throwdown organizers made a post here and here to deny the accusation of rigging the brackets ..........by admitting to it.

Summary
  1. Players of 2 big teams found in the brackets next to each other
  2. They were moved so they didn't have to play each other in the next 2 matches
  3. Organizers said it wasn't a rigging, because no one else made them (but what's the difference?)


So What Does This Mean?
  • Next time when you go to ECT, just form one big team so you don't have to play at all. Then potsplit.
  • Any tournament that accepts quota/seed from ECT now has their integrity questionable.

Monday, May 12, 2014

DBFC, DOA5UA national tournament announced

It's announced today that the first national tournament of both Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax and Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Arcade will be held jointly by Sega and Koei Tecmo.

The tournament, called APM Presents D-1 Ultimate Climax, will have qualifying tournaments from July 5 to August 23. The finals will be held at Tokyo Big Sight TFT Hall on August 30 for DBFC and on August 31 for DOA5UA.

[OMKC] Cool combo by Piropii

Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross player Piropii has uploaded his new combo video last night. This time it features mainly weird/fun/cool combos using Willard's SP Cancel and Lambdadelta's candy.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Blade Arcus development 50% complete

Although Blade Arcus is now up and running for its first location test, the developer reportedly said that its development only come to half way.

Blade Arcus was first announced for this Summer for the arcades. It's confirmed by the producer to have at least 10 characters, but Beast Note has already spotted 12 characters with 2-3 unidentified. The first location test build only has 6 characters.

Four new characters coming to Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax

It's announced today that four new characters will be added to Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax this Summer.

Playable characters
  • Miyuki Chiba from The Irregular at Magic High School
  • Taiga Aisaka from Toradora!

Support characters
  • Tatsuya Chiba from The Irregular at Magic High School
  • Ryuji Takasu from Toradora!

Friday, May 9, 2014

First Blade Arcus producer interview

Interview with Blade Arcus producer Tsuyoshi Sawada (his first work was Shining Tears) is posted today.

Summary
- The staff of Studio Saizensen (Shining Hearts/Blade Arcus developer) raised the idea of Shining fighting game.
- Suddenly putting a new fighting game on consoles will be difficult, but since Sega has APM (arcade games distribution network) they can use it promote APM at the same time.
- Choosing partner is a concept of the console Shining RPGs, so it's necessary to have it in Blade Arcus.
- Original characters Ryuga and Pairon are designed for easy to access. They have antiair and projectile, moving attack.
- Ryuga is the first dark hero in Shining series.
- They actually aim for fighting gamers rather than fan of the series.
- It's a footsie-based game.
- The staff had a long argument over whether "Shoryuken" command is considered difficult or not. They don't want it hard for casual players. But their intention is to make this a real fighting game.
- There's no plan for console version.

Blade Arcus theme song revealed

It's revealed today that a Blade Arcus theme song called "Brave Heart: Kagayaki no Kanata e" will be released on May 30 under Souichirou Hoshi's mini album called Little World.

Souichirou Hoshi voiced Rage in Blade Arcus. He's been working on Shining series since 2004.

First Blade Arcus gameplay PV from first location test build

The first gameplay PV from location test build of Blade Arcus is released today.




How to Play Blade Arcus (Location Test ver.)

The location test of Blade Arcus, Beast Note's most anticipated fighting game, has now begun, and we have the first version of how to play already! The things look good. But only time will tell whether it can beat Beast Note's best fighting game of all time Ougon Musou Kyoku.

Please note that how to play here is based on location test build. The game is currently 50% complete and scheduled for this Summer.



Blade Arcus is the upcoming fighting game based on Sega's Shining RPG series. Strictly speaking, the game uses characters mainly from Shining Tears, Shining Wind, Shining Hearts, Shining Blade, and Shining Ark–all which were designed by famous illustrator Tony.

The first thing you'll notice is the characters are all likeable, although that's an understatement. We daresay it has the best roster in fighting games history. But that's not the only good thing about it. Its system is also better than most of fighting games.

Blade Arcus's tag system is rather unique. You can only switch between main character and partner only between a round (after round end), but the partner can provide an attack during the fight via Link Attack (calling assist). The Link Attack, however, borrows some of elements from Ougon Musou Kyoku–Calling for an assist in Blade Arcus allows the player to extend a combo or defend even when taking damage. Blade Arcus also features no comeback mechanics nor air dash.

Control


Lever movement = Same as average fighting games
Tap forward twice = Dash
Tap backward twice = Back Dash

A = Light Attack
B = Medium Attack
C = Strong Attack
D = Support Link (calling assist)

A+B = Throw
A+B+Left or Right = Throw to the direction you want


Gauge/Meter
Support Link Gauge = Short 4 bars.
Force Gauge = Long bar


Force Action
This's what they call typical special move (Hadoken or Shoryuken). It doesn't cost Force Gauge.

Super Force Action
This's what they call typical "Super." Each character has 2 SFAs and all have the same inputs. It costs 100% Force Gauge.

Offensive Force
By pressing B+C while attacking, it returns you to neutral and allows you to continue with another attack. It costs 50% of Force Gauge (cannot activate below that). (This's basically Roman Cancel.)

Link Attack
You can call for an assist by pressing D or D+Left/Right/Down. The timing will determine the type of assists. Furthermore, the direction you tap (Left/Right/Down) affects how your partner attacks.


There're 3 types of assists.
  1. Calling an assist under normal circumstance costs 1 Support Link Gauge. (Can use to extend combo)
  2. Calling an assist when blocking costs 2 Support Link Gauges. (Can use to escape blockstring)
  3. Calling an assist when taking damage costs 4 Support Link Gauges. (Can use to escape combo)

Link Force Attack
Press D during Super Force Action startup will activate an ultimate move involving partner character. It costs all bars–both Support Link Gauge and Force Gauge.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

4th TOPANGA Charity Cup announced

It's announced tonight on TOPANGA TV that The 4th TOPANGA Charity Cup will be held on July 5 (a week before Evo) at Plaza Capcom Iruma (same place as last year). The game is Ultra Street Fighter IV (arcade). The format is still 5 on 5 (but a team of less than 5 is possible). But this year they'll stream via Twitch TV instead of Niconico.

TOPANGA Charity Cup is the biggest community-organized fighting game tournament in Japan, in term of number of well-known players. Last year there were also foreign players like Justin Wong, Ricky Ortiz, and PR Rog. The tournament has raised approximate 2 million yen to the charity over the past 3 years.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Harada interview ..........about Idolm@ster

It's no secret that Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada is into Idolm@ster's Iori Minase. He goes as far as turning his Twitter (46,000 followers) into the character's semi-official one. That's why Famitsu has him in Idolm@ster column today. May 5 is Iori's birthday.



Summary
- Harada used to hate Idolm@ster, because he was forced to play the game to attract customers in a game center. Idolm@ster was something new at the time and not many people play it. Harada who was going back and forth to collect Tekken data at game centers met an angry (game center) owner who told him to do something about it, just because Harada is a Namco employee and must take responsibility. "Play here until the shop closes!" Harada ended up playing it alone until the shop closed, paying from his own pocket.

- Harada then got involved with Idolm@ster again when he was requested Tekken costumes for using in Idolm@ster. He didn't like the idea but complied, because they're in the same company. When he saw Iori in Xiaoyu costume illustration, he had a flashback: "I used to play this girl (Iori) in the game center." "At that time, the owner was mad at me." He then realized that Idolm@ster and its idols share the same destiny, and they've grown popular. It started to grow on him.

- After that, Tekken music composer Akitaka Toyama who went to work on Idolm@ster had consulted Harada about wanting to make a song like Tekken 6's Karma (Electric Fauntain). The song became Next Life. When a test dance scene was made and shown to him, Harada perceived the girls like real people who practiced for their performance. He then formed a connection between him and the idols. That's when he started liking Idolm@ster.

- Harada accidentally tuned into episode 7 of Idolm@ster anime on the TV. He was emotionally moved by the scene of Iori eating bean sprouts. He said Iori is like Lili, a girl from a rich family. Trying to live a life (eating) like common people would be tough. The ability to allow him to observe the private life made him emotional and leads him to watch the entire anime. That's when he started the Iori roleplaying.

- Harada also treats the virtual idols like real colleagues.

- Beside Iori, Harada likes Yukiho whom he wants to see fight with a Russian martial art that utilizes shovel, because Yukiho was seen using shovel a lot. He also finds "lazy prodigy" Miki charming.

- Harada is addicted to (free-to-play mobile game) Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls. He spent a lot of money on the game.

- Regarding of Iori Minase roleplaying on his Twitter, Harada revealed that the person who talks or replies in the girl's manner isn't him, but a real woman.

- Harada has never been to an Idolm@ster concert but want to go.


- The Iori T-shirt that Harada was wearing and all the goods (including the rabbit doll) he paid by himself. His wife was mad when the T-shirt was delivered under COD (cash on deliver). "Why is this T-shirt 8,000 yen! And who is this girl!?"

- Harada's team in Idolm@ster One For All (releasing May 15) will consist of Iori, Yukiho, Miki, Yayoi, and Hibiki. Yayoi is poor, so he thinks it's fun to group her with a rich girl like Iori. He picks Hibiki because she was funny in the anime.

- Star Peace Memory (from anime film) is currently Harada's costume of choice. He said the design was unconventional, but looks good.

- As requested, Harada brought with him an Iori drawing, with a command input of changing into swimsuit. There's no time for coloring so he said he'll let the fans do it. The interviewer pointed out that her breasts are too big, Harada admitted.

Monday, May 5, 2014

USF4 Japanese players impressions 4

TKD (former El Fuerte player) *note that he plays at Shinjuku Taito Station (same as Umehara) which has the highest level competition in the country

S
Sagat, Fei Long, Cammy

A+
Yun, Juri, Adon, Viper, Guy, Rolento

A
Chun Li, Rose, Yang, Evil Ryu, Boxer, Ibuki

B+
Ryu, Akuma, Gouken, Hawk, Guile, Sakura

B
Everyone else

Z Warrior (Dragon Ball Z reference)
Hugo

Uryo
"Sakura becomes harder to play. No significant improvement. Footsie is necessary. And you can't drop a combo now."

Kazunoko
"Umehara-san changing his alias...." (his alias became Umehara, (with comma) breaking the tie with 「Kazunoko)
"I think Yun has quite advantage over Sakura."
"Kindevu using Hawk now?"
"Please don't nerf Rolento's rolls! Though it's better if they do (laugh)"
"Yun now requires more of meter management in USF4."
"When a Hugo challenges me, my first thought is choosing by mistake?"

Reiketsu (Claw player)
"Umehara-san's Hugo repeatedly lost to my Izuna loop and still continued with smile. His love of Hugo knows no bounds. I'm terribly sorry for doing this."
"Umehara-san's Ryu still kills me (Claw) with just Hado and MK."

Desora (Gouken player)
"They should charge only 50 yen for playing Hugo." (average Japanese arcades charge 100 yen a credit)

Koji KOG (Hawk player)
"Haitani-san was filming when I won Dogura-san's Rolento by just doing Condor Spire. Then I realized and kneeled down and said to him (Haitani) 'Please don't upload this. If Capcom finds out Hawk'll get nerfed to death!' It was uploaded anyway."

Wao
(Moaning about Delayed Wakeup but we say let's listen to someone else who don't random Ultra and expect opponent not to block)

Saturday, May 3, 2014

[Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross] New Virgilia Combo video by Aki Horona

Aki Horona, the top Virgilia player, has uploaded his new combo videos tonight. (Note that his last combo video was in 2012.)





For people who don't play this game and wonder why some combos are so long. This game has 2 layers of how to prevent a long combo: "burst" and Meta interruption. You won't eat a long combo unless you got baited and/or play too bad.

Persona 4 the Golden Animation announced

It's announced tonight on the stream that Persona 4 The Golden: The Animation anime will premiere in July.

According to the staff, the new anime will retell the events of the first television anime series, but will include new character Marie. (Via ANN)

Note that 4 Persona games are still waiting to be released this year as below, so this will boost the sales more or less.

  1. Persona Q (3DS) coming June 5
  2. P4U2 (PS3) coming August 28
  3. P4 Dancing All Night (Vita) coming this Fall
  4. Persona 5 (PS3) coming this Winter

Thursday, May 1, 2014

BlazBlue Chronophantasma Vita sold less than DOA5 Vita

Media Create, the well-known Japanese console game market researcher, revealed today (via GAF) that the PS Vita version of BlazBlue Chronophantasma has sold 10,709 copies in its first week.

Note that J-Stars Victory VS (that was released last month) is the best selling fighting game on PS Vita.

As always, we have chart so you can compare.


First week sales of fighting games between 2008-2014 in Japan by Media Create
  1. [PSP] Dissidia Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2009.12.18} - 489,100 | NEW
  2. [PS3] JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.08.29} - 425,718 / NEW
  3. [PSP] Dissidia: 012 (Duodecim) Final Fantasy (Square Enix) {2011.03.03} - 286,117 / NEW
  4. [PS3] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 128,485 / NEW  
  5. [PS3] J-Stars Victory Vs (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.03.19} - 118,240 / NEW
  6. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2009.10.29} - 103,105 / NEW
  7. [PSV] J-Stars Victory Vs (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.03.19} - 97,821 / NEW 
  8. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 3 (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.04.18} - 87,661 / NEW 
  9. [PS3] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 86,000 / NEW
  10. [PS2] Fate/Unlimited Codes (Capcom) {2008.12.18} - 82,900 | NEW
  11. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 80,882 / NEW 
  12. [PSP] Naruto: Shippuden Narutimate Accel 3 (Namco Bandai) {2009.12.10} - 76,596 / NEW
  13. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.21} - 76,088 / NEW
  14. [PS3] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 74,607 / NEW
  15. [PS3] BlazBlue: Chronophantasma (Arc System Works) {2013.10.24} - 72,464 / NEW
  16. [PS3] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 67,187 / NEW
  17. [PS3] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 66,586 / NEW
  18. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm Generation (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.23} - 65,758 / NEW
  19. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.10.21} - 63,675 / NEW
  20. [PS3] Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.09.13} - 62,630 / NEW
  21. [PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 58,471 / NEW
  22. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (Namco Bandai) {2009.11.09} - 57,972 / NEW
  23. [PSP] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny (Bandai Namco) {2011.12.22} - 57,320 / NEW
  24. [PS3] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 54,924 / NEW
  25. [PSP] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Impact (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.10.20} - 53,148 / NEW 
  26. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (Arc System Works) {2010.07.01} - 49,871 / NEW
  27. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.11.11} - 47.610 / NEW
  28. [3DS] Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (Capcom) {2011.02.26} - 44,649 / NEW
  29. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi (Bandai Namco Games) {2011.12.08} - 44,593 / NEW
  30. [PS2] Melty Blood: Actress Again (Ecole Software) {2009.08.20} - 44,292 / NEW 
  31. [PS3] Naruto: Narutimate Storm (Namco Bandai) {2009.01.15} - 44,065 / NEW
  32. [360] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2009.02.12} - 38,000 / NEW
  33. [360] Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai Games) {2008.07.31} - 34,786 / NEW
  34. [PS3] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 34,328 / NEW 
  35. [PSP] Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable (Capcom) {2009.06.18} - 34,205 / NEW
  36. [PS3] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 33,768 / NEW
  37. [PS3] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend (Arc System Works) {2011.12.17} - 32,992 / NEW
  38. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.01.23} - 30,192 / NEW
  39. [PS3] Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.10.17} - 29,314 / NEW 
  40. [360] Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom) {2010.04.28} - 28,454 / NEW
  41. [PSP] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) {2010.01.14} - 25,131 / NEW
  42. [360] BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arc System Works) {2009.06.25} - 24,812 / NEW
  43. [WII] Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes (Capcom) {2008.12.11} - 24,100 / NEW
  44. [PSP] BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II (Arc System Works) {2011.03.31} - 23,808 / NEW
  45. [3DS] Dead or Alive: Dimensions (Koei Tecmo) {2011.05.19} - 23,078 / NEW
  46. [PSV] Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.01.23} - 22,901 / NEW
  47. [PS3] Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (Capcom) {2011.11.17} - 22,436 / NEW
  48. [PS3] The King of Fighters XIII (SNK Playmore) {2011.12.01} - 21,525 / NEW
  49. [PS3] AQUAPAZZA (Aquaplus) {2012.08.30} - 20,935 / NEW
  50. [PSP] Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team (Bandai Namco) {2010.09.30} - 19,080 / NEW
  51. [PS3] Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate (Koei Tecmo) {2013.09.05} - 18,608 / NEW 
  52. [PS3] Arcana Heart 3 (Arc System Works) {2011.01.13} - 17,219 / NEW
  53. [360] Dead or Alive 5 (Koei Tecmo) {2012.09.27} - 14,811 / NEW
  54. [360] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) {2011.02.17} - 13,779 / NEW
  55. [PSV] Dead or Alive 5+ (Koei Tecmo) {2013.03.20} - 13,291 / NEW 
  56. [360] Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Capcom) {2011.06.30} - 12,326 / NEW
  57. [PS3] Darkstalkers Resurrection (Capcom) {2013.03.14} - 11,591 / NEW
  58. [PSV] BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma (Arc System Works) {2014.04.24} - 10,709 / NEW
  59. [360] Phantom Breaker (5pb.) {2011.06.02} - 9,960 / NEW
  60. [360] Persona 4: Arena (Atlus) {2012.07.26} - 9,801 / NEW 
  61. [3DS] Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.16} - 9,421 / NEW
  62. [360] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.03.08} - 8,527 / NEW
  63. [360] Soul Calibur V (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.02.02} - 7,679 / NEW 
  64. [PSP] Saint Seiya Ω: Ultimate Cosmo (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.11.29} - 6,448 / NEW
  65. [PSV] Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) {2012.10.25} - 5,420 / NEW
  66. [360] Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate (Koei Tecmo) {2013.09.05} - 4,862 / NEW
  67. [PS3] Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Taisen Sangokushi Engi {2014.02.20} - 4,794 / NEW
  68. [PS3] Phantom Breaker: Extra (5pb.) {2013.09.19} - 3,102 / NEW