The Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition Style Tournamentis off to a healthy start with Round 1 —the Nero round! We received a hearty helping of submissions, with so many good ones that it was a true Judges Must Die-level challenge narrowing down the list to a Top Five. Arguments were had. Tears shed. Colleagues launched, juggled, and taunted. But in the end, we prevailed with what we feel is a very solid list of contenders. Hit the jump to vote!

Voting Deadline: Friday, July 24th at noon (PT).

• Serj Angelo
• GamerIzzy42
• Dre
• DelusionaryKiller
• GarudaPSN

Number: DWN-019

Weapon: Gemini Laser

Weakness: Search Snake

His weapon is the Gemini Laser, which reacts according to the enemy’s intentions. Watch his movements carefully before attacking.

Up to this point, the purpose behind a given Robot Master was fairly clear. Cut Man chops wood, Air Man creates gusts of wind, Quick Man moves… quickly… and so on. But Gemini Man is potentially the first “…what?” boss that makes you question the thought behind him.

But after a little inspection, it’s actually a cool concept for a battle robot – Gemini Man creates a holographic copy of himself to confuse foes and sneak in a shot of his Gemini Laser.

Speaking of the Gemini Laser, it bounces around the screen in search of a target. If you fire it at a wall, for instance, it’ll bounce off at an angle until it collides with an enemy or eventually fizzles out. Too bad Gemini Man doesn’t give up his holographic powers, huh?

The copying ability is perhaps better conveyed with his updated art – here we see him up front and his duplicate running right behind him.

The slight confusion I felt when seeing him back in 1990 was partly due to his stage. It starts out on a crystalline surface, or maybe lunar surface, but at the very least something that gels with the reflective crystals on Gemini Man’s body. But then you go in deeper and the stage becomes some kind of tadpole-choked breeding ground, complete with robot penguins and dragonflies!

Didn’t question it then, not gonna start now 😛

On July 17th, the long awaited  Star Knight armor series was finally made available for every  Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate player worldwide! Here’s a quick video by Gaijinhunter highlighting why everyone’s been so hyped for it – and why you should be too!

And a quick summary for those that didn’t get to watch the video, or simply need/love bullet point lists (like I do):

• +5 points of resistence against each Element
• Challenger +2
• Rodeo God
• Steady Hand (Mind’s Eye + Razor Sharp)
• 4 points of Handicraft (Shaprness +1)
• 11 open slots (3 being 3-slot combo)
• Stunning looks

 

Now if you’re already thinking this is an overpowered set, “easy mode”, or not worth your time, I recommend this very thoughtful thread on the  Monster Hunter Sub Reddit. In it, dragonbornrito highlights a number of pros and cons for this set, which to me only brings home how carefully balanced  Monster Hunter games – and I love it. I encourage participating in that discussion, or starting one below in the comments or on our own MH forums . =)

Oh! And let’s not forget about the  Star Knight Sword , sporting a whooping 392 raw attack, 160 Water damage and 3 open slots! But if Sword & Shield is not your jam, the same quest (USJ: Tigrex 3D) gets this magical Palico set:

So how hyped are you now? Are you making the Star Knight gear? Have you done so arleady? If so, what’s your set up like?

^{Here’s mine, btw =)}

Hey! It’s Monday, and I’m in the office, for once! No, I haven’t been at home slacking off on Mondays… it’s just the day that we usually travel back from events, such as SDCC and Anime Expo.

So let’s embrace this wonderful coincidence (more like normal schedule) and go back to streaming  MH4U ! As usual, we’ll be live at 4pm (Pacific Time) on twitch.tv/capcomunity. And if you want to catch up on our previous live streams, we have recorded version after the jump:

See you soon!

Number: DWN-018

Weapon: Magnet Missile

Weakness: Spark Shock

Draws in enemies with his strong magnetic power. Dodge his homing Magnet Missiles by sliding.

Slapping a giant magnet on a robot’s head isn’t the first thing I’d do when designing combat machines, but it actually works out pretty well for Magnet Man. His control over magnetic forces allows him pull Mega Man against his will, as well as fire homing missiles can turn on a dime.

With a fair bit of speed and two different methods of attack, Magnet Man is a solid addition to the Mega Man 3 roster.

When you defeat him and gain the Magnet Missile, you’ll be able to fire your own homing magnets that can turn 90 degrees and collide with your target. They don’t truly track your enemies, but it’s still a handy weapon to have.

Magnet Man isn’t just my favorite MM3 boss – he’s my favorite Robot Master period . For some reason his look really spoke to me as a kid, which is a little odd since I wasn’t into magnets or science per se, and a boss like Shadow Man certainly seems “cooler.” But the way he leaps around the stage, and the cool magnetic effects of his stage, made him a standout character. He also gives me a supervillain vibe similar to Elec Man … hm, if the latter reminds me of Electro and was a MM1 favorite, then perhaps part of my Magnet Man affinity is due to his Magneto-like power set?

Ryuji Higurashi (Mega Man series illlustrator)

“Using Mega Man’s new slide move feels so good in the battle with Magnet Man, making him a really fun character from a gameplay standpoint. His design is also very simple and easy to understand. I’m pretty sure you could show him to anyone and ‘Magnet Man’ is what they’d call him.”

Hey everyone!

Big news coming from EVO 2015! We are pleased to announce the first brand new character for Street Fighter V; meet Necalli!

Hailing from a mysterious background, Necalli utilizes a wild, animalistic fighting style to brutalize his opponents. There’s no finesse here as all of his attacks have been forged through the heat of battle to inflict maximum pain upon his opponents. However, beneath the surface of the crazed warrior lies a hidden genius that is unleashed upon V-Trigger activation. Players who enjoy a straight forward,  hard hitting character will feel right at home with Necalli, as he possesses a wide variety of savage, close range attacks, as well as a command grab, all with the goal of demolishing his foes.

V-Skill: Culminated Power

_{Necalli pounds the ground with both fists, creating an explosion from the ground that damages the opponent. By holding the joystick left, right or leaving it at neutral, players can control the distance the explosion travels, allowing him to pressure opponents from afar.}

 

V-Trigger: Torrent of Power

_{Necalli channels a mysterious energy that warps his hair color and completely changes his personality for a short period of time. While in his powered up state, he gains access to new combos, new frame data, and even a new Critical Art!}

The many mysteries surrounding the character’s origin and storyline will be revealed in due time, so stay tuned for more information! We also revealed a lot of details at EVO regarding Street Fighter V’s brand new approach to post-launch content, so be sure to give it a read here   in case you missed it.

Finally, the first online beta program for Street Fighter V is nearly upon us! Running for 5 days next week, starting on July 23rd (18:00 PT)/July 24th (03:00 CEST/10:00 JST), the first online beta will be exclusive to PS4 users and initially feature four playable characters (Ryu, Chun-Li, Nash, M. Bison), with an additional two (Cammy and Birdie) being rolled out on July 25 ^th.

As a reminder, North American fans who pre-order the game through select retailers or the PlayStation Store will be granted automatic access to the beta. While signups are closed in Europe and Asia for this beta test, keep an eye out on www.streetfighter.com for announcements of the next one.

See everyone online!

Hey everyone!

We just announced some big Street Fighter V news today at the Capcom panel here at EVO 2015. There is quite a lot of information to take in, so buckle down and read carefully!

First and foremost, Street Fighter V will feature a brand new service-based approach with regards to post-launch content. With this approach come several key changes to our content strategy:

1. The initial release is the only disc you will ever need to own
2. All balance and system adjustments will be available for free
3. All post-launch gameplay related content will be earnable for free by playing the game

That’s right; Street Fighter V will be the first iteration in the franchise where it is possible for dedicated players to earn all gameplay related content (such as characters) for FREE , simply by playing the game.  Long gone are the days of forced Super and Ultra upgrades! Enjoy free balance updates as soon as they become available, and find and choose the post-launch characters that you want to get.

Speaking of characters, Street Fighter V will launch with a core roster of 16 playable characters, with 4 of them being brand new fighters to the Street Fighter universe. Post-launch, we will be adding new characters to the roster on a continuous basis, which will provide new content for players to enjoy. Again, every post-launch character released will be earnable for free through gameplay!

Looking back on the Street Fighter IV series, we had always released bundles of content all at once, like with Super Street Fighter IV and Ultra Street Fighter IV. While these one-time updates did revive interest in the series every few years, it was difficult to keep players engaged for long periods of time unless they were competitive. This also punished players who took a break from playing the game, because if they wanted to start again in a few years, they would be forced to purchase an upgrade to join the existing player pool who had already moved on to a new version. On top of that, this old method also forced players to purchase all of the new content, even if only a few characters may have appealed to them.

With Street Fighter V, we want to change the way that players interact with the series, and create an ever-evolving environment for players to enjoy. By releasing new characters on a regular basis, it will ensure that there is always new content to look forward to in the short term, and it prevents the competitive environment from ever becoming stale.

Players also have more freedom in their decisions, as they only need to purchase or earn the content that appeals to them. This will also create more long-term engagement, because the more you play the game, the more you are rewarded and can earn new content. The player base is never shrunk by requiring a paid update like in years past. Players can take a break from the game, but then come back at any time and continue to play with the characters they already own, with the newest gameplay balance.

We are able to execute this service-based model by introducing an in-game economy to Street Fighter V. There are two types of currency that make the economy go round:

1. Fight Money
   1. This is basic currency that players earn through playing the game. Once players accumulate enough Fight Money, they can use it to earn new post-launch gameplay content, such as characters, for free!
2. Zenny
   1. This is premium currency that players can purchase with real money to immediately gain access to post-launch content.

We will be using later beta phases to test the economy and ensure it works in a fair way for everyone.

Phew! That was a lot of info, so we hope it all makes sense to everyone. We are extremely excited about this new post-launch strategy, and we’ll be talking about more specific details at a later date. For now, we hope everyone is excited to start playing and earning content!

To commemorate this year’s EVO, the world’s largest fighting game open tournament and its feat of having over 2,200 entrants, Steam and Capcom have teamed up to provide USFIV for free this weekend, along with a 66% discount for those who wish to purchase it.

Free play lasts until Sunday, July 19th at 1pm (PDT), while the 66% off lasts until Monday, July 20th at 10am (PDT) with the deal ending Sunday, July 19th at 1pm. After Sunday, July 19th, the game will no longer load if you haven’t purchased it.

Although the EVO matches were quite hype yesterday, we all know nothing is more exciting than defeating opponents with your own two hands. So download USFIV now as there has never been a more perfect time to take the game for a spin.

Hey EVO goers, just wanted to drop a quick message to let you know that Capcom is hosting a Street Fighter V panel tomorrow, July 18th, at 2pm in the Palace 3 room . 

For those wondering about the contents of the panel, we will have important announcements on our long term plans for SFV as well as give insight into the developmental process of SFV.

Don’t worry if you’re not present at EVO however, as we plan on sharing the information announced during the panel here on Unity tomorrow. Be sure to check back tomorrow afternoon for the latest news on SFV.

::UPDATE:: The submission window for Round 1 has come to a close! We have some incredible submissions–look forward to the community vote just a tad later this week!

It’s been just about a month since Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. How go your stylish escapades? We’ve already seen a wealth of fascinating style and tutorial videos crop up on YouTube, as eagerly anticipated. But today comes a new opportunity for all of you to seed the ether with red hot video content. Yes, so begins the Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition Style Tournament. If you didn’t tune in for our DmC Style Tournament some weeks back, hit the jump for a run-down of how this works. 

Game: Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition (PS4/Xbox One/PC)

Concept: This tournament will consist of five standard rounds (one for each playable character) plus one decisive Final Round, for a total of six rounds—one each week. 

Each round will begin on Friday, with the rules for that round–including character, difficulty, gameplay modifiers, Mission, and “fight”–announced via a Capcom Unity blog post. Players will have the weekend to play and record a stylish combo video, to be submitted to us by noon (Pacific Time) the following Monday.

Video submissions will be pared down to a Top Five* by a team of judges here at the Capcom office. These Top Five videos will then be presented on the blog Wednesday morning (Pacific Time), and put to a community vote. The creator of the video with the most votes will become a Finalist and receive an awesome prize. 

*In the event that there are fewer than five submissions, all submissions will be put to community vote. I will also get really mopey. 

In Round 6, the five Finalists will compete against each other in one final, freestyle round. The recipient of the most votes will win the Grand Prize. 

General Rules: 

-You MUST be 18 or older to enter.

-Tournament is open to residents of North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Apologies to those not eligible. 

-Videos must be sixty seconds or shorter in length. 

-Videos may be captured however you like, as long as you are able to upload them to YouTube. Please also ensure that you are capturing at a resolution of 720p or greater.  

-Videos should be a single take with no cuts. They may, of course, be trimmed on the beginning or end for length. But please, no other video edits (e.g., transitions, text overlays). 

-No voiceover in your videos, please.  

-Videos must meet the criteria specified for each round. This includes character, difficulty, gameplay modifiers (e.g., Turbo Mode), Mission, and the enemy wave(s) you will be fighting. The idea is that every entrant is tackling the same fight in the same conditions. 

-Videos must be submitted by the deadline! Don’t be late! 

How to Submit: 

1. Record a video clip in line with the regulations for the current round. PS4 and Xbox One both have easy ways of doing this. For PC, you’ll have to have a way of capturing video. 

2. Upload the video to YouTube. You may upload to either Public or Unlisted, but not Private. 

3. Send your YouTube video link to contest@capcom.com OR tweet it with #DMCStyle. If you submit via Twitter, make sure you are also following the Twitter account @DevilMayCry. 

4. Feel free to include any information you think is important to highlight in the video description on YouTube. 

5. Each person may submit only one clip per round. So be sure you submit the take you think is best! 

Winning and Prizing:  

-Finalists for each round will be contacted within seven days of their victory, via the contest@capcom.com email account. Please respond with your name, mailing address, and SKU of choice (PS4, Xbox One) by the date noted in the email. If we don’t receive a response by the designated date, we’ll have no choice but to give your prize and Finalist position to the runner-up for the round you won! 

-Those who make the Top Five will be put to a community vote each round, to be held on the Capcom Unity blog. For convenience and exposure, each poll will be advertised on Twitter (@DevilMayCry) and Facebook (/devilmaycry). However, you must have a Capcom Unity login in order to vote. 

-Whoever gets the most votes in a round is the winner of that round and becomes a “Finalist.” Finalists for each of the first five rounds will receive the highly collectible Japanese retail copy of Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition (Xbox One or PS4), signed by director and series godfather Hideaki Itsuno. Winners will be able to choose the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One version.  

-No person may be selected as a Finalist twice. If you have already become a Finalist, you must sit out until the Final Round. 

-In the unlikely event of a tie vote, the Finalist for that round will be determined via a random name drawing.

-In the final (sixth) round, the Finalists from the preceding five rounds will compete in a freestyle round. These submissions will be put to another community vote, which will determine the ultimate winner.

-The ultimate winner will receive a signed copy of the Japanese “pizza box”-themed Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition Limited Edition (PS4 only, sorry). It’s awesome and I’m already jealous of whoever wins it.

At this juncture I would like to note that you are welcome to ask questions in the comments section below (or via a private message here on Unity). 

FULL CONTEST RULES

Now then! Onto the rules for Round 1!

Round 1 Rules: 

Character: Nero

Difficulty: Legendary Dark Knight

Modifiers: Turbo Mode is optional! No Super Nero allowed. You may choose the costume of your preference. 

Mission: 2

Fight: First wave, by the fountain. You do not have to perform the entire fight in 60 seconds, but the clip itself must be limited to a 60-second (or shorter) piece of the fight.

Deadline: Monday, July 20th @12:00pm (noon) PT

Tips:

-Be creative! We’re judging style here, not efficiency. So think outside the box and don’t be afraid to get weird. 

-As with all Devil May Cry games, it is possible to be stylish in a way that does not get picked up by the in-game style meter. We’re human beings, and we’re complex emotional creatures! Don’t get too stuck on getting a triple-S. 

-That goes for voters, too! Don’t just look for the “S”! Try and actually analyze what the player is doing and how. 

-Try recording multiple takes before submitting the one you think is the most stylish. Just remember to keep it under 60 seconds!

-A well-timed Taunt can be the difference between a good run and a Smokin’ Sick one. 

-I highly recommend experimenting with custom control layouts. Different layouts open up different possibilities. DMC4SE lets you save different control schemes for each character, so mess around and see what works for you.

-Be sure to check out ChaserTech’s awesome Advanced Combat Tutorial for Nero from the “vanilla” DMC4 days.

And that’s it! You’ve got the weekend to do something cool. Good luck, and may the most  stylish person win!

Number: DWN-017

Weapon: Needle Canon

Weakness: Gemini Laser

Equipped with a body like Air Man’s and an advanced form of Metal Man’s movement programming. Gain some distance and fight back.

Needle Man marks the start of Mega Man 3’s robo-roster, which is perfectly timed with our Mega Man 3 key-art reveal, no less .

The MM3 lineup consists of robots built by Dr Light AND Dr Wily, who has apparently learned the error of his ways. But – big surprise – the eight robots turn traitor and start causing a ruckus. Cue Mega Man’s latest adventure!

As for Needle Man, he sports an Air Man-style body and blasts sharp needle bullets all around. He also inherits some of Metal Man’s mobility, so be on your toes!

Mega Man obtains the Needle Cannon after battling Needle Man. It’s a fairly straightforward projectile and honestly not one I use a lot in a given playthrough… but hey, Needle Man must fall!

I did like the additional animation / attack he has where his entire head piece extends outward. It was an unexpected move from a boss who usually leaps around the room, firing from a distance. More MM3 n3xt w33k!

Last week we kicked off an MMLC art contest that asked for your ideal Mega Man 1~6 key art. The idea is, the North American (and European!) box art back in the day didn’t really sell the in-game experience. This is a chance to re-imagine those initial six games in a way that’s more indicative of the Blue Bomber and his Robot Master foes.

We also debuted some new art from Chamba (who also did our main MMLC art), and today we have the Mega Man 3 piece!

For each image, I gave just a bit of direction. When I think of MM3, my mind goes to Gamma and that impressive final boss – so I wanted to see a “box art” that really sold the scale of that confrontation. This being MM3, you also need Rush racing to the rescue and at least a handful of Robot Masters. Snake Man is one of my faves, and Gemini Man is already at work splitting himself in two.

CONTEST RULES: From now until August 14th, you can email one entry to  contest@capcom.com  (labeled MMLC ART CONTEST) and be entered for a chance to win one of six copies of the game. We will notify winners by September 4th, 2015 at the latest. Please submit an entry that depicts your ideal Mega Man box / key art, choosing one of the six Mega Man games collected in MMLC. Please also read the full contest rules.

There is no min/max size but it’s generally nice to have art that’s high-res (i.e. not like 300 pixels wide or something)  and  if you’re taking a photo instead of scanning, just make sure the image is clean and it shows your work in a positive light.

Next Friday – Mega Man 4!