Dojo Dossier: New Year's Edition

Happy new year, fight fans! Although it may not be as regular as it was, the Dossier is still very much alive and kicking (ha!); while the fighting games scene continues to exist, there's still a space for the Dojo out there on the 'net. The really big news at the moment is Super Street Fighter IV, which got huge coverage on the official website today, but there are other positive industry rumblings, too. Prepare yourself!

Fingers On The Trigger!

I know there are a lot of folks reading this who dig BlazBlue, so this update might be of interest to you; BlazBlue Portable, an updated version of the arcade giant BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, is to be released in Japan on February 25th. The game seems to be a 'deluxe' version of the home release, including wi-fi versus, several new single-player modes, and unlockable bonus material (including what looks like the 'Tell Me, Dr. Litchi!' series from BlazBlue.jp). It's not a port of the recent update, Continuum Shift, so the new characters and locations aren't in the game; also, as has been mentioned before, it's likely that the graphics resolution will be toned down to suit the specifications of the PSP. This won't be a huge problem for a lot of people, but hardcore BlazBlue fans might be disappointed.

Having said that, it's portable BlazBlue; if you haven't got an X360/PS3, or are on the go a lot, this could be a welcome addition to your fighting games collection when it launches in February. The official site can be seen here.

Examu Plays The Three Of Hearts

The third in the Arcana Heart series has finally hit arcades! For those people who aren't familiar with the franchise, AH is a 2D fighting game with mechanics similar to the Capcom brand 'versus' series; super jumps, chain combos, etc. The cast is mostly comprised of teenage girls (with a few pre-teen exceptions, like the new character 'Eko', who is five), a lot of whom fall into familiar Japanese stereotypes; for instance, there's a ninja girl, a maid, a witch... having said that, there are some very nice character designs on the roster, like Mei-Fang, (a Chinese martial artist with rocket boots), and Kira (a swimsuit-clad girl who's teamed up with a sentient blob of shape-changing goo).

I don't think anyone at the Dojo is in a position to play the game at the moment (unless you're going to Japan soon and have a penchant for all-female fighting games!), but i'm guessing that the game will eventually be released on PS3 (and possibly X360), so it's viable for import as and when. If you're interested in checking the game out, the Examu mini-site is here.

Dead Or Alive Back On Playstation?

Apparently, according to one British games magazine, Dead Or Alive 5 is not only being developed, but is to be a multi-platform release! The series hasn't been seen on Playstation machines since Dead Or Alive 2 Hardcore on the PS2; since then, the games have been exclusive to X-Box (with the exception of Dead Or Alive Online on the PC), but now there are two new titles in the pipeline.

The second is Dead Or Alive Paradise for the PSP, which seems to be a follow-up to the Dead Or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball games. For those not familiar with them, DOAXBV is a 'beach life simulation'; if you want to be a sexual predator, but aren't suitably familiar with people to hang around a beach, this is a safe place to start. That is, if you're male - if you're female, DOAXBV is a really, really polished blackjack simulator.

I'm no expert on this series, but i'm confident that Dead Or Alive Paradise is an updated version of the X-Box games, with some new features (and a beating with the ugly stick for the graphics!). Fans of Dead Or Alive, blackjack-playing lechers, or people with too much money should make some space in their Rolodex for April 2nd.

Tekken Manga Continues!

We're now onto part four, Dusk's Paper Airplane; i wasn't entirely sure of the title either, but there is an aeroplane involved. What i can say though, is that the story is progressing well; the meeting between Asuka Kazama and Emily 'Lili' Rochefort is still the main focus, but this episode features an aerial brawl between Robert 'Bob' Richards (who has gone totally Dog The Bounty Hunter and hunts folks for money, presumably then going to McDonalds to celebrate!) and Miguel Rojo, who is wanted by the Mishima Zaibatsu for being a jackass on numerous occasions. You can probably guess who wins, so i won't spoil it - but i will say that it's worth reading, even if you haven't read the previous parts. Unfortunately for new readers, Shonen Jump Egg (an online arm of the Shonen Jump magazine), only the first and latest parts are kept online, but each episode is worth reading individually, if only for the fights. It's in original Japanese and translated English, so if you like your manga unchanged and cold filtered like Miller Draft, you probably want to stop drinking your books.

The Shonen Jump Egg Tekken page is... here.

Bloodline Rebellion PSP - Out Now?!

I was thoroughly surprised to find out that the English-language version of Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion for the PSP was out before the Japanese release; the game has been out since last year, but the Eastern release is set for the 14th January ! I've had the game for a while now, and i can confirm that it's a very good attempt to port a next-gen game to a handheld system, although the mention of 'new content' appears to be slightly misleading; some of the 'new' stages are the second tier of the destructible stages, and the character models (not counting the new characters) are ported from Dark Resurrection. Having said that, there are new costume items, and they're earned through fighting (there's no Scenario Campaign mode), which i personally think is a better idea; my custom characters are pretty un-modded, as i'm not willing to play through the shitbox that is the Scenario Campaign to get new costume items.

If you want to get yourself some English-language Tekken 6 action, the game is available from pretty much wherever you want to buy it, or the Japanese version is out on the 14th January - there's really not all that much to translate though, so the two versions are pretty similar.

Even More Super Street Fighter IV!

Now, here's what you Street Fighter fans were waiting for! A huge amount of information about the upcoming Super Street Fighter IV was released today (8th January); amongst updates to various pages, a new trailer was uploaded detailing some of the new features. I would seriously recommend having a look at the trailer before reading on - it's available here, under SUPER NEW FEATURES.

Now then, for those of you who don't have a high-speed 'net connection, or would like a more personal spin on the footage, here's the official Dojo down-low on the trailer!

New Ultra Combos!

Each character now has two Ultra Combos, which are selected on the Character Select screen (like in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike) - i've seen quite a few of the new ones, and i'm pleased to say that i haven't seen a duff one yet! There are a lot of instances where characters become more accessible and viable as 'main' characters; for instance, Dhalsim now has an aerial Ultra, so players have more options than the catastrophe-into-teleport, and i'm guessing that Gouki/Akuma will now be ranked better now that he's not just left with the Shun-Goku-Satsu. I mean, it's a really strong move, but i think people will agree with me when i say that even the Ultra version can be seen coming a mile off!

Oh, and in case you didn't guess already, Ryu now has the Shin Shoryuken.

Wardrobe Of A Warrior

Each character now has three costumes; the classic outfit, the DLC outfit from Street Fighter IV, and a new Super costume (i'm presuming they come in various colours like in SFIV, so that's about 30 looks for each character!). The new costumes, on the whole, are fabulous; they're not all revealed in the trailer, but some of the more notable ones are Mech Zangief (a full-body robot mod, sort of like 'Colossus' from the X-Men), Rufus looking like a Chinese zombie (complete with forehead scroll!), and Balrog/Bison's 'gangsta' makeover. I personally thought that some of the Street Fighter IV DLC costumes could have been better, but it seems that the Super ones more than make up for it.

Cash In Your Air Miles!

There are now more locations to fight in, too; i particularly like the Metro City building site stage, where you're fighting on girders while Hugo wanders around in the background, and the Korea downtown stage, which is really colourful and vivid. There are also updates to existing stages, like the Historic Distillery at night. However, i'm confused as to one particular point; it looks like there are either two stages set in India, or one of them is Africa... could Elena be on the cast list? I'd like to see that!

About The Cast List...

At the time of writing, the cast list consists of those characters that were in Street Fighter IV (the unlockable ones are now ready from boot-up), plus Guy, Cody (Final Fight, Street Fighter Zero), Adon (Street Fighter Zero), Dee-Jay, and T. Hawk (Super Street Fighter 2). Apparently there are at least three more to come, plus two newcomers; Juri (a South Korean kickboxer fitted with a chi-boosting eye implant), and a new character who is apparently a grappler 'obsessed with oils'. There have been rumours about who else is going to be added to the cast list, but i'm not in a position to divulge which are true at the moment; i can confirm though that the one character i do know about is a welcome addition to the cast list, who i think a lot of people will be happy with (especially with two new Ultras!).

Personally speaking, i think the current roster is a really strong one; i wasn't sure about Guy and Cody being in the game, but i think with EX moves and new Ultras they'll be a lot more accessible than they were in Street Fighter Zero 3.

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Well, that's about it for this New Year edition of the Dojo Dossier. See you next time for another round of coverage from the fighting games scene!