SoWL

The fact that this video doesn't feature Avenger baffles me.

Don't forget that Bullet is one of the few grapplers who can buffer her 720 during a forward dash, though it takes lots of practice to do reliably, since it's so fast.

Welp, it happened again. https://twitter.com/kamoihito/status/617038919868116992 Of course, it still takes literally ALL the resources you can have, but still, I wouldn't be surprised if they will have to fix Saber (or Angela) in the next patch. That's what happens when you don't have any loketests, I suppose.

I thought Vagabond was revamped so they're not boring AND broken now? I'm only interested in Demon Slayer, anyways.

Tried looking up the changelog, could only find this write-up by Yoh from the JoJo forums. It all sounds pretty damn good, if you ask me. They only have to fix Toguro's bugs (that makes his 100% form terrible) and that damn Jaguar assist to make me completely happy.s

Why do you need a drill cancel when you can just jump and FD?

The patch notes are up: http://www.examu.co.jp/ex-blog/index.php?itemid=716 The fixes aren't that major, but here they are. - Everyone got 3 additional colors. - The Kikokugai stage is the only new one. - Fixed a bug that allowed you to cancel some moves's start-up immediately after blocking an attack with Vanishing Guard. - Variable Rush now behaves the same as the other attacks when trading hits with the opponent. - Fixed a bug that occasionally caused you to use Infinite Blast instead of recovering in hit stun. - Fixed a bug that caused some screen-wide projectile hitboxes to be different on the left and the right sides of the stage. - Fixed the combo counter after the KO. - Fixed the camera's behavior on some of Mora's Variable Rush finish routes. - Fixed a bug that caused Ignis's Vanishing Guard duration to be shorter than for other characters. - Fixed a bug that didn't allow Anna to cancel her ground throw straight into Infinite Blast. - Fixed a buf that made Anna cancel her counter-attacks (Remedium, Danza Macabra).

So, what was the Plus deal all about in the end? Did they change anything? Can the US version play with Japan? Because I would be down for some matches.

No, I don't think that's how it works. People are sad about losing to Zato no matter how execution-heavy he is.

It went under everyone's radars again, but we just had a Famitsu stream with first footage of the patch. Luckily, I did watch it and got the rip right here: https://mega.co.nz/#!3VhCHBba!wclgJmuWEJSgzDeksoG2AwvMNcGAvGCbZaHufgVNTQo A short summary of the new characters: Angela - Automatic Smartfire (30 sec cooldown). She summons her Arhan mecha that flies into the sky (with an anime cutscene!) and starts tracking the opponent, marking the ground as they stand or walk around. After a while, many lasers shoot the market spots from above, filling the air with hurt. To put it simply, it discourages excess movement, as it becomes more difficult to dodge the lasers if the marks are spread out. Yuki - Everyone in the Class (20 sec). Yuki charges forward and trips, hitting the opponent (with two mid hits). After that, a wave of zombies follows her, trampling her into the ground. The zombies keep coming out for quite a while, but you can kill them with any attack. Note that they come out even if Yuki doesn't hit you. And a rundown of Saber's movelist: Rising Slash: 623A/B/C. Your usual DP. The stronger the button, the higher she jumps. Mana Burst - Assault: 236A/B/C. Saber quickly (very quickly!) dashes forward and performs an overhead sword swing, knocking the opponent down. Does not actually hit overhead. Start-up duration and distance traveled increase along with the pressed button's strength. Mana Burst - Assault (low): 214A/B/C. Saber quickly dashes forward and performs a low swing. Actually hits low, knocks down. Start-up duration and distance traveled increase along with the pressed button's strength. Mana Burst - Assault (Midair): j.214A/B/C. Saber teleports diagonally to the ground, hitting the opponent and knocking them away in the process. may switch sides depending on the distance. Start-up duration and distance traveled increase along with the pressed button's strength. Helm Crash: j.22A/B/C. Saber falls directly downwards with an overhead sword swing, knocking the opponent down. You might remember this if you have ever seen Dante in MvC3. Start-up duration increases along with the pressed button's strength; I assume the same goes for the damage. Invisible Air: 236AB. Saber makes her sword invisible. This buff lasts indefinitely, and while it is in effect, all her attacks deal increased chip damage (even the normals). She starts every round with it already in effect. Can be used as an RC. Strike Air (during Invisible Air): 236AB. Saber shoots a fast whirlwind across the entire screen, blowing the opponent away and making her sword visible. Deals lots of chip damage. Combination Air: j.214AB. A super-version of midair Mana Burst - Assault. If Saber hits the opponent, she performs a short combo that crumples the opponent. Excalibur: 236236BC. To no one's surprise, Saber shoots forward a huge laser that takes about 70% of the screen. Like any Lethal Blaze, the damage is severely prorated in combos, but she can combo into it without too much trouble. They also showed all of Saber's palettes, and she's got lots of references there. Not only to the endless Saber palette swaps, but even to Gil. I couldn't quite make out the BGM, and her Variable Rush was only used once, with the ender being Strike Air (so it can make your sword visible, too).

There was this old imgur album put together by me, but that was before the game's release, so some things might not be accurate. And, of course, there is the wiki: http://npblasterz-wiki.net/nbfan/沙耶 To answer your question, she does have a stance with follow-ups (performed with 214A/B/C), but she can only do the hair grab after it. That is, pressing A makes her perform the anti-air grab, while pressing B makes her perform the ground grab. However, you can also cancel the stance with C and follow up with any attack you want (like 5C, the long arm tentacle normal).

Okay then, here's the direct translation of the picture: Variable Rush *Requires 2 stocks of the Power gauge You can perform a powerful combo by simply pressing various attack buttons. C + E (press the buttons simultaneously) On hit, mash A or B or C As for Vanishing Guard (not Variable), it does a few different things. Pros: - Nullifies chip damage from special moves. - Can block air-unblockable attacks in mid-air. - After blocking a non-projectile attack, you gain a 3-frame advantage over the opponent. - You can activate it while already blocking. Cons: - You cannot switch between low and high blocking after activating it. - You cannot break throws. - There is a small recovery after deactivating it (you can break throws by then). - If you land while using the mid-air version, you have additional landing recovery. At least that's what the wiki says. While I'm at it, allow me to point out a few errors in your post: - A typo in Hakubou no Dendoushi. - Two different Spicas from two different Sumagas (Spica = Supika, Sumaga = Star Mine Girl); this should be fixed in the OP, too. - Ishima Kaigen (from Hanachirasu) is missing; again, just like in the OP. - D button should be denoted as Escape Action, and E button is Heavy Action. - Escape mechanics are called Escape Action; 5D and j.D is a projectile-invulnerable roll/dash, and 2D is a short hop that allows you to use aerial attacks quickly.

Not sure where you got that translation from, but if it's about the second-to-last picture, it's called Heavy Action. It's performed with 5E and blows the opponent away; if you hold down the button, the attack can't be blocked by anything but Vanishing Guard. 2E is a sweep that knocks down, nothing too fancy there. As for Variable Rush, I explained it not too long ago: If you want a literal translation of the picture, I can do that, too.

That has been announced a while ago, but there are still no any known plans for Maou-Sama S2.

Weird to see Emi have the baby that wasn't in the anime yet. I hope it's a teaser for S2, but if it isn't, they missed a lot of opportunities for references with other characters.

Elaborate, please. And now I'm not sad about 236C being slightly nerfed (and even then, 236C actually having some invulnerability is huge). I always felt that 623B is better than most people think, and now it's even better than that. Pretty neutral on the rest of Merk/Vat changes, doesn't feel like they will change their gameplay too much.

After playing a few sessions with my brother, it does feel like Terumi's neutral game is slightly better, mostly thanks to j.D and 5D. I wish Miquelet could go through them, but it doesn't, even though they have projectile properties. The buttons I found myself using more than usual are j.B and 3C. The former beats j.D in speed while having slightly better horizontal reach than j.C, while the latter can go under 5D if he pokes you at its max range. Be careful not to press 2B too much, his 5C beats it clean. Learn to react to his 2D, otherwise he can mash 5D 2D all day and get lots of meter even if you block it all. Be careful about pressing buttons after blocking Jagaku if he has meter. Messenga is dumb, I wish we had something like it. Basically, his offense and defense are mediocre, so you should win easily after a little struggle in neutral.

Nice to see the Kikokugai stage a bit more colorful than last time (even though that means it's either in the past or located in Ruili's head?). And I won't be surprised if this game's popularity doubles thanks to Saber.

Yes, because people just had to share it with them.

Actually, I don't know why they wouldn't release her before the actual game. As long as her moveset doesn't have any heavy spoilers, it should be fine - and if they cared about spoilers that much, Muramasa wouldn't have been playable in the first place. Just give Ethica a generic ranbu Lethal Blaze, and I think it's going to be fine. They can also time her release to the demo, and who knows when that's going to come out.

Well, now that I'm at my PC, I can elaborate a bit on Variable Rush. It can be broken down into three different parts: the starter, the linkers (one for each button) and the enders (again, one for each button). The starter almost always has start-up invulnerability, but can also have some other properties: for example, Saya's starter tracks the opponent on the ground, while Ignis's guard-crushes. The difference between the linkers isn't that great when you land a starter (as they are pretty much guaranteed to connect, you just perform the most damaging one over and over again), but if they block the starter, you can keep hitting buttons to keep the mix-up going. For example, Ein's linkers include a low, an overhead and a cross-up; on the other side of the spectrum, Saya can't perform any linkers at all if her starter is blocked or whiffed. Lastly, the ender only happens if you actually landed the linker. Again, they have different properties, so use the one that fits your needs at the moment. Saya's enders include a launcher (so you can follow it up with an air combo), a hard knockdown and eating... err, recovering health. Overall, it's a good mechanic for those who just picked up the game and had no time to learn the combos, but it's a bit less prominent at higher levels, since most characters can convert their meter into much better damage (especially with Assists).

Mika is good because of her skintight bodysuit and being a non-Zangief grappler... Oh, wait.

I wish female Brawlers weren't all PURPLE POISON at high levels, since I like their gameplay more than M.Brawlers. Sucks that I have to choose between gameplay and aesthetics.

Here you go. It's a bit outdated, but the Blast and VR write-ups are still true. http://www.dustloop.com/forums/index.php/topic/9897-nitroplus-blasterz-heroines-infinite-duel/page-3#entry876154 Remember how they promised to release it in Summer? That doesn't seem that likely at this point.

Both those things have been explained in this thread. Maybe I should do a write-up on some wiki so people don't have to search the thread that often.