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The Spectators Guide To Combo Breaker All In Together 2024

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By IdolismJ | May 23, 2024

Combo Breaker’s official side event series All In Together is back for their 2024 showcase. Each of these games will be getting event support in the form of medals and stream time, so you can basically count this as an extended offering of tournaments playable at this year’s CB. All In Together likes to keep fresh faces on their roster, so while we have some good ol’ reliables happening this weekend there is also a new crop of games that rarely ever see this type of support. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure everything gets a breakdown, from the tried-and-true to the who-are-you.

Games are listed in rough order of appearance. Each tournament’s Top 4 (some get Top 6 or 8) is scheduled to be streamed and links will be provided for each game’s write up. For more information on the events such as who is running them or rules they are run by, please visit the official Combo Breaker website.

All In Together 2024 at Schedule

Note: all times are in CST

Neo Turf Masters

Game developers Nazca are known for giving their flagship series, Metal Slug, some of the highest quality sprite work on the Neo Geo. So when expanding their catalog to a golf video game, they created a lush green escape onto the links with an excellent soundtrack backing it up. Maybe you wonder why, of all golfing games out there, Neo Turf Masters is something that sees competitive play? I can’t answer for the whole community, but in short I can very confidently say that it only takes one playthrough to see that NTM absolutely rules. Beautiful digitized characters, iconic voice samples, immediate earworm soundtrack, and challenging gameplay keeps Neo Turf Masters a common appearance at offline tournaments.

What To Expect

Neo Turf Masters may have a bit radical of a name for an arcade golfing video game, but there isn’t anything extra-ordinary or fantastical about it’s gameplay. It’s a simple click-system golfing game like most anything else in the genre. What you will see is people play it with extreme skill. Robert Landolf players are going to Bomb-And-Gouge down the fairway and Fernando Almeida players are going to perform with a freakish, machine-like edge because that character has little room for mistakes. The other most popular golfer to expect to see is Toyoshige Takeno, who has a well rounded toolkit and the best putting. It’s possible to see other golfers appear, but these three are the popular ones for good reason.

Neo Turf Masters has changed up its format, usually running under The Michigan M@sters Memorial ruleset. Instead, there will be two days of qualifying rounds and then Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon will feature the top players in match play broadcasts. This means, unlike previous years, NTM will actually get some stream time. There is a lack of tournament footage, but we do have a Norcal Dogfight from many moons ago with examples of match play format.

Samurai Shodown V Special

The longest lasting competitive entry in the Samurai Shodown series, V Special is an update to the original release. While not bringing in much mechanical overhaul, it instead tweaks the balance and creates a game that has seen constant tournament play ever since. If you are only familiar with the most recent Samurai Shodown, V Special (also known as VSP or 5SP) operates under a different core of systems. It’s still a four button game, but VSP is more like a seven button game disguised as a four button game.

What To Expect

The most apparent difference looking backwards the recently-rollback-blessed SamSho7 is how VSP’s D button functions; it is a multi-purpose utility button that primarily focuses on movement options such as ducks, rolls, and hops. Forward hopping in VSP is a powerful tool, especially since you can option select it with throw (as some call it “Hoption Select”). Rage Explosion and Issen also exist, but under different circumstances. Rage Explosions are pretty much the same, but VSP has a secondary Rage Explosion-styled mechanic called State Of Nothingness. You’ll see a small arrow above your health bar, this denotes your Concentration Gauge, you can make this part of your life bar larger by Meditating away your Rage meter. When on your last round and your health lowered to the point where your Concentration Gauge is, you can pop State Of Nothingness to cause time to slow for your opponent for as long as your Concentration Gauge is. During State Of Nothingness, repeating the input will give you Issen, an advancing attack that does a constant amount of damage for how big your Concentration Gauge was.

ChefRaptor has been one of the most prominent SNK heads around for both SamSho and King Of Fighters. While maybe most well known for funny haha video edits on Twitter dot com, ChefRaptor is not just a shitposter. Above is their guide to help people understand all of whats going on under the hood for VSP.

Asuka 120% LimitOver

Much like its bishoujo fighter sister, Asuka 120% is back after a highly impressive debut last year. This long-running series has multiple releases, with LimitOver being what is most popularly played. However, other releases like Final, Special Ver. 2, and even Return have seen tournaments in Japan. And it is with no surprise that so many releases still see action, Asuka 120% is one of the most foundational anime fighters ever made. This series laid the groundwork for some of the popular anime fighters today, like Guilty Gear and Melty Blood. It is an honor to see Asuka 120% get its flowers at All In Together.

What To Expect

The 120% part of its name has a meaning; your super bar can fill up past 100% and into 120%. When your meter hits 120% you get access to infinite meter for an amount of time as it decreases back to zero. However, if there is one thing Asuka 120% is famous for, it’s the invention of Clash. When two attacks’ hitboxes collide they will Clash and each player will be able to cancel into a new action, be that another attack or movement. This, combined with the emphasis on strong and controllable air movement, makes Asuka 120% the blueprint for speedy, airdasher anime games. Another wrinkle to look for is how players need to properly tech after hitting walls and floors, improper teching can lead to eating even more damage.

Last year we mentioned SailorVick, one of the people most responsible for getting Asuka 120% information into English speaking communities via work like restreams of Japanese events. This year Vick will be flying from France to attend Combo Breaker in person, making this already stacked Asuka bracket even more important.

Monster Rancher 2

“Did they make a Monster Rancher fighting game I wasn’t aware of?” no, we are playing deadass Monster Rancher 2. “But it’s not a fighting game?” that has never once mattered. You put anything with even a remote 1v1 competitive edge on it in front of the FGC and we will find a way to make it competitive (and likely, hype). While eclipsed by its other battle monster brethren in popularity, Monster Rancher holds a competitive and supported scene that is being brought offline this weekend in Chicago. Hopefully this non-standard entry gets me that much closer to Rick letting me run Tetrisphere one day.

What To Expect

With Monster Rancher being a series more focused on the simulation gameplay of training up your monsters, a lot of the important tasks have already been handled pre-tournament. Monsters are manually raised to a skill point cap, this bracket being run with a 3500 point cap which is considered Heavyweight, to have an equal competitive playing field. Training can be done manually in the game or those who entered who do not have that ability can use a rental monster provided by the TO.

The various stat lines monsters focus on lend themselves to different type of build options, be that Tanks that look to win after absorbing the best shots, Speed builds that look to have high dodge rates, Withering builds that look to negate the opponent’s ability to attack by wrecking their Guts, and so on. I mentioned Guts and that’s one of the more important mechanics to understand when watching; Guts is your “meter” so to speak. All moves cause a certain amount of Guts to perform, Withering attacks will decrease the Guts of the opponent when they are hit, different monsters have different Guts regen rates, Guts regen rates tie into damage bonuses when a monster is at high guts, and because Guts builds during attack animations there are some attacks that are handicapped by having such a long attack animation that the opponent, even if they have taken damage, are possibly in a better position because they built up enough Guts to have a significant advantage. This is going to be one of the most alien games to watch this weekend, but thankfully TO Moosebones will be able to fill in any gaps I left.

Moosebones has put out a video specifically for Combo Breaker, as this tournament is pretty different from normal MR2 events. Typically, MR2 is played with AI controlled monsters, but since we are all offline it has been changed back to player controlled. This means competitors will be able to better control their movement/attack and some monsters that may struggle in an AI setting can perform better with manual control. This is without a doubt the tournament I am the most excited to see take place this year.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R

The update to 2013’s original release, JoJo ASBR drastically updates the game with new features, mechanics, and rebalancing. This 3D fighter represents the culmination of all the JoJo parts as opposed to Heritage For The Future which is specific to the series-defining Part 3. Due to this, characters authentically represent their respective series even with how bombastic the world of JoJo abilities can be. Sure, pre-Part 3 characters have no Stands and post-Part 3 characters can change their moveset by summoning them, but then Part 7 characters have mechanics for being on or off their horses or characters will have power-related tie-ins like Akira’s electricity gauge or Ermes’ Kiss stickers.

What To Expect

Assists are a huge part of the game, you can select a second character to solely act as an assist call. This works how one would expect, with the assist being able to help with zoning, mixups, or pressure, but they can also be called to break you out of being comboed. If you see a character flash white and briefly pause time while they sidestep, this is the Stylish defensive move. You can Stylish Evade by hitting an Instant Block timing or manually activate a Stylish Guard which is easier to time but incurs a whiff recovery if nothing hits you.

Last year’s AIT tournament for ASBR not only showed some big names on the competitor side, like Vortex Gallery winner J_Underscore, but also had prominent TOs on the mic. Ivy has been one of the biggest flag bearers for ASBR and Gyaru is heading up TO duties for AVG2 this year. Ivy’s work promoting this game never rests, so expect to see another great year for ASBR at this Combo Breaker.

Kamen Rider: Super Climax Heroes

I don’t know how much more ink I can spill about developer 8ing. Across All In Together and the main games at Combo Breaker, their work has shown up with passionate fans behind every release. Much of what keeps their lights on is making licensed fighters based on popular works, and there are few works more popular than the legendary tokusatsu series Kamen Rider. 8ing has multiple Kamen Rider games they have made, but Super Climax Heroes is the one that has garnered the most attention. And when you see how saucy this game is, you won’t be left wondering why.

What To Expect

First off, there are no high/lows in SCH. This game is all about spacing out your strings and enforcing strike/throw. But that’s just the pedestrian overview. Each character has access to certain Battle Styles; mechanics that make big changes to the pace of play. These include Battle Styles like Form Change, which does what it sounds like it does, or Speed Up, which makes everything else move in slow-mo. Enough with the basics; there is a dedicated button called Rider Cancel that (for a price, thank God) can be used during the start up or active frames of an attack to imbue it with a free cancel state wherein you can attack/block/sidestep/throw/do your fucking taxes/etc afterwards. Oh, and also you need to have more than one character to play because there are no mirror matches in SCH. Now this is the 8ing we know and love.

Sleepmode is one of the best English-speaking Super Climax Heroes heads out there. While he does post tech and bug explanations, he also endages in the somewhat-dying art of CMVs. 「ONE MORE CLIMAX!」has been one of my favorite CMVs in the past couple years without a doubt. 

Windjammers 2

After 28 years, one of the greatest games of the arcade era gets a sequel. The power discs are flying again as Windjammers 2 hit the ground running after years of anticipation, immediately inserting itself in the FGC tournament landscape. With the same Windjammers action we have come to know and love plus a new layer of mechanics, Windjammers 2 has proven to be able to live up to the nearly three decade legacy of the original.

What To Expect

While primarily the same as Windjammers 1, there are some additional systems to be aware of. You get an extra suite of ways to interact with the disc, like jumping to dunk it, slapping it to return volleys in new directions, and a new Super meter system. The most important function of the Super meter is the ability to do a defensive super; which creates an area around the player that will pick up any missed disc. With a more advanced verb set, Windjammers 2 leads to a lot of interesting volleys.

Windjammers 2 is a simple game, which is great because it takes a simple effort to learn it. This article is always long and packed with information so you can now learn the basics of Windjammers 2 in only 3 minutes of your time (with advanced tactics and character breakdowns also on the channel!).

Dark Awake: The King Has No Name

A swords-and-sorcery 3v3 team game with Donkey Kong Country digitized graphics made by the people who stepped in to do KoF 2001 and KoF 2022, did I miss anything? Dark Awake’s style is wholly unique, leaning heavily into the fantasy tropes with mechanics like physical and magical resistance or picking an item to round out your team. However, the most interesting wrinkle Dark Awake brings to the table comes in the form of it’s most iconic mechanic: the Dash Clash.

What To Expect

As a weapon-based fighter, weapon attacks will clash when their hitboxes align. That’s nothing new, many games have similar clash systems. Dark Awake also puts clash frames on both forward dashes and back dashes, leading to the Dash Clash. Anything roughly above the character’s knees (this is hitbox specific and does not register in a binary Mid vs Low) can be clashed by forward dashing through it, allowing you to blow past pokes or charge through some characters zoning efforts (Sorry Fina).

Dark Awake constantly shows up at EVO Japan’s side events, under the significantly less cool Japanese name Chaos Breaker. Dark Awake has a very strange combo pace, the system is built so if you figure out how to do anything more than confirm special > super, then you are doing a loop/ToD. 

Advanced Variable Geo 2

Riding high off the success of AVG2’s debut last year, the bishoujo fighter returns with even bigger numbers. I’ve actually done a much more detailed write-up on AVG2 over here if you want a full look at this magical release, but put briefly; this game rules. A tightly balanced but interestingly bonkers fighting game from a series of eroge releases, Advanced Variable Geo 2 is like almost nothing else out there. While it may not appear special on the surface, multiple characters have uniquely designed toolkits or incredible glitches hidden under the hood that affect how they play in tournament. The first time you see a Chiho Zanei Jin loop or Jun’s Guard Cancel damage glitch, you’ll realize that AVG2 is a different type of beast.

What To Expect

AVG2 is a very aerial game, but not in the way a lot of other games are. There are no airdashes and there are almost no DPs with invincibility past their active frames, but what there is a lot of is super jumps and air chains. Because of this many characters will approach and start long combos from air-to-air interactions, making air combos just as (if not more) deadly as grounded starters. Also Kaori has an infinite she can get from most starters, most notably her divekick, which makes her an popular pick because she’s top tier and pretty easy. Somehow this game is still decently balanced.

They said you should make what you want to see in the world, so I teamed up with my Australian doppelganger and esteemed kusogelord Sleepmode to make a full rundown of everything you need to know about Advanced Variable Geo 2 competitively. This writing position is just a long con to promote my pet projects.

Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code

The game that put French Bread on the map and the flagship release that their community still supports to this day. A fighting game based on (but also a sequel to?) the Tsukihime visual novel by Type Moon, it has seen multiple versions in the 20 years since its first release. While Current Code (or as it’s known in Toledo “Code Current”) has been the end of the game’s life for many a year, Melty Blood continues to be updated in a sense through community work as netplay and matchmaking have been integrated through clients like CCCaster and Concerto.

What To Expect

There are three versions of each character, broken up by what style of Moon you choose. These Moons (Full, Half, and Crescent) come with their own sets of universal mechanics, such as Crescent and Half Moons being able to Rebeat (the act of chaining normals from heavy to light instead of the standard light to heavy) and Full Moon being unable to. This is not the only difference between different versions of the same character, as different Moon versions will have different specials and normals, creating three unique toolkits for each character. As overwhelming as the sound of nearly 100 different characters is, in practice the amount of relevantly played characters is lower than that.

Typically, I try to add videos that are relevant to learning the game or recent tournament footage. But this time around I just want to make sure people see some classic history, as this Winners Semis match between Brandino and Jiyuna at NEC9 in 2008 is really good but is remembered for HyperHal’s drunken academic commentary. Someone run Arcana Heart so I eventually have a reason to post “Get Hype For AH3”

Street Fighter: The Movie

Few games have been rehabilitated like Street Fighter: The Movie. Long ago, in the Before Time (if you notice my hair has grayed more since last year’s CB please keep those comments to yourself) Street Fighter: The Movie was one of the biggest punching bags in fighting games. The digitized style of the cult classic movie plus the lack of Capcom’s Street Fighter feel originally damned the game, but now, taken on its own merit, it has garnered a popular community of tournament players for years on years.

What To Expect

Super Turbo sure looks like a retirement home game because STFM is blisteringly fast in comparison. The speed of play in SFTM is faster than any other Street Fighter release, and when combined with the increased juggles and smaller hitstop it becomes more of an “anime” game than a foostie neutral fighter. The emphasis on juggles leads to many Street Fighter old guard having their sauciest interpretations in this game, like Ryu can juggle Tatsu after landing a Shoryuken and then juggle more Shoryukens after the Tatsu finishes. Also Guard Cancels are free in this game and similarly lighting fast, if you see a green shadow behind someone that was their Guard Cancel.

The Fraud Krew collective and specifically JoePReal have been some of the most important champions of SFTM, constantly running online brackets and helping out supporting larger tournaments. Above is a clip show of some zany, but not always uncommon, SFTM interactions. You need to adjust yourself to just how fast this game moves.

Super Smash Bros. Melee Doubles

The tournament pair to singles competition, Smash 2v2 (or Doubles, as it’s most commonly known) takes Smash’s multiplayer aspect and directs it into a competitive landscape. Teams of two find the battlefields a little more cramped than usual as they square off against each other hoping to claim the advantage against their opponents. The wrinkle that makes Doubles work however, is that Friendly Fire is turned on.

What To Expect

Much like Ultimate Doubles, Melee Doubles operates on the same idea of creating a more chaotic game state where you have to mitigate both offense and defense. The most relevant differences you will see with Melee Doubles will be an increased amount of movement tech, thanks to Melee having Wavedashing and L-Canceling. With how hectic and explosive this is, it’s very possible to strike your partner when trying to strike your opponent, so watch to see how teams cover separate spaces as they try to not get in each other’s way.

Last year I talked about how cool it was that two of my favorite Melee players, Axe and Amsa, teamed up together. You are never going to believe it, but this year I am going to talk about two of my favorite Melee players, Axe and Amsa, teaming up together again. Having two character specialists on the same team like this is such entertainment for me.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Doubles

Well uh, it’s Doubles again but for a different Smash Bros game. I don’t want to come off as dismissive but I also don’t want to be redundant, the explanation of Doubles seen earlier in this article applies here as well. It is simply the same tournament format but under the rules of how competitive Ultimate is played. I think it’s okay to make this a quick one.

What To Expect

Doubles is a fascinating look at competitive Smash through a new lens. Not only will you be preoccupied with attacking one of the opposing teammates, but you need to be cognizant of assisting your partner when the time comes. Being able to split away from a skirmish to either save your partner’s stock or be the kill shot on your partner’s setup requires a level of awareness not typically asked from singles competition. Otherwise we don’t need to spend much time here as what we learned previously talking about Melee Doubles still lands for Ultimate Doubles.

Smash supermajor Genesis X wrapped up earlier this year and while Melee is more of it’s focus we also can expect to see some of the highest level Doubles action for Ultimate on its big stage.

Among Us Arena Ultimate

Fighting games are not immune to the touch of popular culture. Many fighting game characters throughout our history are a reflection of popular figures or people, shaped and molded with their own flavor to be made into virtual combat. So when one of the largest cultural forces from a once-in-a-lifetime historic event (it keeps happening, sweet Jesus make it stop) breaches across multimedia, what do you do? You make a fighting game about them.

What To Expect

Among Us arena really only features one character, but the Imposter’s moveset is highly versatile. What makes each color of Imposter different is that they each have their own air and grounded special, as well as a unique taunt that may or may not be useful. While small, these unique specials can radically alter the playstyle of the basic imposter moveset. Giving the Imposter Potemkin Buster is very different from giving the Imposter a new 15f overhead, so each color’s tool does a lot of work in augmenting the roster.

That’s right, Among Us Arena is a returning game. And with good reason, because with all the memes aside the game is super sick. Resource management and neutral has to be locked in because if your offensive meter is what you use for bursting out of combo, lest you get two-touched.

Mystery Game Doubles

It’s Mystery Tournament as you know and love it but with one major twist; it’s a 2v2 event. Now not only do you have to figure out games on the fly, but you need to coordinate with your partner who also likely does not know what is going on either. As much of a cheesy tag line as it might sound like, twice the people means twice the chaos.

What To Expect

Aside from the usual disclaimer for Mystery where you should expect, and dear editor, censor me if I’m not allowed to be this colorful, some ol’ bullshit, there is actually something you shouldn’t expect to see; traditional fighting games. With the genre being built almost entirely on head-on-head battles, there’s not going to be many fighting games that are made for 2v2 gameplay. So outside of some Arena games like Wu-Tang Shaolin Style, The Bouncer, Urban Reign, or Power Stone you should prepare to see non-fighting games in bracket. Sporting games, shmup games, the skills being tested during doubles can expand further than what is normally seen in regular Mystery brackets.

Last year I gave you the top 4, this year I offer to you: the whole damn tournament. Multiple teams in this bracket have made names for themselves in Mystery Doubles, like Herohom + Dacidbro, who have won the event previously, Geordie + Shas, two of the best Windjammers players in NA who also have excellent Mystery credentials, and Fellwraith + Masterwho, my teammates who have seen Mystery Top 8 multiple times. 

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax IGNITION

While developer French Bread is mostly known for their Melty Blood and Under Night series, they did work with Japanese publisher Dengeki Bunko on this crossover fighting game series. Featuring characters from popular works like Sword Art Online, Toradora, A Certain Magical Index, and even a guest appearance of Akira Yuki from Virtua Fighter, DFCI has a wide array of both fan favorites as playable characters, but also as assists to call mid-battle. While lacking a proper air dash, DFCI’s pace and style is not far from what fans of French Bread have come to expect.

What To Expect

DFCI is a 2v2 game, but in the “Main Character and Assist” genre of 2v2 fighters. As such, picking an assist is a very important part of building your gameplan, including a secondary assist that powers up your chosen Blast. Speaking of, the most prevalent system mechanic you will see is the Blast system; a series of bursts that all have different utility. Power Blast, activated in neutral, gives you meter, a health buff, and a damage buff. Combo Blast, activated when an attack hits, blows the opponent back and locks their burst for the next attack or can be used to make an attack safe. And finally Escape Blast, activated while in hitstun or blockstun, allows you to escape a combo but is significantly more punishable, like a traditional burst.

Tech Chasers put out a wonderful guide for learning all about DFCI’s mechanics, like how pushblock does not cost meter for the player who is down on life. Understanding the multiple bursts and the Trump resources will go a long way in parsing the action on screen.

Tatsunoko Vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars

  • Bracket Start: SAT 11:00am
  • Stream Time: SAT 1:00pm
  • Channel Link: twitch.tv/JWonggg

Another stellar release from my favorite fighting game developer; 8ing. TvC is the black sheep of Capcom’s Versus series, eschewing the Western appeal of Marvel comics for the Eastern appeal of Tatsunoko anime as well as only coming home to consoles on the Wii. While more of a cult classic, in part thanks to its console exclusivity, TvC has a very dedicated community behind it and is used to showing up in Chicago as TvC is frequently showcased at Frosty Faustings.

What To Expect

This is going to have to be split into to parts:

What To Expect Normally: TvC is a 2-on-2 team game and if you are used to any Marvel game it will look very familiar, just instead of Magneto you will see dudes with visors. The signature mechanic is called Baroque, a Roman Cancel-esque ability that spends your red health for more damage and combo extensions. You also can burst out of combos in this game, which costs two meters and a little bit of health. That said, the health it leaves is red health, so if you have no red health for Baroque, you can burst to get yourself the ability to Baroque again.

What To Expect When A Giant Is On The Screen: Well, PTX-40A to be specific. TvC has two characters designated as Giants. These characters are multiple times larger than normal, are chosen as a single-entry character, and dramatically change how the game plays. They prominently feature armor, making them hard to hit but also very easy to counterpick with characters like Tekkaman who have hit grab attacks that ignore armor. Gold Lightan honestly blows so you won’t see him, but PTX-40A has a chance of showing up.

Every one of these features has me taking a dig at Doctor “Bill” Sc1ence and this year I don’t have a reason to. He’s been a standout community pillar for TvC for years and any community would kill to have someone as dedicated as him steering the ship. Don’t get complacent Bill, I’ll make you the butt of a joke yet. You’re never safe.

Rivals 2

  • Bracket Start: SAT 12:00pm & 3:00pm
  • Stream Time: SAT 7:30pm
  • Channel Link: twitch.tv/IFCYipes

A brand new, fully overhauled sequel to what many would consider the most successful non-Smash platform fighter. Gone are the original pixel artstyle and instead the game has moved into stylized 3D. However this is not just an upgrade of the original Rivals of Aether, Rivals 2 has introduced multiple new mechanical changes to make it a separate beast from its predecessor. While this game is still liable to change, seeing how it’s currently slated for release late in 2024, the systems presented to players are more than polished enough to start running with.

What To Expect

Again, I must preface that this is still all beta build so information or mechanics can always change. One of the biggest differences going from Rivals 1 to Rivals 2 currently is that Shields have been introduced. Parrys, which was Rivals 1’s replacement for Smash’s Shields, are still in the game so the defensive vocabulary has been expanded instead of changed. Ledges, which were not in Rivals 1 either, have also been introduced. Now the introduction of these more core-Smash mechanics have multiple nuances to them I cannot explain here, but they shift the game very differently than in Rivals 1 where they don’t exist.

I may not be able to explain here, but Wisely can. This mechanical primer goes over just how this basic-sounding systems are tooled and tinkered with the still set Rivals 2 apart. This includes Grabs, another completely basic genre expectation that Rivals 1 didnt have but now exists in Rivals 2. But they are so cool because you have a 50/50 with your pummels that will allow you to chain grab if you get it right.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Yet another step in what was Atlus’ complete global saturation, this fighting game spinoff of Persona 4 saw multiple years of play and updates until a rather unfortunate split in the timeline happened. The most recent update had made it to Japanese arcades but was never going to come stateside, causing us to unfortunately be stuck in the past. However, thanks to the new Persona 4 Ultimax port we are all back on a level playing field and duking it out with our favorite (or least favorite, Ken I’m looking at you) Persona 4 and 3 characters.

What To Expect

True to its JRPG lineage, P4U has status effects that players can be afflicted with. Effects like Rage makes a player unable to block but gives 20% added damage, Panic reverses their left and right inputs, Silence disables Persona-related actions, and so on. Speaking of Personas, if you strike a player’s Persona while it is out it will take 1 card of damage. If you remove all the Persona’s cards, and each character has a different amount of cards for their Persona, they are Persona Broken and cannot use any actions relating to their Persona until their cards refill.

Most events at All In Together get their top 4 streamed, but last years run of P4U got their Top 8 on the big stage. Of note, check out Big Pat’s run with Shadow Junpei; one of the fan-favorite characters on the roster because of his (highly unwieldy but lovingly designed) baseball mechanics.

Tough Love Arena

A newer entry to the simple and beginner-friendly side of fighting games, Tough Love Arena is a release that is not only accessible mechanically, but accessible physically. Created to be played in a browser, TLA is only ever one URL away from being played and is available for the low, low cost of $free. With competition in mind, Tough Love Arena also has a Steam version so it can be played offline at events much like the one you are reading about right now! (hooray!). While simple in execution, this game features the fun of combo juggles and modern functionality like frame data and hitboxes, making it well served for more than a quick curiosity. Between the online pick-up-and-play ability and the bright pop aesthetic artstyle, Tough Love Arena has all the makings of a great fighting game. And with it only being in Beta, its future looks bright.

What To Expect

Tough Love Arena does not feature jumping, but it does feature jumping attacks. You will see characters launch themselves across neutral, much like one would normally for a jump-in, but these are in fact one of each character’s special moves. TLA also features a suite of industry-standard mechanics utilizing its meter resource. Pushblock, Burst, and Rapid Cancels are all in the game and are signaled by different styles of heart surrounding the character when activated.

No video this time, because there’s not a whole lot of times I can literally link you the game right now: https://toughlovearena.com/

That’s it, that’s the link. That is all you need to start playing Tough Love Arena. Hop on it

Jackie Chan in Fists Of Fire

As language grows and evolves, sometimes its meaning can erode. Nowadays terms like “poverty” and “kusoge” are used with frequency, but when looking back at Jackie Chan In Fists of Fire you can see where we would need a term for an endearing game that has obvious flaws. Let’s not get it twisted, it takes about 5 minutes of play time to see why people still play this game because it absolutely rules. This digitized fighter has an addictive pace of play, where grounded movement is so powerful and non-committal that neutral is highly chaotic and explosive. However, for as fast as it is on the ground it is absolutely glacial in the air, making the mistake of jumping in Fists of Fire can end the round for you. There’s not much out there like Fists of Fire, but the way it shakes out makes it so much more competitive than anyone would have ever thought.

What To Expect

No jumping. Legitimately jumping is such a horrible option that it’s not unwise to unbind the up direction to make sure you don’t accidentally jump and throw away everything. What you will do instead is dash, as forward dashing can be canceled by almost any action (attacks, throws, blocking) and backdashing is invincible on startup all the way through recovery (unless you’re Kim-Maree). With how high damage and momentum is, one wrong move or one correct whiff punish can be all it takes to send someone to the Shadow Realm.

Spabobin has put out so much important tech and combo explanations for JCFoF as well as being one of its better players. Fellow kusoge player and Cyberbots TO Polarbair put together a charity bracket to help finance getting Spabobin to Combo Breaker, which was successful. Attached above is the combo guide for Admiral Jackie, a character most people should have in their pocket.

Soulcalibur VI

Six years deep and still running strong. While tragically the game was never able to get the often-requested rollback treatment, its lineage of fans keep the game well represented offline. The most recent release in the 3D weapon fighter series, it eschews some of the more radical design changes made in Soulcalibur V (SCV can be hit or miss and I absolutely find it a hit) while introducing its own radical design changes. While much has been said about the Rock-Paper-Scissors stylings of Reversal Edge, I think the far more interesting mechanic is Lethal Hits.

What To Expect

Lethal Hits are a series of unique interactions that grant you a combo opportunity when successfully hit, kind of like an even more specific counter hit. For example, Nightmare’s While Standing B becomes Lethal Hit on counter hit, giving him a combo extension WS B wouldn’t otherwise have. But these are not exclusive to just some hand-picked counter hits. Groh’s 22/88B Lethal Hits on whiff punish and Kilik’s Monument A Lethal Hits after successfully Guard Impacting an opponent. There are many different variables that lead to Lethal Hits across the cast, meaning that it is important to study what LHs your character can capitalize on, but also what LHs an opponent’s character may be looking for as well.

Texas Showdown wrapped within a months time, so we have the most recent tournament for SCVI fresh and ready. As one may expect from a player as talented and dominate and Incendiate, they put on top-level performances in each of their matchups.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S: Jougai Rantou!? Shuyaku Shoudatsusen

Easily one of the biggest kusoge success stories of the last decade. Sailor Moon S, a Sailor Moon fighting game for the SNES, has taken on the type of popularity that has kept it in flavor for longer than some mainline fighting game entries. SMS popularity was so high that players were investing in SNES superguns so they could play with their controller of choice without having to resort to emulation. The game is of course filled with busted mechanics (everything about Uranus) and weird toolkits (Jupiters’s Coconut Cyclone does more damage on chip than on hit) that came together by accident instead of by intention, but that’s why it’s so beloved.

What To Expect

Backdashes are fully invincible until the last frame, not invincible just on startup but fully invincible until the very end. Chibi can actually chain backdashes together to be fully invincible as long as the player can keep the execution (yes, this is a legit stall out tactic). Another important defensive mechanic is Guard Cancel, which can be done on the 10th frame of hitstun and allows you to cancel into specials, supers, and dashes. Anyone already in the know is waiting to see if I explain how Uranus works and to that dear reader; I say let those uninitiated watch in glory of what that character does first hand. All will become clear soon enough

Sailor Moon S wasn’t at Combo Breaker last year, but it was still definitely at Combo Breaker last year. This footage may lack the pomp, circumstance, and commentary that the game normally receives but it also lacks any Uranus players. Instead we get to see a healthy amount of Mars, Mercury, and Venus players in this unofficial top 8.

TMNT x Justice League Turbo

A spiritual successor to TMNT Tournament Fighters for SNES and Justice League Task Force for the Genesis, TMNT x JL Turbo is an independent work made in I.K.E.M.E.N. GO (A engine similar to and able to work with M.U.G.E.N.) that has far surpassed what any other fan work has been able to complete. Not only is the game just incredibly good, but it has featured collaborations from the original works, such as pixel artist Yoshiki Akasaka or old-school illustrators Tom duBois, Mick McGinty, and Jim Lawson creating a collaborative illustration for the game. The amount of love and detail that has gone into TMNT x JL Turbo is astonishing and the end result is an unbelievably solid game styled after the 16bit classic fighters of the past.

What To Expect

There is a system at play called Omega Factor. The little Ω marker next to the life bar keeps track of how much Omega Factor you have. Omega Factor is gained by either getting the first hit of the round or not being hit for four in-game seconds. When you have Omega Factor (up to three levels can be stocked) you can expend it to perform Omega Specials, which are an incredibly important tool because Omega Specials do not count towards a combo’s juggle limit. Proper use of Omega Factor can allow for combo extensions far beyond what is normally allowed and because Omega Factor is its own resource, you can still have your Super Attack armed and at the ready to be used as well.

Last year I mentioned how I could have put Phil Nolan’s documentary on TMNTxJL in this section, so this year I’m going to do just that. While 28 minutes is a little beefy for an article you peruse through, it’s well worth the time to see everything that went into how this game came to be.

Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown

The history of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, the balance version that Ultimate Showdown is a visual update too, is closing in on being as long as Virtua Fighter to VF5FS. The amount of time this game has had to simmer has been massive and there reward is a fascinating competitive environment. There is so much to love about Virtua Fighter, Akira’s explosive damage, Jeffry’s Toe Kick Splash Mountain, Wolf’s Burning Hammer/Giant Swing/F5, this roster has been so passionately designed to guarantee you will find someone to fall in love with. With the pedigree of one of the most important 3D fighters ever made, Virtua Fighter continues to create phenomenal tournament play with its high level of play. Only three buttons and a world of possibilities within.

What To Expect

VF5US is an incredibly structured game, which is not very apparent to those watching who do not also play. The way mechanics interact creates game states where there are hardlined answers to situations. The most prevalent of these is “Nitaku”, Japanese for “two choice”. When the attacker is at frame advantage, typically +6 or +7, the opponent is put into Nitaku, wherein Virtua Fighter’s vast amount of defensive options are reduced to a 50/50. The attacker can either throw or put out a mid and the defender’s options will lose to either one or the other. VF5US may not have a lot in flashy, eye-grabbing mechanics, but what goes on under the hood is some of the most fascinating system work in all of fighting games.

I say this not to be some pompous trumpeter of the series, but I cannot overstate how mechanically dense Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is. This A-to-Z guide may be long, but it explains many vital concepts that help playing, let alone watching, the game.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo

If you can believe this, there was once a time in history where Super Turbo was described to be the “honest footsies and fundamentals” Street Fighter. That is obviously horseshit, Super Turbo is a game made for and played by depraved mad-people and that’s why it rules. ST is the final (kinda) revision based on the original Street Fighter 2 and comes with it the advancements made along the way. Faster speed of play, Super meter for a highly damaging tool at your disposal, and the ability to pick old versions of the cast which doubles the roster. Super Turbo is where the foundational work that Street Fighter 2 laid shows up as juiced-up, jacked behemoths imposing their will against each other until someone crashes. Don’t want to be stuck in a throw loop from Boxer? Consider not getting thrown then.

What To Expect

While the roster is doubled thanks to old versions being selectable, the most relevant old characters are O.Sagat, O.Ken, and O.Hawk. Old characters lose their super meter, so they need to be able to have substantial benefits to offset this. O.Sagat gets the best fireballs in the game with his Tiger Shots, O.Ken gets a DP that is invincible for a full calendar year, and O.Hawk gets a command grab with no whiff animation meaning he can tick throw OS by negative edging the command grab. The other characters you should expect to see are Boxer, who we already talked about with that whole throw loop nonsense (he’s also just all around amazing), Dhalsim, who newer players may not realize can be a rushdown beast in this game with his tick throws and air drills, and Claw, who’s walldive is incredibly hard to contest and has a walk speed that could outpace most Tour de France cyclists. There are many other relevant powerhouses in this game, like Chun, Dee Jay, or Ryu, but if we wanted to talk about what makes so much of this roster cool we would be here all day and I need to finish this article.

As much as I was goofing at the beginning of this entry, there is still a large amount of fundamentals at play within Super Turbo. David Sirlin’s beginner tutorial to Super Turbo is an amazing video that helps onboard anyone to the core ideas of what makes fighting games truly tick under the hood. This video is at least 15 years old so you might have to uh, squint. The compression is from the Before Times. 

Sonic The Fighters

If one wishes to understand the importance of the original Virtua Fighter, simply look at how many children it spawned. SEGA’s monumental fighter was stretched and squashed in various ways to create more games from its bloodline, with possibly the most obscure one being a fighting game with Sonic characters (the answer could also be Fighters Megamix by today’s standards though). While historically, StF was seen as something more akin to a curiosity than a deep and complex fighter, the dedicated fanbase behind the game have been building its reputation back up as something worth playing. Again, this was SEGA AM2 in the 90s. They made some good ass games.

What To Expect

Being a game from the Built In The Mold Of Virtua Fighter era, StF is a PKG three button game. But Guard is designed a bit differently this time around, instead of a full on block Guard is a defensive barrier with a finite amount of uses. This barrier can be broken by certain moves or throws, decreasing the amount of barrier that character has left, but it can also be spent offensively. If you see a character start to sparkle, they spent one of their barrier chargers to enter Hyper Mode, a state where their combo potential vastly increases, some characters get additional moves, but they do less damage to offset it.

A couple entries ago, I mentioned how a 28min documentary might be too much to choke down in the middle of an article. I apologize, I should have saved that statement for the absolutely sensational 2hr 21min documentary on the history of competitive Sonic The Fighters. The creator of this video is the TO this weekend, so you are in good hands.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R

The King. Without a doubt the most influential anime game to ever be made. You can see just in other doujin games within this article how Guilty Gear’s touch was felt across the genre, becoming the poster child for high-speed, airdash-heavy fighting game action and creating the Roman Cancel system which countless games have iterated on for their own uses. With years of revisions, +R is the final version of the game and what a belter of a way to end, packed to the gills with mechanics, almost every character absolutely juiced up, and a recent addition of rollback netcode alongside some of the snappiest UX and trailblazing assets like the ability to go into replays and resume the game from any point makes +R still the cream of the crop in this genre.

What To Expect

The hallmark of this era of Guilty Gear is the False Roman Cancel. This allows certain moves to be canceled in places they normally couldn’t for less meter cost. The timing on it is strict however, usually within the 2-4 frame range. While some of these FRCs can be quite difficult, seasoned players have grinded out the timings to make sure they don’t leave damage on the table. While much rarer, another mechanic specific to this era is the Slash Back. This is like a precursor to Xrd’s Blitz, a parry-esque defensive tool that costs less meter to perform but has a much smaller window. Because of this strict timing, successful Slack Backs are rare but extremely hype when correctly applied.

Last year we showed how, even with a game as old as +R, new tech and optimizations were being made by showing off the improvements Holy Order Sol had seen. Likewise, this last Frosty Faustings had a standout run by Kliff player TTTTTsd, someone who has almost single-handedly pushed Kliff up the tier list with a bevy of new setups, combos, and optimizations he labbed out. +R will never die.

Duck Game

  • Bracket Start: SUN 12:00pm
  • Stream Time: SUN 1:30pm
  • Channel Link: twitch.tv/JWonggg

One shot, one kill. Two ducks enter, only one duck leaves. Duck Game is a multiplayer party game that has found a competitive home with its fast speeds and propensity for cool movement tech. A 2D platformer, you and your opposing duck(s) start empty handed and have to quickly arm yourself with a variety of weapons on the map. Be quick or be quacked, as it only takes one shot for a duck to be roasted.

What To Expect

With players starting empty handed on (usually) symmetrical maps, your starting line of movement is one of the most important parts of the round. Whichever player first gets a weapon will be at an advantage, which is where tech like ragdoll boosting when under a corner ledge to give yourself a higher jump comes into play. However with how fast rounds go in Duck Game, just try to hang on and catch who is shooting what.

This is not the first time Duck Game has shown up at Combo Breaker, but it was in the air if it would ever show up again. There was a recent scare that Duck Game, alongside other Adult Swim Games releases, would be delisted from Steam, but thankfully the developer was able to retain the IP rights and keep this game available for the masses to play.

Plasma Sword

Many, many years ago, I assumed Hayato’s inclusion in Marvel vs Capcom 2 meant that his home games of Star Gladiator and Plasma Sword were 2D pixel fighters I just haven’t come across yet (in fairness, this wasn’t a misguided idea. I’m looking at you Morrigan Sprite). Instead, those games were Capcom’s widely-forgotten foray into 3D fighters. Plasma Sword follows closely enough to the Soulcalibur horizontal/vertical/kick formula, but eschews a guard button for a dedicated movement button and some very of-the-era Capcom mechanics.

What To Expect

Plasma Sword has its own version of VSAV’s Dark Force; Plasma Field. When activated a large area-of-effect zone expands from the character and if the opponent is hit the playfield turns into a box of doom. Each character’s Plasma Field grants them a unique ability for as long as the field is up. What’s more interesting is how much utility activating the Plasma Field has. It’s fast enough to whiff punish misplaced strings, the spherical area-of-effect allows coverage from movement options, and you can even perform it mid-air to preempt anti-airs. Characters like Blood or June can even loop their Plasma Fields into more Plasma Field activations as long as they have meter. Playing with and around Plasma Field is a huge aspect of the game.

There is a dire lack of good Plasma Sword footage out there, so thankfully we have one of a couple instances of Fraud Krew running the game. You will see metered defensive options like Plasma Reflect and Plasma Revenge, a type of parry or guard cancel that both will help you escape some of the top tier’s pressure, like Zelkin flight cancels or Rai-On 5A dash pressure.

Digimon Rumble Arena

Released towards the tail end of the Playstation 1’s lifespan and after the success of Super Smash Bros, you would be forgive for writing off Digimon Rumble Arena as a Smash clone looking to make a buck with a license. Despite how niche it is, an international community has taken care of the game’s competitive life, with tournaments showing up in Japan, New Zealand, and this weekend in Chicago, Illinois. While information is somewhat sparse, anyone who is interest in DRA should be aware of this Bible of knowledge put together that covers events, tech, mechanics, character overviews, and more.

What To Expect

Unlike the rest of the platform fighter genre, DRA keeps standard low/mid/high attack attributes with aerial moves always hitting high like in any 2D fighter. Unlike the rest of the platform fighter genre but in a very different way, DRA has an attribute triangle (a la Fire Emblem). These attributes of Fire/Water/Nature will minorly affect the Digimon, as they all have a native attribute, but more importantly affect the stages that get played, because they all have a native attribute and the stage hazards fall into that. Also, I’m sure you’ll be chasing your hat in shock when you hear this, the Digimon can build a meter over the fight to Digivolve; a state that makes them more powerful but also acts as a guard cancel because you can do it out of block.

Uploader and TO ncea has been the one holding it down for New Zealand and is responsible for most of the DRA footage on YouTube. Elsewhere on the channel is some tech explanations for a handful of the characters as well. 

Cyberbots

Cyberbots holds a bit of a kindredship with another game this weekend, Plasma Sword, as being one of the more forgotten games made by Capcom during the prime of their years. I remember a couple years back the Japanese community saying “there are barely enough players to fill a baseball team”. That is no longer an issue, Cyberbots has grown leaps and bounds in the past years thanks to inclusion in the Capcom Fighting Collection. Much like SEGA with Sonic The Fighters, Capcom rarely made bad games; only games that needed to wait a while to find their audience.

What To Expect

Oh my god, Cyberbots is so fast. Because both boosting and projectile weapons are universal tools, neutral is played predominantly in the air. While there are many forms of projectile, many of them can be overpowered or destroyed and none of them do chip damage. This leads to a very frenetic style of footsies where characters zip around the screen, sometimes up in the health bars, laying suppressing fire and threatening movement to punish someone for overextending. The Variant Armors are trying to jockey for the higher grounded position and a game with this much speed make that harder to find.

PolarBair, the Cyberbots TO for this year, is one of the big forces in promoting, popularizing, and getting information out on Cyberbots. This quick primer he created will help you get up to speed on some of the mechanical intricacies, as better understanding of Charge Cancels or the quasi-universal reversal supers will make some actions less confusing in the heat of battle.

Soulcalibur II

It’s no secret that Soulcalibur II is the defining game from the Soulcalibur series, but sometimes I think it gets lost in context just how impressive that is. Soulcalibur is not lacking in amazing releases, Soulcalibur 1 was a stand out example of arcade-to-console conversions, Soulcalibur 5 is easily my favorite 3D fighter, and still Soulcalibur II is held in a regard equal or better than the best the series has put out. This weapon-based 3D fighter had everything: fluid graphics and crisp gameplay, interesting and competitive tournament play, more single-player content than the majority of the genre, and even an arcade-only Conquest mode that would have you fighting over control of a map with one of four armies. Like many other games on this list, the classics won’t die because they are just that damn good.

What To Expect

Guard Impact, a sort of parry, is a staple of the entire Soulcalibur series. By GIing an attack, the attacker is put into a state where they can only GI in response. However, in SC2 there is a glitch where you can 2G (down and Guard) and block after being GI’d. This is one of the most important parts of SC2 as the ability to stand Guard after being GI’d changes the landscape for the game. Now characters with strong lows and throws excel because if the opponent 2Gs after getting GI’d, they will block most standard punishes but lose to throws and lows.

Hand in hand with GI 2G, Step Guard is another vital aspect to playing SC2 and may be better explained visually. By stepping up or down and pressing Guard, even though the guard animation comes out at the end of the step, you will be guarding the entire time. This means you can avoid vertical B attacks and block horizontal A attacks. However much like GI 2G, this technique loses to lows and throws.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

It may say BlazBlue on the tin, but what really made the crowd erupt with joy when this game was unveiled was the inclusion of the cast from RWBY. This 2v2 Versus fighter is mainly built upon the crossover of BlazBlue, Under Night, and Persona 4 Arena characters, but the guest appearances are wicked. Heart Aino from Arcana Heart, Yumi from Senran Kagura, and the big boi himself; Blitztank from Akatsuki Blitzkampf. With a hectic pace and the type of damage that makes characters Megaman explode when touched, it’s very easy to miss a round if you get distracted by checking your phone.

What To Expect

As one may expect from a Versus-styled fighter, just because your second character isn’t actively controlled doesn’t mean they won’t be impacting the game. Obviously you can call them for one of three types of assist attacks but once they are on screen it is possible to Active Change to them, changing the assist character to the point character (yes, this makes disgusting mixups). The more advanced version of this is Cross Combo, giving you the ability to control both your point and assist character at the same time. While this requires a level of mental and physical execution, the reward for making it a 2-on-1 fight is extremely lucrative.

BBTag at this year’s Frosty put up over 80 players, proving there is still a significant amount of interest and talent in showing up for offline brackets. Every game has their official support end and it becomes the community’s responsibility to keep supporting it after that, sometime I am glad to see BBTag is doing. 

Ultra Street Fighter IV

The final installation of the game that kicked off the second Golden Age. Street Fighter IV’s importance upon the genre cannot be overstated as it was the dominant force in fighting games for years after its release and brought new light into the competitive community. Ultra Street Fighter IV, the last revision of the game, caps off a run of tournaments and top 8s so legendary that few games will ever be able to compete. With over 40 characters, each of which have two Ultra attacks to choose from, USF4 is a highly entertaining end to an era that still gets revisited to this day.

What To Expect

The core mechanic to USF4 is the Focus Attack, this chargable state can absorb an attack and becomes unblockable when fully charged. However it has another, meter costing, form as well, a Red Focus Attack has endless armor meaning you can absorb even the largest of attack strings. These both can be used in combo structure as FADC’s (Focus Attack Dash Cancels), where you cancel an attack into a Focus Attack, then dash cancel the Focus Attack to continue your combo. A normal FADC costs 2 meter but usually ends with a powerful Ultra cash out combo and a Red FADC costs 3 meter but forces a crumble state on the opponent, allowing for different combo routes.

In effort to continue digging up old matches that were total barnburners, let us look back on Pepedey vs Poongko. Both players are operating at a blistering pace, making for a set that leaves you on the edge of your seat and delivers so legitimately unbelievable moments. 

Rivals Of Aether

There have been many attempts to bolster the Platform Fighter genre with new games, but rarely do they make a dent next to the monolithic Super Smash Bros. However, of all games following in the footsteps, Rivals Of Aether has been the most successful in both crafting its own identity and finding tournament footing at Smash events. The Rivals series has gone on to become its own successful franchise, seeing comic book spinoffs and additional games in different genres released over the past couple years. Its bright pixel presentation and refreshing competitive QoL changes have kept Rivals of Aether popular for years.

What To Expect

If you are familiar with competitive Smash Bros, then most of what Rivals offers on screen will be easy enough to follow. There is one large change that Rivals has that sets it apart from the rest of the genre and it’s how it handles defense. There is no blocking or shielding in this game, instead your only defensive tool is a parry function that will show a large black outline around the character when activated. If hit during this window, the opponent will be briefly stunned and open for a punish. It is worth noting that this is not applied across all attacks universally. Some attacks, mainly jabs, are safe when parried, making for a check offense that doesn’t lose to the big defensive verb in town.

Talking about Rivals in the big time, the grand finals at Genesis X is excellent. Soulrifle puts up 5 unanswered games against one of the best Rivals players, CakeAssault, in a grands performance that can only be described as dominant. 

Bloody Roar Extreme

I would kill for a feature, a documentary, anything on what goes on behind the scenes at game developer 8ing’s office. There are many reasons to be a fan of this company’s fighting games, be it their touch on the Versus series, their top-of-the-line licensed kusoge fighters, or even the series that was their flagship for the company’s early years; Bloody Roar. One of the faster and more jump-friendly 3D fighters of its time, the Bloody Roar series is a manic, combo-heavy expression of the genre that has been dormant way too long. Even if 8ing never comes back to this franchise, we at least have releases like Extreme to keep us playing.

What To Expect

The name of the game is Beast Form. Each character can transform into their given Beast once their meter fills up to at least 50%. Beast form unlocks various benefits, more attacks, the ability to super, various offensive/defensive buffs, and the transformation of which can be done manually or during certain attack strings. What sets Extreme apart is the Hyperbeast, a Beast transformation that ignores the amount of meter you have and instead takes from your life bar. Not only can this be used like a burst and allow you to escape combos, but Hyperbeast form tacks on even more benefits. Each character will get a couple extra special buffs in Hyperbeast, like forced counter hit, life steal, super armor, forced special cancel states, ignoring the opponent’s defense modifier, all sorts of goodies. There’s also just a lot of colors going on, the most likely one’s to look for are green circles in the air to denote Air Teching and green lighting to denote Guard Attacks, moves with upper body armor.

Scxcr put out a video going over a bit of history of Bloody Roar Extreme and it’s inclusion as a main stage game at Combo Breaker 2022. In the vein of a sports documentary, it goes over how the event itself and who rose through the ranks to take the crown in Bloody Roar Extreme’s biggest event. With this being the 3rd year in a row BRE has shown up, the game has been building more and more momentum to become a tournament staple.

Lethal League Blaze

Lethal League has a very long history with Combo Breaker by way of its predecessor; the Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament series. Way back, at UFGT9, the original Lethal League debuted as the grand finals game in that year’s Mystery Tournament to a chorus of hype, excitement, and the author of this article embarrassingly losing a side bet in full view of the stream camera. Lethal League Blaze is the overhaul sequel to the original, featuring a lovingly-rendered Jet Set Radio vibe and deep competitive play. There is so much more to this game than merely a case of cocaine Pong, LLB has a nuanced set of mechanics that makes for a fighting game unlike anything else.

What To Expect

The faster the ball is traveling, the longer a character will be in hitstop when they go to strike it. Frequently, you will see a blue and white spiral around the ball before it is launched, this is a Parry. Because high speed balls have such long hitstop, the opponent can easily position themselves to immediately hit the ball as soon as your hitstop ends. Parrys will deflect and stun the opponent if they go for this, however there is counter-play involved to beat parrys. If you sniff out that your opponent is going to end their hit with a parry, you can reverse it on them by grabbing the parry, almost similar to grabbing a Burst in Guilty Gear. However if your hard read goes wrong and you attempt to grab them when they haven’t parried, you get put in a similar parry stun for your mistake. This push and pull keeps high-speed ball volleys from happening and instead returns the game to a effort of mixups and neutral.

This brief character rundown can help bring you up to speed on what each member of the cast does in Lethal League Blaze. While obviously differentiated by their special moves, the roster features a variety of shooting angles, speeds, and weights that play into how each character operates. 

Try something new at Combo Breaker 2024!

This year’s All In Together is another massive showcase of the communal love we have for fighting games. This year’s selection adds new faces alongside reliable foundations to create what is honestly my favorite part of Combo Breaker; an event within the event itself. The range of what is possible to play in bracket is staggering, we have games that aren’t released yet, we have games that were released before many attendees were born. The scope of this genre is ceaseless, if there is head to head competition involved then we are drawn to find a way to play it against others. Fighting games are a language and there are so many different ways to speak it. The beauty of that is with each new tongue we learn we can gain a greater appreciation of the culture and love of those around us.

This year, play something new. Play something you’ve never heard of. Play something that looks neat from afar. Play something that confuses you. Keep your eyes open as the weekend goes on and observe all the forms of love on display. It doesn’t take much to feel that, you just have to play something.

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