EventHubs Podcast (Jon Grey, John Guerrero)

After more than four years of updates, patches, and tweaks, Street Fighter 5 feels like it's more balanced than ever... with perhaps a few caveats... we discuss the particulars of this and then are joined by Dakota "DarkHorse" Hills and Nick "MajinTenshinhan" Taylor to talk the good, the bad, and the ugly of Granblue Fantasy: Versus.

Timestamps 1:31 - Is Street Fighter 5's balance better than ever? 51:14 - The good, bad, and ugly of Granblue Fantasy: Versus (With MajinTenshinhan and DarkHorse)

You know those characters that just suck to lose to? Well we talk about 9 of them on today's episode. Plus why I think Lucia is secretly a top 10 character in Street Fighter 5 all on this week's episode of the EventHubs Podcast.

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Some of the top Japanese players in the world have come out with a Topanga tier list for Season 5 of Street Fighter 5, and, to put it lightly, we have some pretty heavy disagreements with it. Plus Dragon Ball FighterZ starts up a comeback, the clock is ticking for Capcom to figure out online issues, I have some firsthand experience with Street Fighter Amateur League, and more.

Timestamps

01:09 - Topanga's whack tier list 35:13 - iDom's tier list for Poison 43:00 - Dragon Ball FighterZ is back? 51:21 - Granblue Fantasy: Versus is selling exceptionally well in Asia... but Catalyst 1:03:07 - Intel World Open starts in about 5 weeks, the clock for Capcom to fix online is ticking 1:10:23 - The good and bad of playing in the Street Fighter Amateur League

Of the many characters who appeared in Street Fighter 5's story modes but not its main roster, we've chosen five who we think should get a shot at being playable in Street Fighter 6. Also, Catalyst takes us through three specific issues with Street Fighter 5's netcode he'd like to see fixed.

We've been intensely exploring Street Fighter 5's latest transformation since its launch, and have some new revelations about how V-Shift will affect the meta. We also discuss how effective we feel the nerfs to five of the game's strongest characters will be, plus Dakota "DarkHorse" Hills joins us to talk about his experiences with Guilty Gear Strive's addictive beta, and even offers a quality of life tip to help make traversing the awful lobby system a little less hellacious.

Timestamps 00:58 - DarkHorse's Guilty Gear Strive beta impressions, netcode = fantastic 03:15 - GGS online vs. SF5 online 06:14 - The game feels "hefty" while you play; comparisons to previous GG titles 12:40 - Strive is simpler, but is it trading fun for simplicity, or can you have both? 15:18 - That damn lobby system... but also one quality of life tip to make finding matches easier 21:48 - Shifts in Street Fighter 5's meta thanks to V-Shift 38:02 - M. Bison: what's changed? 49:48 - Akuma: what's changed? 01:02:05 - Urien: what's changed? 01:12:25 - Rashid: what's changed? 01:18:55 - Seth: what's changed?

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Which game is better? Street Fighter 4 or Street Fighter 5? We pit these two together across five categories to see which comes out on top, and then Catalyst takes us to Lore-ville as he covers the actual tournament winners according to Street Fighter canon.

Street Fighter 3: Third Strike is often regarded as one of the best fighting games of all time, so should Street Fighter 6 borrow the global parry mechanic 3S is so widely known for? Plus Catalyst lists off 5 major issues Street Fighter 6 must avoid at launch.

We recently spoke about Street Fighter 4's biggest blunders, but now it's Street Fighter 5's turn. What were the five most egregious errors Capcom made over SF5's life thus far? Plus, Catalyst considers what playing Street Fighter 6 on PC vs. on consoles might look like, and which route will likely be better.

Street Fighter 4 brought 11 newcomers that had never been playable in a Street Fighter game prior into the mix, and we rank them in order of general success. Plus, Catalyst explores the benefits of more casual Street Fighter encounters.

Believe it or not, we're entering the final months of 2020 and that means a Street Fighter 5 balance patch is likely on the horizon. With that in mind, we're a bit surprised at how little we're hearing in the way of calls for Akuma nerfs and so we're diving in to highlight the specifics of why he's overpowered and how Capcom should go about fixing him. Also, we recently got more information about Season 5's first DLC character, Dan, and it sounds as though there's a chance the joke character might present some very intriguing opportunities for both casual and eSports players if the stars indeed align like they're threatening to.

Timestamps 01:51 - Not enough people are talking about the best character in Street Fighter 5 08:16 - How far are we hoping Akuma falls down tier list mountain and how does that specifically happen? 19:16 - What do we think Capcom will actually do? 28:58 - Tournament performance observations in 2020 31:16 - Why Dan has different potential than any SF5 character we've seen yet 39:22 - Potential for eSports charisma 50:02 - Depressed, sweatpants, plastic vodka bottle Alex

V-Shift is taking clearer and clearer form as we've begun digging into the heart of Street Fighter 5's updated meta, and while different types of characters may benefit from this new mechanic in various ways, we may have come upon the common thread that illuminates what kinds of abilities and styles are going to be most effective here in Season 5.

Timestamps 01:05 - Intro (Favorite colors, lovers' quarrel, and shrinking genitalia) 04:53 - V-Shift benefits different types of characters 08:30 - Does V-Shift fix the problems SF5 has had? 15:40 - Has the community has been doubting V-Shift and Capcom too much? 23:28 - V-Shift buffs neutral 33:27 - SF5 more fun/rewarding now? 45:54 - "Super controversial" Guile 57:00 - Why is Cammy, a rush down character, top tier with V-Shift? 1:08:48 - Closing thoughts

There's been a lot of progress made when it comes to fighting game network play, and with as many wins as we've seen in recent times in this avenue, it seems a good time to evaluate where the FGC currently sits as far as its feelings toward the legitimacy of network play. Plus, Tekken players really love their franchise, PlayStation 5 might have some input lag woes, and there's a surprising amount of things to say about chip damage.

Timestamps 00:45 - Indiana Jones 02:30 - We've been making progress online 06:40 - Tekken netcode update reactions 13:25 - How warm are we to the idea of online play as valid for competition right now? 24:10 - Hardware matters 32:12 - Encouraged by progress 34:57 - PlayStation 5 might have naturally high input lag 43:49 - Chip kills, picking the right mechanics, and risk vs. reward 

From core mechanics to general flow and feel, we discuss 6 important things players can expect from Street Fighter 6, also, almost all of the reactions from those who have played are positive thus far. Has Capcom found the perfect balance of accessibility and dynamic core gameplay? 

When Capcom adds a new character into the Street Fighter franchise, the newcomer has the potential to enhance both the immediate game and the franchise as a whole.

Last week we ranked Street Fighter 4's newcomers to see who wound up being a good call and who fell flat, and we've given the same treatment to Street Fighter 5's 12 fresh faces (Luke will eventually be the 13th) on this week's podcast.

Also, Catalyst gets his ass kicked by Filipinoman's Rose in Capcom's first new Fight Money online tournament and he has some words detailing his overall experience.

What are the five worst Street Fighter games of all time? We're focusing only on the main series, but are discerning between versions of games.

Who are the most underrated characters in Street Fighter 5 these days? DreamKing, MajinTenshinhan, Catalyst, and I have all put together top three lists that we use to discuss, debate, and try to arrive at something of an answer to this question on this week's episode of the EventHubs Podcast

Timestamps 01:28 - Guilty Gear Strive beta hype from Nick 06:15 - Most underrated characters

News Flash! Street Fighter 5 had a lot of issues, so today we're talking about some of the biggest ones we don't want to see in Street Fighter 6. Also, we discuss how to learn to jump in at the right time so you can stop feeling like a dumb, stupid idiot who jumps too much.

Timestamps 01:55 - Four improvements we want to see in Street Fighter 6 that SF5 got wrong 33:46 - How to know when to jump in

EVO 2020 has been canceled and organizers plan to take the event online. This seems like a logistical nightmare, but is there a timeline where we actually see it work? MajinTenshinhan joins us to talk about this and to conclude our discussion and rankings of Street Fighter 5's four seasons.

Timestamps 01:06 - EVO canceled and headed online... can it work? 26:51 - Season 3 discussion start 31:24 - Sakura 40:37 - Blanka 46:07 - Falke 53:37 - Cody 1:01:59 - G 1:12:57 - Sagat 1:22:32 - Season 4 discussion start, Kage 1:32:10 - E. Honda 1:39:04 - Poison 1:43:38 - Lucia 1:50:02 - Gill 1:55:39 - Seth 2:06:42 - Individual ratings for Seasons 3 and 4 2:23:45 - Final averages for all Seasons

Last week we looked at how some of the strongest characters of Street Fighter 5's fourth season may have fallen down the tier lists here with the kick off of Season 5, and now we're looking to see which of the world warriors seem to be gaining the most potential ground thanks to re-balance and V-Shift.

Timestamps 00:30 - Welcome Nick, Pineapple 7up and Caramel Pepsi 03:50 - How much better is Alex? 20:34 - How much better is Ryu? 36:13 - Menat's less conspicuous super buff? 48:53 - How much better is Ed? 1:00:28 - How much better is Gill? 1:08:26 - Is Nash better or worse? 1:13:40 - How much better is Honda?

We know we're entering the final chapter for Street Fighter 5, and we know Capcom is changing up their approach and letting the creativity flow a bit more with their developments, so one has to wonder, to what extent will Season 5 be a test bed for Street Fighter 6? Plus MajinTenshinhan joins us to talk about the apparent age-old process of dumbing down fighting games for casual players and to discuss where the heck King of Fighters 15 is and why he's been playing older games during COVID.

Timestamps 04:11 - SF5's final year is probably going to offer a taste of SF6 07:15 - What's the benefit using the end of a current game to test a next one? 10:58 - Everyone with their own mechanic? Raptor's worry 14:20 - How to play SF5 if it isn't your cup of tea 28:50 - (Enter MajinTenshinhan) 30:55 - Capcom has been making simplified fighting games for casuals for 25 years now 39:40 - Has accessibility messaging ever worked? 49:44 - Clear examples of over simplification (risk gauge) 53:46 - Capcom will likely mimic the SF4 example 59:56 - What's the deal with King of Fighters 15? 1:05:28 - Falling back to older games during COVID

Just as promised, Capcom showed off a ton of exciting new Street Fighter 5 content during Tuesday's Spring Update stream. We got new footage of Rose, Oro, and even a look at Akira, and so Catalyst and I offer up our thoughts, reactions, hopes, and worries about the coming chapters of Season 5. Timestamps

01:10 - Have we entered something of a new era for Street Fighter 5? 18:08 - Rose is probably gonna be pretty darn good in this game 38:48 - Oro, probably a character for a specific type of player, a sum of all parts 55:48 - Akira might be cool, hopefully developers refine her a decent bit before she drops 01:02:10 - What kinds of players are going to play Rose, what kinds of players are going to play Oro? 01:05:25 - Big ups to Capcom's team 

Where on the Street Fighter timeline should Capcom hold the events of Street Fighter 6? We discuss the potential of a venture into the past to feature important and intriguing characters we've yet to see on any playable roster. Plus Catalyst meets a big goal with Menat, and we examine what types of SF5 characters seem to do the best in tournament to determine what types of characters the game could use in its final DLC season.

Timestamps 01:26 - Where should SF6 be held on the timeline? 11:20 - How might Capcom go about getting characters from different points in time on the same roster? 15:30 - Story is massively important in fighting games now, tons of potential is currently on the table for Capcom 33:00 - Jon meets his goal 36:44 - What style isn't as represented in tournament play as others? (Zoning) 42:07 - Better address with new character playstyles as opposed to new mechanics

It's 2021, modern Street Fighter games should be getting balance updates more than once or twice a year! Plus four reasons why you're losing in Street Fighter 5 and the top 10 best alternate costumes in SF5.

A new netcode update drops for Street Fighter 5 and players deem it an instant failure before even trying it out... we address this and talk about what kind of results we're actually seeing, plus Catalyst is none too impressed with Seth's abilities, we're none too sure about Seth's gender, a Devil May Cry voice actor is none too sure about how to avoid NDA's on Twitter, and we check the mailbag.

Timestamps

00:38 - Netcode woes 31:23 - Catalyst thinks Seth is not gud 45:53 - Fun with pronouns 50:57 - Capcom VS. potential a la voice actor tweets 57:05 - Mailbag

Capcom has promised a special announcement this Thursday at Street Fighter League, but will it be Dan and/or Season 5 related? We're not exactly convinced yet. Plus Catalyst takes a look back over the trying days of Street Fighter 3 to highlight the crucial lessons learned about what a fighting game's success or failure seems to hinge on, and I speak from a more emotional standpoint about the biggest overarching takeaway I hope Capcom has gotten from Street Fighter 5 with.

Timestamps 00:52 - A special announcement of "something" is coming 09:40 - How past lessons of SF3 are impacting fighting games to this very day 12:04 - People legit felt SF3 was boring 14:20 - When the market gets over saturated 19:38 - A warning about passing judgement too quickly 24:25 - Capcom needs to learn how to better manage their relationship with fans 31:58 - The alienating effects of leaving fans too far out in the cold 36:15 - What happens if things don't change? 44:04 - Have we seen any progress yet? 52:15 - Raptor's Recommendation: Wim Hof

We welcome content creator and player King Jae to Talk and Block to discuss Street Fighter 6's appeal to more casual audiences. We also discuss a little Tekken, the potential of good character customization modes, and more.

We missed last week due to illness but we're back with a peace offering of three segments this week. First off we talk about all the hidden and secret characters in Street Fighter over the years, then do a review of Street Fighter 5 to see if it's worth getting here in 2022, and finally which characters stand the best chance at winning the Street Fighter 6 tournament (if there is one).

Is Luke an overpowered problem in Street Fighter 5 this season? We discuss this potential as the community begins expressing worry. Plus, Catalyst hits us with 5 big things fans should expect from Street Fighter 6.

Street Fighter 6 is bringing back one of the franchise's most important mechanics, the parry, but aiming to do so in a way that makes it less intimidating and more intuitive to newcomers. We explore how Capcom could potentially refine and make better the mechanic that helped define Third Strike as one of the greatest fighting games of all time.

We react to the new Street Fighter 6 costumes shown off for Ryu, Chun, Luke, Jamie, and Guile at San Diego Comicon. There also may have been a slight slip up revealing who is coming to SF6 next...

Though Street Fighter 5 has been growing on people in more recent times, fans still seem to love Street Fighter 4 more. We talk about why that probably is, and then cover five mistakes you're making that're throwing away rounds

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Timestamps

01:04 - Quick recap and what we can do to minimize these issues moving forward 15:16 - Dealing with things right now, on a personal level

We're looking to the future on this week's episode as Catalyst and I consider Capcom's approach to balancing Street Fighter 5 and ask whether or not we'd like to see more frequent adjustments as the standard for future titles. Plus, we're getting closer to the release of Dan and the first batch of Season 5 content, but should we be expecting it to actually happen here in 2020? 

Timestamps 01:49 - When should we be expecting the first batch of Season 5 content? 04:03 - Capcom baked in an option select 08:30 - Capcom Cup isn't happening until 2021 13:14 - "Just do it when it's READY" 22:08 - How often should Capcom be balancing Street Fighter games? 26:47 - Arguments and counters for more than once or twice a year 37:43 - Is the community ready for an updated approach? 45:00 - The FGC likes incremental changes   53:50 - Having a balanced attitude

We discuss some of the most significant changes we've seen thus far in Season 5 of Street Fighter 5, considering who some of the new top tiers might be, if lower tier fighters got the buffs they needed, and if the general look for the game will be better overall. Also, a big congrats to Abel Lawal for winning our holiday contest giveaway.

Timestamps

02:30 - Watching RBK, whiff punishing and footsies are immediately buffed... so let's talk Rashid 10:39 - Akuma... how far did he drop? 14:00 - Karin, not hit that hard? 19:01 - G - Almost no nerfs, better V-Trigger 2 25:10 - Ibuki, better in a new way? 31:18 - Abigail - should we believe the hype? 40:05 - M. Bison - don't fear the V-Skill 2 45:26 - M(eh)nat 50:46 - Ken 52:19 - Zangief didn't get much... biggest buff is the meta change? 56:15 - Nash is better but maybe in the wrong way? 1:00:00 - Sagat got buffs... like a better whiffed sweep? 1:03:13 - Dhalsim, F.A.N.G, and Guile don't seem to be needle movers 1:05:00 - Zeku, more Old, less Young 1:09:09 - Mika gets to be more crazy... GREAT!

Capcom Cup looks to be scheduled somewhat soon after a major balance update that includes the implementation of a brand new mechanic in Street Fighter 5, we have to wonder how well this'll go over with both players and fans. Plus, I'm back to learning many 101 lessons as I explore Seth and share some of my important findings thus far, and we get into some dangerous frames of mind you'll want to be sure to avoid.

Timestamps 00:00 - Intro and Jon's trash duties 01:10 - Major changes coming to SF5 just before Capcom Cup 08:30 - How often are people willing/wanting to see major updates? 26:43 - Back to school with Seth! 101 fighting game lessons we should all be reminding ourselves of 33:43 - Start with what you know, and start with what you're going to be using the most 44:10 - Using the micro to open up the macro: First use smaller moves and movements to set up for bigger ones 54:14 - Filtering advice that does more to hurt your confidence than help your game

Capcom has been hacked and as a result leaks concerning Street Fighter 6 have begun circulating on the interwebs. Catalyst and I discuss the details and see what all else we can deduce about SF6 given recent timelines, statements, and actions made by Capcom employees. Plus, how far off is the FGC from a return to normalcy when it comes to offline events? New vaccine developments are giving us some new hope. And finally, we take a closer look at Punk's recent SF5 tier list.

Timestamps 01:23 - Street Fighter 6 is coming 04:50 - Ono's performance since Street Fighter 4 10:49 - Why Capcom married Sony for SF5 15:13 - Expectations/standards for SF6 26:39 - Progress toward returning to normalcy in the FGC 34:54 - People are itching to get back to it 41:29 - Punk's tier list 43:25 - People are sleeping on Gill! 50:07 - General balance is... really good? 1:00:12 - Obstacles to fun in SF5

Tokido's Urien, Mago using Chun-Li, and Haitani with Laura? Catalyst has been snoopin' around the CFN profiles of some of Street Fighter 5's top players to see who is exploring potential new characters for the game's fifth season and he's found some intriguing results. Plus I learned how to Daigo and you can too. Also, we check the mailbag.

Timestamps 00:00 - Intro and Raptor's salty story 03:25 - Who the pros are playing 1:02:06 - The difference between me and Daigo 1:08:03 - Potential knives in a gunfight 1:12:01 - Mailbag

Capcom has announced that we're on the verge of some major Street Fighter 5 reveals and so we discuss what's most likely to be shown during this Friday's roundtable and next Wednesday's live stream events. We also get into the results of the very exciting CPT Online Asia East, talk about how Daigo is able to pull off such immaculate footsies, and consider the current state of balancing fighting games amid the backdrop of eSports.

Timestamps 01:37 - Street Fighter 5 reveals are right around the corner 15:29 - CPTO Asia East tourney, Daigo wins with Guile 27:27 - On Daigo's footsies  37:07 - Notable character performances in the CPTO Asia East 1 46:12 - Fighting game balance in eSportsy 2020

With the major reveals that have been rolling out for the next generation of gaming consoles it's becoming quickly apparent that the way we play, pay for, and consume video games is all but certainly about to change in some drastic ways, and so Catalyst and I examine what this might mean for the FGC. Plus we compare what we know about the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, talk about Bandai Namco's expert handling of one of Master Roshi's more sensitive personality points, and talk more Seth in Street Fighter 5.

Timestamps 01:43 - The Netflix of gaming 16:02 - Potential impact on the FGC (DLC issues seem imminent) 30:33 - Rumors that PS5 may already behind (Resident Evil 8) 41:23 - Bandai includes just a tad of Master Roshi's perverse nature in Dragon Ball FighterZ 46:29 - Is Seth being overrated?

It's no secret that the latest Street Fighter can invoke a special mix of rage and anxiety when at its worst, but why -exactly- is this the case? We bring on DreamKing to try to hash out the dirty details as well as to talk about Monday's wonderfully successful Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 event.

Timestamps 01:40 - Setting the stage 05:14 - Risk vs. Reward, Offense vs. Defense, and the main issue for SF5 10:47 - The second strongest defensive mechanic in this game 14:37 - The "Blackjack approach" to SF5 17:32 - When relief is the reward 22:55 - DreamKing's Example (intent is ambiguous) 30:53 - The dangers of over correction (Street Fighter 3) 37:07 - Why the grind can feel like it's just not worth it 47:39 - The success of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Live

When's Street Fighter 6? We think we have a decent idea in terms of both when it might be announced and when it'll actually see a release. Plus Catalyst recalls foolish things the FGC said would never happen... that happened, and we list off the 10 worst alternate costumes in all of Street Fighter 5.

Welcome back to the EventHubs Podcast, where the talk is 100% fighting games most of the time. On this week's episode DreamKing and MajinTenshinhan join to discuss the mostly good and somewhat bad experiences they've had with the latest Guilty Gear Strive beta. Then we delve into speculation-ville as the four of us offer our eight cents on how and how heavily Street Fighter 5's new V-Shift mechanic will be changing the game's meta.

Timestamps

00:58 - Guilty Gear Strive beta impressions, netcode 13:23 - Thoughts on gameplay 21:04 - Thoughts on graphics and visuals 24:19 - The lobby system of death... 31:12 - Bare bones tutorial? 36:50 - Last Strive launch character likely to be revealed very soon 38:57 - V-Shift is en route to SF5, how it works and initial thoughts 45:13 - Extra good for zoners? Less committal buttons? STILL bad for Alex 54:19 - Will there be enough (or any) risk attached to V-Shift? 59:38 - This might make certain characters invalid... unless they get new moves 1:03:04 - Will it bring more reactive skill to neutral? 1:09:18 - Fear that V-Shift might simply hurt lower tiers and help top tiers 1:17:39 - The updated game balance and developer decisions are going to be a very crucial factors 1:22:35 - Closing thoughts

Street Fighter 5 just got a new netcode update and Catalyst and I have spent some time this morning exploring it directly while also trying to figure out what specific changes we should expect moving forward. Speaking of changes moving forward, Capcom appears to be planning to evolve the game in some significant ways in Season 5. Finally, why does Mortal Kombat's Mileena have such a rabid fan base? We explore a bit of the psychology behind the fandom of this simultaneous sexy bae and devouring monster from under your bed. 

Timestamps

00:52 - Netcode update for SF5, what are we seeing already? 02:35 - Potential direct impact for PS4 users 08:26 - What should we expect? 12:55 - We suspect Street Fighter 5's identity is going to change significantly (again) in Season 5 16:50 - What kinds of changes have we seen thus far? Plans for new mechanics    21:17 - Capcom understands the game better than ever before and there's evidence 25:52 - What's SF5's identity like right now? (And what, therefore, needs change?) 35:00 - Giving credit where it's due 43:47 - Why do people love Mortal Kombat's Mileena so ferociously? 46:23 - Two themes: Sexy bae and devouring monster 49:47 - Mileena is your mate and your mom   51:30 - Kiss of Death

Die hard Street Fighter 4 fans, like myself, probably had a fairly intense emotional reaction to the question posed in the headline, but Street Fighter 5 has reached a point that makes it worth asking. Plus Catalyst lists off 6 characters you can score easy wins with and we cover 5 of the most frustrating online tactics.

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Timestamps

00:00 - Intro, thanks for 2k subs

05:06 - Has SF5 evolved beyond SF4?

28:23 - 6 easy win characters

57:00 - 5 frustrating online tactics

Street Fighter X Tekken wound up not being Capcom's proudest moment, but it did teach us plenty of lessons we'd be remiss not to remember in current times. Plus Catalyst shares some old conversations he's had with Capcom employees, I learned a fighting game lesson while playing Risk, and online tournament results are painting a somewhat surprising picture.

Timestamps

1:10 - The sins of Street Fighter X Tekken 16:56 - Catalyst's Capcom secrets 23:21 - Risk can make you madder than Street Fighter 39:18 - Capcom Pro Tour online, seeing the problems so we can fix them (plus surprisingly unsurprising results) 45:05 - Helping to fix the issues from our end

Intel reveals the rule book for their Intel World Open and the FGC immediately expresses a ton of trepidation and doubt but is there a chance that this online endeavor could wind up being legit? Plus we've had five days of Topanga 2020 action and learned a lot about Season 5 of Street Fighter 5 as a result, we share our takeaways there and then Catalyst tries to convince us that R. Mika is better than she is.

Timestamps 01:42 - Intel World Open reactions and predictions 23:08 - Topanga takeaways, Rashid gets bopped 32:32 - Seth gets bopped 37:46 - Mika is a really good character 49:27 - Nemo's Gill is looking slick, and it's not even at full power 59:05 - Karin and Bison are still damn good 1:04:40 - Tokido cleans house with Akuma (Is Japan sandbagging?)

The fighting game community has had a few good months now of major online tournaments and things have been... interesting so far. Recent drama with ChrisG and the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour as well as a few issues in 2020 Capcom Pro Tour Online events juxtapose with the fact this medium very well may be the way of the future and leave us asking ourselves whether or not our community is quite ready for online majors or not. Plus Twitch is changing drastically forever and we introduce a new segment.

Timestamps 00:51 - Initial thoughts about online right now 03:58 - ChrisG and the DBFZ World Tour 11:20 - How do we (the FGC) navigate these waters? 22:29 - Moving forward without losing sight of the standard 31:23 - Specific solutions/practices for right now 37:22 - Twitch is changing forever (Tons of sudden DMCA takedown claims) 43:15 - Who is at fault? 48:13 - Who is making money off this? 51:25 - *New Segment* Raptor's Recommendations

EVO Japan played out last weekend and I'm simultaneously surprised and happy to report that I'm not sure I recognize this game. Catalyst, on the other hand, isn't as optimistic. We hash out the particulars of what we saw and what they might mean for Street Fighter 5 in 2020, plus Bandai deals with Leroy issues, and Dogura makes a tier list.

Timestamps 01:01 - EVO Japan... early piece of the SF5 puzzle has Raptor excited and Catalyst worried 10:31 - Characters that are too damn easy to play for how good they are 30:35 - Nuttiness has clearly been reduced 36:03 - Stuff's still settlin', pros still exploring characters 44:55 - Important notes about character usage 51:51 - Tekken 7's Leroy problem and Bandai's notable communication practices 59:26 - Dogura's new SF5 tier list

Street Fighter 6 could be the first franchise entry to feature a Drunken Fist style fighter and we have the perfect, never before playable character to fill the spot. Plus Catalyst considers the curse of the odd numbered Street Fighter entries.

Will Street Fighter's biggest baddest villain be back in Street Fighter 6? We take a look at the history of M. Bison to note how many times he's died and come back to try to assess whether or not he'll likely do so in the next franchise entry. Plus, what does your online rank say about how you'll place in tournament? 

Who is the best boss in all of Street Fighter? We're ranking the franchise's six big baddies from worst to best. Also, Catalyst organizes the roster of Street Fighter 5 into Dungeons and Dragons alignments. See who's chaotic good and who's lawful evil.

The roster of Street Fighter 5 will be going through potentially big changes fairly soon as the next yearly balance patch should be dropping in February with Dan, and Catalyst and I have each compiled lists of the top five characters who we think are likeliest to get the most substantial buffs. 

Timestamps

02:20 - Setting the stage 06:44 - John's #5 AND Jon's #5 15:21 - John's #4 (which is Jon's #2) 25:54 - Jon's #4 34:13 - John's #3 38:51 - Jon's #3 50:15 - John's #2 (which is Jon's #1) 56:42 - John's #1

We're taking a detailed look back at Street Fighter 5's four seasons of DLC development to assess how good of a job Capcom did at bringing the hype and adding to the SF5 experience each year. MajinTenshinhan joins us as we explore seasons 1 and 2 on this week's episode of the EventHubs Podcast.

Timestamps 02:23 - Intro and Season 1 discussion 56:30 - Season 2 discussion 1:46:00 - Rating the seasons

A new PC mod throws the world of Street Fighter 5 online into chaos, Kage is making waves both with the community and Daigo but might have a fizzling future in front of him, Catalyst and I declare who we think the top characters will be now that we've had a month with the game, and we check the mailbag.

Timestamps

01:04 - Netcode woes 21:07 - Ibuki's potential as best in the game? 27:42 - Other predictions for best characters 33:58 - Tips for processing all the changes right now and honing in on what you want to learn first 44:28 - Daigo the character strength barometer 1:00:44 - Mailbag - Thoughts on Seth's redesign so far

As the community is more and more turning its eyes to the horizon in wonder of when Street Fighter 6 might be announced, Catalyst offers five things he feels will make the game shine if it has them at launch. Plus Adaptive Trigger joins to talk about the brand new Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and whether or not it looks like it'll stand the test of time.

Having gotten a full session of hands on time with Street Fighter 6, (playing with the likes of competitors like PG|Punk and Justin Wong) Catalyst has a ton of new insight into how the game's fights, feel, and flow.

As two seasoned players, we sat down to simply talk about some of the particulars in more detail. During this part of our discussion, I have a few questions (based on some fears) about how Street Fighter 6's Drive System appears to work. Catalyst's first response to my saying I'm a bit fearful of Drive Impact: You should be.

Luke is officially out in Street Fighter 5 and so we're joined by DreamKing this week to analyze the game's 45th and final character. We analyze if he's good, if he's fun, what his style seems to be and more, and then we break down the aspect of Luke that failed to meet expectations: his story. 

Capcom just revealed a whole mess of new content for Street Fighter 5... but we're going to have to wait a while for all of it to come out. We offer our thoughts on the incoming DLC and discuss the future of Street Fighter 5 and beyond.

Timestamps 00:54 - "This is what not rushing Street Fighter 6 looks like" Gut reactions 09:17 - What this tells us about where the community is at right now 20:20 - Was Dan a good call? 28:23 - Thoughts on Rose 30:42 - Thoughts on Oro 34:26 - Thoughts on Akira

It seems Capcom is setting Luke up to be the protagonist of Street Fighter 6. We discuss what makes for a successful new center-stage Street Fighter character and what doesn't as we consider Luke's potential. Then Catalyst goes through who he feels would be the best candidates for Street Fighter 6's launch roster and why.

We've spoken about the majority of Street Fighter 5's roster in terms of how these characters have evolved here in Season 5, but 14 more under the radar characters have yet to get their time in the spotlight. We explore changes there, offer our week three thoughts on the new V-Shift meta, and hit the mail bag.

Timestamps 00:30 - Intro and some words regarding yesterday's shootings in Georgia 03:50 - Mailbag: Who should I try if I want to transition away from shotos? 10:24 - Notable takeaways and observations about V-Shift 3 weeks in 33:40 - Bye bye Birdie? 36:30 - Necalli is... still Necalli 39:54 - Ibuki still decent, but kinda needs new tech 44:05 - Lucia is better at what she's already good at, but maybe didn't get what she needed? 48:42 - Chun one of the big winners of Season 5? 52:07 - F.A.N.G the forever wallflower 56:15 - Kolin got hit harder than we thought 1:00:16 - Juri REALLY wants you to use V-Skill and V-Trigger 2 1:09:05 - Blanka is Ibuki lite 1:12:40 - Falke is better and DEFINITELY worth exploring 1:18:17 - Cody is better and MIGHT be worth exploring 1:24:26 - Ken probably isn't a ton better, but he's got some "healthy" changes 1:29:54 - Zeku is still good, but for pros only... NO SCRUBS ALLOWED 1:35:16 - Look out for Sakura this season

For those ready to get serious about leveling up in Street Fighter 5, we've put together a list of seven tactics that've given us great results in our recent training endeavors. Also, we fight about the validity of online tournaments.

Timestamps 00:39 - Quick reactions to the brand new MK11 Aftermath gameplay trailer - NRS is doing it right 02:16 - "Offline tournaments aren't coming back anytime soon" 11:00 - What constitutes a "valid" gameplay environment? 21:25 - Ways to make Ranked play more rewarding 26:18 - 7 Simple tips to get better in SF5 (that anyone can do) 27:04 - Watching higher level footage 32:21 - Play with a schedule 38:35 - Limit your focuses at any given time 40:09 - Always have specific focuses to be training up 42:40 - Actively attend to your mental game 44:50 - Ignore points/play in the moment 49:47 - Remember to actively apply what you're practicing when in the heat of matches 51:17 - Mailbag

Timestamps 00:00 - The sins of Street Fighter 3, 4, and 5 1:08:03 - EVO lineup, no Mortal Kombat 11 1:18:13 - Nick is playing Granblue, offers very early reactions

Why Vega's slide still hits you despite you thinking you're ready for it (there's a bigger takeaway that will help you beyond the Vega match) and Catalyst explains in detail why easy characters being top tier hurts fighting games.

We watched the new Mortal Kombat movie and have some thoughts. Our own Justin "Adaptive Trigger" Gordon joins to help us review and react, and then Catalyst and I share our three worst characters in Street Fighter 5 Season 5.

Timestamps  03:13 - Initial reactions 08:00 - The Fighting 12:44 - The Characters 30:54 - The Story 42:55 - Final Thoughts 56:00 - Worst characters in SF5

Street Fighter 6's Drive mechanic has been revealed and detailed and... it thankfully doesn't look like a comeback mechanic, at least not as powerful of one as we've seen in recent Street Fighter games. we discuss how it looks like it will impact gameplay, possible problems that could pop up, and more

Capcom hit us with their Winter Update and it was absolutely jam packed with a ton of intriguing new Street Fighter 5 content. From the V-Shift mechanic to new characters, we react to and offer our thoughts and speculations about where SF5 will go in the coming days. All of that plus I have a few words to say about a recent Poison article that didn't exactly go over so well.

Timestamps 00:58 - Immediate reactions to the Winter Update 02:58 - Reactions and thoughts on V-Shift 14:30 - Did today's presentation inspire the community? 17:30 - Reactions to Eleven 21:57 - Did we spot a guard crush mechanic? 26:50 - Reactions and thoughts on Rose 34:42 - Reactions and thoughts on Dan 41:50 - Brief glimpse at Oro, immediate community reactions, and six months prediction 48:48 - About the "Poison is fun" article

For the first time ever we're talking about Akuma in Street Fighter 5 as Catalyst explains why it would be a travesty if he isn't properly balanced. Now very recently Capcom showed some footage of what looked like a substantial nerf to the character's bread and butter combo, but this nerf did not come to fruition in Tuesday's update leaving us to wonder whether Capcom is making basic mistakes or getting into next level hinting. Plus analysis, reaction, and speculation from the King of Fighters 15 trailer.

Timestamps

01:15 - It would be a travesty if Akuma isn't properly nerfed 10:00 - "Ultra Street Fighter 4 had the best balance of any SF game thus far" Comparing Akuma to other characters and games 16:54 - The mysterious Tatsu nerf - out of touch mistake or next level communication strategy? 30:27 - Message to Capcom 35:30 - King of Fighters 15 trailer analysis/reactions: graphics 45:44 - Character charisma and personality 49:18 - SNK hasn't gone overly PC to avoid cancel culture... thank goodness 58:07 - How to prep for KOF15 01:01:09 - Roster talk  

Yoshinori Ono talks the current state and tentatively promising future for Street Fighter 5 in a newly released interview with US Gamer, Tokido's performance with Akuma at Topanga has Catalyst all but certain that the demonic fighter will be a problem here in Season 5, and a recent EventHubs poll regarding the production of more SF5 content yields some surprising results.

Timestamps

04:02 - Important details from Ono's latest interview 36:34 - Why Akuma looks kinda broken right now (Tokido destroys everyone at Topanga) 56:04 - More evidence that SF5 has shifted toward footsies and "R. Mika island" 1:04:46 - The people apparently want more SF5 DLC characters

Which Street Fighter games have the best music? I went back and listened to a ton of OSTs to order the numbered SF entries from least to most inspired/inspiring themes. Catalyst, on the other hand, spent hours researching Street Fighter lore to explore some of the most interesting potential directions Capcom could take with Street Fighter 6's story.

Which characters seem like they'll change the most here in the fifth season of Street Fighter 5? We've come up with our top 10 roster members who have had the biggest adjustments.

Timestamps

01:06 - A few qualifications 04:46 - #10 10:21 - #9 18:28 - #8 25:57 - #7 36:25 - #6 41:22 - #5 50:22 - #4 57:29 - #3 1:02:58 - #2 1:10:15 - #1

One day after Capcom shows us 4 new Street Fighter 6 characters, they tell us the rest of the roster! DreamKing joins to help react and analyze this exciting news!

We've come up with six simple but helpful tips to help you become more consistent in Street Fighter 5 plus Cammy won another CPT event and we objectively consider her abilities

Timestamps 03:44 - Tip 1 10:15 - Tip 2 16:00 - Tip 3 23:15 - Tip 4 29:40 - Tip 5 40:00 - Tip 6 49:45 - Cammy 2/2 at CPT events

Capcom showcased a ton more World Tour Mode as well as Battle Hub! They also revealed a new Extreme Battle mode... which reminds us a bit of Super Smash Bros.

We're taking a look at the history of Street Fighter characters that've been widely banned from tournaments, which has happened about 3 and a half times over the year. Plus Catalyst ranks the entire Street Fighter 5 roster based on how easy or difficult each character is to play.

Street Fighter 4 was amazing and awesome and the best and all that, but also had a few terrible moments in its life. We look at the five worst blunders during SF4's life, and then dig into the problematic patch that led Capcom to the creation of Street Fighter Alpha.

Are certain Street Fighter characters non-negotiable musts for appearing on base rosters, or can anyone be DLC? We delve into the concept of community expectations on this front, plus Catalyst counts out the five best character story threads in Street Fighter 5.

On last week's episode we each gave our top five lists in terms of which Street Fighter 5 characters will be the biggest winners of the upcoming balance patch, now we're running down our top 5 potential losers.

Timestamps 02:47 - Jon's #5 pick 15:27 - John's #5 pick 21:57 - #4 pick for both 31:01 - Picks #3 and #2 for both 48:27 - #1 pick for both 59:20 - Raptor's Recommendation

Where does Street Fighter 5 rank in terms of technicality when compared to other franchise entries? Catalyst and I have differing opinions, and try to hash out a definitive answer. Plus, Blanka has a goofy glitch that is surprisingly not too upsetting, Sony makes a statement about why they're not attending E3, Nintendo isn't quite satisfied with selling 12 million copies of Smash Ultimate, and more

Timestamps

01:35 - Jump Force doesn't look gud 09:36 - Blanka glitch, good times? 15:36 - Capcom says "Street Fighter 5's story isn't over yet" 17:09 - SF5 sells 700k more copies 24:46 - Why Sony is skipping E3 (are they full of it, or is this the start of a new trend?) 33:30 - Mortal Kombat 11 leaks galore 37:24 - Japan think Birdie is top tier, and they might be right 51:02 - Final Fight's movie magic inspiration 57:32 - Nintendo not satisfied with 15 million in Smash Ultimate sales 1:00:21 - Technicality in the Street Fighter series

Accessibility has become a major talking point in the FGC especially over the last few years and is a concept that needs to be approached extremely carefully by developers, we dig into the details of the most important do's and don'ts of this particularly hot topic . Plus Capcom releases a new video content usage policy and we examine how using big data is a must for our genre moving forward.

Timestamps

01:58 - Capcom's new video content policy 09:42 - Accessibility in fighting games - necessary, but dangerous 17:30 - The foundations of competition 24:40 - Ono's 2020 statement that makes me wary 31:58 - Legit ways to make fighters accessible 38:21 - Modern technology and big data can make fighting games better than ever

How do we help the low tiers and make Street Fighter 5 more fun to play? Catalyst and I share and argue about a few theories. 

Timestamps 01:28 - NRS sets a good example for character balancing 04:00 - Online play (LAG) needs to be considered when balancing characters 11:00 - How does life look through the eyes of low vs. high tiers? 15:00 - Encouraging lower tier exploration 21:15 - Dangers of cheapening the game experience 29:12 - Certain characters styles that shouldn't be the best (Grapplers, Trolls, others?) 34:59 - Catalyst's change: Fireballs 44:30 - Raptor's change: heavy normal neutral 52:07 - How would we specifically change things here? 1:03:12 - Why this would help the lower tiers

Here's the first half of our tier list discussion for Street Fighter 5 here in the throes of Season 5.

Who are the hardest characters to play efficiently in Street Fighter 5? Who are the easiest? Four of us here at EventHubs have come together to rank the entire 40-character roster in terms of how technical each fighter is to play, then we averaged our scores to come up with a final list. DreamKing, MajinTenshinhan, Catalyst, and I are going through that final list today to highlight some of our more notable choices, debate opinions, and explain who we think are SF5's most technical characters.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro, Steven loves Tiger King and Weezer 02:17 - Establishing the criteria 08:53 - Cammy (40) 10:59 - M. Bison (39) 13:30 - Necalli (38) 18:14 - Birdie (37) 19:13 - Alex (35) 26:36 - Laura (29) 29:14 - Zangief (27) 34:13 - E. Honda (24)* 39:18 - Abigail (24)* 50:57 - Kage (20) 55:45 - Cody (18) 59:49 - Lucia (17) 1:04:42 - Sagat (19) 1:08:51 - Falke (14) 1:13:30 - Karin (10) 1:16:14 - Ibuki (8) 1:21:28 - Poison (6)* 1:23:20 - Vega (6)* 1:27:37 - Gill (3)** 1:31:06 - G (3)** 1:46:11 - Zeku (2) 1:52:21 - Menat (1)

A terrible launch, input lag, unbalanced mechanics, lack of single player modes, and plenty more missteps have put a bad taste in many mouths when it comes to Street Fighter 5, but it's been four and a half years and Capcom has remedied many of these core issues and so we have to ask, is Street Fighter 5 at a good place here in the latter half of 2020? Catalyst and I pick this question apart and try to offer some thoughtful answers.

00:46 - Cuties and Mountain Dew margaritas from Red Lobster 03:45 - Is Street Fighter 5 in a good place? (Examining the release in 2016) 08:25 - On netcode, PS4 vs. PC 20:06 - Single player modes 28:52 - Visual presentation: graphics, animations, etc. 36:21 - In-game economy 43:21 - Speed round: Battle challenges, training mode, CFN, store, other thoughts 48:40 - Twitter poll results 50:30 - Why people can still hard to love SF5

We've got three separate gameplay reveal trailers for Street Fighter 6 in recent days, with Capcom's development team running sets. Although it hasn't been officially confirmed, this is likely their Battle Balance squad on the controls.

Manon, Marisa, JP, Blanka, Dhalsim and Dee Jay have all gotten the full gameplay showcase now, and we assign letter grades in terms of how we think these characters are coming out of the gate. We also breakdown their gameplay and how we think their moves will work in the latest game. Here in part 2 we get to JP, Blanka, Dhalsim, and Dee Jay.

With more and more money on the line in FGC eSports, is character exploration being stifled in the name of playing to win with top tiers? Plus we check in on the current general status of the Street Fighter 5, have gotten a response from Capcom concerning the current netcode situation, and talk about that snazzy new Smash Bros. controller that one lucky EVO Japan entrant will win this weekend.

Timestamps 00:40 - Is tier whoring bigger than ever in the competitive space? 26:43 - Why character balance is so important for variety 43:19 - Reactions to SF5's current state 1:04:19 - EVO Japan Smash Bros. prize