Fighting Games to look forward to in 2016
Robert Knuckles
With 2015 ending it's time to look forward to the fighting games of 2016. Here I’ll be talking about the upcoming Fighting games of this year that you should look forward to. Not only will I’ll be talking about future games but also upcoming DLC.
Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
We’ll start off with Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. The ninja storm series has been a growing franchise that not only fans of the show enjoy but fans that enjoy fighting games as well and Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 might just be the best one of the series. This game will feature the ending arc of the Fourth Great Ninja War. There are a couple of new features as well. One returning new feature is the wall running that was first introduced in the first ultimate storm and was absent ever since. Wall running seems pretty interesting. It makes it feel more ninja like in a way. A new feature that I’m pretty excited for is that now players can switch between characters during battle but when players tag in their character they share the same health chakara meter. They have also introduced element damage for example fire can burn clothing slowly draining the character's health. 4 will also feature the largest roster of the franchise with over 100 characters. Look out for Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 on February 9 , 2016 for PS4 and Xbox One.
Street Fighter V
You guys had to have known that this will be on the list. Street Fighter V was announced at 2015 E3 and ever since then players have been excited for this game. Veteran fighters Ryu, Cammy,
Chun-Li return along with some surprising Street Fighter Alpha Vets returning such as Nash, Karin, R-Mika and Birdie alongside few new characters. Street Fighter V adds some new mechanics such as the V-Gauge adding three new techniques V-Skills, V-Reversals and V-Triggers. V-Skills add a special unique move that each character can perform. Ryu can activate a parry and Bison can reflect projectiles. The V-Reversal can have players use a section of the V-Gauge to perform a counter while being attacked. The V-Trigger allows characters to perform unique moves. Each character has a different V-Trigger. Bison is a bit faster and creating pressure on your opponent, Chun-Li’s normal hits become multiple hits and Ryu has damage boost to his fireballs. A couple of new changes makes Street Fighter V a bit different from it’s predecessor. Now when people purchase the game they’ll have 16 characters at launch but later through the year Capcom will release Six DLC characters featuring fan favorites Ibuki, Guile, Juri, Balrog, and Street Fighter III veterans Alex and Urien. Players can purchase these DLC characters online or they can keep on playing the game to earn fight money to get these characters rather than paying money to get them. Players can look forward to Street Fighter V on February 16, 2016.
Chun-Li return along with some surprising Street Fighter Alpha Vets returning such as Nash, Karin, R-Mika and Birdie alongside few new characters. Street Fighter V adds some new mechanics such as the V-Gauge adding three new techniques V-Skills, V-Reversals and V-Triggers. V-Skills add a special unique move that each character can perform. Ryu can activate a parry and Bison can reflect projectiles. The V-Reversal can have players use a section of the V-Gauge to perform a counter while being attacked. The V-Trigger allows characters to perform unique moves. Each character has a different V-Trigger. Bison is a bit faster and creating pressure on your opponent, Chun-Li’s normal hits become multiple hits and Ryu has damage boost to his fireballs. A couple of new changes makes Street Fighter V a bit different from it’s predecessor. Now when people purchase the game they’ll have 16 characters at launch but later through the year Capcom will release Six DLC characters featuring fan favorites Ibuki, Guile, Juri, Balrog, and Street Fighter III veterans Alex and Urien. Players can purchase these DLC characters online or they can keep on playing the game to earn fight money to get these characters rather than paying money to get them. Players can look forward to Street Fighter V on February 16, 2016.
Pokken Tournament
2016 looks to be a good year for Namco Bandai as they will release another fighting game called Pokken Tournament. Pokken Tournament is a fighting game that has players pick pokemon and battle it out in the ring. The gameplay is similar to Namcos fighting game Tekken but the gameplay also looks similar to the Ultimate Ninja Storm series. Now who in the world doesn’t love Pokemon? Pokemon has been a growing franchise since the 90s and now fans of the series finally get a fighting game. Players can perform various famous special moves known throughout the series and can also perform Mega Evolutions. Players can use support Pokemon to help give the player increase damage or defense. I feel as though in my opinion that Pokken might be slept on from a lot of fighting game fans but I really believe Pokken will do well. Be sure to check out Pokken Tournament in the Spring of 2016.
King of Fighters XIV
Just when people were believing the King of Fighters was dead they came back with a new trailer. Now the 3D models of the characters are not the best visual aspect of the game but it's exciting to see a new King of Fighters game. Classic characters Kyo and Iori return alongside others but the biggest thing in my opinion has to be that it will feature 50 characters new and old which is huge because nowadays some fighting games don’t have much of a huge roster. King of Fighters XIV also features a party mode that allows up to six players and of course there will be a new story arc to look forward to. Be sure to look out for King of Fighters XIV sometime in 2016.
Now the next couple of games are upcoming DLC for fighting games.
Super Smash Bros Wii U and 3DS
Good news more fighters are coming to Super Smash Bros but the bad news is that it's the last set of DLC characters and they are Fire Emblem Fates own Corrin and Bayonetta's own Bayonetta. Corrin plays a bit different from the other Fire Emblem characters. His main weapon isn’t his sword but it's the dragon in him. Most of his attacks have him using dragon attacks. Some have incredible reach and some his attacks have him even turning into a dragon attacking opponents. These attacks make him more unique then not just the fire emblem characters but throughout the entire cast.
Now to talk about the famous angel- hunter witch Bayonetta. Bayonetta is a combo fighter in Smash. Majority of her attacks can lead into a combo both on land and in the air. Players can also use her guns at the end of combos. Players of the franchise will get the same feel as she plays in her original game. It might take some time to get used to this character but Bayonetta looks to be a lot of fun heck she almost looks like a top tier character. Players can look forward to purchasing Bayonetta and Corrin sometime in February 2016.
Mortal Kombat X
The Kombat Pack returns in 2016. Mortal Kombat X came out last year and its first Kombat Pack was pretty interesting but this next one coming up might be even a bit better. This Kombat Pack features the drunk fighter Bo Rai Cho who hasn’t made an appearance in Mortal Kombat since Armageddon. A Lin Kuei Cyborg who doesn’t have a name at the moment but features the colors Smoke, Cyrax and Sektor which we can all guess that the three variations will be based on the different colors which is very exciting. Texas Chainsaw Massacre's LeatherFace another horror movie icon that players can put against Jason to see who's the real horror movie killer. Now the last character that everyone seems to be excited for and wanted the most is the Alien from the Alien movie franchise. A lot of people wanted Alien to be in Mortal Kombat for a long time. Ed Boon gave fans a bit of hope when they announced Predator. Players were thinking Alien might make an appearance not only does the alien fit well in the Mortal Kombat but fans can get the matchup we’ve been waiting for…….. Alien vs Predator!!!!! Now there hasn’t been a release date for this Kombat Pack but Boon did say to look forward to this in 2016.
Killer Instinct Season 3
Now I forgot to talk about Killer Instinct Season 2 in my last article. Season 2 of Killer Instinct was definitely a great success in 2015. With old and new characters along with the story mode was a lot of fun but now it's time to talk about the upcoming season. Season three of Killer Instinct will feature BattleToads own Rash as a guest character. Killer Instinct 2 veterans Kim Wu, Tusk and Gargos make a return. There will also be a couple of new characters as well. It’s really nice to see all veterans from Killer Instinct 1 and 2 finally all together. There will also be a couple of changes to the characters buffs and nerfs. It’s awesome to see another season coming up when I believe a lot of people thought season 2 would be the last but I guess due to the success from the last season and demand from fans lead Microsoft into making another season and we couldn’t be happier. Be sure to check out Season in March 2016 for the PC and Xbox One.
And those are fighting games and DLC to look forward to. If there are games that I forgot to mention please be sure to add it on the comments.
