Fighting game fans are excited about Street Fighter 6 because it really does seem they have learned from all the mistakes they have made in the past with this upcoming release, but they have also noticed what other developers have done when it comes to features they have been offering. Street Fighter 6 seems like the ultimate package but we will have to wait until June to find out. From personal experience, I did get to play in the closed beta, and I did enjoy myself. The inputs felt great on PC, online play only had an issue once in a great while, crossplay with consoles was nice, and the presentation seems like it’s on the right track. The game will be a day one purchase for me, and I believe this will be the Street Fighter game for new and old players to get into. Competitors will also be all over the game with the announcement of a $2,000,000 prize pool for Capcom Cup this year with 1st place getting $1,000,000.

Tekken 8 is another game that was announced recently. We don’t have a lot of information yet, but it does seem like they will be changing up how players will be approaching the game. One of the key things the game is going to focus on is aggression. They also have changed up the meter system works which will now be called the Heat System. From the demonstrations the developers have shown us, it looks like it will be a type of cancel system where certain combos or moves wouldn’t be possible unless one activates the meter they have gained. Rage Drives will no longer be in the game. We will see a return of Rage Arts which will be similar to how Tekken 7 implements them. If you want a full rundown, I would recommend watching the YouTube video Bandai Namco has put out below:

As a current Tekken 7 player, I’m optimistic about Tekken 8, and I’m looking forward to a change. I can see why some fans might be nervous with the new mechanics or the changes to them, but we won’t know how it all plays out until we have a chance to play the game. I almost see the Heat System as a replacement for Rage Drives that have more freedom. A few other things we need to find out is how online play is going to work, will there be crossplay, and who will all be in the game.

Here are few other games that will be getting new releases on other platforms or are getting new updates for improved online play:

• BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (Releasing on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One in Q2 2023)
• Samurai Shodown (Update for rollback netcode in 2023)
• The King of Fighters XV (Crossplay net play update coming hopefully in 2023)
• Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (New release coming for PC and Playstation 4/5 in 2023 and will include rollback netcode and crossplay)
• Guilty Gear Strive (Crossplay coming soon in 2023)

I might have missed a few. If so, please feel free to let me know. Overall, I am looking forward to Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising because GBVS came out at a horrible time for it’s first release (beginning of COVID-19), and we will be able to see how the game really does with a proper release with better netcode as a bonus. I didn’t put DNF Duel on the list of upcoming updates but a season pass is being released for the game. I’m sure fans of the game are happy the game will still get support because I honestly thought the game was going to get a few updates and be done with.

It’s an exciting time to be a fighting game fan, and I’m happy the genre is becoming alive with more choices coming up. Time to learn your match ups, get those fundamentals down, and make sure your wallet doesn’t get punished too much.

First off, I would like to apologize for not sticking to my two a week posting I said I would be doing. I was spending too much time thinking about what I wanted to write that I ended up not writing anything. To help me write something, I am going to go an easy route and talk about some games that have gained my attention over the last few weeks.

Call of Duty: Warzone

The first game I have been putting a decent amount of time into is Call of Duty: Warzone. For those of you who don’t know what Call of Duty: Warzone is, it is a battle royale style game within the latest release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The game pits teams of up to 3 players against each other with up to 150 players in a game at once. The player goes around and finds loot that will help them combat and defeat other teams until there is only one team left.

Usually, I am not a battle royale type of player but for some reason I’m really enjoying Warzone. One aspect I really like about the game is that if a player happens to die within the first half of the game, they get a second chance to bring themselves back in the game by playing in a 1v1 battle in the Gulag. Players are given random loadouts and whoever comes out on top gets redeployed into the game. If they are unlucky and lose the 1v1 battle, their team can still collect cash to redeploy them later. I believe this concept gives players a reason not to give up and to not leave the game. It also keeps players engaged throughout the game, even if they are dead waiting to be redeployed.

Another aspect of the game I am enjoying is that the time to kill is quite short compared to other arcade battle royale games. I like that I am able to engage in gun fights, even if I might not have the best guns available. There are definitely situations where a player can be outgunned (sub machine gun vs sniper rifle), but I feel like there is a balance in the game that makes it feel like you always have a chance.

The last thing I will mention is that I am actually having fun playing with friends in this game. Don’t get me wrong, there are other battle royale games you can play with friends, but this game has clicked for me along with the people I play with. We actually communicate where opposing players are when we play and help each other. Part of it could be that we all have played enough games like it to finally understand what we need to be doing, but I think it helps that the game is more streamlined and players don’t have to worry about micromanaging resources as much.

If you haven’t had a chance to play Call of Duty: Warzone yet, give it a chance. It is free-to play, but the only issue is the download is quite big.

Animal Crossing: New Horizon

The next game that has been taking a lot of my time is Animal Crossing: New Horizon. I am not going to lie, this isn’t the type of game I usually play. I tend to like games where I can compete in or games that tend to be difficult. However, Animal Crossing seems to be scratching an itch that I didn’t know I needed. The game is about managing a desert island and building it up to a village of your own. I like that the game can be played at your own pace and you are able to kind of do what you want. I am not too far in but I have the first upgrade to my house and have done some things for the museum.

In some ways, I would say that Animal Crossing is an errand simulator. I can pick up weeds, cut wood, and go fishing. I constantly get rewards for pretty much doing anything in the game, which a lot of other games do this as well to keep the player hooked. The nice part is it isn’t some free-to-play game where a player has to sink time and money into it. This game is all about time and having patience. However, there is always something to do while you are waiting for the next big thing to happen in the story.

I would recommend both Animal Crossing: New Horizon and Call of Duty: Warzone. If you are looking for things to take up your free time, both of these games will do that for you. You also might have fun, too.

Anyways, during this time in my life, I was really into wrestling and so were the people I hung out with. We got the idea to start a backyard wrestling league, and we had to come up with personalities. My friends came up with some interesting personalities, one had a hunchback, a few were rappers (kinda like how nWo had that going on) and so on.

When it came to me, I honestly didn’t know what to name myself or what my personality would be. My friend decided to say I should be “Helletic Hojo”, which is stolen straight from FFVII. Not knowing too much about the character except for seeing it in the strategy guide at the time and that he was a boss fight, I decided to go with that name.

If you want to know more about “Helletic Hojo” or “Professor Hojo”, I would recommend following this link: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Professor_Hojo

The personality around “Helletic Hojo” was that he was from the 7th lair (or maybe 9th lair) of hell and that was about it. My finisher was a stunner because I was a child still, and I was able to do most of the basic moves that you would see on TV. It helped a lot that the matches were on trampolines. I was pretty much used in matches because I was light and easy to throw around.

From that point forward, I tend to use the name “helletic hojo” or “hojo” for a lot of my screen names. I usually use “hojo” just because it is simple, and also my first name is Joe, so it works out. I have used other names in the past but nothing really stuck for me. I think the only other name that I used for sometime was my initials, “JnS”. I still like that name but “hojo” was always the name I went back to.

I don’t think I have any plans to retire the name, and it has become a part of my life seeing that gaming is still a part of it as well. I can only see getting rid of the name if I completely stop playing games, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Besides, now that I go to tournaments and other events, people actually just refer to me as “hojo” instead of Joe. I don’t think I have a choice to stop using it with that going on.

I wish I could say the name came from a deeper or more interesting place, but just like how most childhood names come about, it’s usually just a simple story.

This is a the start of my blog. I’m trying to find new things to do, and I think I want to start writing once in a while. My plan is to write at least two times a week. Hopefully, I will be able to cover topics that relate to gaming, personal life, and other things I can think of.

I hope you all will enjoy my descent into madness blogging. As always, if you have something you would like to know about me or would want me to write about, feel free to contact me on Twitter (@bringthesol).

Thanks and stay safe out there,

Joe