SNKronize: SNK Podcast w/ James Chen (@jchensor), OlafRedland (@OlafRedland), & KittyKaboooom (@KittyKaboooom)Episode 123, August 21st, 2024Out of nowhere comes an SNK BLITZ of information from GamesCon! Terry's Gameplay Trailer for Street Fighter 6! Mai Shiranui in City Of The Wolves! And more!- SNKronize Episode Links -https://www.youtube.com/wat…

COACHING CAN DEFINITELY HELP OUR SCENE!The topic of coaching came up once again in the FGC. And although it's been talked about on this show before, James has not dedicated an entire episode to the topic. So here is James's take, and yes, he thinks coaching should absolutely be allowed in the FGC!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:04:02 More Roles For…

THIS IS AS GOOD AS TUNA WITH BACON!!!Not content to give all us fans the Marvel Vs. Capcom collection, Capcom also announced the Capcom Fighting Collection 2, including... yes, indeed, including Capcom Vs. SNK 2!! It's a great time to be a fan of classic Capcom Fighting Games!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:06:38 Capcom Vs. SNK Pro0:11:35 Capcom Vs…

THIS GAME AIN'T FOR NO BEGINNERS!James didn't get to play much of the Alpha Lab, but from what he experienced and heard from others, this game is not a simple game by any stretch of the imagination. People may think the game is supposed to be beginner friendly with the one-button Special Moves, but this might be one of the more execution heavy game…

YOU'RE WELCOME.Xiao Hai's victory was made so memorable by the amazing moment he had with his wife on stage! His speech and dedication to her was the heart warming moment we needed in the FGC! And it almost didn't happen! Guess who was able to make sure it did?? ^_~Find the YouTube version of this episode here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmKOA8…

THE RESULTS WERE DEFINITELY NOT WHAT ANYONE EXPECTED!The Esports World Cup took place and James talks about the results and how crazy and unexpected they were! See what he has to say about all the matches that went down!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:03:50 Phase 1: Group A0:06:36 Group B And Group C0:11:32 Group D0:16:15 Group E And Group F0:19:12…

ONE OF THE MOST SURREAL EXPERIENCES THE FGC HAS AFFORDED ME!Somehow, through some weird twist of fate, I had the opportunity to hang out with Bill Walton for almost a whole day specifically to talk to him about Fighting Games. He was really wise and had a lot of really interesting advice and such. Obviously very sad at his recent passing, but that …

HE DID IT! HE DID IT! AND THE US IS FINALLY NOT WINLESS SINCE SFIV!!!Punk the mad lad did it! He won Evo, and while I'm super happy for him, there's a lot of other interesting tidbits and data about the SF6 tournament at Evo thanks to some of our good friends like CatCammy6 and such. James talks all about SF6 at Evo!== TIME STAMPS ==(Sorry no time …

SNKronize: SNK Podcast w/ James Chen (@jchensor), OlafRedland (@OlafRedland), & KittyKaboooom (@KittyKaboooom)Episode 122, July 31st, 2024SNK took the opportunity at Evo to announce a lot of updates to their games, including new characters for City Of The Wolves and new DLC For King Of Fighters XV! Come hang out with Kitty, Olaf, and James as they …

VIEWERSHIP, VIEWERSHIP, VIEWERSHIP!The same things get brought up every year after Evo, namely the prize money. But there's a lot more to discuss for this year, such as the new venue and the issues that arose from the queue to get into the arena! It was kind of a blow up, so how should they fix it?Find the YouTube version of this episode here:https…

HAS EVO STRAYED TOO FAR FROM BEING A TOURNAMENT?Some people (most of whom don't attend Evo anymore) have criticized Evo for becoming too much of a convention as opposed to being a tournament as it used to be. James weighs in on this, and talks about why Evo continues to... well... evolve!Find the YouTube version of this episode here:https://www.you…

INCROSS IS THE MAN!!!CEO 2024 has come and gone. James talks about the big three games and the storylines he feels are important coming from that event! As well as lets you know about one of the most useful FGC sites in existence right now!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro (And FGC Liquipedia)0:01:51 Guilty Gear Strive0:05:22 Street Fighter 60:12:07 T…

HARADA IS A CERTIFIED REBEL!Social Media every so often does elicit some amazing conversations and stories. Someone talking about Soul Calibur prompted Harada, the director of Tekken, to write a VERY LONG AND VERY DETAILED account of what happened at Bandai Namco and why Soul Calibur fell off so hard after Soul Calibur II. It's a VERY fascinating r…

A 25-YEAR OLD GAME HAS OVER 1,000 ENTRANTS? WHAT?!?Evo registration has ended and as customary to their tradition the entry numbers were released for every game. And James was not prepared! 3 games have over 1,000 entrants, and games like Street Fighter 6 has some of the best retention we've ever seen for a year 1 to year 2 transition! Evo 2024 is …

RASHID NOW WINS BACK TO BACK DREAMHACKS! IS HE THE BEST CHARACTER?The talk of DreamHack Sweden is definitely Big Bird winning with Rashid! He's back on top and it's great to see, but with Gachikun winning DreamHack Dallas with Rashid as well, this starts to beg the question: Is Rashid the best character right now? And how did Zangief do with everyo…

THERE WAS NO WAY I BELIEVED THIS COULD EVER BE AN ACTUAL THING!!!!(Apologies about the static-y noise in the episode, will look into trying to fix that for the future!)There are no words that can describe how much the Marvel games meant to James and his Fighting Game career. X-Men: Children Of The Atom started James down his path of FAQ writing and…

HE'S BACK!! BUT IS IT TOO SOON TO SEE THE RETURN OF M.BISON?The first DLC of Season 2 for Street Fighter is M.Bison. And he's coming out... REALLY SOON! But before he does, James takes the time to analyze the gameplay trailer released by Capcom and check out the character blog on Steam. Let's see what he learns!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:01:18…

THIS WAS NOT ON MY STREET FIGHTER 6 BINGO CARD!!!Capcom dropped a bombshell on everyone for Season 2 DLC at Summer Games Fest! Terry and Mai are joining Elena and Bison as the Season 2 DLC, with Terry and Mai being the FIRST EVER Guest Characters in a mainline Street Fighter game! James discusses the ramifications of it all!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00…

The Key To Adapting In Fighting Games by UltraChenTVUltraChenTV

HOW IS THE STREET FIGHTER 6 YEAR 1 REPORT CARD?It's been a year of Street Fighter 6 and Capcom is celebrating its anniversary online. But how worthy of celebration IS Street Fighter 6? James looks back on the past year and talks about the good and the bad of Street Fighter 6!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:00:35 The Good0:08:26 The Bad0:18:49 Lack …

EVERYONE IS CRYING ABOUT ZANGIEF! IS IS JUSTIFIED?Zangief got buffs. And now, suddenly, everyone is complaining and crying about Zangief. What change made him so good? And are the complaints justified? Why is everyone so upset whenever Grapplers can fight? Why does everyone hate Grapplers so much?!? O_o== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:01:13 Zangief'…

BEING A TOURNAMENT ORGANIZER IS HELL.A bunch of recent incidents have prompted some on social media to call out TOs as being problematic. But is being a TO all its cracked up to be? Is this actually something people want to become to achieve fame, fortune, and clout?== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:04:18 JDCR's DreamHack Dallas Misfortune0:07:46 Was…

IS IT "SOFT" TO WANT TO WELCOME MORE PEOPLE INTO THE FGC?The topic of wanting more FGC beef came up on Social Media, saying it was better in the "old days" and that the FGC has gotten too soft these days. But is that really true? Is the FGC soft? Was what happened in the past really the glory days? Or was it... like... not cool at all? James talks …

NO ONE HAS ANY OBLIGATION TO PLAY ANY SETS. AT ALL.Some drama erupted in the FGC (surprise...) when UMISHO made a couple of Tweets about palying sets with random people jumping into her DMs. It sparked a debate discussing what the responsibilities and expectations of top players are when it comes to playing newer players and giving them chances to …

WITH ALL THAT'S SAID AND DONE, THE GAME IS REALLY IN A VERY GOOD PLACE BALANCE-WISE!The way the balance has shaken out in Street Fighter 6 has turned out strong. Obviously some characters need help, but at the top level, the game has some strong parity between the top characters. Here's where James feels everyone has ended up!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:…

CAPCOM IS TEASING US! WHERE IS OUR PATCH NOTES?!?Capcom released a teaser video of some of the balance changes we are to expect in the Patch that drops alongside Akuma! James goes through that video and analyzes the changes one by one in painstaking detail!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:01:57 Initial Reactions0:05:21 Recovery Drive Reversals0:11:0…

JUST AN UPDATE: JAMES IS ON TEAM MYK! MYK WILL BE HIS COACH!Sajam ran an amazing Tekken 8 event recently called the Sajam Slam. He's now running the second one and... what's this? Who is that that I see in the list of players? Could it be? Is it he? Sacré bleu!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 What Was The Sajam Slam?0:01:44 The 2nd Sajam Slam With... James…

THIS IS SHOWING US WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN! CAN MVCI BE REVIVED?!?An amazing collaborative effort is underway to completely revamp Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite's graphics. And it's being funded by none other than Maximillian Dood! Developer "Ryn" aka twitter.com/WistfulHopes began an effort to improve MvCI's graphics and, once Max got word of it, the pr…

STOP TOP TIER SHAMING!Top players can fall victim to the discourse out there, and it's never more evident when we talk about how strong a character is. People tend to want to downplay their characters because they're worried they'll be discredited for being carried by a top tier. We have to stop this discourse! James explains why!== TIME STAMPS ==0…

SNKronize: SNK Podcast w/ James Chen (@jchensor), OlafRedland (@OlafRedland), & KittyKaboooom (@KittyKaboooom)Episode 116, May 1st, 2024Evo Japan has taken place and there was SO MUCH City of the Wolves footage captured there! Olaf, Kitty, and James discuss a bunch of stuff but also go over the footage, all courtesy of @NeoGeoNow ! And go to his ch…

MENA IS THE BEST. TEKKEN 8 ISN'T RANDOM. TEMPEST IS HIM.Evo Japan 2024 has come and gone and what an event! Definitely some amazing results there and James talks about the games he knows more familiarly, and what each result can tell us about the game and its players! Join James as he recaps the event!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:02:11 MenaRD Is…

I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY ARE PUTTING A REFERENCE TO THAT GUY IN THE GAME!!!Evo Japan had a lot of reveals and undoubtedly Akuma's reveal has the most people buzzing. James analyzes the trailer in great detail and takes a gives his take on how strong Akuma looks and how some of his moves seem really, really strong. And then James freaks out when he cat…

WHY IS SLAYER'S HAIR SO BEAUTIFUL?!?Evo Japan had a lot of reveals and Slayer gameplay was finally shown and WHY. IS. HE. SO. BEAUTIFUL?!? My God his hair is IMMACULATE! Check out the Slayer Trailer with James!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:00:53 Initial Trailer Watch0:02:27 SLAYER'S HAIR WOW!!!0:05:00 The Dandy Step0:06:52 Poor Bat!!! :-(0:07:29 …

A GOOD COUPLE OF QUESTIONS I FELT DESERVED THEIR OWN VIDEO! Why do Projectiles make Fighting Games cool? And why do we like cheap stuff? Find out here! == TIME STAMPS == 0:00:00 Projectiles Are Amazing 0:05:45 People Want Cheap Characters Find the YouTube version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwhHAEk6urE Get the audio versio…

SNKronize: SNK Podcast w/ James Chen (@jchensor), OlafRedland (@OlafRedland), & KittyKaboooom (@KittyKaboooom)Episode 115, Apr 24th, 2024SNK released a detailed web page documenting the mechanics that will be found in Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves! Olaf and James go through the mechanics in details and discuss their impressions and predictions reg…

GOT SOME DEEP QUESTIONS TODAY! O_o (TITLE QUESTION ANSWERED AT 0:40:30!)A lot of questions about the Fighting Game Community in this Viewer Q & A... but also some strangely deep questions as well! See what the chat has in store for James today!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro And Upcoming Events0:02:44 Why Did You Cut Your Hair?0:04:02 Do I Think Aku…

I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS SINCE THE DAY STREET FIGHTER 6 DROPPED!!All the talk about Blanka being top tier has felt pretty damn validating to James. He's been saying the potential for this character is insane since the day the game dropped. Why did it take so long for everyone to realize James was right???Link to Sajam Video: https://www.youtube.com/wa…

I REALLY DIDN'T EXPECT MYSELF TO PUT THIS CHARACTER AT #1!James was talking about defense for characters in Street Fighter 6 on social media, claiming a few characters in particular as having the worst defenses in the game. Which made James start to think about which characters have the strongest as well! He then ranks every character from worst al…

FIGHTING GAMES ARE A SOCIAL GENRE! WE NEED TO BRING THAT BACK!Ranked Mode is a miserable experience. James has spoken to this many times, and he has also suggested having a Group Ranked mode many times before. He fleshes it out a bit more here in a standalone short-form video!Find the YouTube version of this episode here:https://www.youtube.com/wat…

SPECIFICALLY, HOW DO WE FIX CROUCHING MEDIUM KICK INTO DRIVE RUSH?The latest discussion on Street Fighter 6 on the streets is that Crouching Medium Kick canceled into Drive Rush is too strong and powerful. Okay, let's assume it is. How would we go about fixing it? James delves into many possible solutions and discusses how some would work and how m…

JAPAN IS STILL A LITTLE... UHHHHH... GOOD. O_O"It feels like the world is catching up to Japan in Street Fighter 6 but is that really the case? Thanks to stats released by twitter.com/CatCammy6 , we have actual data that can help us determine that.== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:01:48 CatCammy6's Character Usage0:03:30 Japan Ranked Domination0:06:4…

HOW CAN WE UPDATE VIRTUA FIGHTER BUT KEEP ITS DNA?There are rumors that a new Virtua Fighter game is being made. Whether or not it's true, James takes the time to discuss how he thinks SEGA can make a new Virtua Fighter in today's modern FGC climate, where the game can be successful to new players AND still maintain its DNA for legacy players.== TI…

WITH THE WAY SO MANY FIGHTERS HAVE LAUNCHED, SF6'S LAUNCH SHOULD BE PRAISED!So many games have launched recently and not launched very well. People are complaining about Mortal Kombat 1 and Tekken 8, and Under Night 2's PC Launch is being largely blamed for losing its PC audience in only a week! We should give credit to SF6 where credit is due!== T…

IS THE PROBLEM ACTUALLY GUESSING, OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE?In the Modern Vs. Old Fighting Game discussion that's been permeating social media of late, one topic in particular keeps cropping up: guessing in Fighting Games. Many claim older games didn't have as much guessing involved, but is that really true? Is there something more to it than that? J…

WOULD A PLAYER LIKE TOMO BE ABLE TO FIGHT A PLAYER LIKE MENARD?Ah the age old discussion. Are the greats from yesteryear significantly weaker than the greats from today? Or would a player back then be able to keep up with players from today? James weighs in.== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:03:59 Old Player Conundrum0:08:34 Dedicated FG Players0:10:2…

ARE DEVELOPERS BEHOLDEN TO LEGACY PLAYERS?!?There is a lot of hate for Strive from legacy Guilty Gear fans. A recent article on Dexerto (https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/guilty-gear-strives-creators-had-to-destroy-past-games-to-keep-series-alive-2607380/) stated that Devs had to view Xrd as a failure that they had to "destroy" to make Strive. So is S…

WE ALREADY KNOW THE SMELL OF THE GAME!The Arc World Tour 2023 took place this past weekend! James was on site as a commentator and he talks all about the event and how it all went down! And gets sidetracked into so many other topics AS USUAL. Hahaha!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:02:18 James On Commentary0:04:19 Under Night 2 Tournament Results0:0…

WHAT IS THE WORST STREET FIGHTER GAME EVER?James ended up talking a lot about heart, mind, and body again in regards to Street Fighter V and Street Fighter 6, but then began talking about whether or not SFV, in the end, was considered a good game. Someone asks if SFV is the worst SFV ever. See what James has to say about that!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:…

SNKronize: SNK Podcast w/ James Chen (@jchensor), OlafRedland (@OlafRedland), & KittyKaboooom (@KittyKaboooom)Episode 113, Mar 20th, 2024Olaf and Kitty are back from the SNK World Championships! And they had a lot to say about the event as well as all of the Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves announcements!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro And Warmup0:01:…

ARE YOU EXCITED TO PLAY CHILDR... URGH... *CITY* OF THE WOLVES?!?The SNK World Championships were this weekend and the results were surprising! But the talk of the town is all about Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves! James watches and reacts to the trailers released!== TIME STAMPS ==0:00:00 Intro0:01:10 Xiao Hai Didn't Win?!?0:04:57 Sooa The MVP! Lagg…