What's up, guys? KnockDownJoe here and I haven't done a Joe's Monologues for a while. The reason for that is because I've been ranting about getting penalized for a low content post, rambling on being excited for classic games and on how would a Mario and Sonic crossover game work and taking measures to prevent loopholes. I was out of time and was in my old stomping grounds for the experience. And now that I'm back in town and all of my essentials were put back, I can now get on to the post and get back to doing more content.
Sly Cooper and the Thievious Raccoonus:
During Days of Play, we got new PS2 games finally coming. There is Tomb Raider: Legend, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and one of the games I started livestreaming, Sly Cooper and the Thievious Raccoonus. Let's talk about it.
I started my next PlayStation Rewind livestream with this classic that came out on the PS Plus Premium catalog during Days of Play. It became a great throwback game of mine since I started livestreaming this. In previous livestreams, I left off with beating Tide of Terror, Sunset Snake Eyes, Vicious Voodoo, and A Fire in the Sky and opened every single vault except for one that can't be opened until I defeat the final member of the Fiendish Five, Clockwerk, and it's something I will do. Once I do, then I can open the final vault, thus unlocking the true ending. All of that is gonna be on stream for the story finale of this throwback game. It has been a long road for this nostalgic game, man.
We finally are getting new PS2 games released on the catalog. The first Sly Cooper is in my wish list. If sequels get released on the catalog, I will livestream them, but it's gonna be progressing through the story because sequels are open world and clues are scattered across home worlds.
It's a starting point in revisiting new PS2 games, so I'll be expecting Wrath of Cortex, Enter the Dragonfly, The Simpsons: Hit and Run, 3D era Mortal Kombat games and many more of my cherished PS2 games to get released now that Sony has a brand new PS2 emulator that runs PS2 games smoothly. If they release the original release of Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, I'll revisit that too, though I have the HD remaster that I got to finish before playing the sequel.
Same with the original Crash and Spyro trilogies on the PS1 and this is something we can expect because there is no charm without their games on the catalog. Their numbers are good and they need to be released on the catalog. Even Wrath of Cortex because it had more sales than the original trilogy across three platforms since it returned to its roots of a platformer game after Crash Team Racing and Crash Bash. That's how it received a Greatest Hits/Platinum Hits accolade.
I am already excited for PlayStation's 30th Anniversary. Why? Because PS Plus Premium is the hero that revived retro gaming and that should hopefully light the way for more classic titles than usual to be released on the catalog to celebrate that.
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection:
That's right. The legendary crossover is back as the compilation was finally announced during their latest Nintendo Direct. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection is a compilation of all Marvel vs. Capcom games, including the beat em up classic, the Punisher. I've been wanting a Marvel vs. Capcom collection for years since Marvel vs. Capcom Origins. And now it's finally happening.
If you remember the PS3, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was ported on the PS3 to have online features and all characters unlocked by default. On that year, the PS3 port was removed from the store. Then Marvel vs. Capcom Origins was released to have two games, Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom 1. However, it was also removed. For years, we were hoping for a Marvel vs. Capcom collection to be announced for modern consoles. The Nintendo Direct show has finally announced it and it's coming to PC, PS4 and Switch. But Xbox was omitted for whatever reason.
The collection is gonna have online multiplayer and art never before seen. There is an option to listen to the games' music, like the Cave Stage theme in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. That theme is the best. A lot of fans want MvC2 to be free. And now, it's finally free and Max's campaign has been fulfilled. This compilation has changed everything for the better. The crossover we know and love is back. As a result, I have removed Marvel vs. Capcom 2 from my wish list of retro games I want released on the PS Plus Premium catalog. But Capcom vs. SNK 2 will remain on the list. That is until a Capcom vs. SNK Fighting Collection is announced.
This might pave the way for a new Marvel vs. Capcom game to use Unreal Engine 5, true rollback netcode, 3v3 battles and bursts.
EVO 2024:
The biggest thrill ride of the summer is going strong so far. The final standings for the number of entrants have been revealed. Street Fighter 6 has the most signups once again like last year. In total, there has been over 10,000 entrants for this year and this is an all time record broken. Previous EVOs never broken 10,000 entrants, but this year's did and this year's EVO is set to be a blockbuster.
This is the first year to take place at the new venue, the West Hall of the Convention Center in Las Vegas. It is deemed to be bigger than the Mandalay Bay era. That means no long lines and probably no confines of broadcasting. But the streaming schedule remains unknown, so we don't know if the Capcom Fighters' Twitch channel is gonna livestream all of Street Fighter 6 until Top 6 or not. But we do know that the Top 6 Finals will take place at the arena on Saturday and Sunday. The new venue they are moving to is a huge improvement over Mandalay Bay that Top 6 is gonna take place at the arena, there is no long lines and it makes more room for more stations.
The biggest event is around the corner. The broadcast information has yet to be revealed, but we can hope that it has flexibility since EVO 2024 is taking place at the West Hall of the Convention Center at Las Vegas.
Conclusion:
So this wraps up this episode of Joe's Monologues. Now that I'm back in town, I can now get back to do some more content.
