Joe's Segues - 6/1/22

Hello, you lovely people, and welcome to another weekly update now called Joe's Segues and that's what the series is gonna be called going forward. Today is the first day of June. First off, for this set of segues, there won't be a topic regarding Skullgirls. I have words to throw at you. So many things are happening and already happened. Now, listen carefully and use your ears.

Last Monday, I went to my local movie theater that make me think of Skullgirls, but only when it's either nighttime or cloudy outside. I went to see the Bob's Burgers Movie and it was so good. It even has most of the characters I am familiar of. From what I see, I felt some Johnny Test vibes. The Belcher family went on an adventure to save the restaurant from being shut down. Just look at the shading and the plot there. Now that's a unique style that gets the Johnny Test seal of approval. The reason why I'm starting the segues off with this is because I am a huge fan of Bob's Burgers. It's got League of Super Evil, it's got Looney Tunes, it's got ice cubes, it's got... crossfire perhaps?

I know you are interested in wacky plots you'd see on Johnny Test. And now, you can experience them. But listen, my experience with watching cartoons can be weird sometimes. When new seasons of Johnny Test came out, all we did was felt vibes when watching Bob's Burgers. The FCC shouldn't make Saturday mornings boring, by ending Saturday Morning Cartoons on certain channels.

Look, what I'm trying to say is watching cartoons brings joy to anyone on Saturday mornings that I'm sure there are still Saturday Morning Cartoons still alive on certain channels. It's just that they won't be on certain channels, like Fox, USA, CBS, ABC and the CW. These are the five basic channels that cartoons will no longer air on Saturday mornings because of the FCC.

To show my appreciation on how much I enjoyed the Bob's Burgers Movie, there's a special treat I am announcing in the future (Spoiler: won't associate with League of Super Evil). I have hints in that previous set.

And that brings us to the next topic regarding video games and I have an exciting announcement to make. Listen up. *ahem*

Alright, so you know how Them's Fightin' Herds is a great fighting game, but it just lacks that certain something? Well, that's where the console ports come in.

You guessed it correctly. Them's Fightin' Herds is officially coming to consoles this Fall with crossplay between them at launch. Don't worry, Steam will be part of the crossplay party. It's because Modus Games has acquired MANE6, the developer of Them's Fightin' Herds. With Modus' help, TFH is getting ported to consoles with an ESRB rating of E10+ for Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence and Use of Tobacco as a cherry on top. When PC games get ported to consoles, ESRB ratings are assigned to them and they are responsible for rating games on console versions. Without the console ports, there is no ESRB rating.

MANE6 has been working on two things that are on the docket. Version 3.0 and the Story Mode. For the Story Mode, its production is continuing along, but due to circumstances, it won't be finished by the end of the year. It's because the console ports and localization highly demanded more time from their engineers and writers. Once they are complete, working on the Story Mode will be their main priority again. Chapter 2 focusing on Velvet is still in the works, so we'll be in the know when they have more to share.

For Version 3.0, it contains the cinematic lv. 3 supers that burn all three bars of your meter to unleash your character's true and maximum potential and they are cinematic as BlazBlue's Astral Heat KOing a character with it benefits a post-cinematic some characters have, like for instance, if Paprika Astral Finished her opponent, that post-cinematic plays. I usually yell out "Finish!" when a character is KOed with a normal or a special attack and yell out "Distortion Finish!" when a character is KOed with a lv. 1 or lv. 2 super. I will yell out "Astral Finish!" when a character is KOed with a lv. 3 super since they are cinematic, but only on match point.

This is something amazing that Skullgirls should get; the cinematic lv. 5 Blockbuster Finales that burn all five bars of your Dramatic Tension gauge to allow characters to unleash their true and maximum potential and wouldn't that be the amazing? The next major update not only has lv. 3s, but also a bevy of balance changes. Plus, they are in the final stages of development, so we'll totally get news about it at the PC Gaming Show where they announce new PC games.

I forgot to mention that if you remember that situation on Combo Breaker, they were experiencing technical difficulties when playing the Steam version and it is a real pain to set up on offline tournaments. But since Them's Fightin' Herds is officially coming to consoles thanks to the assistance of Modus, they will no longer play the Steam version on offline tournaments once they are released and that's the number one benefit that it's gonna make setting up on offline tournaments easier.

But don't stop there. Console ports aren't the only thing happening thanks to Modus. New characters are coming to Them's Fightin' Herds through its very first Season Pass announced at Combo Breaker. Like Skullgirls 2nd Encore's Season 1 Pass, Them's Fightin' Herds' Season 1 Pass contains four new characters that can also be purchased individually. Each new character comes with a stage and it has an exclusive palette pack for those who purchased the Season 1 Pass to give the existing and the Season 1 Pass characters their bonus palette. Exclusive to the Them's Fightin' Herds Season 1 Pass, it contains lobby avatars for each new character and cosmetics.

Originally, they weren't supposed to give us the 8th character until Chapter 2 is finished, but now that they have more than one combat developer benefitted by Modus, Story Mode chapters and the new characters will be worked on simultaneously. If you look at the first two new characters, there is a hint that they are relatives to the existing characters. The last two new characters are new champions.

The physical Deluxe Edition comes with the Season 1 Pass. Accordingly, the first two characters come out this year while the last two characters come out next year. But that date might change depending on how well the development of new characters is. It's good enough with Skullgirls 2nd Encore getting a first Season Pass and now it's Them's Fightin' Herds getting one. And now, both fighting games that use OtterUI have their Season 1 Pass. If Hidden Variable and MANE6 have greenlit a Season 2 Pass for their games, I'll be ready for that. I know you will be too.

Since new characters are coming to TFH through its first Season Pass, what new species are they? What are their Astral Heats? We'll find out once Version 3.0, console ports and localization release. But $20 isn't a bad price for a Season Pass. I am definetely buying it the moment it gets available. I heard a rumor that one of the Season 1 Pass characters might be another character named after a US State. It would be nice if we get a couple more of them named after US States.

The game was around when Anime Fighting Jam was released on browser. If they had to give us a small roster with six characters at launch, it's all the resources they had. They were able to release the 7th character named Shanty. Even with Humble Games' help, MANE6 had one thing that isn't happening, console ports. But following the termination of their publishing partnership contract with Humble Games, Modus Games has formed a contract and acquisition with MANE6. It benefitted console ports, localization, a Season Pass with four new characters with their stages and pixel lobby avatars and other future things.

With Modus' power, exciting things are on the docket for TFH. Once Version 3.0, console ports and localization release, then it's off for them to work on the Story Mode and new characters in the Season Pass simultaneously. I am looking forward to Astral Finish my opponents off once Version 3.0 drops, but only on match point and when my opponent's HP is below 30%.

And since console releases of Them's Fightin' Herds are coming this Fall, thanks to Modus and the lv. 3 supers are cinematic as Astral Heats and KO'ing an opponent with it benefits a post cinematic and are being released before the console ports, this has given me the courage and the golden opportunity to proudly announce that I'll be adding a Them's Fightin' Herds character to my BBTAG 3.0 Character Pack wish list to even it out as I did with Annie, who will come with her stage in BBTAG, Sound Stage 15 since she's gonna be under the EX category along with others.

I know it seems weird wanting a four-legged creature to be in BBTAG, but Them's Fighin' Herds is a fighting game known for its adorable yet deadly four-legged creatures battling against each other and its four-button control scheme with the D button for Magic attacks, like BlazBlue's Drive attacks, so I thought that a Them's Fightin' Herds character would be dope in BBTAG. But the character select and order select screens in BBTAG must use the updated Them's Fightin Herds logo with seven stars first introduced in the 7th development update. I'll write Annie a BBTAG moveset in the future post alongside a Them's Fightin' Herds' character's BBTAG moveset.

However, I'll be confirming in advance that Arizona, Pom, Paprika, Oleander, Shanty and the Season 1 Pass characters with their stages won't be in my wish list due to the BBTAG moveset. It's down to Velvet and Tianhuo as they're neck and neck with a big bout between fire and ice. Pokemon, you know? Only one of them will be in my wish list. I can't add both. I can determine the winner, by writing their movesets in a BBTAG format that has this order below.

Smart Combos → Unique Commands → Special Attacks → EX Special Attacks → Distortion Skills → Astral Heat

The one with the finished moveset will be the winner to be in my wish list. It'll be like getting the Reno 911! cops to be involved for a fresh coat of action, watching some entertaining catches over on People v. Preds and watching popular cartoons like Looney Tunes and League of Super Evil, integrated with Dolby Surround Pro Logic II and THX, I guess...

Every character in BBTAG under the EX category has their own stage, so here's the thing. If Velvet wins, Reine City will come with her debut to BBTAG along with its variant and she'll be in my wish list. But if Tianhuo wins, Huoshan Capital will come with her debut to BBTAG along with its variant and she'll be in my wish list. If both of their moveset is finished, I can settle it by making a poll on Twitter.

Just so you know, if 505 Games is the IP holder of Indivisible or if they hired Future Club, it would've stayed alive so that the game can still get future updates and can have a Them's Fightin' Herds character like Annie is confirmed. But that will never happen because of... well, you know. That means we will never get to see a TFH character in Indivisible.

Speaking of Dolby Surround, that brings us to the final topic regarding the update on the new PlayStation Plus. You guys know about the new PlayStation Plus, right? It has three tiers and I know you knew about that. It is currently out in Asia and June 13 is when it launches here in North America. Sony has given us a partial list of games that are gonna be in the new PS Plus at launch. The PS1 and PSP games have a new rewind feature that the Nintendo Switch Online catalogs use. If you made a mistake, use the rewind feature to go back to the point and fix one little thing. You don't even have to pay the Premium tier to play the PS1 and PSP games you digitally own.

This was a case for when it comes to the PS1 and PSP games. For the PS3 games, they are only played through streaming and you need an internet connection required for streaming. And for the PS2 games, they are available to both stream and download. Once it launches June 13 in North America, I'm sure you will take a look at the list of classics you are itching to play as I am.

Well, this has been Joe's Segues and thanks for reading. And remember, with Them's Fightin' Herds' console releases being inevitable and coming this Fall, you're in for a big rodeo, ladies and gentlemen. Stay tight out there.

BBTAG Music to SG Update 3.2

Now that they revealed Black Dahlia's gameplay outline and her stage, it is time for part two of this update. I'm gonna highlight the stage section to have what theme Black Dahlia's stage is assigned to, some small changes to the legend key, the character section, a status update for the Skullgirls X BBTAG Palette Pack and two Skullgirls Lores.

Originally, part 2 of this update is supposed to have an update on the canon solo match section, but there has been some circumstances. Since the shift to BBTAG music, the canon solo match section had a rocky start and I am on the verge of making sure that the themes for them are cemented for the BBTAG 2.0 period until the BBTAG 3.0 Character Pack is confirmed. Because of that, I'm gonna put sharing the canon solo match section on hold for a while. But that doesn't mean I will not be playing one of the themes during canon solo matches. It is here to stay.

I'm terribly sorry that you had to hear that. I just want to make sure that the themes in the canon solo match section are fine before I can cement them.

There is one more piece of news that I want to share and relay before getting into the update, so listen carefully. *ahem*

Alright, so you know how Skullgirls 2nd Encore is great, but Steam and PlayStation just aren't enough platforms to spice up the never ending launch party? Well, that's where the Nintendo Switch and Xbox come in.

That's right. Steam and PlayStation will soon no longer be the only two platforms because Skullgirls 2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass are officially getting into active development as an update for the Nintendo Switch and as a new release for the Xbox.

If you read the paragraph on the networking refactors article that caught your eye, it shows that the codebase upgrades are gonna make console development much easier going forward and not just on PS4. This means the PS4 will soon no longer be the only console to have the Season 1 Pass on as 2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass are officially expanding to more platforms. The launch party is about to expand to Switch and Xbox players. It's good enough that Them's Fightin' Herds is coming to consoles this Fall thanks to the help of Modus Games. Now it's with Skullgirls 2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass coming to Nintendo Switch and Xbox thanks to the codebase upgrades that make console development much easier going forward.

Nintendo Switch:

Since the announcement of Annie and the Season 1 Pass, there were unable to provide info regarding the Season 1 Pass for the Nintendo Switch version because of unique technical complications and it is no different than the Vita port. Switch players were frustrated while hoarding their Nintendo eShop points for it.

This is something they are still very interested in doing since it is on the top of their priority list and with the codebase upgrades that make console development much easier, that top priority will finally be completed and they won't hoard their points or stay left behind any longer because the update and the Season 1 Pass for the Nintendo Switch port are now being actively developed. Switch players are finally joining the Season 1 Pass period and beyond and they are gonna be excited to also play the Season 1 Pass characters on the go when it comes to long road trips. A red certificate for Nintendo is being processed.

The update for the Switch version comes with everything to match with other platforms. It will include faster loading times, better performance, smoother online multiplayer with more flexibility and eight player lobbies, unlike the Vita version. It sucked crap because of six player lobbies and slower load times based on what characters you have on your team and its development took too darn long because of Vita-specific snags on optimization that the Switch version will not get when the update drops.

I plan to buy the Season 1 Pass on the Switch version so that I can play the Season 1 Pass characters on the go. And as a token, experiencing that the update and its Season 1 Pass being actively developed for the Switch has given me the courage to tell you I'm wanting a Skullgirls character to be in Super Smash Flash 2 because the devs stated that characters from video games that appeared in at least one Nintendo console, first-party or third-party, can make it to the roster, right? Because Skullgirls is one of the games that appeared in a Nintendo console, I would like a Skullgirls character to be in SSF2.

Xbox:

Since Skullgirls 2nd Encore first came out on PS4 almost seven years ago, the Xbox release lagged behind and has been stuck in limbo for years as you are still seeing the Xbox 360 logo on the website because of Microsoft's complication, which is why it wasn't developed well on the Xbox. That is also why the Xbox 360 version couldn't get lobbies. The outdated release works on the later Xbox consoles through backwards compatibility, but that is not quite enough to bring Xbox players into the launch party and they were so frustrated that 2nd Encore couldn't be ported to Xbox in the first place.

It has been a long time coming, but now that they have codebase upgrades that make console development easier, development on the Xbox release of Skullgirls 2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass is now sunrising and it's about to make a grand and triumphant return to the platform and Xbox players will not stay frustrated or stay left behind any longer. The wait is finally coming to an end and a green certificate for Microsoft is about to be processed.

The Xbox release will launch with everything to match with other platforms like the update for the Switch and after almost nine years, it is finally getting the 2nd Encore release. This is a biggest milestone that it is about to cross as it is making a grand and triumphant return to the Xbox. Though I don't have an Xbox and usually play it on PS4, I am proud that Xbox players are finally joining the launch party.

Please note and be aware that the Xbox development will only cover the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The Xbox 360 version will not be updated.

Skullgirls X BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle Palette Pack:

While irrelevant to console development, I wanted to announce that now that Skullgirls 2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass have officially entered active development as an update for the Switch and a new release for the Xbox, the Skullgirls X BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle Palette Pack will no longer be available mostly on Steam and PlayStation and will expand its availability to Xbox and Nintendo Switch. That piece of news has caught our eye that more platforms are joining the launch party and this gives the palette pack the opportunity to expand its availability to these platforms. I originally stated that there is a status update for this, but this is not the only one. Another one will be stated later on.

2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass period expanding to Nintendo Switch and Xbox is not something we fans ever imagined that would happen in the life of the Skullgirls launch party and it was only possible with the codebase upgrades. They make console development much easier going forward so that Switch and Xbox players can finally be able to join the launch party for PlayStation to no longer be the only console to have the Season 1 Pass on and releasing patches on console versions can be much easier with more flexibility.

There is an excellent chance that the Season 1 Pass is gonna sell well when it is released on Xbox and Switch. Since the Season 1 Pass first released on Steam alongside the Annie Beta, the chances of it being sold well became slim. But after it was released on the PS4, the chances of it have increased a bit. Then once the Season 1 Pass is released on the Nintendo Switch and Xbox, the chances of it being sold well will be greatly increased.

Though the codebease upgrades are intended to make console development much easier going forward, my favorite part of game development, submitting builds to console companies, is gonna stay and the blue certificate for Sony won't be the only thing any longer because with Skullgirls and the Season 1 Pass being actively developed as an update for the Nintendo Switch and as a new release for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X, the green certificate for Microsoft and the red certificate for Nintendo will join.

The networking refactors are intended to greatly improve online stability and produce more flexibility on how they fix issues that have been lingering for years and make improvements to UI elements, but because the refactors are big, new bugs will come up and that's why they had to be in the Beta build. Some issues created from the refactors have been fixed, but it has been not a lot yet, so the devs are fixing as many reported issues as they can, including the one issue that happened right in the palm of my hand when I was watching a match. That happened during that match Taterade was playing on and it's a good thing I didn't play it. That's why they had to play the retail build until the unintentional mid-match disconnection issue is fixed and that's what the issue is gonna be called, because you know, the intentional grounding penalty in football that causes a 10-yard penalty on the offense.

I am very grateful that they are working on improving our online experience. With the refactors, I do not doubt that they are gonna fix the issues that have been lingering for years since lobbies came to consoles that I'm gonna go over.

First off, waiting until the countdown in the waiting for opponent screen reaches 0 to get to the match. It is annoying and frustrating to get to the match when the countdown reaches 0 in the waiting for opponent screen except the life bars are yellow with a countdown. It's like watching cards rubbing against each other in MvC3.

Now let's move on to another lingering issue. Skipping the waiting for opponent screen to go straight into the match with yellow life bars at the beginning while spectating. That only happens when I played at least one match and spectated a couple of matches and there is a workaround, which is leaving the lobby and creating a new one and that is a pain of a workaround.

Since lobbies came to consoles, they started out rough, but that patch made it a little better and that's not enough to remedy the issues. Thanks to the online refactors, they are enough to fix the issues and give lobbies a lot of flexibility on console versions.

Not only the networking refactors can fix lingering issues. They can also pave the way for new online features. I'll go over a couple of new features I want.

An option for lobby hosts to disband lobbies. When there is more than one player in the lobby, it doesn't disband lobbies. Instead, when the initial lobby host leaves the lobby. it makes the other player the new lobby host. As lobby host, I want the option to disband lobbies, even though there is more than one player.

An option for lobby hosts to ban and allow characters and stages. This idea helps when it comes to running special online casuals and tournaments that restrict to characters and stages you would like to see. I am banning the characters that are assigned to their BBTAG character themes that don't fit well with their personality and banning the stages that are assigned to their BBTAG themes that don't interest me to leave the characters that are assigned to their BBTAG themes that fit well with their personality and stages that are assigned to their BBTAG themes that interest me available. But one stage and six characters are at minimum.

And now that Switch and Xbox are finally joining the Season 1 Pass period and beyond, the never ending Skullgirls launch party will truly begin once the update and the Season 1 Pass are released on the Nintendo Switch and the Xbox port gets released. And because the update for the Switch release is gonna have faster loading times, here's hoping we get crossplay once the whole season is done, but must be in two phases.

That's all of the announcements I have today, so let's dive right into the update.

These are the changes to the legend key and the character section. So you're wondering why there is no longer a checkmarks on it. I took them off in light of the changes to the legend key and Black Dahlia's name now has a [...] after it to indicate that she is in development and will hit Alpha in June and that's the time when I play Walpurgisnacht upon her entrance because each character in their Alpha phase will come with a BBTAG character theme to be played upon their entrance and probably feel some SSF2 Beta vibes too because of the HUD and she is gonna be playable at Combo Breaker.

The indicator will disappear when Black Dahlia is fully released. Same goes for the fourth and final Season 1 Pass character most likely to be revealed at EVO.

Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S are joining the Season 1 Pass period and beyond with Steam and PS4 as Skullgirls and the Season 1 Pass are now being in active development as an update for the Switch and as a new release for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S and they will also be able to get Black Dahlia and the fourth DLC character. This means Walpurgisnacht and the fourth character's theme will be played to the true max when Black Dahlia and the fourth DLC character get released on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch. Emphasis on "true" because once the update and the Season 1 Pass are released on the Switch and the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S versions launch with the Season 1 Pass and everything that other platforms have, this is where the launch party truly begins.

While this is the moment we've been waiting for, there is a good chance that the Nintendo Switch version is gonna get the update and the Season 1 Pass before Black Dahlia is released.

Since Walpurgisnacht actually fits well with Black Dahlia because of not just her wicked personality, but also elemental bullets she's gonna get more of during development accordingly, her Nine the Phantom palette is added to the top row of the collage that emulates the character selection screen in BBTAG after Annie in her Izayoi palette to match the order of introduction on the BlazBlue characters from Calamity Trigger to Central Fiction.

Please be aware that her portrait is a preview on how she looks in her Nine palette and it will be replaced with a final picture once she is released on Mobile.

The current total is ten characters and the BlazBlue palettes row now has Big Band, Umbrella, Annie and Black Dahlia in their Tager, Platinum, Izayoi and Nine palettes. That's four BlazBlue palettes depicting each one on each installment of the franchise with Black Dahlia depicting a newcomer first introduced in Central Fiction if she doesn't get it during development.

Not gonna lie. Black Dahlia is basically Nine the Phantom, but with cybernetics and an arm gun that contains several unique ammo types she gets when reloading, including the fire-elemental bullet and she will get more elemental bullets during development. Her gameplay outline says it all and Walpurgisnacht is actually a perfect fit when it comes to elemental bullets. Both on the BBCF and BBTAG music periods. She does look savage in it. As such, if Black Dahila doesn't get her Nine the Phantom palette during her development, it will stay up there. If she does, I will get it out of the palette pack.

Previously, I mentioned that this pack is only meant for the characters who don't have palettes that depict characters that are and aren't in BBTAG. Well...

Ms. Fortune, Robo-Fortune and Beowulf are the three characters who already have their palettes that depict BBTAG characters in the game, but I put them in this new separate collage above to contain characters who do and don't have palettes that depict BBTAG and non-BBTAG characters for a special online casual I'm planning anyway. This 3x5 collage emulates the character select grid in Skullgirls, but with portraits of characters in their palettes depicting BBTAG characters and the random character selection right in the middle of the grid. Each of the BBTAG palettes on there represents eligibility for my special online casual.

This second collage now currently has 13 characters in their palettes that depict BBTAG characters; five BlazBlue palettes, still five Persona 4 Arena palettes and still three Under Night In-Birth palettes. If you're asking what's the empty space on the lower right hand corner for, that is for the 14th character that I hope is the fourth and final Season 1 Pass character.

These quick references above now have 13 characters, including the three characters who already have palettes that depict BBTAG characters to reflect the current number of characters in the second collage. The quick reference on the left is sorted by the order of introduction on the BBTAG characters' themes while the other on the right is sorted by order of introduction. The quick references will update accordingly.

Well, I segued everything in the character section and the status update on the palette pack. On to the stage section.

Apparently, Black Dahlia's stage is actually some sort of speakeasy that is named the Bunny Burrow, not the Deadly Airport, so I'll assign it to A Fool or Clown?. Honestly, I was gonna go with Princess Amagi-ya, but I think A Fool or Clown? is perfect.

Every villain needs a lair to retreat after a hard day of crime, so for Black Dahlia, it's the Bunny Burrow, a nightclub stage that is her evil lair, so A Fool or Clown? is a perfect theme for it because of it's villainous cadence. You know how Tohru Adachi is the mastermind of the murder case that rocked Inaba in Persona 4? Well, he is an evil doer and that's why I assigned the Bunny Burrow to A Fool or Clown?. Also, there are a couple of theme changes coming below.

Under the Bridge - Awakening -> Maximize Power!
Gehenna - Overwhelm Despair -> Unseen Entities

That said, the stage section is now cemented for the BBTAG 2.0 period.

Now that Black Dahlia's gameplay outline has been revealed, I'm gonna reveal what stages that will be in the MvC2 Mode Beta now.

These are the current eleven chosen stages with their themes that interest me for the MvC2 Mode Beta, including Black Dahlia's newest speakeasy-looking stage, assigned to A Fool or Clown?. I'm gonna put that into action once all of the Season 1 Pass characters with their stages have been released. I plan to create a new random wheel that has these stages for the MvC2 Mode Beta to help me decide. I think I need one more stage to make it an even twelve stages.

And that wraps it up for part two of this update. Again, I'm gonna hold the canon solo match section off for a little while. The next update will be posted once the fourth and final Season 1 Pass character is revealed for part 1 and when their gameplay and stage is revealed for part 2 where their Skullgirls Lore fun fact will be written at.

Black Dahlia will be playable at Combo Breaker, but the fourth and final Season 1 Pass character will be revealed at EVO since Skullgirls is chosen as the ninth mainstage title in this year's lineup anyway. In fact, since EVO is bigger than any other fighting game tournament, their booth will be bigger there and that's where they gonna reveal the fourth and final Season 1 Pass character there. That's why I referred EVO as the biggest thrill ride of the year and there is a good chance that she might also be playable at EVO. May the Walpurgisnacht Alpha to commence in June.

I'm about to pull a Nevercake impression because it's now time for not one, but two Skullgirls Lore fun facts. Now listen up. *ahem*

Alright, so... you know how Nanny McPhee could be 50% deadlier? Well, that's where Black Dahlia comes in. Assigned to Walpurgisnacht.

UC, if Black Dahlia was a Squid Game guard, she kills those who made the wrong move in one shot since she is a cyborg made to kill anyone with her arm gun. You're playing a game of marbles with your partner and if you lose, you're screwed and Black Dahlia shows up to play her part. If it's true, you're gonna wish it was James Bond coming after you, because Black Dahlia, she had no problem murdering victims. Despite her looks, Black Dahlia is not a bad guy. She just misunderstood and did the right thing to murder a victim who hated her more than anyone else. Ms. Fortune.

UC, she is a total nuisance to the Medici Mafia where Black Dahlia is affiliated with. She and the Fishbone Gang have accomplished their mission to steal the family heirloom, the Life Gem. Without it, the Medici Mafia is in jeopardy. It's like saying without the Alexandrite, there is no Walpurgisnacht. She was a regular cat girl back then and her family remained loyal. That is until she and the Fishbone Gang have been literally pulverized into pieces by Black Dahlia and her bunny-themed goons in Squid Game. Oh, Dahlia, such a sly murderess you are.

But Ms. Fortune wasn't gone. The Life Gem she swallowed granted her eternal life and all of her limbs and her head came together. She wasn't strong enough to defy Black Dahlia, but she decided to do a rematch with her. Now, one of Dahlia's minions was extremely butthurt that she let Ms. Fortune and the Fishbone Gang steal the Life Gem and swallowing it granted her eternal life so Alexandrite would be a perfect fit.

When Cerebella later killed Ms. Fortune, by crushing her and turning her into the Life Gem to save the Medici Mafia, Black Dahlia was totes proud of her heroic duty, thus becoming a noble, virtuous clown assigned to an Under Night In-Birth theme. What a sorry little piece of crud Ms. Fortune is, so no Arby's cheeseburger for her. And by Arby's cheeseburger, I mean freedom and treats. Instead, she deserved karma, which is associated with something that benefitted Walpurgisnacht.

Black Dahlia has three elemental ammo types beyond her regular ammo based on types of Pokemon, such as Fire, Lightning and Ice shots. These elemental rounds benefitted Walpurgisnacht like Ms. Fortune's power of the Life Gem in her veins, Annie's sword and Umbrella's cheery personality and victim trapping Hungern bubbles benefitted Alexandrite, Justice Sword and Active Angel. Oh and she also has Buck and Rail shots, which aren't elemental rounds. These are the five unique round types and she gets one when reloading. The third Season 1 Pass character is a BlazBlue-themed character, which is revealed to be Black Dahlia. Alongside Annie and Umbrella in their Izayoi and Platinum the Trinity palettes, Black Dahlia deserves a Nine the Phantom palette when it comes to elemental rounds based on types of Pokemon.

That said, Black Dahlia is made to terminate those who stand in her way with her arm gun and considered the Erron Black since her gun holds up to six bullets and she'll need to reload as it makes you get hyped for the release of Overwatch 2. So like Umbrella, who comes with an ingame fullness meter HUD, she comes with an ingame ammo HUD that displays ammo types. And she is also considered the Nine the Phantom, but with a gun that shoots elemental bullets she gets when reloading. I guess I'll have to consider her a witch with a gun. Because of her design and her stage is a nightclub, assigned to A Fool or Clown?, you think of her when not only your local movie theater has a bar, but only at night, but also when you go to a nightclub near you. Made because nightclubs are open during nighttime, but closed during daytime.

Her experience with murdering anyone is hard work, so Black Dahlia likes to chill from time to time and drink some of that good ol' Bacardi wine with her bunny minions at the speakeasy, which is her hideout. Then it's time to go back to the battlefield to murder foes. In fact, mortals are prey so easy that they can get wrecked by gunshots. That's why Black Dahlia specializes in looking out for people to kill.

Sure, murdering people is a felony, but this murderess is so special and arbitrary and won't get arrested by the cops for a satisfaction of existence. What she really wants is to kill enemies. 'Cause you know, her murdering experience really inspires her. Introducing our new Damage Champion, Black Dahlia, the Murderess of the Medici. Welcome to the roster, gun granny. Now get in the club!

Alright, so... imagine Elsa, but like as a zombie with a mini dragon on her head. That's where Squigly comes in. Assigned to Overwhelm Despair. You see, zombies love to sing and dance through the scary music like in the Xbox exclusive game Grabbed by the Ghoulies. Remember that game? They stink up everything and an undead choir stirs up the stink like a Betty Crocker mix because zombies have terrible body odor and their breath stinks like heck. So vile and stinky.

Anyway, a long time ago, a young woman named Sienna Contiello who was just scared stiff and she had her parents of the Contiello family. It wouldn't be long before Black Dahlia and her minions show up. Gunshots sound and Sienna and her parents have been left for dead. Her death is not only appeased to the power of Dark Eco, but earned her a promotion. Zombiehood. Her skin turned lavender, her hair and dress turned purple. Sienna became Squigly and earned herself Leviathan, a Parasite and a little dragon buddy. That's how Overwhelm Despair became a perfect fit for her. This minion still can sing in the opera. This was a swell moment and all, but Squigly was not very happy that her mouth won't move, but she can still speak.

Meanwhile, Filia and Samson go to great lengths. Remember them and the fun fact to how Spirited Girl fits well with a tangled school girl? Then Squigly shows up with Leviathan. Their Parasites faced and argued against each other to see which host is the most dominant and X-Matic plays during Filia vs. Squigly as a cherry on top, but it is only during the mainline BlazBlue music period that I had to shift from. I assume Samson had to be a bad mouthing demon. And well, let's just say the competition of being the most dominant host ended in a draw.

But it didn't matter. Squigly defeated Double with the help of Filia, joined the Blue Man Group, sang Let it Go, listened to Katy Perry with Skullcandy headphones fueled with THX and Dolby Surround Pro Logic II. It was a lot. She did a lot of things as a minion. But then, she collapsed unexpectedly and couldn't stay alive any longer. She was slightly more barren than the Savannah in Jungle Hijinx. But splendid as Them's Fightin' Herds coming to consoles this Fall. Give her a Hilda palette that is completely different than palette 30 for my Skullgirls X BBTAG Palette Pack idea.

If you remember Annie's debut to 2nd Encore, Squigly's debut to the original Skullgirls was no different. Since that dispute, Konami is no longer affiliated with Autumn or the devs under the original Reverge Labs name because they requested to remove the game from the PlayStation Store and Xbox Marketplace. What a terrible fate they experienced. Squigly was trying to escape from prison, but she failed. But one day, fans came together to bail her out and they did. Skullgirls is back in digital stores developed under the Lab Zero Games name without Konami's involvement and Squigly isn't the only new character because four more characters after her are confirmed in the Indiegogo campaign.

Except it wasn't Konami or Autumn. It was actually Mike Zaimont the entire time. He is the source of development heck responsible of requesting the removal of Skullgirls from digital stores. And now, with Mike Zaimont no longer involved during the ongoing Skullgirls development following the sexual harassment scandal, the other talented devs won't experience that crap and is being under the Hidden Variable and Future Club umbrellas. In fact, no development hecks will ever be experienced.

Plus, now that the Season 1 Pass and the 2nd Encore update are coming to the Switch and Xbox One/Series later this year as they confirmed because of the codebase upgrades they are working on intend to make console development significantly easier going forward, it's only a matter of time before the launch party grows greatly bigger. And if Skullgirls 2nd Encore ever gets crossplay between PC and console, the launch parties will be united into one and it can greatly improve my experience with playing Skullgirls while listening to BBTAG music, including Overwhelm Despair upon Squigly's entrance and Justice Sword upon Annie's entrance.

By the way, if Squigly had her own video game published by Playtonic, it would be called "Squigly-Leviathan." Huh? Eh? Oh...

Weekly Update 5/2/22

Hello, you awesome people. It has been a while since I made that previous weekly update, but now this weekly update is gonna entail what have been going on the past days.

Now, first off, your friendly neighborhood YouTuber Extraordinaire, Nevercake, is continuing the SMITE Lore series after over three and a half years since the 97th episode entailing Pele came out. The next one entailing the newest Chinese God, Yu Huang, the Jade Emperor came out, so go watch it. He is the leader of the Chinese Pantheon known for using Dao. I tried him out before and I am impressed at the way he's developed. The leader of the Chinese Pantheon was the most requested God that has finally made his way on to the Battleground.

If you're a big fan of Nevercake like I am, I recommend go checking his channel out. He is good at animating videos and playing the ukulele. The best thing about him is that he makes ads for Riot Games that support League of Legends. He plays games with his friends, like Fortnite. Honestly, there has not been a new video on his channel for so long, yet the SMITE Lore series is back and Yu Huang picks up where the series left off. The writing and outline are a bit thinner than before and has Billy in it. That's what the future SMITE Lores will have. They even inspired me to write Skullgirls Lores too.

I even have some of his SMITE Lore videos on my phone to get a glimpse of the Gods' lore. I always loved the "Alright, so... you know how...," "Well, that's where..." and the "UC" lead-ins. And now that SMITE Lore is back on track, I am looking forward to the 99th episode. Two more and the series will hit the 100th episode milestone.

The one video that amazes me is that he and his brother travelled to LA after being invited by Riot Games for that Creator Lab event, where they can make any YouTube video, but they only had 24 hours, which is plenty of time to create a big video. As always, shout outs to Nevercake for his wonderful animations and his gaming sessions with his friends.

And that brings us to the next topic regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci has declared that the US is officially out of the pandemic phase and I am very glad that we are. It is finally now endemic and I don't care if it is. I just wanted the pandemic to end because I can't afford to allow more innocent people die from the virus. It means that people can now return to their normal lives, go back to their loved ones, get back to hosting offline tournaments again, etc. I even heard the WHO is developing an ultimate COVID-19 vaccine that can give us total protection from current and future variants, hence the word "ultimate". As in Smash Ultimate because it has all characters across the Smash Bros. franchise to use the everyone is here approach. Yeah, the pandemic has stymied their normal lives and relegated them to host online tournaments for fighting games that use rollback netcode to defy lag in any stage since late 2019.

Fighting games with delay-based netcode combat lag in some stages, but rollback netcode defies all that lag in any stage. That's the point of fighting games with rollback. You don't have to choose certain stages that defy lag. Even the boring Training Stage in Street Fighter V, which needs a better netcode.

Speaking of defying lag with rollback, we have a next topic. It's for Skullgirls, everyone's favorite fighting game that movie theaters make me think of at night because of their art deco structure, right? Umbrella is officially available on both 2nd Encore and Mobile. For the Mobile side of things, Umbrella won't be available in all standard relics until the next update that makes her fully available in all standard relics. I am saving them until the next update.

Since the early development on Skullgirls, Umbrella was a candidate for the base roster as she entered the very early development phase. Eight characters were established in the base roster, but Umbrella wasn't one of them sadly. Then later, an Indiegogo campaign where they give us five DLC characters and that time when a clone character was given has happened and she is still isn't one of them. But years later since the Japanese voice patch came out, the Season 1 Pass has been announced and Umbrella is finally becoming a playable character.

I am happy at the way she is developed and it was worth the salt. Umbrella is basically easy to learn and she is pretty darn fun to play. So glad she finally became a playable character after many years since the beginning and Active Angel would be the cherry on top, so basically, she had to offer a feel for when I am looking at slushies at my local movie theater.

And now, we are off to waiting for the next character in the Season 1 Pass hitting Alpha soon. It's Black Dahlia, everyone's favorite gun granny, right? Yeah, didn't think so. Black Dahlia is the oldest character in Skullgirls that is required for the canon story mode like Umbrella. With her arm gun, she is set to kill the competition, but her gameplay outline remains a mystery. She has a stage named Deadly Airport and I seem to found a perfect BBTAG theme to assign it to. But can't reveal it until Dahlia's gameplay outline on what will she bring to the table is revealed. If she makes a great Overwatch Hero, that would be cool.

A decade has passed since Skullgirls came out and we let it thrive for a decade and couldn't be brought down like Indivisible. It's because Autumn Games owns the IP, not Lab Zero. If 505 Games owned the IP of Indivisible, the game would've stayed alive so it can get the promised guest characters and other extra stuff, but it was hit hard to a halt and couldn't get back to the line of scrimmage, which is my fancy way of saying stay alive. It's because everyone left Lab Zero because of Mike Z's actions and he should've faced the consequences of his actions and left the studio.

In celebration of Skullgirls' 10th anniversary, they have a LOT of things associated with all things Skullgirls planned for this year and Umbrella's official release on 2nd Encore and Mobile is one of the goals that are already met. We all know that Black Dahlia's introduction, including her Alpha phase is one of them, so hopefully, cross-play is one of them and something even cooler that I want for Skullgirls below.

A while back, I thought of something even cooler to be implemented to Skullgirls, which is the cinematic Them's Fightin' Herds-style lv. 5 supers that burn all five levels of your Dramatic Tension gauge, allowing each character to unleash their true and maximum potential. Hence maximum potential. And they have a curtain call post cinematic that plays when you kill the only character left in their team and during match point on solo matches with it, like you're doing the big finale to end the show with a huge bang. Now, Skullgirls' gameplay mimics the show, right? Each show needs a big finale to end the show with a bang and make the crowd go wild. They are Blockbuster Finales and that's what the cinematic lv. 5 supers are gonna be called. But they can be used anytime. They won't work if it hits an assist character and during the Marie boss fight.

Even the name of Annie's Blockbuster Finale dubbed "Galactic Judgment" sounds promising and outrageous. I was gonna go with Galactic Onslaught or Cosmic Judgment, but I think Galactic Judgment makes more sense because you know, like how one warrior casts judgment from above in outer space and calls upon the stars to shoot a huge beam towards Earth? Just to defy gravity and go to town.

I want them to be in Skullgirls because you know that Them's Fightin' Herds is getting the cinematic lv. 3 supers and I heard they are in the final stages of development too? Well, I thought of something cooler like the Blockbuster Finales and wouldn't that be awesome? I'll even think of one for the future characters. I am aware that they could potentially slow down the game and some people might have a problem with using them over and over, but rest assured that they are gonna be awesome as heck if they can only be used to KO the only character left on their team and while on match point during 1v1s to score an Astral Finish.

And since this year marks the 10th year of Skullgirls, they gotta reveal that fourth and final cherry on top Season 1 Pass character soon and they are eager to do so. Luckily, Combo Breaker is returning this year and is around the corner, so I hope they reveal that fourth Season 1 Pass character there too. If not, then since Skullgirls is announced as one of the mainstage games at EVO 2022 for the first time since the pre-release phase played back in EVO 2011 as a side tournament anyway, they'll reveal it there.

Since my inception to BBTAG music, I've been on the MvC1 format where I play themes upon the character's entrance for over a year and writing Skullgirls Lores on how a BBTAG character theme fits well with a Skullgirls character. Plus, it turned out well enough for me to confirm it and Walpurgisnacht will soon be played upon Black Dahlia's entrance once she enters Alpha as I did with playing Active Angel upon Umbrella's entrance while in her Alpha phase while watching Skullgirls Slapfest. Same goes for the fourth yet-to-be-announced character in the Season 1 Pass that is most likely not assigned to a BlazBlue theme and to be revealed at EVO. But that's not all what I've been doing to celebrate and promote the ongoing launch party.

This piece of news today is the result of what I've been working on behind the scenes to also celebrate the ongoing Skullgirls launch party and its 10th Anniversary you will see below.

How did the characters get their nifty palettes of familiar characters that are not yet in the game? What do the blue, yellow and purple rows mean? Why a few characters are missing? These are good questions. If you look at the hints in the update about RWBY themes and the previous post, here are the characters in their BBTAG palettes. I am working on an idea of a palette pack that is only for the Skullgirls characters that don't have BBTAG character palettes based on their character themes fitting well with their personality in the game.

The palette pack I'm working on is the Skullgirls X BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle Palette Pack. Or the Skullgirls X BBTAG Palette Pack for short. I made them through the SGM Palette Editor where you can make any palette out of any Skullgirls character you want and share it to anyone, including the developers to put it in the game since I heard they have no shortage of palette ideas.

As you can see here in the 3x7 collage above, there are three colors; one on each row. The blue slots on the top row is for the BlazBlue palettes. The yellow slots on the middle row is for the Persona 4 Arena palettes. And the purple slots on the bottom row is for the Under Night In-Birth palettes. This graphic even emulates the character select screen in BBTAG, but minus the RWBY and the EX characters.

Currently, it has Big Band, Umbrella and Annie in their Iron Tager, Platinum the Trinity and Izayoi palettes on the top row for BlazBlue palettes, Peacock, Parasoul and Filia in their Teddie, Mitsuru Kirijo (P4A version to clarify) and Labrys palettes on the middle row for Persona 4 Arena palettes and Double, Squigly and Cerebella in their Merkava, Hilda and Mika palettes on the bottom row for Under Night In-Birth palettes. That's currently nine of them in total, including Umbrella, the newest character to be on there since her Platinum palette is not in the game after looking through all of her palettes following her full release.

Just look at how nifty, stylish and fly they totally look in their BBTAG character palettes. I even pulled a Nevercake when developing this. This idea of my palette pack is no doubt more than nifty enough to commend MvC1 mode. Their BBTAG voice packs won't be included in this pack due to copyright concerns. Their Drive attacks, Personas and EXS aren't included. However, this pack is still incomplete, so more characters to come. And since Walpurgisnacht actually a perfect fit for Black Dahlia, her Nine the Phantom palette is in the works to be up on there if she doesn't get it during development.

It's even possible that I was able to make a Hilda palette out of Squigly. It's because I can color her legs black and her dress white and it indicates that Overwhelm Despair is actually a perfect fit for Squigly this whole time since I had to color her legs in her dress black. As a result, a Skullgirls Lore about how Overwhelm Despair is a perfect fit for Squigly is in the works after the one about how Walpurgisnacht is actually a perfect fit for Black Dahlia, so stay tuned for that.

Though this palette pack is only meant for the characters who don't have palettes that depict characters in BBTAG, it can also have characters who don't have palettes that depict the non-BBTAG characters in my wish list of characters I want for the 3.0 Character Pack, excluding the RWBY and the EX characters in the game, so news on that will be posted in the future. Of course, since the palette pack is intended to have palettes for both current and future characters, it will be available mostly on Steam and PlayStation at the moment because they still haven't provided info regarding the Season 1 Pass for the Nintendo Switch version and the Xbox release.

So, that's what I've been working on behind the scenes to celebrate and to promote the never ending Skullgirls launch party and commend MvC1 mode. I am looking forward to the Alpha release of Black Dahlia and that's where I come in to play Walpurgisnacht upon her entrance and look for her Nine palette. And also finding out who is the fourth and final character in the Season 1 Pass at EVO. 

But this palette pack idea is not the only thing I'm working on. I am working on another palette pack idea that is also not yet complete. Here are some hints below.

"He sits on his chair from time to time to get his hype about burgers. His fixation of cooking burgers is the most promising of them all as he embraces his son's arm."

"When she and her Egret soldiers are on a mission to deliver burgers across New Meridian, she shoots and tosses napalm tears made out of ketchup from her umbrella. A ketchup-fueled umbrella is one of the best deals when it comes to serving burgers"

"She may not be a Thunder Girl scout, but she and her remote Parasite as her brother descend from the burger cosmos to quell a various amount of Skullgirls off of the land. With her blade and her condition to prevent her from swearing, she is fierce and brave enough to defy stage fright and traumatization."

"Her hat doesn't have bunny ears, but her Living Weapon in her brother's colors is a family heirloom made to blow bubbles out of ketchup and create rain out of mustard. One of the charming things is when she and her big sister hang out at the Boardwalk."

"Her sassy and bratty attitude didn't stop her from stealing the show in the circus. Her beloved living arms are a huge showstopper to make a girl's best friend proud."

And now, we're down to our third and final topic regarding Mightykeef's EVO 2022 lineup reaction video and the event itself. Have you guys watched it before? If not, then go watch it. It's explosive and it even has a Sony logo on it to represent that EVO is bought by them. It is true that when Pyra and Mythra came out, what Smash fans did was lust over her big breasts. EVO is upon us. Well, except for the Smash players since any of the Smash games isn't going to be at EVO this year since Nintendo isn't gonna continue the legacy. If you don't know what mainstage games will be in this year's lineup in case if you haven't watched the lineup announcement...

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
Guilty Gear Strive
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
Tekken 7
The King of Fighters XV
Melty Blood: Type Lumina
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Granblue Fantasy Versus
Skullgirls 2nd Encore

These are the nine games that are confirmed to be in this year's lineup. I was planning to sign up for Skullgirls and train my trio team to have characters that do or don't have palettes that depict BBTAG characters in pulling a Nevercake, but I get nervous and I might lose right off the bat, so I don't think I'll ever be ready to compete in an offline tournament. I'll probably just have to fake it. Mightykeef's video is up on YouTube, so go watch it. It has a Sony logo to represent that Sony bought out EVO, but Smash didn't make it in.

Because of the Sony logo representing that they bought EVO, Nintendo has no interest in working with Sony since they bought out EVO. It might mean that Smash won't be at EVO ever again. We'll see once 2023 comes. The games in this year's lineup will all be played either on the PS4 or PS5. I think they all should be played on the PS5. It has 3D audio and Dolby Surround Pro Logic II, which the 4K and silver screen use and games load faster on the PS5 than on PS4, getting players into the match quicker. I was caught off-guard when my games loaded faster, including SMITE.

This year's EVO is gonna get the Team Sonic Racing and Sonic Colors Ultimate seal of approval thanks to Skullgirls' debut as a mainstage game and its return to Las Vegas since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Johnny Test seal of approval, courtesy of the EVO 2022 lineup reaction skit that had that part where Skullgirls told Smash Ultimate off after Street Fighter V mentioned about a community of gamers fantasizing about fictional women right at the end. The Early Bird registration has ended, so the regular registration is here and ends in June 9th, so sign up before it gets to the Late registration to end July 9th.

Well, that's all I wanted to tell you what's going on over the past days. With EVO 2022 upon us except for the Smash players, it's gonna be bigger than before. As always, have a wonderful day. Signing out.

Thoughts on the New PlayStation Plus

Hello, video game fans. Back again with another set of thoughts. Have you read my previous thoughts about EVO 2022? What was special about that one is that it informs anyone that after 15 years since EVO 2007, Super Smash Bros. won't be in the lineup either this year only or ever again as Nintendo ended their tradition this year following Sony's purchase, yet all of the DLC characters have been released. Wow, that hurts a bit. But it's a fair enough decision. Don't get me wrong. Smash is a fighting game. It just that it doesn't use health bars in game, but it uses a Stamina feature and a Final Smash meter, which SSF2 also uses. They weren't really that clear.

So what's on the docket recently? Well, there's an upcoming Skullgirls Lore to assigning the Skullgirls characters to BBTAG character themes alongside the Black Dahlia one, which I can't really discuss, but I can tell you that Umbrella's full release on Steam and PlayStation is on the horizon and fast approaching as everything in the Active Angel Beta has been finalized a week ago without transferring everything to the retail version to pave the way for it after months of work that took blood, sweat and tears. Then it's off to the wait for Black Dahlia and her Alpha phase where I play Walpurgisnacht upon her entrance as a point character on the player 2 side and after the death of a point character on the same team and the time I make a Nine palette out of her. To participate, you must purchase the Season 1 Pass.

There's an EVO 2022 lineup reaction skit coming soon to Mightykeef's channel that will be explosive. Emphasis on "explosive" since Super Smash Bros. won't be at EVO either for this year only or ever again. I'm even learning and labbing Athena Asamiya and finding other two characters to learn and lab on KOFXV, which is what I probably should do eventually.

But what I like to mention now is regarding the new and beefed up PlayStation Plus, which was codenamed Spartacus. Sony is actually giving PS Plus a big upgrade by giving it two higher additional tiers that involve granting access to a collection of modern and classic games, but there is one flaw. Upcoming first-party games like God of War: Ragnarok won't be on the service on day one of its release. You know how Game Pass is the Netflix of gaming? Well, since PS Plus is getting an upgrade, it'll be the Hulu of gaming. Here are the three tiers below.

Essential - Offers the same benefits the original PS Plus offers; monthly free games, exclusive discounts, the PS Plus Collection and access to online multiplayer.

$9.99 for monthly

$24.99 for quarterly

$59.99 for yearly

Extra - Offers benefits provided in the Essential tier and access to a library of over 400 PS4 and PS5 games, including blockbuster hits by PlayStation Studios and third-party partners.

$14.99 for monthly

$39.99 for quarterly

$99.99 for yearly

Premium - Offers benefits provided in the previous tiers, time-limited game trials and access to a library of 340 classic games across PS1, PS2, PSP and PS3 generations. PS3 games are only available to play through streaming while PS1, PS2 and PSP games are available to both download and through streaming on PS4, PS5 and PC.

$17.99 for monthly

$49.99 for quarterly

$119.99 for yearly

These are the three tiers that the new PS Plus will have. Once it launches here in June, PS Now will transition to the new service. That said, I'll be buying the monthly plan under the Premium tier so I can not only play the classics, but to find out what they are. With over 400 PS4 and PS5 games and over 340 PS1, PS2, PSP and PS3 games added at launch, do the math and over 740 games across the PlayStation family will be on the new service at launch.

I know you are itching to play games that were released under the umbrellas of defunct video game companies and bear a charming environment as much as I do. Chances are, they might or might not be in the catalogue. You'll see what they are once the new PS Plus drops here in June. In fact, if you have an Xbox Series, you are able to play your favorite classics that are released under the defunct umbrellas since full backwards compatibility is supported thanks to the Xbox 360 architecture that is easy to work with. Well, most of them. While the PS5 can only play PS4 games through backwards compatibility, the Premium tier's got you covered.

So you're wondering what's the conflict to this. I'll tell you right now. There is one conflict in terms of emulation: the PS3. Sony has confirmed that the PS3 games will only be available to stream. It's because the PS3 console is hard to emulate and uses some sort of unique structure the Xbox 360 didn't have. That's why both the PS5 and PS4 can't play PS3 games through backwards compatibility. Because of this, Sony is most likely not to emulate the PS3. This means the PS3 games will only be available to stream on the new PS Plus and you need a stable internet for streaming. But the PS2 games will be available to not only stream, but also to download along with the PS1 and PSP games, which are also available for streaming. It's due to the fact that the PS1, PS2 and PSP consoles are easy to emulate and their architecture is straightforward.

But still, the Premium tier is where it's at, as long as I can revisit my favorite classics, including the most charming one that must be added, Midway Arcade Treasures, a compilation that has arcade games that are released under the Midway Games umbrella. You guys heard of Midway Arcade Treasures before, right? My cousin and I both played it and I found it the most charming game that is in my wish list. What makes it the most charming about that one is that it is like Namco Museum. You just need to beg Nintendo to make Super Mario: The Wrath of Bowser following Smash not returning at EVO this year and SEGA to make Sonic: Enter the Frontiers.

Well, Midway Arcade Treasures is basically the Namco Museum of Midway, but the company was liquidated and bought out by WB Games and rebranded into NetherRealm Studios, so it is unclear that they might remake it. I suppose that it can be tied with Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex and Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly as most charming. Both games use a charming environment, yet I heard they turned out to be a fail. Still, I hope for those two be included into the PS Plus Premium catalog. I mean, if Activision plans to make a Crash and Spyro crossover game, I'll be down for that. After all, both Crash and Spyro are under the Activision umbrella since Mind over Mutant and Dawn of the Dragon were released under the same publisher since... you know, Sonic 06 has failed because of glitches, bad camera angle and unbearable load times.

By the way, if the original Skullgirls Encore is listed on the catalog at launch, I might play it eventually. But it won't get the Season 1 Pass that contains Annie, Umbrella, Black Dahlia and the fourth TBD character accordingly and won't cross-play with PS4. That's why they don't have the resources for that. But BBTAG music stays. Because the PS3 version won't get the Season 1 Pass, Justice Sword, Active Angel, Walpurgisnacht and the fourth Season 1 Pass character's theme (preferrably an Under Night In-Birth theme) are disabled. But since it's a PS3 game, it can only be streamed and it'll be harder when playing online and listening to BBTAG music. After all, you can't beat BBTAG music.

There is one advantage for playing the PS3 version. PS Plus isn't required for online play, but required for online play on the PS4 version, which is the only Sony console that Skullgirls will get future content on and that's why they don't have to worry about memory limits and it's also playable on PS5 through backwards compatibility and loads faster than on PS4. And with Skullgirls at this year's main lineup, the excitement surges. Again, Umbrella is getting very close to her PS4 release and with Skullgirls being on the lineup for this year's EVO, she will come out before then, so expect duos and trios that involve the Renoir sisters assigned to Missions for the Brilliant Executor and Active Angel and TV's finest assigned to A Pure Hearted Beast and Justice Sword to be shown on the big screen for 20th Century Fox to sponsor. Then it's off to waiting for Black Dahlia, and I know she may not come out before EVO. Maybe I should think about co-streaming it and create my own watch party. 

EVO is upon us but not the Smash players since Nintendo has decided to not to join the party and end their tradition at EVO. I'm currently waiting for Mightykeef to post the EVO 2022 lineup reaction skit so I can find out how Smash Ultimate would react about it not being at EVO this year. If it has a Sony logo on it to indicate that Sony bought EVO, it might also indicate that Sony bought EVO, but it's not why Smash couldn't make it. This means the nine games in this year's lineup will all be played on a Sony console.

And... why am I off topic? I just want to talk about playing the classics on the new PS Plus more. I know I said this before, but I'm buying the Premium tier, which offers access to playing classic games released on the PS1, PS2, PSP and PS3. I hope for Sony to add more of them (preferrably the ones on my wish list). I am interested to relive the nostalgia and feel the old school charm and goodness among the defunct video game companies (mostly on the PS1 and PS2 games) as much as a lot of PS fans are. So I'm sure even on the PS4 and PS5, the retro games will still retain all that charm.

I won't sign off without hints to what I have been working on behind the scenes I compiled below.

Their Drives aren't included, but come musical lodestones, victim trapping bubbles and the sword of the Heavens, the wheel of fate is turning.

Even without their Personas, wild and wacky gadgets, brilliant commander and a conflicted girl at her school are up for the challenge and it won't be long before the P-1 Grand Prix commences.

As the Hollow Night fast approaches and the sun goes down, the Void, undead holder and a clown unleash their EXS.

EVO 2022 Thoughts and Games I Want

EVO has been a biggest thrill ride every year and it's considered the Super Bowl of the FGC because they shown us reveals and it's the most prestigious tournament. Back in 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, EVO has been relegated to EVO Online to have four games that use rollback, a type of netcode that allows characters to immediately make an action the moment the input is pressed no matter how many miliseconds they are and no matter what playable stage they are playing on, like they are playing offline.

Then a setback has experienced in case if you're out of the loop. EVO 2020 was cancelled because attendees have stood in solidarity with those who spoken out against abuse and withdrawn themselves in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations made against Joey "Mr. Wiz" Cuellar. Long ago, he paid young underage boys arcade tokens to take off their clothes and jump in hazard pools and paid that accuser $20 to show his penis while he was 17. Yeah, it sucks experiencing a disgusting pedophile of a CEO would had to do this, seeing underage meat years back. So they had to withdraw themselves in light of the situation and the admins had to fire Mr. Wiz and replace him with the Cannon brothers. This is called child pornography and that is more than enough to get you arrested as it is not a tolerant.

That behavior was intended to create a hamartia on their environment and directly counter their mission and discretion to build EVO a safer and welcoming environment. That said, the unacceptable behavior of one individual isn't nearly enough to bring EVO down to a halt because it is run by a big group. The things that made EVO so special are the generous players from around the world and the huge support that made it flourish over the years. Especially the part where they show us reveals. 

Last year's EVO Online was exciting, but not as exciting as the live, in-person tournaments since the COVID-19 pandemic has relegated EVO into an online format to have games that use rollback netcode. Thankfully, EVO is returning to Las Vegas this year and the lineup is gonna be announced March 8th. But it won't be just a lineup announcement, but a celebration that commemorates EVO's return to in-person tournaments with over 40 community managers across the globe.

However, the organizers have announced in advance that Super Smash Bros. won't be returning this year because Nintendo has chosen not celebrate the tradition with them following Sony's purchase of EVO. Super Smash Bros. has been a great starting point for EVO since 2007 and it sucks that Nintendo is taking a break this year, yet all of the DLC characters in Smash Ultimate have been released. It is gonna be the first Smash-less EVO of the year since 2007.

Regardless, the fact that Smash isn't returning in EVO 2022 as the organizers confirmed up front doesn't stop me from watching the lineup announcement and the biggest thrill ride of the year for reveals. I can't wait for a Keef video about the lineup to be posted on YouTube. I want to see how Smash Ultimate will respond to the EVO 2022 lineup now that it's not returning this year. Here are the games I want for the EVO 2022 lineup.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl - Since Smash Ultimate isn't coming to the lineup as Nintendo has chosen not to join the party, thought that I would want this to be in the lineup. It's a Smash-esque platform-based fighting game with your favorite iconic Nickelodeon characters duking it out, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Danny Phantom, the Ninja Turtles and so on. I never played it, but I find it fun, so I put it on my Q in GameFly. I... actually am a fan of Nickelodeon.

Soul Calibur VI - Since the pandemic, this couldn't be showcased like in 2019 because of the situation regarding the former CEO of EVO. You know what would be awesome? If we get a Season 3 Pass to have more characters. Great fighting game, by the way.

Tekken 7 - I know this game has ended its development cycle since Season 4 was the last season, but I would like this to get a spot since all DLC characters have been released and its inception to EVO Online thanks to rollback netcode. Well, we might or might not see a Season 5 Pass.

Street Fighter V - With Season 5 being the culmination of the development cycle, there won't be any more characters. Since its release, this fighting game has been on EVO for six years. I know we won't see any more content since Season 5 was the last one before Street Fighter 6, which has been announced, along with the Capcom Fighting Collection, but it deserved to be in the lineup anyway. I still want a Marvel vs. Capcom collection.

I heard a lot of tourneys are dropping SFV from the lineup since Capcom is renewing their community tourney license, which allowed the cops of Capcom to make a strict rule. They are not joking, so be discreet.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle - BBTAG became a magical team-based fighting game with a magical cast of characters from BlazBlue, P4A, UNI, RWBY and the characters from the EX universe. So I think it needs to get a spot this year so we can either get Unlimited or the 3.0 Character Pack to come in six waves of three to four characters. One on each universe, knowing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is getting the pack that comes in eight waves of six remastered tracks across the Mario Kart franchise, including the tracks first featured on Mario Kart Tour, a mobile game that has microtransactions.

Guilty Gear Strive - It has gotten a spot at EVO Online last year because of its rollback netcode and haven't gotten a chance to be played in-person. I'm not interested in getting this game, though it has English dub and they sound better than they were on SIGN, but figured that this needs to be in lineup.

The King of Fighters XV - SNK's newest title of the franchise came out a few weeks ago. I participated in the second Open Beta Test and it's freaking dope. Blue Mary is cool, not gonna lie. But not as cool as Athena will be. This no doubt must be in the lineup so not only we can get a World Premiere regarding this, but it's a new game.

You know what's funny? I pulled a RonaldoKun, by not buying KOF XV if a character I want didn't make it. It's because he wanted Jam Kuradoberi to be in Strive and I wanted Athena Asamiya to be in KOF XV, which she is in the base roster. It's since Fortnite became so popular that people were addicted to it, so I talked to a ghost on that day and wanted to manifest my dreams.

These are the games I want for the lineup of EVO 2022. EVO usually has nine games in its lineup, but decided to list the ones that are interesting. Well, that's all I have to say for this post. Hope you guys have a safe time at Las Vegas now that EVO is back there.