The Evolution 2013 lineup and the Road to Evolution schedule, were announced earlier tonight, and by the looks of my twitter timeline, there were many happy people.
I’ll share my thoughts on the games and other stuff right here.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3: No-brainer.
Super Street Fighter IV: No-brainer as well. However, the only debate I think will be whether this is the main event for a fourth consecutive year. There might be a lot of support for MVC3 being the main event, especially considering how different the results were for both finals matches last year.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2: This might be considered a no-brainer, given that the majority of Tekken games in the past have been on an Evolution lineup. But there was no Tekken on the main stage last year, so it wasn’t a sure lock that it was coming back. The numbers probably won’t be as big as SSF4 and MVC3, but the talent will be just as good. Let’s see how much the Iron Fist League helps in getting players ready for Evolution.
Mortal Kombat 9: And immediately on the Wake-Up Shoryuken podcast, the talk became of Perfect Legend and how he became the first player since Daigo Umehara (Street Fighter IV series) to successfully defend an Evolution championship. Only one player ever has won three titles in a row; Justin Wong won the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 title from 2002-04. Whether Perfect Legend will be able to do it remains to be seen. This might be the most intense of all the tournaments considering how many people want to be first.
The King of Fighters XIII: Congrats to this community for getting their game in. I don’t play the game, but I was in awe of what I saw during Championship Sunday. Let’s hope that amount of hype returns for this year.
Street Fighter x Tekken: Even though the 2013 patch is coming out, I’m really not looking forward to this game, and part of me was hoping it wouldn’t make the Evolution roster. It’s difficult for me to watch, regardless if it’s teams or singles. Unless this game is first on Championship Sunday (if it’s even on that roster, more on that in a moment), this is probably going to be my “lunch break” game. If you’re a fan of the game, congrats to you, I guess.
Persona 4 Arena: The “anime” fans get their own game on the lineup; it seemed to me as though Mr. Wizard put out the edict to the community to come out for the game, or else it would be a one-and-done. I like watching the game at times, and it might serve as a good Championship Sunday opener.
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The eighth game
I was definitely surprised to hear this. There’s plenty of candidates, and the votes will come by way of donations. The real winner will be those who are fighting breast cancer, as the donations are headed to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
If I had to pick a game, it would be Super Smash Bros. Melee. It’s just a different game than all of the rest, and it has some Evolution history to it. But I’m sure I’m in the minority on this one. My bet is on Third Strike or Capcom vs. SNK 2 becoming the eighth game, which wouldn’t be a bad pick, regardless.
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The Road to Evolution
I’ve said repeatedly in 2012 that there were way too many Evolution circuit events, and way too many tournaments called themselves “majors” just because they were a part of the Road to Evolution series.
Thank goodness that changed this year. There are only four events: Southern California Regionals, Northern California Regionals, CEO Gaming and Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament 9. By having only four circuit events, it makes the seeding points much more valuable, and it relieves players from having to go to every event just to keep up in the standings, which is what Mr. Wizard mentioned during the broadcast.
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Championship Sunday
Even though there are eight games on the roster, only five Top 8s will happen during Championship Sunday. They weren’t announced (or maybe they were, and I missed it, let me know). If I were to pick the final five it would be, in order from morning to main event:
Persona 4 Arena
Mortal Kombat 9
The King of Fighters XIII
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Super Street Fighter IV
I have hopes that this year’s Super Street Fighter IV top eight and main event will have a little bit more excitement to it than last year’s Infiltration mack truck rundown. If MVC3 gets the nod, I wouldn’t be surprised or upset.
I hope Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the main event of Saturday, but it might end up being on the Championship Sunday roster if Street Fighter x Tekken isn't.
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