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Just over a week ago, the announcement of Final Fantasy's Cloud coming to Smash 4 took the world by storm. Most were expecting the winner of the Smash Ballot, and many were not expecting another third party representative to come so soon after Ryu's release. But what really made Cloud's announcement for many was his incredible trailer. From the iconic opening to the FF7 references, the trailer brought the hype for everybody. But for those in the competitive community, Cloud's trailer showed off many of his moves, and gave a very good look as to how he will play.

Welcome to the Weekend Watchlist 28! The Smashboards events system recently got a fantastic upgrade and we've combed through all of the tournaments submitted to find some of the best events being streamed this weekend to feature here. So without further ado get ready to watch and read because here is our Weekend Watchlist!

Terra do Brasil, the "land of brazilwood", or to most of those reading Brazil! Land of capoeira, the brigadeiro, but most importantly for Smash fans, a great place to play some of our favorite games! UFSSmash will set out to host Smash 64, Melee, Project M, Smash 4 and will have many phenomenal Brazillian competitors as well as visiting guests.

Can a regional with over two hundred and eighty entrants host both singles and doubles in a single day? This is the aim of Bust III! Some of the best in New England and more are coming out to play Melee in an event that is sure to be one of the greatest feats in tournament organizing once completed. The organizers have broken down how it will be accomplished and all eyes will be watching not only the tournament but the fantastic talent pool in attendance.

Smash 64, Melee, Brawl, Project M, Smash4, and more all under one roof? It's not a fantasy, it's Northwest Majors Dropzone! Taking place this weekend in Des Moines, Washington it's looking to be swamped with talent from each and every Smash title. Need to know the big threats going in? Wondering where to watch? Read on to find out!

Dan Fornace's upcoming game, Rivals of Aether, has been in Early Access for a few months now. The game, appearing on Xbox One and PC, has drawn quite some attention for it’s Smash Bros styled gameplay, with interesting twists to the formula. So far, the roster has contained six characters; Zetterburn, Orcane, Wrastor, Kragg, Forsburn and Maypul. However, the update today adds many new things and changes to the game, including the 7th fighter and first “secret” character, Absa! This article will feature some of the big changes that landed today. Without further ado, it’s time to look at the major changes to Rivals!

Absa appears as the second character representing the element of air alongside...

Week 9 already!? This week's Weekly Top 5 Smash Shorts series features slick plays from a few underrepresented characters (Greninja, anyone?). Week 10 is going to be a blast, so make sure you enter! Who knows? Maybe we'll see you on the front page.

What is a Smash Short? As the name suggests, it's a quick moment or series of events in Smash that is so good, you have to share it with someone. We're giving you (yes, you) the opportunity to share those moments for a chance to be selected as one of the Top 5.
#1 @PHaZeX3R0 (Greninja): https://www.youtube.com/user/PHaZeX3R0
#2 @zhao_guang (Luigi): https://twitter.com/colinnorthpole
#3...

Welcome to the first ever edition of Smash Science! This will be a special series of articles delving into the curiosities of Smash through a scientific lens. Imagine if the color of the character a player chose could affect their win rate. Now think if the colors of a stage chosen could change the way two competitors played out a match. Sit down and prepare to learn the science of The Color Metagame!

Unfortunately for Zelda fans the Princess of Hyrule has not often found herself in a strong place within Smash. Ranked 19th in the most recent Melee tier list here on Smashboards and ranked second to last in the most recent list from Brawl, Zelda has not exactly been overwhelming in previous mainstream Smash titles. So how does she fare in Smash 4? We brought in three Zelda experts to weigh in on the character.

Beefy Smash Doods are well known for their in depth study of Smash 4 mechanics and making videos to explain them. They proved it can be impossible to tech, have found the best way to mash buttons, found the strongest hit in Smash 4, and more. This time they sat down to help players survive that much longer in a competitive match. They explain the details of how to cancel momentum and how it has changed since Brawl as well as explain how to shift hurtboxes to extend lifespans. Give the video a watch and increase that Smash 4 knowledge!

MySmashCorner's latest youtube video covers a technique he discovered early in the 3DS version of Smash 4, but could not reliably recreate until just recently--the ability to get up from the ledge without lag, letting the player act as soon as they are back on stage. In the video, he gives instructions on how to execute this new tech, and lists what known characters can take advantage of it, and on what stages.

Welcome to the Weekend Watchlist 27! The Smashboards events system recently got a fantastic upgrade and we've combed through all of the tournaments submitted to find some of the best events being streamed this weekend to feature here. So without further ado get ready to watch and read because here is our Weekend Watchlist!

Canada is known for much more than its bagged milk, maple syrup, polite inhabitants, or other silly stereotypes. Canada really knows how to Smash! Toronto has a thriving Smash 64 and Brawl scene, its Melee and Smash 4 players use a wide variety of lesser seen characters, and Project M and even Rivals of Aether are doing well!

Smashboards is proud to announce that the Smash Back Room has officially been launched for Smash Wii U. In the past Smash Back Rooms have existed for Smash 64, Melee, and Brawl. These rooms have served the purpose of centralizing and organizing leadership within the community in order to come together for projects such as tier lists and match-up charts. Players, organizers, content creators and theorists have all come together in the past to push the scene forward through a collaborate outlet. In addition to providing the medium, Smashboards will also be providing the group with a monetary budget to allow the group to have more ability to see projects through.

People headed to Las Vegas would love to see a royal flush at the the poker tables. Well this Vegas Smash 4 player got a royal flush but in a very different way. Kyle "RF7 SK92" King has been signed by eSports team Royal Flush! For those who do not know, RF& SK92 is the number one power ranked Melee player in Las Vegas playing as Falco and previously placed 8th place at the original GENESIS, 7th at EVO 2009, and 2nd at DVDA 8.

A day devoted to eSports and Smash is invited? Time to get exited! iBUYPOWER, a PC gaming company that has worked with the likes of Intel, NVIDIA, AMD, Microsoft, Western Digital, Asus, Bethesda, MLG, and more, has decided to host the first ever iBUYPOWER eSports Day in Santa Anna, California. This block party, associated with the iBP Cup Tournament, will have big giveaways, Intel and Microsoft Experiences, food trucks, and more with the best part being the block party itself is free to enter!

Today Smashboards is launching a new medium for interacting with your fellow smashers: Smash Connect. In addition to talented players the Smash community is filled with talented artists and technically proficient individuals. Until this point there has not been an easily accessible method for these creative people to promote their work. Smash Connect now offers various sections that allow this.

Eclipse takes place this weekend, November 14th-15th, in Oslo, Norway, and stands to be one of the biggest tournaments in the European Smash Scene's history. The tournament, sponsored by Pressfire.no and Hitbox.tv, features over 200 unique entrants and a pot bonus of 100,000 NOK (equivalent to $11,526 US Dollars!) for Melee, and is hosting a Smash Wii U singles tournament too. Not only will top European talent such as Armada, Leffen, Ice, Android, and Overtriforce be in attendance, but American players Axe, Plup, and Westballz will be traveling to Norway to get their shot at victory. This is a tournament not to be missed!

When the first Nintendo Direct was announced since the passing of Satoru Iwata Nintendo fans were excited. Then Sakurai himself retweeted the direct and the website movie list for Smash broke (something that has happened before other DLC videos released). Well Smash fans the hype was very real as we got a brand new character coming to Smash: Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7!

This man certainly knows his super fighting robots. Andrew "ScAtt" Huntley has been making waves at Smash 4 tournaments using a character not as commonly seen in the meta game: Mega Man. He may be the best Mega Man in the world at this point having taken sets off of Wizzrobe, Mew2King, StaticManny, Acid, MVD and more. His latest big showing was at Tipped Off 11 where he was able to secure 4th place. We decided to hunt down this Mega Master and learn a bit more about him and his main.