Fighting Games: How does one even start?
Serious_Scrub
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Registered User regular
So for some reason or another, I've gotten a sudden interest in the traditional 2D fighting game (stuff like Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Guilty Gear, etc). I watched a lot of matches as a kid, when Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat were all the rage in arcades, but I never really tried for myself until I played HD remix recently, which I've heard is one of the simpler games to learn.
The problem is, there seems to be a huge learning curve for just about everything in this game, and not many resources to help. The resources I find either range from a single-screen-per-character movelist, or guides with all sorts of abbreviations and terminology, with nothing really in between. For every action taken by an opponent, there are a bewildering amount of options I could take, with not much time to choose which one to do. It seems like this would eventually come with practice, but it seems like most people are either as clueless as me, or absolutely demolish me, and, well, neither matchup is very entertaining. How does one transition from one end of that skill spectrum to another?
Also, how similar are the most popular 2D fighting games to each other? I've seen people play against each other in many different games, and they all appear to be equally at ease with each of them. Are most games in the genre similar enough that a person with some experience in one game can easily transition to another?
The problem is, there seems to be a huge learning curve for just about everything in this game, and not many resources to help. The resources I find either range from a single-screen-per-character movelist, or guides with all sorts of abbreviations and terminology, with nothing really in between. For every action taken by an opponent, there are a bewildering amount of options I could take, with not much time to choose which one to do. It seems like this would eventually come with practice, but it seems like most people are either as clueless as me, or absolutely demolish me, and, well, neither matchup is very entertaining. How does one transition from one end of that skill spectrum to another?
Also, how similar are the most popular 2D fighting games to each other? I've seen people play against each other in many different games, and they all appear to be equally at ease with each of them. Are most games in the genre similar enough that a person with some experience in one game can easily transition to another?
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What you want to practice is specific moves, until it becomes second nature. Until you can do a fireball or dragon punch motion without thinking, you'll always be a split second behind. I would also practice common combinations, like the Ken/Ryu crouching Forward kick into a Fireball 2-in-1 (while you hit someone with a crouching Forward kick, immediately do the fireball motion... if done properly, you'll connect with both without the Fireball being blocked... because it cancels the animation of the connecting Forward kick when you do this, these are typically called "cancels"). Ideally, you would be doing this in a practice mode of a console game that you own. Or perhaps against a patient and more-skilled opponent who is willing to teach you things (the best person to learn from). What you don't want to do is try to practice these moves in a real game setting, as it's just a lesson in frustration.
Early on, you'll be responding to the way your opponent plays. If they jump, you Dragon Punch. If they throw a projectile, you jump over it or cancel it out with your own. But later, you'll develop methods to trick people into taking damage. For example, there's a concept of a Wake-Up Game in most 2D fighting game. You walk up to the person after knocking them down and perform a move or several moves to greet them when they get back up. In Street Fighter, there is a split second where the person getting up can do a special move (depending on the character. For Ryu, it's the Dragon Punch) with zero frames of animation on startup, so that they can counter a person trying to hit them on wake up. But it takes a lot of skill (and plenty of luck) to actually connect with this, so Wake Up Games usually are a safe way to chip away at them (typically, their only option is try to do a move on wake up or block... but if they just hold block, they can get thrown...). Another concept is the tic throw. You chip at them with a fast move, then throw immediately after. The classic is the jab punch followed by a throw.
Most 2D fighting games are refinements of the Street Fighter formula, with special moves being a joystick + button combination of some sort (typically the same ones, too... Down, revolve to Forward, Punch being the main projectile attack for many characters). Many 2D Fighter fans find an easy time jumping between the various 2D fighting games. There is an emphasis on combination attacks (combos! Basically, any attack sequence that can be done in a row without the opponent being able to respond. One you get within the guard of the opponent, you input a series of button presses and movements to keep hitting them for maximum damage output or sheer showmanship) and dealing with projectiles (blocking, parrying in SF3, or killing the projectile with a projectile of your own or super attack) and throws (ranging from "throws are god and unblockable" to "you can counter throws with your own throw").
While HD remix is easier to learn (since it's basically a high definition version of Street Fighter 2, and the most complicated moves in the game are supers), it is also has players with the most refined technique.
Search for David Sirlin's Street Fighter II tutorial video on YouTube (my work blocks YouTube, otherwise I'd link to it myself); it explains several basic concepts that all translate very well into almost any 2D fighter. Might as well go to Sirlin.net and read his "Playing to Win" articles too; he's a pompous ass but they do a good job of spelling out the mindset that is required to get better at competitive games such as 2D fighters.
For online resources check out Shoryuken.com; though it caters mainly to Capcom fighters it has several great resources in it's forums and and wiki section and is probably the largest 2D fighting community online. Searching YouTube for match videos is another good way to learn new techniques. Really though, the best advice is to just play a lot. You'll loose tons at first, but as long as you keep playing to get better and learn to take advantage of the resources you can find online you'll slowly improve.
Super SF2 Turbo Beginner Part 1
Super SF2 Turbo Beginner Part 2
I highly recommend them.
Don't worry about tiers at the start either, just well, play the game.
http://www.audioentropy.com/
This guy also speaks the truth, don't try to get into a fighter solo either. You can start that way, but try to ease your friends into it if they are hesitant. Or find one that you both enjoy. It will help fuel your desire to get better if the both of you can practice on your own.