Learning Fighting Games Across Titles- And Genres
What playing multiple titles can teach you about your play
One of the first articles I wrote for my page last year (in fact, it debuted almost exactly a year ago! Boy, how time flies…) was about getting into fighting games and learning them one step at a time. In competitive games with implicit tools and overt mechanics that must be managed all at once, the beginner player can easily get overwhelmed trying to digest them. They must instead shift their priorities to processing these tools one at a time: first learn basic controls, then the easy and immediate systems, and so on. Eventually, after investing time and learning mechanics as they build upon each other, a new player will be able to grasp most of the game’s systems, and anything else they pick up can easily be slotted into their parallel processing.
This is still easier said than done, however. Fighting games are a martial art- not a metaphor- and thus require a similar time investment to finely hone mental discipline and physical dexterity before any progress can be seen. Once again, this isn’t inherently different than learning any other difficult game genre, or even any other discipline outside of fighting games. But knowing that doesn’t make it any easier, and some games may still have a high barrier of entry, especially if they’re difficult legacy titles. There are things the games themselves can do to mitigate this, such as having robust training and tutorial modes, lenient and intuitive input buffers (or even rebalanced simplified input options,) and proper online matchmaking with good netcode that lets players match up consistently against players of similar skill level. Sometimes, however, the tools and opportunity for learning come from outside of your game of choice.
When I first started playing Pokkén Tournament, it was less because I thought it was interesting and fun (which I did, and it was) and more because I wanted to learn about fighting game concepts outside of what I was playing at the time (Super Smash Bros. 4, and then later Ultimate.) There were things like basic neutral, turn-taking, spacing, and defense that I wasn’t really grasping a lot in Smash, and there were also metagame concepts like counterplay against certain top tier characters that I wanted a fresh perspective on. I thought that playing a more traditional game would help hone my skill in Smash and help me understand things that Smash wasn’t teaching me well natively- the fact that Pokkén had a great training mode and a tutorial that defined metagame concepts certainly made it more appealing.
I ended up not playing Smash competitively as much after delving deep into Pokkén, because I found more personal enjoyment and satisfaction when improving in the latter. However, my tournament performance in Smash and my fundamental understanding of the game certainly improved overall. My time in Pokkén gave me a new way to look at everything, and I had learned concepts in a way that I didn’t grasp all that well from only playing one title. I’ve already spoken at length about how Pokkén’s systems teach players about concepts like neutral, turns, resets, and positioning by building those metagame concepts directly into the gameplay. To reiterate- Phase Shifting taught me about neutral, how to press the advantage, and how to claw my way out of disadvantage instead of always playing aggressively; the Attack Triangle emphasized a system of attack priority and how to punish certain options; even playing a character like Scizor with a wide variety of techniques taught me basic dexterity, and helped me understand my setplay and okizeme options.
I repeated this cycle again when I began playing Guilty Gear. Gear was another title that I had wanted to learn how to play because it seemed very stylish and fun, but when I first started trying it, I was overwhelmed by everything it had to offer. In Pokkén, everything available to me and my character was very straightforward: I had two meters with very specific uses, two universal defensive options (block and CA/CADC,) simple special move inputs, and only three attack buttons with relatively easy combo execution. In Guilty Gear, the amount of options available to a new player is absolutely overwhelming. Burst is ostensibly a combo breaker but the meter can be used offensively or defensively; you have at least eight different things you can spend Tension on, including Overdrives, Instant Kills, three types of Roman Cancel, and three metered defensive tools; the Gatling combo system which not every character may even abide by; the learning curve when figuring out how to incorporate throws and standing Dust into pressure or even more combos; wild movement across the cast that makes the top half of the screen even more threatening.
It was a lot to absorb, and I didn’t know what character I wanted to play at the time, so I dropped the game for a while and started playing Under Night In-Birth (which was, at the time, on the Exe:Late[st] version.) It had a healthy scene since UNIST had just debuted (and was riding an Evo hype train.) It seemed easier to pick up with fewer overall systems, but it still had an intriguing level of complexity that kept me interested in the game. There were fewer ways to spend meter and fewer defensive options, which meant I had less mental stack to juggle during gameplay; Reverse Beat combos felt more universal and freeform, especially across the cast; air movement was not as powerful, but still varied and important; and the GRD system still allowed for deep and compelling gameplay. I played UNI for a hundred hours or so and had a lot of fun with it (until 2020 rolled around and the netcode became unbearable.)
Playing UNI for a while helped prep me for the systems that Gear inundated me with, especially since a lot of them were already similar. Gatlings, for instance, are just a slightly more limited version of Reverse Beat, so long as you aren’t playing someone like Slayer, Haehyun or Ramlethal. The Chain Shift mechanic after earning GRD Vorpal reminded me a lot of Roman Cancel, both in its combo application and its ability to take back neutral. Since certain defensive options were more or less the same in UNI as they were in Gear- Shielding and Faultless Defense, Guard Thrust and Dead Angle, and instant blocking- all I had to do was get familiar with systems like Blitz and Burst. Even the more limited air movement from UNI helped me prepare for the unrestrained airdashing in Gear. What’s more, playing UNI and getting comfortable with that game gave me an appreciation for fighting games that may have simpler or reduced options on paper. It helped me understand that the ‘saved’ mental stack from not worrying about ‘hard’ stuff was now dedicated to different systems that still provided a lot of depth, and the rest of my faculties could be focused on learning whatever was ‘easier’ to do.
Learning multiple games doesn’t mean you have to be playing all of them simultaneously either: of all the games mentioned so far, I’m only currently playing Gear. But playing multiple games teaches you about a wide variety of concepts, which will make that concept more familiar whenever you encounter an analog in a different game. Learning about a universally difficult mechanic in a title that makes it easier to digest or perform will better prepare you for games with harder learning curves. It will also give you a bigger appreciation for how certain things are taught or balanced. A mechanic that may seem obtuse in one game may be appreciated more after you experiment with it in a different environment. A character that seems overpowered in your game of choice might seem tame in comparison to a matchup you encounter in another. (Testament can go fuck himself though.)
Even playing games outside of the genre can help you get in a better mentality for learning how to play fighters. When teaching my friends how to play Gear and Blazblue Centralfiction, their prior experience with action games like Dark Souls ended up being a remarkably profound foundation for their learning. While the games we were playing were 2D, Dark Souls combat still impressed upon them the trial-and-error method of learning patterns, reacting, and punishing, as well as the importance of proper spacing, when to attack, and how to defend either by blocking or retreating. The difficulty of Souls-likes had also taught them broadly about combat-oriented games that would be hard to get the hang of at first, so their struggle with learning hard concepts in fighting games was slightly easier to overcome.
Recently, I’ve also been referring to battle royale games such as Apex Legends in order to instill certain ideas in newbie fighting game players, especially in a meta sense. (I focus on Apex because I’ve been playing it with my non-fighting game friends lately.) When queuing up in Apex, one must consider that most of the 60 players in the map will inevitably get bodied due to the nature of the game- there can literally be only one winning team, and sometimes only one member of that team will be left standing. Thus, instead of focusing on the loftier goal of trying to win the entire match, players shift their thinking to winning smaller engagements, such as individual team fights, one-on-one shootouts, etc. After mastering favored characters and weapons, and figuring out how to move around the map, they will gradually improve when playing against other opponents. While they will still ‘lose’ very frequently, players who continue to practice Apex will probably ‘win’ the early engagements in a long game more often once they understand the game better. They can then find satisfaction in those small wins, especially as they culminate into larger ones over time.
Fighting games are the same way- when playing early on, most players must accept that they will not be very good right at first, and will lose very frequently since they don’t have a grasp of the game. Instead, the player must focus on learning basic systems first and trying to get ahold of them as they play. As the new player improves, they are slowly rewarded for incorporating those systems into their strategy- either by surviving for longer, doing more damage, getting particular combos or punishes, and eventually winning rounds and games. Much like in Apex, a Gear player has to take solace in small victories first as they gradually improve, before being able to see that improvement reflected in their wins and general performance. When teaching my newbie friends how to play fighting games, referring to their experience in other titles such as Apex and Soulsborne games has been very effective at framing their growth and learning habits.
If a fighting game match is like a conversation, learning a fighting game is like learning a new language. It’s tough at first unless you start early, but there’s always going to be more to add to your vocabulary. Playing multiple fighting games will not only allow you to communicate with more people, it will allow you to articulate yourself more effectively in your native ‘language.’ All languages are difficult to learn, but some are easier than others- maybe they have characters you’re more familiar with or looser grammar structure. If you want to learn a new language but you’re having difficulty, it may help if you start with something easier that suits you better, or something where you can draw similarities to a language you already know. Sure, you might end up being less fluent in each language, but you’ll be able to speak more of them, and eventually you’ll settle into one or two that you feel proficient in communicating with.
These metaphors might be hella mixed at this point, but who cares? Playing fighting games is good for you, so play as many as you can.
