Anjon

Aren't opinions like this why game sequels are largely boring and unimaginative? When a developer tries something different, hardcore fans instinctively rage. It sounds like they've completely overhauled a franchise that's showing its age. That's a good thing. Yeah, I'll miss Jesper Kyd and Bateson, but I have no reason to believe that their replacements can't do a better job.

I cry a little when my friends or the Giantbomb staff (not that I don’t consider you guys friends) tell me that they’ll never become good at a fighting game, and while I can’t speak for everyone, I feel that there’s a bit of confusion as to what makes a good fighting game player. So I felt I should post a few tips on how to level up your game. IN AS LITTLE AS ONE HOUR A WEEK! I’m not even charging for this.

Step 1: Know Your Game (Learn the Basics)

Every fighting game has its own quirks and commands, and you probably know most of them already. Most of it comes from just reading the manual. Street Fighter IV and Mortal Kombat 9 both do a pretty good job of explaining their game mechanics, from the most basic to the more advanced stuff. If it was something implicitly designed by the developer, it’s usually in the manual. If you lost the manual at some point, an FAQ should do the job just fine. Either way, make sure you know what Focus Attacks and ground techs do in Street Fighter or combo breaks and Enhanced Attacks do in Mortal Kombat.

Step 2: Pick a Character That You Enjoy

People pick different characters for different reasons when it comes to fighting games. Some pick characters that have interesting moves. Some pick characters that just look cool or weird. All of that is really up to you, as long as you’re happy with the character you’ve picked. If you want to learn to play a game, you want to have fun doing it. The last thing you want to do is pick a character just because you heard they’re the best in the game.

I play Cammy and Makoto in Super Street Fighter IV AE. They aren’t the “the best” in the game, and they can have some trouble against other characters, but I like their style and their unique moves. I enjoy playing as them, so I enjoy getting better.

That brings me to the issue of tier lists. Members of a fighting game’s community will rank the characters in a list from “good” to “bad”. My friends constantly ask me about these things, and I always give the same response: “Stop it. They’ll rot your brain.” Yes, a lot of the players who develop those lists are known for being pretty good at their games. A lot of those good players also lose to “low tier” characters all the time. Coupled with the fact that most tier lists don’t come with any explanation as to how they were formed, you’re better off just ignoring them. You’ll have more fun that way. Yay fun!

Step 3: You don’t have to play constantly. Just play smart.

You might come across players who stand by their regiment. They talk about how many hours they spend “in the lab” (training mode) and online. They turned the game into a chore and it doesn’t have to be. If you play smart, you don’t actually need a huge amount of hours under your belt. Smart play consists largely of getting rid of bad habits like button mashing or relying on any one move to get out of trouble. If you’re not mashing, you’ll find that executing combos (which can now be learned in the new Challenge/Trial/Training modes of modern fighting games!) and pulling off moves when you need them becomes a hell of a lot easier. Even if you’re still having trouble grasping certain aspects of the game, your level will raise immediately. Also, you’ll suffer from fewer “What the hell just happened?” moments in matches.

What kind of matches you fight is important too. You’ve probably figured this out already, but the better your opponents are, the faster you’ll improve. Most games have a pretty good matchmaking system in place to let you select the rank of your opponents, so this shouldn’t be too much of a problem, even if you don't have any nearby friends who dig fighting games. If you do end up in matches with less-skilled players, take the opportunity to try some things you’re not too good at yet. Try out some tricky combos or see if you can win the match only using normal attacks. That’s always a good one.

Step 4: Don’t Sweat the Obscure/Confusing/Insane Stuff

I hesitated to make this a step, but I think it bears mention, just to clear the air. If you come across some strategies or gameplay tips that just make your head hurt, it’s probably unnecessary, sometimes even for high level play. This includes frame data, option selects, plinking, and the like. In my experience, Occam’s razor is alive and well in fighting games.

I unfortunately don’t have any concrete advice as to when a player should explore advanced concepts. I would say to treat it on a need-to-know basis, but it’s so rare that anyone needs to know how to do most of the crazy stuff, since this is usually where you go into things the developer didn’t intend for players to be able to do in the first place. Even most top players don't use a lot of that stuff, and some characters straight up can't. My cop-out response is that it’s up to you whether you want to venture into the dark realms of frame counting madness. Just remember that you can just close your eyes to it at any time.

On the other hand, a lot of the complex stuff people bring up when referencing the insanity of the fighting game community only seem hard until you actually look into them, so maybe it would help to pick the easiest thing from one of those and try it out?

When people compare terms like "hard" versus "challenging", they're usually comparing technical aspects of gameplay versus the gameplay itself. For example, a game like Demon Souls is hard because it's technically unforgiving. The penalty for failure is high, checkpoints are few and far between, progress involves a lot of trial and error. A game like Bayonetta is challenging because the technical trappings of the game are forgiving, while the actual gameplay is the focus of the difficulty. There's no frustration from infrequent checkpoints and the gameplay gives you all of the tools necessary succeed or fail on your own merit.

@jadeskye: I didn't call them dating sims, I said they had dating sim elements. Were social links not akin to dating sims?

Japanese developers have been gradually inserting "dating sim" games that have made it over to our shores without going full creep into virtual relationship territory. Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and 4 immediately come to mind, which offered streamlined JRPG experiences enriched by a subtle relationship building mechanic that powered up your characters in combat. The social link system of those games made virtual high school dating seem much less disturbing in-game than it did on paper.

This style of "combine pretend dating with something that takes gamers' minds off of pretend dating" is starting to be a trademark of Atlus, since the upcoming Catherine is using pretty much the same formula, though significantly less veiled. Catherine even has different routes players can go down based on how they treat their lady of choice, with eight different endings. There's even a drunk texting mechanic! Unfortunately, the accompanying gameplay seems like an acquired taste, even more so than the dating sim aspect. Almost 30 levels of what's been described as glorified Q-bert, with the equivalent of an optional dungeon considering over 100 more. The jury's still out on how that's going to fly.

Still, I'm really looking forward to how this game does, though I predict it's going to be close to how Atlus' other games fair. I.e. great amongst fans with little exposure elsewhere. I'm hoping I get proven wrong about that. If it's any consolation, Famitsu gave it a promising 35/40. Maybe the Giantbomb crew can rub some of that Zojirushi magic off on it. And let's hope more dating sims make it over here for everyone to enjoy! I have no shame in saying that!

Also, has anyone seen the limited edition for this thing? I don't usually jump on LEs, but...

That pizza box is so hot.

I had a horrible chronic stutter when I was a kid. Then a kind teacher told me something like "Just think before you speak". So basically, before I said anything or responded to a question, I would rehearse in my head what I wanted to say and eventually I became stutter-free. I don't know if that's the end-all solution to stuttering (I'm sure it wouldn't be such a bad problem if it was) but maybe that helps.

This wasn't an issue when Kinect first made waves, since I thought it was kind of a waste of time, but now that Child of Eden and Kinect Fun Labs is out, I've been overcome with severe room envy. I have about three to four feet of space between my TV and my bed (primary gaming seat). I couldn't even use the Wii very well while standing. I had to fake bowling with a weird half-sitting, half-standing, footboard-straddling position that made me question the validity of swinging a remote around to simulate bowling. But I'm guessing/hoping the E3 2011 presentation somehow implied that even people with silly little living spaces can strut to "Like a G6" like everyone else. Did anyone see Ryan's background dancers during that demo?

If they can fit that many people in front of Kinect, can they fit one me in a four foot space?

This generation? Underrated? Bayonetta maybe? I don't know. Too many games have come out this generation, and I generally love niche titles anyway. Actually, I'm going to say Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad.

When I look at games that people consider "cult classics", the thing that immediately sticks out is that they all have extremely fresh, creative gameplay ideas, and those ideas ultimately alienate them from commercial success while the people who actually give them a chance discover that they're actually, surprisingly amazing. Just look at games like Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Okami, Viewtiful Joe, Rez, Katamari Damacy. The list goes on.

While I think Shadows of the Damned is brimming with stylistic awesomeness, the gameplay is simply not a component in that package of awesomeness. The gameplay is just a loose, slippery rendition of an already dated formula we've seen in so many games before it.

@liako21: Nintendo is directly affected by this as well. Thinking off the top of my head, even Wind Waker would be labeled as a violent video game due to the ending alone.