I just Picked this game up from a friend of mine, and I can't remember a time I've had this much trouble with a video game before unless we're talking Devil May Cry 3. Are there any ways to really figure out what I'm doing and get myself to be a better fighter? I've tried the trials, but I don't feel those are really telling you how to to increase your skills as a fighter. I can't say I've spent any real time with a fighter since Soul Calibur 2, though.

i found seth to be extremely frustrating, but thats about it.

they have rebalanced it properly for super street fighter iv, as seth, and all AI for that matter have become less cheap and frustrating.

Find a character that you like. Find a good player of that character (on a stream, in vids, wherever). Watch them. It's worked for me. Watchings streams and and attending local tourneys (if your area has any that is) can help your game.

Thanks. I actually just stumbled upon the GiantBomb SFIV guide, and I'm going to read through that thing like a novel until I can see how things work out. Hopefully it can shine some light on a few strategies on how I can take my game.

It's quite easy, however that's only because I used to play street fighter 2 at the arcades. Most of the special moves are the same, you simply don't know these moves I suppose so there is a learning curve. If you tried to kick and punch your way to victory, it's not going to work.

Yeah. I'm basically going in with knowing how to throw a Hadouken, and not much else.  I was raised on Tekken 3 and Marvel vs. Capcom, which in my experience play a lot differently. I really like how SF feels different to me. Sure I've played SF 2, but this is my first time really spending time with one. Thanks for the input.

Dude...fuck Virtua Fighter.  Right in its face

Virtua Fighter or ST

" Virtua Fighter or ST "

Ninja Guidan 2 was brutal 
 
It was never the difficulty per-say, more like the frustration factor. 

" @Jeffsekai said:

" Virtua Fighter or ST "

Yup, nothing hard about SF4. You need to spend more time playing, practicing combos and punishes in training mode, and reading. "

" @MMkain said:

" @Jeffsekai said:

" Virtua Fighter or ST "

Yup, nothing hard about SF4. You need to spend more time playing, practicing combos and punishes in training mode, and reading. "

Yea brah them 1 frame links are so fucking easy. "

A fighting game cannot be hard, only your opponents can.

Yeah. Seth is the reason I don't play SF4 anymore. I'd totally get SSF4 is it ever came out on PC.

I think King of Fighters XIII is the current reigning champ of difficult to play due to super stringent timing type of game. Street Fighter is on the more reasonable end of 2D fighter.

I've always found Street Fighter 3 and Virtua Fighter anything to be the most difficult.

@zekhariah:the trials in that game get insane at like #5.

i think the popular consensus is that SFIV is the most new player friendly/execution light game in the series but a 1F link is hard in any game.

i'd recommend using the huge amount of resources available online for AE on sites like eventhubs. pick a character you like then learn the ins and outs of the strategy and learn the trial mode combos and your execution will improve real quick. at the point when your execution becomes pretty good the mind game aspect (which is probably the most interesting part) becomes more important.

I find Street Fighter completely impenetrable but I'm really good at Virtua Fighter games. Figure that shit out.

Hard as in "legitimately challenging," or hard as in "the A.I. reads the button inputs and has stupid-high hit priority for everything"?

This series of videos helped me out a little bit. Also I always found Third Strike to be way harder to get into.

Grab some beers, some pizza and some friends that are close to your skill level.

That's the only time i've ever had fun with Street Fighter IV.

Jeff often says it and it's completely true that fighting games, primarily Street Fighter, are completely impenetrable to new players these days. There are so many techniques and moves not explained that people who have followed the series for years know about, that trying to be any good outside of a group of friends your own level is almost impossible. It literally requires hours of research and sitting down in the practice mode to train those 100th of a second frame links before you can even attempt to compete online where people have been hammering away at this game, literally, for years.

It's really depressing because I think they're really fun games too. I tried jumping in at Street Fighter X Tekken as the simplified a lot of things in that game while retaining a Street Fighter feel to it - but even that proved quite painful to do.

@humanity: I'd disagree with Street Fighter being the most impenetrable. In fact I think SSF4 is one of the easiest fighting games to jump right into. All you need is a good grasp on your normal attacks and your special attacks to win. I've won numerous matches with Rose without using a single combo, and just getting in single hits when I can. It's just 1 on 1 and quite slow paced, so you have time to think of what you should be doing. It's not like Marvel where you get locked down with an assist, 100% comboed because you guessed wrong on a 50/50 mixup, and then get perfected because the same happens with your next 2 characters.

1 frame links, frame data, etc aren't really important unless you're aiming to play at a high/top tournament level. People that spend 100's of hours practicing are always going to be better than you. I think it's fair to say that if you've played 1000 hours of SSF4 you should beat someone who's played 6 or so. Only complaint I have is the challenge mode not giving you demnstrations. KOF does it, BB does it, Tekken does it. Some of those things are hard to figure out without knowing how it should look.

@hailinel: Fighting game bosses are the worst. I tried going through Blazblue's arcade mode again last night. Rage quit when Unlimited Hazama hit me from full screen with a super after absorbing my life with his hax field.

Yeah SFIV is a very easy fighting game, it was made to be accessible for beginners.

I literally have no idea how games like Guilty Gear took off in the arcades, they are so difficult to play at even at a low level. Also unlike easier fighters its hard to even know whats going on lol

Don't look at fighting games like a normal game, its not DMC, your not going to be good after a week. Look at it like a sport. You play it over the course of years or even your life, and you just get better and better.

Try and jump in when a game first releases like Injustice, then you'll be able to get better with other people.