How to play 2d fighting games

Hey Guys,

I've recently became interested in 2d fighting games, like kof2001, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, etc. I was wondering if there were any general guidelines about learning how to play these games, besides button mashing. I know that each type has very different strategies, but should I try to learn all the special moves or try to react? What do you guys do? Thanks.
 
Originally posted by tsumake@Dec. 31 2002, 11:48 pm

Hey Guys,

I've recently became interested in 2d fighting games, like kof2001, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, etc. I was wondering if there were any general guidelines about learning how to play these games, besides button mashing. I know that each type has very different strategies, but should I try to learn all the special moves or try to react? What do you guys do? Thanks.

Marvel vs. Capcom games have a bit of a stategy to them, but button mashing does wonders.

Others, especially KOF games require a little more knowledge of the controls.

I would look in the manuals or on GameFAQs
 
I personally find learning the special moves first and then learning when to use them works well. Learn as many characters moves as you can so you'll understand how their moves work, their weaknesses, how to counter them, etc. I still remember the days when they would have local SFII tourneyments at local arcades... oh how I miss those days where being masterful at a 2D fighting game at a local arcade was a social stat. symbol :>. Anyways, learn the moves, and learn how to use them, in defense and offense.
 
The only 2D fighter that I got REALLY good at, and won a couple of tourneys with was Killer Instinct. There were 4 guys at that arcade.. my buddy, 2 guys that worked there, and me, we were the best in the area. Man i miss those times. I could never get the hang of the 3D fighters. I love 2D brawls.
 
i'm truely terrible at fighting games so follow my advice at your own risk

imma parrot what racketboy said, read the faqs for the games at game faqs, because there's nothing even close to a universal way to be good at fighters ie., sf2 requires you to be able to pull off your chosen characters special moves at will without fail and just generally requires you to overwhelm your opponent with quick hits and lots of them. the samurai showdown series on the other hand requires you to pretty much never waste time executing special moves and basically just to block and avoid until your opponent slips up, then to get a hit or two in then immedialately go back on the defensive, most fights against the cpu i've won by a descision after the match timer ran out
 
If you're serious about getting to be good at them, go get yourself a good arcade joystick for your PC (you can get these Blaze ones for next to nothing if you can find them) and have a good few weeks on MAME. Start off with Street Fighter II which is reasonably basic and work your way to more recent technical games. That way, your learning curve won't be too bad, and you'll have the fundamentals down in no time. Starting with something like Street Fighter Alpha 3 would pretty much put you off for life with all the '-isms' and specials.
 
I agree with Myname if you have a decent PC. That is pretty much what I do to practice and it lets you appreciate the root of all 2-D fighting glory. Good times! I worked backwards though from the Neo Geo KOF games to the Street Fighters. The timing in KOF is essential to learn, but Street Fighter is tons more forgiving in my opinion.
 
Originally posted by alpharogue@Jan. 02 2003, 5:13 pm

I agree with Myname if you have a decent PC. That is pretty much what I do to practice and it lets you appreciate the root of all 2-D fighting glory. Good times! I worked backwards though from the Neo Geo KOF games to the Street Fighters. The timing in KOF is essential to learn, but Street Fighter is tons more forgiving in my opinion.

Neo-Geo all the way
tongue.gif
kof over sF
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Originally posted by Jaded God@Jan. 08 2003, 6:09 am

Neo-Geo all the way
tongue.gif
kof over sF
smile.gif

Erm.. Yeah.

Bascally, if you can get to the point where you can pull off fireballs and dragon punches well, you're not going to have much trouble adapting to most 2d fighting games so I'd make that you're primary aim.
 
Originally posted by Edge-`@Jan. 01 2003, 7:42 pm

I personally find learning the special moves first and then learning when to use them works well. Learn as many characters moves as you can so you'll understand how their moves work, their weaknesses, how to counter them, etc. I still remember the days when they would have local SFII tourneyments at local arcades... oh how I miss those days where being masterful at a 2D fighting game at a local arcade was a social stat. symbol :>. Anyways, learn the moves, and learn how to use them, in defense and offense.

yo wazup. man u dissapeared for a long time!!! what happened!
 
...heh heh heh...I remember one time we had a mass group of americans over on a exchange thingy...well about 20 of us went to the cinema, and i won a street fighter 2 tournament (WOOO!)...ah...the good old days!
 
How to play 2d fighting games

Hit the buttons.........and hope for the best!

OR use the Borken record method...learn one move....and use it all the time! (we've all been there at one time or another...)
 
If you are just starting period, play some Street Fighter II and learn all the special moves, they are not that hard to do. Once you have mastered the moves, try beating the game with everything character and changing the difficulty level each time. Once you have this game down, it's time to move on to more advance fighting games like King of Fighters '98 and Street Fighter Alpha 3. IMO, KoF'98 is the best 2-d fighting game EVER made. I consider myself and expert in the game and I can keep going back to playing the game to learn more. This game has a great variety of characters, specials, and combos. I have mastered a lot in this game and I still learn something new each time I play it, you can never get sick of it.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 is still another great fighting game. IMO, it's not as good as KoF'98 because it doesn't have as many characters and it's learning replay value isn't as good. SFA3 is a harder game to master combos though, the combos are harder, but can be worth it. The nice thing about the game is this little mode called "V-Ism". It lets you do custom combos so you can make excellent simple combos with different characters such as Cody or Charlie. Stick with KoF'98 though, it's a better game to learn.

If you need some help, IM me on MSN at keranu@hotmail.com or AIM at xXKeranuXx . I can send you recorded video files for emulators I have made to teach you combos.
 
Heh, this is for fun. When you mastered fighting games, you will understand this...

Combos for KoF'98:

Saisyu:

J.D, S.C, F.A, QCB+A or Cx2, crouch+A

6-7 hits, about 75% damage

J.D, S.C, F.A, Orochinagi DM (QCB, HCF+A or C)

About 6 hits, 75% damage

Kyo:

J.D, S.C, QCF+B or D, B or D again, Orochinagi DM (QCB, HCF+A or C)

Kim:

J.D, S.C, F.A, quickly do his QCB, HCF+B or D DM.

Those are just a few examples, they are not that hard.
 
im a 2d fighting god(generally speaking). ive been apart of the community for a long time.

if u are serious to learn to play, button mashing will get you nowhere. one of my friends from school says he could beat me at mvc for dreamcast. turns out he was a button masher and he barely hit me twice the whole match. another friend says he is the best at guilty gear for DC. he button mashed also and i put a perfect on him.

These games require made strategy if u wish to be good. they require more strategy than any other genre, why? cuz u are fighting a live opponent. its not just to see who wins, its a mental game. Im a hardcore 2d player and i hate when ppl say it doesnt involve strategy. if u really want help, u could check gamefaqs. or i could post some more info.
 
Hah yes the Killer Instinct great game, very easy and logical gameplay you can build your own combos and like +30 hits good game for beginners, the Capcom and SNK are another story or you play a lot and start figuring out the gameplay or hit gamefaqs first, a good gamepad or arcade stick like x-arcade is a good thing to have if you´re into this type of games.
 
Strategy. you are no doubt aware that you have different levels of punch & kicks. eg light, medium, hard.

the way it works is that the faster hits are light and the slow ones are hard.

its not just how much life you can remove by mashing the hard punches etc. the true way to beat your opponent is by hitting them first and knowing when not to hit them.

for example in an aerial fight (both players have jumped towards each other) if you tapped light punch and they hit a hard attack button, then you would connect first sending them to the ground.

combos are the next most important thing and the question is,"how can i further damage my opponent by chaining moves before they recover and are able to attack me again?"

the answer can be found by using the "training" option found in most capcom fighters or just buy in as player 2 on an snk game.

you will often find that a multitude of chained light punches and kicks is more valuable than one hard punch or kick.

my favourite little combo that can be done by pretty much any character is to jump toward the standing opponent, light punch them in the air on the way down, then when you land they are still recovering so light punch them again twice then crouch and give em a crouching light kick before leg sweeping to finish off with the opponent on the floor.

know when to use your supers as well. use training to learn how to get maximum damage and never ever ever execute a super combo when there is any less than 100% chance of success.
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if the opponent blocks it then it leaves you open for them to execute a nonblockable attack back on you, or even worse they could avoid it and you could end up with your back to the opponent.

training mode.
 
Stay away from killer instinct. Even a blind baby can be "good" at it.

Don't put any game to "turbo", now you will have to think about which move to do instead of just kill the pad/stick.

Go to the arcades and try to beat other people, the AI of most fighting games makes you laugh.

First learn how the characters perform their punches/kicks/throws, then try to fight just with them, then you will be ready to learn wich special moves the characters have. (since many many special & super moves can be stopped by a crouching light kick/punch. Right, kof players?
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)

And read carefully the last posts.
 
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