[Copyn]

Ayy, I thought I'd make a space for people to talk about punching people but virtually :bouncingbeast:
A place for anyone, veteran or newbie, to enjoy the pleasures of mutual destruction

Interested in the genre but not sure where to start? Then you're in the right place!
Or perhaps you're already in-the-know on the lingo, but you just can't seem to beat that one character you swear is OP
Or maybe you just wanna meme about how big Wagner's stomps are in UNIST!
Whatever it may be, this is the place to talk about fighting games!

In an attempt to kick things off, for those of you who are already in the scene, let us know what games you play!
And for those who are lookin to get in, let us know what games you have your eyes on, and someone can look into helping you take that plunge!

[haru]

Or maybe you just wanna meme about how big Wagner's stomps are in UNIST!

i thought this was a post about fighting games, not my callout post.

this seems like a good idea because playing fighting games with random people online is a form of torture reserved only for those in the depths of hell. they're infinitely more fun with people you know.

also, you didn't mention any games! I've tried a bunch but the one that's sticking right now seems to be unist. i have my eyes on guilty gear 2020 too. gg rev 2 is fun but i have no one to play it with and i suck super bad.

i play everything on steam btw

[Natalie]

This is a great idea! I've always kinda liked fighting games, but I don't think I've ever gotten seriously into one outside of Smash Bros. I've got a few Street Fighter games, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Tekken 2, one of the BlazBlues, but I always end up playing them for a few hours and then shelving them. I think it's the intimidation of having to learn not just the gameplay system but the meta and strategy.

What fighting games do you play? Are there any you recommend as being more accessible for newbs?

[Emily]

I played a lot of Smash on the Gamecube when I was but a wee teenager. Outside of that, I got really into Soul Calibur for one game, then Injustice. Outside of those three, I'm more or less in the same boat as Natalie. I've picked up a lot of fighting games over time but I never got into any of them. I think I got through one storyline playthrough of one of the Blazblue titles.

But I also don't like fighting I'm a very peaceful person :c

[haru]

this is only somewhat related to what you're asking, but i think a lot of people put an unfair emphasis on spending hours in training mode to become a god at the game before you ever set foot in a real pvp match. like anything, you kinda just have to learn by doing. as odd as this advice may sound, i think the best thing is to disregard the meta or any of the super crazy strategies completely. at least while you're starting out with a game, it's nice to just pick a character and go at it.

even still, it can definitely be intimidating. anime fighters are especially bad with some of their basic system mechanics. of the games you listed, Natalie, i would assume street fighter is the easiest to pick up because it's the most straightforward and has the fewest moving parts.

if you want something a bit more hip and weeby, bbtag can be annoying as hell but there's no better game for easing into anime style fighters. I've played it with my nine year old sister a few times (she loves the rwby characters) and she was able to pick it up and have fun within maybe fifteen or twenty minutes. obviously she wasn't doing any crazy combos or option selects or godlike tech, but it's simple enough at its core that almost anyone can pick it up and have some fun. i actually think it's better for casual or first time fg players than super intense competitive players because of how everything comes together.

[Copyn]

Tastunoko vs Capcom

Oh my god someone else owns that! Well I think I have TvC2 but still lol

What fighting games do you play?

Good question! My current main game is UNIST, but I also enjoy BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Arcana Heart 3 Love Max SIXSTARS!!!!! (yes that is the real title), and Skullgirls!
However, I am also terrible at most of these :p

Re:Getting into them
I definitely second haru's recommendation for bbtag - its control scheme is designed to be easy for newcomers to understand and pick up, and it's got a pretty healthy cast of characters
It definitely isn't perfect, and has its flaws, but it's very good for helping get into that anime fighter flow

I'd also say that UNIST feels like it'd be pretty good for newcomers; it's not quite as easy as BBTag, but the pace of the game is somewhat slower and more relaxed, and since it's not a team-based fighting game you don't have to worry about learning more than one character
Plus it has some very easy characters that make sliding into things a bit easier

Also, like haru said, I definitely recommend not worrying too much about the meta or optimal play - I find it best to worry about what's most relevant to you as a player
Trying to remember every mechanic in the game can be a nightmare, but it's easier to do a more "learn as you go/as you need it" approach imo, and the same applies to combos - find something short and simple that you can execute and remember without too much fuss and worry about doing that instead of doing what's most optimal

[Natalie]

Oh, I forgot about Soul Calibur somehow! 2 and 3 were probably the fighting games I put the most hours into outside of Smash. When it gets cheaper I'll probably get VI and see if it feels the same.

Tastunoko vs Capcom

Oh my god someone else owns that! Well I think I have TvC2 but still lol

I don't think it ever got a sequel, since nobody cared about it half as much as the Marvel vs. Capcom stuff. Shame, since it had such a striking style.

It's less wanting to train to incredible levels that puts me off of most games, but that feeling of having absolutely no idea what I'm doing or how to find out. It's the same feeling I get with RTS games: the idea of learning where and how to start learning is intimidating and exhausting, so I end up moving on. I didn't do that with SC because the single player modes were so involved, but most fighting games just have generic campaigns with boring AI.

[haru]

the problem with unist is that its system mechanics require a doctorate to understand. combos can get a bit messy too. i don't think i would necessarily suggest it to someone who isn't already into anime fighters.

it's true that it's a bit slower and more deliberate; i think the most important difference from other anime games is that most of your fighting takes place on the ground because aerial options are so limited. still, there's a lot going on with the game and it's a bit much to take in even for me, so i definitely would be careful about it if you haven't seriously played any anime games before.

it's true that single player content and good tutorials or teaching tools are a thing that a lot of fighting games lack. it can be really hard to learn how to play or what to focus on if you aren't playing with a group. i think that's another reason i enjoy fighters much more when i have a friend to play with.

[Copyn]

Tatsunoko vs Capcom

Oh, you're right! I didn't play it much so I'd forgotten it sadly didn't really have a sequel :(
I really liked some of the characters, especially visually, so it's a bit of a shame

Unist's system mechanics are hell

That's a really good point tbh; I think it'd probably be better for entry-level if you can safely manage to ignore some of the more confusing/hard-to-remember mechanics, which basically requires a friend to play with
Cuz I'd argue a lot of the stuff you can sort of ignore as a beginner, but not if you're playing against people who know it really well; and even ignoring that, I can definitely imagine it being harder to move from beginner to intermediate than in some other games

Finding out where to even start

I'm being lazy with the quotes this time around lol
But I think an important part of things is just to get a feel for the game - mess around with characters, use them in matches (even bot ones), maybe learn some super easy combos to see how it feels to use them
If you have a friend to play with who's in the same spot as you then that's great, because you can learn how human matches will flow, but if all your friends are too good or you don't have any that you can play with then I still think bots can be a suitable place just to find that groundwork
And once you have that sort of comfort in how it feels then I say focusing on just trying to get in hits when you can and block your opponent when you can - it sounds simple but I say it to emphasize that you don't need to focus on a whole lot else when you're starting out, especially when you're with friends

Like haru's been saying, fighting games are a lot more fun with friends; you have someone you can talk to and learn from, or just mess around and have a good time with

Skullgirls tho

ok no one actually said this one but I forgot to mention it for beginners and can't let it go unmentioned
I'll admit I'm not the most knowledgeable about Skullgirls, but I remember it being relatively easy to understand, and one important thing imo is that its combo input windows feel very generous
To contrast, in BlazBlue Centralfiction I have a hard time doing some combos and have 0 clue why; as if I was imperceptibly too slow somehow
But in Skullgirls I always felt like the combos weren't as hard to pull off, with timing windows that didn't feel claustrophobic
However, take this all with a grain of salt as I've not played it as extensively as others, and there may be severe issues I'm unaware of

[Jens]

I'm also in the Smash and Soul Calibur camp I've also played a couple of Dragon Ball fighting games, but none that actually count as good fighting games.

Re: getting into these games:
It's gonna take a lot of patience. I dunno, sometimes I can only get juggled into a combo without landing a single hit so many times before I feel like giving up 

But I have fond memories of virtually beating up (and being beaten up by) family and friends :)

[Copyn]

sometimes I can only get juggled into a combo without landing a single hit so many times before I feel like giving up 

Oh god I know that misery lol
For the longest time I wanted to get into fighting games but didn't feel like I was good enough to play online cuz of experiences like that, but it was my only real option, so I ended up just...doing solo mode or messing around in training a ton lol
Finding someone to play with really helped me actually get into them in the way I'd always wanted to

[mads]

What fighting games do you play?

It's not a traditional fighting game per se, but I really enjoyed Absolver for what it was. It was kinda a cross between dark souls and something kinda like SoulCaliber. The core loop of learning fighting moves from dodging and taking blows was super cool, and then taking those same moves and creating custom movesets was something I haven't seen outside of Remember Me, and even then not to that degree.
Otherwise I always enjoyed a good bit of Smash!

[Rea]

I used to play smash all the time with my brothers, but honestly, I'm more of a team-up-against-the-bad-guy-or-wait-can-there-NOT-be-a-bad-guy-can-we-just-be-friends-and-build-a-farm type of gamer xD

Oh! Also Street Fighter 2.

But my favorite was this first person gun game that was two player on the SNES, and you and your partner had to go through and shoot all the bad guys, like helicopters and stuff.

It was dope.