A Gaming How To-How to get DECENT at Fighting games

Before I get started I want to say just one thing-Practice-Before there was easy access to the internet,gaming websites,gaming blogs, Fighting game enthusiasts used to get together at arcades and watch top fighting game players take on the CPU or other skilled opponents thus learning how to read each others moves and come up with advanced strategies to counter those moves.
Since then games have moved from the arcades to home consoles and from there to the online arena where millions of players can connect from all around and face each other in online duels. Though the tech has changed and the games are now much varied the same simple rule from above still sits. Practice makes you different from Scrubs and can only help you in the long run....

and with that said,Let's start this How To-

How to get DECENT at Fighting Games

Now don't be scared because I said "Decent" and not "Great" to become Decent at a fighter is an accomplishment in and of itself. To get decent one must be at least fairly familiar with their chosen games controls, which brings me to the first part of this post.

1. Chose a fighting game that's right for you!

Mortal Kombat does not play anything like Street Fighter and Tekken and Soul Calibur may 3D fighters but their play mechanics are totally different from one another. Choosing the right game is essential since you're going to be playing this game alot and you should find your chosen game to be ENJOYABLE and not aggravating. The only way to do this is to play as many fighting games as you can-Don't Like Virtua Fighter? Give Dead or Alive a shot! Dont like the flashiness of BlazBlue? There's Always Guilty Gear!

2. Know Thy Self

Every person is different when it comes to fighting games, some people are aggressive, others may play conservatively and a select group may toggle in between and mix and match depending on the given situation. This all ties into the Character you have chosen and how much of that characters moveset and abilities you've memorized. Knowing how your chosen character works is the difference between skilled maneuvers and perfectly timed and executed inputs to just simply flailing about and mashing the buttons on the controller. Therefore memorizing and understanding button inputs and initiating specific attacks can only be a great boon to you-Example Ryu's signature "Fireball" or "Hadouken" is executed by inputting -Down,right,Fierce punch-



Of course the inputs for more damaging attacks can become more complex so it's imperative that you start from simpler inputs and work your way up to more complex ones as you master them.

3. Know Thy Enemy

After mastering your favorite characters it always helps to know how they'll lay against other characters in your game of choice. Now I'm not saying you should memorize every character in the game but it's best to be able to at least gauge an opponents character and know what they can and can't do to you in any given situation. Though this one tactic only doesn't guarantee your victory, remember that one saying from G.I. Joe? "And Knowing is Half the battle?" Well the same rings true in fighting games if you're able to use the information that you have and apply it to your given situation you're giving yourself a leg up,especially if the other person/persons your facing is not as familiar with your character.Of course if you're facing another person on the same footing you're in for a more spectacular fight.


4. Get out there and Face the world!

The only way to get better (outside of constant practice) is to face other players!you can only fight the CPU for so long and you'll end up reaching a skill ceiling. It maybe daunting at first and of course you'll lose a great deal of your first matches but this brings us to the final part of this how to list-Persistance- It will get frustrating,trust me, to lose over and over and not seem to catch a break-but the time will come when you start winning your matches and you'll realize that you're getting BETTER and that realiztion will drive you to become better at your game. All of the great tournament fighters had their humble beginnings and sometimes some fighting games are harder to get into than others but with practice and guides like these? you'll do just fine..

Go Get Em Kid...