Topic: Why am I so fail at fighting games?

[Lumi Kløvstad]

I have never met a shooter I did not headshot, a puzzle game I did not outthink, a platformer I did not successfully hurdle. There has never been an RPG that I did not see through to conclusion, or a stealth game I did not outsneak. I have conquered every genre of game I have laid eyes on, one way or another.

SAVE ONE.

One genre of games continually eludes me. One genre where my amazing powers utterly fail me every time.

Fighting games.

Yes my friends. I have tried to play fighting games for ages. And I frequently love the stories of games like the Soul series, or Darkstalkers.

But I am NEVER good at actually playing them. I am a beached fish, gasping for air, at fighting games. In a team setting, while my moral support for my team is absolute, I am far less than worthless when my ticket comes up.

But let's start with single player.

The purpose of single player modes in fighting games is generally to shape you up for head to head whilst giving you at least a moderately interesting story and additional goodies to unlock. These days? I just cheat to unlock shit.

Because this is how it [inevitably] goes:

I'll see some success in early story stages on an easier difficulty, of course. But eventually, as the story mode wears on, the difficulty setting and amount of training I've put in becomes irrelevant, as my brain's reflexes and ability to remember combos becomes on par with a bong loaded with salvia smoke. By the time I reach a match that requires more than 7 continues, my ability to continue MENTALLY is pretty much gone, and I wisely shut the game down before I put my controller through my TV, and then pop in some nice relaxing game like inFamous and go butcher some innocent civilians to let my steam off.

I can't hold up against other people as well, only managing to defeat either those who are somehow worse than me or by executing infinite combo loops I happen to trigger by accident and then press my advantage with.

I am TERRIBLE at fighting games.

I rock at ANY OTHER GENRE. But not fighting games. Why?

Also, this whole train of thought was brought on by this chain of events:

1) Friend notices I have very few multiplayer games (conscious decision on my part)

2) Friend complains.

3) I promise friend I'll have a new multiplayer game when he next visits.

4) I buy Skullgirls the following day.

5) I play Skullgirls for hours on Sleepwalk difficulty, trying to learn the controls.

6) Sleepwalk difficulty somehow DESTROYS ME.

7) I write this topic.

Now you know.

Why do I suck at this genre? I'd love to be into it, so I can join friends in their little revelry, but I seem physically and mentally unable to excel at it.
WHYYYYYY?!

[TheouAegis]

Controllers make or break the games, too. I suck with gamepads. Sometimes I play with the directional pad. If you play Sheng Tsung in Mortal Kombat 3, use a directional pad. If you need to pull off quarter circles or dragon punches, use a directional pad. If you need to do half-circles, use the directional pad. But that tears up your thumb pretty badly.

The way to go: play on an emulator and use the keyboard. Not shitting. Even when I let my console buddies play on a decent gamepad (DualShock style), I'd still rape using the keyboard. Nowadays I'm weening myself off the keyboard because I get my ass kicked whenever I play at someone else's home. >_>

You can always try to play like my buddy who just punches and kicks until you're in a corner then rapes you cuz you can't escape that cheap mechanic. But then I just throw fireballs at him the next fight and he doesn't talk to me for a couple weeks.

[VladCT]

I'm only halfway decent myself (and that really depends on what you call "decent"), but I guess I can give you this tip:
Spend hours on practice mode. Start by looking at how each character's moves work and then pick the character you're most comfortable with. Then start practicing that character's normals, command normals, and specials (and supers if available) until you can figure out a basic combo (like Adelheid's SP, b+LK~qcf+SK in KoF XI). After that you can turn on the dummy's AI on its easiest level so you can practice your basic combo while having a little bit of pressure applied to yourself while also figuring out a basic strategy for your character, as in what moves to use during which situations and when you should and shouldn't go on the offensive. After you feel more confident you can then crank up the AI a bit while figuring out more advanced combos and tactics on your own until you feel confident enough to go online for casual matches.
So yeah, in all honesty, I feel that learning by yourself is the best way to improve. Of course, sometimes you need others to help you get a better grasp of your character but it ultimately comes down to yourself.
Oh, and try giving the tutorial mode a go if there is one, it helps you get the gameplay mechanics down even faster.

[JR]

Eh, I've always sucked at fighting games, too. As the genre evolved, I just really haven't bothered to really learn any fighting game out there. I usually just play through single player, find 6 or 7 moves I like for a character, and use those over and over again.

[Bloodreign]

When you say shooter and headshot, I know you don't mean shmups (you should see if you fail at that genre).

As for fighting games, I can do alright and handle my own with the old Mortal Kombats, but the beasts like what Capcom and SNK did, my thumbs get sore with d-pads after awhile, I have trouble with the right side of the d-pad, not so much with the left side. Stuff like Tekken I will never touch again because my friends are spammy bastards, but when they step into the 2D MK world with me are always dead meat.

[Flame]

I suck at Soul Calibur.

Most fighting games are button mashers, but that one takes a bit of skill, not quite as easy as mashing buttons and the d pad hoping for a hadouken or something. I like Calibur too, but I suck at it. Though i dont own any of the soul games, so...

usually only play it when my friend brings it. And he's naturally more skilled than me. by a lot.

I tried it's story mode and did pretty well though.

[VladCT]

The reason why button mashing doesn't work so well on SoCal is that it isn't as fast-paced and combo-oriented as, say, Tekken.

[GuyStarwind]

Only fighting games I can play effectively are Smash Bros and Street Fighter. However, I'm only sub par at Street Fighter. I guess I just suck at combos.

[Abnormal Freak]

I used to be an asshole in Killer Instinct. I'd play Cinder and spam his Forward, Forward, Punch move.

My brother got good at the game, however, and that put an end to that.

I suck at fighting games.