Introduction and obligatory noob question

#1

Hey guys, I know jack shit about fighitng games. I’ve been watching the community since November 2010 and I’ve been truely entertained by countless streams and videos and it just occured to me that I would like to become more than just an “innocent spectator;” granted I’ve picked up nuggets of information here and there from all of the aforementioned videos/streams, but I’m hardly arrogant enough to think I know anything about anything. That’s why I’m here; I want to learn as much as I can possibly learn about fighting games - particularly Capcom’s games I.E. Street Fighter. There is one little problem: I don’t own any Street Fighter and I never have. So basically, I really want to play, I’m eager to learn…but, I have no starting point.

Inb4justbuythegameyouderp.

I’d love to “just buy the game” – the issue I have is “What game?” You see, I’ve read a lot and apparently it seems to be consensus that trying to learn more than one game at one time is a formula for disaster, especially for a new player. I don’t want to try to do too much at one time so I really want to focus my attention on one game and one character/team. Now, I happen to find myself wanting to join this community right as it’s one month off from the release of the potential “next big thing” if you will. And I"m at a loss. Do I pick up IV or do I take a potential risk and give Street Fighter X Tekken my attention? I have to be honest and admit that the “new game smell” is getting to me and that game is looking to be very fun. However, I’m also aware of the negative critcism the game has been receiving as it concerns to certain gameplay mechanics that may or may not “break the game.” Anyway, to cut this novel short, what would you do if you were in my position?

Thanks for any and all advices given - oh and if you have any other advice that may pertain to being apart of the community in anyway I would be glad to hear that as well.

#2

Well, you can’t go wrong picking up SF4, as it’s to continue being played at major tournaments throughout the year. Despite the fact that it’s pretty late in its life cycle, you can still learn plenty about how to play fighting games properly, as well as the fundamentals of Street Fighter that will carry over to any game.

Ignore the negative criticism and negativity surrounding SFxT, it’s still going to get played at Evo this year. People who have had hands-on experience with the game have stated that its no big deal, and not a game breaker. Even if it is, we, as a community, can choose to ban this function altogether, and just not incorporate gems into tournament play. However, that’s highly unlikely, and the game will probably see at least a year or two of solid tournament life throughout the majors. Now since it’s a brand new game, it means you come in with a brand new slate. Nobody has any inherent advantage over you as far as learning the game mechanics is concerned, so you’ll be starting on the same footing as everybody else. Even though your fundamentals haven’t been developed, you can learn that over time.

Just start playing. Even if you want to pick up old games that have a smaller fan base, you’ll learn something the more you play any fighting game. Heck, just being able to beat the computer on the hardest difficulty will present quite a challenge for you initially.

#3

So you wanna learn a capcom game as your first fighter? As someone who is also new being that Super SF4 was my first game, I guess there are two routes for you to consider. First route, is pick Marvel or SF and learn through those, the other is wait for SFxTekken. When it comes to Marvel vs SF, there are a couple of things to consider besides which one appeals to you most right now i guess. Generally speaking, the netcode is better in SF4 than marvel, but I think marvel has much more online players. If you are lucky enough to have a good scene where you live, drop by and see if the players and arcade or w.e. help influence your decision. If you are learning towards SFxtekken but you are scared it may not be that “legitimate” or something like that, the game seems to play like sf4 with a partner and juggles. Granted, It seems to have more of a party game feel and has some crazy mechanics as well. However, because its basis seems to be SF4ish, by playing it I think you can learn fundamental concepts like anti-airing, zoning, spacing/footsies, and risk/reward and some execution as well. In addition, the game seems to have less of a barrier entry for new players, so it might be less hardcore of a transition and more fun at the same time! Just FYI, I only play SF4 and am currently trying to learn Soul Caliber so I can play a 3d game as well. Regarding SFxTekken, regardless of everything else it looks like good old fashioned fun so I might get it even if I don’t take it as serious. Hope this helped somewhat.

#4

Dude don’t listen to what anyone says about any game you’re thinking of playing unless its very basic like online playability. Speaking as someone who doesn’t like how SFxT looks, I still encourage you to check it out if it appeals to you (thus pretty irrelevant to you). Every new fighting game gets criticism from somebody, and generally these criticisms come from peoples biases from the games they started with. My own favorite fighting game SF33s is looked upon negatively by a large amount of SF2/SFA era players, but thats never stopped me.

Also I’ve heard rumors about every new game since I started playing about how such and such will break the game but people rarely know what theyre talking about until the game is a couple months past its final build.

EDIT: ALSO, starting fighting games with a brand new game gives you the best chance to catch up to more experienced players!