Possibly a controversial question

Newbie Saikyo Dojo
#1

Hello, I was hoping to find out which character in SSF4 is the easiest to play on a competent level.

By easiest, I don’t mean overpowered, or highest tier, I simply mean which character doesn’t take a lot of time to master the execution of their abilities.

I’m certain at this point many people are frothing at the mouth at my attempts to “Take the easy way out” but I have a simple reason for wishing to do. I’ll be starting college soon and my time will be limited. I still want to play SSF4 because I enjoy fighters in general, however since school is only two weeks away, I’ll be lucky to get in a few fights every once in awhile. I would much rather be able to quickly learn a character to an intermediate level in the two weeks of summer I have left, so I’ll be able to focus on just having fun later when time might be pressed and I won’t be able to spend hours in training mode or reading forums like I would like to. However I, like everybody else, still want to win, so I’d like to be able to master a character up to at least an intermediate point.

Yes, I’ve had many people tell me that SSF4 isn’t challenging or deep compared to other fighters and I understand that some of you may consider it easy to learn the ins and outs of every character within a few days, however I am not so blessed and I would appreciate sympathy. :bgrin: Trust me, I am fairly bad. El Fuerte’s RSF loop is still out of my reach despite a long time spent practicing, Shoryuken -> FADC -> Ultra is also something I can’t do consistently. You may call me a scrub, noob, etc. and I’ll be perfectly fine with that, the truth is until next summer I am only looking to play SSF4 for enjoyment, not to become the best I can be.

Thank you in advance for any help, and I apologize for typing such a long winded post and also apologize if it is difficult to understand, I might have gotten a little confused part way through.

#2

I suck at 4 and I ended up playing Bison. Not that hes easy to play but rather it seemed he was less dependent on the uniquely SSFIV mechanics than other characters so it was an easier transition for me.

#3

How is this a possibly controversial question?

Anyway, I would say that the easiest character to play on a competent level is Guile. His command normals are easy to do, all of his normals have great priority he only has two special moves (which are excellent by the way; a great zoning projectile that comes out and recovers quickly, and an anti-air that beats jump-ins), and his Sonic Hurricane is a great Ultra. He also doesn’t require any special combo or technical knowledge to be viable in matches.

#4

That’s a confusing question. If you want a character you can do pretty well with, and not have to learn many advanced tricks to play for fun, I’d recommend Guile. Just learn to zone properly, and you’ll most likely do alright.

#5

I mostly just put that to hopefully avoid any flamers that might get on me for not wanting to spend a lot of time practicing or something.

Thanks for all the help everyone, I’ll spend a little time trying out Bison, Guile and Balrog and see which one fits best.

#6

Balrog is a pretty common answer to this question.

#7

Bison. All you need to learn is his pokes, BNBs, and how to lure people in with whiffed devils reverse. Not many gimmicks with Bison

#8

Bison is a gimmick himself :lol:

#9

LMAO this.
Bison IS gimmicky.
You’ll need to learn low poke strings to that unpunishable lk scissors. Teleporting is also kind of a big part of your game to set up combos or to get yourself out of a sticky situation in a hurry.

Best answer thus far, in my opinion anyway, is Guile. Maybe Balrog. For those you only need to focus on when to use what normal attack and then pepper in your specials for good measure.

#10

Bison -> Guile -> Balrog
In that order from easiest to easy.

#11

Balrog, Bison, Guile is more accurate

#12

Blanka.

He’s super light on execution, has TONS of gimmicks that are easy to do, he’s immune to many gimmicks himself, almost impossible to cross-up, and of all the characters, possibly the most difficult to punish with combos since he’s often airborne and has almost no recovery when he touches down.

Also, few people play him compared to other strong characters, and you have to know your matchup to be able to deal with him.

He also benefits from lag.

#13

i’d say either blanka, honda, or ryu b/c of how straightforward and technical their style of play can be…of course i think many people will disagree with me…

#14

From one newbie to another, Ken or Blanka always seem to be a good starting balance for me. Hello everyone btw (1st post!) :bgrin:

#15

Really.

Also, this thread is facepalm-y. “Rushdown” = “Gimmick” now?

#16

Balrog, Bison, Guile, Blanka and Ryu. Note Ryu is the only non-charge character there and it’s because most of his combos are very easy execution and he’s a very well rounded character.

From easiest to hardest of those I’d say it’s:

Blanka -> Bison -> Balrog -> Ryu -> Guile

Blanka and Bison are gimmick characters that are also sort of able to not be gimmicky. They can win purely by using charge moves in most online situations, but both have far more depth than that so they’re friendly to beginners and more advanced players.

Balrog is fantastic, he has amazing zoning for when you get more advanced, but he has VERY easy basic combos and great normals for the beginners out there (his BnB is lp x lp ~ lk x any of his specials, takes like 5 minutes to learn), however he’s much more dependant on zoning and using his normals to succeed past the “I’m completely terrible” level, so he’s slightly more difficult than the other two mentioned.

Ryu and Guile are similar difficulty, but I’d say Ryu is slightly easier. Both characters have extremely basic zoning, however Guile’s takes more practice as you need to learn to precharge which requires good timing and quick hands. He also has slightly more difficult combos if you decide to go on the offensive.

#17

Execution doesn’t get any easier than with Balrog. Period.

#18

I guess I don’t know anything…

I was going to say “Gief” and have him mash 360’s all day for “real soviet damaaaage”… but I haven’t really played Gief so I wouldn’t know.

Balrog is that easy to play, really? I’ve always thought Ryu was good to pick up and play. I play Guy and Rose, so I’m not so sure I have a handle on “easy to play” anyways.

#19

Gotta put in my vote for Blanka and Balrog. Of course, one thing we ignored is that you didn’t mention any charge characters in your first post. For me, at least, playing a charge character is a completely different mindset than playing a shoto.

#20

id say shotos

everybody knows how to play shotos