Fighting games are really cool, but they can be an intimidating hobby to get into. You might look at the competitive world of Tekken or Street Fighter and think, “I probably suck! And don’t have the right gear! And I don’t understand these words!” BUT STOP. You CAN get into fighting games. And for Pat Gill, that journey has been really rewarding. Here’s how he embraced fighting games, and you can too.
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Becksisbestbeer
20.04.2023I still think DLC completely ruined the FGC. The idea of fighting games is cool, but i won't pay 5€ for every single character. And i also won't buy 5 versions of the same Street Fighter game. The corporate greed has just become way too insane.
motoki
20.04.2023i wish more games would mention/feature melee, such an underappreciated game in the wider fgc
Meta Gaming Universe (MGU)
20.04.20231v1, you and Maddy Myers. 2 opponents enter, 1 leaves. Who is it? Be honest.
Smoke 0
20.04.2023ive tried getting into fighting games in the past but i think the most important thing i was missing was my drive. I was never really fully interested in the games. I wanted to "get good" but didn't wanna be comitted. I hope to play sf6 or tekken 8 and play them
Mike Hawk
20.04.2023Where is unraveled
explains
20.04.2023I really like fighting games i just can't seem to get good 💀
maxler 5795
20.04.2023Polygon dude vs the entirety of the dumpster fire that is game journalism
maxler 5795
20.04.2023I went so hard on fighting games that after dieharding keyboard i bought a mayflash stick that works on… fucking everything. And now im just… having so much fun
Dr. phil. Pepper
20.04.2023I'd say there are some games that are better for beginners than others. In my Opinion the best games to start are Tekken 7, SFV and DBFZ, since those have the most stable player bases over time. I wouldn't really recommend for example Melty Blood as someone's first fighting game, since it's much harder to find other players on the same level or sometimes even finding other players at all. Beginners should spend time on learning the mechanics and testing stuff out and not on searching for other players on a discord.
Francisco Valdez
20.04.2023Fighting games ruined other video game genres for me and I don't regret it.
Andy Morales
19.04.2023What an amazing video , truly insightful
Brownieman32
19.04.2023This was an amazing video! I've been trying to get into fighting games but have been really hesitant about it. This really gives me hope 👌
Sp3llmen
19.04.2023The "real fucking cool guy" line is probably one of the funniest jokes ever, but also the truth for some annoying ass people. They love to brag about how they never got nervous and were always amazing, and literally nobody is impressed with them ever xD but they never stop saying it
Fin Downes
19.04.2023I got into Tekken partly because of this video
Alexa Kim
19.04.2023I’m currently into Dead or Alive 6
DickLover420
19.04.2023You are SO right about the unranked matchmaking and fighting better opponents
I started playing fighting games (started with strive) 3-ish days ago
After I got myself familiarised with playing the game (practicing the motion commands and just learning the moveset a bit)
I went into the park area and matched with people who have very obviously played a lot more thn me, and I got my ass kicked
Repetitively, over and over again, but every time I got a bit better, it's a great way to learn the game and is relatively fun to do so
weichiang89
19.04.2023Another video I can recommend is Daiminion vs Pr Rog during their SFIV Hakan vs Balgrog final.
Daiminion showing people that a "low tier" character beat a higher tier one for the world title.
Hakan mains rejoiced that daym
double
19.04.2023"I love busting" same brother
VidyaBox
19.04.2023I got a stick for Tekken and while that made inputs easier, I found it made 2d fighters like SF or KI much harder than with a controller.
Mörio
19.04.2023Absolutely outstanding content!
Thank you very much, Polygon! 👍❤️
Mörio
15.04.2023Also : Killer Instinct is a fantastic fighting game! ❤️❤️❤️
R SHIELD
15.04.2023If you are new to Fighting games genre but don't want to play a game where it's normal difficulty can beat your ass and spend hours retrying and realize you were playing arcade and not story mode the whole time…then I recommend a game with these 2 things:
1. Autocombo button mash (ones that make the game feel like a MMO, DMC..etc game but in 2d or 3d)
2. A controls tutorial mode and a challenge mode where it tells you to perform combos manually on your selected character.
The best recommendations I can give is the old "BlazBlue Continuum shift II" this game is literally a good way to start getting the hang of fighting games controls and learn combos easily and how to study combos from other games. I learned fighting games once I stumbled on it (the recent melty blood works too they are too friendly to newcomers)
buzz lightyer
15.04.2023While this video directly didn't get me into FGs, Maximillian Dood's reaction was among the first I've watched from him and got me into the greater FGC. And this video even had some things I missed on my first month! Now I finally got into Strive properly, and just bought Xrd and I'm about to buy Skullgirls, Melty Blood and an arcade stick for fun. Thank you Polygon and Max!
Fella friend
15.04.2023I’ve been loving guilty gear. Giovanna is just really fun to pounce around with and dash like there’s no tomorrow. Also the wall traps and your large boys is always hilarious to do.
Anthony Prucha
15.04.2023Him: Just use whatever equipment you want.
Me who has a computer that barely runs KOF XV:
Levandoski 7
15.04.2023someone knows if a good free fighting game exists? where i live games are normally expansive so most of time i download them ilegally, but if i want to get better i need to play online
Aftershock
15.04.2023Got Granblue Fantasy Versus today👨🏾🦼
The Wise Ginger
15.04.2023the subtitles at the end lmfao
Koufal Koufax
15.04.2023Nice time dosnt exist in tekken
Ziana Wind
15.04.2023Wo Wo Hold ON Attention Please A Sec of your time
This crazy generational gap REALLY got me Thinking.
I grew up in Mexico in the 90s in arcades etc. fighting games was just the culture then we all just learned as we went everything was hella different then. Often shoulder to shoulder with all kinds of people of all ages and mostly learning only by word of mouth..
It was really strange to see kids developed the motor skills and memory of special moves just by being there. It sounds bizarre but it became pretty obvious to see that as people we learn things even without instruction by being present in the environment and thinking with excitement about it.
What that has to do with this video, I’m not sure I’m just observing how different things may appear to be on the outside but the core mechanics are the same.. the mechanics is to first break the ice in our mind and engage want to do it.. actually same as dancing, once you get over stage fright the instinct just takes over. Fighting games are very odd in that sense people do get suddenly triggered to go into the zone for no apparent reason other than wanting to.
Ruby Zkarlet
14.04.2023My question for all these folks is that sure, taking breaks from time to time is nice but what if even taking breaks dont seem to help but more like the contrary? You know, a lot of those tips I keep seen seem nice on the paper, not at all so good on the practice
ruebensfilms
14.04.2023Thx for your openness and knack as an educator.
Ali Moorad
14.04.2023This is a great video and big thanks for it! As a long time UFC player (THQ and EA Sports UFC Games) I have come to realize that, while I do love the 1v1 aspect in UFC and the simulation and realism, the game just isn't made to be a fair competitive games (I think at least) and just does not have a tournament scene. I also play Starcraft 2 (another 1v1 competitive game) and I love the fast pace and the strategy involved in it.
I have, for a while, been wanting to get into a fighting game competitively and not sure whether I have the PC for it. Im also not sure about which fighting game I want to get into!
My main criteria is a large competitive scene! I have always loved the lore of Mortal Kombat but Im not sure if im all about 2D fighting games. I like the ability to side step and dodge and counter as it feels more realistic and reminds me of UFC. I guess I would like a game where you need to strategize and read opponents to win as opposed to learning complex combos. I guess I want a game where you could win if you know the standard basic attacks (if there is such a game) but that does not mean Im put off by combos or anything.
Tekken 7 seems like the go to choice and I was wondering If any one that reads this can provide me with some guidance. I also dont know whether I should go for Tekken 7 or 8. Like how does it work? Does the Esport scene just switch to the newest game straight away? Like how does this stuff work? lol
Thanks guys!
Stephen Jennings
14.04.2023As someone who's at a low-mid level in most fighting games, Mortal Kombat is by far the easiest. Having block bound to RT/R1 makes things so much easier and the combos are a lot easier to input than all this Z, semi-circle, quarter-circle bs. I have picked up other games but as a starter, Mortal Kombat is definitely the one to go for
b 6175667228
14.04.2023just play for honor EZ 🙁
Guruda1803 Guruda
14.04.2023You may not see this but I just want to thank you this video has helped me and my friends into fighting games specifically guilty gear. If you can make a video about guilty gear XRD it would be very interesting to see your take on the current state of the game. I know you said you play teken I'm just interested in your take on guilty gear XRD. Thank you again for helping me and my friends get into these wonderful games.
Salvatore Haran
14.04.2023Seeing Excalibur when you mentioned Pro Wrestling made me so happy
aitehs
14.04.2023Wher smash
PeRRo
14.04.2023One day, one day i'll have enough money to get into it
Manas Pandey
14.04.2023Apart from vid bro ur persona is so cool 😊
Manas Pandey
13.04.2023Apart from vid bro ur persona is so cool 😊
brian collens
13.04.2023Thanks for the tips, i always return to fighting games, but i want to get better then just button mash
IcysDen
13.04.2023Didn’t expect something so good and spot on from polygon. As someone who’s played fighting game for 20+ years I can say that nearly everything in this video is good advice. Nice job 👏🏼
OscarLove
13.04.2023One thing i would like to add to the "Pick a Game" section is if you're planning on immediately jumping into online, i suggest getting at least a relatively newer game with a larger community. The more players there are the more likely it is you can find people at your own level. If you go play an older game with a smaller community then chances are you're not going to meet another newbie, you're going to run into a 'veteran of a thousand hours' over and over.
Now you're going to meet vets who will kick your ass anyway, and thats fine, thats fun even because thats one of the best ways to learn. But it can get pretty frustrating if its constant, especially when you start out and just wanna have fun and not feel like barrier to entry is 100 hours in the lab minimum. (which it isnt)
but for new players, and i mean never-touched-a-fighting-game new, i actually dont suggest going online. Get a game that has a good story/single player mode (blazblue calamity trigger comes to mind) and play through that. the FGC (fighting game community) will tell you 'never practice against bots' and thats sound advice, bots are completely different from people and not as fun, plus you might learn bad 'exploit bot AI' strategies that dont work on people. BUT Fighting bots is a great way to have some easy entry-level fun while you're still figuring out controlls, inputs and stuff.
ayman aboufarise
13.04.2023Where's smash bros? I love smash…
Giovanni Tanaka
13.04.2023its ok to not have optimal combos, u just need to play smart. kazunoko became world champion for dbfz only with abc combos beating fenritti the optimization station
dljp
13.04.2023This video combined with the Street Fighter 6 hype train has genuinely got me back into fighting games for the first time since I was a kid. So excited.
RedInTheSky
13.04.2023Go back in time to the mid- late 90s, youll love fighting games
I deleted tik tok as a joke it’s still deleted
13.04.2023Honestly I play games for the toxicness a lot of the time (sounds evil Ik) but something about knowing I’m better than them makes me wanna keep playing
Polygon
13.04.2023What would it take to get you into fighting games?