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Ken Ryu Chun-li Magneto Ryo Akuma C.falcon Jotaro

Types of fighting games

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Here i will explain different types of fighting games(Note that not all fighting games fit in this list e.g Power rangers legacy wars)

Type	Description	Examples
2D fighting games	The traditional fighting game. You can only move left and right and can only jump and crouch. In these types of games the entire map is relatively small and you cannot move that far from your opponent. Stalling is not possible. The goal of this game is to hit your opponent and deplete them of their health. You are also able to push an opponent into the corner(Where the maps ends and you cannot move backwards any more) which can open a whole new world of combos.	Street fighter Mortal Kombat
3D fighting games	Very similar to 2D fighting games, but instead of being able to only move forward, backward and jump, you can now sidestep. Another big difference is that the map is bigger compared to 2D fighting games. This adds a whole new dimesion(get it?) to gameplay with things such as sidestepping dodging projectiles. Each 3D fighting game also has a unique style of gameplay change things up even more.	Tekken Soulcalibur
Platform fighters	The party/casual type of fighting game. The fact that these type of fighting games have multiple jumps as a universal mechanic greatly increases air combat when compared other kinds of fighting games, which are a lot more grounded. It also has a unique K.O system, where instead of depleting all of the opponents health to score a K.O, you have to knockback your opponent into the border, which is the edge of the map in which they will be K.O'ed	Smash bros Brawlhalla
Roblox fighting games	Not an official type of fighting game, but so unique that I had to put it on this list. Roblox fighting games are about 99% grounded. Jumping is a thing but it does almost nothing as it does not change your normals/specials. Two other obvious differences are the fact they are done on public servers and not private matches and also that your special moves have cooldown.	The strongest battlegrounds Heroes battlegrounds

Fighting Game Notation

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Fighting game notation is VERY important, especially to understand more in-depth guides than this one. Here is a list of most of them

Different states

• s. - standing(In some cases, instead of saying standing, the 5 direction is used(which is neutral))
• cr./c. - crouching(In some cases, instead of saying crouching, the 1/2/3 directions are used(which is down-back/down/down-forward)).
• c./n. - close/near respectively(If cr. means crouching then c usually means close)
• j. - jumping(In some cases, instead of saying standing the 7/8/9 directions are used(which are the upwards directions))
• dj./7j./9j. - Diagonal jumping/back jump/forward jump respectively
• s.*/Stand. - Stand on(*This is completely exclusive to Jojo's fighting games that have Stand on and Stand off)

Numpad notation

When referencing directional or command inputs, numpad notation is very commonly used. Below is a grid that gives you the basics

↖ 7 Up-back	8↑ Up	9↗ Up-forward
4← Back	5• Neutral	6 Forward
1 Down-back	2 Down	3 Down-forwards

Common command inputs using numpad notation

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• 236/qcf - A quarter circle forward, done by starting from down and moving to forward
• 214/qcb - A quarter circle backward, done by starting from down and moving to back
• 623/Z - A Z motion, done by starting from forwards, moving to down then moving to down-forwards
• 421/reverse Z - A reverse Z motion, done by moving from back then to down and then to down-back
• 41236/hcf - A half circle forward, done by starting from back, moving to down and then moving to forward
• 63214/hcb - A half circle backward, done by starting from forward, moving to down, and then moving to backward
• 360 - 0 is not in numpad notation, a 360 input is done by cycling through all the directions except 5 like a circle
• 720 - Imagine a 360 but done twice instead of once
• [4],6 - The brackets around 4 means you have to hold the input instead of pressing it. This is called a charge input
• [2],8 - Another charge input, but instead of holding back then pressing forward, you hold down then press up
• 236236/qcfqcf - A double quarter circle forward, done by doing a regular quarter circle forward twice
• 214214/qcbqcb - A double quarter circle backward, done by doing a regualar quarter circle backward twice
• 1632143 - The legendary pretzel input. Seems confusing but is really just down-back,hcb and down-forward

Button notation

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Most fighting game guides will also have acronyms for buttons. Here are some common ones

Classic 6 button format(For most capcom games/Skullgirls)

• LP - light punch
• MP - medium punch
• HP - heavy punch
• P - any punch button
• PP - 2 punch buttons
• PPP - All 3 punch buttons
• LK - light kick
• MK - medium kick
• HK - heavy kick
• K - any kick buttons
• KK - 2 kick buttons
• KKK - All 3 kick buttons

4 button format(For most snk games)

• A - light punch
• B - light kick
• C - Heavy punch
• D - heavy kick
• Any two or more letters - This means you have to press all buttons mentioned(e.g AD means you have to press A and D at the same time)

ABC/LMH format

• A/L - light attack
• B/M - medium attack
• C/H - heavy attack
• AA - any 2 attack buttons
• ABC or AAA - all 3 attack buttons
• X - any attack button

Types of moves in fighting games

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In most fighting games, moves would be referred to by a type. Here is a list to tell you what said types mean

Type	Description	Preferred values	Examples
Pokes	A low risk, varying reward move you use when want try and catch your opponent off-guard. These are usually quick/long range moves that are not very damaging or punishable on hit or block. Used mostly in footsies to make the opponent block and keep them away from you. The best pokes are usually very fast, long range and can also be combo'ed out of which are good due to you being able to get more damage off 1 quick hit. THere are even archetypes(something i will explain shortly) that thier entire gameplan is centered around these moves. They are called footsies characters.	Very quick Long range(mostly horizontal) Good combo capabilities	Shoto c.MK Most jabs
Launchers	These are moves that knock the opponent into the air, allowing for juggle combos or air combos. Most are very prominent anti-airs but have poor horizontal range. In 2D fighting games juggle combos can be devestating(Especially if your character's name just so happens to be Urien) and in games like MvsC, where characters have a universal launcher, air combos can be the main combos routes for most characters.	Good range/hitboxes Combo capbilities	Urien c.HP Universal launchers
Anti-airs	A move whose purpose is to catch your opponent jumping. These usually have poor if not outright abysmal horizontal range but have amazing vertical hitboxes. These are not meant to be combo'ed off of, so the best qualities of an anti-air are fast startup so they can be done on reaction, invincibility to beat out jumping attacks, and, in games where airblocking is a thing, being air unblockable so you can't be punished for making the right choice	Good vertical hitbox Invincibility Air unblockable Fast startup	Shoryuken Up smashes in Smash bros.
Combo starters	You should really try and land these types of moves, you can get a lot of reward for it. Combo starters start combos(as the name implies) and usually have high hitstun,good frame advantages or can be cancel into other moves. The best combo starters have good range,so you can start your combos from safe distances, and quick speed to increase priority and safety	Range Speed	Jump-ins Most jabs
Combo filler	A pretty sad kind of move. These kinds of moves either serve no purpose or are outclasses by other moves. The only point of thier existence is that they can be slotted in-between combos for extra damage(This might not be true depending on the scaling) and/or meter build. I can't exactly describe the best kind of combo filler as, if a combo filler is very good then technically it is not combo filler.	Being combo filler	A good amount of medium normals Autocombo exclusive moves
Combo ender	The last moves in the combo trilogy, combo enders are usually pretty damaging moves that a lot of other moves can combo into(Supers generally fall into this category). They might also leave you in a positional advantage for a reset or mix-up. The best combo enders should have high damage, and leave you in a positional advantage.	High damage Can be combo'ed into	90% of supers Fei-long/Yang rekka
Combo extenders	Very good move and a mix of the previous 3 mentioned. These moves can start, fill, and end combos. However they are mostly used during a combo to make it longer(that is why they are called combo extenders). The best combo extenders have high damage, and also give you flexible options, letting you choose what you want to do after a combo.	Flexibility Damage	Hyper Sentinel Force Assits in Team Fighting games
Projectiles	From lasers to ground waves to the legendary hadoken, projectile are the core of defensive gameplans(with exceptions). Projectiles are a seperate hitbox from the user which can behave differently depending on the projectile. Projectiles can also clash, with either both dissappearing or 1 destroying the other, which can be dependent on the number of hits. There also two types of projectiles: waves and beams. These two will be explained later	Speed Priority	Hadoken Power Wave
Projectiles:Fireball	You should exactly what i mean but nonetheless..... Fireballs are a kind of projectile that are a seperate hitbox from the user and travel along the screen with varying speed and angle(Note: Some fireballs do have hurtboxes and can be hit). You can also mobe while they are on-screen and they have a high amount of active frames, so you can use to as a "shield" for pressure