The differences in the various 2D fighters, to a newbie

[fast]

Ive been a fighting game enthusiast since the Street Fighter days, but have never been terribly good at them. The video that the7k posted makes me think I need to go back and look at all of the other fighting systems and see if there are videos like that to teach folks how to play. I am ok at Samurai Shodown, but I never knew one could hop in KOF, maybe I will be ok at it now.

Thanks fellas.

[Erik_Twice]

How is Darkstalkers 3 for a newbie?

BTW, I think Super Smash Bros. focuses on not getting hit, playing mindgames so as to be able to land safe moves. I'm not an expert but seems to to me.

[MrPopo]

Darkstalkers 3 is like Street Fighter with a BlazBlue or Guilty Gear bent. Since it's based around monsters the developers didn't feel as constrained to what a human can physically do (including wire-fu). In terms of mechanics it's very similar to Street Fighter Alpha, but a lot of the moves and specials are more on the crazy end. I'd say it's fairly easy to pick up, but not necessarily easy to get good at.

[the7k]

If you can find a good deal on Darkstalkers 3, definitely pick it up. However, if you have a Saturn, I'd highly recommend you import Vampire Savior instead. It can be found dirt cheap and has no loading times, censored blood or missing frames of animation like the PlayStation version. Although, the PSX version does have a custom color palette option, but I'd hardly think that's worth the load times,'milky blood' and missing frames.

As for how Darkstalkers 3/Vampire Savior plays - it's pretty much just like X-Men vs Street Fighter, except faster. Seriously, rounds get won in a matter of seconds.

[Genesis Knight]

This is great stuff - please, more analysis in line with OPs request would be welcome. Esp. which franchises fit which playing style and what defines them.

[the7k]

Well, I probably shouldn't do analysis on most fighting games, to be honest. Apparently when I do, it just tends to piss people off.

Anybody else, though, feel free.

[J T]

Nobody said much about Killer Instinct yet, but it used to be one of my favorites, so I'll chime in.

Killer Instinct series-
To compete, you have to know how to link special moves to perform hi hit combos. You also need to know 'combo breaker' moves to stop your opponent from defeating you in one huge mega combo. Therefore, there is a steep learning curve to this game and you will probably need some form of a strategy guide that lists out the different sequences for combos. Once you have learned how to play KI though and you find a good match, the battles can be truly epic because you use standard fighter techniques plus combo and combo breaker techniques to win.

[J T]

A few others:

Soul Calibur series (Soul Edge):
One of the few fighters (along with Samurai Showdown) to focus on swordplay over martial arts, the Soul Calibur games tend to focus on a struggle to get in close enough to unleash a quick combo, where combining high and low attacks increase the difficult for your opponent to block. Jumping attacks are not anywhere near as useful in this game as they are in Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat games. You're better off making a rush in, doing something to get your opponent to break their defense, then firing off a quick combo then retreating to prepare again, or pushing for a 'ring out' win if they are near the edge of the ring. This game also has a more in depth story mode where you see move along a board-game style world map and have to fight different characters to win experience and weapon enhancements. There are also environmental conditions, such as wind, that affect the gameplay in some stages.

Dead Or Alive series (DOA):
DOA is another 3D fighter and is similar to Soul Calibur. DOA's principle fighting strategies works like paper-rock-scissors where you are choosing between blows, holds, & throws. Striking an oppoenent with a blow can be countered with a hold, holds can be countered with throws, and throws can be countered with a quick blow. This leads to trying to anticipate what your opponent will do so that you can properly counter whatever move they throw at you. You can also do extra damage in this game by smacking your oppoenent into a wall or pushing them off a ledge into another area of the stage.