When it comes to comprehending the combo system in any given fighting game, I love using sentence structure as an analogy. Sentences in any language have a very particular rule-set that dictates how words can be arranged to make sense. When you have a mastery of that sentence structure, you no longer think about the rules; you just create sentences on the fly. Each fighting game is has its own unique sentence structure. And just like language, when you have a mastery of a game’s combo system, you’ll inherently know what series of inputs will string to form a combo.
A few months back, I picked up two fighting games on the same day: Persona 4 Arena, and King of Fighters XIII. While I am far from an expert at the former, I understand its ‘language’ enough to string together basic combos on my own. Even at this entry-level of skill, I’m having a lot of fun with it. The latter is a different story.
My history with the series is relatively short. It started with KoF XII, which I bought at a liquidation sale last year. In the few instances where I’ve tried to figure out its ‘language’, I’ve failed miserably. I understand that there are links, and cancels involved, but I can’t seem to hash out what the basic combo framework is. Part of the problem is that KoF XII doesn’t have any sort of trial, or challenge mode to give me a frame of reference for what combos are like. XIII has a limited challenge mode, though the combos go way too advanced too quickly.
As with anything in life, it’s probably something I could eventually work through if I put the time into it. Due to the way my queue is shaping up, I probably won’t get to this in a bit. At the very least, figuring out the basics to it is on my list of things to do as a gamer eventually.
In Third Person 