As my post title suggests I want to learn how to play fighting games. I never really played them but now I want to play some real gaming gems. I also bought a Neo Geo to see some of the best. My problem is that I don't know how to start. I memorized some attacks and try to do them. Sometimes it works but often I do something different. I also lose every fight and I don't feel like improving. Sometimes I win one fight randomly but then it doesn't feel like I did something different. Do I just suck at these games or am I doing something wrong? I have to admit that I it is frustrating to lose everytime but I am motivated to learn these games. I play Samurai Showdown on the Neo Geo. But I would also like to try some Dreamcast and Saturn fighters.


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I'm a big lover of fighting games, and everything I can say is that you need tons of practice.

First of all, get to know yourself. If you're not good at defending, you'll have to pick characters which are big hitters. If you're not good in fights that drag for a long time, you'll have to avoid picking characters that rely on lengthy and hard to pull off combos. However you play, the game offers a handful of characters that adapt to your playing style.

Once you know your style, time to pick your powerhouses. Practice with every character and see which fit you best. Who deals the most damage, who has the best combos, who is the easiest to control. Each game has its own different mechanics, but these three aspects are valid for every game. Don't avoid a character because of its looks, fighting style or background, you may inadvertently be discarding your ace in the pack.

Now you know the roster and which characters work better for you. Time to go out there and challenge opponents. Don't be ashamed of playing in the lowest difficulties, when you're starting or when you're picking a character you're not good with it's only natural to set your challenge according to your skills in each playthrough.

There's literally no way to guarantee a victory, but I'm no expert player and I'm able to deal with most challenges a fighting game can offer, so you should be able to do it as well. Learn how you perform at your best and soon you'll win more than lose.

TaylorBrown : First, my condolences to your wallet with your purchase of a NeoGeo, hopefully an MVS but AES is fine, just games on AES are a lot more expensive than the MVS version.

I see it from a lens of being a speedrunner, of which I am on and off. You just need to learn through repeated practice, till the movements and inputs become second nature, this can take a long time, my friend who's good at those games had his entire childhood up to now getting good at them, frankly he looks like a god playing it. But you can be too, same as me with me speedrunning.

I've always loved fighting games and they're the games I most played & enjoyed as a kid but I was never good at them. I think it's because I only ever trained against the computer.