[0:00] For a long time I’d look at fighting games and 
I'd say, “that looks so cool… But I don't think it's for me.”  
[0:07] I had done some casual button mashing, but 
I never dove into the deeper mechanics.  
[0:12] When I saw the gulf between what I was able to do 
and what others were doing, I told myself there  
[0:16] was no way I’d EVER be able to get there.
Then, a few years ago, I decided to  
[0:21] try for real. 
Was it worth it?
[0:24] [dramatic pause]
[0:25] Yes.
[0:26] I can tell you, without exaggeration, that fighting games have 
brought me more joy than  
[0:31] else I’ve put my gaming hours into. It's a 
distinct category of enjoyment unto itself,  
[0:37] constructed from the greatest pleasures of 
gaming. The childlike joy of hitting buttons  
[0:41] and seeing cool shit happen, the slow burn tension 
of outmaneuvering an opponent in a strategy game,  
[0:45] the dark souls satisfaction of studying a 
boss’s patterns and exploiting their weaknesses.  
[0:50] It’s meditative. It’s rhythmic. It’s sports. 
It’s therapeutic. It’s communal. It’s the closest  
[0:55] you’re ever gonna come to feeling like Rocky or 
your favorite shonen protagonist. It’s made me  
[1:00] happier, and it’s made my brain feel better.
It is absolutely worth it.
[1:05] But it takes a lot of work, and looking at that from 
the outside can be overwhelming and intimidating.  
[1:11] This guide is for people who have been studying that water 
and thinking about jumping in.  
[1:16] Hopefully you can use this video as a 
gentle, supportive push into the pool.
 
[1:21] Here’s my 10-step guide for getting into 
fighting games without losing your mind.
 
[1:25] - [Distorted announcer voice] Step 1. Decide you want to do it.
[1:28] [jazzy flourish]
[1:30] This one’s kind of obvious, but it’s also essential. 
Your desire to get into fighting games is gonna be the thing that  
[1:36] fuels you through the hard stuff.
If you’re fighting game-curious,  
[1:40] but not sure if you’re ready to 
take the dive, there is some other stuff you  
[1:43] can do to gradually expose yourself.
For starters, watch some matches!
[1:48] - [Commentator 1] IT'S REVERSAL—
- [Commentator 2] OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH —
[1:52] - [Commentator 1] HE WASN'T LOOKING —
[1:53] - [Pat] It’s really exciting to see the top players just going 
nuts. Here are some of my favorites.
[1:59] Goichi Vs SonicFox at EVO 2018 rules. It’s like an 
unstoppable force versus an immovable object.
[2:06] - [Commentator] Plant 'em right now, thank you.
[2:08] - [Pat] Goichi's defense is like an iron wall, but SonicFox’s 
offense is just relentless. You know that  
[2:14] SonicFox is gonna do some work as soon as they 
get an opening, so every mix-up is just so tense.
[2:21] - [commentators screaming incomprehensibly]
[2:25] - [Pat] Lil Majin’s whole EVO 2018 
run was also great.  
[2:28] - [commentator yelling continues]
[2:30] - [Pat] Majin was an American player in a game that 
was historically dominated by Korean and  
[2:35] Japanese players. So it’s a combination 
of an underdog with the home field advantage,  
[2:41] plus he’s playing a super fun character 
with big, splashy moves.
[2:45] - [Commentator] MAJIN [yelling]
[2:47] - [Pat] But it’s not just about what the players are 
doing. Hearing the audience and commentators  
[2:50] get excited and pop off for the big moments 
will help you figure out what’s important,  
[2:54] what to pay attention to. 
[2:56] - [Commentator] And he's so scared of getting hit — because 
he's got that B-trigger NO!
[3:00] It's gonna hit here!!! Into the critical arc! Textbook —
[3:04] - [Pat] If you’re in the mood to chill and watch some super thoughtful, accessible video essays about the underlying  
[3:09] mechanics and philosophies of fighting games, 
pop on Gerald Lee aka Core A Gaming. 
 
[3:14] My personal favorite is "Why Button-Mashing 
Doesn't Work."
[3:18] Also, follow some fighting game people on Twitter 
and Twitch and stuff. There's a lot of people doing  
[3:22] really interesting streams and posting funny clips that 
are going to make you want to play.
[3:27] - [Maximilian Dood] Whose idea was it to make his pubes his legs?
[3:30] - [Yipes] We're here in the mess, tryin to deck with with the refrigerator,
[3:32] you thought it was, but he unplugged that 
shit off the wall! Let's get money!
[3:35] - [Pat] There will be a lot of in-jokes and terminology you  
[3:37] don’t understand, but you’ll pick it up soon enough through 
context clues. And if you need a  
[3:41] helping hand, check out the 
infil dot net fighting game glossary.  
[3:45] They have explanations of all the jargon.
[3:48] - [Announcer] STEP 2: PICK A GAME
[3:50] [jazzy!]
[3:52] - [Pat] A frequently asked question among the 
fighting game-curious is “What’s a good  
[3:56] fighting game for a new player?”
And the definitive answer is “literally  
[4:01] whichever game you’re interested in.” I’m so 
serious about this. You need to follow your  
[4:06] heart. Look at gameplay trailers, watch some big 
matches. Whichever game makes you feel the spark  
[4:12] is the one you should chase. That spark will 
be what fuels you when things get hard.
[4:17] I love martial arts cinema and pro wrestling. So 
for me, the game that grrrrrabbed my attention was  
[4:22] TEKKEN. The pace of animation is a bit 
slower than the stuff in 2D fighters  
[4:27] like Street Fighter or Guilty Gear, so it was 
kind of like watching a choreographed fight scene
[4:32] from the movies and wrassling I love.
Before I understood mid / low mixups and  
[4:36] frame data, I understood that King did a sick 
running power bomb, and I loved to see it.
[4:41] You gotta find your access point. You like anime? 
You like nasty gore? You like ponies? Get it.
[4:48] But while you’re following your heart, you do 
need to pay attention to one annoying wrinkle.  
[4:52] Because of the ol’ Covid, you’re mostly going 
to be playing online, and not all games have  
[4:58] great netplay. In games that use delay-based netcode, 
response times can be sluggish.  
[5:03] The good news is that, if you’re new, you probably 
won’t know what you’re missing out on until  
[5:07] you taste that crisp, offline stuff.
If you know that you’re mostly going to be  
[5:11] playing online, consider choosing a game with 
“rollback netcode.” Rollback is an ingenious  
[5:16] netplay solution that pretty much eliminates the 
sluggishness inherent to online fighting games.  
[5:21] If you want a cool explainer on how it works, 
check out this video by Core A Gaming.
[5:26] Here are some games 
with pretty good netcode:
[5:29] If you’re not sure if a game has rollback, 
just Google it and you’ll either find a bunch of  
[5:33] blog posts like "punch kicker adds rollback!"
[5:36] Or a bunch of Reddit threads like “HOW COME PUNCH KICKER 
DOESN'T HAVE ROLLBACK???”
[5:41] - [Commentator] STEP 3: GEARING... UP!
[5:44] [funky beat]
[5:46] - [Pat] Another common question is “What do I need 
to start playing fighting games?”
[5:50] And the good news is that, if you play other 
types of games, you’re good to go.
[5:53] You need a console or a PC, and a 
controller, and that’s it!
[5:57] - [deep announcer voice] FIGHT
[5:58] - [Pat] (also a good internet connection, 
more on that later) 
 
[6:00] You might think you need a big fancy fight 
stick, but there's really no direct correlation  
[6:05] between performance and equipment. Lots 
of the best players in the world grew up  
[6:09] using readily available console controllers, 
and still absolutely kill with them. And the  
[6:14] skills and knowledge you develop using one 
type of controller are totally transferable.  
[6:18] There’s just a short re-calibration period where 
you need to develop some new muscle memory.
[6:23] That said, if you have the resources 
and inclination, fight sticks can be a lot  
[6:28] of fun. They’re tactile and hefty and they 
make good noises. So let's talk about ‘em.
[6:35] Most of the sticks you’ll 
find are ball top square gate,  
[6:38] meaning the joystick moves around in a 
square frame. It makes it easy to lock in  
[6:42] important fighting game positions like DOWN 
BACK. You can just physically feel it.
[6:47] Another less common configuration is bat top 
k-lever. These ones don’t have a gate,  
[6:52] and they use a rubber grommet to 
return to the neutral position.  
[6:55] The result is that they are a bit spongier, and 
you gotta be more precise with your inputs.  
[6:59] Unless you’re planning to go all in on Tekken, or 
you grew up on these, I’d stay clear for now.
[7:04] Finally, hitbox-style controllers replace the 
joystick with more arcade buttons. They take  
[7:10] some getting used to, but they allow for extremely 
precise inputs. But maybe the biggest benefit is  
[7:16] that they’re pretty damn ergonomic. Crankin’ on a 
fightstick can stress out your shoulders and fingers.  
[7:21] My elderly thumbs don’t have what it takes to 
mash on a d-pad any more. A hitbox is comfy and  
[7:27] it lets you nail your inputs without straining.
Most controllers work with PC, and one type of  
[7:32] console. If you ever plan on attending 
a local event, I’d suggest going for a  
[7:36] controller that will work with a PS4. That’s 
what they’re gonne be using there.
[7:40] Tuning your control setup is fun, and it can become  a hobby of its own. 
But the biggest message I  
[7:45] wanna give you is DO NOT GEAR-GATE YOURSELF. Don’t 
put an artificial boundary between you and the  
[7:51] thing you wanna do. You’re just denying yourself 
the pleasure of playing and getting better.
[7:57] But… let’s talk about a real boundary.
[7:59] - [Announcer] Step 4 - PIPE CHECK
[8:04] - [Pat] If your connection to your opponent is not 
steady, you're simply not gonna have a  
[8:08] nice time playing with each other. You’ll 
be more likely to biff your execution,  
[8:12] but more importantly, it will 
just be sluggish and jittery.
[8:16] So most of the online fighting game community 
adhere religiously to THE ETHERNET CABLE  
[8:21] because direct wiring takes a big failure point 
out of the networking pipeline.
[8:26] The anti-wifi sentiment online 
games is severe enough that it will  
[8:30] affect your experience. Lots of games have 
WiFi indicators, and opponents are less  
[8:34] likely to accept a match with you if they are 
worried you’ll have a dodgy connection.
 
[8:38] That means you should get wired up! When 
I had roommates I would run cable down my  
[8:43] hallway when I was playing and then coil it 
up when I was done, so our common spaces  
[8:47] weren’t a constant tripping hazard.
This might involve some negotiation  
[8:51] and compromise, but it’s absolutely worth it.
[8:54] - [Announcer] STEP 5: CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER
[8:59] - [Pat] So, who are some good characters 
for new fighting game players?
[9:03] The answer is, regardless of the game, 
is “WHOEVER YOU THINK LOOKS COOL.”
[9:08] Once again, your enthusiasm is going to be the 
emotional well from which you draw the motivation  
[9:13] to grind out combos and do the difficult work 
of learning. And you don’t always have to pick the  
[9:17] “Ryu” of the game to learn the fundamentals.
For example: when I started Tekken 7, I played  
[9:22] King, because I liked that he was a huge kitty 
cat man who did all my favorite wrestling moves.  
[9:27] He’s a great character, but he also has a 
big, bloated moveset he’s picked up over  
[9:32] decades of Tekken games. He’s got some complicated 
inputs, and as a grappler, he approaches combat  
[9:37] differently from most of the roster.
But I liked him. I liked the way his moves  
[9:42] looked, and I liked his VIBE. So I had 
the motivation to put in the work.
[9:47] Later, when I picked up Guilty Gear 
Strive, I went with Sol Badguy,  
[9:51] because he’s kind of the Ryu of that game, and 
he was really strong at the time. I thought that  
[9:56] having a high-tier character who exemplified the 
fundamentals of that series would help me learn.  
[10:01] So I tried for a while, and then I fell off and told 
myself maybe Guilty Gear wasn’t for me.
[10:06] A few months later, I came back and I tried the 
character who I really wanted to play all along,  
[10:12] and it all clicked. I loved looking at my 
little guy. I loved his gigantic hands,  
[10:16] and this booty drop, and I LOVE BUSTING. 
So I was motivated to play and learn.
[10:23] Don’t let tier lists or meta discussions dissuade 
you early on. PICK WHO YOU THINK LOOKS COOL. I  
[10:29] literally cannot say this enough.
[10:32] - [Announcer] STEP 6: LEARN HOW TO PLAY
[10:36] -[Pat] Once you’ve selected your little guy, hop 
into training mode and start hittin' buttons.  
[10:40] See what they do. See how it feels. 
Some games like Guilty Gear Strive and Mortal  
[10:44] Kombat have decent tutorials that explain 
fighting game fundamentals, and include  
[10:48] challenges to test your knowledge. 
Any fighting game worth playing will also  
[10:51] have a full command list in the start menu.
If you like what you’re feeling, hop onto YouTube  
[10:56] and search for some character guides. 
This is a reall cool thing about fighting  
[11:00] games. They are complicated. There are hurdles 
to overcome, but that complexity is also what  
[11:05] makes them so satisfying and fun to play. 
And people want other people to share in that fun,  
[11:10] so they'll put in hours, and hours, and 
hours of work to make wonderful guides!
 
[11:15] Like and subscribe!
Character guides are great.  
[11:18] Looking at your movelist in game is helpful, but 
it doesn’t instruct you on the overall strategy  
[11:23] for that character. A good guide will highlight 
the most important tools your character has,  
[11:28] and how to use those tools to win. 
When you watch a guide, don’t expect to  
[11:32] internalize everything all at once. That's a ton of 
information, and it's just not realistic.  
[11:38] I’ve watched the same guides over and over again 
over the course of weeks, months, and even years.  
[11:43] Every time I rewatch, I’ll notice the things 
I’ve learned and incorporated into my play,  
[11:48] and I’ll make note of the things that
I still need to do.
[11:50] In terms of written resources, that’s gonna 
depend on the game you’re playing. Guilty  
[11:55] Gear and other Arcsys games have comprehensive 
guides on dustloop dot com. A lot of Tekken  
[12:00] info is in Google spreadsheets that 
get passed around on Reddit.
[12:03] Figuring out where your game lives 
online is just a matter of Googling.
[12:07] As you watch and read, hop into training mode 
and work on a few bread-and-butter combos.  
[12:11] Don’t worry about optimizing yet. You need to 
develop your muscle memory to the point where  
[12:15] you can hit your combos at all.
A few days after I picked up Tekken,  
[12:19] I got on Twitter and posted a video of me 
hitting King’s most basic, unoptimized combo.  
[12:25] “I did it!” I might have said. And a passing 
commenter might have asked “Did what?”
[12:30] This will be a pattern that repeats over your time 
in fighting games. You're gonna put a lot of effort  
[12:34] into mastering things that, to outsiders, appear 
inconsequential, and to experts insignificant. But  
[12:40] that doesn’t mean it’s not an accomplishment.
[12:43] Good job.
[12:44] But nailing combos only accounts for a tiny, tiny percentage of what
[12:47] goes into playing a match. And the only way to start
[12:50] figuring that out is to… FIGHT.
[12:53] - [Announcer] STEP 7: FIGHT (a human)
[12:58] - [Pat] Sitting here on this screen for the 
first time can be scary. I mean maybe not  
[13:02] for you, maybe you’re some sorta real fuckin cool guy. 
But for me, not knowing what would happen when I  
[13:06] hit that matchmake button was nerve-wracking.
Another real human being is about to see you  
[13:12] fumble around with your buttons and drop your 
combos and forget to block in real time!
[13:17] But it’s okay. It’ll be fine.
As intimidating as that human-to-human  
[13:22] connection is, it’s also absolutely 
core to the joy of fighting games.
[13:27] Now I’m not saying there’s no value to fighting 
the CPU. It is a good way to keep learning your  
[13:32] own character’s moveset and develop muscle memory. 
It can also help you familiarize yourself with the  
[13:37] capabilities of other characters. You can 
learn that Sagat has this big kick, and this  
[13:41] uppercut, and whoa! Two different fireballs!
But, once you’ve mentally logged that stuff,  
[13:47] there’s not much more it can do to prepare you 
for fighting a real person. Despite advances  
[13:52] in fighting game AI, the CPU won’t string 
those moves together like a human opponent,  
[13:57] and fighting the robot is just not as fun.
So, take a deep breath, set your expectations low,  
[14:03] and hit that matchmaking button.
Or, uh, one of those matchmaking buttons.  
[14:08] Most fighting games are going to have a 
couple of options, so let's go over those.
[14:11] Ranked matchmaking tracks your  
[14:13] performance and skill using a bunch of different 
metrics, and then attempts to match you against  
[14:17] opponents of the same skill level. Usually there’s 
some sort of meta progression here, as you earn  
[14:22] new titles or badges or, in the case of Strive, 
literally move towards the top of a tower.
[14:28] The obvious pro here is that, as a new player, 
you should be paired up with other new players,  
[14:33] and you’ll actually have a chance of winning. 
And winning feels good.
[14:37] The con is that, even when you’re 
fighting for fake online points,  
[14:41] that sense that you're being 
evaluated changes everything.  
[14:44] Getting bumped down a level after a losing 
streak can be really demoralizing.
[14:48] It also changes the behavior of your 
opponents.
[14:55] - [Pat] Separating your self-worth from your performance can be tough, and it makes some people act really silly.
[15:00] It can cause people to get obsessive about their winrates. They might 
duck you in matchmaking if you play a  
[15:05] character that they have a hard time against. They 
might bail out of a set the moment they lose.  
[15:10] They might send you nasty messages.
(Quick tip on this! If you’re worried about  
[15:14] getting shit from toxic players, lock down 
your message settings ahead of time)
[15:17] Now I know I just listed a lot of cons that 
made Ranked sound like shit, but it’s actually fine.
[15:23] The other option is Unranked.
[15:25] Here, the matchmaking will just 
stick you with another player.  
[15:28] Any other player! Or you’ll meet up 
in some sort of VIRTUAL ARCADE setting.
[15:33] Unlike ranked play, there’s no digital clout 
on the line, so people are much more likely to  
[15:37] play long sets. That’s a good thing. In fighting 
games, even at the highest level of play, there’s  
[15:43] always an adjustment period between opponents. Pro 
players have the knowledge and experience to tune  
[15:48] up quickly, but for beginners it takes longer.
Let’s say that your opponent is using a technique  
[15:52] that keeps blowing you up. You might not have 
time to run to a website and look up the frame data,  
[15:58] but in a long set you do have more opportunities 
to rummage through your toolkit and try to find something  
[16:03] that will solve your problem. 
And if you find a solution,  
[16:05] you have a chance to test it out repeatedly, and 
start burning it into your muscle memory.
[16:10] The most obvious downside to unranked matchmaking 
is that you might get paired up with somebody who is  
[16:14] way, way better than you — but that’s not really 
a downside, in my opinion. Losing 20 matches to a  
[16:21] very experienced player is a great way to learn. 
You learn which of your reliable strategies  
[16:26] aren’t really viable against better players, and 
you get to see the strength of good fundamentals.  
[16:32] And you’ll see something that you are very 
unlikely to see in the beginner ranks:  
[16:37] The power of not pressing buttons.
When I started playing unranked Tekken,  
[16:42] I would fight opponents who felt like absolute 
brick walls. They would just block, and block punish,  
[16:48] and whiff punish. Every loss was the result of 
me overextending and using unsafe options.
[16:54] So I tried to emulate their style, 
and gradually, I got better.
[16:59] I still love hitting buttons though.
Anyways, both ranked and unranked are valuable.  
[17:03] If you stop having fun with one, try the other 
for a bit! And on the topic of “having fun:”
[17:09] - [Announcer] STEP 8: STRUGGLE
[17:17] - [Pat] At the end of a fighting game match,  
[17:19] you win or you lose. There’s no 
teammates to blame for not pulling their  
[17:24] weight. There’s no XP meter sliding up to 
reward you for your participation.
[17:28] You will, beyond a shadow of a doubt, lose. A lot. 
Self doubt, and frustration can feel overwhelming  
[17:35] when you’re in the thick of it, but it is all a
part of the process of getting better.
[17:39] So here are a few tips for getting through it.
Separate your self worth from your performance
[17:45] Okay I know this is kinda like saying “stop being 
mentally ill,” but it still needs to be said.  
[17:50] You are NOT your win loss ratio. Getting 
demoted doesn’t mean you suck, as a person,  
[17:56] even if it feels that way. And 
if you start feeling that way,  
[17:59] it’s time to: TAKE A DAMN BREAK.
[18:03] Taking a break doesn’t just let you cool off, it makes you better.
[18:07] When your hands are off the joystick and you’re doing something else, your brain keeps gently churning on those situations,
[18:13] looking for the solutions you couldn’t find in the heat of the moment.
[18:17] Your body is rewriting neuron pathways to make your 
execution smoother and better.
[18:22] Playing fighting games feels a bit more like a traditional skill based hobby, like playing guitar.
[18:27] There's a base level of effort and self-direction you need 
to get enjoyment out of it.
[18:32] That means that you won’t always 
have the mental energy to do it.
[18:36] And that's okay. Don’t force it.
[18:37] A “break” from fighting games can be a couple hours, or a couple 
months. The games will still be there
[18:42] when you get back, and your body will remember what to do.
[18:46] Watch replays. God this one is so hard.
[18:49] It’s like hearing your voice in a recording, or seeing yourself on video.
[18:53] Do I really do that???
[18:55] (you do)
[18:56] But it’s so valuable, and you can’t neglect it. Most fighting games keep a log of your most recent matches,
[19:02] with the ability to play them back.
[19:04] You should take advantage of that. Seeing yourself play can help you recognize habits you want to correct.
[19:09] It can also help you appreciate what you do well, and what you want to do more of.
[19:13] And when you’re feeling really brave, take the next step. Show your gameplay to someone else,
[19:18] and ask them for tips. But before you can do that, 
first you need:
[19:23] - [Announcer] STEP 9: COMMUNITY AND COMPETITION
[19:28] - [Pat] This can be one of the greatest joys of fighting games. 
THE FIGHTING GAME COMMUNITY
[19:33] is the name of the collective, but it’s not monolithic.
[19:36] There are hundreds or thousands of discord communities out there for fighting games. Some are game specific.
[19:42] Some are character specific. Some are geared towards 
certain demographics and skill levels.
[19:47] Do some googling, and ask around on Twitter
[19:49] until you find a place that feels good for you.
[19:51] Whether it’s folks you meet through these communities, 
or your own network of friends,
[19:55] playing fighting games against someone you know is so good.
[20:00] - [other player BELLOWING IN PAIN]
[20:02] - [Pat wheezing with laughter]
[20:04] For me, knowing who is on the other side of the connection completely obliterates
[20:08] the frustration and antagonism I can feel playing against 
random online opponents.
[20:13] Partially because it’s just more humanizing when you know that person, but also because you can ask questions and chat.
[20:20] If you’re in a good community, your 
opponent isn’t going to keep any secrets.
[20:24] Because people who decide they want to get 
good at fighting games
[20:27] have signed this unspoken contract of mutual self improvement.
[20:31] Iron sharpens Iron.
[20:33] Fighting stronger opponents makes you stronger, 
so a good sparring partner
[20:37] will explain exactly how and why they are winning — 
until it’s time to compete.
[20:43] - [Dudley] Very well then! Far be it from me 
to turn down a challenge.
[20:49] And from a fellow pugilist.
[20:52] Through your community, or just by being online,
[20:55] you might come across some online tournaments, 
and you should sign up for them.
[20:59] Tournaments are really cool. They offer you
[21:02] the chance to do a lot of things that 
you won’t get in your casual play.
[21:05] First of all, it’s one of the few times you and your buddies will step into that magic circle of competition.
[21:11] Mutually, and temporarily agreeing to set aside the helpful hints
[21:14] and just going all out, seeing who will win. If you’re used to 
mostly playing friendlies, it’s fun to try out a different vibe.
[21:21] The other useful thing is that it’s fucking scary —
[21:24] at first.
[21:26] The first few times I did online tournaments, I literally got shaky 
and sweaty. I forgot my combos
[21:31] and I mashed buttons. But each time I did it it got easier.
[21:35] And once you’ve played under pressure, you’ll be better in casual settings.
[21:38] Random matchmaking doesn’t get my 
heart rate up like it used to.
[21:41] Finally, a lot of tournaments are streamed on Twitch,
[21:44] which means you might get a chance to rewatch the VOD 
and hear someone commentate your match.
[21:49] Like a lot of parts of the fighting game process, 
this can make you feel vulnerable,
[21:53] but a good commentator will put into clear terms what’s going on, 
and that can be
[21:57] an incredible learning tool.
[21:59] - [Commentator] They've proven they're pretty good
at fighting out of the corner.
[22:01] Already, Doublemint, now back thrown into the corner, 
again HUGE life deficit but the other way around!
[22:06] Gets hit by the stomps!
[22:07] Nooooo but drops it at the target combo!
[22:10] - [announcer] STEP 10: THE(RE IS NO) END
[22:15] - [Pat] One of the many wonderful and intimidating things about fighting games is that there is no prescribed
[22:19] end goal for your participation.
[22:21] There’s no final boss or endgame treadmill.
[22:24] Even the best player in the world is only the best until 
someone surpasses them.
[22:28] No matter where you are in your journey, in some sense, 
you’re still at the beginning.
[22:33] That means you won’t always know the next step forward,
[22:36] but it also means you’re never falling behind.
[22:39] And as long as you’re on that path, learning, and having fun, 
you’re doing it right.
[22:45] [REAL GREAT UPBEAT POP JAZZ SONG??]
[22:51] [help lol i don't know music genres]
[22:55] [but there's like a driving piano and some 
twanging guitar]
[22:59] [and there were horns earlier]
[23:07] [happy thursday]