How Combos Work in Any Fighting Game

[00:00] A friend of mine recently commented on

[00:01] how the combos in Strive feel

[00:03] unintuitive, and I remember thinking the

[00:05] same thing when I first started. It felt

[00:07] unnatural to not be able to chain punch

[00:10] and kick together and weird that you

[00:12] can't use a super from a special move.

[00:14] It felt restrictive and made me question

[00:16] just how combos even work. But over

[00:18] time, especially playing different

[00:20] games, I came to understand that all

[00:22] combos fundamentally work the same. But

[00:24] the systems of a game will allow

[00:26] different ways to interact with the

[00:28] opponent and the move set. Each game

[00:30] emphasizes different aspects of combos

[00:33] and thus creates their own unique feel.

[00:35] So, let's go over combo theory in

[00:37] general, but then dig into how you

[00:39] should look to learn about combos in any

[00:42] fighting game.

[00:44] As always, let's start with the basics.

[00:46] When you hit an opponent, they are in a

[00:48] state called hit stun. They cannot block

[00:50] or move during this state. If your

[00:52] second attack can hit them before they

[00:54] recover from the hit stun, you've made a

[00:56] combo. A combo is just a series of

[00:59] attacks that the opponent is guaranteed

[01:01] to be hit by because it cannot recover

[01:03] in time from the hit stun to block. Of

[01:06] course, there are exceptions to this

[01:07] rule. Hello, burst. But generally,

[01:09] that's what makes a combo. What attacks

[01:11] you can use to hit an opponent before

[01:13] they recover from hit stun changes

[01:16] depending on the move that hit them on

[01:18] the amount of hit stun that was applied

[01:19] and the startup of the follow-up attack.

[01:22] It comes down to the frames. And if you

[01:24] need a breakdown into frame data, got a

[01:26] video on that already. There are two

[01:28] categories of follow-up attacks, links

[01:30] and cancels. A link is when your attack

[01:33] applies enough hit stun to where you can

[01:35] completely recover from that attack and

[01:38] use another one before the opponent

[01:40] recovers. Essentially, you're so plus

[01:43] that you can fit in another attack. A

[01:45] cancel is when you cancel the recovery

[01:48] of your first attack with another

[01:50] attack, thus speeding up your next

[01:52] attack. The goal is for you to be fast

[01:55] enough to hit them before they can

[01:57] recover from the hit stun. In both

[01:59] cases, it's just a matter of having

[02:00] enough frame advantage to hit them

[02:02] before they can recover. But there's

[02:04] another way of making combos via

[02:06] extending stun. The easiest illustration

[02:09] of this is a wall bounce. When you hit

[02:11] an opponent against a wall with a move

[02:13] that can wall bounce, you're essentially

[02:15] extending the stun they have to allow

[02:17] you to follow up with another attack.

[02:19] There are many different character

[02:21] states that games allow you to be able

[02:23] to combo with. Crumple, dizzy, juggles.

[02:26] These are all character states that

[02:28] extend the stun the opponent has. OTG

[02:31] moves are basically moves that let you

[02:32] interact with an opponent that's in a

[02:34] state you normally would not be able to

[02:36] when they're on the ground, thus

[02:38] allowing you to apply stun. Again, if

[02:40] any of these terms are going over your

[02:42] head, check the description for the

[02:43] fighting game glossery and look them up.

[02:45] But these concepts are what makes combos

[02:47] work. Different games emphasize these

[02:50] concepts differently, and it's what

[02:52] gives each one its own unique feel.

[02:55] Let's start with Street Fighter. Street

[02:56] Fighter is known for its links. Thus,

[02:59] you're looking for moves that apply

[03:00] enough hit stun so you can connect with

[03:02] another attack. Take this heavy kick for

[03:05] example. Ryu is plus 9 from the hit.

[03:08] Thus, if I have a move that's nine

[03:10] frames or faster, I can link to it. Now,

[03:12] compare that to Uni. Uni has a very free

[03:15] flowing cancel system. Any normal can

[03:18] from any other normal. So, I can go

[03:20] light, medium, heavy, but I can also go

[03:23] heavy, medium, light, or even medium,

[03:25] light, heavy. They can cancel regardless

[03:28] of the advantage. But if you notice,

[03:30] spacing becomes a factor. Strive focuses

[03:33] on cancels, but not so free form. The

[03:35] Gatlings are much more specific.

[03:38] However, what Strive does focus on is

[03:40] character states. Counter hits apply

[03:43] extended stun, allowing for links, and

[03:45] things like Unica's charge DP has a wall

[03:48] bounce effect to it. So, it's via

[03:50] different states that you really get

[03:52] your extensions and combos. If you think

[03:54] that's limiting, check out City of the

[03:55] Wolves. It's built around its special

[03:57] cancel system, Rev cancels. But this

[04:00] system also locks you out of using

[04:02] normals. Notice here how plus I am, yet

[04:06] I cannot connect with this normal.

[04:08] Weird, but that's how the system works.

[04:10] Whenever you pick up a new game,

[04:12] understanding what the system allows

[04:14] will help you wrap your mind around its

[04:16] combos. You can ask yourself questions

[04:18] like, "Do moves leave me plus enough to

[04:20] link attacks together? What buttons can

[04:22] be normal canceled or special canceled?

[04:25] Are there ways to extend stun?" And once

[04:27] you have the answers to these questions,

[04:30] you have the fundamentals of what that

[04:32] game's combo system is.

[04:34] As you understand and start to develop

[04:36] your own combos, there's one central

[04:39] thing you should ask yourself. What do

[04:41] you want from the combo? The first

[04:43] response is damage. That's the entire

[04:45] reason we create combos to begin with is

[04:47] to increase the number of hits against

[04:49] an opponent. Thus, they take more

[04:51] damage. But there's two more concepts

[04:53] you should consider. Firstly,

[04:55] positioning. As you hit an opponent,

[04:57] naturally your characters move. They

[05:00] move forward or upward and thus leaving

[05:02] you in a different position on the

[05:04] screen. What position you're left in

[05:06] after the combo is over is worth

[05:08] considering. Let's say you're a rushdown

[05:10] character fighting a zoner. you want to

[05:12] stick close to them as much as possible

[05:14] so their zoning becomes less effective.

[05:17] So with that in mind, maybe you want a

[05:19] combo that leaves the opponent close to

[05:21] you rather than launching them far away.

[05:24] Or maybe you're playing a character that

[05:25] does its best in the corner. So corner

[05:27] carry is much more advantageous to you

[05:29] than damage. Positioning matters.

[05:32] Secondly, end state. By this I mean the

[05:34] state you leave yourself or your

[05:36] opponent after the combo is over. Some

[05:38] combos can set you up nicely for a safe

[05:40] jump, or they leave you point blank next

[05:43] to the opponent so you can meeting them

[05:44] easily, or it pushes them far enough

[05:47] away that it allows you time to set

[05:49] something up, like a trap. The end state

[05:51] can be really influenced by your

[05:53] character's core strategy. If you're a

[05:55] mixup monster, you want to stay close so

[05:57] you can keep your pressure up. If you're

[05:59] a zoner, you want to knock them far away

[06:00] as possible. Or you just really love oki

[06:03] and want that hard knockdown every time.

[06:05] Regardless, when you're developing

[06:07] combos, think of these three concepts:

[06:09] damage, positioning, and end state. Your

[06:12] combos should have purpose, and the more

[06:14] intentional you are with your combos,

[06:16] the better you'll be.

[06:19] And that be combo theory. Quite a meaty

[06:21] topic, but one I hope helps shed light

[06:23] as to why some games feel the way they

[06:26] do and why some fit your preferences

[06:28] better. Some people want to hit buttons

[06:30] constantly, so a heavily cancelbased

[06:32] system feels great to them. Others like

[06:34] the intentionality of blinks, so they

[06:36] prefer that system. Overall, it's a

[06:39] personal preference, and no game is

[06:41] right or wrong for its system, but

[06:43] regardless, as a casual, you should try

[06:45] them all.

[06:47] [Music]