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Any old geezers still play fighting games? How do you fare?

Durask

Member
Well I am not an old geezer, but I always sucked at fighting games, never had the dexterity to pull off even a single combo reliably even when I was 16. Yup, I can only pull off a simple combo on a standing opponent in a training room and only 15% of the time.
Ironic how I always loved video games, but my hand eye coordination stinks, I am probably in the bottom 5% of gamers.
When people talk about frames in fighting games - that stuff is way too fast for me.
I similarly suck at sports that involve fast hand eye coordination like tennis or golf.

So if you are an old fart, don't feel too bad, you are probably still miles better than me.
 
I got into them with SF2, and loved it. Could usually finish the single-player on one credit with Chin Li or Ken. Now I'm rubbish.

I play Tekken and Soul Calibur, but I soon hit a plateau beyond which I can't make progress except by luck.

Love Dead or Alive for the ladies.

I don't play online or have any interest in eSports. Fighters are only about 2% of my gaming time now that I can buy all the games I want. In fact, I can't remember when I last played one.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Never big into fighting games, but played enough during the old ass SFII and Tekken days.

I was a big turtler. Loved it.

Blanka most underrated and underutilized SF character ever. Maybe they gimped him in later games, but in those early games he was awesome to use, but hardly anyone used him.

The usual characters people used have predictable move sets and speed. Blanka's moves, jumping and range were all over the place and hard to counter.
 
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Knightime_X

Member
I'm nearly 43 and play Street Fighter Super Turbo religiously.
Now if it was a jungle i'd be sitting high and sleeping well nightly with a full belly.
Not saying i'm the best because there is definitely some out there and that can really put me through the ringer.
But the ones I can smack around easily far out weight the ones that can beat me.

My wife's brother wanted to challenge me and when I heard that he wanted a piece of this I made an example out of the poor chap I was playing online.
I watched her brother put the controller back down.

Me in thought: "Yeah. That's right, Bitch! kNoW YOuR PlaCE!!!!"
muahahahaha

Reality: Me: Oh? did you have to go?
Him: I'm not really feeling it right now.
 
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teezzy

Banned
I can beat my friends' asses in Soul Calibur 6 and Tekken 7

I don't need much more street cred than that tbh
 

teezzy

Banned
They're not that difficult. You just gotta sit with 'em. Playing a fighting game proper can be like learning an instrument.

People would be surprised just how unique each fighting game plays from one another. Most people just jump in, learn a couple moves, and button mash

There's a lot more strategy than that. It's like jazz meets Chess.
 

Mihos

Gold Member
It's not really an age or reaction time thing for me, it's more that I hate the DLC models fighting games went to so intensely that I haven't bought one in years and am out of practice.
 

Topher

Gold Member
To all you thirty somethings calling yourself old....

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Life

Member
It's not an athletic sport. Doesn't matter if you hit 40s+ - you can still react and compete well enough. If anything it should be your patience that outperforms theirs and gets you the wins.
 

TwiztidElf

Member
I've never been any good at MK.
But flowchart Kens RAGE when I slap them about with my Blanka/Honda play.
I've been keen to play more weeby fighters too. DBZ is a little too fast paced for me, but man, I really enjoy Guilty Gear.
 

dalekjay

Member
MK I don’t know, but as an old geezer I’m fairly Ok street fighter I’m Almost getting out of diamond, if you factor in that I don’t have time it’s pretty good. And samurai shadow I went to the maximum possible level on the league but then you don’t find players anymore I stopped playing
 
Later in Michael Jordan’s career he focused more on mental work and getting to the root of his opponent’s psychology; something people only seem to gain with age. His body could not perform to the level of his younger opponents so he out-thought them.
 
So I recently got back into fighting games with ultimate Mk11 on PS5. I’m an old guy and my reaction times are not what they used to be 29 years ago. I’m fighting these young whipper snappers online and they are just kicking my butt, taunting me, and it’s hard to react. It’s fun but gets frustrating. Maybe it’s time to hang them up?

Any other old guys still play fighting games?
46 years old and still playing Street Fighter and sometimes a bit of other stuff.

I am doing extremely well against friends, but online it's really another thing.
I think I could achieve some success there as well, but feel I couldn't get bothered with this shit and rather spend time drinking, skateboarding and having a good time in real life.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
I still play locally against buddies. Online play is generally trash imo but that's because I'm spoiled by having people in town.

Just remember that it's the muscle-memory and the consistency of execution that carries fgc players into the higher tiers. It's not raw reaction time. Do a week of drills in practice mode and you'll feel a lot better.
 

Neff

Member
in my 40s, and it depends on the game really. I can still ably hold my own in Street Fighter (better at the older ones, not so great at 5) and Smash Bros. I feel like I could competently step back into VF if I picked it up again. I'm crap at Tekken/Soul Calibur these days despite playing them a ton back in the day, because they change so many moves with each game.

Reflexes are slightly dulled, but I'm better on defence and reading the opponent due to being smarter with age, so it balances out.

Familiarity with the game, or lack of it, is more of a setback than actual human ability.
 

Saber

Gold Member
Ultra Street Fighter 4. Never though I would like a Street Fighter game that much.

Tbh I aways wanted to play SF4 back in time on xbox360. But I never get the moves right. Aways wanted to play as Vega, but never ever landed a combo or ultra combos so I though I was just bad at the game.

Then with PS4, USF4 was with great discount. Pick the game and dear, it was a blast. My first time playing the game the moves, they all work. Even his ultra combo I hit in my first time.

Then I remembered that the real reason was that xbox360 controller was a piece of shit.

Other fighting games includes Guitly Guear Revalator(pretty damn good), Last Blade 2(fair to play) and Garou(not much a fan of this game).
 

JeloSWE

Member
I'm 42 and still doing great in Tekken, but it's a matter of how much time you sink into it to keep up with new moves and changed properties. I don't think my reflexes are that much slower but I probably get mentally tired sooner than before if I'm playing a long death match against some one.
 

NT80

Member
So I recently got back into fighting games with ultimate Mk11 on PS5. I’m an old guy and my reaction times are not what they used to be 29 years ago. I’m fighting these young whipper snappers online and they are just kicking my butt, taunting me, and it’s hard to react. It’s fun but gets frustrating. Maybe it’s time to hang them up?

Any other old guys still play fighting games?
Maybe it's more the fact that you haven't played fighting games for a long time and MK11 is new to you. I got into fighting games over 30 years ago and never really stopped. I'm better than I ever was before. My knowledge, strategy, execution, reactions have all improved with experience. Online is a lot more viable and useful nowadays too. Netcode in fighting games was so bad when fighters first went online but have improved dramatically since then.
 

Faithless83

Banned
37 and on the average scale (Ultra silver SF5). Been playing faster characters (Cammy) or grapplers (Zangief) and it works best for me.

I still beat the crap out of most my friends, or it's an even fight, but I definitely nowhere near the combo execution that I used to have in the early 2000s on arcades.

Oh the arcades...
 

Wonko_C

Member
I haven’t followed the SF scene for a bit, but how is uncle (but still a few years younger than me, lol) Alex Valle doing these days?
Nowadays he's moved into production, community and all that stuff that goes behind the scenes in the FGC.


He was still playing at last year's EVO, though.
 

nowhat

Member
So define "old geezer", I'm 41. When I (or us siblings, rather) got a PS1 way back, not when the console was released though, it came with two games: Crash 3 and Tekken 3.

And both of those saw so much use, but especially Tekken 3. I still can juggle the fuck out of you with Xiaoyu to this date, because the controls and moves are the same. So I think I'm good.
 
I guess my reaction times might be a bit slower, but my skill level is about the same as it was 25 years ago - pretty average.
At least I can do special moves on an arcade stick now. When I was a kid, I couldnt even throw a hadouken. Embarrassing.
 

Amiga

Member
So I recently got back into fighting games with ultimate Mk11 on PS5. I’m an old guy and my reaction times are not what they used to be 29 years ago. I’m fighting these young whipper snappers online and they are just kicking my butt, taunting me, and it’s hard to react. It’s fun but gets frustrating. Maybe it’s time to hang them up?

Any other old guys still play fighting games?

1- online latency the biggest issue compared to the past one screen gameplay.
2- you are playing against a big world wide pool of other dedicated fighting game players. E-Sports and online coaching has raised the average.
 
T

The New Guy

Unconfirmed Member
I've always sucked at them. I'm the mash buttons type of guy when it comes to those. The type of player everybody hates online. I have never really attempted to learn them properly though, it has been a while since I really played a fighting game. I played a lot of Mortal Komabt when I was younger, and I was bad at it.
 

Bkdk

Member
There are more late 20s+ people still in the esports scene, many classic RTS games pro scene are at their 30s and still winning global tournaments and bring good extra income or even as primary income source right now. However I mainly play fighting games for their amazing character design these days since they usually come from Japan.
 

Airbus Jr

Banned
Im 33 and my fighting skill are much better now then when i was young

Im totally sucks at Mortal Kombat tho

Im only good with Sub Zero
 

Old Retro

Member
Been fighting since Karate Champ and Street Fighter. Entered a tournament years ago with the fightstick I built that was/is a work of art, that features Industrias Lorenzo arcade parts. I think I was only 1 of a few female contestants there. Saw big names like Snake Eyes, Brolylegs, and Justin Wong. Also chatted with the very cool Alex Valle. He told me how much these "kids" practice each day. 😂

I thought all those years in arcades and up late nights playing SF/KOF/Marvel games would help. Proceeded to get an ass whoopin!!! 😓 It was GREAT fun though, and I had a blast being part of it.
 

kyoji

Member
So I recently got back into fighting games with ultimate Mk11 on PS5. I’m an old guy and my reaction times are not what they used to be 29 years ago. I’m fighting these young whipper snappers online and they are just kicking my butt, taunting me, and it’s hard to react. It’s fun but gets frustrating. Maybe it’s time to hang them up?

Any other old guys still play fighting games?
OP, youtube Daigo Umehara, and Sakonoko to motivate yourself.
 
It's not really an age or reaction time thing for me, it's more that I hate the DLC models fighting games went to so intensely that I haven't bought one in years and am out of practice.

Yeah, that’s definitely a huge turnoff for me as well in modern fighters. It even makes me think about quitting them sometimes. I don’t mind a little DLC here and there, but these fighters seem to rely on overpriced DLC models to the point where it’s usually quite expensive to get the full experience. A few characters usually end up costing at least half the cost of the full retail game. It’s one of the reasons I loathe the entire GAAS structure.
 

Mexen

Member
I play SSBU, MK11 or SFV to just pass the time. Back in the day, I was decent at MK3 Ultimate and MK Trilogy. I was the guy to beat in my neighborhood.

Today, if I even get a four hit combo, I grin so hard with glee.
 

GrayFoxPL

Member
I'm 37. Huge fighting game fan since the 80's. International Karate was the shit.

I can't press buttons not nearly as fast as I used to but I'm way smarter when it comes to mind games and tactics.
I play Tekken for 23 years. I'm pretty decent after all those years but I'm happy I can learn more every session.

I play decently all 3 and 4 button games like Virtua Fighter, DOA, Soul Calibur and KOF(I suck). Older stuff like Bloody Roar, Tobal or Ehrgeiz was my thing too. I played shit ton of Street Fighter and MK back in the day, but my fingers stopped handling 6 button fighting games somewhere right after SFIV series, so bummer.

Nowadays if I don't play Tekken I'll try to go back to the great old days of SNK and play the awesome early gems like Fatal Fury 2, AOF, SS and newer ones like Real Bout(godlike) series or Last Blade.

Fighting games for life.

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Tiamat2san

Member
Same here.
But the real problem for me is that I don’t invest enough time in fighting game.
I just play when the game is released and to try new characters.

i play too many game outside fighting ones.
 

BigBooper

Member
I've tried a few times, but just don't like how complex they are. They are designed for skilled players and esports and I don't have the desire to get that good at one game. SF2 was the last fighter I really liked a lot.
 

MrMephistoX

Member
I do but I mostly enjoy offline or in person: like I love VF5 but any time I’ve tried to find a match on Xbox in recent years it’s like a half hour wait followed by some dude who is just eager to troll someone who dared show up.

SFV and IV are still kind of okay online though.
 
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