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How do you remember lots of fighting combos?

Learn the character, Muscle memory, then permutations of that muscle memory.
It can only come from playing the game a lot.
 
With fighting games, I tend to just pick one character and get good. Sod learning all the combos for all the characters in Tekken Tag 2.
 
training mode. if you are into frame data you can see that so you actually know what combos and what doesnt. but in the end its just muscle memory.
 
I remember a large chunk of Kazuya's moveset, but not combos. Same with Smoke in MK9.

MGR and friends have the simplest combo systems possible. 1-4x square then triangle. That's 4 combos changed by pressing square a different amount of times before triangle. The rest variations on that, sometimes mixing it up with an STS OR TST, or maybe delayed inputs for certain moves. Add in the odd special and you're done.
 
Practice, and actual concerted learning. There's a point where flailing around in a video game should not be permissible.
 
Pure muscle memory. When you repeat something so much in a situation over and over then you are bound to have it imprinted within your mind so that it never disappears.

It's the ability to guess what is about to happen, and guess correctly while counter-acting upon it, that wins you those delicious kudos points.
 
I hadn't played any SC in a long while, but a few days ago I went to a friend's house and he booted up SC4. Kilik's FOTD into asura dance came out naturally once I had the controller in my hands even though I couldn't remember the exact button combination for it.

So yeah, muscle memory.
 
I don't, know never really had a problem. I think it's more to do with pattern recognition than being able to recite the exact sequence. I do the same with phone numbers, if you asked me what a certain persons number is i couldn't tell you but could dial it in not a problem.

Well with Street Fighter the key tenants haven't changed much but back in the day trying to get the exact frame timing was a pain going from the arcade to the home environment (bloody pal consoles). MvC was more getting into a grove with the teams I preferred to put together. Tekken was more remembering which moves linked together. Stuff like DMC and Bayo I just get into a grove and more about enemy management for me that pulling off a certain chain.
 
i don't.

i hate when games require me to remember tons of different combinations, especially when one certain move is required to beat a boss even though you never had to use this move in the entire game so far.
 
I remember a large chunk of Kazuya's moveset, but not combos. Same with Smoke in MK9.

MGR and friends have the simplest combo systems possible. 1-4x square then triangle. That's 4 combos changed by pressing square a different amount of times before triangle. The rest variations on that, sometimes mixing it up with an STS OR TST, or maybe delayed inputs for certain moves. Add in the odd special and you're done.

What are you talking about? Square/X in Rising does infinite light attacks. It has no bearing on any form of unique combo at all. SSST and SST both result in the T being the same attack. All of its combos are variations of how many Ts you hit, then X then T.
 
I don't. That's why despite really liking a lot of fighting games and buying them I'm not good in any of them lol. The only games I had time to be good at was soul caliber 1, battle arena toshinden and samurai showdown
 
If you know the basics of how the combo system in the game works, like what your starters are, what you can cancel or link into, how to use meters, how to extend the combos with whatever system is in the game (e.g. bounds, dhcs, wallbounce, groundbounce, juggles, stuns etc), and how to finish your combo for max damage or positioning or meter build etc (the purpose of the combo) then you're not really memorising a bunch of moves in a certain order or anything, you're just fitting whatever moves you have into whatever slot they can possibly go in... It's not just a bunch of random button inputs basically.
 
If it's anything like Bayonetta/DMC/GoW/Ninja Gaiden, you can defend at the right time and then mash away to beat the game with ease on normal. You don't need long combos to win against a computer.
 
+1 for muscle memory.

I was watching the Skullgirls stream yesterday, and one of the players finished a combo no problem even when the TV cut out for several seconds in the middle of it. That shit gets ingrained in you if you do it enough times.

Now, proper application of said combos in a real match is something else entirely.
 
I don't memorize. Combos that flow well together, well, flow well together that you'd feel like the attack only comes out that way.
 
I just do them a few times... Bam!
 
What do combos have to do with reaction time? There is literally nothing to react to.

I think he means that you have to get the rhythm down, if that makes sense. Inputting a command at a wrong time can result in no combo at all in fightinggames. The time and sequence you have to input a combo do benefit from good reactiontime.
 
So I'm playing MGS Rising and its the first fighting game I've played in a while since probably Mortal Kombat.

Batman%20laughing.jpg
 
What do combos have to do with reaction time? There is literally nothing to react to.

I tend to react more to what my opponent is doing than the specific combo itself. Cancels are way more important then and what moves can be canceled and how, dash cancel, grab cancel ect. You can take most fighting games like a poor mans chess (or better than chess if that's not you thing) as it mainly end up being about control and how you react to your opponent. Fake them out and cancel into something else to gain the upper hand and so on.
 
For me muscle memory is the outcome of extensive practise and experience with the game which obviously takes time and commitment.
Personally i like to pick a few combos once in a while,write them down on paper to have them handy and practise them.After i learn them i move on to other combos.However my only issue is that most of the more recent action and fighting games are not interesting enough (either artistically or in terms of gameplay) to make me want to put all that commitment.
 
It scares me to think I used to know all moves for every character in tekken (up to tekken 3) soul edge/calibur and probably doa2 and all moves for ninja gaiden black (all the weapons) devil may cry 1,3,4.
Most of bayonetta too, actually.

No idea where those were stored in my brain.


launching tekken tag 2 I was overwhelmed at the simple thought of learning 120+ combos for each of the 50 character.

If it's anything like Bayonetta/DMC/GoW/Ninja Gaiden, you can defend at the right time and then mash away to beat the game with ease on normal. You don't need long combos to win against a computer.

Speaking of ttt2 I saw my cousin finishing it on medium with Jin using the same 3 moves over and over and perfecting a few matches too. Years have passed but AI hasn't gotten any more human-like.

But even playing against humans, long combos are not necessary, anyway.
Like I said, I knew every combo in tekken 3 and even won a few tournaments, yet my brother was able to beat me sometimes, blocking and using very few basic 2/3 punch combos with King.
 
I think he means that you have to get the rhythm down, if that makes sense. Inputting a command at a wrong time can result in no combo at all in fightinggames. The time and sequence you have to input a combo do benefit from good reactiontime.

I disagree. That reaction time and sense of timing are skills that are most often found together in videogame players doesn't mean that they are the same. Ask any musician, or a fencer.

That's entirely beside the point, however, as the OP is asking about how to memorize the button sequences, not master the timing needed to perform them.

I tend to react more to what my opponent is doing than the specific combo itself. Cancels are way more important then and what moves can be canceled and how, dash cancel, grab cancel ect. You can take most fighting games like a poor mans chess (or better than chess if that's not you thing) as it mainly end up being about control and how you react to your opponent. Fake them out and cancel into something else to gain the upper hand and so on.

I understand fighting games pretty well, thank you; I've been playing them for decades. The thread is about learning combos (and particularly the button presses rather than the timing, as I mentioned above), not using them appropriately.
 
I understand fighting games pretty well, thank you; I've been playing them for decades. The thread is about learning combos (and particularly the button presses rather than the timing, as I mentioned above), not using them appropriately.

Alright. No need to get snarky. I wasn't patronising you or anything. I think you seam to focusing more on move sets and a linear series of moves. I was move implying that sometimes a combo isn't from one move to the next and can be quite open ended and dependent on the situation what move you move into next. Whether is be a combo cancel or change to an aerial or ground move. For that you need to be able to not only react to the situation but you opponent. If you pull of the wrong move you could leave yourself open and being seeing a very quick KO screen.
 
What do combos have to do with reaction time? There is literally nothing to react to.

say if
a) the timing of the combo becomes different (whether by your own or external factors) and you need to react to change the follow up. happens a lot in the vs. series games. of course you will still have memorized the follow up branch beforehand but determining which one in time takes good reactions

b) the game has a defensive option where the opponent can move while in hitstun/juggle state
(for example, air control in Soul Calibur or directional influence in Smash)
 
Lots and lots of practice, really.

I can't even begin to count the amount of fighting game characters I can play to a level where I can be competitive at least online, yet I started at the same place everyone else did and as much as I dislike the fact, the first fighting game I ever played "seriously" was Street Fighter IV, so I think I'm behind the curve in experience as well.

Also, I play them on a pad, which sometimes makes me feel like I'm at a slight disadvantage compared to others but my win/loss record says otherwise.
 
Alright. No need to get snarky. I wasn't patronising you or anything. I think you seam to focusing more on move sets and a linear series of moves. I was move implying that sometimes a combo isn't from one move to the next and can be quite open ended and dependent on the situation what move you move into next. Whether is be a combo cancel or change to an aerial or ground move. For that you need to be able to not only react to the situation but you opponent. If you pull of the wrong move you could leave yourself open and being seeing a very quick KO screen.

Yeah, I was afraid my post would be taken as snarky; I even edited it to make it seem less so. It wasn't my intention, but tone doesn't comes across written text, I know. :)

In any case this is way outside what the OP is talking about, which is memorizing combos, not executing them. Perhaps I should have been more specific in my first post.

say if
a) the timing of the combo becomes different (whether by your own or external factors) and you need to react to change the follow up. happens a lot in the vs. series games. of course you will still have memorized the follow up branch beforehand but determining which one in time takes good reactions

b) the game has a defensive option where the opponent can move while in hitstun/juggle state
(for example, air control in Soul Calibur or directional influence in Smash)

See above. Indeed, combos need adjusted timing to account for, say, blocking (assuming you want to continue it) or branch out to different combos to take advantage of opponent expectations. But all of that is outside the scope of the original question, which is learning the button strings (not even the timing, which is mostly not an issue in a game like MGR:R). :)
 
Yeah, I was afraid my post would be taken as snarky; I even edited it to make it seem less so. It wasn't my intention, but tone doesn't comes across written text, I know. :)

In any case this is way outside what the OP is talking about, which is memorizing combos, not executing them. Perhaps I should have been more specific in my first post.

Yep know what you mean. Sorry should have read more into it and didn't mean any offense. Saying that can totally see where you're coming from and to be fair as you say the OP is talking about combos for action games not fighters which are quite different.
 
Character action games usually have different kinds of combos (like various combinations between regular and heavy attacks) and memorisation going on than fighting games (where directional inputs, timing-based links and psychology are much more important).
All these games MGR, NG, DMC and Bayonetta also have directional inputs and some combos require precise timing. They're closer to games like Tekken or DOA than Street Fighter, but the only difference actually is the human part of being your enemy.
 
It's much easier if you break down the combo into smaller parts. How to do that depends on the game, but usually it's possible. Most combos are built with the same basic bricks, so if you learn them you have all the tools you need and you just need to remember their order.

Example: in Tekken combos generally have this structure:

- launcher (1 move)
- filler (n moves)
- bound (1 move)
- ender (n moves)

you can learn 1 filler and 1 ender, then combine them with the launchers and bounds your character has. It won't be optimal, but it's a starting point. After that, you learn more fillers and more enders to get more damage and/or more wall carrying potential, and you add the variations for wall combos. Then you add the character specific stuff and so on.
 
If you know the basics of how the combo system in the game works, like what your starters are, what you can cancel or link into, how to use meters, how to extend the combos with whatever system is in the game (e.g. bounds, dhcs, wallbounce, groundbounce, juggles, stuns etc), and how to finish your combo for max damage or positioning or meter build etc (the purpose of the combo) then you're not really memorising a bunch of moves in a certain order or anything, you're just fitting whatever moves you have into whatever slot they can possibly go in... It's not just a bunch of random button inputs basically.

This. You essentialy have to know that game grammar, the same way you have to know a given language grammar if you want to actively speak of anything and creatively.
 
I do fine with action games like Rising or DMC but in real fighting games I can never remember anything, especially stuff like supers.
 
You don't really need combos for the beat em up style games. For real fighting games? I don't play the ones with a lot of combos, I just play stuff like Dissidia where the depth and tweaking and execution is done differently.
 
Don't try to learn everything at once. Start with one or two simple combos and practice them until you basically can do them without having to consciously think about it (muscle memory, as lots of people have mentioned). Then work on more complex combos one at a time until you feel like you've gotten them down as well. You ultimately want to get to a point where you're only having to think about what to do, not how to do it.
 
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