http://www.ultrachentv.com/shows/first-attack/
Learn.
EDIT: And keep it real.
Gouken is definitely not a beginner character, but he’s not as “buttony(?)” or complex as somebody like C.Viper or Seth. He’s not really for beginners because he’s unsafe on a lot of things and his punishes depend on “big” mistakes from opponents. You have to really know Gouken’s buttons and when to press them to feel successful with Gouken. One of the first errors that could stall your growth for a long time is to think that Gouken should always be on defense and hide behind a wall of gohadoukens. That mindset will bring you many losses. Gouken has some tremendous tools to advance and pressure the opponent. If you think about it, when do you think your opponent is at an advantage? When he’s trying to deal with your offense or when he’s on offense? Who has to do more guesswork? If you must play Gouken like I had to when the game first came out, you can start here:
Also: There’s a couple of PC Goukens in the Gouken forum. I’m sure they’d give you some live pointers if you ask them.
I started playing when the game had been out for 3 years and it’s tough. I got beat up like crazy and didn’t understand why for months. fortunately I found out about a fighting game scene 1 hour away and I just started grinding it out with those guys offline and I lurked forums and fighting game sites all the time. It payed off. I used to play CS 1.6 and Dota competitively and I gotta tell ya, nothing is as rewarding as fighting games. Hang in there and keep on grinding!
There are many, many instances where the way you play is very different vs a computer that knows exactly what button you pressed and counters it compared to a human that must guess and does not have nearly instant reactions. What you are doing is fine, but keep that in mind. You will mostly be learning how to punish and avoid vs the AI on very hard.
And Seth on hardest is LOL. Good times back when I wanted to fight Shin Gouken.
He should probably learn how to anti-air before learning any combo.
good luck learning from this version onward. shitty anti-airs lose or trade with everything so there’s a lot more jumping in USF4. weak normals make for long fights if you think you can out-footsie your opponent, and if they get in it’s like a waste of time and energy because they just made more damage in 2 seconds then you did in 30. shitty oki game on all fronts, you MUST learn option selects for the most basic of offensive attacks, especially after HKD.
this game is not beginner friendly at all unless you’re playing against someone else who just started. doing SRK’s and other specials/supers/ultras are easier because of execution barrier being lowered.
The best way to grow that skill, knowledge and experience is to learn with someone just as green as yourself. Having a training partner that’s equally new to the game allows you to slowly learn things organically, as opposed to someone super-experienced bodying you and consequently feeding you information that may not have context relative to your naturally growing knowledge of the game (example: introducing the concept of option-selects while still trying to learn a bnb). Spar with this person, and the eventual give and take of wins (assuming you’re both as passionate about improving) will spur an inevitable search for better and better tech, strats and refinement in execution in order to get the upper hand back.
I know that SFIV (and every other fighting game) has a single player mode, but this game was really made to be played with someone else, and the natural competitive nature of those who are drawn to the game will push you to improve in your own way and pace.
Play against the computer on easy until you can actually control your character…
If you just started playing SF and have never played fighters before, you’re going to get bodied bro. This game is like 5 years old now. You’re playing against people with 5-20 years of fighting game experience. It is going to be slow going so don’t get so hard on yourself.
Mind putting up some of gameplay of you getting bodied?
My advice is to start with the basics.
Don’t spend hours learning combos when you don’t even know about your spacing, and how to anticipate jumps and grabs and such.
Learn a good punish, when to zone and when to be aggressive first.
If you feel comfortable learn something more advanced, like focus attack dash cancel.
Everything more complicated will come over time.
- Don’t pick a shoto. They won’t teach you shit about movement or spacing - chances are you’ll fall into the 99% of online Ryus who just spam c.mk or sweep. New players end up using fireballs and DPs as crutches, and thus never improve beyond a scrub level.
- Pick someone who is absolutely barebones, who can’t mash DP, who can’t spam normals, like Guy. Pick someone who will make you learn how to fight against a player and not just a character.
- Don’t turn to SRK for advice - try to find a local scene in your area.
Most people here I assume enjoy this game and are good at it, many have years of experience in previous Street Fighters. So on this forum you will get a very narrow point of view.
Here is a different point of view: I bought SF4 Vanilla when it was released and quit about 3 months after. I’m a filthy casual who was lured in by the nostalgia of SF2
Don’t pick a shoto is the best advice ever. You will be another online ken spammer who never improves. One of my many SF4 sins. Winning is an addiction, and when you have more success spamming DPs and Fireballs than you do trying to “out smart” your opponent you stop trying to get better.
If you prefer to play vs people and learn this is not the game for you.
You must spend dedicated hours grinding the training rooms to learn combos and not drop them.
If you just hop in and play you will develop terrible habits, trust me I’ve made this mistake. You will not be able to naturally flow a combo from a jump in/poke/punish. You will have someone vulnerable and have no idea how to finish the job. Baiting someone into a mistake means nothing if you can’t drop that health bar. You will panic sweep/throw them for piss poor damage. They will return fire and take away half of your Health bar in one combo.
To a new player spacing doesn’t mean shit. Poking doesn’t mean shit. One mistake against someone who knows their BNBs is death. You can’t learn anything when you get utterly wrekt. You know this and appear to be at the same crossroads I was at years ago. It is a choice between playing a video game or training to play a video game.
Pick a character you like and grind out the training room until you have memorised thier specials/ultras. If you can’t do ultras and supers with 100% success rate from both sides of the screen quit now. Unless you enjoy being bad or like to play against the computer.
Memorize at least one jump in combo and practice till you can land it consistently - both sides of the screen
Memorize at least one standing combo and practice till you can land it consistently - both sides of the screen
You must understand the basics of High/Low mix-ups in order to open people up for damage
Force yourself to use focus attacks until it becomes natural. It is far too important, It’s really difficult to adjust to a new mechanic that you have ignored for many hours of playtime
Muscle memory is so important for getting good at this game, and the more time you spend doing random shit the harder it is to unlearn that random shit
The above two posts have been really helpful. I’ll stay away from shotos for a bit and learn the basic mechanics first. I’m so guilty of the cr.mk/sweep/fireball spam… you hit the nail on the head lol.
Time to train in the dojo before I cement these bad habits (I’m about 15 hours into SSF4, getting ready for ultra release for pc)
Btw, any tips on hitting the 1 frame light punch links consistently? I’m only able to hit it like 1 out of 10 tries right now but not improving…
Don’t bother with one frame links, you don’t need them nearly as much as you need a few dozen other game mechanics. When it’s time to get to learning one frame links, you’ll know.
And don’t avoid shotos, Wasted’s post is retarded. The only characters you should be avoiding are the extremely technical ones like Gen and Viper, simply because beginners would have to learn several additional skills that overall aren’t very important except for that character when they should be focusing on skills that every character benefits from.
It’s too late, he’s already taking their advice and avoiding SRK for advice.
…lol, the post of above yours is a troll. It is some of the worst advice I have seen on here.
They thought of everything, we’re doomed.
Well, I’m not looking to ignore advice from SRK… In fact, a forum member messaged me with some tips like an hour ago and I tried it out (it worked really well!)
I just thought learning frame timings and mechanics like FADC properly before I go straight to multiplayer and sweep all day is a great tip…
There is nothing troll about my post
You are so damn adorable w00d.
He’s already past the point of basics. Advice like learn spacing is a joke. Anyone can learn spacing, just play.
You need tools to defend yourself. Learning some combos is how to get them. If he is anything like me or most other players this game filters out. He will come to a crossroads. Practice mode for hours or quit.
Go play DotA and only use one ability on your character. See how much success you have. Cunt.