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SELECT YOUR CHARACTER!

So, you’ve picked your game and are ready to jump in the ring, but you don’t know where to start. Thankfully, this problem can be solved with the simplest of concepts – favoritism. It’s something that we as people naturally do when it comes to anything we enjoy, and fighting games are no different. When it comes to selecting a game to play, the biggest draw is usually something that you personally find interesting. This also goes for the characters you select to play as. In most cases the character you elect to dedicate most of your time into directly ties into your overall enjoyment of the game. So naturally it’s best to go with what you like.

When I was younger, my friends introduced me to Super Smash Brothers. I wanted to play and compete, so I decided to try and learn what I could to be competitive in my circle. As I looked at the cast of characters, I naturally chose Pikachu since I was (and still am) a huge fan of the Pokémon series. It’s as simple as that. I liked Pokémon therefore I chose a character that I enjoyed. With Pikachu as my starter, I was able to feel out the game and see what I liked and what I didn’t like. When playing with my friends, I found that other characters had cool traits that I enjoyed as well. For example, a friend of mine chose Link, and when he used the Spin Attack, which I thought was a cool move. Thus, I decided to pick up Link, who would go on to be my main throughout the rest of the series.

The concept of a main reaches far into ones enjoyment of a fighting game. A main is pretty much your personal “main character” whom you decide to spearhead as you compete against your friends. Most prominent fighting game players will select a main, and there are multiple ways they might go about it. Many will go with characters they recognize or like from the fictions they come from. Others might go with people they think look cool. Some will try out every character on the roster until they find one that feels right. Others will just pick the “best” character in the game in hopes of winning on a consistent basis. While the last one isn’t a mindset I’d suggest, each method of selection is a valid way to go about selecting characters. Do note that regardless of your early ideas of favorites, things do change once you begin to learn the game.

Upon playing Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for the first time, my three characters were Captain America, Zero and Amaterasu. I picked all of them purely based on them being characters that I liked, and at first I was dedicated to that team. However, after getting my hands on the game for a while, not only did that team have little synergy, but I had a hard time learning both Zero and Amaterasu, meaning that I had to change it up if I wanted to stay competitive. Eventually I found my stride, but the point is that sometimes your likes will lead you down the right path, but many times your first choice is just a means of getting started.

When it comes to my experience with Injustice: Gods Among Us, I started the game with the intent of trying to learn at least one of three specific characters – Nightwing, Green Lantern, and The Flash. I decided on Nightwing based on my like of the character, Green Lantern because of the late (but Great) Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and the Flash because of the combo’s I saw he was capable of in the early footage. Each of those was for a different reason, but in general it gave me a basis to start off. When I started up Injustice, the first thing I did (and the first thing I usually do) is have a set of friendly matches with my younger brother. This gave us a chance to feel out the game in a comfortable, yet competitive environment. Not all will have the chance to play with family or friends, so for those who can’t I recommend starting out by jumping into Training mode with your character of choice. This gives you a chance to see how they feel, learn their special moves and experiment with the combat engine. It all serves a purpose down the line.

For me, my first impressions of Nightwing were mixed. I enjoyed the style of his special moves, but his movement seemed awkward and I had no idea how to utilize his combo’s properly. This was mainly due to the game’s overall stiff feel and Nightwing’s dual stances. Utilizing both of his stances properly was a bit jarring, because it requires me to think of playing one character in two completely different ways. It was a bit discouraging at first, but like with all fighting games there is an adjustment period. If you’ve researched and studied your game of interest like I had, you might assume you could jump in right away and be good at it, and there may be some great players capable of such a feat, but for most it’s a rude awakening when you start up and realize you can’t do anything. That said, this hurdle is natural and necessary in order for one to improve. Keep it in your mind that the game is still new, and that in time you’ll improve. Just stick to your character, and you’ll see the fruits of labor pay off in due time.

One quick recommendation is that once you’ve selected a character to learn, try and stick it out for as long as possible. Don’t switch around too much. Doing so may ultimately hinder your progress learning that character. Learning one character first will focus your experience and make you better at the game as a whole. Playing multiple characters is fun, and feel free to do so, but (as an example) try and pick your main at least three times out of five, that way you never forget the basics of what you’ve just learned.

So, you’ve decided on a character for whatever reason you saw fit. Next it’s time to learn the basics! In next week’s article, I’ll run down the process of learning basic combos and using arcade mode, trial mode, and story mode to further improve your game.

Offer up your thoughts, comments and other suggestions regarding character selection in the comments below!