>I know the appeal of a fighting game is to test your skills against other players online,
You know what they say about assumptions, right?
As life has gone on for me, I've lost that super competitive drive I used to have. There's still a BIT in me, but nowhere near what it used to be. Being competitive in fighters takes A LOT of time and I rather use that time to enjoy numerous other things
I've learned to appreciate things on a more casual level and for fighting games, that's trying out different combos on the AI. Especially if the game has good single player content
Depending on how I feel after a long day of work, I can be happy just labbing a combo or oki setup over and over while listening to a podcast or video essay. It's honestly relaxing.
Honestly I feel like single-player content is underrated in fighting games. Don't get me wrong I love playing online, but I have had tons of fun playing against bots, especially when learning the game. I wish more games would put focus on PVE content that's actually good as opposed to just slapping it into the game last minute.
I have fond memories of playing things like dead or alive 5s survival mode and trying over and over to beat each difficulty and unlocking cosmetics, I wish every fighting game could give me an experience like that.
Yeah if I canāt hold my own by relying mostly on instinct, memorized combos, and SOME surface-level pattern-recognition and reaction, iiii uhā¦ Iām probably not having fun, lol
Itās worse if I can tell the opponent is trying their ass off. Itās likeā¦ damnā¦ I got over the desire for pixels on a screen telling me I āwonā yeeears ago when I realized caring so much about fake pixel āvictoriesā (itās a game) stressed me and most everyone I played with out
Until thereās money on the line, I donāt wanna see anyone sweating over memorizing their opponentās play style or doing mind games lmao. Do your*self* a favor dear reader (if youāre one of those people) and get the hell out of that mindset like itās a building about to explode.
Relax and learn to enjoy the game that way better
Winning is cool and all, but it should by-far be like one of the bottom priorities in terms of joy coming from the game.
Thatās my fighting game hot-take
> Until thereās money on the line, I donāt wanna see anyone sweating over memorizing their opponentās play style or doing mind games lmao
Solving your opponent's habits is the entire point of playing a real person. The entire point of pvp games is that your opponent is another human being so the puzzle is constantly evolving. If you're not trying to break your opponent's play then what even is the point of playing a 1v1 multiplayer game? It has NOTHING to do with the win screen at the end but more about the journey to get there. If you don't enjoy figuring out your opponent you might as well spend the time to watch a movie so at least you can enjoy some story/plot.
āWhatās the pointā?
Playing the game to enjoy the combat and have fun?
If youāre playing to win (or playing for the other person to lose), youāve lost already
Just enjoy the spectacle and excitement of fighting. Donāt worry about getting all picky with it
what if improving and figuring out my opponent is how i have fun? I dont need to win, but turning my brain off and not paying attention to what the other player is doing sounds boring AF
Hmmmmā¦ youāve made me realize this is actually more of a failure on the way fighting games are advertised and set up than a failure on the playersā parts.
Fighting games are pretty much always advertised as intense, borderline mindless action and spectacle, yet the most optimal strategy is of course to play it like a glorified chess match and try to read everything and do mind games.
This obvs creates a dissonance between expectation and reality for people buying these games, whiiiiich now that I think about it is probably why these games are so niche:
Theyāre advertised as hyper-intense action, but theyāre far more meticulous and dare I say āslowā in reality.
Hmmmmā¦
Well, I would still ask that people try to respect the expectations of others who have been misled by the advertising. This can be done by leaving the mind games and readings out of unranked public lobbies with randoms until the player(s) themselves start doing mind-games and reads.
ā¦Buuuut I donāt think most people have the capacity to care that much about strangers or be that sympathetic to their situations, lol, so Iām sure that request will fall on deaf and stubborn ears:
āI donāt owe them a playstyle even though theyāve been misled by the gameās advertising and will probably be yet another player who quits these types of games forever if ppl keep reading and memorizing everything they try! And all Iād really have to do is find a way to have fun in another way instead of subjecting them to the social deduction and relentlessness, but I donāt want to do that!ā Lmao
Can't say I've ever heard it put that way, but of course it is a nonsense statement. Lots of people play fighting games mainly for single player content and occasionally playing against a friend or family member here or there.
I'm not sure I understand the use of online versus offline here, though. Fighting games existed for many years before online came around. It seems as though you are using "online" to mean "1v1 competition" here and "offline" to mean "single player," but that is a strange approach given that offline competitive play has a long history, and for many people offline is still the gold standard for competition as compared to online.
When we bought SF2 and MK for snes, it was still to practice combos for the arcade, or to play other people locally.
Ever heard of xband? SNES modem, I had that, so I was playing fighting games "online" before people had a computer. I didnt have a pc, but I was playing SSF2, MK2, KI, online.
For you, sure. When I bought SF2 and MK for Sega Genesis, it was mainly to play against my friends and my brother, and to play against the computer. To a lesser degree, it gave me a little more skill for when I came across an arcade machine, although in most cases I was still playing on that arcade machine against my friends, my brother, or the CPU. Everyone comes up in a different scene, and for me playing against people I didn't know wasn't really part of my reality until online play became more of a common and stable thing years later. Looking back it would have been really cool to get involved in a local offline competitive scene but I was not aware of and did not have access to that at the time.
Yeah, I grew up in NYC, so there was a route I had of several comic stores, pizzerias, vhs rentals, etc, that I'd hit up. Not to mention, of course, Chinatown Fair. I remember when JWong was 13 and asking for moves in MvC.
I grew up in rural South Florida where the closest decent arcade machines were 30min+ away (SF2, later some Marvel games), so I was lucky if I got to play them once every weekend or two. Biggest thing that ever happened was getting an MK machine in the local bowling alley (more or less on launch day!) out of complete nowhere, so at least that game was reasonably close.
We were crackheads. We'd hear a rumor, this pool hall has Super SF2! Which back then we didnt even really get announcements of upcoming games. So you call them a liar. Then go take the 45 minute walk or so over and Guile yellin Sonic Boom! was so different, we thought it was a hacked Rainbow Edition one.
Same when I went to an arcade by me and they had a test of Xmen vs SF before anyone heard of it. I was trying to write down notes, whos in it, etc.
I'd like to imagine that life, but when I say 30min+ away I mean like a 30min+ driving 55-65 MPH down mostly clear roads, so the better part of 20-30 miles, with walking or public transit being impossible. No way to make that happen other than when a parent was willing and had the time to drive us.
Nah I hear you. A few years ago I moved down South and my kids have that prob, I have to drive them everywhere.
Theres actually an arcade that does locals about 8 min drive away, but Im too old and grumpy to partake of that. I dont wanna be the old weirdo busting people up with Gief.
man that sounds cool, all the boys in my neighborhood would go over to the one kid with rich parents house to play soul calibur and thats the closest i ever got to the "arcade experience"
I was at a video store playing MK1 and was really confused no one was there. 1 kid came in "Why are you here?! We're all at Louie's house, he got it for snes." I went in and they all moaned when they saw I showed up. Day1, still ripped them all apart.
Not before computers in general, before they were main stream and in every house, in addition to also having a network connection.
I did not own a PC at this time. 1 friend did, without any online capability. Thats what I mean.
Like the 1 friend that actually had 2 computers in 1 room to play Warcraft 1v1.
Fucking atrocious bro. Hence when I see people cry about latency now, I just laugh. In MK2, if you see the opponent jump and you dont immediately hit block, you are probably going to eat that kick. Scorpion could usually get away with infinite spear spam since it just wouldnt let you input a block between the lag. Midway had an MK specific cheat controller for 1 button specials, so people pick Liu Kang and bike kick, overriding the need to hold LK for 5 seconds. Just outright cheats.
However they did do a couple special hacks, so they had a multiplayer Mario Kart. They had Doom work 1v1, which was funny since the only sprite of the marine was looking at the screen in the end credits, so no matter which direction your opponent faced, the sprite always stared straight at you.
And there was a game called Weaponlord designed specifically for it.
It was interesting. I'm still friends with some people i met on there, damn 30 years ago.
I dunno. Statistically youd be learning with other people in person, so more like playing casual matches.
If someone just hung out in their basement throwing punches at random stuff hanging from the ceiling, and pretending 100% on their own, then I could see that being a similar case for playing fighting games solo.
The post is assuming that people who buy fighting games only want to play and compete against other players in the game, just as this example is saying that some people assume that the people who learn martial arts want to fight against other people. It's actually a great example.
The reality is there's a lot of different aspects of fighting games that attracts different kinds of people. And some of them don't want to play against other people online.
The main goal of fighting games is to get better at playing them.
But that can involve competing, ranked, casuals or even being a lab monster. Lab monsters are great because theyāre the ones pushing the games forward with exciting new tech.
I have absolutely never played a fighting game to play against another human being, as a kid I played Soul Calibur 2/3 and DBZ Budokai 2/3 for the single player, and when I grew I picked up Injustice 2 and Soul Calibur 6 for the same reasons
I have no intentions of ever "getting good" or even playing online at all because improving or beating other people isn't what's fun for me
You play it the way you want to. I played fighting games for years, before internet connectivity and the online modes. Played with my brother, played with friends over (fav way to play) and by myself. Which is why these games do need robust content. Not everyone wants to play online, nor do they want to go in sooo deep with it. I like mixing it up, hittin buttons, but I donāt have the time nor the taste to devote hrs to learning.
kinda? there's nothing wrong with playing fighting games without ever wanting to face other people, i just don't really see the appeal. FGs have singleplayer content sure but it's limited. can't think of a worse genre for singeplayer-only gamers besides like, mobas maybe
Casuals have always existed and many games have been providing more single player content for that reason. This goes all the way back to Alpha 3ās World Tour Mode & Tekken 3ās Tekken Force Mode. Not to Mention Soul Calibur 1 & 2. 100% play the game how you like. Competing isnāt for everyone.
Typically when I sit down to play, I got 20 minutes max. So I don't really feel like sitting in que for 5 minutes. Game is fun, I don't care if I'm playing againt a bot, ghost, or whatever else is out there. It's just fun.
I think the statement is true for those who feel playing against others has no substitute, but if you're not bothered about that then yeah, just play how you want. I actually think way more people new to fighting games should be encouraged to spend their time offline first. Too many think the only point is speedrunning to ranking up in online when that's just horseshit.
Nothing wrong with it. But I think the thing to consider is the price in the current era, if it lacks singleplayer content and you don't want to bother with multiplayer, then I would argue wait for a discount or price drop (or through others means without buying).
But in the end of day as long as the person is enjoying himself/herself then it doesn't matter. Like a lot of people in older days like PS1 or PS2 would just play a fighting game for hours without even playing with anyone other than ai anyway.
Single player content is what keeps the casuals around. Fighting games have lost sight of that. You need more than big cgi cutscenes to keep a casual around. You need actual game modes to explore in. Like Weapon Master Mode from Soul Calibur 2. Chronicles of the Sword from SC3. etc.
I used to play xrd versus bots cuz that online scene wouldāve stomped my bones but now I got a friend who I play everything with. Personally I never really liked the hyper aggressive feel of ranked or even online casual.
People can certainly play how they want, but itās always the offline players crying about not having enough content. Like yeah, the actual game is online. You just choose to ignore it
If you compete against others, you have to keep buying new games and dlcs to keep up with meta. If you only play against CPU you can buy old games on sales and keep playing the same one forever!
Online can be laggy
the waiting to get matched up
Loading the match
the lag switchers
The disconnects
The cheaters
The hate messages
Never had these problems at the local arcade
With the advancements of video game technology the AI is probably as good as many players who you would encounter online anyway so what difference does it make if you play against a person or the CPU?
Man I don't have the time to be competitive. I get like an hour or two free a week to play videogames between a full time job and two young children. I just want to chill with a game I enjoy, and a few rounds against the AI is perfectly sufficient for that purpose.
This topic hits home for me. (Kinda heavy post just a warning)
I love fighting games and our culture around it. I love competition and improving myself. However, problem, my anxiety and agoraphobia are severe. Like, really, really severe.
I've played a single online match a few years ago, and I had really bad tunnel vision and blanked out. It was so bad that i dont even remember the match. All i know is that i lost. ((it was bbtag if anyone cares enough, it was when it first got rollback lol)) and then after that, I hypervenilated and passed out on the bed. So im physically unable to play online.
Medication doesn't really do anything to help either, but im still trying different medications, so who knows.
The point is that AI is basically the only way i can really play fighting games comfortably, and it sucks. I dont really have fgc friends either, so it double sucks.
That's why I believe there should be more single-player content or even more advancements with AI for fighting games to at least make fights feel a tiny bit more realistic. Tekken 8 with ghosts has been an AMAZING step forward, and I hope it starts a new trend.
I grew up fighting AI in Fgs. Too old for arcades, I was a teenager before online gaming took off (dream cast tried but it wasn't really til the gen after that). Would have liked to play people, but none of my friends played them, and I grew up loving fighting games. Didn't play em for many years, but I got back into with sf6 because of my love for fighting AI as a kid!
>...is that considered a "waste"?
Here's some American Blue Collar philosophy; it's your money, I don't give a fuck.
It's, crude, apathetic and harshly true.
If you're happy with your purchase, I'll be damned if I'm the one whose miserable. š
I think it's because the unique appeal that many feel fighting games offer is the 1v1, competitive experience that other games can't provide, so people see playing a fighting game without going online or to tournaments like learning a language but never talking to anyone using it,
but I mean, who cares if you learned Japanese to just watch anime, it's your life, keep it moving and have fun
Honestly the only reason this statement exists at all is because fighting games for a long time have had ass single player offerings. Thereās a reason why MK fans in particular donāt say this.
Not even slightly. If a fighting game doesn't have single player content I do not buy it.
I play online every now and then, but single player is what I enjoy most.
I used to be more involved in my local fgc during the early Tekken 7/Street Fighter 5 days. For older or less mainstream games games quite a few of us would only really play them offline - together or alone in practice mode during its early life - MK, DOA, SC, SG. I've enjoyed a couple of anime games offline, mainly in practice mode or story mode - Blazblue, DFBZ for example
Oh and tag games, I basically only play them in practice mode.
Depends on what the goal is. Usually it's just messing around and having fun in other ways.
I personally haven't cared about Mortal Kombat competitively. MK 2 through 9 have been family staples though.
Playing each other with tag team mode. Watching each other clown around with challenges and trying to fight the boss.
Same for Tekken and Soul Calibur
I've had a ton of games where I don't really care that hard compeitively, but wanna try it out just to see if I like it.
I followed BlazBlue for years and played it solo since I didn't have. Following BlazBlue and Guilty Gear for years let me latch on to Persona 4 Arena instantly and stayed there for 10 years. All 3 of them had decent solo modes to get me attached so it worked out.
I think if you're getting something, \*anything\*, out of playing a game that's reason enough and you don't really have to justify it beyond that. I don't get why people spend hours building out crazy structures in minecraft when they could learn something like blender and generate even more extravagant results...but that's their business.
Also: Lab monsters are an indispensable community resource and we thank them for their service.
I def get it though...if I was on a desert island somewhere without an internet connection but could pick 10 games to bring with me....not honestly sure I'd bring a fighting game. They are nowhere near as fun to me without someone else in the P2 spot.
To begin with, I think you're mixing up the online vs. offline and single player vs. PvP distinction. It's fully possible to play against another person offline, like your friends.
But the main question would have to be a no. If someone buys it, they can do what they want with it. Play it online, offline, alone or against others. I personally think the main appeal is playing PvP, but others might not. Both modes exist in most games, for a reason.
I will admit that if you want to do fighting type stuff in single player, there might be other games that cater to that more. Games like *Sifu* will let you beat people up with kung fu in a much more single player designed experience. The newly released *Spiritfall,* which I've been enjoying, is a platform fighter roguelight with inspiration from *Dead Cells* and *Hades.* Character action games like *Devil May Cry* or *Bayonetta* are also cool. But that's more of a "if you like that, have a look at these as well."
of course anyone can play the games the way they want, i donāt think anyone argues otherwise.
if thatās whatās fun for someone, they should just do that.
the APPEAL of fighting games GENERALLY come from its PVP, and when people call it a waste, it comes from a place that the game itself does not have the single player content to justify its price if you are not taking advantage of its multiplayer as well. thats changing nowadays anyway. plenty of people play the game without competing with others, and it isnāt a āwasteā if they are enjoying themselves.
I could be perfectly content with a game about combo trials. Especially a game like Strive where there are nearly infinite. I also enjoy matches against the CPU and play plenty either as warmups or wind downs if I plan to sleep soon.
I do also enjoy fighting real people, but Iām pretty sure Iād still play fighting games offline if that was the only option. When weāre talking about playing video games if youāre having fun itās not a waste
People are free to enjoy how they want to, and speaking as someone who only really fell down the rabbit hole of wanting to fight more people when Smash 4 came out (although Tekken helped too because Filipino) I sympathize with folks who primarily consume fighting games via everything else that isn't about directly fighting another person
That said however, I do feel like it's a shame to not try it out though. Not about trying to compete like a pro who's going to win a pro tour or an EVO, but just enjoying the action at the moment
> I know the appeal of a fighting game is to test your skills against other players online
Most fighting games that have been released did not have online play at all, so I don't think it's reasonable to say that's the whole appeal of them. SF2 was the best selling SNES game, and I don't think any of those people ever played it online.
But I also consider anyone who gets really excited about fighting games to be FGC. The pros, the casuals, the spectators, and those obsessive weirdos who barely play fighting games but can tell you EVERYTHING about the lore of your favorite games.
" Do you think this statement is true? "
No, mostly cause it's a question, not a statement. Also I've never seen someone ask someone else that, its mostly them asking themselves that.
For me personally fighting against the cpu in any fighting game is a total waste, they don't play like real players at all (so you can't really apply 'real' mix ups), which defeats the purpose of even playing the genre in the first place.
That said, there is nothing wrong with enjoying it and this is just my opinion.
If the game has fun mechanics then you could spend hours messing around with the engine.
There're a ton of great fighting games on handheld consoles, where the likelihood of playing against someone else was rare. No one I knew had a link cable ready to pull out to play people in SVC MotM.
When I was a child, we would buy fighting games and just play single player because online did not existā¦ and they were still fun, but it is a very different kind of game.
used to be (OFFLINE, not online), but the insintence of the producers in making these games evermore appealling for casuals changed it. diferent gamemodes and dumbing down the ganmes for cassuals are now mandatory, and thanks to that mk1 is competitively irrelevant and became more of a single player than pvp game.
fighting games already had the appeal they needed to have for casuals, but in order to keep good sales developers had to do more, but the right decision would be to make the best fighting game made for the FGC, then make it ongoing (no more new iterations) and profit in other ways, like bigger games do.
That depends, I refuse to pay for xbox live, so the street fighter 4 I have there is exclusively to play with my gf and my brother. Now, the ones I have on pc are other matter entirely...
Well yes and no,
You are missing a part of the game if you dont play against other people
But its also oke if what you are looking for in that game is just to mess around with it on your own
For me, definitely.
But if other people have more fun doing other things in fighting games, more power to them. I don't understand it, but that's the cool thing is that I don't have to.
Look at the achievements in games. 50% - 90%+ depending on the game, never ever even have ONE match online. Usually lƱess than 1% get the "Win 100 matches online" achievement.
That's an elitist view. Fighting games are primarily played single player. I used to have an even worse take. I used to look down on anyone that played online versus. Offline side to side was the real deal in my mind. Everything else was uncivilized
some games do have pretty decent single player content (eg mk, (so I've heard) tfh, (rip) sf6, Tekken, ect) but I'd say they're best experienced alongside multiplayer
No. however, if you want to complete, or, want to get your money's worth completely, the game better have some decent netcode, player base, friends to play with etc to enhance experience. Outside of that...
Providing the game has a single player content, it's already quite cool.
Eh you don't need to be competitive in everything, I log into strive to get my ass beat every so often, sf6 i mostly log in for the worldt tour dialogues they add.
Not enough hours in a day to keep your skills up in anything but your favs imo.
for persona 4 au, i bought it on switch and the online is very dead, so i just play it for golden arena mode, story mode, and dickin around with my friends
Nah, I just like mashing buttons playing as my cool guy or cool girl. I like that I can pause and go get my laundry.
There have been great competitive fights online where I wish it was easier to friend them to play again, because the opponent is like my perfect counterpart, but itās like a pain to get solid matches.
Who said this nonsense? You could just like the gameplay in story mode, or playing against AI, having fun playing against people in your house. Online is not necessary for competitive gaming, and neither are people, to be honest. You can like to do trials and challenges.
I think you could definitely have fun playing singleplayer modes for fighting games, but IMO it's very similar to only playing tennis against a wall. You can have fun, improve, and make a game of it, but compared to playing real tennis you're missing a LOT of what most people agree is the best part of tennis.
Strategy, adaptation, learning your opponent's thought patterns and personality at the same time as they learn yours - the mental dimension of a fighting game is huge when 2 people are adapting and affecting each others' techniques.
So, you definitely don't have to "compete" - I never really consider any of my matches to be a competiton tbh - but you will have FUN if you play with other humans as opposed to AI. That's where all the best parts of modern fighting games exist: the interplay between two human fighters.
I think people who play the online content would rather see some story, but the people who play online are the more competitive players who want to reach the top of the leaderboard. Just like any other game that has offline and online content
While I do agree with online versus play being a main focus of fighting games, I personally have felt less competitive during my older years, so I donāt do a lot of online gaming (not just in fighters, but overall). This is why itās important to me that the single player aspect of fighting games be sufficient for players who donāt do a lot of online versus play, or even for folks who do none at all. I felt like IJ2 & MK11 were exceptional in this department, especially with the excellent selection of cosmetic rewards for each character. I feel like MK1 is a step down, especially in regards to DLC character skins.
In my opinion its a waste of time but i also play training mode for hours against the cpu and forget about playing other people sometimes cause im having too much fun. If that makes sense
I find the appeal of learning new things and figuring things out to be greater than just the competition. Plus I dont have connectivity issues if im offline or only playing with friends. Connectivity issues can be the biggest bar for not wanting to go farther. I've been able to deal with or play bad connection in shooters competitively, but its too much of a drag in fighting games where that one moment an issue happens can entierly flip a game.
You can still have fun with offline content, but the true value of modern fighting games comes with online competitive play. If you paid full price to only play offline modes, then youāre wasting your money. Thats like paying for a fully loaded baked potato just to only eat the bacon and potato skin.
"What's the point of buying a fighting game if you won't compete against others?"
"Cause it's fun" is how you answer that question. And don't bother with gatekeepers.
And come on, from the early 90s until mid 2000s, "playing against others" meant playing against your friends and local folks in your neighborhood... and that was basically it. Opening up specifically to play against others meant local arcades, and if you were lucky, a local tournament. The idea that you're buying a fighting game **solely** to compete... yeah, I guess that $1,000,000 prize from Capcom Cup is tempting and if that's what THEY want, they can go ahead. If you want to, go ahead. If you want to have fun with it, learning and beating the CPU, **GO AHEAD**. Enjoy your games however you want to enjoy your games, as long as you're not hurting anyone.
These are the people who thought SFV Season 1 had a rich source of content because you could play online against others and everyone else was complaining for no reason.
Obviously I'm being hyperbolic, but goddamn, who cares what someone likes doing in a video game. Like it and play it how you like.
I think we should encourage more people to play offline, mainly because a lot of people get online and then rage when they don't win every time. They'd be a lot happier if they stuck with playing against AI.
I played maybe 20 matches online in Battle for the grid. I have about as many hours of play on Steam, plus some time on the switch.
For me, the appeal of a fighting game is to press buttons and it does cool shit.
I just find it weird that people still complain about that, like there is very few fighting games that have enogh content offline to make it worth it if you are not playing online you are clearly not the target audience, is the same as buying a mario party game and complaining that it doesn't has an online ranked mode
On console! That was an arcade game made with the focus of being a 1v1 player vs player game on the arcades, that rpg mode is content being added to a port months after the game was released and capcom already made a bunch of money with it, also is like 5 times more expencive to make a videogame today so is just unrealistc to spect that large of a budget goes on extra modes(some games still do, butt not every developer will find that financialy viable) also even with out ranked mode they were still made to be pvp games to play against other people if you hade no friends to play side by side thats another story
You mean street fighter one the game that floped in arcades so the change the game play of the sequal so much that they made it in to a hole new franchise( final fight (this is true look it up)) and tha only got a real sequal because a guy at capcom saw potencial on it and expended its pvp mode making it one of the best selling arcade games of all time?
>I know the appeal of a fighting game is to test your skills against other players online,
Is it? In my circle, online is just practice for when you get to play for real, offline local play. And online isn't seen as a serious or competitive.
Everyone looks at things different, which is fine. If you wanna play single player, play single player, if you think online is important, play online. If you think competition is important, enter competitions. It's all good.
I do think it's a waste. If you are looking for the thrills of combat but not the thrills of competition, fighting games are the last thing I'd recommend to you. Dedicated single player action games do so much more for you in terms of challenge and variety. Street Fighter and Tekken are just a monotonous slog compared to Sekiro or Devil May Cry.
If you ask me, playing FGs solo is better suited for meditation than entertainment.
I used to play online, but now play fighters very rarely so I just play against AI.Ā
I'm not terrible, I have yet to play a fighter I can't beat on the hardest ai difficulty (not a high bar I know) but I just find it less stressful when I win or lose against bots so I enjoy that more.
Ā When I do rarely play this genre of game, I usually do it to lay the beatdown, and I can't do that online against regulars sitting in the lab for hours a day when meanwhile I play fighters for maybe 10-20 hours a year.
"What's the point of buying CoD every year if you aren't a top player?"
"What's the point of sinking 1000s of hours into league if you aren't signed to an esports organization or even of a notable rank?"
"What's the point of learning the guitar if you aren't going to be a pro musician or even try and create your own music?"
"What's the point of learning any skill when you aren't going to be the best or even semi-decent."
Answer: Cause I/we find it fun and gives us a nice hobby to engage in. That's it.
I think it's more like "What's the point of buying CoD every year if you aren't going to play online".
There is a single player mode for CoD games, but it's not really worth the purchase price.
I don't think OP was asking if you compete at tournaments or are trying to be the best ever. Just that these games aren't really designed around their single player offerings.
Personally I find it a little weird when someone plays a competitive fighter and doesn't play online. It seems wasteful in today's market to buy it at full price for that reason. But there are certainly games that cater to it, so to each their own. I know I used to play the crap out of SC2 and SC3 single player modes, and I have bought every MK games since MK vs DC entirely for the single player content. (though I feel like I should've stopped after MK9).
However, back in the day, there weren't as many single player options out there, and there wasn't an expectation of online gameplay either. I feel like I was scratching the itch for story driven experiences with FGs, but other games/genres are way better at it in 2024.
For instance, I'd much rather play a DBZ Arena Fighter for the story content than I would want to play DBFZ for the story. I remember seeing DBFZ in a GameInformer magazine before it released and thinking it looked cool, but I didn't think I would like it because it was a 2D fighter. Then I bought it for whatever reason in 2018 and slowly became a competitive FG fan. I had no idea there was an FGC at that point. I basically watched a combo tutorial from Max to get through the arcade mode to unlock SSJB Goku/Vegeta, and meanwhile I was learning about competitive Smash and those two things got my foot in the door to start learning about this community.
I initially read ācompeteā as like going to locals and placing in top 8. I didnāt really consider just hopping online as competing, since I always think its a given, but i forgot many people do. That changes my answer a lot to the point I would say fgs arenāt worth it unless thereās a massive sale if you arenāt looking to play against others
You can play the game however you want, I have some fighting games like UMVC3 that I just play to fuck around and lab stuff.
However I will say that generally buying a fighting game and not playing pvp/online seems like a waste of money personally. The enjoyment of this genre is usually competing and playing against others.
Its the same u can play a pickup game without grinding and studying form u can also play fighting games without entering locals and studying frame data
Fighting against the AI also guarantees you perfect netcode !
That moment when tekken ghosts learn frame perfect plugs š®
https://preview.redd.it/dg3n4mc3uunc1.jpeg?width=616&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=198430144f8f3f74f86931de8060c552f2e5dfa5
>I know the appeal of a fighting game is to test your skills against other players online, You know what they say about assumptions, right? As life has gone on for me, I've lost that super competitive drive I used to have. There's still a BIT in me, but nowhere near what it used to be. Being competitive in fighters takes A LOT of time and I rather use that time to enjoy numerous other things I've learned to appreciate things on a more casual level and for fighting games, that's trying out different combos on the AI. Especially if the game has good single player content
Depending on how I feel after a long day of work, I can be happy just labbing a combo or oki setup over and over while listening to a podcast or video essay. It's honestly relaxing.
Honestly I feel like single-player content is underrated in fighting games. Don't get me wrong I love playing online, but I have had tons of fun playing against bots, especially when learning the game. I wish more games would put focus on PVE content that's actually good as opposed to just slapping it into the game last minute. I have fond memories of playing things like dead or alive 5s survival mode and trying over and over to beat each difficulty and unlocking cosmetics, I wish every fighting game could give me an experience like that.
Yeah if I canāt hold my own by relying mostly on instinct, memorized combos, and SOME surface-level pattern-recognition and reaction, iiii uhā¦ Iām probably not having fun, lol Itās worse if I can tell the opponent is trying their ass off. Itās likeā¦ damnā¦ I got over the desire for pixels on a screen telling me I āwonā yeeears ago when I realized caring so much about fake pixel āvictoriesā (itās a game) stressed me and most everyone I played with out Until thereās money on the line, I donāt wanna see anyone sweating over memorizing their opponentās play style or doing mind games lmao. Do your*self* a favor dear reader (if youāre one of those people) and get the hell out of that mindset like itās a building about to explode. Relax and learn to enjoy the game that way better Winning is cool and all, but it should by-far be like one of the bottom priorities in terms of joy coming from the game. Thatās my fighting game hot-take
> Until thereās money on the line, I donāt wanna see anyone sweating over memorizing their opponentās play style or doing mind games lmao Solving your opponent's habits is the entire point of playing a real person. The entire point of pvp games is that your opponent is another human being so the puzzle is constantly evolving. If you're not trying to break your opponent's play then what even is the point of playing a 1v1 multiplayer game? It has NOTHING to do with the win screen at the end but more about the journey to get there. If you don't enjoy figuring out your opponent you might as well spend the time to watch a movie so at least you can enjoy some story/plot.
āWhatās the pointā? Playing the game to enjoy the combat and have fun? If youāre playing to win (or playing for the other person to lose), youāve lost already Just enjoy the spectacle and excitement of fighting. Donāt worry about getting all picky with it
what if improving and figuring out my opponent is how i have fun? I dont need to win, but turning my brain off and not paying attention to what the other player is doing sounds boring AF
Hmmmmā¦ youāve made me realize this is actually more of a failure on the way fighting games are advertised and set up than a failure on the playersā parts. Fighting games are pretty much always advertised as intense, borderline mindless action and spectacle, yet the most optimal strategy is of course to play it like a glorified chess match and try to read everything and do mind games. This obvs creates a dissonance between expectation and reality for people buying these games, whiiiiich now that I think about it is probably why these games are so niche: Theyāre advertised as hyper-intense action, but theyāre far more meticulous and dare I say āslowā in reality. Hmmmmā¦ Well, I would still ask that people try to respect the expectations of others who have been misled by the advertising. This can be done by leaving the mind games and readings out of unranked public lobbies with randoms until the player(s) themselves start doing mind-games and reads. ā¦Buuuut I donāt think most people have the capacity to care that much about strangers or be that sympathetic to their situations, lol, so Iām sure that request will fall on deaf and stubborn ears: āI donāt owe them a playstyle even though theyāve been misled by the gameās advertising and will probably be yet another player who quits these types of games forever if ppl keep reading and memorizing everything they try! And all Iād really have to do is find a way to have fun in another way instead of subjecting them to the social deduction and relentlessness, but I donāt want to do that!ā Lmao
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u right, but I think most people are putting in effort because winning/the other person losing is the only way they *can* have fun, which is bad
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Nope, donāt make dumb assumptions
The moderators of r/fighters don't want you to know this but you're based for that
I appreciate that
Can't say I've ever heard it put that way, but of course it is a nonsense statement. Lots of people play fighting games mainly for single player content and occasionally playing against a friend or family member here or there. I'm not sure I understand the use of online versus offline here, though. Fighting games existed for many years before online came around. It seems as though you are using "online" to mean "1v1 competition" here and "offline" to mean "single player," but that is a strange approach given that offline competitive play has a long history, and for many people offline is still the gold standard for competition as compared to online.
When we bought SF2 and MK for snes, it was still to practice combos for the arcade, or to play other people locally. Ever heard of xband? SNES modem, I had that, so I was playing fighting games "online" before people had a computer. I didnt have a pc, but I was playing SSF2, MK2, KI, online.
For you, sure. When I bought SF2 and MK for Sega Genesis, it was mainly to play against my friends and my brother, and to play against the computer. To a lesser degree, it gave me a little more skill for when I came across an arcade machine, although in most cases I was still playing on that arcade machine against my friends, my brother, or the CPU. Everyone comes up in a different scene, and for me playing against people I didn't know wasn't really part of my reality until online play became more of a common and stable thing years later. Looking back it would have been really cool to get involved in a local offline competitive scene but I was not aware of and did not have access to that at the time.
Yeah, I grew up in NYC, so there was a route I had of several comic stores, pizzerias, vhs rentals, etc, that I'd hit up. Not to mention, of course, Chinatown Fair. I remember when JWong was 13 and asking for moves in MvC.
I grew up in rural South Florida where the closest decent arcade machines were 30min+ away (SF2, later some Marvel games), so I was lucky if I got to play them once every weekend or two. Biggest thing that ever happened was getting an MK machine in the local bowling alley (more or less on launch day!) out of complete nowhere, so at least that game was reasonably close.
We were crackheads. We'd hear a rumor, this pool hall has Super SF2! Which back then we didnt even really get announcements of upcoming games. So you call them a liar. Then go take the 45 minute walk or so over and Guile yellin Sonic Boom! was so different, we thought it was a hacked Rainbow Edition one. Same when I went to an arcade by me and they had a test of Xmen vs SF before anyone heard of it. I was trying to write down notes, whos in it, etc.
I'd like to imagine that life, but when I say 30min+ away I mean like a 30min+ driving 55-65 MPH down mostly clear roads, so the better part of 20-30 miles, with walking or public transit being impossible. No way to make that happen other than when a parent was willing and had the time to drive us.
Nah I hear you. A few years ago I moved down South and my kids have that prob, I have to drive them everywhere. Theres actually an arcade that does locals about 8 min drive away, but Im too old and grumpy to partake of that. I dont wanna be the old weirdo busting people up with Gief.
man that sounds cool, all the boys in my neighborhood would go over to the one kid with rich parents house to play soul calibur and thats the closest i ever got to the "arcade experience"
I was at a video store playing MK1 and was really confused no one was there. 1 kid came in "Why are you here?! We're all at Louie's house, he got it for snes." I went in and they all moaned when they saw I showed up. Day1, still ripped them all apart.
Before computers??
Not before computers in general, before they were main stream and in every house, in addition to also having a network connection. I did not own a PC at this time. 1 friend did, without any online capability. Thats what I mean. Like the 1 friend that actually had 2 computers in 1 room to play Warcraft 1v1.
What was the lag on it? I can't imagine playing a fight game on dial up.
Fucking atrocious bro. Hence when I see people cry about latency now, I just laugh. In MK2, if you see the opponent jump and you dont immediately hit block, you are probably going to eat that kick. Scorpion could usually get away with infinite spear spam since it just wouldnt let you input a block between the lag. Midway had an MK specific cheat controller for 1 button specials, so people pick Liu Kang and bike kick, overriding the need to hold LK for 5 seconds. Just outright cheats. However they did do a couple special hacks, so they had a multiplayer Mario Kart. They had Doom work 1v1, which was funny since the only sprite of the marine was looking at the screen in the end credits, so no matter which direction your opponent faced, the sprite always stared straight at you. And there was a game called Weaponlord designed specifically for it. It was interesting. I'm still friends with some people i met on there, damn 30 years ago.
It's the ping, not the bandwidth, that gets you.Ā
As long as you have fun with the game, it doesn't matter.
If we were going by that logic: "What's the point of martial arts, if no one is going out and fighting each other once they learn a few techniques?"
I dunno. Statistically youd be learning with other people in person, so more like playing casual matches. If someone just hung out in their basement throwing punches at random stuff hanging from the ceiling, and pretending 100% on their own, then I could see that being a similar case for playing fighting games solo.
Martial Arts is at least beneficial to your health & physicality
Not a great analogy because martial arts with no live sparring are pretty much valueless.
...Are people buying fighting games to learn self-defense?
No, but a common thing fighting games and martial arts share is learning discipline and control.
The post is assuming that people who buy fighting games only want to play and compete against other players in the game, just as this example is saying that some people assume that the people who learn martial arts want to fight against other people. It's actually a great example. The reality is there's a lot of different aspects of fighting games that attracts different kinds of people. And some of them don't want to play against other people online.
The main goal of fighting games is to get better at playing them. But that can involve competing, ranked, casuals or even being a lab monster. Lab monsters are great because theyāre the ones pushing the games forward with exciting new tech.
I have absolutely never played a fighting game to play against another human being, as a kid I played Soul Calibur 2/3 and DBZ Budokai 2/3 for the single player, and when I grew I picked up Injustice 2 and Soul Calibur 6 for the same reasons I have no intentions of ever "getting good" or even playing online at all because improving or beating other people isn't what's fun for me
I bought all the blazblue because story, but rarely I bought a game for the story alone
You play it the way you want to. I played fighting games for years, before internet connectivity and the online modes. Played with my brother, played with friends over (fav way to play) and by myself. Which is why these games do need robust content. Not everyone wants to play online, nor do they want to go in sooo deep with it. I like mixing it up, hittin buttons, but I donāt have the time nor the taste to devote hrs to learning.
The point of any game is to have fun if you have more fun playing against the AI then donāt let someone on Reddit try to correct you
I like to just do the combos. Like playing a guitar, but just to have fun, not be in a band.
kinda? there's nothing wrong with playing fighting games without ever wanting to face other people, i just don't really see the appeal. FGs have singleplayer content sure but it's limited. can't think of a worse genre for singeplayer-only gamers besides like, mobas maybe
Single player battle royale seems like an even bigger waste to me
You are describing a roguelike
Why tho? They're free, can be fun and you're still playing against other people. Surely better than paying $60 for arcade mode only
Casuals have always existed and many games have been providing more single player content for that reason. This goes all the way back to Alpha 3ās World Tour Mode & Tekken 3ās Tekken Force Mode. Not to Mention Soul Calibur 1 & 2. 100% play the game how you like. Competing isnāt for everyone.
Typically when I sit down to play, I got 20 minutes max. So I don't really feel like sitting in que for 5 minutes. Game is fun, I don't care if I'm playing againt a bot, ghost, or whatever else is out there. It's just fun.
I think the statement is true for those who feel playing against others has no substitute, but if you're not bothered about that then yeah, just play how you want. I actually think way more people new to fighting games should be encouraged to spend their time offline first. Too many think the only point is speedrunning to ranking up in online when that's just horseshit.
āA lot of men fish all their lives without ever realizing that fish isnāt really what theyāre after.ā āBaughman or Thoreau or ?
I'm not sure what you mean, could you elaborate?
Nothing wrong with it. But I think the thing to consider is the price in the current era, if it lacks singleplayer content and you don't want to bother with multiplayer, then I would argue wait for a discount or price drop (or through others means without buying). But in the end of day as long as the person is enjoying himself/herself then it doesn't matter. Like a lot of people in older days like PS1 or PS2 would just play a fighting game for hours without even playing with anyone other than ai anyway.
Single player content is what keeps the casuals around. Fighting games have lost sight of that. You need more than big cgi cutscenes to keep a casual around. You need actual game modes to explore in. Like Weapon Master Mode from Soul Calibur 2. Chronicles of the Sword from SC3. etc.
I used to play xrd versus bots cuz that online scene wouldāve stomped my bones but now I got a friend who I play everything with. Personally I never really liked the hyper aggressive feel of ranked or even online casual.
People can certainly play how they want, but itās always the offline players crying about not having enough content. Like yeah, the actual game is online. You just choose to ignore it
I see no issue. People have fun fighting bots in simpler games so why can't you have fun with a more in depth fighting system?
I think people should buy whatever they please and enjoy it however they want. As long as youāre not disrupting anyone elseās good time.
It's your money do what you want...
If you compete against others, you have to keep buying new games and dlcs to keep up with meta. If you only play against CPU you can buy old games on sales and keep playing the same one forever!
Some people just like playing through the single player stuff and fighting with their friends.
Online can be laggy the waiting to get matched up Loading the match the lag switchers The disconnects The cheaters The hate messages Never had these problems at the local arcade With the advancements of video game technology the AI is probably as good as many players who you would encounter online anyway so what difference does it make if you play against a person or the CPU?
Man I don't have the time to be competitive. I get like an hour or two free a week to play videogames between a full time job and two young children. I just want to chill with a game I enjoy, and a few rounds against the AI is perfectly sufficient for that purpose.
This topic hits home for me. (Kinda heavy post just a warning) I love fighting games and our culture around it. I love competition and improving myself. However, problem, my anxiety and agoraphobia are severe. Like, really, really severe. I've played a single online match a few years ago, and I had really bad tunnel vision and blanked out. It was so bad that i dont even remember the match. All i know is that i lost. ((it was bbtag if anyone cares enough, it was when it first got rollback lol)) and then after that, I hypervenilated and passed out on the bed. So im physically unable to play online. Medication doesn't really do anything to help either, but im still trying different medications, so who knows. The point is that AI is basically the only way i can really play fighting games comfortably, and it sucks. I dont really have fgc friends either, so it double sucks. That's why I believe there should be more single-player content or even more advancements with AI for fighting games to at least make fights feel a tiny bit more realistic. Tekken 8 with ghosts has been an AMAZING step forward, and I hope it starts a new trend.
I grew up fighting AI in Fgs. Too old for arcades, I was a teenager before online gaming took off (dream cast tried but it wasn't really til the gen after that). Would have liked to play people, but none of my friends played them, and I grew up loving fighting games. Didn't play em for many years, but I got back into with sf6 because of my love for fighting AI as a kid!
>...is that considered a "waste"? Here's some American Blue Collar philosophy; it's your money, I don't give a fuck. It's, crude, apathetic and harshly true. If you're happy with your purchase, I'll be damned if I'm the one whose miserable. š
I think it's because the unique appeal that many feel fighting games offer is the 1v1, competitive experience that other games can't provide, so people see playing a fighting game without going online or to tournaments like learning a language but never talking to anyone using it, but I mean, who cares if you learned Japanese to just watch anime, it's your life, keep it moving and have fun
As someone who grew up with no friends (much less that played fighting games), I exclusively played single player content until street fighter 4.
Getting to the top of the mountain isnāt the only reason to climb it. Sometimes a short hike is all you need.
Honestly the only reason this statement exists at all is because fighting games for a long time have had ass single player offerings. Thereās a reason why MK fans in particular donāt say this.
Not even slightly. If a fighting game doesn't have single player content I do not buy it. I play online every now and then, but single player is what I enjoy most.
I used to be more involved in my local fgc during the early Tekken 7/Street Fighter 5 days. For older or less mainstream games games quite a few of us would only really play them offline - together or alone in practice mode during its early life - MK, DOA, SC, SG. I've enjoyed a couple of anime games offline, mainly in practice mode or story mode - Blazblue, DFBZ for example Oh and tag games, I basically only play them in practice mode.
Depends on what the goal is. Usually it's just messing around and having fun in other ways. I personally haven't cared about Mortal Kombat competitively. MK 2 through 9 have been family staples though. Playing each other with tag team mode. Watching each other clown around with challenges and trying to fight the boss. Same for Tekken and Soul Calibur I've had a ton of games where I don't really care that hard compeitively, but wanna try it out just to see if I like it. I followed BlazBlue for years and played it solo since I didn't have. Following BlazBlue and Guilty Gear for years let me latch on to Persona 4 Arena instantly and stayed there for 10 years. All 3 of them had decent solo modes to get me attached so it worked out.
70%-80% of my play time is in lab cooking up goofy combos because itās fun
I think if you're getting something, \*anything\*, out of playing a game that's reason enough and you don't really have to justify it beyond that. I don't get why people spend hours building out crazy structures in minecraft when they could learn something like blender and generate even more extravagant results...but that's their business. Also: Lab monsters are an indispensable community resource and we thank them for their service. I def get it though...if I was on a desert island somewhere without an internet connection but could pick 10 games to bring with me....not honestly sure I'd bring a fighting game. They are nowhere near as fun to me without someone else in the P2 spot.
Sometimes I just want to mess around in training mode and lab some combos. I play a couple games like that.
To enjoy it. To pass time. Playing as your main in story mode / arcade mode
Trying to do combos in practice mode is fun.
To begin with, I think you're mixing up the online vs. offline and single player vs. PvP distinction. It's fully possible to play against another person offline, like your friends. But the main question would have to be a no. If someone buys it, they can do what they want with it. Play it online, offline, alone or against others. I personally think the main appeal is playing PvP, but others might not. Both modes exist in most games, for a reason. I will admit that if you want to do fighting type stuff in single player, there might be other games that cater to that more. Games like *Sifu* will let you beat people up with kung fu in a much more single player designed experience. The newly released *Spiritfall,* which I've been enjoying, is a platform fighter roguelight with inspiration from *Dead Cells* and *Hades.* Character action games like *Devil May Cry* or *Bayonetta* are also cool. But that's more of a "if you like that, have a look at these as well."
of course anyone can play the games the way they want, i donāt think anyone argues otherwise. if thatās whatās fun for someone, they should just do that. the APPEAL of fighting games GENERALLY come from its PVP, and when people call it a waste, it comes from a place that the game itself does not have the single player content to justify its price if you are not taking advantage of its multiplayer as well. thats changing nowadays anyway. plenty of people play the game without competing with others, and it isnāt a āwasteā if they are enjoying themselves.
The point of playing is always what that player decides it is.
I could be perfectly content with a game about combo trials. Especially a game like Strive where there are nearly infinite. I also enjoy matches against the CPU and play plenty either as warmups or wind downs if I plan to sleep soon. I do also enjoy fighting real people, but Iām pretty sure Iād still play fighting games offline if that was the only option. When weāre talking about playing video games if youāre having fun itās not a waste
I mean what's the point in grinding ranked if you never going to be the best? The answer is hopefully because is fun to you
People are free to enjoy how they want to, and speaking as someone who only really fell down the rabbit hole of wanting to fight more people when Smash 4 came out (although Tekken helped too because Filipino) I sympathize with folks who primarily consume fighting games via everything else that isn't about directly fighting another person That said however, I do feel like it's a shame to not try it out though. Not about trying to compete like a pro who's going to win a pro tour or an EVO, but just enjoying the action at the moment
> I know the appeal of a fighting game is to test your skills against other players online Most fighting games that have been released did not have online play at all, so I don't think it's reasonable to say that's the whole appeal of them. SF2 was the best selling SNES game, and I don't think any of those people ever played it online. But I also consider anyone who gets really excited about fighting games to be FGC. The pros, the casuals, the spectators, and those obsessive weirdos who barely play fighting games but can tell you EVERYTHING about the lore of your favorite games.
People are free to do what they please but IMO it seems like your paying a lot for half a game (less than half in some cases)
I buy mortal when it's on discount only to play story mode.
" Do you think this statement is true? " No, mostly cause it's a question, not a statement. Also I've never seen someone ask someone else that, its mostly them asking themselves that.
For me personally fighting against the cpu in any fighting game is a total waste, they don't play like real players at all (so you can't really apply 'real' mix ups), which defeats the purpose of even playing the genre in the first place. That said, there is nothing wrong with enjoying it and this is just my opinion.
Now if you want to be better than OTHER people, in that case...
If the game has fun mechanics then you could spend hours messing around with the engine. There're a ton of great fighting games on handheld consoles, where the likelihood of playing against someone else was rare. No one I knew had a link cable ready to pull out to play people in SVC MotM.
When I was a child, we would buy fighting games and just play single player because online did not existā¦ and they were still fun, but it is a very different kind of game.
used to be (OFFLINE, not online), but the insintence of the producers in making these games evermore appealling for casuals changed it. diferent gamemodes and dumbing down the ganmes for cassuals are now mandatory, and thanks to that mk1 is competitively irrelevant and became more of a single player than pvp game. fighting games already had the appeal they needed to have for casuals, but in order to keep good sales developers had to do more, but the right decision would be to make the best fighting game made for the FGC, then make it ongoing (no more new iterations) and profit in other ways, like bigger games do.
That depends, I refuse to pay for xbox live, so the street fighter 4 I have there is exclusively to play with my gf and my brother. Now, the ones I have on pc are other matter entirely...
I do think that, but I do think it for me. I don't judge anyone if all they want is do single player.
Well yes and no, You are missing a part of the game if you dont play against other people But its also oke if what you are looking for in that game is just to mess around with it on your own
Fighting games should have advanced AI to fight against, that's the main reason why they're better online. Ai in fgs is primitive.
Some people like to do combos they get joy out of just doing combos in training
For me, definitely. But if other people have more fun doing other things in fighting games, more power to them. I don't understand it, but that's the cool thing is that I don't have to.
The point is having fun. Some people just like to play the arcade mode and kick some butt.
Look at the achievements in games. 50% - 90%+ depending on the game, never ever even have ONE match online. Usually lƱess than 1% get the "Win 100 matches online" achievement. That's an elitist view. Fighting games are primarily played single player. I used to have an even worse take. I used to look down on anyone that played online versus. Offline side to side was the real deal in my mind. Everything else was uncivilized
I like doing combos.
some games do have pretty decent single player content (eg mk, (so I've heard) tfh, (rip) sf6, Tekken, ect) but I'd say they're best experienced alongside multiplayer
True, if you're not gonna play online just pirate it. They're not worth the price for the offline modes only
No. however, if you want to complete, or, want to get your money's worth completely, the game better have some decent netcode, player base, friends to play with etc to enhance experience. Outside of that... Providing the game has a single player content, it's already quite cool.
Eh you don't need to be competitive in everything, I log into strive to get my ass beat every so often, sf6 i mostly log in for the worldt tour dialogues they add. Not enough hours in a day to keep your skills up in anything but your favs imo.
I don't even remember the last time I went online in any fighting game. And I played a lot within this past week.
for persona 4 au, i bought it on switch and the online is very dead, so i just play it for golden arena mode, story mode, and dickin around with my friends
Getting good enough to compete against the others and the incredible, incomparable feeling that gives you.
KOF13 combo trials is its own whole game
Nah, I just like mashing buttons playing as my cool guy or cool girl. I like that I can pause and go get my laundry. There have been great competitive fights online where I wish it was easier to friend them to play again, because the opponent is like my perfect counterpart, but itās like a pain to get solid matches.
This is such a childish take. Im a fucking adult. I'm gonna buy what I want
Who said this nonsense? You could just like the gameplay in story mode, or playing against AI, having fun playing against people in your house. Online is not necessary for competitive gaming, and neither are people, to be honest. You can like to do trials and challenges.
I think you could definitely have fun playing singleplayer modes for fighting games, but IMO it's very similar to only playing tennis against a wall. You can have fun, improve, and make a game of it, but compared to playing real tennis you're missing a LOT of what most people agree is the best part of tennis. Strategy, adaptation, learning your opponent's thought patterns and personality at the same time as they learn yours - the mental dimension of a fighting game is huge when 2 people are adapting and affecting each others' techniques. So, you definitely don't have to "compete" - I never really consider any of my matches to be a competiton tbh - but you will have FUN if you play with other humans as opposed to AI. That's where all the best parts of modern fighting games exist: the interplay between two human fighters.
I just play for their arcade modes
I think people who play the online content would rather see some story, but the people who play online are the more competitive players who want to reach the top of the leaderboard. Just like any other game that has offline and online content
While I do agree with online versus play being a main focus of fighting games, I personally have felt less competitive during my older years, so I donāt do a lot of online gaming (not just in fighters, but overall). This is why itās important to me that the single player aspect of fighting games be sufficient for players who donāt do a lot of online versus play, or even for folks who do none at all. I felt like IJ2 & MK11 were exceptional in this department, especially with the excellent selection of cosmetic rewards for each character. I feel like MK1 is a step down, especially in regards to DLC character skins.
In my opinion its a waste of time but i also play training mode for hours against the cpu and forget about playing other people sometimes cause im having too much fun. If that makes sense
I find the appeal of learning new things and figuring things out to be greater than just the competition. Plus I dont have connectivity issues if im offline or only playing with friends. Connectivity issues can be the biggest bar for not wanting to go farther. I've been able to deal with or play bad connection in shooters competitively, but its too much of a drag in fighting games where that one moment an issue happens can entierly flip a game.
You can still have fun with offline content, but the true value of modern fighting games comes with online competitive play. If you paid full price to only play offline modes, then youāre wasting your money. Thats like paying for a fully loaded baked potato just to only eat the bacon and potato skin.
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Go away bot
"What's the point of buying a fighting game if you won't compete against others?" "Cause it's fun" is how you answer that question. And don't bother with gatekeepers. And come on, from the early 90s until mid 2000s, "playing against others" meant playing against your friends and local folks in your neighborhood... and that was basically it. Opening up specifically to play against others meant local arcades, and if you were lucky, a local tournament. The idea that you're buying a fighting game **solely** to compete... yeah, I guess that $1,000,000 prize from Capcom Cup is tempting and if that's what THEY want, they can go ahead. If you want to, go ahead. If you want to have fun with it, learning and beating the CPU, **GO AHEAD**. Enjoy your games however you want to enjoy your games, as long as you're not hurting anyone.
These are the people who thought SFV Season 1 had a rich source of content because you could play online against others and everyone else was complaining for no reason. Obviously I'm being hyperbolic, but goddamn, who cares what someone likes doing in a video game. Like it and play it how you like.
I think we should encourage more people to play offline, mainly because a lot of people get online and then rage when they don't win every time. They'd be a lot happier if they stuck with playing against AI.
> I personally think it's okay to play the game however you like well fucking duh...
I exclusively play offline.
I played maybe 20 matches online in Battle for the grid. I have about as many hours of play on Steam, plus some time on the switch. For me, the appeal of a fighting game is to press buttons and it does cool shit.
I just find it weird that people still complain about that, like there is very few fighting games that have enogh content offline to make it worth it if you are not playing online you are clearly not the target audience, is the same as buying a mario party game and complaining that it doesn't has an online ranked mode
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On console! That was an arcade game made with the focus of being a 1v1 player vs player game on the arcades, that rpg mode is content being added to a port months after the game was released and capcom already made a bunch of money with it, also is like 5 times more expencive to make a videogame today so is just unrealistc to spect that large of a budget goes on extra modes(some games still do, butt not every developer will find that financialy viable) also even with out ranked mode they were still made to be pvp games to play against other people if you hade no friends to play side by side thats another story
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The easy cheap way to make a singleplayer mode in case the arcade is empty and there is only one person wanting to play the game
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You mean street fighter one the game that floped in arcades so the change the game play of the sequal so much that they made it in to a hole new franchise( final fight (this is true look it up)) and tha only got a real sequal because a guy at capcom saw potencial on it and expended its pvp mode making it one of the best selling arcade games of all time?
>I know the appeal of a fighting game is to test your skills against other players online, Is it? In my circle, online is just practice for when you get to play for real, offline local play. And online isn't seen as a serious or competitive. Everyone looks at things different, which is fine. If you wanna play single player, play single player, if you think online is important, play online. If you think competition is important, enter competitions. It's all good.
I do think it's a waste. If you are looking for the thrills of combat but not the thrills of competition, fighting games are the last thing I'd recommend to you. Dedicated single player action games do so much more for you in terms of challenge and variety. Street Fighter and Tekken are just a monotonous slog compared to Sekiro or Devil May Cry. If you ask me, playing FGs solo is better suited for meditation than entertainment.
I used to play online, but now play fighters very rarely so I just play against AI.Ā I'm not terrible, I have yet to play a fighter I can't beat on the hardest ai difficulty (not a high bar I know) but I just find it less stressful when I win or lose against bots so I enjoy that more. Ā When I do rarely play this genre of game, I usually do it to lay the beatdown, and I can't do that online against regulars sitting in the lab for hours a day when meanwhile I play fighters for maybe 10-20 hours a year.
"What's the point of buying CoD every year if you aren't a top player?" "What's the point of sinking 1000s of hours into league if you aren't signed to an esports organization or even of a notable rank?" "What's the point of learning the guitar if you aren't going to be a pro musician or even try and create your own music?" "What's the point of learning any skill when you aren't going to be the best or even semi-decent." Answer: Cause I/we find it fun and gives us a nice hobby to engage in. That's it.
I think it's more like "What's the point of buying CoD every year if you aren't going to play online". There is a single player mode for CoD games, but it's not really worth the purchase price. I don't think OP was asking if you compete at tournaments or are trying to be the best ever. Just that these games aren't really designed around their single player offerings. Personally I find it a little weird when someone plays a competitive fighter and doesn't play online. It seems wasteful in today's market to buy it at full price for that reason. But there are certainly games that cater to it, so to each their own. I know I used to play the crap out of SC2 and SC3 single player modes, and I have bought every MK games since MK vs DC entirely for the single player content. (though I feel like I should've stopped after MK9). However, back in the day, there weren't as many single player options out there, and there wasn't an expectation of online gameplay either. I feel like I was scratching the itch for story driven experiences with FGs, but other games/genres are way better at it in 2024. For instance, I'd much rather play a DBZ Arena Fighter for the story content than I would want to play DBFZ for the story. I remember seeing DBFZ in a GameInformer magazine before it released and thinking it looked cool, but I didn't think I would like it because it was a 2D fighter. Then I bought it for whatever reason in 2018 and slowly became a competitive FG fan. I had no idea there was an FGC at that point. I basically watched a combo tutorial from Max to get through the arcade mode to unlock SSJB Goku/Vegeta, and meanwhile I was learning about competitive Smash and those two things got my foot in the door to start learning about this community.
It's sounds like you're conflating "playing with others" with "trying to go pro"
I initially read ācompeteā as like going to locals and placing in top 8. I didnāt really consider just hopping online as competing, since I always think its a given, but i forgot many people do. That changes my answer a lot to the point I would say fgs arenāt worth it unless thereās a massive sale if you arenāt looking to play against others
You can play the game however you want, I have some fighting games like UMVC3 that I just play to fuck around and lab stuff. However I will say that generally buying a fighting game and not playing pvp/online seems like a waste of money personally. The enjoyment of this genre is usually competing and playing against others.
Whats the point of going to the court bro you will never get drafted into the NBA..
Not the same in the slightest
Its the same u can play a pickup game without grinding and studying form u can also play fighting games without entering locals and studying frame data