I came into this kicking and screaming. There was something about the way the
characters would, or rather wouldn’t, respond to my requests. Like a stubborn child my
character thought that it knew more than me and ultimately failed. I guess this is what
feeling old is like.

I grew up playing a lot of 2D fighting games and when the 3D ones came out I thought
the golden age of fighting games had arrived. But reality soon set in and I found myself
playing as if I had a fist full of thumbs. The characters wouldn’t block when I wanted.
The moves were too slow. Too slow! To think, my addled mind was too fast for a
fighting game.

So I stopped playing them. Occasionally I’d dip back into it maybe because I still had
some hope but in general, the 3D Fighting genre wasn’t really all that great for me.
Time past and I felt like I hadn’t really given the genre a fair and honest shake. So I
decided instead of just picking and playing the games, I would actually try to learn it. I
was already renewing my interest in fighting games, so I figured, “What the hey. Why
not?”

Virtua Fighter 5 Online (X360)

I picked this game because I figure if I can get a handle on this game, all the other
shouldn’t be much harder (easier if anything). My favorite character in the series has
always been Shun Di. He’s got style that can get so off the wall that it looks funs to play
and watch. A lot of people say that’s a horrible choice to make when you start out but
I’m in it for the long run so here’s a good a place to start as any.



Let me run down what I know and some questions I have:

- I’ve read the “5 STEPS to Memorize – An Introduction to Virtua Fighter’s Game
System” and understand Steps 1 & 2 but from 3 on it gets a little hazy.

- There are soo many moves! I’m so used to having only a small handful of moves and
utilizing that. The command list for Shun Di, hell for any character, is overwhelming. If
you had to choose only 3 moves (High, Mid, Low), which would you pick?

- Why don’t some moves come out? I have the game display my inputs and it shows
that I’m pressing the right buttons but I get nothing.

- What’s the key to good blocking or defense in general? This is going to sound weird
but Prince of Persia Classic seems to help train my reactions.

So far I’ve reached 5th Dan on Quest mode but those 6th Dan are really making me
think about how I’m fighting. I can win about 1 match out of every 3 I play against
them.

So, any hints, suggestions, or comments?