The Art of Footsies - Fighting Game Fundamentals

[@estebanacostaolivera3232]

The mental games that happen during the neutral and footsies are the reason why I love fighting games

[@s_factor_sam]

Too bad it has been a dying art over the last 10-15 years, in favor of gameplay design that rewards and enforces offensive play, by the hands of the devs themselves. There's far more Neutral and footsies in MOBAs and non-traditional fighting games like Gundam Extreme Vs, Absolver, and For Honor than the vast majority of modern FGs. 🤷‍♂️

[@estebanacostaolivera3232]

@@s_factor_sam I don't know, a lot of fast paced FGs have my favorites versions of neutral gameplay, like JoJo HFTF which is one of my favorites games to watch because of the crazy pokes and baits

[@pilearcato]

what mental game i just hold forward

[@Cystlib]

That's why I enjoy smash bros. Combos are short and as a result the game focusses more on neutral

[@Serralas]

@@s_factor_sam I partly agree with you. But it definitely hasn't been as long as 10-15 years. Games like Smash Ultimate DB FighterZ,, Street Fighter, and Tekken still have footsies.

[@dandylion1987]

As someone who doesn't play fighting games it's fascinating how complex, deep and difficult they are. Such a high skill ceiling it seems

[@crimsonfgc3543]

it's wild because im a preacher of how hard fighting games truely are, and no one ever believes me

[@MadnessJackey]

watch some Arena shooter break down too. it's basically fight game but in fps.

[@waverazor]

@@MadnessJackey i now noticed you said "arena shooter" almost thought you said arena fighters... Arena fighters are so unga bunga

[@MadnessJackey]

@@waverazor arena fighter sounds like a mess already

[@ihaveaplan.ijustneedmoney.9777]

@@crimsonfgc3543 For my generation it was because of Tekken's accessibility back then. Every kid who owned a PS2 or PSP would also own a Tekken title and would be aware how to pull an "Eddie" where they just mash X and O. So when we start playing a 2D fighter like SF4, they get completely bodied.

[@Gpop119]

Melty Blood, aka "air footsies". Because almost every character has a double jump and air dash and anti-airs being generally weak, that a lot of the combat is in the air, and getting an aerial counter hit is HUGE (untechable until you hit the ground, so it's basically a free full combo at that point)

[@taylorbee4010]

That's the thing I like about melty blood is it actually makes you work. It's an insane anime game but it has a neutral game. Probably what makes it hard too

[@Thee_Znutz]

What is the complete name of that melty blood game in 9:38?

[@Gpop119]

@@Thee_Znutz that one is Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code. Or MBAACC for short

[@Thee_Znutz]

@@Gpop119 oh Thank you :D

[@Teneban]

For me, footsies are basically just toying with the frontier of reaction. There's a range after which you can react to anything your opponent does - and if you're weaving back and forth across the edge of that range, your opponent is never quite sure whether or not you'll be able to react to what they do. You have to make them think that you can't, when you actually can.

[@semuta2752]

I already never get tired of seeing different perspectives on fighting game fundamentals, and felt lucky to see an Akshon video on footsies this morning. But, got-dang! Your comment on *using* it is easily one of the most well constructed I’ve seen.

[@Serralas]

100% accurate. That's how I always viewed it too.

[@letsmakeit110]

i was talking with my trad fighter friends about smash and was shocked they never heard the term "burst radius." It's exactly what you're describing the range where you can't react to all of your opponent's attacks.

[@Tinfoiltomcat]

That's just one aspect of footsies young grass hopper

[@omarhasan03]

Just want to note that footsie is not a term coined in the video game community. It was also in the boxing/martial arts community as a term used to describe using movement to deceive, manipulate, or convince your opponent of the space you control and how quickly you can close or open more space safely. It was not coined in the 90s arcade culture. I knew boxing kids in NY that would say their legs were sore from practicing footsies or their footwork. Muhammad Ali was the master of real life footsies, btw. He could move most opponents anywhere he wanted without throwing a punch. Just using his footwork/footsies.

[@theWIIISEguy]

Agreed. The proper way to cite its use in the fgc would be to say it was popularized by the FGC. It's almost exclusively used in the genre these days.

[@SAPProd]

8:16 this is why the 90s was Capcom at its best: they had several different and unique fighting games out that fed into one another. Darkstalkers introduced aerial dashing, EX versions of special moves, push blocking, and various other concepts that would be adapted and perfected in Marvel and other games, and likewise they took concepts from their contemporaries (both within & outside the company). It felt like a thriving ecosystems where titles that weren’t the main headliners still had their community to learn and discover these smaller titles and yet be able to go between them without being absolutely lost. I learned Darkstalkers because of my experience in MvC1. That’s the Capcom I want to come back, where cameos in each other’s games are not mere asset dumps, but advertising for other games to try. I want to be able to play Street Fighter 6, Darkstalkers 4, Rival Schools 3 (or 4, however they consider Japan only sequel/upgrade), Power Stone 3, and Lord Jedah forbid Red Earth 2! It’s why I feel the upcoming Capcom Fighting Collection is just as important a release, if not moreso, than Street Fighter 6!

[@mikeg4490]

I'm far more invested in the Capcom Collection than SF6

[@joaojahnke9684]

Sorry fam, those sequels are not happening. Capcom has been pumping those ports to "test the waters" since the PS3, they all sold well, but no sequels. Its just a quick buck

[@SAPProd]

@@joaojahnke9684 yeah, no one at Capcom has said “buy collection and we’ll consider a sequel”. I still encourage everyone to get this collection because you’re getting 10 classic games, one of which never before released. To ignore them would be to miss out on what made Capcom great in the 90s. And yeah, these games are available on Fightcade, and the competitive scene for these games have been active for years (it’s not like we had any other options for the past 9 years), but having them on consoles and officially will help it to grow further. So sequels or no sequels, future collections or not, I encourage everyone to get this.

[@keithsimpson2150]

Meanwhile in KOF... Hop beats low b beats stand jab. Now do it at warp speed while considering throws, angles, and combo confirms. footsies in KOF is the pseudo autopilot you hop around in looking for your advantage I think.

[@Fedorchik1536]

It's more about making you opponent guessing every time you either jump or run forward, while also doing the same yourself xD

[@Alienworks44]

Loving the variety of FG music used for the background. It's amazing

[@swagger5979]

Thank you for spreading the fighting game love!

[@d4rkz3r011]

Man that circle back to kicking shins at the end gave me Core-A Gaming vibes haha. Great video!

[@swagger5979]

For anyone looking to play fighting games and wanna learn footies here are some games I highly recommend to help you along your way. These games are cheap or you can play on fightcade 2 Footies: free Sf2 : fightcade 2 Káiser knuckle : fightcade 2 this game is extremely hard but worth it. These games will help you tremendously with footies in almost every game. I personally ply footies and káiser knuckle for warm ups before tourneys or online play in sfv or ggst even tekken. If you have any questions or want to add anything to this list for new players please do

[@manleyfgc7981]

Every game has footsies. People should play what they like.

[@quint2568]

Divekick and samsho

[@quantumpotato]

I thought this was going to be all about the game, Footsies. Great episde! Something that always stands out too me is how if you don't threaten with hitboxes at all, your opponetn can read that you aren't throwing any moves out and safely move forward. In TLA, you can advance against Rice who may be looking for an anti-air this way

[@MrChessboxing]

As an I-No main, your Neutral and Punish clip examples gave me PTSD

[@Surr3alll]

That Quora post really helped me conceptualize footsies better. Thank you for that.

[@drunken_viper]

I love how they have used Lei's stance flowchart 00:38 ...as a Lei main this does put a smile on my face lol.

[@Sadeyo1]

I love fighting games due to the complexity of them.

[@Ramsey276one]

And still you can start with Wacky Flailing and Manic Mashing XD Won’t get you far, but…

[@Ralkila]

You're doing a good work making these subjects relevant in new gens. Even if footsies are a web of decisions and commitments, its main mental juggle relies in the whiff punishments; it requires deep knowledge of the game and practice on hit and on block options on your disposals. But as you said that would be complicate it and add layers that would whiff the purpose of starting the thinking process in new players.

[@karue7581]

Absolutely love your fighting game content!

[@monkehotdogs2227]

Best fundamentals vid I’ve seen, def dropped a sub

[@Akshonesports]

Thank you so much for the support!

[@bananabike279]

Great and informative video! The editing especially was very clean

[@lrgogo1517]

I must sing praise of the tutorial sequence where I-no is caught slippin’ and the greenscreen effect _suddenly shatters_ as Zato proceeds with a supreme beatdown

[@LobotomyPatient]

Have to complement the script and editing polish in these videos. Amazing job

[@zu_1455]

Awesome vid. Have been playing since SF2 but never learned all the lingo of competitive fighting games.

[@DigiMatt52]

KoF XV dropping recently and the series' unique hop/jump/s.hop/s.jump does something to footsies that even air dashing doesn't give. Obviously this video isn't a comprehensive guide to footsies, but it is also the only series that does what it does.

[@pleaseshutup7053]

Footsies are my go to move it’s just like real fighting a low kick is just a quick leg check over time if will do damage to your opponent and most low attacks are super safe

[@s_factor_sam]

That's why I prefer entries of SoulCal, VF, and Tekken from the 2002 to 2012 period. They followed those real-world fighting fundamentals and allowed a wider variety of viable playstyles than in any fighting game made since then.

[@SeriouslyWTFAndre]

This was an amazingly well done video. Got to hit the subscribe

[@Akshonesports]

Thank you so much!

[@papolosD03]

An interesting thing is that this concept is similar to the modern fencing term "skirmish". The idea of controlling measure, feinting and analyzing your opponent is intrinsic to any type of duel.

[@Weeb1367]

*Mental breakdown due to 1 sec reaction time and inability to whiff punish*

[@alex_oiman]

footsies is unironically my favorite fighting game, followed by bushido blade

[@s_factor_sam]

True, unadulterated fighting taste. Sadly, the most unpopular opinion among fighting game players and criminally ignored by devs.

[@nahometesfay1112]

There's an online crossplay Footsies tournament this Saturday if you want some good matches. You can sign up on the Footsies discord.

[@binarioochentaycinco4791]

you may also love divekick

[@comicalbanana]

I think Sakurai puts it really well in his Kazuya reveal for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, when he shows the vastly different positional game between traditional and platform fighters. He displays a red line for the front of each fighter in Tekken 7, emphasizing the horizontal importance, then shows a clip of Ultimate with two characters, highlighted as red shapes on vastly different vertical AND horizontal positions, showing the importance of multiple dimensions in spacing.

[@DonWippo1]

Missed Opportunity to mention the King of Fighters and its Shorthop Mechanic, since I believe it has just as big an impact of how footsies are played as Airdashes.

[@elistiagel642]

Thank you, I need this

[@scoutboy25]

Never knew I needed akshon to insult my shins three times at 3:35

[@Ramsey276one]

XD

[@saulitix]

Footsies is that thing I practice a lot but then just forget about it immediately and start panicking during the match

[@kaisersigma1]

I mean, the names is a clear reference to what it is, moving around looking for chances.

[@jtothehan0]

I was gonna participate in a footseis rollback Edition tournament This will help alot

[@curtiswows]

this is what i needed i just hit gold in sf6 and felt like i hit a wall, this is a banger video

[@dextra_24703]

thats quite perfect, i wanted to design a footsies character

[@user-ro5ww2rb7z]

>Talks about mixups >Jack a dandy plays Brilliant.

[@IKARIking67]

What a beautiful explaination. Subbed.

[@nomaschalupas2453]

The effin patients of a rock…..that full round 1 move mind games lol.

[@Mattyyy--]

wow this was such a good guide! thanks so much for this!

[@johnnyworms]

Nice video! Love the title--has a nice ring to it.

[@MoistyRain]

Really good video, I think you guys are doing amazing with the amount of informative videos being created.

[@mrt445]

The other reason why Marvel is fast paced is because of extremely quick recoveries after knockdowns, which new fighting games should implement. The 3 second knockdown phase in every SF game slows down the pace.

[@logangardner3577]

A Bad Santa reference at the end? Hell ya

[@JimmyGeniusEllis]

This beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

[@armorbearer9702]

Further adding to the complexity of Mix-ups is the stance system. Games like Mortal Kombat X have different variations of the same character.

[@Ramsey276one]

LEI WULONG

[@goodjuju8198]

Gotta catch your opponent slippin so you can get their health bar dippin

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Great video as always!!

[@kentmichaelgalang686]

when i got into fighting games and i heard about footies i expected so many foot fetish jokes

[@Lanzetsu]

I am so used to Guilty Gear that playing other games and walking backwards makes me feel I am almost losing lol Also I never liked MVC because... it feels really chaotic and you have no clue what the heck is going to happen, strikers + aire craziness is not for me

[@mini_Sneaky4778]

I like the editing

[@binarioochentaycinco4791]

funny thing in these games fighters are able to render an opponent unconscious just doing quick taps to the foot with their foot.

[@KingAston]

3:42 this is why I love Street Fighter 😩🙏🏽

[@comradecatbug5289]

6:40 Yooo sick Queen tee

[@andrew_gaming7133]

I feel like if I learned footsie my friends would call me lame and I'd just rush down again.

[@pinoyboy3552]

4:11 missed oppurtunity to say "it's easy to know what you Ken and Ken't do" lol

[@CocoMura]

>me playing eldenring >gets grabbed >"ACTIN'LIEK'YOU'WONT'GET'COMMAND'GRABBED"

[@SivartAuhsoj]

"Marvel players getting washed in other games?" IDK about that one. MvC2 and MvC3 have created some world class players in many other fighting games.

[@KuroKamii94]

Funny how one of said players was playing during that statement

[@Clbull118]

Smash Bros too. Leffen almost beat Go1 in the Ro64 of a major DBFZ tournament.

[@Ka0sNinja117]

Arial is a font, aerial means in the air...

[@marlow893]

Lesson learned : protect the shins.

[@markmessi9020]

I do this in the real fighting. Footsies wins real fights too 👊

[@AtmaDragoon]

0:10 - Yeah, I hear Times New Roman and Helvetica tend to have a tough time in that matchup, specifically. Courier probably fares better -- or Garamond, if you're feeling _spicy._

[@GraveUypo]

i feel left out on these fighting games videos, as my favorite series never gets mentioned. i have never had so much fun before and after dead or alive 2 ultimate. so many mind games with the counter system that keeping your cool was more important than your "skill" to rack wins. only game i ever had best of 200 matches. back when my brother and friends were also game for doing shit together instead of being boring old persons with no drive for anything

[@ethanharmon1228]

footsies is such a great game

[@MichaelHarto]

Kof players: "wtf is footsies? Just jump & attack" 😂

[@laneuwu1660]

gassy content, super underrated channel

[@Akshonesports]

I appreciate that!

[@charliebaker1427]

Love air dashing characters, Beowulf is my main

[@akajesustsuki]

Can’t wait until ign copy this vid like the wave dashing and wombs combo vid in their plagirisaursus series

[@taylorbee4010]

Walk back walk forward stick out a light or stick out a medium. Repeat. Sweep.

[@agaed7676]

Everyone talks about footsies but noone talks about footie

[@user-gr9qu1ol8f]

Great video @akshon Esports what is the name of the background music at 10:22 please?

[@fhjunior6183]

Thanks for the vid

[@obananagato]

so basically footsies is a mind game

[@RodroVT]

hey akshon what font do you use for the thumbnail titles?

[@phorchybug3286]

Dear god, I really suck at fighting games! I just like to go with my own ideas, instead. The only complex combo I can even do is like with ROBO FORTUNE: jump-HK-LP-LP-HP Everything else is just spacing and spamming lasers. I am... Just a mediocre ROBO FORTUNE main at best.

[@allengordon6929]

If anybody wants to do this IRL, Fencing and HEMA fit the bill.

[@kussin1265]

Just some feedback, maybe try to be a bit more casual or enunciate less. Cracked me up when you said "shotos" it sounded like "show toes" because of the way you were speaking

[@Rootbeeroverseer]

the track @1:45 got my old-ass wanting to get into the fgc. What is it?

[@chibimentor]

Thanks!

[@ghhn4505]

What's the song that starts at 11:39 ?

[@caedavch.9883]

3:35 My shins…!

[@lukek1848]

what is the song at the end?

[@defearl]

There is no such thing as "lag" in fighting games; that's a smash thing. In fighting games, a move that leaves you disadvantageous at the end is called "minus on block".

[@noname1210hh]

clueless

[@zenheretic]

ok but what is delay based netcode then

[@doodoo2065]

i always liked games that encouraged and rewarded in the moment decision making rather than previous knowledge such as memorizing a 50 hit combo, i wonder if something could ve done about it without making the game feel jank

[@beaushorkey9313]

@5:20 OOO I GOT MIXED! I GOT MIXED HARD AS SHIT!

[@KusanagiMotoko100]

Didn't Core-A-Gaming made this same video even featuring Footsies the game?

[@shinfitz]

How could you bring up aggression and dashing without mentioning 1995’s Mortal Kombat 3?

[@methanesulfonic]

2:34 300IQ SamSho play

[@SirS3mt3x]

Bro at 11:21 got hit irl 😂😂😭😭

[@playharderscrub]

Guilty gear going for aggressive game play as i fight HC😭

[@harry1178]

First time I see the term "hurtbox" rather "hitbox".

[@MasterSunnyEX]

Does anyone know what the name of the song from 11:45 onwards is? It sounds dope

[@josephaloissr]

song near the end?

[@Captain1nsaneo]

By the final summery then it's an overloaded term that describes too many game states to be clinically useful? I'm not very experienced in fighting games and I'd understood it as when neither side has committed to an attack yet.

[@diegogatjens1728]

9:11 what did you say about marvel players!?

[@humansaresilly2465]

We all need to come together as a community to find another name for this. Saying I'm gonna do some footsies while playing a fighting game makes me wanna disembowel myself to retain my honor

[@demonkingnobunaga]

yo I need that samsho V clip lol

[@jakk2631]

The footsies game reminds me of a game called one strake

[@Ramsey276one]

Where from? I think I got it on Switch?

[@jakk2631]

@@Ramsey276one yeah it on switch it from quibcgames, it got updates new fighters easy pick up and play it real teents

[@opedragon4742]

what game was shown at 12:00 on screen?

[@neon-lake]

Guilty gear strive