Reaction Time Tests on Different Games and Setups

An important skill for fighting game players is the ability to react in a timely manner to what we see and hear from the screen and speakers. To improve and analyze my own gameplay in Virtua Fighter, I use features within the free training mode to quantify my reaction speed. This method can also be used to quantify response time differences due to different setups.

Summary of my findings:

• I did not observe a statistically significant difference in my response time between Ultimate Showdown 2.0, R.E.V.O., and World Stage Open β.
• I observe a statistically significant difference in my response time likely due to the type of display used. My reaction time was faster on the CPU monitor than on a TV monitor.
• I observe a small difference in my response time depending on what platform I was playing on. My reaction time was slightly faster playing on my laptop (Steam) compared to playing on my PS5.

Method

The reaction test is basically hit checking or hit confirmation. In the free training mode, set the CPU opponent to either block or get counter hit by a striking attack. To quantify your reaction time, have the input display on. You only respond against one hit effect and not the other. For this reaction test, press a button after seeing a Counter Hit red hit effect. If a button is accidentally pressed after the Guard white hit effect, the quantified reaction time is likely more skewed. This is due to the person not just reacting to the hit type, but also anticipating the hit type.


To calculate the reaction time relative to the hit effect, you will need to determine:

1. The baseline for your measurements. This is the first frame in which input of the strike command is recognized.
2. Stimulus: The execution speed of the strike.
3. Response: The button input in response to the hit effect.

From the input display, add all the frames starting with the first frame in which input of the strike command is recognized up to all the frames before the response input is recognized. This is the reaction time relative to the baseline (Response).

Subtract the execution speed of the strike--Stimulus--from the Response to calculate the Reaction Time relative to the hit effect.

Results
The Reaction Time Tests were done on two separate dates: February 2025 and October 2025. Variables that were controlled in these tests:

• Game
  • Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown 2.0 (Virtua Fighter eSports)
  • Virtua Fighter 5: R.E.V.O.
  • Virtua Fighter 5: R.E.V.O. World Stage Open β
• Platform
  • Steam - ASUS TUF F15, Intel Core i7 with 32GB Memory, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
    
  • PlayStation 4 - Standard Version
  • PlayStation 5 - Standard Version
• Controller - For one set of Reaction Time Tests, the Qanba Obsidian 1 controller was used. All other sets of Reaction Time Tests were done using the Qanba Obsidian 2 controller.
• Display Type - 4 different displays were used for these Reaction Time Tests.
  • Display 1 and 2 are TV monitors used for PS4 and PS5 platform tests
  • Display 3 is an external CPU monitor used for PS5 and Steam platform tests
  • Laptop Display used for Steam platform tests.

For each set of Reaction Time Tests, Pai's , , and strikes were evenly used. button was pressed in response to detection of the Counter Hit red hit effect. The hit effect is first visible at the 11th (), 12th (), and 14th () frame of the strikes' execution.

In the above table, the Reaction Time Tests are ordered by the average speed of my reaction. My slowest reaction time, 22.4 frames, was on a TV monitor playing Ultimate Showdown 2.0 on the PS5. My fastest reaction time,18.3 frames, was on an external CPU monitor playing World Stage Open β on Steam.

In the above table, SD = Standard Deviation; SEM = Standard Error of the Mean, and N = number of reactions to the Counter Hit red hit effect I recorded for the data set. The color matched rows are to highlight specific Reaction Time Test comparisons (Unpaired T-Tests) in the following table.

T-Test is a standard method to compare the difference observed between two groups of data for statistical significance. From the T-Test, the P-Value is calculated. The lower the P-Value, the more likely the difference observed is significant. In the above table, the Reaction Time Tests comparisons are ordered by the P-Value.

The lowest P-Value calculated, less than 0.0001, is between two Reaction Time Tests in which the display monitor (TV monitor versus Laptop monitor) is likely the main cause for the difference observed.

A good control and also showing how reproducible the Reaction Time Test is the comparison of my reaction time for R.E.V.O. on two separate dates, February 2025 and October 2025 (18.8 and 18.7 respectively, yellow row).

Comparing different game versions, I do not observe a statistically significant difference in my reaction time:

• Between World Stage Open β compared to R.E.V.O on Steam platform (green row)
• Between World Stage Open β compared to VF5US 2.0 on PS5 platform (blue row)

The platform I played World Stage Open β, PS5 or Steam, does appear to have a minor effect on my reaction time by 0.9 frames. In many studies, a P-Value of less than 0.05 is desired to consider the difference observed to be statistically significant and is not due to random chance. The P-Value I observed between World Stage Open β on PS5 versus Steam is 0.06 just short of the arbitrary cut-off!

Concluding Remarks
While the difference I observed between World Stage Open β on PS5 versus Steam just fall short of the arbitrary P-Value cut-off, l lean toward the difference observed is not due to random chance. This is consistent with Noodalls' studies on input lag between different platforms and respected VF players' experience with the game on different platforms.

The difference I observed in my Reaction Time Test between Steam and PS5--0.9 frames--is much smaller than what Noodalls Phototransistor Test of roughly 3 to 4 frame difference between platforms. I am in the opinion the testing method is not contributing to the size of the differences, but more so the differences of computers' specific hardware. With PS4 and PS5 there are the standard console and pro consoles. With the game on Steam, there are even more variety between players' computer specifications.

The take home message? Your own experience with the game's response to your inputs will be heavily influenced by your own personal game setups. The Reaction Time Test method detailed here, provides the steps you can do on your own setups with just the Free Training Mode in Virtua Fighter. No additional equipment is required to do the analysis. It provides quantitative versus qualitative data.

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, I designed the Reaction Time Test to quantify my reaction speed to hopefully improve and analyze my own gameplay in Virtua Fighter. I might post more about how I used it in my own training. Hopefully, the method described here may be of use to others. And for those that actually read the entire write-up...thanks!