Virtua Fighter is EASY: VF5FS BASICS for New Players

(A bit messy at the moment, but I will eventually clean it up. IF THIS POST IS "TL;DR", YOU CAN JUST READ THE BOLD and UNDERLINED PARTS, and get the gist of it.)​

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Over the years, I've been teaching new players how to play VF one-on-one. I tend to get good feedback from the people I teach, but I also find myself repeating alot of the same stuff over and over, so I decided to make this post to just refer them to when needed.

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This post is to help new players get a good foundation in VF5FS by learning how the mentality of VF5FS works at the most basic level. IF YOU'RE NEW TO VF5FS, START BY READING HERE, and THEN go to your character pages/VFDC wiki!

To start, despite what most people say, VF is actually a pretty easy and simple game at its core (espescially the old games), provided that you actually know how the game's rules work. You can make it complicated if you want, by utilizing alot of fancy techniques, advanced option selects, memorizing frame data, stance checking, and whatnot (and that 95% of that stuff is mainly useful only against very good players anyways), but VF at a basic level can boil down to three general rules.

HERE ARE THE BASICS of VF5FS:
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1. KNOW THE VF TRIANGLE AND HOW TO USE IT:

• VF Triangle = Attack (aka BUTTONS)>Throw>Guard>Attack>....
• This is one of the biggest core concepts of this game. It is the rock/scissors/paper of the game. Quite simply, if you're not using the VF Triangle alot, you are not playing VF (and you will get rushed down and bullied really easily by vets).
• As a simple example, if you are close to your opponent and he does a throw, and you do an attack, you will WIN that exchange 100% of the time (even if you press the button super-late). You chose scissors and your opponent chose paper. And after winning that exchange, your reward (normally) is that you earn the right to put your opponent into a(n immediate) mixup for free (i.e. a free "Nitaku situation"), which leads me to the next topic....

2. MID ATTACK/THROW is your most basic and IMPORTANT MIXUP in VF (a.k.a. "Nitaku situation"):

• Quite simply, if you feel it's your turn to attack, 9 times out of 10, you will be probably be doing a mid attack (usually a fast one) or a throw.
• Why? Well, as you guys might have noticed, VF has a TON of options (Evade, crouching, backdash, blocking, jumping attacks, ducking attacks, counters, sabakis, every character having 150+ moves to use, etc).
• Long story short, forcing your opponent (when its your turn) to choose between eating a mid or getting thrown turns their situation into a 50/50 guess (aka, Nitaku guess)
  • Basically, every option throw loses to, mid attack will beat in that situation, and vice versa. There are exceptions, though, such as when fighting characters with sabakis (see Goh and Aoi).
  Spoiler: Extra Info

  [*]You can use stuff like low attacks or high attacks instead of mids if you want (and sometimes you should), but they have downsides compared to mids.
  

  • For example, High punch/ is faster than a mid (unless you're Pai or Jacky), and on top of that, gives you frame advantage even if your opponent blocks (meaning it's still your turn to attack), but the disadvantage in that situation would be that it whiffs against crouchers and loses to . If you rely too much on high attacks instead of mids, you can get easily exposed and lose to people who use alot of crouching attacks.

  [*]A very basic, easy, and often used mix-up setup in VF5FS that is available to most characters is the following: High Punch (gives you frame advantage, regardless if your opponent blocks or gets hit) into either elbow ( for most characters, for Wolf and Akira) or throw.
  

  • Try it out by going to training room (Free Training) and picking Jacky. Press start, go to "CPU settings", and set the "CPU Reaction" to "Guard and Counterattack 2". Attack with high punch and then immediately attack with /elbow. You can do the same with Wolf by using P>3P. The elbow will beat the CPU's , which is most character's fastest attack. In a match, if you think your opponent will guard instead, do a throw instead of elbow. Super easy and super useful mixup.

3. Know your BASIC ATTACKS and THEIR PRIMARY USES!:

• Every character in VF5FS shares game has the same BASIC, UNIVERSAL ATTACKS, and they function in the exact same manner (with a few, very minor character-specific differences for some advanced characters).
• If you don't learn how these attacks work, you will ALWAYS suck at VF(5FS), period. Its THAT important. These attacks seem simple, but they can accomplish alot by themselves.
• These are all the moves you need to play VF5FS at a basic, but complete level. Start learning these moves, and build up with more character-specific stuff from there!
  
  Spoiler: Extra Info

  [*]VF5FS (and VF in general) is extremely different from most games, in that the way of actually playing the game is primarily based on its BASIC ATTACKS. These "basic attacks" are (usually) identical between each character. To better illustrate this point, I'm about to get very meta for a moment, so bear with me, please:
  

  • Using other fighting games as an example, it wouldn't make sense to play Ryu in Street Fighter and NEVER throw a fireball, or to play Kazuya in Tekken and NEVER do an EWGF in matches. These are character-specific tools, as not everyone in the game has those tools. For fighting games like these, character-specific tools form much of the foundation of how to actually play those games. In other words, in order to, say, play Street Fighter, you HAVE to pick a character and learn how to interact in that game PURELY THROUGH THAT CHARACTER. However, honing my fireball game with Ryu may not necessarily translate well to learning how to play Zangief instead (though it will likely help with dealing with the Ryu matchup). This fighting game design approach is what leads to character archetypes (zoner, grappler, etc). IMO, this approach also tends to make games like these very matchup-heavy, as the game can become very different between characters, and you will have to study alot and learn MORE tools from both you and your opponent's character in order to actually be able to play the opponent (and thus, the real game) and not get stomped purely from matchup ignorance alone.
  • VF5FS (and VF in general) takes the exact opposite approach to it's design. No matter what character you pick (except maybe Shun and Lei), you will be using the same basic moves...ALOT. Punch, low punch, elbow, throw, launcher, CH launcer, etc... Akira's low punch functions exactly the same as Taka's low punch. Jeffry's elbow functions exactly the same as Aoi's elbow. Not only that, just about 70-80% of the moves you use in matches (if you are good) will be these same plain old basic attacks. For example, go to the Media section of VFDC and click on any high-level Japanese match. If you keep track of how many times each player uses these simple basic attacks, it more than likely will literally be over 50-60% of all moves used.
    • That may sound comparatively boring, but its actually the opposite for a couple of reasons: First and foremost, this design approach, by definition, forces the focus of VF matches in general to be more on the mind games of playing the player, rather than playing the character matchup (for the most part). No matter whether you are beginner, intermediate, or advanced, your decisions and skill purely as a player will, much more often than not, be what wins you the match, rather than your character's strengths and weaknesses. This allows your personal style of play to shine through. Second, every character in VF in the end of the day DOES have character-specific moves, and they often can potentially affect character matchups significantly, especially in FS (an example would be sabaki characters, like Aoi and Goh. Also, try playing against a good Taka as Shun! > Enjoy the despair! Muahahahaha).
  
  
• ...So what ARE these "Basic Attacks"?:
  1. Lazy Throw Escape/Lazy TE
     • 
       
       Spoiler: Extra Info

       [*]Ok, not really an "attack", but it's just as important.
       [*]The easiest, strongest, and most important option select in the game, allows you to break a throw direction AND block mid and high attacks (remember the VF Triangle?).
       [*]VERY easy to do (hence the "lazy" part). FIRST, hold down the button, and SECOND, while still holding the button, press and hold the button and either the or direction (or no direction!). "Be sure to P while you G!"
       [*]On a side note, I really don't like Lazy TE....
  2. High Punch/
     • 
       
       Spoiler: Extra Info

       [*]The good pressure button EVERY character has.
       [*]Tied for fastest strike attack (for most characters; usually 12f).
       [*]Plus frames, on-HIT AND on-BLOCK. (in other words, even if your opponent blocks, it's still your turn to press buttons!).
       [*]Try using mid or throw afterwards to mix your opponent up! ("nitaku situation"!) The easiest way to do this is "Press Punch->Tap Guard button (Guard-cancel)->Press throw or elbow"!
       [*]High Attack, gets blown up by Low Punch.
       [*]Btw, trying to evade a High Punch is a waste of time.
  3. Low Punch/
     • 
       
       Spoiler: Extra Info

       [*]The "high crush" button that EVERY character has. Use this to beat High attacks!
       [*]Tied for fastest strike attack (for most characters; 12f)
       [*]If you hit using , try using mid or throw afterwards to mix your opponent up! ("nitaku situation"!).
       [*]NOT a true low attack (can be blocked standing!).
       [*]If someone is being annoying by mashing low punch alot, beat them by either throwing a bunch of elbows in their face, or do a "low crush" (read: jumping attack) that will give you a free combo. (if you want to get really advanced, you can do backdash->launcher to whiff punish them)
  4. Elbow
     • 
       
       Spoiler: Extra Info

       [*]Punish players for crouching!
       [*]Fastest mid (for most characters. Generally 14f).
       [*]Generally for many characters. (Wolf and Akira's elbow is )
       [*]Very useful for Mid/Throw mixup (i.e. "nitaku situation"!)
       [*]Safe on-block.
       [*]If it hits, try using mid or throw afterwards to mix your opponent up! ("nitaku situation"!)
       [*]Some characters have even faster mids (like Aoi , Pai , and Akira ). This is very strong. You can use that, instead of elbow, if you want!
       [*]Some characters (SHUN) have a slow elbow(15f), thus making their VF basics game much weaker (Shun has other stuff to make up for it! ).
       [*]Basic crouching attack punisher! If you block a sweep or some other crouching attack that's unsafe, you can use this to punish! (use more advanced stuff as you get better)
  5. Throw
     • 
       
       Spoiler: Extra Info

       [*]Basic attack used to beat Guard!
       [*]Basic attack used to beat Evade/Sidestep! (You can't sidestep a throw! You can also use a delayed attack to beat evade.)
       [*]ALWAYS loses to attacks (don't try to throw if someone is mashing buttons!).
       [*]Throws are HIGH (can be ducked/low punched!).
       [*]CAN be broken by Throw Break/Lazy TE!
       [*]EXTREMELY FAST (10f), can be used as a punisher!
  6. Launcher
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       Spoiler: Extra Info

       [*]Launch your opponent in the air for a free combo (big DAMAGE)!
       [*]Inputs are character-specific( is a launcher for Akira. is a launcher for Jacky. is a launcher for Sarah. for Wolf).
       [*]Usually a Mid attack. (usually 17~ish frames)
       [*]Usually unsafe on-BLOCK. (good thing westerners can't punish well! xD I kid, I kid...)
       [*]Launches on Normal Hit AND Counter Hit! (sometimes CH hits higher than NH)
       [*]A good time to use a Launcher is after hitting your opponent with a low punch or an elbow (if you think they are going to keep pressing buttons)!
       [*]Use "Post-Launcher Combo" after hitting your opponent with a launcher!
       [*]Not everyone(?) has a real launcher(from normal stance)! Poor Kage...
  7. Counter-Hit Launcher
     • 
       
       Spoiler: Extra Info

       [*]Launch your opponent in the air for a free combo (big DAMAGE)!
       [*]Inputs are character-specific, usually from a crouching position (Crouching is a CH launcher for Jacky and Kage (and kiiiind of works for Wolf too). is a CH launcher for Sarah.).
       [*]SAFE on-block (unlike a Launcher!).
       [*]Launches on Counter Hit ONLY!
       [*]A good time to use a CH Launcher is after hitting your opponent with a low punch(if you think they are going to keep pressing buttons)!
       [*]Use "Post-Launcher Combo" after hitting your opponent with a CH launcher!
       [*]Not everyone(?) has a CH launcher (I think?)!
  8. Post-Launcher Combo
     • 
       
       Spoiler: Extra Info

       [*]Congratulations, you just launched your opponent! Press buttons for free damage with no repercussions!
       [*]Learning combos can easily become time-consuming and annoying, so start off with an EASY combo that works on EVERY CHARACTER (or as many as possible)! You can even just mash out PPPPPPPPK or whatever for your Post-Launcher Combo, for all I care, its free damage!
       [*]Learn more advanced combos as you get better in VF!
  9. Low Kick/
     • 
       
       Spoiler: Extra Info

       [*]Use low kick to END ROUNDS with a low attack that's HARD to react to!
       [*]Punishable on-BLOCK!
       [*]MINUS on-HIT (Even if you hit with low kick, you lose your turn (unless its a counter hit)! Keep pressing buttons at your own risk!)
  10. 
      • 
        
        Spoiler: Extra Info

        [*]Basic VF punish string!
        [*]Punish blocked launchers with this! (Use more advanced stuff instead, as you get better)
        [*]If it hits, try using mid or throw afterwards to mix your opponent up! ("nitaku situation"!)
  11. 
      • 
        
        Spoiler: Extra Info

        [*]Basic VF sideturned punish string!
        [*]If you evade an attack (usually a kick), most characters can punish by pressing PPK for a free knockdown!
  12. Strings
      • 
        
        Spoiler: Extra Info

        [*]Probably the most advanced concept out of all of these.
        [*]Strings are canned sets of attacks like for Wolf, for Sarah or for Jacky, for Akira, etc.
        [*]Strings can be VERY powerful tools in VF. Generally, the more strike-heavy characters (JACKY, Offensive Stance VANESSA) have long, powerful string attacks.
        [*]Generally, the more MID ATTACKS in a string, the more powerful it is! (Looking at YOU, Jacky !)
        [*]The special thing about strings in VF (unlike most other fighting games), is that you can usually DELAY EACH ATTACK IN YOUR STRING! This is great, because you can basically create a frame trap, where if your opponent gets worried and presses a button, they will eat a Counter HIT.
        [*]The other thing about delayed strings is that YOU DON'T HAVE TO FINISH THE STRING! Cancel the string by guard-cancelling it (tap guard button). Afterward, can use a throw to catch blocking opponents off guard! ("nitaku situation", anyone?).
        [*]Delayed strings (with MID attacks) are a good way to pressure your opponent in VF.
      
      
  13. Wake-Up Kick (press or when knocked down)

Take note, that all the above is VF5FS at its most BASIC level. You can't boil the game down any more than this. Another term I use in my head for this is "Minimum Knowledge for Viability". In other words, if you pick nearly any character (except advanced characters like Shun and probably Lei-Fei), and ONLY follow these simple rules (including using only those 12 or so basic moves), congratulations, you officially learned how to play VF -- in other words, you are playing complete VF as it was designed to be played. You may not necessarily win only using this, but even as a beginner, with this knowledge, advanced players will have to take you (at least somewhat) seriously.

Use this knowledge as a solid foundation. Only AFTER understanding how these basic concepts work, THEN go down the rabbit-hole of learning your character-specific stuff, like guard breaks, counters, sideturn setups, funky stances, etc. But don't needlessly overwhelm yourself by trying to learn all that stuff first, or you will regret it, guaranteed (you'll become one of those annoying guys that says "VF is too hard!!"). As a side note, if you wanted to pick a basic character to learn VF fundamentals (like picking Ryu in Street Fighter), personally, I would say Jacky would be the best choice. He is a pretty basic character that doesn't deviate far from how traditional VF is played (no "practical" special stances, playstyle doesnt stray that far from traditional VF playstyle, compared to, say, Jean), but he is still extremely strong (top-tier).

One last thing to know: if you're coming from another fighting game, throw out whatever you know and start over, mentally. VF is a very different game compared to literally everything else. Concepts learned from other games often become baggage that holds you down from accepting new knowledge and the old stuff you know wont be useful until you at least learn how VF works at a basic level.

For example, (imo) VF is literally the opposite of street fighter in every way. VF is not a game based primarily on footsies, like SF or Tekken (though VF does have footsies). Unlike other games, especially other 3D games, it is a very fast-paced, close-range based game where you manipulate and overwhelm your opponent by using constant frame traps and mix-ups. Being wrong means praying that you can get out of the next mix-up unscathed (if you can catch it). Getting a read on your opponent is pretty important in VF.


That being said, I'd say to new players, the best thing about VF is its sheer freedom. Unlike other games, none of the characters here can be shoved into an archetype box. For example, some people might call Wolf a "grappler" like Zangief, but that's simply not true. In fact, you can theoretically can take Wolf, primarily use him as a "striker-type" character, focused purely on mixups and frame traps, and literally win an entire tournament without ever using a throw (I wouldn't count on it, though). You could even use a "striker-type" character like Jacky or Sarah and play them in a "grappler style", if you want to (its a hilarious, if dangerous, way to throw somebody off). That's the beauty of VF, you can play the game however you want -- you are not shoved into a character archetype or playstyle, and can play completely differently from game-to-game, no matter what character you pick. Its not unusual to see two different people pick the same character and they play completely differently. VF characters are essentially just paintbrushes for your own style and personality to shine through.

What's even MORE amazing, is that when you consider that Yu Suzuki and AM2 came up with such a beautiful, complete system back in the early 90s for VF1, most companies (yes, including Capcom) had absolutely no idea what they were doing when making a fighting game (since the genre was still brand new; but yeah, VF1 balance was pretty busted, though, lol). Yes, that Yu Suzuki guy is actually a genius.

 

Yo, man, i totally agree with the seperate guides idea! Might start working on that tonight....

 

wow, that would be pretty awesome! :O I should probably get to work faster, if thats the case