It’s often sufficient to simply say that pros like Justin Wong, BST|Daigo Umehara or Falcons|MenaRD are “good” at fighting games, and while you’d be correct, there’s surely more helpful analysis that we can take away from their top tier abilities.
Enter Diaphone with his latest video diving into the 10 categories of fighting game skill that lead players to success. Looking at your own gameplay through these lenses will help you assess what kind of player you naturally are and where you could use a little fine-tuning to start leveling up your win consistency.
After detailing out all 10 categories, Diaphone takes us on an interesting self-reflection journey as he analyzes his own play by ranking himself in each category.
If you’re serious about getting better you might entertain doing the same for yourself, acknowledging where it is your approach needs to improve most and honing your training there.
All this said, it’s important not to forget that each player brings their own personality to the table and is going to naturally gravitate toward favoring certain facets over others.
You want decent rankings across all categories, but beware of the trap of trying to force yourself to play in a manner that’s not true to your fighting game identity.
If you’re a player who excels in randomness trying to suddenly become a scientific, by the books scientist like Tokido probably won’t translate to wins or fun. Another way of saying this might be “level up your categories, but don’t try to rearrange them.”
Check out Diaphone’s full video below. It’s filled with insight about foundational aspects of fighting game play, and at least some of his perspectives will surely shine new light on these important arenas of fighting game approach.