School is back in session. Time for all of us to stop late night gaming for at least a week as we convince ourselves we’re going to study hard and get good grades. Oh, it’s only me who pretends to be a good student at the beginning of every school year? My bad… I know school means less gaming, so I’ve put together a list of Street Fighter terms that’s easy to skim.
Street Fighter terms for beginners
Studying is important. That’s why I’ve put together a bit of study materials for you. Street Fighter fandom has seen a lot of growth recently, so here is a list of Street Fighter terms you may hear while watching your next tournament. There’s a lot to learn, this is part 1 of 2.
You’ve already learned the basics of Smash, time to learn the language of Street Fighter.
50/50:
When a player has 2 options for attacking and only 1 can be defended. The defensive player then has a 50/50 shot of picking the correct defensive move.
Anti-Air:
A ground attack which hits the opponent who is in the air. Anti-Air attacks typically have higher priority than an air-based attack.
Baiting:
Using a certain move or behavior with the intention of getting your opponent to react. Once they react, you punish their movement.
Block:
Blocking is a way to reduce the incoming damage of a move. It puts the blocking player in a position to counter attack. This is also known sometimes as “guard.”
Block Stun:
Refers to the time after performing a successful block where one of the players cannot perform a move. Block stun can happen to either the defending or attacking player.
Bread and Butter (or BnB):
Refers to the common, effective combo or style of a specific character. Typically the BnB is what players learn when trying a new character.
Buffering:
When another move is input before the first move is complete. Many combos require buffering of future inputs before the move is actually executed.
Cancel:
A cancel is when the player drops out of an animation with another input. This saves animation frames and allows for faster recovery or attacks.
Chip Damage:
The damage taken while blocking. Chip damage is less than the typical damage a move would do.
Cross-Up:
A cross-up is a situation where the defending player can have difficulty determining if they should block left or right. For instance, when one character attacks while directly over the head of the other.
Frames:
A frame is one individual picture which makes up an animation. The amount of frames in a move determines how quickly it is executed.
Hit Box:
The actual area a character can be hit. The hit box does not always match up perfectly to the character’s model.
Juggle:
A combo in which a player hits their opponent multiple times in mid air. The opponent only touches the ground at the end of the combo.
Matchup:
The instance of any 2 characters against each other. A matchup can be good or bad for each character depending on how easily it is to play against that opponent.