#05-1 - Bonus Episode: Why Do People Hate G-Button Guard?
Other fighting games, excluding Virtua Fighter, perform guards by inputting back on the joystick. There's a critical difference here: guard and retreating are done with a single command.
Virtua Fighter's methods of retreating are very weak
- Back walking is slower than imagined, making distance control impossible.
- Backdashes cannot be performed consecutively, and guarding during them is impossible.
- Furthermore, getting hit during a backdash counts as a counter-hit.
As a result, techniques like shimmy, which are fundamental in 2D fighting games, are difficult to use, and dense close-range combat is endlessly forced. Can a beginner handle this? That's why other fighting game players say about this game, where "resetting the situation with a safe retreat" is impossible, "The G button is the problem."
1️⃣ "That's why this game is more fun"
Since infighting is forced, techniques clash, and you must constantly calculate which hit judgment wins. Using frame data knowledge, like placing Go stones one by one, a battle of wits unfolds with technique, counter-measures, and judgment. The process of satisfyingly unraveling this intense strategic battle is exhilarating, which is why those who delve this deep say this game offers a different dimension of fun.
To make this Go-stone-placing combat easier, categorize and judge the classes of techniques. (#05 참고)
2️⃣ If you still don't like it? There are other ways
There are characters who can continuously retreat and reset the situation, just like in other fighting games.
🏃 Characters who easily utilize distance
| El Blaze | pushes opponents away or quickly turns and evades, resetting the situation whenever desired. |
| Shun | creates distance with a special evasion move called Xiangchuhoupi and fights powerfully with techniques like 3p from afar. |
| Vanessa | most techniques push opponents far away even after guard, and her retreating moves are high-performance + Bunker Buster, Intruder Hook/Body. |
| Jeffrey | due to his large size, his basic strike and throw reaches are long, making backdashes or back walking quite effective during strike exchanges. |
| Jean | due to his immense height, his main techniques have long range and push opponents away, often creating safe situations even when blocked. |
🛡️ Characters who fundamentally reject infighting and manage the fight
| Taka-Arashi | super armor, stance transitions, high-performance mid techniques that use whether to throw out the 2nd hit or not. |
| Aoi | numerous defensive techniques (Tenchi In'you, counter-attacks, parries/deflects), fast 13F mid. |
| Pai | defensive moves and special movement techniques, stances, the fastest 12F mid. |
| Lei-Fei | one-sided offense using various special techniques and stance transitions. |
※ These are the very characters that were initially introduced as "Mage-type".
3️⃣ Conclusion
If you don't want to master infighting combat, seriously consider abandoning Jacky and Akira and playing with the characters listed above.
Then, once you get the hang of it, returning to them is also an option.
Nevertheless, I hope you try to understand and enjoy infighting combat as much as possible — because the true fun of this game lies within it.
※ Written before the R.E.V.O World Stage update — some details may differ from the current version.