Fighting games are some of the most fun titles to jump into, especially with all of the huge fighting games around in 2023. Although, it isn’t the easiest to get involved with. Sometimes it can feel like you need a fighting game glossary just to understand how a basic combo works!
Not all fighting games are too complicated. For some though, decades and decades of releases have meant a thick lexicon has built up over time. You might be wondering what Rekka fighting games term means, or neutral, or basically, anything else that gets thrown out without explanation at fighting game esports events! If you’ve ever been a bit lost, this fighting game glossary is what you need. We’ll run through the key terms and what you need to know to understand them.
Fighting Game Glossary
Fighting Genres
Fighters aren’t just a genre, they’re an umbrella term that contains loads of different genres. Even among a sub-genre, like anime fighting games, there are titles in loads of different styles. These are all of the fighting game glossary entries for genres.
2D – The original fighting game genre. Characters can look 3D, but only move in two dimensions left and right.
3D – Fighting games that restore the third dimension! You can add more depth to your positioning.
X Button Game – A different way to categorise fighting games based on how many buttons your attacks have.
Arena Fighter – A 3D fighter set in a limited space arena, popular in anime tie-ins.
Platform Fighters – Fighters that have kills come from knocking opponents off a platform like in Smash Bros.
Fight Game Glossary Basic Terms
There’s more than just the genres, like what rekka fighting games means! These are some of the basic terms explained in a fighting game glossary that you’ll see in the world of fighting games.
7 Golden Letters – A perfect win where no damage was taken, often with Perfect spelled out in golden letters.
Abare – Dealing with an attack by using another attack.
Air to Air – A move that allows you to attack in the air while the opponent is already in the air.
Assist – Pull in a teammate from offscreen to help in a fight. This feature looks set to show up in Mortal Kombat 1 from leaks.
Barrier – A barrier, or defence, or FD, are elements that block grounded attacks but cost meter.
Conversion – A move from dealing a hit to dealing the most damage, a combo that can come out of a single move.
Chip Damage – The damage you do to a health bar even if it’s blocked.
Fuzzy – Getting the opponent locked in a hitstun.
Grab – A move where you grab your opponent and throw. It’s a key part of most of the top fighting games across Switch, Xbox, and the best PS4 fighting games.
Source: @DreamHackFG
Command Grab – a version of a grab which is also a special move.
Guard Cancel – Cancelling out of a guard to turn a block into an attack, often at the expense of your meter.
High – Higher attacks that you can duck to avoid.
Hit Confirm – The time when a player’s attack actually connects and seals the move in as successful on the opponent.
Infinite – A combo that can be done forever if pulled off right.
Low – Another simple entry in the fighting game glossary. An attack low down that you’ll need to crouch to block.
More Game Terms Terms
Mid – The middle ground attack, will hit an opponent in any area.
Neutral – A part of a match-up where no payer is blocking, hitting, or knocking. They’re able to engage however they want to start an attack.
Setplay – A type of strategy where you’ll need to get things set up like projectiles before moving through a high-damage sequence.
Throw Tech – a throw where you can tech, to get out of a throw being done to you.
Touch of Death – a 100% damage combo.
Whiff – An attack which misses and doesn’t connect.
Fighting Game Glossary Moves
Source: Blue Mammoth Games
Even the moves in a fighting game glossary aren’t simple! These are what some of these terms mean.
Buffering – Inputting a move before it triggers you to pick your next move early.
Cancel – Interrupting a move with another.
Charge – A move where you’ll need to charge forward to hit.
Fireball – A projectile moving across the screen. Like Ryu’s fiery projectiles. There are more examples, but SF works as an example for the fighting game glossary.
Gatling – A mechanic where you can cancel from normal moves into normal moves.
Links – A movement between attacks in combos.
Normals – a move you can use with standard inputs rather than modified buttons, like a standing neutral jab.
Numpad Notation – A common way to represent attacks, by calling them the inputs on a numerical pad.
Rekka – Rekka in fighting games are special moves that can move through multiple hits with different paths.
Short Hop – A smaller jump, common in Smash and other fighters.
Those are some of the most key fighting game glossary terms. The world of competitive fighters goes beyond this, with things like frame data to crack into too! These terms should help you make a better start in competitive fighting games though.
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