I know it’s a lot to ask, but i really think game developers should keep combo video makers in mind when designing Training Mode options. Fighting games receive tons of exposure through combo videos. From a marketing perspective, it pays to make our lives a little easier. Here are a few Training Mode suggestions that i would like to see in future fighting games.

    Stage Select
This is a no-brainer, but some games (such as SSF4) still don’t have it. Unless you want pages upon pages of Training Mode screenshots in u2b search results, let us choose a different background. Otherwise you’re forcing us to represent your game by its blandest stage.

    Dummy Status Options
In addition to standardized dummy actions (stand/crouch/jump/record/playback/human/CPU), we also need basic status settings such as counterhit, dizzy control, and defensive options. Then if it’s possible to set the dummy to perform a specific move at every reversal opportunity, many players would find that helpful. For example, sometimes we want the opponent to perform a Dragon Punch or throw as they come out of hit stun or block stun.

    Dummy Record / Playback
Obviously the capability to record and play back a sequence of commands with the dummy character is extremely convenient. Most games allow ten seconds of recording time, and that’s fine. Changing characters in SF4 doesn’t erase the recording, which is actually very useful for testing a combo against multiple opponents. You simply record the combo with the dummy, and swap characters until you find the ideal punching bag.

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It’s no secret that computer opponents in fighting games tend to have easily manipulatable artificial intelligence. Considering that single-player mode is rarely a priority in fighting game design, it comes as no surprise that CPU AI would be so underdeveloped.

In fairness, constructing gameplan flowcharts that are both compelling and reasonably challenging is no easy task. Part of it is because optimized AI can be nearly impossible to beat in any primarily reaction-based game. SFA3 Akuma had this ridiculously dominant bully tactic where he’d tick with c.LK and then walk forward. If you do nothing, you get thrown. If you do anything, you get uppercutted.

It was the scariest throw mixup ever. He’d use this whimsically on every difficulty level without warning. Basically your only options were to reversal his throw attempt within the 4-frame window after he initiates his throw but before it connects. Or to press a button to bait his DP then kara-cancel into super. Not every character has a super that beats Shoto DP.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the tactic itself. Tick throw mixups are perfectly valid in competitive play. The problem is, Capcom replaced human anticipation and pattern recognition with sheer mechanical reaction speed. This removes the mental aspect from the equation, emphasizing execution alone.

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