By Maj

Over the years, the Street Fighter community has developed widespread conventions for basic command notation. Many newcomers spend a considerable amount of time learning how to decode our relatively intuitive shorthand. This guide exists to speed up the process. Terms are organized into several categories, listed in general order of complexity. Since the whole document is presented as a single web page, the Find function on all standard web browsers is a good way to search through it.

Categories

Control Scheme - complete layout of basic commands available to player
Motion Abbreviations - acronyms reserved for common input strings
Common Symbols - shorthand denoting in-game actions and states
Game Acronyms - title abbreviations for various tournament games
Japanese Notation - basic overview of a numerical notation alternative

Control Scheme

With CvS and MvC2 as major exceptions, most Capcom tournament caliber fighting games use a standardized elemental input layout. The following diagram describes a character on the left side of the opponent, facing right. All directional labels must be flipped horizontally for a character on the right side of the opponent, facing left.

Joystick / Directional Pad		Buttons
up/back UB jump back up U jump up up/forward UF jump forward back B walk back neutral N stand forward F walk forward down/back DB crouch down D crouch down/forward DF crouch		light punch LP jab medium punch MP strong hard punch HP fierce light kick LK short medium kick MK forward hard kick HK roundhouse

Motion Abbreviations

Despite the increasing variety among fighting games, certain fundamental input strings continue to appear in the majority of movelists. Many common acronyms for such strings are catalogued below. Most special move commands consist of one or more of the following motions combined with an appropriately timed button input, typically following the completion of the motion.

QCF - quarter circle forward (D, DF, F)

QCB - quarter circle back (D, DB, B)

HCF - half circle forward (B, DB, D, DF, F)

HCB - half circle back (F, DF, D, DB, B)

DP - dragon punch motion (F, D, DF)

RDP - reverse dragon punch motion (B, D, DB)

360 - full circle motion (for example F, D, B, U, F)

720 - double full circle motion (for example F, D, B, U, F, D, B, U, F)

AD - air dash (in air, PP); commonly followed by specified direction (ADDF = air dash DF)

PP or 2P - press two punches simultaneously (for example LP + MP)

PPP or 3P - press all three punches simultaneously (LP + MP + HP)

KK or 2K - press two kicks simultaneously (for example MK + HK)

KKK or 3K - press all three kicks simultaneously (LK + MK + HK)

charge - hold specified input for two seconds before proceeding to next command

Common Symbols

Although relatively few in number, symbols are crucial to the accurate traversal of command notation. Created by the Street Fighter community to represent the many transitions between movements and attacks, they are the true verbs of the language.

s - standing; always followed by specified attack (s.LP = standing LP)

c - crouching; always followed by specified attack (c.MP = crouching MP)

j - jumping; always followed by specified attack (j.HP = jumping HP)

sj - superjumping; always followed by specified attack (sj.LK = superjumping LK)

+ - simultaneously with; always placed between two actions (F+MK = press forward and MK)

xx - cancel; always placed between two actions (c.MK xx QCF+P = cancel c.MK into QCF+P)

-> - chain; always placed between two actions (s.LP -> s.MP = chain s.LP into s.MP)

/\ - jump; clarifies transition from ground to air actions (c.HP /\ j.LP = jump-cancel c.HP into j.LP)

\/ - land; clarifies transition from air to ground actions (j.HP \/ s.LP = follow j.HP with s.LP)

Game Acronyms

American and Japanese titles of a single release are grouped together. Varying common acronyms for a single release are grouped together. Minor upgrade versions are listed despite lack of popularity.

SF or SF1 - Street Fighter

SF2WW or SF2 or WW - Street Fighter II: World Warrior

SF2CE or CE - Street Fighter II: Champion Edition

SF2HF or SF2T or HF - Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting or Street Fighter II Turbo

SSF2 - Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers

SSF2T or SSF2X or ST - Super Street Fighter II Turbo or Super Street Fighter II X

HSF or SF2AE - Hyper Street Fighter II or Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition

SFA or SFA1 or SFZ or SFZ1 - Street Fighter Alpha or Street Fighter Zero

SFA2 or SFZ2 - Street Fighter Alpha 2 or Street Fighter Zero 2

SFZ2A - Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha (Japanese arcade upgrade)

SFA2G - Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold (American console upgrade)

SFA3 or SFZ3 - Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Street Fighter Zero 3

SFZ3U - Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper (Japanese arcade upgrade)

SF3 or SF3NG - Street Fighter III: New Generation

SF3:2I or 2I - Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact

SF3:3S or 3S - Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike

CvS or CvS1 - Capcom vs SNK

CvSPro - Capcom vs SNK Pro (Japanese/American console upgrade)

CvS2 - Capcom vs SNK 2

CvS2EO - Capcom vs SNK 2: Easy Operation (Japanese/American console upgrade)

COTA - X-Men: Children of the Atom

MSH - Marvel Super Heroes

XSF or XvSF - X-Men vs Street Fighter

MSF or MvSF - Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter

MvC - Marvel vs Capcom

MvC2 - Marvel vs Capcom 2

Japanese Notation

The prevailing notation system in Japan replaces alphabetical directional acronyms with numerical representations. Although the style may seem confusing and unorthodox at first, its basis is surprisingly intuitive. The nine possible positions of the joystick are overlaid onto a standard number pad and assigned corresponding numerical values. This single concept replaces both the Control Scheme and Motion Abbreviations of the standard American notation system. The advantage here is that numerical representations are exact about the specific input directions referenced, whereas certain alphabetical acronyms such as QCF are sometimes ambiguous, relying on definition by convention. Of course, the major disadvantage is the system's limited user base among English-speaking audiences. Both schemes have advantages and disadvantages with respect to conciseness/compression. Fortunately, it's not a difficult language to learn should the opportunity arise to communicate with foreign players.

Joystick / Directional Pad		Buttons
up/back 7 jump back up 8 jump up up/forward 9 jump forward back 4 walk back neutral 5 stand forward 6 walk forward down/back 1 crouch down 2 crouch down/forward 3 crouch		light punch LP jab medium punch MP strong hard punch HP fierce light kick LK short medium kick MK forward hard kick HK roundhouse