Game Mechanics
Crawl
Hold 3 to crawl. This is much slower than walking normally, but maintains a low profile.
Jump
Input 7, 8 or 9 to jump back, straight up, or forward respectively. Jumps have vulnerable prejump and landing frames. Jumping normals may differ depending on if they are done during a diagonal jump (7/9) or a neutral jump (8).
Backdash/Backstep
Input 44 to quickly retreat backwards. This is a very powerful defensive tool as it provides frame 1 strike invincibility that lasts almost the entire animation, though there are vulnerable frames at the end. While they lack any throw invincibility, all backdashes (with the exception of Mai's) are considered airborne until recovery, leaving them susceptible only to Jubei's air throw.
Throw
Press 6C when close to the opponent to throw them. Throws are unblockable, but cannot hit opponents in hitstun, blockstun, or in the air. All basic throws are instant and have no whiff animations.
Big Bear, Cheng, Joe and Jubei have additional throws unique to them in addition to a common 6C throw.
Some throws hit multiple times and can be resisted by the opponent if they mash directions and buttons. These types of throws are called "holds".
There is minimal throw protection after hitstun or blockstun and characters can be thrown out of jump startup, making tick throws very strong (though escapable with reversals). Unlike strikes, throws target the opponent's axis point (white cross) instead of their hurtboxes.
Idle Stances
Characters normally have animations for standing still, however they will change to a motionless stance when standing near their opponent. This is a visual indicator of when a character is in range to use their close-proximity normals.
Taunts
Press 5C while far away from the opponent to taunt them. Taunts serve no mechanical purpose and can be cancelled with any directional input at any time. In order to execute f5C from taunt range, it must be input as 4C or 6C.
Lane Sway
A signature mechanic of the Fatal Fury series is the ability to move in and out of the background. All stages in VS mode have two lanes (AKA "planes" or "lines"), one in the foreground and one in the background. When in the background lane, characters' sprites are smaller, so there is slightly more horizontal space to move in.
Press A+B to "Lane Sway", or jump to the opposite lane. This is a frame 1 strike invincible escape tool but it can be thrown.
If both players are in the same lane then the game plays as normal, but there are special rules when characters are in opposite lanes:
- All attack buttons can only be used to do Lane Attacks that cross over to the opposite lane. Although it looks similar to a normal lane jump, these attacks are not invincible and have punishable landing recovery. All Lane Attacks are overheads and will put the opponent in an air reset on hit. Using a Lane Attack without holding a direction will make it home in on the opponent, and attacking while holding 4 or 6 will not target the opponent and instead slightly steer the jump left or right. Punch buttons will do a low Lane Attack which is faster, while kick buttons will do a high Lane Attack. Andy, Cheng, Joe, and Terry have different hitboxes for punch and kick Lane Attacks, with the punch attacks whiffing against crouching characters, adding a drawback to using the faster attack. Big Bear, Jubei, Kim and Mai do not have to worry about this, as their punch and kick attacks will both hit crouchers.
- Inputting 8 in the front lane or 2 in the back lane will roll into the opponent's lane. Like the AB Lane Sway, rolling is invincible except to throws. The roll's input means that jumping in the front lane and crouching in the back lane are impossible. Rolling is a fast way to cross lanes and is safe as long as it's done from a distance.
Once a character is close enough to the opposite lane, their opponent will return to their normal stance and can crouch/jump and use their ordinary moveset again which allows them to anti-air a Lane Attack or throw an incoming roll. Trying to input an anti-air before the opponent is close enough will execute a Lane Attack instead.
Lane Sway is impossible on Axel, Billy and Laurence's stages (single lane stages) but they can only be fought in arcade mode.
Lane Blast
Press C+D on the ground to do an attack that knocks to the opponent to the opposite lane. Afterwards, characters can meaty the opponent with a left/right lane attack.
Unlike other attacks, Lane Blasts have different frame data and hitboxes when done in the back lane as opposed to the front lane.
Dodge Attack
Press 6A while in proximity guard (character is visually blocking but isn't in blockstun) to do a Dodge Attack. Dodge Attacks have upper-body invincibility, can be canceled and knock down on (grounded) hit. Attacks will trigger proximity guard from a very far distance and for a very long time (even after recovering from blockstun), so they can be used in many situations.
Desperation Moves
When a character is at 31 HP or lower, their Desperation Move will be made available, indicated by a flashing life bar and "hurt" character portrait. Desperation Moves are powerful attacks that can be used an unlimited amount of times in the flashing-health state.
Dizzy
Every character has an invisible stun gauge which builds as they get hit and when filled will make them dizzy. When dizzied, a character will be knocked down regardless of what move hit them, and after waking will be vulnerable for an extended period of time that can be reduced by mashing buttons and directions. After going a certain amount of time without getting hit, stun progress will be reset.
Input Interpreter
Inputting Special Moves Too Quickly
Special moves cannot be input in the air and come out after landing, even if they are still in the buffer.
Pressing the button(s) to a special move on the same frame as the final directional input will execute the button's associated normal, which will be kara cancelled to the special if possible. If the move is buffered or if the button is pressed at least one frame after the final direction is input, only the special move will come out.
When inputting special motions, the first direction of the motion must be held for at least 2 frames. Additionally, the first frame after leaving the first direction will not have its directional input be read as part of the motion. This does not mean the input is disregarded, but if it is only held for that frame, the special move will not come out.
Below are some examples of valid and invalid inputs. Each example assumes the character is standing idle beforehand.
| Frame 1 | Frame 2 | Frame 3 | Frame 4 | Frame 5 | Frame 6 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 6+A | 5A | |||
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 6+A | (5A kara cancelled to) 236A | ||
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | A | 236A | |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | A | 5A | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | 6 | A | (Prejump cancelled to) 236A | |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | A | 5A |
| 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3+A | 6 | (2A kara cancelled to) 41236A |
Kim's Hishou Kyaku (j2K) can have B/D input on the frame after 2 is input, but will not work if B/D and 2 are input on the same frame unless a prior 2 input is still in the buffer. It will also not work if B/D is pressed without holding 2, even if 2 is in the buffer.
Simultaneous Button Presses
When two buttons are input on the same frame, they will be interpreted either as part of a Desperation Move or as a normal attack, but NEVER as a special move or Dodge Attack. This can be used to perform a normal attack even when a special move motion is buffered for that normal's button, which is especially helpful for charge characters.
Ignoring A+B and C+D inputs, which correspond to lane mechanics, the priority for simultaneous button presses is as follows: A > B > C > D
- When any button combination is pressed in the air, nothing will happen.
- When characters are in opposite lanes, any kick button will out prioritize punch buttons.
- C+D cannot be used to perform throws.
| Output | Valid Button Combinations |
|---|---|
| A | A+C, A+D, A+B (crouching/single lane), A+B+C, A+B+D, A+C+D, A+B+C+D |
| B | B+C, B+D, B+C+D |
| C | 2C+D |
| D | No valid combinations |
| Lane Sway | 5A+B |
| Lane Blast | 5C+D |
| Lane Attack (Punch) | A+C |
| Lane Attack (Kick) | A+B, A+D, B+C, C+D, B+D, A+B+C, A+B+D, A+C+D, B+C+D, A+B+C+D |
Player Side Differences
When both players throw simultaneously, P1's throw will win.
Characters facing left will have their hit/hurt/collision boxes 1 pixel behind where they would be if they were facing right. This is solely determined on which direction the character is facing, not if they are Player 1 or Player 2.