Summary
Some games live and die based on their peripherals. Lightgun games went from being a system seller in the NES days, to being left in the arcades. Racing games came with all sorts of wheel-based controllers in the past, though they could be played just fine with a regular controller. Then there are fighting games. There are all sorts of different ways to play them, whether it’s specialist gamepads, arcade sticks, hitbox and mixbox controllers.
But some players can’t afford some fancy special controller and have had trouble setting up gamepads for their PC. What are they going to use to play fighters on Steam or elsewhere? Their keyboards? Actually, yes. Keyboards are viable ways to play and led to the rise of leverless controls. But some games, including whole series, work better with them than others, and these fighting games are particularly handy for keyboard players.
TheMarvel Vs Capcomgames (including itsX-Men, Marvel Super Heroes, etc. predecessors) seem like they shouldn’t be too much trouble on a keyboard. Their inputs are much simpler compared to the mainlineStreet Fightergames, especially whenMarvel Vs Capcom 2,Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, andMarvel Vs Capcom: Infiniteused four attack buttons instead of six, leaving more room for Assist attacks. But it can vary depending on which version of which game people are playing.
With the right layout, players have been able to pull offUMvC3’s fancier techniques, like plinking, with less stress than pads.MvC: I, the black sheep of the series, also allow different keyboard configurations. However, people have had trouble with binding keyboard controls to theMarvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection, and once they did, the game would have trouble reading some inputs. So, keyboard players will either have to fire up the emulators until the issue is fixed, or head back toUMvC3to get their fix of tag-fighting action.
One of the advantages players find with keyboard controls is that they can be more exact with their movements. 360° and pretzel motions become less of a struggle when they’re strumming WASD or ASD-Space, etc., instead of twirling a stick or rolling their thumb on a D-pad. Still, it takes some practice to associate keys with fighting game directions, whether they’re hitbox layouts or old-school Arrow Key setups.
BlazBlue Central Fictionis a good place to start practicing, as it allows players to set up their keys however they’d like. If they don’t want to stay in the purgatory of practice mode, they can branch into the other modes. The story and arcade modes are good ways to experience the game straight-up, while Grim of Abyss Mode lets them use stat-boosting items to get ahead. That way, they can last long enough to pull off the game’selaborate Astral Finisheswith less fuss and no muss.
In the old days of PC and microcomputer gaming, it was obvious to make the Arrow keys the directional inputs. Except for people who played classicMortal Kombatgames on the Commodore Amiga, where pressing Left and Right, or Up and Down, at the same time caused the game to crash. Nowadays, the big issue keyboard players face is ghosting, where the keyboard will cancel out multiple inputs in favor of others.
Luckily, there are plenty of anti-ghosting gaming keyboards out there, like the Redragon K552 and the Razer Cynosa V2. Once they’re hooked up, playing old-schoolMKgames likeUltimate Mortal Kombat 3will be less troublesome, as its dial-a-combos and Run Button functions will be just a few presses away. Players can also use KB controls in the newer games, likeMortal Kombat 1, but they were made with consoles in mind, so their combos tend to flow better with a pad than a keyboard.
TheKing of Fightersseries is infamous for its tricky directional commands and strict input commands. Players have to be faster to make their combos (or “rushes”) count, with the older games being more strict than the likes ofKing of Fighters 15. Then heaven help players if they try tocomplete the combo trialsin the otherwise spectacularKing of Fighters 13, which are notoriously difficult even for master players.
However, keyboard controls can take the edge off them, as setting directional inputs to buttons makes them more exact. With some practice, players will be getting the hang of the game’s curious pretzel motions and double-half motions in no time. Even the stiffer controls of the older games can feel more fluid if players can adjust to the keyboard controls' quirks and perks.
The newerKOFgames work fine with the keyboard, as doesMvC: I(just in time for itsInfinite & Beyondfan-made graphical upgrade). But what about today’s big hitters, likeGuilty Gear Strive? If they work with its old sister seriesBlazBlue, it could surely work for Sol-Badguy and the gang. It doesdepend on one’s setup, with some players recommending using the space bar for jumps over W. But overall, keyboard controls work just fine forStrive.
Thanks to that extra precision, people found themselves pulling off moves they had trouble managing before. A few have even managed to take low-tier characters like Faust to high online ranks using their controls. However, even mastering top-tier characters like May requires practice, as keyboards aren’t a set of win buttons. If players want to get into the tournament scene, they’re either going to have to hope it’s using a KB-compatible build or get a hitbox/mixbox controller to use what they’ve learned at competitive levels.
WithStreet Fightergames requiring six buttons just for punches and kicks, a keyboard would seem perfect for the series. It certainly didn’t hurt onStreet Fighter 5, where players found comfortable setups with their keyboards to get the hang of the troubled fighter. So, what about its sequel,Street Fighter 6? It’s just as straightforward as before if not more so, thanks to the rise of leverless controllers and keyboard players.
Its configuration settings are more adaptable to different keyboard setups, including letting players use the mouse for the character select screen. But it comes with some bugbears. Its World Tour mode will default to standard keyboard controls for Chapter 1 since that’s the tutorial chapter. It also won’t allow Arrow Key rebinds. Most keyboard players tend to use variations on WASD or ASD-Space controls, but it’s still a blow for people more used to Arrow Key-based controls.
Compared toStreet Fighter, setting up controls for theVirtua Fightergames should be a cinch. The series only uses three buttons for attacks: Kick, Punch, and Guard (yes, likeMK, players have to hold Guard to block attacks). That leaves plenty of room for players to bind other keys to different button commands, like Kick+Punch, or Punch+Guard for throws, etc. This is just as well, as they’ll be using them a lot in its latest release.
Virtua Fighter 5: R.E.V.O.will be the series’first (official standalone) appearance on PCsinceVirtua Fighter Remixin 1996. It’s a rejigging ofVirtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdownand will precede its upcoming, and at the time of this writing, untitledVirtua Fightersequel. It’s not due until January 2025, so how can people know if it’ll work with keyboards or not? Because a lucky few got to try it out in its beta tests, where players got the hang of it just fine. Except, likeSF6, it doesn’t allow Arrow key rebinds, but this could change once it’s fully released.
Given the originalTekkenwas largely made by ex-VFstaff, it’s no surprise its gameplay isn’t fundamentally different. Players just have four main attack inputs instead of three (none of which involve blocking), and a different set of bells and whistles to adjust to.Tekken 8’s Rage mechanicsand Heat systemare a world away fromVF’s no-frills approach to combat.
Still, KB’s precise inputs can help with nailing its just-frame moves like the Mishimas’ Electric Wind Godfist. The option to set different keybinds can make King, Dragunov, and Nina’s multipart throw commands less taxing too, as doing them with a pad’s face buttons alone can be a task. It even allows people to use the Arrow keys if they’re more used to them, though most players stick to the standard WASD or hitbox-style layouts.
