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Exploring the Philippine Fighting Game Community (FGC) offers gamers a unique gateway into the dynamic Philippine esports scene.
It’s a refreshing take on a gaming community bound by a single genre. Not a myriad of titles from the likes of the Mass Online Battle Arenas (MOBAs) or First Person Shooters (FPS), where LoL and Dota 2 or Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant are constantly compared. As competitive as the landscape is, you will find a rare occurrence of toxicity. You will most likely find helpful fellows happy to show you the ropes, regardless of your skill level.
First, let’s delve into the history of fighting games in the Philippines, a vital aspect of the country’s vibrant gaming culture.
Telltale: MPOV History of PH Fighting Games
The fighting genre, deeply rooted in Filipino arcade culture, has always been accessible and fun. It was passed on to the console era, where the younger had the benefit of experiencing one of the oldest gaming genres.
My journey started with Tekken 4 and Tekken 5 on the PS2, which I played for years and remains a favorite. It was arguably the best fighting game I have ever played. The replayability was just at an all-time high, and each character had their prologue and animated epilogue, making the lore hooking even to a child.
Since then, many titles have emerged, and the most successful continue to upgrade. That may be, but I’ve always enjoyed more niche titles than the likes of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, or Smash Bros. Don’t get me wrong; I love the heck out of Tekken, but the treasures of my childhood lie in anime fighting games.
Favorites include the Dragon Ball Budokai Tenkaichi series, Jump Ultimate Stars, Battle Stadium D.O.N., and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series. Their fun, fast-paced, competitive nature and ability to put the player in the shoes of their anime heroes should be considered again as a model.
Although anime games have a star-studded history, their quality has changed over time. The most famous titles are turned into 3D arena fighters and are less enjoyable. That, or I may just relish the nostalgia of the games from my childhood.
Dragon Ball Fighter Z (DBFZ) still offers a spangle of hope. It just goes to show that a supported and well-thought-out video game can be successful when it’s not intended as a rushed cash grab targeted at fans of a well-known property. Let’s ignore the tiny detail that DBFZ still does not have rollback netcode for smooth online play.
Leveling Up: From different flavors to a bonkers dream
Considering these classics, let’s explore the current state of the industry.
If you’re like me, who hasn’t been in the FGC until recently, you probably have a reason you’re also stepping into it now. I’ve always played Tekken when I got the chance. It seems like a staple game for any friend with a console. Everyone can play the 1-on-1 3D fighter if they can mash some buttons.
I’ve also dabbled in Injustice since I was intrigued by a darker storytelling based on my childhood superheroes.
My go-to game over the years was League of Legends, which I played from elementary school until I graduated from university. In addition to that, I played Team Fight Tactics (TFT) and various console games, particularly top J/RPGs. Life happens, and sometimes, you just want to get a taste of different flavors, which is why I’ve also enjoyed Valorant for a while.
You may now see that Riot Games plays a massive role in my gamer identity. That is precisely one of the reasons why, when Project L was shown during 2023’s EVO, I immediately jumped on it and started practicing fighting games.
Credits to Riot Games
I try new ventures, whether starting a blog or a business. Gaming plays a huge role in who I am, and I want to become an esports player. As a 20-something, I embrace new adventures, aiming for no regrets. It just so happens that I saw the upcoming game as an opportunity to become part of the scene and the FGC as an accessible avenue.
Down the Rabbit Hole: Exploring the depths of the FGC
The FGC is a vast ocean of titles, history, rivalries, and skill. Although it might look like button-mashing is the way to win, a calm and collected player will beat you up more often than a chaotic one who hits random moves.
So, why is that? What exactly lies in the rabbit hole that is Fighting Games?
Let’s start with the basics. Choosing what game to play, which characters to select, what type of playstyle best suits you, etc.
As mentioned, there are several titles within the space. The fundamental skills are the same, but they all play out differently.
Come closer, and let me whisper to you the secret of how to go about this. Yes, I know it’s complicated how exactly to proceed. Listen to the mindblowing secret that I’m about to bequeath to you. “JUST PICK WHICHEVER SEEMS COOLEST TO YOU.” Yeah, I know, shocking, ain’t it.
On a more serious note, check out the table below to help you choose which game you might enjoy most. As of the publishing date, it is based on the current games with a lively player base. Upcoming games will also be added, but they won’t have the most detailed information.
After picking a game, messing around with its different features or going straight to story mode is a way to learn. It could be immersive and engaging training. That’s great, but there’s one other detail we might need to get into. Which character should you choose? I suggest maining one first to learn and master.
Fighting games offer a plethora of options; start with a character that intrigues you, then explore your other options.
To understand this better, fighting game characters are classified into different types. Like in League of Legends, you choose your specialty as a top, mid, jungle, support, or bottom player. As for MMORPGs, think of this as your class.
It gets more interesting in LoL as a top laner if you’re looking at how they can be tanky or more of a range type of character. As for MMORPG “Rogues,” sometimes they’re glass cannon knife-wielding assassins, or at times they’re bow and arrow users who are comfortable sniping from the backlines.
This doesn’t stop within the realm of video games. As you can see, real-life fighters also have their specialties—Rodtang Jitmuangnon, a tanky yet technical striking brawler, or Khabib Nurmagumedov, who prefers grappling and wrestling.
I believe that the type of fighting game character you find the most success in is somewhat a reflection of you. It goes in-depth, but once you find what you’re best suited to play as, I have no doubt you’ll enjoy the process. Look at the table below explaining the typical kinds of playstyles:
Get ready for the next challenge
We’ve established the fundamentals of Fighting Games. What lies ahead is the fun part.
I first looked into games similar to Riot’s Project L:
- BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle: It contained characters from the Persona series, and that was all it needed to catch my eye.
I finished its story and other modes and constantly challenged myself to get as far as possible in its survival mode. By the way, I played this on the Nintendo Switch. It sounds excellent, but I can’t stay in this game until the upcoming game of Riot comes out. What gives?
To truly prepare myself for tournaments, I thought I needed to at least grind in rank as a prerequisite. Sadly, an active community and player base is no longer available for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. At this point, I was enthusiastic to explore more games. But I also needed to stick to one where I could hone my skills from the ground up.
I was trying to pick from three options:
I wanted a newer game with an active community so I could compete in a local competition. With Skullgirls being the oldest, I was down to two.
Although I’m a big fan of the captivating Dragon Ball FighterZ, it falls short in one key area. It had all the modes, including rank and a playable story mode. It had a tag system, which Project L shocked everyone by integrating into its game. Guilty Gear -Strive- didn’t even have a proper playable feature to let me play its lore. Unfortunately, DBFZ did not have rollback netcode, meaning smooth online play was out of the picture. So, in true me fashion, I bought both at a discounted price.
After exploring Dragon Ball FighterZ, I shifted focus to GGST to sharpen my skills. Another aspect that makes GGST and Skullgirls friendly is their extensive tutorial guide, which can be used as rudiments for other fighting games. Remember my tip from a while ago? I picked the coolest character, Chipp Zanuff. That did not pan out for me.
Playing as a fast-slashing ninja who moves all around the screen is fantastic, but his beginner-friendliness could be better. With his squishy health pool and high level of mastery, I was far from the upper echelons of the rank tower. So, I opted for an easy-to-use Ky Kiske. I saw results rising from the depths of the floors.
A segue story: My girlfriend and I watched the anime series Hi-Score Girl on Netflix. It’s about a girl and boy navigating life and their passions for retro fighting games, set in the olden arcade times.
One fateful day, my girlfriend jokingly asked me to use a character archetype the girl from the show used. I then picked up the local grappler of the game, Potemkin. Since then, I’ve been smashing my way up to the 8th Floor out of ten (or Celestial if we’re talking about the highest rank possible). I’m proud of this achievement for someone who started 2-3 months ago.
This relates to my ideas for Project L, where I hope they add Sett, a League character perfect for fighting games. Have you seen him, his kit, and lore? If that does come true, he will also likely be a grappler. This is why my practice using Potemkin is probably (immense stress on “probably”) not for naught.
Pursuing esports success, I’ve learned that mastering these games requires significant effort. As an athlete, I’ve seen characteristics in esports that are considerably similar to traditional sports. Dare I say, esports really should have a space in the world of sports. I got the help of ChatGPT to become my coach and assist me in formulating a training plan for steady growth.
I even purchased a leverless controller- a cheap one I found in Shopee– to get a feel for whether it would really help me “git gud.” My initial review of the controller is that it does give me more control and assists me in reducing the errors I make with combos and moves. It won’t fix everything, though.
Mastering the details and building muscle memory depends on the player’s effort. If you’re also looking into this and want a good one, there are local options from manufacturers based in Cagayan de Oro. They are called BitBox Arcade. You can check them out on their social media.
Speaking of controllers, listening to FGC jargon can confuse newcomers. It’s as if people are talking to you in a foreign language: “Neutral,” “Okizeme,” “2H to 5P”, and so on. Let me try to help you to the best of my abilities with the last infographic of this article below:
Like all exciting anime: “The Tournament Arc”
What’s an esports community without its over-the-edge tournaments? Imagine LoL’s Worlds every year, DOTA 2’s multi-million prize pool, or Valorant’s insane events. Yeah, that happens for the FGC too with EVO.
Now, think of the major leagues coming to the Philippines, where the top contenders compete for a significant title. Enter Rev Major, the country’s platform for competing in the most notable IPs in the industry, where gamers can win a substantial championship.
To survey the most recent scene, I attended Rev Major 2023. There is nothing to say except it was as exhilarating as watching any live martial arts fight. There are other activities at the event, but the focal one is sitting on the main stage and seeing the best of the best duke it out on the big screens.
It is not an understatement to compare the fights to real-life sports spectacles. I have been to many MMA events, particularly for One Championship, and my first experience with the virtual brawls was as tantalizing as the reality-based ones.
My girlfriend and I were lucky enough to witness what transpired in the finals of Rev Majors 2023’s Guilty Gear -Strive- and Street Fighter VI. I have never seen her that excited. She even squished my hand out of frustration with one player. If you’ve seen the support for Tekken on social media, your jaw would drop as the venue was filled to the brim—loud and energized spectators cheered for their favorites to win.
Other than the event’s focus, there were side programs you could experience during the local show. There were Tekken battles where you could win from a smaller prize pool and raffles to claim various items. I had the opportunity to participate in the games organized by Rumble Royale, a contest to secure PHP 9,999 worth of coins through Melty Blood: Type Lumina.
My experience of that ordeal was primarily positive. I went in blind, and it was very spur of the moment. I didn’t even have a controller, but the managers lent me one. I wanted to join the tournament for the experience.
I admitted to my opponent that I was inexperienced, and he gladly helped me understand the basics in my first esports affair. Not knowing much of anything, you can expect that I didn’t go far.
It goes without saying, but you too could enjoy a local FGC event. Finding one can be challenging, but with enough effort, it’s possible.
Embracing the Future of Fighting Games in the Philippines
As my journey through the vibrant world of the Philippine Fighting Game Community unfolds, it’s clear that this arena is more than just a battleground for digital warriors. It’s a place where passion, skill, and camaraderie converge, creating a thrilling and rewarding experience. From the adrenaline-pumping matches at Rev Major to the countless hours honing skills on various titles, each moment has been a step forward in understanding and appreciating this unique gaming culture.
Looking ahead, the FGC’s potential in the Philippines is immense. The community is poised for heights as esports gains recognition and games evolve with new technologies and narratives. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a curious newcomer, there’s never been a better time to step into the arena and discover the excitement for yourself.
As we embrace the future of fighting games, let’s embody the spirit of inclusivity and continuous learning. Let’s challenge ourselves, support one another, and, above all, enjoy every match, every victory, and every lesson learned along the way. Here’s to the next challenge, the subsequent victory, and the enduring legacy of the Philippine fighting game community.
Join us, The Action Pack, for more exciting quests and stories.