基本Platform fighter basics: a beginner's guide

A platform fighter is a fighting game where you win by knocking opponents off the stage, not just by draining a health bar. These seven ideas will make you better at any game in the genre, and you can practise every one of them free in Ninja Fighters.

1. Lives matter more than damage

In a platform fighter you can lose a life with health left, by being knocked off the stage. Ask "can I knock them off?" before "how much can I hurt them?". Strong hits near an edge are worth more than any combo in the middle.

2. Weight and knockback

Heavy fighters fly less far when hit and are hard to knock off. Light fighters are launched further. In Ninja Fighters, Oni-Gane (weight 1.3) is the hardest to launch and Yuki (0.88) the easiest.

3. Recovery: getting back to the stage

When you are knocked off, use your mid-air jumps, your air dash and the ledge grab to return. Do not spend your jumps early: jump from below the ledge, not far above it. Fighters with more jumps, like Karasu with three, recover more easily.

4. Edge-guarding

When an enemy is off the stage, stand near the ledge and hit them as they come back. Fast fighters with several jumps can even chase them out and finish them in the air.

5. Spacing

Every weapon has a reach. Stand just outside your enemy's reach and just inside yours. Long weapons like the Monoblade Nodachi and Arc Naginata are built for spacing; short ones like the Tiger Claws want you to dash in.

6. Punish, don't trade

Big attacks leave the attacker open for a moment. Defend or dodge, then hit back while they recover. In Ninja Fighters, parry-style defenses like Kenji's Mind's Eye do this for you.

7. Stage awareness

Hazards change fights. Lightning, gales, tunnels and falling icicles are all announced before they hit. Push your opponent into the hazard, not yourself. See the stage guides.

Practise it

Set up one CPU on Drone (easy) on Neon Rooftops, which has no hazard, and practise one idea per match.