10 Strangest Terms Used In Fighting Games
Fighting games are known for using weird words to describe moves or how they work. Here are some of the strangest ones so far.
Getting into fighting games can be scary. Aside from the fact that pros might confuse new players with moves that seem impossible, there is a lot of jargon to learn. ‘Footsies’? That means going back and forth on the stage and throwing moves to get the upper hand. “Plus on the block?” It means an attack from which the player can get back on their feet faster than an opponent who is stopping.
Then there are words that make no sense out of context and don’t make much sense in context either. These are the weirdest terms used in fighting games, whether they are general or just for one game.
Randall
Better to start with a good one. People argue about whether or not the Smash Bros games are fighting games, since they have multiple opponents, tools, and other tricks in addition to fighting. The Fighting Game Glossary thinks so, since it has a list of its strange terms, like “John,” which means an excuse for bad play, and “Dave’s Stupid Rule,” which says that winners can’t choose the stage they won on for a repeat.
“Randall” might be the oddest Smash term because it refers to a real person. It means the cloud base in Melee and Ultimate’s Yoshi’s Story stage. The SmashBoards forums saw that it shows up in different places on the stage based on how much time is left. The cloud has been called “Randall” since a forum user named FastFox gave it that name, and it has stuck ever since.
Mexican Uppercut
In 2D fighting games, jump strikes can be a good way to get past a character’s defences. Effective enough that Capcom made anti-air moves like the Shoryuken in the first Street Fighter to stop people who liked to jump around. But why use a fancy special move when a normal blow can do the same thing?
Ryu’s kneeling heavy punch is a big uppercut that isn’t as good as his Shoryuken, but it can get the job done when he needs to. It’s called a “Mexican uppercut” when another character crouchs in the same way. This is because Mexican players used these kinds of moves a lot in the early days of the game. So goes the story.
Canadian Burst
Still, “Mexican uppercut” is a bit rude and isn’t used as much as it used to be. With this term, which is still used, Mexican players get their own back. Though it’s a bit more specific because it’s based on the “Burst” method from Guilty Gear, which is a general move where characters can push opponents back with an explosion.
It works best when the player is getting attacked or backed into a corner. But it’s called a “Canadian Burst” when the player uses it in the air and as far away from the opponent as possible. Why? Because Canada needs to do a better job with Xrd and Strive. Even though it sounds more like a nickname for Canadians than a straight insult. It’s called a “Domi Burst” in Japan, after the Guilty Gear player Domi, or “kitanai hanabi,” which means “dirty fireworks.”
Taco
Feeling hungry? This King of Fighters term serves no purpose other than to punish. Players can trick their opponent by doing a cross-up in 2D fighting games where characters hold Back to block (which is every 2D fighter game except Mortal Kombat). This means that they have to jump and hit just above their character’s head.
When they block, the player will land behind them, leaving them open to more hits until they can change direction and block again.Iori from KOF has an aerial move (Back+Light Kick) that is useless for anything else but cross-ups. The name “Taco” comes from the Spanish word “tacón,” which means “heel,” because the attack hits from the back rather than the front.
Pringles
Keeping with the food theme, this term is pretty out of date these days. It is also one of the most well-known phrases used in fighting games. It means that a person has bad defence because they are easy to open up and hit with an attack. Once they are popped, their opponent can’t stop.
In Marvel vs. Capcom 2, competition player and commentator Yipes used the term in his trash talk. This made the term more well-known. In Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Deadpool said, “Where yo’ curly moustache at?!” in reference to him.
Chicken
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This is the last food-related word, and it’s also the hardest to understand. Tekken 2 added assault Reversals, in which characters such as Paul, Nina, Jun, and others may hold Back+Throw during an opponent’s assault to grab that limb and throw them for extra damage. Tekken 3 added a way to counter this counter. If the opponent who is caught presses Forward+Throw during the reversal, they will pull their limb back and hit their opponent for good measure.
The speaker would say “Chicken!” for some reason when this was done. Was the game making fun of the person who did it? Or was it a joke? The clip would be used again in the computer version’s “Force Mode,” in which players would pick up chickens to heal themselves, like in Final Fight. Even so, even after many versions, these attacks are still called “chickens.”
Roman Cancel and Baroque
No, there isn’t a fighting game based on history where Peter Paul Rubens can beat up Julius Caesar. At least not yet. These words come from two different video games, but they mean pretty much the same thing.
In the Guilty Gear games, a “Roman Cancel” is the power to cancel out of moves to a neutral state at the cost of some super combo metre. In Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, ‘Baroque’ does the same thing, but it uses up red health instead. If the player tagged out that character, the red health would come back, but Baroque forces the player to choose between getting that health back or going for a big finish.
Paint the Fence
This one is different because it talks about a certain move for a certain mode in a certain game. Capcom vs. SNK 2 gave players six grooves that were based on different fighting game concepts from Capcom and SNK. The A-Groove is like the Custom Combos from the Street Fighter Alpha series, where characters can cancel one move into another.
M.Bison (or “Dictator”) players would choose this Groove, push their opponent into the corner, trigger their Custom Combo, and then keep using Psycho Vanish until their opponent’s gauge was empty. It does a lot of damage and looks like Bison is moving a pen up and down. So, people began calling it the “Paint the Fence” mix. It’s not the only way to describe a popular combination, but it’s the strangest.
Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas
Tag team and 3-on-3 games like the Marvel games and Dragon Ball FighterZ let players call on their teammates for help. It can help them get the upper hand on their opponents or give them more power for great combos and other moves. But if they call for help at the wrong time, they could get into a lot of trouble.
It can leave their main character and their helper open to a full combo or a super move, which can hurt both of them or even knock them out at the same time. It’s like the charging player’s birthday came early, which is why it’s called “Happy Birthday.” If the player uses both helps and all three characters get knocked out, Funny Shooter 2 game says “Merry Christmas.”
Double Luigi
Lastly, this word would be easy to understand if it meant a mirror match in Smash Bros. It’s not, though. It is an umbrella term for any fighting game played at an event. If the last game of a set goes to the last round of a match, this is called a “double riichi” by Japanese announcers. It’s a term used in mahjong when two players might be able to claim victory at the same time.
It was misheard as “Double Luigi” because not many people outside of Asia and the Yakuza fans play mahjong in the West. Serious critics will instead say that it was a “full set, full round.” But whenever someone wants to add a splash of colour, they will bring up Nintendo’s green plumber.
