Fighting Game Guide

FOOTSIES is a 2D fighter developed by clip master HiFight that captures the essence of fighting game footsies in the purest form. There is only one attack button. There is no jumping or crouching. The only movement options are walking and dashing. FOOTSIES is a very simple and straightforward game that tests your fundamentals.

Even if you're not new to the genre you should download FOOTSIES for its various training mode options. You can test your reactions and practice hit confirming or whiff punishing with mini games. It's also a fun game to bring to parties! FOOTSIES is available on PC, Apple, and Android phones. There is a free version available but FOOTSIES is very affordable and well worth the money.

Helpful Resources

Notation

Attack Notation

Directional Notation

Numpad Notation

FOOTSIES uses Modern frame data notation. If an attack has 7 frames of startup, it hits on the 7th frame.

Normal Attacks

Kick Attack is your long range poke. It's performed with A (attack button) while holding no directions. It has 5 frames of startup, is -1 on hit, and -3 on block. Be careful as it can be whiff punished because the leg stays extended for a bit.

Knee Attack is slightly faster in both startup and recovery. It's performed with A and either 4 (back direction) or 6 (forward direction). It has 4 frames of startup, is -1 on hit, and -3 on block. It's safe to spam as it's much more difficult to whiff punish.

Stages are small so you need to be proactive or you will get cornered. After cornering my opponent I like to stand just outside of Kick Attack range. If they Kick Attack to keep me away, it'll whiff and I'll whiff punish them. If they walk forward to escape the corner, I'll hit them with a poke. If they do nothing I can take a step forward and force them to block my own Kick Attack. Since they're cornered they can't walk backwards to avoid my attack.

Special Attacks

You can't win with normal attacks because only special attacks end rounds. Back Kick is one of your two special attacks. It can be special canceled from either normal attack by pressing A again after the normal attack connects. When a normal attack hits, you have a limited time to hit confirm and continue the combo. A bar appears with a line showing you how much time you have to cancel the attack. If the line passes the bar, the normal attack will enter its recovery frames. You have 20 frames or 1/3 of a second to hit confirm.

To use special attacks outside of combos hold A for 60 frames (1 second) to charge then release it. Performing special attacks with a button release instead of a button press is called Negative Edge. Training mode has a neat feature that shows your charge with circles.

Back Kick has the most range of any of your attacks. It's performed by releasing A while holding no directions. It has 14 frames of startup and is -13 on block. It is very unsafe on block and can always be block punished but it can be difficult to punish at max range. When blocked at max range you have to walk forward a little bit to punish it but if you walk forward too much you'll be too late to punish it.

Uppercut can only be performed with a charge. It's performed by releasing A while holding either 4 or 6. It has 3 frames of startup and the first 6 frames are fully invincible, meaning it will beat any attack it clashes with. Uppercut is very unsafe on whiff and on block. You can punish a failed Uppercut with practically anything.

If you look at the frame data you'll notice normal attacks are -3 on block and Uppercut has 3 frames of startup. A reversal Uppercut out of blockstun will punish normal attacks but it's not common for two reasons. First, you have to have charge ready before blocking and second, the window for this is as strict as possible. FOOTSIES runs at 60 frames per second. The window for hitting this block punish is 1 frame or 1/60th of a second. It is frame perfect. If you are able to consistently perform a frame perfect reversal Uppercut out of blockstun, all your opponents will fear you.

What can you do if your opponent can reversal Uppercut all your normal attacks? You can safe space your attacks by performing Kick Attack from farther away. Your opponent's Uppercut will either whiff or it will connect but during it's later active frames where it comes out later and misses the punish window.

When two Uppercuts hit at the same time, it is a Double KO. That also happens when two Back Kicks clash but that is rare. When two normal attacks hit at the same time, both players lose a Shield.

Press a direction twice to dash. Backdash has a little more recovery but the first 4 frames of it are invincible. Don't backdash too much because you're only a few backdashes away from putting yourself in the corner.

When you have a charge, you have to release it before you can perform a normal attack. If you just release the attack button you might end up with an unwanted special attack that will get punished. You can release your charge during dash to prevent this from happening.

If my opponent hasn't attacked for awhile I assume they're holding a charge and will dash to get rid of it. If they backdash that's good because they're much closer to the corner. If I'm expecting a forward dash I stand at this distance and buffer Knee Attack into special cancel. If my opponent dashes forward they'll get hit by Knee Attack and die. If they don't it's fine because Knee Attack at this distance is impossible to whiff punish.

Since backdash is invincible, it's common to backdash immediately after your normal attack is blocked to avoid your opponent's attacks. Blocking is safer but blocking uses up a Shield.

There are two ways to punish a backdash after a blocked attack. Back Kick will hit the recovery frames of the backdash. This is risky because Back Kick is very unsafe on block.

Forward dash into Knee Attack will punish backdash as well but it is more difficult to time. The timing is almost frame perfect. The good thing is if you fail it, Knee Attack is safe on block and depletes a Shield.

If the player expects their opponent to punish their backdash, they can abare or attack out of a disadvantage. Knee Attack after a blocked attack beats either option.

A shield is depleted when a character blocks or is hit by an attack. When a character has no shields left, any blocked attack will cause a guard break. If a normal attack causes guard break it can be special canceled to win the round. Otherwise a guard break from a normal attack is +17 which is enough time to walk forward and get a link combo.

Uppercut is -14 on guard break so don't use it. Back Kick is +3 on guard break. If your opponent has 1 shield left you can do a normal attack to deplete it then special cancel into Back Kick to guard break them.

Back Kick guard break is +3 and Uppercut has 3 frames of startup which means the two attacks create a true link combo. It is frame perfect and the most difficult combo in the game. If you fail the combo you will die. You're already winning the round and don't need to take big risks. If you want to take that risk then go for it. To make sure you're practicing this properly in training mode, set the dummy to auto block all.

Nothing else is guaranteed after a Back Kick guard break. A normal attack after the guard break is a frame trap but if the opponent expects this they can Uppercut or backdash the frame trap. Expect a lot of Uppercuts after guard break.

Tap 6 (forward direction) 6 frames before an attack connects to parry it. Frame data for a successful parry is the same as it is for a blocked attack. Parrying is mostly used to prevent losing a shield, preventing guard break, or decreasing pushback. If you have a charge, you can parry Kick Attack or Knee Attack and punish with a frame perfect Uppercut.

HiFight told me not to tell you this but I'll let you in on a secret. There is a secret attack in FOOTSIES. Demon is performed by inputting A, A, 6, A, A. Its a short range grab with 1 frame of startup. It can only be done once per game. It beats every attack including Uppercut. The only way to avoid Demon is by backdashing before it starts up.

If you input Demon in neutral you will whiff attacks, potentially giving away your intentions. Players like to input Demon during forward dash to surprise their opponent.

Reversal Demon out of hitstun or blockstun punishes normal attacks if in range because normal attacks are -1 on hit.

Reversal Demon is commonly used after Back Kick guard break to beat follow up attacks.

This creates a mind game between the players. If the attacker expects a Demon after the guard break they'll backdash to avoid it. If the defender expects a backdash they'll Back Kick to punish the backdash. The defender is one hit away from dying so they can take risks to survive.