Combo (video games)
A combo (short for combination) is a term that designates a set of actions performed in sequence, usually with strict timing limitations, that yield a significant benefit or advantage. The term originates from fighting games where it is based upon the concept of a striking combination. It has been since applied more generally to everything from puzzle games and shoot 'em ups to sports games. Combos are either used as an essential gameplay element (more commonly), or used merely as a high score or attack power modifier, not explicitly necessary for victory or survival.
In fighting games, combo specifically indicates a timed sequence of moves which produce an unblockable series of hits. The combo requires that an initial hit connects. This hit is then followed by an often predetermined sequence of other hits, each of which leaves the opponent unable or almost unable to block or parry the next hit in the sequence. Depending on the game design, a combo can have a final, sometimes special, hit or be infinite, limited only by the player's skill, patience or finger dexterity. In some cases, each additional hit has a increasing negative modifier, in order to balance gameplay, for example SNK's The Last Blade series.
History
The combo (or 2-1 combo) notion was introduced with the arcade game Street Fighter II from Capcom, when skilled players learned that they could combine several attacks that left no time for the computer player to recover[1], if they timed them correctly. However, the designing team, led by Yoshiki Okamoto, did not design the game to allow combos (they were a side-effect), and thus were unaware of the posibility until gamers started experimenting after the game was released. Combos have been since a design priority in almost all fighting games, hardening significantly the learning curve of fighting games.
Types of combo
2-1 combo
A 2-1 combo (an abbreviation for two-in-one combo) or an interrupt combo is a combo which takes advantage of the fact that after executing a "normal attack" in certain games, you are able to immediately execute a special attack faster than you would be able to execute another normal move.
Auto combo
The auto combo constrasts the Deadly Rave technique, in that unlike Deadly Rave which requires you to constantly input correct button sequence for a complete move, Auto Combo move will complete itself provided that the initial hit from the move connects (so if the initial strike misses or is blocked, the move will only do partial damage or fail completely). Another defining feature of an auto combo is that during its execution, the multiple hit count comes from the fact that multiple moves are used, or in other words, an auto combo consists of normal and/or special attacks packed into one. An auto combo is usually a super/desperation move, an example being Iori Yagami's Yaotome.
Chain combo
A chain combo is a combo or a part of a combo that only uses normal attacks or command moves. Although chain combos allow for a reasonable degree of flexibility, some characters (generally large ones) are unable to use chain combos. In some fighting games (Mortal Kombat being an example), chain combos are an integral part of the game play, and are considered special moves.
Although 3D games have "chain combos" by this definition of the word, most players never refer to them as such, instead preferring to focus on strings which may have some sub-elements of chain combos within them but may have some non-comboing elements.
Sometimes fighting game fans only refer to a combo as a "chain combo" if it within a game which has long and widespread examples of chain combos. For example, most Street Fighter fans described the chain combo system of Street Fighter Alpha as being discontinued in Street Fighter Alpha 2, even though Street Fighter Alpha 2 and other Street Fighter games still contain some combos which are only performed via normal attacks.
Alternative names for "chain combos" are: Target combos, Precanned strings, Canned strings. The latter two are generally misused (Strings, by definition, are different from combos).
Super combo
Super combos are a more powerful and/or damaging type of special move, which usually (but not always) requires a full super combo gauge or available super stock. This term is usually only applied to Capcom games (particularly in the Street Fighter II and Street Fighter Alpha series).
Other names for super combos include Overdrives in the Guilty Gear series and "Desperation Moves" in SNK games.
The super combo gauge shows stored power that can be used for executing super combos. It is also known as a super gauge or super meter (SNK games). The guage charges up in different ways, most commonly by landing hits on the opponent.
There are many types of super combo gauges, including:
- offensive gauge, where the gauge fills with execution of special moves (and fills faster if the move connects)
- defensive gauge, where the gauge fills by defending attacks (and fills faster with protected blocks)
- manual gauge, where the only way to fill the gauge is by performing a move (usually holding down a button) that leaves a player open to an attack
Juggle Combo
A combo in which the victim is hit multiple times in midair. The move used to start the juggle is called a "launcher" or "floater." This was the second type of combo to ever appear in a fighting game, starting with Mortal Kombat.
In most games "juggle combos" are only considered valid combos if the victim remains stunned for the full duration of their time midair. Lighter characters are generally more susceptible to juggle combos, as less force is needed to keep then in the air. In the recent King of Fighters games, juggling is supported by another feature called "wire", in which a character is bounced off a wall and sent back, ready for follow-up attacks.
Other uses
Many other types of video games include a combo system involving chains of tricks or other manoeuvers, usually in order to build up bonus points to obtain a high score. Examples include Killer Instinct, the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series and the Crazy Taxi games. Combos are a main feature in many puzzle games, such as Columns, Snood and Magical Drop. Primarily they are used as a scoring device, but in the modes of play that are level-based, are used to more quickly gain levels. Shoot 'em ups have increasingly incorporated combo systems, such as in Ikaruga.
First-person shooter games can also have combo-like features (usually in deathmatch situations) such as the Unreal Tournament series in which kills happening successively in a short space of time result in a "Double Kill" or "Multi Kill" for which the player is rewarded bonus points/kills.
Combos in computer and video game culture
Since combos have become an essential gameplay element, many players practice to create combos that are as long as possible. Websites such as Combovideos.com showcase user-uploaded videos of particularly prolonged or unique combos. These are also reported on extensively in the FAQs for the relevant games.
"Cheap" combos have long been a sore point in the gaming community, that is, unstoppable combos that can be executed repeatedly without any variation to win a round unfairly. These easily-performed (hence "cheap") combos are often exploited by inexperienced players, in some cases simply through button mashing. The use of this sort of technique in an arcade can sometimes lead to physical altercations or ejection from the premises.
Games with infinite combo possibilities
- Dynasty Warriors 2 [1]
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
- Marvel vs. Capcom 2 – Only possible with Mega Man
- Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
- Marvel Super Heroes
- Super Smash Bros.
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series