Maybe if you're an experienced Street Fighter player. Like, I don't understand why there are six buttons when the characters only have like two or three moves each and no strings whereas in DOA you have characters with 100+ strings. Where's that kind of info?
It all comes down to the fundamental difference between 2D and 3D fighters. The former are more about controlling space, while the latter are more about controlling time. The latter are more about learning frame data and using strings to pressure, frame trap and mix up. The former however are more about controlling angles and areas around the screen with pokes and specials.
Now Street Fighter, being the very genesis of the modern 2D fighting game emphasizes this the most. This is why you need those 6 buttons, since you will most likely be using them all at different points in the game.
However, the three basic strength levels can be broken down like this.
- Lights
- Used as quick "get off me" moves to create space
- Fast hitconfirms
- Are fast enough to be used to bait out other pokes that you can try to punish/counterpoke.
- Mediums
- Tend to control the most forward space of any normal attacks
- Are usually the go to long range poking tools and combo starters (most especially true of crouching medium kick).
- Tend to be safe only when spaced
- Heavies
- Deal the most damage of any normal
- Are usually used counter normals, either for counter poking, punishing or as anti-airs
- Knockdown normals are usually a characters crouching heavy kick or heavy punch
Now we also have to consider command normals, which are attacks done in combination with either a forward or backward input, which increases the number of normals at your immediate disposal.
Older Street Fighter's also had close proximity normals, normals that only came out when you were close to your opponent. SFV however changes most of these into command normals instead.
As for combos, you're not going to be relying on strings obviously. The closest thing the game has to them are target combos, which are strings that only come out on contact (either hit or block, but not whiff).
For the most part however, you're going to be relying on hit confirming of normals. These are usually done either through normals that chain into themselves (lights can chain at least once back into themselves), through two normals that link into each other even on block (blockstring), or through single hit confirms.
SFV in particular, like 3rd Strike before it, puts a heavy focus on single hit confirms. These are harder to do since they require fast reactions, but are very versatile, since you can get them off counter pokes and punishes. One key thing about these is that they're actually easier to do by link than by cancel. Linking with a single hit confirm means that you have more time to react and confirm the hit. Instead of having to cancel the hit immediately, you can input the move a bit later, since it naturally combos based on frame data alone. Street Fighter V's 2 frame buffer should greatly help in this regard.
