For fans of Vtubers, Hololive is more than likely a familiar name. Hololive Production is a Vtuber agency that manages several popular Vtubers. Hololive Vtubers have dedicated fans worldwide, and the gameIdol Showdownis an example of just what that dedication can inspire. Made by Besto Games,Idol Showdownis a free, unofficial fan-made fighting game featuring several characters from the Hololive company.
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It’s a fun, flashy, andfast-paced 2D fighterthat even people who aren’t Hololive fans can pick up and enjoy. It plays similarly to many other fighting games, but for those new to playing fighting games on PC, there are a few tips and tricks to learn to become anIdol Showdownpro.
4The Basics Are Key To Victory
It might be tempting to jump in and play one of the other game modes but, even for those familiar with fighting games, it won’t hurt to play through the tutorial.Idol Showdownuses keyboard controls, though it does have native controller support, so it can be connected to andplayed with a controller. But for those using a keyboard, a basic set of keys will make up most of one’s moves.
In the game’s default controls, WASD keys are used for movement, with W being up, S being down, A being left and D being right. Use D to dash forward, and A to dash back, and perform a standing block. Pressing S is how one performs a crouch and pressing W is how one jumps in the air.
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On the other side of the keyboard, the keys that are important are J, K, and L. The J, K, and L keys are the three basic attacks, hitting the J key will perform a light attack, hitting the K key will perform a medium attack, and the L key will perform a heavy attack. Light attacks are the fast ones but do the least amount of damage and have the least range.
Medium attacks are, well, in the middle have decent range and decent attack. And heavy attacks are the most powerful but are pretty slow, but they also will leave one’s opponent stunned for longer if it hits. Combining the attack buttons with the directional buttons allows for more combos. For example, combining any attack with crouch will “punish” an opponent in a standing block, as it will still hit them and do damage. Combining these buttons in different ways makes up most of a character’s combos.
3Use Specials Strategically
The game also uses the I, O, Y, and P keys. The I key is for supers and is a shortcut for certain combos. It will allow a player toefficiently perform special moveswithout having to perform complex inputs. The O key is the Grab button. Grabs are used to escape throw attacks. Y and P are the “Collab” and the Burst button, respectively.
Collabs are like assists where another character comes in to help and Burst is an ability that can launch an opponent away, giving one a little breathing room and time to get out of a combo and set one up for themselves.
2Keep A Close Eye On The Star And Superchar Meters
At the bottom corners of the HUD, there are two meters that players should keep in mind while playing. The big meter with the star on it is the Star Meter and the smaller one is the Superchat Meter. The Star meter is increased by performing any attacks that manage to land on an opponent.
The Superchat Meter gradually increases over time, but it will increase faster by performing specific actions called “special motions”. There will be small pop-up notifications in the corner whenever a “special motion” is performed, and depending on what it is, it will determine if the Superchat Meter increases by a little or a lot.
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The Star meter can be built up to 4 bars, and it’s used for Idol Skills, which are character-specific special moves that can be executed by using the command Down, Down and hitting the Special button, EX Heavy specials, and Star Callings, which are the assist moves. The Superchat Meter is for executing Superchat cancels.
This will allow a player to cancel a special and allow them to transition into a normal attack, giving them the opportunityto set up bigger combos. The meter for the Superchat is also used with the “Off Collab Tool”, which unleashes a unique effect depending on the selected character.
1Choose A Fighter Based On Skill/Comfort Level
There are 8 characters, so far, that can be played from the beginning. Players can choose between Fubuki, Botan, Coco, Aki, Ayame, Korone, Sora, and Suisei. And then there are nine assist characters to choose from there. Each of the playable characters has a star rating that’s based on the level of expertise a player is expected to have to be able to play them to their fullest capacity.
For beginners, the best characters to try first are Fubuki, Korone, and Ayame. For players familiar with fighting games and wanting a little bit of a challenge, they should try Botan and Coco as their intermediate characters. And players who already feel like they are pros, or want a real challenge, can try Sora, Suisei, and Aki as they are advanced characters.
