Arena Fighters

Goal

Pick one of 8 fighters and take down your opponent in the arena. Each round lasts 99 seconds: empty your opponent's health bar first to win the round. If time runs out, whoever has more health left wins; if it's a tie, the round is a draw and you fight an extra round. Win 2 rounds to win the match.

There are three modes: Vs CPU (pick your opponent and the difficulty: Easy / Normal / Hard), Tower (beat the other 7 fighters one after another; the CPU gets smarter on every floor and your score is saved as a record) and 2 players on the same device.

Computer controls

• 1 player: A / D (or ← →) to move, W (↑) to jump, S (↓) to crouch. F or K to punch, G or L to kick, H or J for a special move. Hold back (away from your opponent) to block, or hold T.
• 2 players: player 1 moves with W A S D, punches with F, kicks with G, uses specials with H and blocks with T. Player 2 uses the arrow keys, K to punch, L to kick, J or ; (semicolon) for specials and O to block.
• P or Esc pauses. On the fighter select screen, use the direction keys to browse and F / K / Enter to confirm.

Phone controls

• On the left is an 8-way pad: put your thumb on it and drag sideways to walk, up to jump and down to crouch — you can slide between directions without lifting your thumb. On the right are five buttons: PUNCH, KICK, SPECIAL and BLOCK; several can be pressed at once.
• 2 players: each player gets a full set of controls — yellow for player 1, red for player 2. Turn the phone sideways so each player holds one side of the screen.

Attacks

• Punches are fast; kicks are slower but reach further and hit harder. Crouch + punch is a low jab; crouch + kick is a sweep that knocks the opponent down — only a crouching block stops it.
• Attacks made while jumping can only be stopped with a standing block. Crouching ducks under normal punches.
• Combo: when a punch lands, quickly press punch again and then punch or kick for a 3-hit chain; the last hit knocks the opponent down.
• Getting hit pushes you back; once you are trapped in a corner, the attacker gets pushed back instead. Taking many hits in a row leaves you dizzy for a moment (stars circle your head).

Special moves and the Rage bar

• Each fighter has 4 special moves: the Special button does special 1, ↓ + Special special 2, → + Special special 3 and ← + Special special 4. Experienced players can use motions too: ↓ then → + Punch (special 1), ↓ then ← + Kick (special 2), ← then → + Punch (special 3) and → then ← + Kick (special 4), with arrows relative to where your fighter faces.
• After a special there is a short cooldown. Landing or taking hits fills the Rage bar at the bottom; when it is full (flashing gold), your next special is much stronger and always knocks down.
• Special types: Energy Ball flies straight (two balls cancel each other), Rising Uppercut launches you upward (great against jump-ins), Rush Charge dashes forward, Spin Kick hits several times, Ground Stomp sends a wave along the floor (jump over it or block low) and Dive Kick leaps up and dives down at an angle (block standing).

Combos, Super moves and weapons

• Directional attacks: → + Punch is a lunging elbow, → + Kick a flying knee (block it standing), ← + Kick a spinning back kick that knocks down.
• Chains: Punch → Punch → Punch (rising palm) or Punch → Punch → Kick; Kick → Kick (spinning heel); elbow → Punch or Kick; crouching punch → Kick (sweep) or → Punch (launcher).
• Throw: right next to your opponent press → + Punch to grab and throw them over your shoulder — it can’t be blocked, but you can’t grab someone who is jumping or attacking.
• Juggles: while a launched opponent is still in the air you can land up to 2 more hits (with reduced damage).
• Super move: when the Rage bar is full, press Punch + Kick together: your fighter charges in and, on contact, unleashes a flurry that ends by launching the opponent. Jump to dodge it.
• New specials: Fist Flurry (rapid punches), Shadow Step (vanish and reappear behind the opponent), Flip Kick (stops jump-ins), Slide Kick (low, block it crouching), Lift Slam (close-range grab, can’t be blocked) and Counter Stance (punch or kick into it and you get hit back).
• Weapons: every fighter has a signature weapon (shown on the select screen). Press WEAPON (R key, player 2 uses I) to draw or put it away. With a weapon, Punch slashes, Kick does a heavy blow and crouch + Punch/Kick sweeps low — longer reach and more damage, but slower. A knockdown may make you drop your weapon; stand close and press crouch + Punch to pick it up, even your opponent’s.

Tips

• Fighters differ in speed, power and reach — check the stat bars on the select screen. Sơn has long limbs, Linh is very fast but hits lightly, Bruno and Tora are slow but hit hard and take hits well.
• After blocking a slow attack (kick, sweep, charge, dive kick…), punish right away while your opponent recovers.
• Don't get trapped in a corner: jump over your opponent or use a dash move to escape.
• In Tower mode, quick wins, remaining health and perfect rounds (no damage taken) earn more points; Normal doubles your points and Hard triples them.