Gamer Lingo

10,000 Dead Cranes Stance: When a character is knocked to the ground (but not knocked out or removed from the fighting arena) and the player opts to keep the character down, completely motionless, instead of getting back to his or her feet. The stance is used to avoid any remaining combos and/or special moves.

Ankle Biting: An especially rancid kind of cheese used during a fighting game in which the accused is repeatedly attacking the other character (human or computer) with repeated low hits. Often annoying, but quite effective.

Backed: Any move performed while showing your back which knocks your opponent across the screen. Named after Long the Tiger in the Bloody Roar franchise, who would knock you across the screen by merely touching his back to you.

Backstabbing: In general, going back on one's word in a strategic game, usually at the expense of someone else (Like Klingons shooting at Federation ships as per the ST:TNG CCG). In fighting games, a type of cheese where the attacker hits the poor helpless opponent in the back, often repeatedly and in combos.

Button-Mashing: Pressing all the buttons at once, in hope that the character will do something cool and deadly; beginner players usually do this in lieu of actually learning combos. This practice can be surprisingly effective due to its sheer unpredictability, since random attacks are nearly impossible to block. Button-mashing is a derogatory term: it is always one's opponent who is button-mashing, not one's own self.

Cheese: In general, this word (used as verb, noun or adjective) is used to describe ridiculously powerful moves, spells, etc. -- so powerful that they should be outlawed. F.ex., "This Star Ocean boss is pure cheese... he killed my entire party with one hit !" or "He cheesed me with his Lion Speed Deck". Cheese of this sort is not merely annoying -- it breaks game balance in some way by giving one side an unfair advantage. In fighting games, "cheese" refers to a repetitive, rapidfire pattern of moves (such as, for example, juggles) which, due to a loophole in the game or sheer malevolence, is nearly impossible to dodge, block, or resist in any way. F. ex., "He killed me with his Yoshimitsu/Hwoarang cheese". Cheese differs from official 12-hit combos and the like in that it is usually not programmed into the game from the outset; it takes a certain amount of skill to perfect and develop one's own style of cheese.

Cheesemonger: One who uses the same kind of cheese over and over, exclusively, with devastating effect, again and again, without end.

Chunky: A fighting style that, due to the incompetence of the player or the character (or both), does not flow together like a graceful ballet of death -- but, instead, putters along in a series of disjointed, stilted single moves. A chunky fighting style can still be effective, but it's never fun.

Corner Cheese: A type of cheese where the player catches his opponent in the corner, and keeps beating him down with 12-hit combos until he's dead. Normally, such combos can be dodged -- but not in the corner, where the walls surround the victim on all sides. The term actually originated in 2d fighting games such as Street Fighter, but this technique is even more devastating in modern 3d games such as Bloody Roar.

Death Fall: A maneuver that is supposed to let a character that has been launched in the air land safely on their feet. In reality, the move only sets up the performing character for a juggle. According to poorly-translated instruction booklets, this move is called a "Safe Fall". It has since been properly renamed after experimentation.

Fireball: Also known as Hadouken, a quarter-circle turn of the joystick (or the digital controller) counterclockwise from the "Down" position, followed by one or more attack buttons. Originally, this move was introduced in the Street Fighter game, where this move really does launch a fireball. However, the move has since then been copied by every other game for many purposes; backward-fireballs (a clockwise fireball, i.e. Down, Down-back, Back) also became common. F. ex., "Nagi has this neat backward-fireball + Beast move where she slices you in half"

Flipping China Child: Another name for Xaiyou in Tekken, a known master of Spinny-Flippies.

Flippy Kick: A move in the arsenal of Alice in Bloody Roar that falls into the category of Spinny-Flippies, though it also manages to deliver a very powerful kick, akin to cheese.

Grand Master: One of few players that can obliterate their opponents with any character at any fighting game. Note that Grand Masters are not necessarily Weapons Masters.

Ground-hogging: A type of cheese that involves beating the living hell out of someone when they're on the ground. Usually in a fighting game.

Hwa-BAM !: The sound Nightmare's sword makes when, deceptive in its speed, it nails the opponent to the floor (in Soul Calibur 2). In conversation, this term is usually accompanied by a downward-chopping motion of the arm.

Iajutsu Duel: A move possessed by some samurai-type characters. The samurai puts away his sword, looking deceptively vulnerable. When the hapless opponent moves in for the kill, the samurai whips out his katana with lightning speed, slicing his assailant to ribbons. This move was pioneered by the revolutionary game Bushido Blade, but some other fighting games have re-implemented it since. The name comes from the CCG Legend of the Five Rings, where a card by this name initiated a duel between two samurai.

Juggle: A term originally used in fighting games to denote a relentless attacker hitting an opponent into the air, and following up with a multi-hit combo which is impossible to avoid (because one can't dodge or block effectively while in the air). A juggle usually results in death or massive irreparable damage; Reji from Bloody Roar 4 excells at such juggling. Recently, the term has been adapted to denote to any activity which involves a series of attacks in rapid succession, f.ex. "We were playing L5R and he juggled me with his three Breaches of Etiquette in a row". In fighting games, juggles are often used as building blocks of cheese.

Limburger: The most potent form of cheese. Almost always unbeatable, some groups frequently try to ban its various forms as a house rule. Victories (even flawless victories) through use of limburger disqualifies the player from "schooling" anybody, unless the other player is using limburger as well.

Liquidality: Finishing off an opponent with a string of very fast hits that result in the replay of the victory starting somewhere within the combo. By pressing the replay button repeatedly at the stringing interval, the loser gets pounded from different camera angles a multitude of times. F.ex. When Uriko from Bloody Roar uses the "Continuous Gem Bombardment" six-level combo ring ender and it kills the opponent, the replay loop is said to cause a "Liquidality" because the loser is beaten so mercilessly that he or she is believed to eventually dissolve into a bloody puddle.

Master: A player that excels at fighting games. There are two types of masters: those who can use every character lethally in one fighting game and those who have one or two lethal characters in every fighting game.

Nagi Blender: A very fast cheese combo possessed by Nagi in Bloody Roar 4 that slices an opponent 5 times for over 2/3rds of their life in damage.

Oops: Spoken when one realizes that he or she has made a fatal mistake, and suffers the consequences moments later.

Pressing Buttons: A non-derogatory synonym for button-mashing, which is always applied to oneself, never to one's opponent. F.ex., "How ? How did you DO that ?" "I was pressing buttons."

Rag Doll: When a player fails to put up a decent fight during a round and gets horribly beaten down by his or her opponent. During said round, the failing player is said to be "fighting like a rag doll".

Rule #1: "Character Superiority." The order of character selection from most superior to least: Girl-Ninja, Ninja, Teenage Girl, Old Man, Monk (or monk-like character), American, Giant.

Rule #17: "Don't do fancy shit". Invoked when one's opponent attempts to execute a beautiful, stylish, and slow combo -- only to be stopped by a simple yet effective kick to the face.

Rule #2: Don't miss.

Rule #3: "Personal Space" - If a fighting game allows you to move your character (but not take action) before the match starts, it is not wise to get right in your opponent's face. Usually because he now has the advantage at throwing more.

Schooled: When a previously undefeated player (or anybody claiming to be one) is thoroughly trounced by another player. "Perfects" are usually resultant, but not necessarily required. The most impressive forms of "schooling" are a) no use of long combos, b) no cheese, or c) repeated (and consequence-free) breaking of Rule #17.

Scoop Kick: An insidious cheese move possessed by Hwoarang in Tekken that launches an opponent in the air, and is followed by a horrifying juggle. This move is also followed by the assailant's laughter. In general, any kick that launches the opponent into the air.

Sidestoop: Past tense of "sidestep", but only when the maneuver was successful. F.ex., "How ? How did that not hit you ? -- I sidestoop."

Soul Soul Revolution: Also known as Dance Dance Calibur, this term refers to two human opponents trying to gain an advantageous position by means of constant sidestepping. These actions result with the screen and characters spinning around and totally missing one another. It may be aesthetically pleasing, but ultimately accomplishes nothing.

Spinny-Flippies: Used to describe the constant spinning and/or flipping movements of a character that result in all incoming attacks being dodged. Most often, this term is applied to pre-pubescent Asian female characters and their fighting style.

Taco: A name given to a female game character's reproductive organ when she deals or receives damage from that area. F.ex. "Oh man, you just gave her a kick right to the Taco. Ouch."

Tekken Stance: A way of holding the PSX controller where the index finger is positioned over the Square button, and the middle finger is positioned over the Triangle button. This stance allows for easier (and faster) execution of "double-punch", "double-kick", and "punch-punch-kick-kick" combos in Tekken.

The First Rule: In any fighting game, if there is a ninja character, it's probably good. If there is a female character, chances are that she's even better. If it's a ninja girl, the choice for which character to pick becomes painfully clear.

Throwing More: When a player gives a character the command to throw his opponent, but is the victim of a throw instead. When the player voices his concern and states that he threw his opponent first, the other player replies "I threw you more."

Tracking: A combo that "homes in" on the opponent, making your character turn to follow and pummel him relentlessly even as the frightened opponent is trying to sidestep to safety. F.ex., "You can't dodge Reji. All his moves are either 360 or they track".

Turtle: A player who does nothing but block until the opponent makes a mistake, then comes back with an attack. When finished, the player goes back into his "shell." Computer opponents are notorious for this at higher difficulty levels of the game.

Weapons Master: A player who can excel at fighting games using any style of controller, button configuration, or combination of the two.

Yoga Flame: The half circle motion of the joystick (back to down to front) followed by one or more attack buttons. Like "Fireball," it originated in Street Fighter, and has been duplicated in the vast majority of fighting games since.