So, I decided I was gonna get into this whole “q” thing in that old fighting game, you know, the one with the parries. Third Strike. Yeah, that one. Everyone’s always talking about Ken, Chun-Li, Yun… but Q? He just looked kinda cool, all mysterious and trench-coaty. Figured, why not? How hard could it be?
Famous last words, right?
First off, jumping into a match with him felt like trying to steer a boat with a spoon. He’s slow. He’s clunky. His dash looks like he’s about to trip over his own feet. I mashed buttons. I got destroyed. Repeatedly. It wasn’t pretty. My opponents were probably laughing their heads off. I mean, I would have been.
My Brilliant Practice Plan (Sort Of)
Okay, so clearly just jumping in wasn’t working. I actually had to, like, practice. Ugh. I fired up the training mode. My big strategy was pretty basic at first:
- Figure out what his special moves actually did. That weird dashing punch? The grab thingy?
- Try to land a hit. Any hit. Seriously.
- Not get perfected every single round. That was a big goal.
I spent a good while just trying to get his command grabs – the Capture and Deadly Blow – to connect. You’d think a big robot detective guy would be good at grabbing, but nope. Everyone just seemed to jump away, or hit me before I even got close. It was frustrating, man. Like, really frustrating. I remember yelling at my screen a few times. My cat looked very concerned.
Then there are his taunts. Someone told me they actually power him up, but make him take more damage. So, you gotta pick your moment. I, of course, picked all the wrong moments. Taunt, get hit by a massive combo. Taunt, eat a super. It was a learning experience, let’s call it that. A painful, painful learning experience.
Taking the “Show” Online
After feeling slightly less like a total beginner (emphasis on slightly), I thought, “Okay, let’s try this online.” Oh boy. That was a whole other level of humility. The players there? They knew their stuff. I think my Q got parried more times than he landed punches. There was this one player, using Dudley, who just danced around me, making me look silly. I swear I could hear him sipping tea between rounds.
But you know what? I kept at it. Slowly, ever so slowly, things started to click just a tiny bit. I started landing a few of those dashing punches. I even managed to sneak in a command grab here and there. The victories were rare, like finding a twenty-dollar bill in an old coat, but when they happened? Chef’s kiss.
I’m still pretty awful, not gonna lie. Q is a tough nut to crack. He’s not one of those characters you can just pick up and win with. You gotta be patient. You gotta be tricky. You gotta really want it. I’m still in the “getting beaten up a lot” phase of wanting it, but hey, it’s a journey. Every now and then, I’ll land a decent combo, or surprise someone with a weird setup, and it feels good. It makes all the beatdowns almost worth it. Almost.
So yeah, that’s been my adventure trying to figure out this character. It’s a grind, but there’s something weirdly satisfying about it too. Maybe one day I’ll actually be decent. Or maybe I’ll just keep being that one Q player online that gives everyone else a free win. Either way, it’s been an experience.