How to play

The goal

Win the match. A match is the best of five rounds, so the first fighter to win three rounds takes it. You can also end it early with a knockout.

There is no timing test and no button mashing. The whole game is about predicting what your rival will do, and hiding what you will do.

One round, step by step

1. Pick three attacks

   Choose high, medium or low for each of your three attacks.

2. Pick three blocks

   Choose high, medium or low for each of your three blocks, aimed at where you think your rival will strike.

3. Lock in

   Your rival makes their picks in secret too. Nobody sees the other side's choices until the round plays out.

4. Watch it play out

   The round runs as three exchanges. An attack lands unless the defender blocked that exact zone.

5. Count the hits

   Whoever lands more hits wins the round, unless a knockout ends the match first.

After a round, a tracker shows what each side picked and what landed. It is the best tool you have for spotting a rival's habits.

The KO meter

Every fighter has a seven-bar KO meter. Each landed hit fills a bar. Fill all seven for an instant knockout, and the last bar must be a landed hit. If one of your attacks is blocked, your meter empties.

The meter pulses when you are one hit away, and flashes KNOCKOUT! when you get there. Fall one hit short and the announcer will let you know.

Fighter traits

Every fighter has two traits that bend the race to a knockout. Traits never change who wins a round. They change how the KO meter fills, empties or is protected, and they are balanced so that no fighter has the edge. Both fighters' traits are shown on Character Select and on the VS screen, so pick a fighter whose style suits you and learn to play around your rival's.

And more. Each fighter has their own pair of traits.

Combos and PERFECT turns

• Combos. Chain two, three or four hits and the announcer calls it out, with screen shake and hit-stop to make every hit land.
• PERFECT. Land all three of your attacks in a round and you earn a PERFECT!, with bonus XP in online matches.
• Missed KO. Get blocked one hit short of a knockout and the announcer will remind you.

KO or nothing

Fall too far behind and the match is over, unless you have a hit streak going. Carry a streak into the final round and it becomes KO OR NOTHING: land the knockout or lose.

Matches also end as soon as the result cannot change, so you never play a pointless final round.

Reading your rival

• Study the tracker. Does your rival love high attacks? Do they always block low after a hit?
• Mix it up. If you pick the same zones every round, a good rival will notice.
• Bluff. Build a pattern, then break it when it matters.
• Know their traits. A rival with Power Shot is more dangerous in their favourite zone.
• Practise against personalities. In single player, computer opponents can be aggressive, defensive, tricky, balanced or unpredictable, and one of them copies your habits.

Belts and XP

Online matches earn XP for hits, blocks, combos, PERFECT turns, knockouts and the result itself. Losing still earns XP, and beating a higher belt earns more. Climb through every belt, then keep going through the Dan grades.

• White
• Yellow
• Orange
• Green
• Blue
• Purple
• Brown
• Red
• Black
• Dan grades

Read more about belts and XP