Game Mechanics

30 Second Timer
Unlike most fighting games that feature a 99 or 60 second round time, Jackie Chan in Fists of Fire, by default, only allots 30 seconds per round time. Though in reality, it's closer to 42 seconds per round as it ticks down much more slowly than other games.

Despite this, time outs in Fists of Fire are a fairly uncommon occurrence due to the fast-paced nature and high damage output of each of the characters. Still, players should always be mindful of the short rounds as it's easy to lose track and lose your opponent as they frantically backdash away in the closing moments.

Taunts
Pressing both Hard Punch and Hard Kick simultaneously, every character can perform a taunt to clown their opponent. This action cannot be cancelled remains active until the animation has expired. Taunting in Fists of Fire does have one benefit, which is to drain your opponent’s Super meter (the exact amount depends on how long the taunt animation lasts). This technique also works after your opponent has been defeated, allowing you to drain super meter even after the round has concluded.

Throws
Performed at close range by holding forward/back plus Hard Punch or Hard Kick buttons (depending on your character). Kim-Maree and M. Lion have throws that are mashable, in which both characters mash to either increase or reduce the number of hits. Most throws can lead to a juggle near the corner, and a couple even work midscreen.

Throw attempts in Jackie Chan cannot be countered or reversed, making them extremely deadly. Not only because there's no way to escape them, but also because they inflict huge amounts of damage. Dashes can also be cancelled into throws, making for a deadly mix-up game against turtling opponents. It's very important to learn how dash canceling into throws works, as there is a proper distance and timing in order for it to properly connect.

When two throws connect on the same frame, the outcome is essentially random (as in, there is no realistic way to know which throw will be successful).

Super Moves
Represented by a small bar at the bottom of the screen, Super meter in Fists of Fire is acquired by three actions: by holding either HP or HK to charge, by performing any attacks, regardless of whether they hit your opponent or not and by taking damage. Characters with good supers and strong neutral like Lau and Thorsten can frequently build meter as part of their gameplan, forcing opponents to approach. The second, however, comes into play naturally. It's extremely common for both players to fill their Super meter in every round of the game as it doesn't take many attacks to achieve a full bar. Once achieved, characters can activate their super moves, of which they all have one.

Dashing
The hallmark of Fists of Fire, dashing is the single most important element of the game. Every character in the game can dash by quickly tapping either forward or backwards.

What makes dashing so important is that it allows you to cover a very large space extremely quickly in a game where the average walking speed is much slower when compared to other fighting games. There are many ways to utilize dashing in Jackie Chan, all of which are important to learn.

First, forward dashes can be cancelled at any time by either pressing backwards, crouching, pressing an attack button, activating a special or super move and by initiating a throw. To put it simply, you can cancel your dash by doing just about anything. This technique alone should make walking a rarity in your Jackie play, as it’s easy to cover any amount of distance you desire and cancel it at the right moment. This style of play becomes essential in footsies as it allows you to get in proper zoning position or instantly pounce on any available punishing opportunities.

Back dashing on the other hand, cannot be cancelled but is also fairly fast. Also, unlike dashing forward, each characters backdash has full invincibility throughout the entire animation, allowing players to back-dash to escape offensive pressure. The exception is Kim-Maree, who has 4 vulnerable frames at the end of her backdash (which is already significantly slower than average). The only time you cannot backdash is when you are stuck in a turnaround animation, which lasts for 9 frames and is common after air resets. As a result, any move that turns the opponent around becomes a great corner option as it denies the opponent their strongest defensive tool.

Jumping
While Jackie Chan in Fists of Fire is known to have some of the craziest dashes in the history of fighting games, alternatively, it also has some of the worst jumping mechanics. By pressing up and the direction you'd like to jump in, your character will perform an extremely slow and floaty jump. The conventional Jackie Chan wisdom regarding jumping is this: don't.

But if you do decide to jump, here's what you should know. First, if you are attacked in mid-air, your opponent gains one free juggle attack after the initial blow, setting you up to take huge damage. On the flip-side, jumping attacks due seem to have somewhat higher priority than most, making at least a trade highly probable if intercepted.

Should you connect with an attack (whether your opponent blocked or not), the initial attack can then be cancelled into another, to achieve a total of two hits before reaching the ground. Kim-Maree generally has the best jump, due to its faster speed and her downward reaching air normals that can chain into each other easily.

It is also possible to cross-up your opponent, which is to attack your opponent on the opposite side of which they're facing, as seen in many other 2D fighters. Combine this with the ability to string two attacks together on opponents in air and there are some advantages to taking to the skies in Jackie Chan.

Overhead Attacks
Every character in Jackie Chan has the ability to perform an overhead attack by pressing forward and either the Hard Punch or Hard Kick buttons, depending on their move list. This attack can only be blocked when standing and some characters, such as "Project A" Jackie Chan, can proceed to combo from their overhead should it connect.

It's important to note that due to the ease of commands, it's very easy to perform a special move instead of the intended overhead when attempting to dash into an overhead attack, or even when moving the stick from a defensive stance to the forward motion. If you've performed any action other than hold the stick towards before attempting an overhead, remember to move the stick back to neutral before attempting the overhead command. When chaining from a crouching normal, input the first button with a down-forward input (i.e. 3LK) before chaining to the overhead to prevent the special from coming out. This is absolutely essential for Lau, Sam, Drunk Jackie, and Dragonball Jackie.

Basic Cancels
The second hallmark of Jackie Chan in Fists of Fire is your ability to cancel nearly ever move into any other move you can imagine. It's the same concept as dash canceling, only applied to attacks.

For example, most combos in Fists of Fire have players stringing together a series of crouching Light Punch or Light Kick attacks, and quickly canceling this string into a special or super move. Many normal attacks can be cancelled into special or super attacks, but keep in mind that you can not cancel any special attack into a super attack. Experiment with your character and discover all the different variations possible.

Combo Strings
Every character in Fists of Fire contains the same generic Combo String, achieved by rapidly pressing the Light Punch button. Your character will proceed to perform a four to five hit combo, regardless of whether or not it connects with your opponent. If hit by a Combo String, it cannot be interrupted, nor can it be cancelled. Due to its inability to be cancelled, the generic Combo String is rarely used. Many of these are also not true combos even when the first hit lands properly.

Chains
The real meat of combos in Jackie Chan all center on Chains, which are a series of attacks all consisting of cancelled attacks. Much like the game Melty Blood, Jackie Chan allows players to execute a combo that consists of each of the attack buttons, so long as that button is not repeated. For example, you a combo can be LP, LK, HP, HK, but it cannot be LP, LK, HP, HP or LP, LK, LK, HP. Jackie Chan also follows the "Magic Series" rule set by Capcom's Vs. series, in that once you perform a hard attack, you cannot go back to light attacks in the same combo.

Some light attacks can be rapidly chained into themselves, including many crouching LPs and LKs. This gives more time to hitconfirm before chaining into more unsafe attacks.

There are some attacks, such as cr.HK from Yeung, Thorsten, or M. Lion that do not allow conventional chains afterward. These moves are generally strong enough pokes in neutral that it could be unfair for them to have a safe chain afterward.

A Chain can also be topped off with a Special or Super move for further damage. When combined, it’s easy to see that Chains are the most significant way to deal damage in Fists of Fire.

Juggles
Once an opponent is airborne, be it by jumping or being struck with an attack, they are open to a juggle attack. Once you knock an opponent airborne, you get one additional juggle afterward. A single juggle can include multiple attacks, as long as they all hit in quick succession -- if you are too slow, both juggle points will be consumed.

For example, if you counter a jump-in attempt with a crouching HP, you can then follow it up with another normal, special or super attack. Another example would be Lau's Air Kick, which leaves opponents in a juggle state, which can then be followed up with a string like cr.HK > cr.HP > Uppercut. Despite the attack inflicting multiple hits, it still counts as a single move.

The ease of which juggles are performed in Jackie Chan is the primary reason why jumping is a bad idea. Additionally, boss versions of the characters are allowed an additional juggle, which often leads to instant stun or kill combos from one touch.