History Main / Combos

* ''MarvelVsCapcom3'' is famous for its ''obscenely long'' combos. The game's numerous mechanics — especially tag mechanics — allow combos to [[TimedMission outlast the fight's timer]] and continue [[OverlyLongGag long after damage scaling has reduced them to harmless showboating]]. It is expected that a combo will take 50-75% of a enemy's health, assuming the player is ''mediocre'', and that a landed hit from a high level player is indeed a TouchOfDeath. Once a combo starts, the [[MemeticMutation memetic]] reaction is for the defendee to drop the controller and make a sandwich, take a leak or walk their dog.

** Note that in combos seem to play a larger role in the {{Metagame}} and culture of ''MarvelVsCapcom3'' than they do in most other fighting games. This seems to be because each player controls a three-person TagTeam, rather than a single fighter. While a TouchOfDeath combo would be a GameBreaker in most other fighting games, they are only normal. The study of combo construction — be it the development of TouchOfDeath combos or special, case-specific combos — is thus not only ''acceptable'' but ''standard and basic''. And the appreciation of combos is a hallmark of [[AffectionateNickname Mahvel]] culture.

* ''MarvelVsCapcom3'' is famous for its ''obscenely long'' combos. The game's numerous mechanics — especially tag mechanics — allow combos to [[TimedMission outlast the fight's timer]] and continue [[OverlyLongGag long after damage scaling has reduced them to harmless showboating]]. It is expected that a combo will take 50%-75% of a enemy's health, assuming the player is ''mediocre'', and that a landed hit from a high level player is indeed a TouchOfDeath. Once a combo starts, the [[MemeticMutation memetic]] reaction is for the defendee to let go of the controller and make a sandwich, take a leak or walk their dog.

** Note that in combos seem to play a larger role in the Metagame and culture of ''MarvelVsCapcom3'' than they do in most other fighting games. This seems to be because each player controls a three-person TagTeam, rather than a single fighter. While a TouchOfDeath combo would be ludicrous in most other fighting games, they are only setbacks here. The study of combo construction — be it the development of TouchOfDeath combos or special, case-specific combos — is thus not only ''acceptable'' but ''standard and basic'' in the Metagame. And the appreciation of combos is a hallmark of [[AffectionateNickname Mahvel]] culture.

* MarvelVsCapcom3 is famous for its ''obscenely long'' combos. The game's numerous mechanics — especially tag mechanics — allow combos to [[TimedMission outlast the fight's timer]] and continue [[OverlyLongGag long after damage scaling has reduced them to harmless showboating]]. Once a combo starts, the [[MemeticMutation memetic]] reaction is for the defendee to let go of the controller and make a sandwich, take a leak or walk their dog.
** Note that combos
** To illustrate an impractical but ''possible'' combo, check out [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9f_jp7LHCc#t=10s this video]].

* While playtesting ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', the developers discovered a glitch, later dubbed "canceling", where inputting the command for a special move would interrupt the recovery of a normal move that connected. The glitch was kept in as the developers thought it would be an interesting "feature" for players to find, but nothing exceptional beyond an easter egg. Players and publications quickly caught onto these and spread the word. By the time ''Super Street Fighter II'' came around, [[AscendedGlitch the game was actively counting the hits of each combo]].
** Rapid fire punches and kicks, as well as late jumping attacks into normal moves, are also combos in ''Street Fighter II''. Canceling may be a glitch, but these are likely intentional.

* The PS2 ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' fighting game by Arc System Works is, basically, a combo maniac's festival. Comobos of up to thirty-three hits have appeared in ''tournaments''. It helps that each character has an attack whose sole purpose is to launch the enemy into the wall, leaving them open for such tactics.
* Also from Arc is ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', which is MADE of combos, so much so that the damage scaling system is visible for the players' convenience, as well as fast to kick into high gear to stop Dust loops from being instantly fatal.
* ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' actually encourages smaller combos due to its damage scaling (which triggers pretty quickly). Expect to hear "YES!" (the game's call-out to three-or-four-hit combos) a lot.
* Juggle combos. Love them? Hate them? Either way, ''MortalKombat'' is their progenitor. Juggle-centric games like ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' have this series to thank.

* ''EternalFighterZero'' has the Reinforce gauge, which can be used to {{cancel}} almost any attack and gives you a small window to input the next command, leading to all sorts of possibilities for creating combos.
* ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'' 3 uses combo moves known as "Command Attacks" which the characters do 3D fighter style combination attacks. Although many of the other {{SNK}} games have 2D fighter style combs that can be implemented.
* The ''SuperSmashBros'' series has these as well, though ''Brawl'' has very few due to physics changes intentionally made to remove them.

* The side-scrolling action RPG ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'' has a fairly complex combo system, which rewards you with healing items if you make a long enough combo of attacks.

* ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' rewards combos with healing items as well, though at fairly arbitrary numbers. (The first one is seventeen hits.) If the character is at full health, the reward is instead an orb that lets out a shockwave when touched, sending all enemies in range flying; the resultant hits add to the combo. After about 100 or so hits, the reward is always a black orb that gives temporary QuadDamage.

* Exists in the game ''VideoGame/{{Fable I}}'' under the name "Combat Multiplier" and the higher it is, the more experience obtained when you beat an enemy. However, getting hit rounds it down to the next-lowest 5.
** The ManaShield spell turns this into a GameBreaker in that it allows you to take blows without penalty to your combo. Find an area with unlimited monster spawn (eg Grey House), activate the shield, and it's not too difficult to get the meter above 300 or so (at about which time you might as well stop, 'cause your experience counter just maxed out...).

* ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}} I/II'' allows melee specialists to chain multiple weapon swings together with properly timed presses of the "attack" key, instead of slower normal attacks.
* Likewise, ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'' allows you to chain together multiple sword attacks by timing them carefully. The maximum chain length can be extended by developing corresponding sword style skills.

* ''MagnaCarta2'' has something like this. Your attacks get more powerful, which builds up Kan. After a while, you have enough Kan to perform a skill, which can then go into Overdrive mode, another skill, a Chain state with the next character, and then ''even more skills'' in Chain Drive mode.
* ''VideoGame/RememberMe'' has a modular combo system wherein thee different effects (damage, healing, special ability cooldown) can be applied to each strike in one of the predefined sequences of two attack buttons (except the first strike that initiates the combo sequence), with the effects of the strikes increasing the further down the chain they are executed.
* ''VideoGame/{{Deception}}'' games starting with the first sequel, ''Kagero'', allow you to chain together traps used in a row on a given invader. The longer the chains, the more currency you are awarded to research new, deadlier traps.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Massive Multiplay Online Role-Playing Games]]
* ''RagnarokOnline'' two martial artist classes, the monk and the Taekwon has combo moves, the monk must charge up his spirit orbs in order to unleash something beyond the 3 hit comboo to follow it with deadlier blows but can only land up to 10 hits with a full skill set in his trascended class. The Tae Kwon is more traditional with him preparing kicks and pressing the skill when he can use it.
** Then of course there are Taekwon Rankers, the 10 best Taekwons (sorta) on the server gaining the ability to - when he can get in a kick - make infinite kicking comboes limited only to the mana pool of the Taekwon. A kick is 2 sp, a normal Taekwon has ~2-300 max. mana.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* In the anime ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'', Tomoyo has a [[SignatureMove trademark]] rapid fire [[KickChick sequence of kicks]] that juggles her opponent in the air, and a combo meter actually appears every time she uses it (on [[ButtMonkey Sunohara]]). At one point, she and Tomoya do a chain combo that bumps the meter to over 1000 hits. In the VisualNovel, she chain combos with almost everyone on the cast.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Satirized in the animated series ''DrawnTogether'', in which the character of Xandir has a number of absurd power-ups and combos, mostly playing on the fact that Xandir is gay (e.g., a special attack called 'The Reach-Around', etc.)

* ''ValkyrieProfile 2'' has an attack system that can be abused for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsWFnqY9Vkc some truly ridonkulous combos]].



* ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}} I/II'' allows melee specialists to chain multiple weapon swings together with properly timed presses of the "attack" key, instead of slower normal attacks.
* Likewise, ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'' allows you to chain together multiple sword attacks by timing them carefully. The maximum chain length can be extended by developing corresponding sword style skills.
* In an odd use of the trope, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' allows you to combo [[LimitBreak Quickenings]], including chaining attacks from other characters.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' uses combos extensively. You get vastly more experience for racking up a combo, and even more for a combo that uses all of your different moves. During several of the combat challenges going for large combo's is pretty much the only way to get 3 medals.
* ''VideoGame/NinetyNineNights'' has a system where the higher your number of combos, the more likely a Mook will drop a rare(r) item (i.e. dropping a lvl 4 item instead of a level 1 item). And just to make things easier for you, each character has at least one stage where you will face a very large number (getting close and probably surpassing the 1000 range) of Mooks at once.

* ''MagnaCarta2'' has something like this. Your attacks get more powerful, which builds up Kan. After a while, you have enough Kan to perform a skill, which can then go into Overdrive mode, another skill, a Chain state with the next character, and then ''even more skills'' in Chain Drive mode.
* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008'' has a wide variety of short combos that can be chained into longer ones, building brick-style. The longest combo in the game contains all four available moves over fourteen consecutive strikes. You get an achievement for actually pulling that last one off (the biggest problem being that most enemies run out of health half-way through it).
* ''VideoGame/RememberMe'' has a modular combo system wherein thee different effects (damage, healing, special ability cooldown) can be applied to each strike in one of the predefined sequences of two attack buttons (except the first strike that initiates the combo sequence), with the effects of the strikes increasing the further down the chain they are executed.
* The ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'' series features them as one of the prime gameplay mechanics, being a rare example of a non-fighting game that uses them. While they only usually comprised of a few tricks in the first game, by the third extremely, often absurdly long combos become the core that the series built itself around.
* ''VideoGame/{{Deception}}'' games starting with the first sequel, ''Kagero'', allow you to chain together traps used in a row on a given invader. The longer the chains, the more currency you are awarded to research new, deadlier traps.
* ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' from the second game in the series onwards awards bonuses for shooting targets in quick succession. Your shots don't have to be on enemies per se; shooting ''inanimate objects'' that can be destroyed will add to the combo counter as well. ''Time Crisis 4'' adds a combo meter that shows how much time is left before the combo resets.

* Combos can be found in most modern {{Pinball}} games, where making a series of loops, shots, and ramps (either repeating the same shot several times, or a specific sequence of shots) will yield extra bonuses. Naturally, the more difficult combos will reward more points.
** ''[[VideoGame/ProPinballTheWeb Pro Pinball: The Web]]'' requires players to perform at least 15 combos to get the WizardMode. Furthermore, players who shoot a long sequence of combo shots are recognized as the "Combo Champion".
** ''Pinball/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' takes this one step further, as starting specific series of Modes (such as Multiball, RED, then Payback Time) starts "Blitz", where certain shots award even more points.
** ''Pinball/FishTales'' has the "Fast Cast", which is scored by shooting the Caster's Club right after a Long Cast or ball launch.
** In Creator/SegaPinball's ''Pinball/BatmanForever'', a "Batarang" is a Combo for shooting the left outer loop, clockwise over the top, then up the middle ramp. Players who get the most Batarangs can enter their initials at the end of the game.
** ''Pinball/{{Stargate}}'' has a single five-shot combo -- left ramp, right ramp, left lane, right lane, and then the Pyramid. The game remembers the player who makes the most combos.
** ''Pinball/{{Corvette}}'' has an assortment of two- and three-shot Combos, which have a cumulative value to entice the player to make more.

* Satirized in the animated series ''DrawnTogether'', in which the character of Xandir has a number of absurd power-ups and combos, mostly playing on the fact that Xandir is gay (e.g., a special attack called 'The Reach-Around', etc.)
* The side-scrolling action RPG ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'' has a fairly complex combo system, which rewards you with healing items if you make a long enough combo of attacks.
** Unfortunately, simply tapping the attack button at a specific rate will give an easy infinite combo, circumventing any need to play with the system present.
* ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' rewards combos with healing items as well, though at fairly arbitrary numbers. (The first one is seventeen hits.) If the character is at full health, the reward is instead an orb that lets out a shockwave when touched, sending all enemies in range flying; the resultant hits add to the combo. After about 100 or so hits, the reward is always a black orb that gives temporary QuadDamage.
* Every ''[[Franchise/TalesSeries Tales]]'' game lets characters combo beyond their basic attack sequence by chaining skills together, offering bonus experience among other things for players who can cooperate to make extended hit chains. ''Symphonia'' gave a title to anyone who pulled off the most basic combo in the game (Lloyd's hit combo into Majinken) as well as an additional string of titles for ever-mounting comboes (up to 100 hits). ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Remake'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' have battle systems geared around comboes - any ''Innocence'' character can generally get to at least 20 or 30 hits ''on their own'' by endgame, and the AI tends to be very helpful in driving the number into the hundreds against some bosses.
** The Tales mantra, for those curious, applies to all games except ''Destiny Remake'', ''Hearts'', and ''Graces'', which used the separate CC/EG gauge, and runs like this: "Attack, attack, attack, tokugi/base, ougi/arcane." Insert extra attacks and tech tiers where applicable.
*** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has taken this to ridiculous degrees. Overlimit in ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Vesperia]]'' allows you to chain physical attacks and cast spells instantly for as long as it's active. Combining this with certain skills allows main character Yuri to preform infinite combos. Also, equipping the right skills to Rita, the main spellcaster in your party, allows her to [[GameBreaker chain magic spells together]].
** ''TODR'' uses a Combo Capacity system that allows you to combo for as long as you want until either your CC runs out or the enemy escapes the chain (it regenerates pretty fast). The CC system was also used for ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', ''Keroro RPG'', and, in the form of the hybridized EG system, ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts''.
* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', reaching combo benchmarks is one of the conditions that ups your "special" experience multiplier.
* Exists in the game ''VideoGame/{{Fable I}}'' under the name "Combat Multiplier" and the higher it is, the more experience obtained when you beat an enemy. However, getting hit rounds it down to the next-lowest 5.
** The ManaShield spell turns this into a GameBreaker in that it allows you to take blows without penalty to your combo. Find an area with unlimited monster spawn (eg Grey House), activate the shield, and it's not too difficult to get the meter above 300 or so (at about which time you might as well stop, 'cause your experience counter just maxed out...).

* The PS2 ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' fighting game by Arc System Works is, basically, a combo maniac's festival. Comobos of up to thirty-three hits have appeared in ''tournaments''. It helps that each character has an attack whose sole purpose is to launch the enemy into the wall, leaving them open for such tactics.
* Also from Arc is ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', which is MADE of combos, so much so that the damage scaling system is visible for the players' convenience, as well as fast to kick into high gear to stop Dust loops from being instantly fatal.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 3'' lets you feel like a superhero by the simple measure of allowing you to {{cancel}} out almost any move ''into'' almost any move at no cost, racking up devilishly large combos limited only by the monster's ability to absorb damage. In most games, this would break the game right in half. In ''DevilMayCry 3'', [[NintendoHard it was a necessity]].
* ''ValkyrieProfile 2'' has an attack system that can be abused for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsWFnqY9Vkc some truly ridonkulous combos]].

* ''RagnarokOnline'' two martial artist classes, the monk and the Taekwon has combo moves, the monk must charge up his spirit orbs in order to unleash something beyond the 3 hit comboo to follow it with deadlier blows but can only land up to 10 hits with a full skill set in his trascended class. The Tae Kwon is more traditional with him preparing kicks and pressing the skill when he can use it.
** Then of course there are Taekwon Rankers, the 10 best Taekwons (sorta) on the server gaining the ability to - when he can get in a kick - make infinite kicking comboes limited only to the mana pool of the Taekwon. A kick is 2 sp, a normal Taekwon has ~2-300 max. mana.

* ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' actually encourages smaller combos due to its damage scaling (which triggers pretty quickly). Expect to hear "YES!" (the game's call-out to three-or-four-hit combos) a lot.
* Juggle combos. Love them? Hate them? Either way, ''MortalKombat'' is their progenitor. Juggle-centric games like ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' have this series to thank.

* ''NinetyNineNights'' has a system where the higher your number of combos, the more likely a Mook will drop a rare(r) item (i.e. dropping a lvl 4 item instead of a level 1 item). And just to make things easier for you, each character has at least one stage where you will face a very large number (getting close and probably surpassing the 1000 range) of Mooks at once.

* ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' from the second game in the series onwards awards bonuses for shooting targets in quick succession. Your shots don't have to be on enemies per se; shooting ''inanimate objects'' will add to the combo counter as well. ''Time Crisis 4'' adds a combo meter that shows how much time is left before the combo resets.

* ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' awards bonuses for shooting targets in quick succession. Your shots don't have to be on enemies per se; shooting ''inanimate objects'' will add to the combo counter as well. ''Time Crisis 4'' adds a combo meter that shows how much time is left before the combo resets.

* ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' awards bonuses for shooting targets in quick succession. What you shoot does not have to result in a kill, nor does it even have to be an enemy; if you damage an enemy or destroy an inanimate object, it will add to your combo counter. ''Time Crisis 4'' adds a combo meter that shows how much time is left before the combo resets.

* The side-scrolling action RPG ''[[WorldOfMana Legend of Mana]]'' has a fairly complex combo system, which rewards you with healing items if you make a long enough combo of attacks.

* Juggle combos. Love them? Hate them? Either way, ''MortalKombat'' is their progenitor. Juggle-centric games like ''MarvelVSCapcom'' have this series to thank.

* ''{{Drakengard}}'' rewards combos with healing items as well, though at fairly arbitrary numbers. (The first one is seventeen hits.) If the character is at full health, the reward is instead an orb that lets out a shockwave when touched, sending all enemies in range flying; the resultant hits add to the combo. After about 100 or so hits, the reward is always a black orb that gives temporary QuadDamage.

** Other Ur Examples of Combos can be found in most modern {{Pinball}} games, where making a series of loops, shots, and ramps (either repeating the same shot several times, or a specific sequence of shots) will yield extra points. Naturally, the more difficult combos will reward more points.

Combos are a trope of video games. They are a sequence of hits where, if the first hit connects, the target cannot act in any capacity until it is over (compare to MercyInvincibility). A ComboBreaker is the sole exception to this rule. If your target could have escaped your attack sequence by any other means, such as blocking or performing an invincible move, then it isn't a combo.

Generally these show up in {{Fighting Game}}s, but they can also be seen in other genres. For combos to be possible, attacks in a given game must put the enemy in a state where they cannot act (fighting games refer to this as "hitstun"). The state must also be vulnerable, and the attacker must recover from their attack fast enough to deliver another before the state ends.

Knocking an opponent down can end a combo due to the potentially gained invincibility, but not always! Some games have moves that can be used on downed opponents, and knock-downs due to effects of being dizzy actually set the opponent up for further punishment.

Combo is a term that can be used loosely out in the wild; many uses of the word likely do not fit on this article (but perhaps on the CombinationAttack article). However, feel free to add parodies or other examples that contain some aspects of combos (just be sure to label them as such). Rhythm game chains and puzzle game chains are not combos, nor are the combination attacks found in VideoGame/ChronoTrigger.

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' uses this extensively. You get vastly more experience for racking up a combo, and even more for a combo that uses all of your different moves. During several of the combat challenges going for large combo's is pretty much the only way to get 3 medals.

* While playtesting ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', the developers discovered a glitch, later dubbed "canceling", where inputting the command for a special move would interrupt the recovery of a normal move that connected. The glitch was kept in as the developers thought it would be an interesting "feature" for players to find, but nothing exceptional beyond an easter egg. Players and publications quickly caught onto these and spread the word. By the time ''Super Street Fighter II'' came around, the game was actively counting the hits of each combo.