If you’re stepping into A Few Quick Matches for the first time, you might feel a bit overwhelmed. It’s a fast-paced, platform fighter with deep mechanics, and right now only three characters—but trust me, there’s a lot more than meets the eye.
This guide breaks down everything you need to know, from basic movement to high-level tech like dash cancel combos, aerial resets, and the game-changing air dash mechanic.
A Few Quick Matches Beginner Guide Wiki & Walkthorugh
A Few Quick Matches is a stick-figure platform fighter in the vein of Rivals of Aether and Smash Bros, but it’s got its own flavor. There are no shields. No grabs. And no ledges.
Instead, everything revolves around movement, combo potential, and air dashing.
Basic Controls & Mechanics
Let’s break down your essential toolkit:
1. Jab Combo
- Standard 3-hit jab for every character.
- Example: Knox’s jab ends with a projectile (arrows), which can whiff if the opponent DI’s away.
- Great for starting pressure, but situational depending on spacing and DI.
2. Tilts
- You’ve got Down Tilt, Up Tilt, and Forward Tilt.
- Tilts are solid for combo starters and setup tools.
- Example: Knox’s Forward Tilt is a 2-hit stab and can kill at high %.
- Down Tilt is often used for combo extensions when paired with dashes.
3. Smash Attacks
- Forward Smash, Down Smash, and Up Smash are here too.
- Powerful, slower, and great for securing kills.
- Knox’s Down Smash uses a bomb arrow with huge explosion radius.
- Uniquely, some characters can dash cancel out of their Forward Smash—more on that later.
4. Specials
You have specials in four directions:
- Neutral Special – Unique ability per character. Knox’s is a ranged shot useful for conversions.
- Side Special – Often utility-based.
- Up Special – Used for recovery, but does NOT put you into freefall.
- Down Special – Usually character-specific utility.
Why It Matters:
Because you don’t go into freefall, you can:
- Up special → jump
- Up special → aerials
- Up special → air dash
Even cooler: certain characters (like Ren) can up special → wall hop → up special again. It’s flexible, creative, and opens up deep recovery routes.
Aerials and Cancel Mechanics
You get:
- Neutral Air
- Forward Air
- Back Air
- Up Air
- Down Air (may vary depending on character, e.g., projectiles)
Aerial Cancel Tech
- All aerials are dash cancellable on hit.
- Hitting with an aerial refreshes your air dash.
- You can string aerials together using air dash resets:
Example:
Back Air → Air Dash → Back Air → Air Dash → Neutral Air
This is what lets players create ladder combos, which carry the opponent vertically and can kill off the top.
The Core Mechanic: Air Dash and Dash Cancels
This mechanic sets A Few Quick Matches apart from everything else in the genre.
What You Can Dash Cancel:
- Tilts
- Aerials
- Dash Attacks
- Certain Smash Attacks
- You get a visual frame advantage indicator above your character to help time dash cancels correctly.
Use Cases:
- Down Tilt → Air Dash → Down Tilt
- Back Air → Air Dash → Back Air → Neutral Air
- Dash Attack → Dash Cancel → Up Tilt → Aerial
- Up Tilt → Dash → Up Air → Air Dash → Up Air → [Repeat]
It’s omni-directional: you can dash cancel forward, backward, up, or down depending on your setup.
And the best part? On-hit cancels mean no waiting. You stay in your opponent’s face, chaining moves as long as hitstun allows.
Mobility Tech
Air Dash
- Primary movement tool in neutral and combos.
- Can be used aggressively (approach), defensively (retreat), or creatively (combo extensions, recoveries).
- Can be used even after Up Special, unlike most platform fighters.
Wave Dashing
- Done by air dashing diagonally into the ground.
- Great for mixups, spacing, and slipping into or out of danger quickly.
Defensive Options: No Shields or Grabs
This isn’t Smash. There’s no shield. No grab. And no ledge grabs either.
Instead, you get:
- Rolls – Directional and offer invincibility, but punishable due to end lag.
- Parries – Time a parry right, and the opponent is stunned for a free punish (similar to Rivals of Aether).
- Wall Hops – Vital for recovery since there are no ledges.
Recovery requires creativity. Combine air dash, jump, up special, and wall hop to mix up your returns and avoid edge guarding.
Dash Attacks and Combos
Dash Attacks aren’t just openers—they’re combo starters.
- You can dash cancel out of dash attacks and flow straight into tilt or smash attacks.
- Example:
Dash Attack → Dash Cancel → Up Tilt → Aerial
Dash Attack → Jump Cancel → Down Air
You can even combo off-stage with:
Dash Attack → Air Dash → Aerial
Character-Specific Notes
Knox (Midrange All-Rounder)
- Has strong zoning with arrows.
- Neutral Special is a great combo extender.
- Forward Smash can be dash cancelled.
- Down Air is a projectile that always sends forward—easy to combo from.
Ren (High Skill Floor)
- Giant sword user, strong vertical kill potential.
- Can recover using up special → wall hop → up special.
- A bit more rigid than others, but deadly in the right hands.
Eureka (Mage with Fox Energy)
- A weird but cool mix of projectile zoning and fast frame data.
- Think of a “mage Fox” or “mage Sheik” hybrid.
Why This Game Feels So Good
- Fast-paced with minimal input delay.
- Highly expressive—every hit gives you multiple options to extend or kill.
- No shield = More commitment, more reads, and more momentum-based play.
- Mastering the dash cancel system is the biggest skill check.
Final Thoughts
If you’re picking up A Few Quick Matches, don’t be intimidated. Focus on:
- Mastering dash cancels out of tilts and aerials
- Practicing air dash resets
- Learning your character’s best confirms
- Using parry wisely for defense
This game rewards you for thinking ahead and executing with precision. The faster you pick up movement tech, the more fun (and deadly) you’ll become.