Toe II Toe
“Fighting games are hard.”
“Fighting games take up too much time and require a lot of dedication.”
“There are too many characters, and it's not balanced.”
“I can't figure out special moves.”
“My opponent keeps running away.”
“I don't have a console or PC.”
"My lemon PC can't run fighting games.”
Ever want to play fighting games but these questions keep getting in the way? Do not fear, Toe II Toe is here.
Toe II Toe is a fast-paced mini fighting game in a retro gameboy style for the 20 second Game Jam! You have your feet planted on the ground, ready for a slugfest. Punch, duck, or block your way to victory!
The controls are very basic, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure things out. All it takes is 20 seconds per fight, no special moves--one move per button. That's it!
You can run the game on your cellphone. That means you can play anytime and anywhere--whether you're in the can, in mom's basement, or in a business meeting. You can strategize or just spam buttons, you're the boss. Play against the computer AI, or side by side on the same device with a friend. It's a mirror match, no roster to choose from, so you can rest assured that the game is balanced.
Who said fighting games need to be difficult and time consuming? (Seriously, punch those gatekeepers!)
Controls
Touch the buttons or if you prefer the keyboard:
You can also customize your controls according to your preference. There are some keys that are reserved, so if your custom key doesn't register, that means it's unavailable.
Or if you prefer a Gamepad:
Buttons 1-4 are the default actions, which varies depending where your player is positioned. Start or Options button pauses the game during a match. The Direction keys or the Left Analog Stick can be used to navigate the menus, and pressing any key in the menu selects.
You can also customize the gamepad in-game controls to your liking. If your gamepad supports vibrations, prepare to feel a rumble.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may view the FAQs here.
Changelog
You may view the game changes here.
To Do
Online LeaderboardsSprite and Animation improvementsSFX improvements and Music(?)Control Pad support- Add More Characters to Single Player Mode
Round time optionsPre-fight and post-fight screens- Better AI
- Uppercut
- Counter Punch
Credits
- Construct
- Aseprite
- Pixly by Gustavo Maciel
- ChipTone by SFB Games
- Audacity
- Early GameBoy font by Jimmy Campbell
- Itch.io
- 20 Second Game Jam
- CG Pixel 4x5 font by Ilmari Karonen
- Modbox/Beepbox by John Nesky, Quirby64, Theepicosity, Fillygroove, and DARE
Donations
The game is completely free, no catch. But for those who want to go further in supporting the development of the game, or if you want to buy me a beer/coffee, you can pay what you want to "buy" the game. For those who want to donate multiple times or recurring, you may do so on my Ko-Fi page.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
Support this game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Insert Credit(s)
Donate USD 10 or more, and I will include you in the credits of the game.
- Max 13 characters
- Must be alphanumeric. Special characters are limited to commas , periods , and exclamation points. These are also included in the character count.
- Cannot be racist/sexist/profane, etc. I will be the final judge of what is allowed and not.
- In case of violation of the previous, I will ask you to change it just once. If you don't change it, the name won't appear in the credits, and this Reward will already be fulfilled.
Limited to 100 quantity. If for some reason you can't donate or purchase on itch, you can try my ko-fi page, and then I'll reach out, make it happen.
Also available on
Development log
- Here comes a new challenger51 days ago
- Insert CreditsJan 16, 2024
- Toe II Toe - FAQsJul 28, 2023
- Toe II Toe - ChangelogJul 28, 2023
- Update: New Mechanic -- Parry / Just DefendJul 01, 2023
- Thank the people (and give them what they want)May 11, 2023
- Privacy PolicyJan 16, 2023
Comments
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finally got some time to properly play and after improving both at sf 6 and at parrying on this game, i could beat the cpu more than get beaten!
some random thing ive notice that would be cool to see is a cheering/frustration or anger animation for when the time runs out and no one goes to the canvas.
just like, the character raising its arm cheering victory or making a sad or angry face when losing by time
Bruh, this game is unfair, I dodge and they still hit me not giving me time to able to attack, and even if I block a jab I still get hit, and sometimes I just can't do anything and the bot just keeps punching me, and I die too quickly, and nothing works for me, and I everytime I try anything the dodge it and counter me but It doesn't work for me, this game looks fun but it's just unfair.
I won by just spamming jab, that's the only way for me to able to win, I did nothing but spam jab.
Never mind, I just tried it on the human and it didn't work, it even seems she's faster, like I think there's gonna be needed to balance things out.
Yeah I just tested it and the human is faster than the dummy, like you need to balance this out, I tried it with two player, that I control, and I pressed both the jap and hook at the same time and the human was faster.
Hello! Yes, the human is way faster, but the dummy hits like a truck! It's really difficult to balance different characters, as they'll have their own strengths and weaknesses. It wasn't an issue before when there was only a single character making everything a mirror match, but now there's a new character and some more coming. I'll probably do some balancing in the future, but that's probably after I add another character.
If you want it to be a simpler alternative to fighting games you should definitely explain what's going on, because as a long time fighting game player I have 0 idea how to improve, so I lost interest after 3 matches.
The guard break(?) happens at times I wouldn't expect, blocking a jab and then attacking is apparently still unsafe, there seems to be a parry mechanic that didn't give me much of an opening either, and like everyone else pointed out the AI is insanely aggressive. The game really needs either a tutorial or way more feedback on when it's advantageous to perform which action.
Thank you for playing and giving feedback! Yes, I am working on the tutorial mode and a difficulty adjustment so as not to overwhelm people.
The guard break, there is a guard meter below the lifebar. If you're still thrown off, it might be because of Hoyka, who does insane damage and can easily crush guard breaks.
Gotcha, yeah I was mainly playing against Hoyka.
The pixel art is great and the concept is promising, but it would definitely benefit from more feedback whether the player is at advantage or disadvantage (maybe stun animation?).
I love fighting games! Aesthetics are sooo great...
so happy to see this game get updated again!!
it's still so fun and addictive, i come back once a week at least just for a few games, ngl :p
AYYEEE nice to see u still updating this game after the 20 second game jam, can't wait to see more development bro!
Thanks! It took a while, but I'll try to keep updating it.
The 20sgj this year should be coming up soon. Hope to see you there again. The Beast needs a companion!
yesssirrr that should be fun fr!!
time over losing? too quick
Hi @dyenamix! You can adjust the round time in the options! I left it at 20 seconds by default because this was initially made for the 20 second game jam.
Incredible game. Learning the parry into counter feels so cool. Peak Hajime no Ippo type beat.
I'm a big fan of parries in fighting games, so I had to throw that in!
I keep getting beat up but this game looks great. The illustation and animation of Stella are top notch! I tried it cos it looked great.
Thank you! (Hoyka is crying in a corner.)
Okay I just tried Hoyka as I felt bad and they pummled me (I won 1 match) but looked great while doing it! Nice game mate.
Where is toeItoe????????????????
Sorry, it was a limited edition-- capcom, snk, sega sammy had a bidding war, but no one would back down, so they just decided to pitch in for a spaceship and sent it to space, where it will orbit until the people are ready for it.
Toe II Toe is a weak sequel, but that's what we are stuck with.
😔😔😮💨😭
Now, now, no need to cry. It should be back here around 2088. Stay tuned!
Haven't played a street fighter-esque in ages because of the classic ''My opponent's character has this overpowered move - GOD MY OPPONENT KEEPS RUNNING AWAY RAAAAAH"
But this absolutely fire game just made fighting games seem more about just no-bullshit action to me. Thank you for making this.
Thanks BroZen! Yep, I know that footwork and circling away are good and essential techniques to reset and break tempo in a fight, but sometimes it's just nice to watch people fight with no strategy, caveman style fights.
i am so weak i can't punch the cpu
The difficulty level adjustment is part of the next few updates!
wow, thanks for your dedication and for still working on this!
Nope, thank YOU for the continued support, and sorry for the late update! I found a job already, so I'll have less time to work on this, but I still have lots of updates planned. Hope you stick around and the game continues to give you minutes of fun!
great, glad you managed to get a job!
Can’t wait for the next updates, and also, you should consider making a noob mode, cause i have struggled a lot lol
The difficulty level is coming up! I'll just have a few bug fixes for the next minor update, then the training mode and the difficulty level is next.
awesome, also can’t wait for the next updates
Why is the cpu able to just throw an endless barrage of punches at you without getting tired. I can't do anything, I just get smoked.
I will add a stamina bar in the next update to prevent spamming. Before we were torn about adding a stamina meter, but I think with the addition of another character (and more coming), it is necessary to add that in.
Using Hoyka against Stella, it's hard to get a jab in without being intercepted by her jab because of the speed difference. Even worse for the hook. Only chance is to use parry, which, according to some people's feedback, is too hard.
Yea, the stamina bar is a must, otherwise there is no defense. How could you lose if you're able to throw an endless combo until the opponent dies. Plus it would be a good idea to be able to throw a counter attack that does like double damage if you're able to duck a punch and then punch while still in the duck to do the counter. Otherwise you just ducked a punch but it doesn't matter or change anything about the fight.
Agreed on all points. The duck is actually being improved on to allow counter with an uppercut if the opponent whiffs. (It's on the To Do list) Until then, duck is just to showboat/flex.
But as an alternative, you can parry an attack then punch. A successful parry makes you recover faster than the opponent and gives you the chance to counter.
Hello my brother! soo....there are so many people with a 32 bit system...and i am one of these people, can you make a 32 bit version of the game?
If it's not too much trouble for you, because I know you have a lot of things to do and stuff...but please...do this favor for me...
I'll try to have a 32 bit version uploaded as well when I upload the windows and android builds. Maybe this weekend or next?
it's okay my brotha! i iwll wait!
32 bit builds are already uploaded. Try the regular version first. If that doesn't work, try the nwjs version. The NWJS version is much bigger in size, so if you can make the regular version work, choose that one instead.
what "NWJS" stands for?
Sick game! Hopefully you update it. Im loving the impact sound and style!
Thanks! Been busy, but I just updated it.
Nice! I tried updating my previous apk and it says "app not installed" when i try. Im using a oNeplus 6T
That was my phone before! Really solid device. My only issue was the warping at times when shooting videos.
Anyway, let me investigate. Are you updating using the apk from itch or are you using Google Play?
I was able to install it afterall right after i posted. I forgot what worked for me. Lol
Great Game. At first, I kept on losing over and over again- but then I realised the rick is to spam jab whilst using hooks when the opponents guard is up. This way I was able to get 100 wins and get on the Global Leaderboard (for wins)
Practicing parry will also help a lot! Have some tweaks planned in the future, so it can make the game easier or harder.
Game is too difficult and screen is too small on mobile.
How should this be ran on Linux?
I unzipped the game, double-clicked the binary file called 'Toe II Toe', it shows a small, black window, but nothing else happens for me.
I made sure the binary is executable, the log looks as follows: https://pastebin.com/WKJWcXjb
I'll make another build for linux. What linux are you using?
Thanks!
Bazzite (Fedora) on my PC, SteamOS (Arch) on my steam deck.
Most engines, including Godot, Unreal and Unity offer ways to build for Linux, which should work on both of these, as well!
The keyboard doesn't work for me
Hello! go to options and check your key config. Also, make sure you click the game screen when playing. Sometimes when you click on the browser, the game loses focus so it doesn't respond.
Love the art and music. I never really got a handle on predicting what the computer was going to do. Found that just spamming jab is the winning strategy. It also had me make a name, but that name isn't reflected in the actual game.
Yes, I understand the name can get confusing, especially in today's world of customization. The name is for the leaderboards, not a custom name for the character. Eventually I'll remove the name for 2v2 since score isn't needed, as well as other modes. I'll only leave it on for Arcade, which will be the only mode to use points.
Bro your game is amazing, what language/software did you use? (I am an aspiring game dev too)
Thank you. For this one, I used Construct 3.
MAN iTS AMAZiNG! CONGRATS!
48-1. Not bad.
Nice! When I get more characters up, maybe it will be more of a challenge!
4/5
I love the game, it's really well made.
I have a couple thoughts after scrolling through the comments that you might find interesting.
In one comment it's mentioned that uppercuts will be from the ducking position.
Here's a suggestion: Maybe holding the ducking button in the future could make you crouch, and dodge jabs and hooks, and the uppercut would counter this?
Crouching would help bring variety to the gameplay, but uppercuts would help it not be overused.
This would help the ducking feature have use.
Parries, (while they have become very useful and essential in gameeplay,) remove the use of ducking.
A couple other things:
- The introduction of difficulty, while a difficult task itself, could help a lot in gameplay. The ai is kinda clueless for the first little bit, eventually learning, but taking time.
- Possibly introducing a pausing in the jabs of the AI? Timing my jabs helps me basically spam and overwhelm the bot, but if the bot could do this as well, the game would be much more challenging as a result of this.
I've delved so much time in to this game so I kind of get too comfortable, like there's rounds where I look at the corner of the screen and only use my peripheral while reacting.
But still love it.
8/10
Found one more issue: parry-hook spamming is too op. I can win multiple rounds with just hooks against the Ai using this strategy.
yeah, just like third strike, when you master parry, you can become godlike. Still have no way to combat that for the AI. It's interesting to finally see someone requesting to make the game harder. Hopefully I can implement the difficulty level well to appease all levels.
Interesting suggestions on the duck, I will try them out and see what works best!
Hmm..sorry about that. I don't have a mac to test my builds, but I'll see if I can borrow my sister's macbook so I can look into it.
In the meantime you can try this since you're able to play it on your browser:
Thank you for playing, Im' glad you and your partner enjoyed it. It's nice to hear people playing my game. Would have been better to see faces for full effect, but I myself don't like my face being plastered anywhere, so I understand.
Regarding the controls, I'm looking into it. Seems like there's bug where sometimes the default controls don't kick in, so you have to set it manually in the options like you guys did. Hopefully I can patch that soon.
P.S. you guys made me hungry! I should probably do a frequent video game date night with my wife too, it's been a while since we did.
After I vlock I cant do half of the things the ai does making it hard to defend myself bc it keeps spamming while I cant block, dodge or attack.
i love everything abt this game i love the starting animations, the sounds, i like how the hook feels and sounds, i like the sprites and the fighitng animations idk what to call it. but i can js keep spamming jab? and parry whenever the CP parries so idk if thats balanced. good good good game tho great game
Hi chaobao! Glad you loved the game! I'm still improving things. Parry is supposed to counteract jab spamming, but I'm still working on the AI (my first implementation, CP parried all the shots. Trying not to make it realistic and also not too difficult). I'll see if I can also find a way to reduce jab spamming. One of the common suggestions is to use a stamina bar, which I'm still testing out.
im so glad ur still workin on the game, and also glad u look at and reply to comments, means a lot
this was my first time with a boxing game btw so im prolly not gud for advice
so excited to see what u do with it :)
Feedback is always welcome! Also, if you enjoyed boxing, you have to try out punch out on the NES, a retro game. It's simple but fun and addictive!
Not great. Stun locks occur often, the millisecond I release block, I'm stun locked. Please fix. Idk if it's just me having the issue, but I can't even get a duck in (ducks feel pointless) edit: ducks feel luck based for effectiveness is what I mean. They don't create openings or anything. At least 90% of the time
Hi GooseJuggler! I'm working on an update which will include an uppercut, and ducking then punching will be the way to execute it. This will be guard breaking, so that ought to put some mileage out of duck. Things aren't progressing as I would like due to life, but we'll get there. When that time comes, I hope you can check out the game again. Thank you for your inputs and for playing my game!
yeah good luck on the development! Take your time too. No point in rushing. Quality is the most important thing. Also, sorry if i seem harsh i just want this game to be the best it can be mainly because i could see it being popular (and a good mobile game amongst the few actually good mobile games) so keep it up friend <3 best wishes :)
No worries, I welcome even harsh comments, so long as they include why/have a suggestion for improvement. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll try to make it better!
:)
Your game is excellent, i really like this. I'm from Brazil and i am already sharing it with my friends. The AI in SM is a little fast and has a great defense, this making me play more. Could've different difficulty levels or a balance of HOOK and DUCK. This game is AMAZING!
Hi darkskt! I hope you and your friends enjoy playing with each other too. Obrigado!
Your game fascinated me, the music and art are incredible. It's very addictive, i just play and play. Thank you for letting us try this marvel. I wish you the best of luck in your work.
Oh wow, finally someone commented about the music, and you don't hate it. I'm not really a music guy, someone else was supposed to work on it but got busy, so I gave it a try. I'm glad it didn't suck. Thank you!
incredible game, this is super fun. the cp seemed too hard at first, but with practice, and a lot of emphasis on practicing parrying, I got good enough to practically always beat the cp, usually with above 90% health. it feels so fun to fight my friends after they learn how to play the game properly, but I feel like things should be more thoroughly explained (for example, before learning parrying, this game was too difficult and just a button mashing simulator)
also the duck is worthless. parrying does everything ducking does but better, I believe it needs a buff, and lastly, holding jab/hook doesn't do much, but holding jab and hook at the same time attacks so quickly on either jab or hook that you are almost guaranteed to hitstun your opponent before they can guard or parry, which I believe is a bug or exploit
keep up the good work!
Hey King! Glad you enjoyed the game. The reason the duck feels worthless is because I'm working on creating an additional attack from the duck position (uppercut).
As for the issue you mentioned, I will look into it!
Hello why its mot available in the playstore for my phone?
It might because of the recent update that I was forced to do with Google Play in order to stay there. What Android version are you using and what phone?
andriod 12
And a samsung m31
I'll look into it! Have you tried playing it from your phone browser?
ill try
Oh btw is this made with godot oe unity?
Neither, this was made with Construct 3.
Dominating looking women with six-pack abs is my jam 🥵 🥵 🥵
guys im playing this for the gameplay i promise guys
I made an account just for this specifically, I just want to say I really like this game! it is really fun yet simple, which is a good thing in my book.
One thing I do want to say is that I do feel that the AI for SM is a little bit OP but that just might be a skill issue on my part honestly. I will select SM and if I do anything other than spam JAB or BLOCK I'm dead meat. I feel as it HOOK and DUCK are honestly useless because the AI is just so fast to counteract.
Like I previously stated it might just be a skill issue on my part, but otherwise this game is freaking phenomenal for a solo dev! keep up the AMAZING work and just remember to not overwork yourself and take mental breaks!
-SircodesalotVIII
Hello SircodesalotVIII! I'm honored that you took the time to create an account just to be able to comment. Thank you, and rest assured that your comment, along with all the comments in here, are being read and taken into account. I'm continuously trying to improve the game, although pace is going a bit slower these days due to life in general.
Your sentiment is valid and same as many people here. When the game was first released, the common comment was it was too easy. I increased the difficulty, but I think I went overboard. It doesn't matter if it is a skill issue, I want to accommodate as many players as I can.
I am planning to add a difficulty level, as well as some new mechanics and balancing to address those issues you mentioned. Also some new characters. I hope you can stick around.
As for overworking, not to worry, I am overworked, but not by this game. I will try to find the time to change that soon!
This is pretty cool. I wish I had someone to play with though because I think this is even more of a multiplayer game than the average fighting game. I'm a fighting game player and I've tried a few of the simplified mini-fighting-games like footsies, but in this game since there is no moving, the elements being focused on are timing and mind games, which I think is why some people had issues with it. It didn't feel like there was an input buffer, so when the AI is jabbing over and over for example you need to time your next action to when your character recovers from the jab, and I think most people who don't play fighting games will just try to mash and not realize this. And the other main thing about the game are mind games, but for one it's not clear what options beat what, I'm assuming jab loses to ducking or perfect block but is good against regular block, hook probably beats ducking with the right timing. But I don't think these things are intuitive to people who don't play fighting games and it also doesn't make sense against an AI (which is why I said I wish I could play with someone locally), playing mind games with an AI is pretty pointless.
Overall I think you tried to make a fighting game that was more intuitive to people who don't play fighting games but I think people would still need to be taught how to play it properly and even though it's very simple the timing part still makes it kinda hard. But as a fighting game fan this was interesting to try.
Thanks, Edmar! That is so awesome to hear. I feel the same way, I hope I can make a multiplayer version someday.
Agreed that I need to teach. This has also been a common comment after I increased the difficulty and added some mechanics. I should have added a difficulty level and a training mode before updating, but I was in a hurry to push out the changes. As a result, newer players are welcomed with a nasty beatdown. I will change this soon.