Lua Hotkey - Fightcade

Below is a concise, practical guide to creating and using Lua hotkeys in Fightcade (for input mapping, save states, cheats, or UI toggles). Assumes Fightcade 2 with FinalBurn Neo cores; adapt paths/filenames if using different cores.

FightCade generally allows Lua scripts to be loaded, but the implementation varies by the emulator core (FinalBurn Alpha vs. Flycast). fightcade lua hotkey

  • Game Specifics: The "interesting piece" changes for every game. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (JoJo, etc.) stores P1 inputs at specific RAM addresses (e.g., 0x020116EE is a common input port address for some NeoGeo games). You must find the "Memory Map" for the specific game you are playing to make the script write the correct inputs.
  • For the passionate retro fighting game community, Fightcade is the gold standard. It breathes new life into arcade classics like Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, The King of Fighters '98, and Vampire Savior. But while the netcode (GGPO) is flawless, the default user interface and training mode features can feel spartan compared to modern fighting game suites like Street Fighter 6 or Guilty Gear Strive. Below is a concise, practical guide to creating

    Enter Lua scripting.

    By harnessing Lua hotkeys, you can transform Fightcade into a high-tech training lab. Want to reset a combo trial with a single button press? Record and playback mix-ups? Display hitboxes or frame data on the fly? Lua hotkeys make it possible. Game Specifics: The "interesting piece" changes for every

    This article is a deep dive into what Lua hotkeys are, how to write them, and the most useful scripts to elevate your Fightcade experience.


    Hotkeys can also be bound to joystick buttons using functions like input.get_pressed_buttons() (player inputs) or emu.get_input() (raw device input).


  • If no scripts folder exists, create one and point the core to it via core options or the emulator frontend config.