BB isn't my first fighting game. My experience is as follows:
Mortal Kombat (all of them)
Street Fighter (almost all of them, mostly Alpha series, SFIII, and SSFIV)
Virtua Fighter (All of them)
Tekken (only the original, didn't like it)
Dead or Alive (All of them)
Fighting Vipers
Soul series (All of them: 74% win ratio on ranked for SCIV for 360, around level 45)
BlazBlue:CT (sucked at it, couldn't use any characters)
Makoto is the only character I can use efficiently. I don't know if I am at tourney level since my XBL is down and can't put my skills to the test (can't afford the new price tag of $60.00 for gold membership). However, I did just beat score attack mode with Makoto WITHOUT having to use the 2nd controller stick. I've been trying to do that for a while. Also, last I checked, I had second highest point total of all Makoto players on XBL. It's been a while since I checked it though, so I may have dropped. RedVermillion is also my gamertag, so if you don't believe me, just check online.