Character Archetypes in Fighting Games | Full Breakdown/Video Essay
Eddventure
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A breakdown on the character design in fighting games and how they relate to the categories we place them in.
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08.09.2023
Leo being the face of rushdown hits the unga bunga on my brain
Would you say Steve from Smash is a gimmick character? Since he can create ground in mid-air and all that.
Skullgirl really? And no Tekken examples?
Is noob saibot a puppeteer?
Why excluding Mortal Kombat?
I usually play Shoto depending on the game. But for in other cases, I play Faust.
I like chicken
You forgot one type, me, the cutie type….
Shang tsung is a composite no?
you forgot the most important archetype: the joke character
14:05 was gonna say phoenix wtight from ultimate marvel is a pretty good example of gimmick
I think you explained to me very well why Street fighter and guilty gear sucks ass… Why I love Mortal Kombat Tekken and Soul Calibur.. They dont really have these built in hard counters that make gameplay unfun. Sure you may have Tech/ Close and distance but for the most part they dont follow this garbage.
So it's obvious what three fighting games you've played
I'm curious how you would classify Chun Li now in SF6, lol
Clips of OW make me miss the original game 🙁
would faust be a setplay or gimmick character?
How tf you managed to not mention any single Tekken or MK character
No Trap Characters?
Great analysis and breakdown of each fighting style. 👍🏾
Name: Viral Counterstriker(set play)
Description: The Viral Counterstriker is a formidable combatant, combining elements of chessmaster strategy, debuff specialization, and counterstriking techniques. Dr. Virus, the mastermind behind this unique fighting style, utilizes his scientific knowledge and tactical brilliance to manipulate the battlefield and overpower opponents.
Abilities:
1. Tactical Analysis: Dr. Virus possesses a keen intellect, analyzing the battlefield like a chessboard. He strategically plans his movements, predicting opponents' actions, and exploiting their weaknesses to gain the upper hand. Dr. Virus's tactical analysis ensures that every move he makes is calculated and precise.
2. Viral Debuffs: Dr. Virus deploys his scientific expertise to create potent viral debuffs. These debuffs infect opponents, weakening their physical and mental capabilities over time. The viruses Dr. Virus concocts can induce fatigue, reduce reflexes, or impair their senses, leaving them vulnerable to his devastating counterattacks.
3. Counterstrike Mastery: Dr. Virus has honed his reflexes and defensive skills to perfection. He seamlessly transitions from defense to offense, countering opponents' attacks with swift and precise strikes. Dr. Virus's counterstrikes are highly effective, utilizing opponents' momentum against them to maximize damage.
4. Biochemical Manipulation: Dr. Virus manipulates biochemistry to his advantage. He can alter his own body's chemical composition temporarily, enhancing his physical attributes, such as speed, strength, and endurance. This biochemical manipulation allows Dr. Virus to adapt to various combat situations and surprise opponents with his newfound abilities.
5. Strategic Traps: Dr. Virus sets up strategic traps, utilizing his scientific knowledge and strategic acumen. These traps can range from chemical hazards to technological snares, ensnaring opponents and giving Dr. Virus an opportunity to unleash devastating counterattacks.
6. Mind Games: Dr. Virus excels at psychological manipulation, employing mind games to confuse and distract opponents. He uses his intellect and scientific prowess to exploit opponents' fears and weaknesses, further destabilizing their focus during combat.
The Viral Counterstriker style, developed by Dr. Virus, combines the elements of chessmaster strategy, debuff specialization, and counterstriking techniques. It showcases Dr. Virus's scientific brilliance and tactical genius, making him a formidable opponent in any fight. The style's emphasis on viral debuffs, counterstriking, biochemical manipulation, strategic traps, and mind games creates a unique and deadly fighting approach.
my favourite archetype is the brawler and im sad they're not here. characters like balrog and goldlewis, who trade the speed of a rushdown for more terrifying damage, and higher health.
I think there's still a chance we can get Jimbulus III into every fighting game
10:57 Necrid in SoulCalibur 2 as no exclusive moves, but with different animation
What about a composite character that also has their own less-fleshed-out base form, like Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat? In some appearances, he turns into other characters but still has his own form with his own unique specials.
Tekken?
A good example of a very fun gimmick character is Phoenix Wright from Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. Low tier, but unexpecting, powerfull (in turnabout), good game series (Ace Attorney), and most of all, fun.
That's why I main him. That's why he's my favorite character.
very cool video i love ur voice ^_^
Unga bunga for life :3
For composite characters, a possible candidate is Trinity from Mortal Kombat XL. Sure, he can only assume the abilities of 1 other character, but he has his own separate move set as well.
Nah you forgot cheese/spammer archetype. Example: TOTSUGEKI!!!
Pyra/Mythra weren't out yet but they would've been a great example of a Stance character
Seeing Mario in the shoto category was kind of funny until you were like “shotos have strong fireballs, safe uppercuts, and counterplay against projectiles” and I went HUH
Hey what's the intro song name
Bought MK11 on sale a few months ago and realized "Hey, I think I LOVE Fighting Games!!!!" then immediately followed that up with "Hey, I don't know ANYTHING about fighting games." A lot of tutorials get really nitty gritty right away, but THIS video is so amazing at breaking down the fundamentals of FIGHTING GAMES as a genre, making it so much easier to go back in and learn specific games
This video is a service to the fighting game community – thanks and appreciation
This got me thinking…does that mean in tekken 7 Akuma and Geese are gimmick characters?
Not only does he use smash bros characters in a video about FIGHTING games, but he also does his damndest to avoid Blazblue when they have better examples, like Juri?? Nah, Not a Setplay, Kokonoe? Mu? Yes, that’s a Setplay.
I need to know, what is the name of the first theme in the video.
did anyone else yell "Shang Tsung" at the screen for a little while
Bro didnt use Lei wulong in examples stance characters💀
He has 13 different stances
This whole video showcases examples of Fighters From 4 games.
a deep dive into fighter architypes should include examples from most mainstream games of this genre aswell as some not so mainstream games. EI. Clay fighter, killer instinct, KoF(albeit much more legendary than guilty gear), MK, Tekken, powerstone, soul caliber, bloody roar, SS, to name a few.
No love for mortal kombat
Meanwhile if you try telling a smash player Mario is a shoto they'll throttle you for it
Who is that deer character that we see when talking about zoners? E. g. at 6:05 on the right, above Guile.
This feels weirdly anit-mortal kombat. Like how do you mention copy characters and mention Shang Tsung, literally the most famous character of that niche.
Awesome! This will really help to find my preferred play style with Mortal Kombat 1 right around the corner as a beginner and yes, a beginner for sure.
This will be my first ever fighter that I try to learn in any competitive sort of way even, if it’s just in online competitive gameplay but, yes I will definitely be using this to find my play style/archetype when the game comes out for sure.
it's kinda crazy to me that Mortal Kombat didn't get a mention for Composite characters when they've perhaps the most of any series; Shang Tsung, Chamaleon, Shujinko, Khameleon, Triborg…
Broly in dbfz
Zoner
Grappler
Rushdown
I like broly 🙂
What would shang tsung be in classic MK? Composite? Stance?
First off, let me start by thanking everyone who has liked and subscribed. I never dreamed this video would be as popular as it is, and I’m truly thankful.
Second, I want to address the most commonly asked questions about the video to help clear up a few things.
1: “Why didn’t you use (X character) as an example?!” The reason you saw a lot of Street Fighter, Guilty Gear, and Smash characters was because of two main reasons. First, popularity. This video is targeted at newer players, so I tried to pull from less obscure games so that people would understand what I was talking about. Sure, I could’ve used Carl from BlazBlue as a puppet example, but 98% of the audience wouldn’t know who he was. Second is experience. I have played tons of fighting games, but I’d say I’m only at a decent competitive level for SFV, the GGs, and maybe Skullgirls and HFTF. I don’t wanna talk about a game I only have less than 100 hours of experience in.
2: “Why isn’t (X Archetype) mentioned?!” Simple. Runtime. This video is already 15 minutes long, and I wanted to explain everything in depth while also not making an hour long video.
3: “Why not charge characters?” I plan to make a separate video on input styles in fighting games where I’ll go in depth about charge inputs, so that’s where you’ll find my take about that.
4: “Cecilia isn’t a puppet character!” Google did me dirty, asked what were puppet characters for BlazBlue and they said Cecilia and Carl. Not even a single mention of Relius (I didn’t own CF until recently)
5: “This isn’t what (X archetype) is!” Remember, every single fighting game is built differently. Put a rushdown character from Street Fighter against one from Guilty Gear and you’ll see what I mean. I tried to provide a broad definition of the mere basics a character in that category would have, but every single game functions differently and awards different tools to its characters.
6: “Why is (archetype A) seperate from (archetype B) when (archetype A) has characteristics of (Archetype B)?!” Remember: My main point was fighting game characters are a recipe. While it’s true lots of rushdown characters have mixup potential, they’re both seperate ingredients that come together to create the character you love. Chocolate chip cookies don’t come with chocolate in the dough, you gotta mix them together to make the final product.
Again, thanks so much for all the support, and if you still have any questions, feel free to ask away, I try to reply to as many (non-stupid) comments as I can!