Fighting Game Tropes

Archetypes

Note that the complicated interplay of stats, movesets, and mechanics in fighting games mean that most characters are best described as a combination of two or more archetypes, like a Big Body Trapper or a Rushdown Mix-Up.

• Close-Range Combatant: Commonly known as a "Rushdown" character; these characters do their best when they're right in their opponent's face. They're hard to avoid when they're close, but struggle when they lose momentum.
• Glass Cannon: A character who really excels in certain areas - such as high mobility, attack power or range - but has the lowest health to balance it. Often overlaps with Rushdown, but others trade health for more all-rounded options, or take the other extreme as fragile Zoners who avoid their opponent as much as possible.
• The Grappler: Don't get caught by them, or you'll be in a world of hurt. Grapplers are almost always at the extremes of Mighty Glacier or Rushdown, and follow a universal strategy of "get within grabbing range and stay there".
• Fragile Speedster: A mobile, hard-to-hit and unpredictable combatant, usually focusing on strategic use of combos, positioning, and attack properties to make up for their low damage and defenses. Most often known as "mix-up" characters.
• Jack of All Stats: Known mostly as "The All-Rounder"; this is a character with a little bit of everything to combat their oppoenent, often equal parts offensive and defensive moves.
  • Shotoclone: A specific subset of the "All-Arounder", named after the "Shotocon" moveset used by many characters in the Street Fighter series. ^explanation What distinguishes a Shotoclone from a traditional "All-Rounder" is they are required to have 1) a projectile attack, 2) a rising anti-air, and 3) an advancing horizontal attack.
• Long-Range Fighter: Also known as a "zoner". These characters work best keeping their distance from an opponent, attacking from afar with projectiles, traps, and long-ranged normals. They're often very vulnerable up close to compensate.
• Lightning Bruiser: Move fast, hit hard, and laugh off the counter attack. Pure examples tend to be either intentionally unbalanced, or have handicapping mechanics, like short range or needing special resources, that offset their advantages.
• Mighty Glacier: Much higher health and attack than the average fighter, balanced with low mobility and attack speed. "Big Body"-types pair this with long reach and a big hitbox, while "Small Body"-types trade limited reach for a reduced hitbox.
• Puppet Fighter: A character who fights with a secondary object or weapon that has its own unique properties, often requiring the player to master a second set of controls.
• Trap Master: Most commonly known as "trappers"; an uncommon type of fighter who litters the arena with traps (automatically or manually activated) to control space.
• Stone Wall: A defensively-focused fighter, often relying on Counter Attacks and Victory by Endurance.
• Swap Fighter: A character who comes packaged with multiple fighters in a single character slot and can tag out with each other mid-battle.

Fighting styles and Gimmicks

• Animal-Themed Fighting Style: A fighter is themed after a particular animal or type of animal.
• Animalistic Abilities: A fighter who emulates or channels the abilities of an animal without transformation.
• Artistic License – Martial Arts: fighting games rarely place realism over the Rule of Cool, especially regarding real-world martial arts.
• Boxing Battler: Punch, punch and more punch...
• Combat Parkour: When a character combines their fighting style with acrobatics.
• Confusion Fu: That fighter who confuses opponents (especially players) during fights. Their movements, attacks, and properties could be so bizarre and unpredictable that it throws people off guard.
• Counter-Attack: "Reversal Characters" whose moves are defensive-oriented, and built around parrying and counter-attacking the opponent's moves.
• Dance Battler: A character who uses a heavily rhythm-reliant and mobile moveset, often with some sort of musical theming.
• Drunken Boxing: A few liters of sake before the fight can improve performance. Many use the act of drinking as a mechanic to enhance their abilities. Most often characterized as a Drunken Master.
• Moveset Clone: When two or more characters are built on the same assets and techniques.
  • Ditto Fighter: A character that fights by using the moves, if not the forms, of other fighters.
• Fantastic Fighting Style: When a character is trained in a fictional martial art.
• Extremity Extremist: Fighters who exclusively use kicks or punches with a few exceptions.
• Fighting Clown: A character that fights in a humorous way, whether playful, slapstick, or trollish. May or may not also be a Joke Character, lethal or otherwise.
• The Greatest Style: When a character is very talented in their fighting style.
• I Know Karate: A character focuses on heavy punches and strikes with the occasional kick.
• I Know Madden Kombat: When a character's fighting style or techniques are based on non-combat sports.
• I Know Mortal Kombat: When a character developed his own fighting style just by watching the fights on television, playing video games or watching other fighters in action and he was never trained in the martial arts.
• Improv Fu: When that character relies only on instinct and improvisation and is not trained in any martial art.
• Ki Manipulation: When a character is trained to control his inner power. The main justification for why regular humans are throwing fireballs and such.
• Kung-Fu Wizard: Martial arts + sorcery = A perfect combo.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: These fighters can do something only they can do, or have unusual quirks to their abilities that give them a unique playstyle distinct from other fighters in the game.
• Ninja: A warrior who travels through the shadows to reach his goal. Often very mobile but very fragile.
• Supernatural Martial Arts: The famous martial arts that combine sorcery and hand to hand combat.

Characterization and Other Tropes

• Acrofatic: Being overweight does not mean making the fighter slower.
• Assist Character: A character the player can summon to temporarily assist them during a fight, but doesn't properly appear as an independant character.
• Bruce Lee Clone: The famed martial artist has a lot of influence on fighting game rosters. (ex: Fei Long, Marshall Law, Liu Kang)
• Combat Pragmatist: That fighter who will do anything to win a fight... even play dirty.
• Evil Counterpart: An evil version of the heroic character. These characters often overlap with Moveset Clones.
• Guest Fighter: The fighting game features a playable character originating from a different intellectual property.
• Kung-Fu Kid: Wait, can children participate in this tournament?!
• Joke Character: A playable character who is deliberately designed to be terrible to play as.
  • Lethal Joke Character: A playable character that looks useless on the surface, but can actually be quite effective and powerful.
• Mascot Fighter: When the character is the trademark of the developers.
• Multi-Slot Character: Lots of fighting games sometimes divide a single character into multiple incarnations that act as their own characters.
• Player Character: It's obviously a player-controlled character. In fighting games also relates to the idea of characters that can be played, vs non-playable characters.
• The Rival: A character who is your character's rival (friend or not).
  • Rival Final Boss: The rival is a boss.
• Secret Character: When a character, or the fact that they can be unlocked as a playable character, is hidden until certain conditions are met, frequently resembling an achievement reward or Classic Cheat Code.

• 2½D: The game is in 3D, but the gameplay is in 2D.
  • Sprite/Polygon Mix: It's similar to 2½D, but sprites are used on the characters while the backgrounds are in 3D.
• Ambidextrous Sprite: When the developers ignore the symmetry of the characters when it goes to the other side of the screen.
• Character Roster Global Warming: When a fighting game starts adding new characters, they tend to not add many new Mighty Glacier characters.
• Divergent Character Evolution: When two or more characters that are clones of each other evolve until they gain details that differentiate them.
• Dream Match Game: When developers release a game bringing together all the characters from previous games, ignoring the story.
• Impending Clash Shot: When developers show their characters fighting or teasing each other in their covers.
• New Work, Recycled Graphics: When character sprites or models are reused in sequel games or spinoffs.
• Power Creep, Power Seep: When developers ignore characters' power level to make them beat up. This is common in crossovers.
• Updated Re-release: When developers release an improved version of a game with more setting, characters and better gameplay.

• A Winner Is You: When the developers do some thanks to the player after the credits screen after beating the game.
• Awesome, but Impractical: A great, flashy move, which is hard to use or does little damage.
• Battle Theme Music: Music in fights can't be missed!
  • Leitmotif: When characters have their background music, usually on their Home Stage. This is easily noticed when the challenging fighter is in a game whose characters do not have a Home Stage.
• Boring, but Practical: When those special attacks are awesome, but completely expendable.
• Boss Battle: Bosses are indispensable in fighting games.
  • Climax Boss: When the battle against that boss is important to the plot.
  • Final Boss: "In the end, there can be only one." ^explanation The Arc Words of Highlander.
    • Nintendo Hard: If the SNK Bosses don't get you, tournament-level players will.
    • Optional Boss: When that boss is optional and you can only fight it if you want to.
    • Superboss: A boss that is designed to be Nintendo Hard and tougher than any other boss. May give a Disc-One Nuke or Bragging Rights Reward on defeat, turning the Final Boss into an Anti-Climax Boss.
  • Mirror Boss: When a boss is nothing more than the character you are playing.
• Critical Hit: Most games do, but you may not have noticed.
• Defeat Means Playable: Once a character is defeated, it becomes possible to play as them.
• David Versus Goliath: When a character of short stature fights an opponent much larger than himself.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: When a character acts as they did at the end of a cutscene.^explanation A character ends the cutscene with damage taken or is using a different stance before the fight begins.
• Fixed-Floor Fighting: When the game scenario is limited.
• Free-Floor Fighting: When the game scenario is unlimited.
• Game Over: Did not continue? It's over!
  • Continue Countdown: What usually results from a loss, with the player having a few seconds to decide whether to avoid the Game Over screen or not.
  • Game-Over Man: When a character (mostly a boss) is shown saying (in other words) the above sentence.

• Hitbox Dissonance: When there is no fixed point to hit an opponent.^example You can hit a downed opponent even using a high blow.
• Hit Stop: To help players confirm into combos, most 2D fighting games actually have varying amounts of hitstop in all their attacks. For most non-special attacks though, the amount is so small (measured in 60ths of a second) that they're hard to notice visually.
• Home Stage: When the fight takes place in a character's house, as shown in the image above.
• Idiosyncratic Combo Levels: "Yes", "Cool", "Good", "Great", "Dude!", "Sweet", "Awesome", "Wonderful", "Viewtiful", "Excellent", "Stylish", "Fantastic", "Amazing" "Incredible", "Mighty", "Marvelous", "Uncanny", "Crazy", "Galactic" and (whew!) "Unstoppable".
• Multiplayer Difficulty Spike: In general as players research and exploit things the computer can't. Of course the computer has some aces up its sleeve.
• Palette Swap: Same sprites/models, different colors/skins.
• Promoted to Playable: When that NPC (boss or not) becomes a playable character in the sequel.
• Punch-Kick Layout: A button layout codified by fighting games; allows for characters to perform more attacks and put more of their physicality into it.
• Single Player Gauntlet: Usually called "Arcade Mode" in fighting games, there's usually somewhere to fight the playable roster one after another.
• The Smurfette Principle: When the characters available on the selection screen only one or two is female. This was common in classic games.
• Training Stage: It's your virtual dojo. Just train and show your true power!
• Video Game A.I.: A classic player opponent.
  • A.I. Breaker: When a player manages to break the A.I and use it to their advantage.
  • Artificial Brilliance: When the A.I abuses its strategies to try to defeat the player without the possibility of being broken.
  • Artificial Stupidity: When the A.I is so stupid it can be broken easily.
  • The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: When computer-controlled characters blatantly ignore the rules of the game.
  • Perfect Play A.I.: When the A.I is so smart that it uses the same strategy at the right moment, the same punches at the right moment, the same combos at the right moment and you even wonder if you are really facing an A.I.
  • Rubber-Band A.I.: When the A.I improves according to the player's skills.
  • Secret A.I. Moves: When A.I uses the moves that you, dear player, cannot use.
  • SNK Boss: A fighting game boss that is ridiculously difficult to defeat.
• Video Game Interface Elements: The famous interfaces that are never indispensable.
  • Catastrophic Countdown: You have 99 seconds to K.O. your opponent.
  • Expressive Health Bar: When the character's photo reacts to each opponent's attack. It was common in classic games.
  • Interface Screw: It is common in modern games.
  • Life Meter: The famous health meter. Did it empty? It's K.O.
  • Mana Meter: The famous Super bar. If the bar filled up? Is showtime!
• Would Hurt a Child: Unless the playable cast have only adults, this is unavoidable by default.
• Would Hit a Girl: Unless the playable cast is one-gendered, this is unavoidable by default.

• The Announcer: "Get ready for the next battle!"
  • Announcer Chatter: The announcer shows enthusiasm when narrating the fights.
  • Combat Commentator: When the fights have commentators talking about the performance of the fights. This rarely has and is only present in PvP.
  • Large-Ham Announcer: "ULTRAAA COOOOOOMBOOOOOOOOO!!"
• Battle Intro: Introductions are part of the show!
  • Intimidation Demonstration: A Battle Intro intended to intimidate the opponent.
• Death Cry Echo: "NOOOOOOOOO!" ^explanation M.Bison (Dictator) screams like this when he loses a round in Street Fighter IV.
• Determinator: Players are usually like that.
• Fighting in All the Wrong Places Index: The places are countless!
• Idle Animation: The fighting stances of characters often include little nuances (such as Ibuki from Street Fighter III making hand seals while standing still).
• Mirror Match: You fight the same character you are playing as.
• Player Versus Environment: Player vs A.I.
• Player Versus Player: Obvious.
• Ring Out: Some games have this feature. If the player is out of the ring, he loses.
• Set Swords to "Stun": An insane fight begins, the two opponents fight with lethal weapons and use deadly techniques until a deadly attack results in a knockout.
• Tag Team: A clash between teams.
• Three Round Deathmatch: "“Best two out of three? You're on!” ^explanation One of Spider-Man's quotes when he wins a fight in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes.
• Unsportsmanlike Gloating: When one of the players has unsportsmanlike behavior when losing a match.
• Versus Character Splash: A screen that shows the fighters that will fight.
• Victory and Defeat: Winning and losing is part of the game.
  • Non-Lethal K.O.: The players' objective: to knock out their opponents.
    • Double Knockout: When both fighters are knocked out at the same time in a round.
    • Flawless Victory: Winning without taking any damage.
    • One-Hit KO: It's rare, but it happens.
    • Victory by Endurance: "Time is over. YOU WIN!!"
  • Victory Pose: A classic victory pot. A symbol of victory, fist raised...
    • Ass Kicking Pose: How about a little demonstration of my skills while celebrating a victory?
  • Victory Quote: A quote the character says upon winning a match.

• Action Commands: Don't forget to see the list before training.
  • Charge-Input Special: Two seconds back, then forward + punch = Sonic Boom!
  • Defend Command: Hold back before taking a hit. One classic.
• Combo Breaker: Oh? Will you use one of your sick combos against me? Not today!
• Combos: The key to victory in fighting games.
• Comeback Mechanic: When a character has skills that can help the player turn the tide.
• Counter-Attack: One of the most classic fighting game mechanics. Stay tuned.
• Game-Breaker: When glitches can decide the outcome of fights.
• Hit Points: When hit points are shown on the screen. This is common in training modes.
• Lag Cancel: When a special move can cancel a longer one in the middle of the fight. This mechanic is common in combos.
• Limit Break: Now it's the opponent's turn to prepare!
  • Desperation Attack: When Limit Break can be activated depending on Life Meter status.
  • EX Special Attack: An improved version of a Special Attack.
  • Super Move Portrait Attack: someone used a Limit Break? The fighter's portrait appears.
  • Super Special Move: "SHINKUU HADOKEN!!"
• Scoring Points: A scoreboard to decide your rank. In modern games, you use this feature to improve your status.
• Some Dexterity Required: Fighting games traditionally have complicated control inputs that trigger specific moves.
  • "Just Frame" Bonus: If you time this button press right within about 1/60th of a second, you get an enhanced attack.
• Scratch Damage: many games have most attacks deal a small amount of damage even when the opponent defends.
• Stance System: A character who fights using different stance styles, which themselves will have their own unique set of moves associated with the stances.
• Taunt Button: "HEY! C'MON, C'MON!"
  • Cherry Tapping: When a taunt damages your opponent. A humiliating victory, don't you think?
  • Practical Taunt: When a taunt gives the player a significant advantage.

• Ass Kicks You: When the rear end is quite efficient (in a good way).
• Calling Your Attacks: When a character speaks the name of their special attacks.
  • Kiai: "KIAAAAA!!"
• Finishing Move: "FINISH HIM/HER!"
• Immune to Flinching: Also known as Super Armor.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: When the player has a chance to hit a knocked out opponent.
• Launcher Move: A move that sends the opponent up, allowing the player to apply an aerial combo.
• Recovery Attack: A feature that allows the player character to quickly recover to catch the opponent off guard.
• Roundhouse Kick: Standard but functional.
• Slide Attack: Watch your feet, man! I'm going to attack you from below!
• Special Attack: A feature that fighting games cannot miss.
  • Attack Reflector: This is for me? No thank you! Take it back!
  • Dash Attack: "BUUURNING KNUCKLE!!"
  • Diving Kick: "HIEN RYUUJIN KYAKU!!"
  • Enhanced Punch: Was that what you hit me with a punch? I can do better!
  • Grapple Move: Will you be able to dodge it?
  • Ground Wave: "POWAH WAVE!!"
  • Invulnerable Attack: The opponent hits, hits, hits... until he received a perfect hit.
  • Megaton Punch: "GALACTICA PHAMTOM!!"
  • Meteor Move: "POCHOMUKIN BASUTA!"
  • Hurricane Kick: "TATSUMAKI!!"
  • Kamehame Hadoken: "HADOKEN!!"
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: "KYOKUGEN-RYU OUGI!!" ^explanation Kyokugen-style Secret Technique!! (Ryuko Ranbu's quote in The King of Fighters series.)
  • Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: "ATATATATATATA!!"
  • Shoryuken: "SHORYUKEN!!"
  • Spam Attack: When an attack hits multiple times!
  • Spin Attack: When a character uses a spinning technique that does not use their legs.
  • Spinning Piledriver: "FINAL ATOMIC BUSTEERRR!!"
  • Teleport Spam: "YOGA TELEPORT!!"
  • Unblockable Attack: When an attack is impossible to block.
  • Wrestler in All of Us: When non-wrestlers characters use wrestling techniques.
• Signature Move: When characters have some movement that is their trademark. ^explanation In Street Fighter, Ryu has Hadoken, Ken has Shoryuken, and Akuma has Shun Goku Satsu as signature moves.
  • Shared Signature Move: When characters (generally trained in the same fighting style) use the same Signature Move. This is often the result of moveset clones or asset reuse across the cast.
• Stage Fatality: When a scenario has certain points it can fatally hit the opponent. If the game rule doesn't allow killing, the scenario humiliates this one.
• Switch-Out Move: A move that swaps one character with another, whether it is the user or the opponent.

• Artistic License – Physics: fighting games rarely place realism over the Rule of Cool, especially regarding real-world physics.
  • Air-Dashing: Nothing beats defying physics when running during a jump.
  • Ceiling Smash: The ceiling is the limit!
  • Collision Damage: When a collision damages characters. This is common in 3D games.
  • Jump Physics: When jumping can make a difference during fights.
    • Double Jump: One jump after another without touching the ground.
    • Wall Jump: Are you good at Le Parkour?
  • Knockback: Down + Strong Kick = A simple sweep to take down the opponent!
    • Knockback Evasion: "Oops!! That was close."
  • Videogame Dashing: A simple move that allows you to get close to or move away from your opponent quickly.

• Another Side, Another Story: Is a character chosen? The story will be his.
• Deadly Sparring: Some fights may not end well for either side.
• Defeat as Backstory: A character loses a fight to a rival before the story begins. Now he returns to ask for his rematch.
• Defeating the Undefeatable: When a character has their winning streak broken during the story.
• Dueling Player Characters: When the player is forced to face the character you previously played during the story mode.
• Fight Scene: When an exciting fight is shown in a cutscene.
• Not Just a Tournament: When a martial arts tournament is used as a distraction so that no one knows what is really going on.
• Pro Wrestling Is Real: Wrestling is real and wrestlers fight for real.
• Serious Business: This is not a tournament. There are rules here!
• Tournament Arc: When the story only focuses on one tournament. A very common framing device for games from the arcade era and onward.