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Across the breadth of fighting games, numerous archetypes of characters have formed that function in a similar fashion across countless titles, helping players easily identify characters whose play styles may resonate with a given player. So today, we’re going to dive into the most iconic of these fighting game character archetypes!

Updated March 25, 2022, by Paul DiSalvo: The fighting game genre is constantly growing and expanding, further pushing the envelope with massive rosters and robust mechanics, whilst in recent years, remaining conscious regarding a game’s accessibility for newcomers to the genre. As the fighting game genre continues to build upon the solid foundation laid by some of the great fighters of yesteryear, recurring iconic character archetypes help to flesh out rosters, offering gameplay variety for those with different skill sets.

15 Mimic Character

Mimics are a rarer type of character to find in fighting games as they mostly exist for players to show off their extensive character knowledge. They are the equivalent of selecting random on the Super Smash Bros. select screen except that button is a character itself.

The most famous mimic character is Mokujin from the Tekken series. Mokujin’s moves change to match the exact same moves another character has in the game. The character Mokujin is mimicking is chosen at random for each fight, making it so players must have serious skills to win the match.

Other examples of this archetype include Charade from Soulcalibur II and Eleven from Street Fighter V.

14 Grappler Character

Often characterized by a lack of speed and range, grapplers’ biggest strengths are found within their large pools of health, high damage output, and most importantly, their command grabs. While in most fighting games, each player is capable of grabbing an opponent, grapplers often possess numerous grabs that can be used in different scenarios that can deal huge sums of damage.

While grapplers are a force to be reckoned with up close, their weaknesses often lie within their lack of mobility and weak options when facing characters with impressive range and numerous projectiles. As powerful command grabs are most often avoidable through the act of jumping, some grapplers have powerful anti-air options, aiming to put an opponent in a lose-lose scenario if the grappler player is able to successfully predict their opponent’s actions.

Some of the most iconic and recognizable grapplers in fighting games are Street Fighter’s Zangief or Tekken’s King.

13 Zoning Character

Perhaps one of the most salt-inducing archetypes for newcomers and those unfamiliar with fighting games, zoners are characters whose core strategy relies on the use of projectiles to keep opponents at bay.

While zoners will often be rather frail, possessing little health as well as weaker normal attacks than other characters on a given roster, their capabilities at longer ranges are unparalleled. The key to defeating zoners is simply patience, as correctly utilized jumps, blocks, and reads can often overcome even the most oppressive of projectile barrages.

Some of the most notable zoners in fighting games include Peacock from Skullgirls and Cyclops from Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

12 Rushdown Character

Rushdown characters are characterized by their speed, combo potential, and pressure they are capable of applying to opponents. Seeking to approach other players and get in their face as quickly as possible, what rushdown characters may tend to lack in range, they make up for in speed and damage output.

When playing against rushdown characters, the key to success is often to take a more defensive approach and wait for openings within and between flurries of combos. This way, players can avoid taking any unnecessary damage while punishing any errors that their opponent might make.

Perfect examples of rushdown characters include Dudley from the Street Fighter franchise and Yamcha in Dragon Ball FighterZ.

11 Reversal Character

While on the subject of punishing errors, reversal characters are fantastic for this approach. They fight primarily by waiting to counter opponent’s attacks or surprising opponents during recoveries when they are attacked.

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Reversals are a common thing that pretty much every character can do in fighting games, but these characters make that the priority of their fighting style. A primary example of a reversal character is Geese Howard from the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters games.

Other examples include Enkidu from Under Night In-Birth and Hakumen from the Blazblue series.

10 Shoto Character

Named after Shotokan Karate utilized by iconic Street Fighter characters such Ryu and Ken, Shoto characters are defined by their well-rounded movesets, which are typically comparable or in some cases even identical to the aforementioned Street Fighter characters.

Shotos will often possess a projectile, a strong anti-air option such as a rising uppercut, and a move that provides some kind of forward momentum. Shoto characters tend to possess few glaring weaknesses, serving as jacks-of-all-trades who reward the use of strong fundamentals.

Aside from the aforementioned Street Fighter shotos that gamers know and love, other shotos include Jago from Killer Instinct andHaohmaru from Samurai Shodown.

9 Charge Character

Heavily defense-oriented, charge characters are named from the inputs of their special moves, being required to hold back or down for a specified amount of time before being able to attack. This means that in order to utilize such moves, the given character is required to block. These charge moves are often very powerful, incentivizing defense-oriented gameplay in order to access them.

While far from the most mobile characters, charge characters are often incredibly difficult to approach, especially when they’re crouch-blocking. This is because by crouch-blocking, a charge character can flexibly react with one of two different moves based upon their opponent’s actions.

Some prime examples of charge characters in fighting games include the iconic Guile from Street Fighter, Vatista from Under Night In-Birth, and Parasoul from Skullgirls.

8 Puppet Character

One of the more complex and difficult to use fighting game archetypes are puppet characters. Puppet characters essentially allow a player to control two characters simultaneously, with one entity capable of dealing damage and protecting the frailer actual character.

In the hands of an experienced player, stance characters can make an opponent feel outnumbered and at a disadvantage. However, the weaknesses that come alongside a puppet character due to their character’s utility effectively being split between two separate bodies is often viewed as an insurmountable handicap.

Some characters who most effectively exemplify the archetype include Carl, Relius, and Celica from the BlazBlue series and Rosalina and Luma from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

7 Stance Character

Possessing an extraordinary amount of depth, stance characters are characterized by their ability to change fighting styles mid-match, throwing off opponents, and adapting to a wide range of different scenarios on the fly.

Due to the massive amount of moves and applications these characters possess, mastering every aspect of these characters can be an incredibly difficult feat. While one stance may excel in one area like spacing and mid-range combat, another stance may excel when it comes to fighting in close range.

Some of the most popular stance characters include Aria from Killer Instinct, Zelda/Shiek from Super Smash Bros. Melee, Tira from Soul Calibur, and Gen from Street Fighter.

6 Install Character

Named after the “Dragon Install” super of the Guilty Gear franchise, install characters are those capable of improving their abilities through an activatable alternate form. While a stance character may have two alternate forms that offer different skill sets better suited for different scenarios, an install character’s alternate form is most often strictly superior. The extent of how an install character improves with their alternate form often varies, but it is common for these characters to have improved damage output, combo potential, often gaining access to additional moves and techniques normally not available to the character.

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While it is most common for an install to come in the form of a super, as is the case with Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske in Guilty Gear XX and Guilty Gear Strive respectively, other install characters such as Vira of Granblue Fantasy Versus are capable of activating their install via other means, such as Vira’s ability to transform by grabbing her opponent.

Popular Install characters include Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, and A.B.A of Guilty Gear, Annie of Skullgirls: Second Encore, and both Soriz and Vira of Granblue Fantasy Versus.

5 Mix-Up Character

Instances in which a player is faced with the possibility that their opponent is going to make one of numerous potential decisions, mix-ups are a fundamental part of fighting games. Specific games will even feature characters that possess entire move sets that are entirely based around the utilization of mix-ups, forming the archetype of mix-pp characters.

Mix-up characters will usually possess numerous moves that have a similar or even identical startup animation that is then followed up by attacks that must be blocked or dodged in different ways. This way, it’s almost impossible for their opposition to figure out which one they’re using until it is already too late.

Some examples of inherent mixup characters include El Fuerte, Guy, and Cammy in Street Fighter IV.

4 Composite Character

Composite characters, not to be mistaken with clone characters, are fighting game characters whose move sets are composed of moves from other characters within the given game. This can make them very easy to pick up due to them offering a certain degree of familiarity, but very difficult to master due to their incredibly varied styles.

This variation often leads to them being some of the most flexible characters on a roster, possessing numerous elements from other fighting game character archetypes. In the case of characters like Seth from Street Fighter IV, this flexibility and diverse move set comes at the expense of health, leading the character to possess very little health.

Aside from the previously mentioned Seth, other composite characters include Double from Skullgirls who directly transforms into other characters as she attacks, and Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 11, who utilizes numerous moves of other characters in the Mortal Kombat series.

3 Big Body Character

The Big Chungus of the fighting game world, big body characters are unsurprisingly defined by their big bodies! These characters usually have large hitboxes, slow walk speeds, and pack huge amounts of damage per hit.

Big body characters tend to lack options for dealing with zoning and projects due to their massive bulk. With this in mind, those looking to counter a big body character should consider using one of these two fighting game character archetypes.

Some prime examples of big body characters include Abigail from Street Fighter, Kuma from Tekken, and Bowser and Ganondorf from Super Smash Bros.

2 Run Away Character

A run away character is essentially the opposite of a rushdown character. These characters don’t necessarily zone out their opponents or even have projectiles either. Their main goal is to run away and to exploit weaknesses when the opponent makes a mistake.

Once a run away character lands a few good hits of their own, it’s time to be on the run once more. Some players also refer to this style of character as a turtle or the tactic of fighting this way as turtling. It can be very effective, but also very tedious, both for the person controlling the character and the person that they’re up against.

A prime example of a run away character is Hazama from BlazBlue.

1 Joke Character

Intentionally weak and lacking power, joke characters are often strictly worse variations of another character within the game. Joke characters while usually not used within competitive play, have been used in tournaments in the past as a form of directly taunting another player to throw them off their game.

Few characters are as synonymous with a character archetype as Street Fighter’s Dan Hibiki and joke characters. A strictly weaker version of Ryu, Dan’s projectiles disappear immediately upon being thrown, and his moves possess terrible range and power. To top it all off, Dan possesses the ability to use his entire super-meter just to taunt.

In addition to Dan of Street Fighter, other joke characters include Megaman’s appearance in Street Fighter X Tekken and Neco-Arc of Melty Blood.

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