The Grand List of Fighting Game Cliches

[The Strategist]

Here is a list of the most common cliches you will see in the fighting game genre:

1-The Types of Characters You Can Play As: All games should have the majority of the following character stereotypes.

• The Hero Type: The main protagonist who's either on a mission to destroy evil or redemption (in later games if it is a series.) He's so noble and honorable you feel filthy whenever he speaks.
  
• The Villain Type: May or may not be the main enemy in the game "story," but he is the exact opposite of the Hero Type. Dark, twisted and heartless. He's also tougher than at least 50% stronger than the other fighters.
  
• The P*ssed Off Guy: The guy who seems to be in the game to beat up everybody, good and evil. This character is an instant favorite of many players.
  
• The Sexy Lady: The one who looks like she's spent all her money on plastic surgeries that she didn't have any left when she wanted to get some decent clothes, which explains why she's dressed in as little as possible without being naked.
  
• The Cute Girl: The small, cutesy, possibly underage girl which makes you the target of weird glances when you pick her, and dirty looks when you beat her. It is possible that she is the arch nemesis of the Sexy Lady, and her exact opposite.
  
• The Icon Character: May or may not be the Hero. May be male or female. Either way, this character will appear in every trailer, box art and online banner you see of the game advertised.
  
• The Ninja: Sometimes in obvious ninja outfit, sometimes not, but you know this guy is a ninja, and he's going to have some ultra fast moves that drove many inexperienced players away in tears when played by a master.
  
• The Pirate: The arch enemy of the Ninja, and is often unpredictable and hard to control. He also speaks in a terrible pirate accent.
  
• The Freak: You don't know where this one came from, you don't know what its purpose is, and you do not want to. This character exists to freak people out, and its fighting style is probably the most confusing, disturbing and scarring when you're losing against it.
  
• The Brute: Terribly slow, and terribly powerful. This character's weakness is fast-hitting characters, and it is debateable that his arch enemy is the Freak. Especially if the Freak is fast.
  
• The Immortal: A character that hangs out in every extended series, and is probably looking for a way to die. This makes you wonder why he fights instead of asking one of the characters to behead him and get it done.
  
• The Hippie: Involved in the story only to make sure the forest is protected, or that some sort of ancient eco-system is preserved. Mostly fights like an animal, and often looks like one, at least partially.
  
• The Soldier: There to fight on behalf of some kingdom or empire, which makes you wonder why they sent only this one person, instead of a freaking army to wipe everybody out. This character's fighting style is disciplined, and any defeat by them makes you clench your teeth.
  
• The Marginalized Character: Usually either a cameo, or an obscure recurring enemy in story mode. Either way, nobody plays as them, except to humiliate the other player by defeating them with a weak character.
  
• The Overpowered Big Boss: Usually trying to gain more power, or destroy everybody, or get resurrected, or something. A pain in the ass to fight against, and an even greater pain in the ass to fight as.
  
• The Martial Artist: Relying on fancy moves and/or weapons instead of damage-dealing. They may be fast with chained combo attacks, or normal speed but with punishing attacks. Either way, they show off. A lot.
  
• The Old Fart: Don't be fooled by this guy's ragged looks. He can beat you up good, and have enough stamina to take a hike back to his room. He might be related to one of the other fighters, but it isn't necessarily the case.
  
• The Minion: Minion of the villain, there to do his bidding. Often he is the preferred choice over the villain himself.
  
• The Sarcastic: The Sarcastic is there to piss you off with witty remarks with every other attack, and to taunt you when you lose. Every game has one.
  

2-The Relationships: They mean nothing in the game. Otherwise, why would allies go against one another in the story mode? They are completely filler material, which brings me to...

3-The Story Mode: Every game needs to build a (redundant) story mode which is only different in three areas: The enemies you face, the story, and the short scene after you beat the story with the character. It is a good way to get to know the characters, but it can be frustrating in some games. The only reason I play it is to be treated to a nice cutscene at the end.

4-Inconsistency: So in the previous game the hero killed the villain. Why are they both back? Before anyone starts attacking me and saying there are people who like each of them, and demand their return in a future game, look at it this way: How many times can a series get away with having the same characters return, even if it was obvious that at least half of them should have died in the previous game after an unfinished "final confrontation" cutscene. Maybe they had a chat after the end credits, off-scene, and decided not to kill each other. After a couple of sequels, though, they should all know better than to let their opponents go. What's worse, the hero and villain's struggle appears to be advancing according to some story arc that spans across the games, everyone else seems to be stuck in a storytelling limbo. Please, keep things fresh!

[zandyne]

Save for the last 3 sections you have just a list of REGULAR character cliches.

As for inconsistency I believe you are forgetting that some just like to milk the series for all it's worth. As well as for practicality reasons it wouldn't be right for each "victor" character to be the only survivors as traveling through each installment, as in some cases that would leave to half the cast being obliterated and having to be revised (play styles would also need to be replaced which seems wrong given each character is "supposed" to have a unique feel). Story mode itself is supposed to treat you through the "what if" scenario of if the character you selected had their goals carried out. And this is further supported by the fact that almost all fighting games have extremely vague "ultimate canon" storylines.

Also playing a fighting game for riveting, consistent story is like playing an FPS and expecting the final boss to be negotiated with without using bullets.

[Ninmast]

Really, Strategist, you need to play something other than Soul Calibur.

[The Strategist]

I assure you, I have played multiple fighting games. It is true that most cliches on the list apply to Soul Calibur, but they also apply to every other major fighting game franchise currently out. Take a closer look at any non-SC game for those cliches.

[Giant Brother]

Well, let's see now...

The Hero Type: The main protagonist who's either on a mission to destroy evil or redemption (in later games if it is a series.) He's so noble and honorable you feel filthy whenever he speaks.

Siegfried wasn't a hero to begin with. He just became one later on.
Jin Kazama or Kazuya Mashima make me feel dirty? Psh. You wish. Plus they BOTH become villains.
Only major indication I see is Superman and Raiden from Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe... But come on, it's a freaking god and SUPERMAN. How can you expect them not to be the good guys?

The Villain Type: May or may not be the main enemy in the game "story," but he is the exact opposite of the Hero Type. Dark, twisted and heartless. He's also tougher than at least 50% stronger than the other fighters.

Nightmare? Why, he's low tier, pal.
Heihachi Mashima? Not much a difference between the other guys there, and he's one of the major villains.

The P*ssed Off Guy: The guy who seems to be in the game to beat up everybody, good and evil. This character is an instant favorite of many players.

Mitsurugi isn't pissed off, yet he beats up everybody.
Everyone beats up everyone in Tekken. It's a FIGHTING TOURNAMENT.
Only narutards, weaboos and fanboys like Scorpion and Sub-Zero.

The Sexy Lady: The one who looks like she's spent all her money on plastic surgeries that she didn't have any left when she wanted to get some decent clothes, which explains why she's dressed in as little as possible without being naked.

Seong Mi-Na is starting to cover up, and I know you're not talking about Ivy.
And let's see... anybody in Tekken? Nope, nobody in Tekken... Christie is the closest to it. And she's wearing pants.

The Cute Girl: The small, cutesy, possibly underage girl which makes you the target of weird glances when you pick her, and dirty looks when you beat her. It is possible that she is the arch nemesis of the Sexy Lady, and her exact opposite.

Now we're getting places. Amy Sorel, the little Chinese girl from Tekken, kinda Tira, but people won't give you a wierd look for her. However, none of them are nemesises to the "Sexy Lady".

The Icon Character: May or may not be the Hero. May be male or female. Either way, this character will appear in every trailer, box art and online banner you see of the game advertised.

Ken and Ryu from Street Fighter, Mitsurugi, Ivy and Siegfried for Soul Calibur (but mostly Mitsurugi), Jin Kazama and Heihachi Mashima of Tekken. But you know what? You're being rediculous. EVERY game has a poster boy. You can't exactly use much elseto great effect. People don't go "Hey, that's the FOXHOUND symbol!", they go "Hey, that's Solid Snake!"

The Ninja: Sometimes in obvious ninja outfit, sometimes not, but you know this guy is a ninja, and he's going to have some ultra fast moves that drove many inexperienced players away in tears when played by a master.

*sigh* Stupid ninjas are everywhere. You can pretty much use this in every single game genre there is except maybe Sports and Puzzle. But wait, there's no ninjas in Street Fighter, the father of fighting games!

The Pirate: The arch enemy of the Ninja, and is often unpredictable and hard to control. He also speaks in a terrible pirate accent.

I've yet to see a Pirate in a fighter short of Cervantes and Maxi from Soul Calibur. Maxi has no pirate accent, does NOT have a ninja rival, and his moveset is basically designed so that eight year old button mashers feel better about themselves. Cervantes does have a ninja rival, but also has other rivals, considering he's the final freaking boss from the first game in the series. And for the record? His accent rocks.

The Freak: You don't know where this one came from, you don't know what its purpose is, and you do not want to. This character exists to freak people out, and its fighting style is probably the most confusing, disturbing and scarring when you're losing against it.

Well, that would be Voldo of Soul Calibur. He's Italian, meaning he's from Italy. Soul Edge is posing as his former master and telling him to revive him. There. you've been educated. And you know what? If you knew anything about him, you'd know that. Other freaks include Vega, the yodeling lady boy with claws, and Blanka, half man half beast freakazoid. Both are from Street Fighter. Lizardman also counts, but like Voldo, he has a backstory, a very, VERY detailed one, in fact.

The Brute: Terribly slow, and terribly powerful. This character's weakness is fast-hitting characters, and it is debateable that his arch enemy is the Freak. Especially if the Freak is fast.

T. Hawk from Street Fighter, his rival is not a "Freak", but rather fellow "Brute" M. Bison. You have a wide selection of "Brutes" in Soul Calibur, but the only one with any remotely speedy rivals is Rock. Lizardman is his enemy there, and he's not exactly as fast as the speedsters in the game.

The Immortal: A character that hangs out in every extended series, and is probably looking for a way to die. This makes you wonder why he fights instead of asking one of the characters to behead him and get it done.

Well, we have our options here. Zasalamel is LITERALLY immortal, and he IS looking for a way to die, but only in three. Of course, if you played his storyline, you'd know that just getting someone to do it for him would be the last thing that would help. Nightmare isn't looking to die, neither is Heihachi Mashima or Sub-Zero. Yet they are in every single game there.

The Hippie: Involved in the story only to make sure the forest is protected, or that some sort of ancient eco-system is preserved. Mostly fights like an animal, and often looks like one, at least partially.

Only been two notable hippies, the way you put it. And they are the two Native American girls from Tekken that were fighting. I believe the second one, progeny of the first one, was looking for data that would help her rejuvinate the forests. Either way, they sure as heck don't fight like animals, and they look like animals even less. Rock looks like an animal, and the game talks about his connections to nature, but his story? His story would be the same even if he didn't give two shits about nature. He's looking for his adopted son and, later, trying to make him proud.

The Soldier: There to fight on behalf of some kingdom or empire, which makes you wonder why they sent only this one person, instead of a freaking army to wipe everybody out. This character's fighting style is disciplined, and any defeat by them makes you clench your teeth.

Hilde from Soul Calibur would work, if it weren't for the fact that she's the freaking princess and automatically takes precedence over any petty soldier they could make a story mode for. Solid Snake is there in Smash Bros, but let's face it, he's all you need. There is a Russian Soldier in Tekken, but he's there alone because he's supposed to be working covertly. Plus, it's supposed to be a fighting tournament. Can't have an army entered, that's cheating.

The Marginalized Character: Usually either a cameo, or an obscure recurring enemy in story mode. Either way, nobody plays as them, except to humiliate the other player by defeating them with a weak character.

That would be Yoda in Soul Calibur 4 and Captain Falcon in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Other than that, I've seen people play as everybody in any tier simply because they *gaspeth* like the character.

The Overpowered Big Boss: Usually trying to gain more power, or destroy everybody, or get resurrected, or something. A pain in the ass to fight against, and an even greater pain in the ass to fight as.

Don't be a dummy. Final bosses are supposed to be more powerful than the other characters. That's the entire point of a boss, let alone a final boss. Once again, applied to practically everything.

The Martial Artist: Relying on fancy moves and/or weapons instead of damage-dealing. They may be fast with chained combo attacks, or normal speed but with punishing attacks. Either way, they show off. A lot.

I really can't argue that. Marshall Law, Maxi, Kilik, Liu Kang, Fei Long, Chun Li...

But then, ask yourself. It's a FIGHTING GAME. Why would there NOT be a Martial Artist?

The Old Fart: Don't be fooled by this guy's ragged looks. He can beat you up good, and have enough stamina to take a hike back to his room. He might be related to one of the other fighters, but it isn't necessarily the case.

Age = expierience, friend. If you didn't have old people, you'd be encouraging ANOTHER video game stereotype stating that all the characters are young. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

The Minion: Minion of the villain, there to do his bidding. Often he is the preferred choice over the villain himself.

The number of Nightmare fanboys vastly outnumbers the number of Tira players. Otherwise, I've not seen very many minions.

The Sarcastic: The Sarcastic is there to piss you off with witty remarks with every other attack, and to taunt you when you lose. Every game has one.

Yun-Seong from Soul Calibur, Hwoarang from Tekken, Joker from Mortal Kombat vs. DC. But wait, once again, there isn't any in Street Fighter. Even if it's just one game, that's one game less than every game.

Relationships:

Well, let's see here. How many people have went "hay guiz, let's see who'd win, Sophitia or Cassandra, roflmao"? It wouldn't be much of a game if it told you "sorry, you can't use those guys in a match against eachother". Also note that whenever allies fight in Story mode, it's for a reason.

Zandyne pretty much nailed the story mode nail on the head. As well as inconsistency.

Now the question remains. If these cliches irk you so much. Why do you play fighting games?

[Beanybag]

Where does Gingerbread Man, Fish in a fish bowl, and Sentient sock thing fit in?

[zandyne]

Dec 26, 2008 14:56:31 GMT -5 Beanybag said:

Where does Gingerbread Man, Fish in a fish bowl, and Sentient sock thing fit in?

Excellent question, I'd like an answer to that.

[Ninmast]

Obviously, it'd be Old Man, Brute and Pirate, of course.

[Teh Donut]

Dec 26, 2008 13:43:35 GMT -5 Giant Brother said:

I've yet to see a Pirate in a fighter short of Cervantes and Maxi from Soul Calibur. Maxi has no pirate accent, does NOT have a ninja rival, and his moveset is basically designed so that eight year old button mashers feel better about themselves. Cervantes does have a ninja rival, but also has other rivals, considering he's the final freaking boss from the first game in the series. And for the record? His accent rocks.

Wait, Cervantes was the boss of Soul Edge? That's news to me...or maybe my memory's off, since it's been ten or eleven years since I've even seen that game...