Which fighting game character are you? A subconscious question everyone asks themselves whenever they play a new fighting game for the very first time.
If you have played any fighting games before — Street Fighters, Guilty Gears, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, etc. — you’d notice that there are characters with different archetypes. Generally, in every fighting game (apart from Tekken because it’s one of the 3D fighting games), there would be an all-rounder (Shotos), Grapplers, Zoners, Mid-Rangers, Rushdown, and more.
Arguably, these character archetypes are what determines which character you choose to play. Some prefer the other, and some are fine with playing all of them. But there’s always at least one character that you favour the most as compared to the others — be it because of their appearance, their skill sets, their abilities, or any other reason.
If you are somewhat new to fighting games, then this article might just be the one you need to figure out how you play and the character that suits your playstyle. I’ll be exploring some of the common character archetypes you would find in famous 2D fighting games (and some in 3D).
Character Archetype #1: Shotos (All-rounder)
Shotos are present in every fighting game. We’d see characters like Ryu in Street Fighter, Mario in Super Smash Bros., Jin Kazama in Tekken, and Sol Badguy/Ky Kiske in Guilty Gear. These characters excel in making use of their tools in almost every occasion — countering zoners, opting for a rush-down, closing in for grapples or mix-ups, and any other means.
In essence, they are practically jack-of-all-trades. These characters have strong fundamentals and every tool needed in a battle between opponents, making them the ideal characters to go for when first starting out a fighting game.
Of course, with the advantages these characters offer, they also lack particular skill set that they are strong with. Other characters such as zoners or grapplers would have a vast amount of tools they can use to complement their skill sets. This isn’t the case with all-rounders; they’re stuck with fundamentals at best.
Doesn’t mean that they’re not deadly, though. They can switch up their playstyle whenever the situation fits, so if you’re the type that can transition between playstyles, these characters are definitely for you.
Character Archetype #2: Zoners
These are my favourites. They excel extremely well in keeping their distance from their opponents with multiple tools needed to make sure it stays that way. Zoners can easily counter any rush down characters or grapplers that try to close in to deal actual damage, so they usually have a hard time performing.
Characters such as Happy Chaos, Axl Low and Testament in Guilty Gear, Metera in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, Dhalsim in Street Fighter, and Hazama/Amane in BlazBlue: Central Fiction are some examples of zoners.
It is particularly difficult for zoners to get close, but the problem starts when opponents approach them. With very few offensive options in close range, zoners have to stick to defensive options when their opponents do get close. And that’s usually not easy, especially against really good rush down characters with their 50/50 mix-ups.
So keep your distance, and rush in for combos as soon as the opponent messes up or whiffs their attacks.
Character Archetype #3: Grapplers
With every fighting game, comes a grappler or two. These characters are relentless, dealing insanely big damage with command grabs and high-damage combo outputs.
These hulking bruisers are the antithesis of flashy projectiles. They crave close combat, dominating opponents with bone-crushing throws and slams. Unlike swift attackers like the rush down characters, grapplers methodically stalk their prey, waiting for that perfect moment to unleash a devastating command grab — a special move that bypasses blocks and inflicts massive damage.
While their movement might be sluggish, a single well-placed grab can turn the tide of battle, making grapplers both terrifying and thrilling to play. Characters that are very well-known for being an absolute nightmare of grapplers include the famous King and Julia from Tekken, Zangief from Street Fighter, Potemkin from Guilty Gear, and Iron Tager from Blazblue.
Those who play grapplers are either super patient, or super aggressive, and there’s no in-between. Their characters’ strengths often come at the cost of speed. They struggle to close the gap against faster characters like the rush downs and can be whiffed and punished easily.
Character Archetype #4: Stance
Another character archetype slowly introduces themselves in the more recent fighting games and makes a stand that they are a challenge to deal with.
Stance characters are the chameleons of the fighting game world. They possess a unique ability to switch between different stances during combat, each offering a distinct set of moves and strategic advantages. Some of the characters can transition between moves into certain stances, which allows them to follow-up with 50/50 mix-ups as well.
Opponents who aren’t familiar with characters that utilise their stances well will definitely have a hard time figuring out their patterns.
In other words, the ability to change stances for these characters adds a layer of mind games to their playstyle. Opponents have to be wary of which stance they’re in and what kind of attack might come next.
Of course, stance characters have a far more difficult learning curve, but they are very well-rewarding once mastered. If you see characters such as Lei Wulong and Zafina from Tekken, Leo Whitefang from Guilty Gear, Tsubaki and Jubei from Blazblue, and (more or less) Vega and A.K.I. from Street Fighter, these are the stance characters that can switch up your match rather quickly if they know how to use their characters well.
Character Archetype #5: Puppets
Puppet characters are exclusive to 2D fighting games for now. You don’t see puppet characters in 3D fighting games such as Tekken due to its complexity to implement in the game.
Puppet characters have two different characters that players can control alongside their own moveset. With an unorthodox control between the two characters, puppet characters have a wider range of offensive and defensive options that can be proven to be a nightmare to deal with.
The puppet can be used for zoning, extending combos, or setting up traps and mix-ups. Professional puppet character players (like Zato-1 in Guilty Gear, Carl and Relius Clover in Blazblue, and Zasalamel from Soul Calibur) can leave the opponent praying for mercy that they would stop the pressure between the two characters ‘sandwiching‘ them.
Like stance characters (multiplied by x10), puppet characters are insanely difficult to master. Unlike stance characters, however, puppets would need to monitor and control two different characters in a match, so unless you’re good with multitasking and have adept controls between one and another, maybe try playing other characters first.
Which One to Pick?
It all depends on your preferences and playstyle in a fighting game. If you’re an aggressive player who would want never-ending pressure against the opponent, a rush down or shoto character would suit your playstyle the best. If you prefer control over the pace of the match, a zoner would most likely suit you better. If you just love trolling and annoying your opponents, you can try playing puppet characters.
In the end, what is the most important is that you pick a character and stick with them. Go into the practice mode in the game and learn how to use the character. Take your time, learn their moves, and try to experiment with their given tools, but you will find no time to get accustomed to your new main(s).
So, have you made up your mind yet on which character you would like to play? If you would like to read a bit about one of my favourite fighting games, I wrote a bit about it here. Feel free to take a look! See you another time.
