Summary
Platform fighter is a subgenre of fighting games that took a while to catch the audience’s attention, even with the very first platform fighting game,Outfoxies. Not many fans were interested untilSuper Smash Bros 64was developed with Nintendo characters. A game with well-known IPs crossing over to battle was the necessary ingredient for the niche genre to push its popularity.
The genre continued to grow more during the evolution ofSuper Smash Bros. The franchise included several mechanicsto bring innovation to the genre. This inspired other developers to bring other ideas for their own platform fighters, widening the possibilities while raising the genre’s popularity to greater heights.
Super Smash Bros 64introduced what will be the major staple for platform fighters, damage percent. It was a unique way to distinguish health in a fighting game since more damage percent makes the fighter susceptible to get launched.
It was designed to be more intuitive for casual play, like a King of the Hill game mode. The main goal is to knock the opponent off the screen, losing their stock life. It helped make the game more welcoming to a broad audience since many retro fighting games made matches stressful with complex inputs and chip damage.
Final Smash was introduced inSuper Smash Bros Brawlto destroy friendships. It was a super move for annihilating at least one opponent on stage. The only method to acquire such power is from the smash ball, a glowing metal orb. It breaks more easily when lingering longer on stage or by losing players.
Final Smash had different activations and effects for each character. Some Final Smash are very simple like Mario or Samus’ giant projectiles. Other final smash buffs the user, activating a temporary install state that strengthens their attacks like Super Sonic and Wario-Man. This made some characters very chaotic, but still fun to play.
Shovel Knight Showdownforces players tothink carefully about parry. Its only defensive option protects the user from any attack before knocking back nearby opponents. It can punish attackers for being too aggressive, which could launch them into harmful terrains.
The major drawback is its end lag and reward. Missing the parry window will expose the user to damage. While it does protect the user, it doesn’t stun the opponent for long, allowing the fighters to combat immediately. The user only has a few advantage frames to act after a successful parry.
Rage is an essential mechanic to pull a grand comeback or diminish disadvantage inBrawlout. Defensively, a fighter can build half a bar of rage to access a Rage Burst. This pushes away any nearby opponent while stopping the user’s momentum, saving them from a fatal launch. This can also save a fighter when falling into a helpless state after using an up special for recovery.
Offensively, a fighter can fill the full meter to access Rage Mode. It powers up the user’s attacks, raising both damage and knockback. It is expensive since it requires the entire meter. It’s best tomanage the rage meterto avoid wasting resources that aren’t necessary in different interactions.
Directional Influence is what makes platform fighters likeSuper Smash Bros Meleevery differentfrom traditional fighters. Defenders are allowed to survive a fatal blow by controlling the launch angle. It’s an effective addition that becomes a staple for the series.
While DI is very beneficial to the damaged player, it could lead to consequences. An aware attacker could react to DI and bait it for further punishment. The defender must also recognize the proper DI to certain attacks, which may result in a stock ending earlier than expected.
Wavedash is an inspired mechanic that’s easier to do inRivals Of Aether. This option allows players to dash back and forth with immediate access to throw an attack. Its use is similar to Street Fighter when both fighters play footsies to bait and punish a whiffed attack.
Wavelanding is another inspired addition to the platform movement. This lets the user slide on the ground to mix landings, challenging the opponent’s reaction and prediction. This can be used defensively to avoid a possible attack or offensively to catch the opponent off guard.
Slime Meter was introduced as a brand new mechanic forNick All-Star Brawl II. Its powerful use is similar to other fighting games likeGuilty Gear,King of Fighters, andStreet Fighter.
It helps both offensive and defensive play, expanding the combat options for the player.Fighters gain slimewhen dealing or receiving damage. For one slime bar, players can cancel any action to link a true combo or enhance one of their special attacks for stronger properties. If a player gets attacked or launched, two slime bars can be spent to push the opponent back and halt the momentum. The most powerful, expensive option is using all three bars for the fighter’s ultimate, dealing great damage and knockback to multiple opponents.
Weapons are the best utility to acquire for advantage in aBrawlhallamatch.Equipping a weaponraises a fighter’s damage and range. Each fighter has two weapon classes out of thirteen:
Every fighter starts the match with their most consistent weapon, unarmed. After some time, a flaming sword will fall randomly on the stage for anyone to grab. When a fighter gets the weapon, they randomly equip one of their two weapon specialties. This grants them new combos when using special weapon-based moves or throwing the weapon at the opponent.
The perk system inMultiVersusallows fighters to equip perks, which grant specified buffs and abilities. It’s categorized into three types: red offensive, blue defensive, and green utility.MultiVersusencourages players to equip any perk for customization, though team synergy can be strengthened when the duo equips the same perks for extra stat boosts.
Any fighter can equip up to three perk, though each fighter does have unique signature perks. These perks are tied to a fighter exclusively for their moveset, such as Bugs Bunny’s tunnel shockwave or Batman’s stronger boomerang. Only one signature perk is equipped to a fighter, giving their playstyle more depth.
Custom Moves broughtso many customizable possibilitieswithinSuper Smash Bros For Wii U. Each character on the base roster had 2 extra options for each special to change their properties and effects, such as Mario’s shock cape or Marth’s dolphin jump. Some characters like Palutena had custom moves that completely changed the special moves.
This design is similar toMortal Kombat X’s character variations, changing a fighter’s access to techniques for multiple playstyles. The custom moves widened the fighters’ potential, especially the mii fighters with customizable weight and height for varied stats. The custom moves weren’t available to the DLC characters, locking them to one playstyle.
