Hey folks,
I don't play many fighting games any more due to lacking time or appropriate skill-level competition (low), but I still watch videos about them all the time and love the crap out of them. So I wanted to open up a discussion about our varied favorite things in and about fighting games. I'll start by selecting a few categories and naming my own choices. Feel free to crib my categories or create your own! This is intended to be an open discussion.
Favorite fighting game moves: The Shoryuken is a classic that moves and hits just right. I really like Demitri's Bat Spin. I don't like playing Guile-type characters, but I do love the Flash Kick. It's pretty darn classic. I think Bison/Dictator's Scissor Kick is underappreciated by casual players. The Kyokugenryu school's Haoh Shou Kouken is one of the coolest moves around and my favorite projectile of all time. I love King's Venom Strike and Trap Shot. Geese and Rock's Raging Storm is awesome. Wan-Fu's fiery throw is awesome, even though it leaves him without a weapon. Used well it has some nice cross-up potential and is one of the few moves that just sends a character across the screen, which is crazy given he's otherwise a slower, stronger character. I love Sarah Bryant's flip kick. It totally leaves her open but when it hits it's just so satisfying. By and large, despite really enjoying Capcom's fighting games a little more for overall feel, I tend to prefer SNK fighters individual moves and moveset combos.
Favorite fighting game character movesets: I love Terry and Andy Bogard's movesets. Some of the SNK movesets felt so different from Capcom's, even right from the start. And Terry was a great example of how to make an all-rounder without making them a shoto, even though the shoto hadn't yet really been established at the time as a trope. Andy hasn't actually been all that great in an SNK fighting game in a while because of move timings and priorities, but in general I love the variety in his moveset, too. I do love the core shoto moveset of Ryu and Ken, but I tend not to be nearly as enamored of the fireballs and uppercuts in the more blatant shoto knock-offs, even if I otherwise like the characters (Ryo and Robert, for example). Rock Howard is a beautiful fusion of Geese and Terry. I don't know anyone else has made a derived/merged moveset quite as artful. I love King's moves. She's just a blast to play. Lee Rekka's moveset is so much fun. I don't necessary love any individual move of his, but for a 2D fighting character his moves chain together so smoothly and nicely. He almost has 3D fighter character flow, IMO. I am wary of and tend not to like as much moves that are just a multi-hit combo. Sometimes they work well, but sometimes it feels disconnected from the input or the idea of doing a move. "I did a move and now my character is carrying out a series of moves on their own without me." That's one of the things I like less about SNK fighters. I love Virtua Fighter's Sarah and Pai. Sarah also just has such nice, rapid transition from move to move. Those two characters are just my jam when it comes to 3D fighters. Lei Fang from DOA is also awesome, IMO. I love how her moves string together. I'm also a huge fan of Seung Mina. I just love her reach and spear moves.
Favorite fighting game character visual design/model: King, Robert Garcia, MotW Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, Kyo Kusanagi, and Benimaru Nikaido. Sometimes SNK goes too hard into weird or fashion, but I think those characters all thread the needle really well. SNK does seem more style and fashion-aware than Capcom does. So many fighting game characters (Capcom or SNK) are either too kitch or some variation of national stereotype or martial arts stereotype and it's hard for me to get excited about that. I'm also not longer interested in the women characters who's visuals are designed specifically to titillate with obvious bounce or boob-windows on the outfit. I have no objection to sexy characters, but large-breasted women designed by men for primarily male audiences is kinda sketch, TBH. There's a million different ways to make confident, capable, sexy women characters, and stuffing them into a revealing outfit is the least creative and least compelling.
Favorite righting game to watch others play: KOF 15 is my current jam. The Tampa Never Sleeps weeklies are just fantastic. The commentators know the moves, the timings, the character rankings, and the strats, and the commentary reflects that. It's not just the gameplay that drives my enjoyment but the commentator's real knowledge and narration of the game in play on-screen. I haven't seen another tournament that goes to that extent.
Favorite fighting game mechanic: I love short hops and defensive rolls. I also love Capcom's VS games combined specials.
Favorite fighting game engine (broad): The Virtua Fighter core engine with punch, kick, and block with directional inputs modifying the moves is my favorite. It worked great for DOA and Sega's other 3D fighters of the time as well. It just feels the most fluid to me and makes the most sense. I find it reliable, replicable, and accessible, despite the steep learning curve.
I know this is a pretty random string of thoughts, but I think it's a good starting point for a number of discussions, some of which should maybe spin off to their own threads. But let's see what others have to say first.