The Most Iconic Character Archetypes In Fighting Games

Highlights

• Fighting games feature diverse character archetypes such as rushdown, grapplers, and zoners.
• Characters like Shotos have well-rounded moves, while charge characters require calculated offense.
• Grapplers, like Zangief, excel at close combat with high damage output and command grabs.

Fighting games possess some of the most iconic and recognizable rosters of characters across the entire medium of video games. Fighting games allow players to express and represent themselves and their playstyle via diverse rosters of characters that each come alongside their own strengths and weaknesses.

Across the breadth of fighting games, numerous archetypes of characters have formed that function similarly 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 on March 16th, 2024, by David Heath: The lines between archetypes can blur, as some characters can be used in one way or another. Street Fighter 3: Third Strike’s Makoto traditionally plays like a rushdown character with her dashing punches, juggle options, and power-increasing taunts and super. Yet some consider her a grappler, as her Karakusa throw is important to setting up some of her combos.

Nonetheless, archetypes come in handy as a way to let players know what to expect from a character. They know a shoto will be beginner-friendly, and a puppet character will be more difficult. Dark side versions of characters will be more offensive, and the joke characters will be more ridiculous. So, this list has been updated with more famous gameplay and design-based archetypes in fighting games.

30 Shotos

The Original Archetype

• Debut Game:Street Fighter 1 (Ryu & Ken).
• Characters: Terry Bogard (Fatal Fury), Jago (Killer Instinct), Haohmaru (Samurai Shodown).

Named after Shotokan Karate, the basis for classic Street Fighter duo Ryu and Ken’s fighting style, Shoto characters are defined by their well-rounded move sets, which are typically comparable (or even identical) to the aforementioned karate men. Shotos will often possess a projectile, a strong anti-air option like a rising uppercut, and a move that provides some kind of forward momentum.

They tend to possess few glaring weaknesses, serving as jacks-of-all-trades who reward the use of strong fundamentals. For example, players who get the hang of Ryu may then prefer the more glass cannon output of Akuma or the keep-away game Sagat offers. As such, they’re usually good characters for beginners to start with.

29 Charge Characters

Calculated Offense And Defense

• Debut Game:Street Fighter 2 (Guile).
• Characters: Vatista (Under Night In-Birth), Parasoul (Skullgirls).

Charge characters are named after the inputs of their special moves, as they require players to hold back or down for a bit before pressing forward or up+attack. This means they have to block or hold the direction during moves or other actions (aka “charge buffering”) to do their special moves. These charge moves are often very powerful, incentivizing defense-oriented gameplay in order to access them.

While they’re not the most mobile characters, charge characters are often incredibly difficult to approach. Especially when they’re crouch-blocking, because they can flexibly react with different moves based on their opponent’s actions. They also recover faster afterward, so they can fit in a quick combo on contact, or even walk alongside their projectiles to pop open their opponent’s defense.

28 Grapplers

Getting Up Close And Personal

• Debut Game:Street Fighter 2 (Zangief).
• Characters: Tizoc/King of Dinosaurs (Garou: Mark of the Wolves, King of Fighters), King (Tekken).

Often characterized by their slow speed and range, the grapplers‘ biggest strengths are their large pools of health, high damage output, and most importantly, their command grabs. While characters in most fighting games tend to have some standard grabs, grapplers often possess numerous throws that can be used in different scenarios that can deal huge sums of damage, like Zangief’s Spinning Pile Driver.

While they’re a force to be reckoned with up close, they suffer from a lack of mobility and options when facing characters who can fight from a distance (e.g. throw Hadoukens all day). Some grapplers have powerful anti-air options to punish opponents for jumping out of their command grab range, which can then give them time to close the gap and either throw them on the ground, or even grab them in midair.

27 Semi-Grapplers

Quicker Than The Average Wrestler

• Debut Game:King of Fighters ’94 (Clark Still).
• Characters: Alex (Street Fighter 3: New Generation), Potemkin (Guilty Gear), Beowulf (Skullgirls).

Not every grappler is a giant hunk of muscle, but the smaller ones can be quite rare. Most of the time, they end up as semi-grapplers. They still rely on catching opponents in command grabs, but they’ll often be shorter, more mobile, and have more striking options. In fact, their striking moves will often be imperative for getting them within grabbing distance.

Street Fighter 3‘s Alex’s Slash Elbow, Flying Cross Chop, and Air Stampede see him fly across the screen to knock his opponent down or stun them long enough for a Headbutt or Power Bomb. While Guilty Gear‘s Potemkin can’t dash normally, he can cancel his Hammer Fall punch to close the distance, or bait opponents into his Heavenly Potemkin Buster super.

26 Big Bodies

Large And In Charge

• Debut Game:Street Fighter 2 (Zangief), Samurai Shodown (Earthquake for a non-grappler example).
• Characters: Abigail (Street Fighter 5), Kuma (Tekken), Bowser and Ganondorf (Super Smash Bros).

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. Thus, they tend to lack options for dealing with zoning and projectiles due to their massive bulk. Most grapplers tend to also be Big Bodies, but to set them apart from their throw-happy brethren, they tend to focus more on their strikes.

For example, Marisa in Street Fighter 6 has long-range punches and thrust kicks that do a lot of damage. She and other Big Bodies are still susceptible to Hadoukens and projectiles, but their attacks will have armor effects. This means their strikes can power through their opponent’s attacks and take them down. That’s on top of them having high defense and health bars.

25 Heavy Weights

Too Much For Others To Take

• Debut Game:Super Smash Bros (Donkey Kong).
• Characters: King Dedede, Incineroar, Kazuya (Smash Bros series).

What separates Heavy Weights, or Powerhouses, from Big Bodies? For one, the term is largely Smash-specific, or at least more key to platform fighters than the usual 1-v-1 match. They’re not always big either. Bowser and King Dedede have been able to tank hits since Melee and Brawl respectively, but Tekken‘s Kazuya can do the same while being smaller in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

They’re also really strong, with the potential to KO opponents when they’re still relatively fresh. One well-timed, fully-charged hammer strike from King Dedede could send a 30-40% fighter off into the stratosphere. However, to make up for that, their extra weight makes it hard for them to recover in the air or reach platforms to avoid a pitfall, so they can be just as easily KO’d if they’re kept away from the platform edges.

24 Bullies

Applying Pressure To Their Opponents

• Debut Game:Street Fighter 2 (Sagat).
• Characters: Broly (Dragon Ball FighterZ), Urien (Street Fighter 5), Ralf (King of Fighters).

Bullies, or pressurizers, are one of those archetypes that are hard to define but are recognizable once players see them in action. They’re all about shutting down their opponent’s attacks, often with their own heavily armored strikes. Their attacks can reach far to catch them, then pressure them into the corner for more punishment. Whatever the opponent does, the bully forces them to stop and either block, or get beaten up.

Street Fighter‘s Sagat is a classic bully. From a distance, he can irritate players with a barrage of projectiles before catching jumping opponents with his anti-air. His normal kicks reach far too, either stuffing their opponent’s attacks or pressing through them with their armor. They can even open them up for his devastating super combos too. It’s no wonder he’s been a nightmare in games like Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Street Fighter 4.

23 Zoners

Chucking Everything At the Wall

• Debut Game:Street Fighter 2 (Dhalsim).
• Characters: Peacock (Skullgirls), Cyclops (Marvel Vs Capcom 2), Duck Hunt Duo (Super Smash Bros Ultimate).

Perhaps one of the most salt-inducing archetypes for fighting game newbies (and many veterans to be honest), zoners are characters whose core strategy relies on throwing out attacks from afar to keep opponents at bay. While they’re often rather frail, having little health and weaker normal attacks than nearly everyone else on the roster, their abilities excel at longer ranges.

They’ll throw everything from fireballs to objects, or even stretchy-limb attacks, to keep their opponents at the far end of the screen. Even jumping opponents can be vulnerable if they have anti-air strikes, like Dhalsim’s Yoga Blast in the Street Fighter games. Still, they can be overcome with patience, as even the most oppressive of projectile barrages can be overcome with correctly utilized jumps, blocks, and reads.

Taking Center Stage

• Debut Game:King of Fighters ’94 (Benimaru as a dedicated mid-screen poker character).
• Characters: Karin (Street Fighter Alpha 3), Luke (Street Fighter 5), Kilik (SoulCalibur).

Many fighting game terms have rather fluid definitions because it can take one new character, one new technique, or some other event to change them. The term “footsie” is already complicated as different people apply it to different situations. Most of the time, it usually involves players who fight for control of space in the middle of the screen, rather than getting up close like grapplers or staying away like zoners.

Any character with strong poking attacks is good at pulling off footsies, like Street Fighter‘s Cammy, or most of the cast in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike. However, there are some characters that seem designed for footsies. Karin’s moves in Street Fighter Alpha 3 are particularly strong at mid-range, from her chain specials that push the opponent back, to her throws and setups that leave them vulnerable in the middle of the stage.

21 Rushdown Characters

The Best Defense Is A Good Offense

• Debut Game:Street Fighter 2 (Ken).
• Characters: Chipp Zanuff (Guilty Gear), Yamcha (Dragon Ball FighterZ), Dudley (Street Fighter 3: New Generation).

Rushdown characters are all about getting in their opponent’s face as quickly as possible and hammering them with fast combos. They tend to be some of the more popular characters in their respective games, if not top-tier, because they’re simple to pick up and play, and not too hard to master after practice. But they have their drawbacks.

They need to get up close to make the most of their combos, making them susceptible to throws, reversals, and counters. Zoners and Footsie-characters can also keep them at bay with their projectiles and poking attacks. This is why some rushdown characters, like Street Fighter‘s Guy and Dudley, have special dashes to get around them, complete with follow-up attacks players have to master. As such, they can be more technical than they seem.

20 Glass Cannons

Heavy Damage, Heavily Damaged

• Debut Game:Super Street Fighter 2 (Cammy).
• Characters: Akuma (Street Fighter Alpha onwards), Mira (Killer Instinct), Zero (Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3).

Another variant of the rushdown and other offense-heavy archetypes are the glass cannons. They also thrive when they’re getting up close in the opponent’s face, applying pressure with a constant barrage of attacks like their lives depended on it. That’s because it kind of does. To make up for their oppressive offense, their defense is especially weak.

For example, take Street Fighter‘s Akuma. He combines the shoto move list with mix-ups, multiple super moves, and a hefty amount of attack power. However, it takes a few hefty combos to put him down. Once he’s put on the defensive, he has trouble getting past his opponent’s attacks. He’s got a teleport, and some games give him a counter move. But he’s better at ruining everyone’s days by being on the offensive.

19 Reversal Characters

Counter-Offensive

• Debut Game:Fatal Fury Special (Geese Howard).
• Characters: Enkidu (Under Night In-Birth), Kasumi Todoh (Art of Fighting 3), Hakumen (BlazBlue).

Speaking of ruining everyone’s day, reversal characters can do exactly that by punishing their errant strikes. They fight primarily by waiting to counter an opponent’s attacks or surprising enemies when they’re recovering from attacks. Rushdown and Glass Cannon players are particularly at risk of getting shut down by a Reversal player’s parries, throws, and counters.

Reversal moves are pretty common in fighting games, so not every character with a reversal counts (e.g. Tekken‘s Paul Phoenix has one, but he plays more like a rushdown character). The archetypical character uses them as a key part of their kit. Fatal Fury/King of Fighters‘ Geese uses his to frustrate his opponents, while Virtua Fighter‘s Aoi can reverse attacks from almost every position, be it with her back turned or while lying on the ground.

18 Run-Away Characters

Hit & Run

• Debut Game:Street Fighter 2 (Chun-Li, Vega).
• Characters: Hazama (BlazBlue), Sonic (Super Smash Bros).

A run-away character is essentially the opposite of a rushdown character. These characters don’t necessarily zone out their opponents as they might not even have projectiles to throw at them. Their main goal is to hop all around the stage to avoid getting hit, then close the distance when their opponent leaves themselves open. After they’ve landed a few good hits of their own, they’ll be on the run once more.

They’ll often be more mobile than the average character, with faster walks and runs, more midair attacks, wall jumps, or double/triple jumps. Some players also refer to this style of character and gameplay as a turtle or turtling, since they rely on these defensive tactics so much. Run-aways would usually end up smashed to bits if they tried to be more upfront. It can be very effective, but also very tedious for both the opponent and the player.

17 Bait & Punish

Playing Mind Games

• Debut Game:Street Fighter 2 (Ryu).
• Characters: Wario, Steve, Byleth (Smash Bros), Baiken (Guilty Gear)

Bait & Punish is more of a play style. If the player can predict how their opponent’s going to react in certain situations, they can get the advantage over them. Ryu and Sagat’s AI in the original Street Fighter 2 showcased this by constantly throwing fireballs to make the player jump and be vulnerable to their Shoryuken/Tiger Uppercut. That said, there are some characters who thrive on this strategy more than others.

For example, Guilty Gear‘s Baiken has a move set designed to trap overly-aggressive opponents. If they dash at her, she can stuff them with her Tatami Gaeshi. Her reversals activate on block, so they can catch a foe at any point in their combo. They range from giving them more pain or shutting off their move set temporarily via her Curse super. If players master reading the opponent’s mind, they’ll get the best out of Baiken.

16 Mix-Up Characters

Plays The Guessing Game

• Debut Game:Super Street Fighter 2 (Cammy).
• Characters: I-No (Guilty Gear XX), El Fuerte (Street Fighter 4), Chizuru (King of Fighters).

Given the genre is all about players trying to read each other’s moves and counter them effectively, mix-ups are a fundamental part of fighting games. They’re combos and setups that mix different attacks at different levels to confuse the opponent into making a mistake and breaking their defense. Some games will even design characters around this technique, thus creating mix-up characters.

They’ll usually possess numerous moves that have similar or identical startups, which can then lead to different attacks that must be blocked or dodged in different ways. This way, the opponent won’t know whether they should’ve blocked high, blocked low, backdashed, etc., to avoid one strike or another until it is already too late.

15 Set Play

Stay Down Or They’ll Keep You Down

• Debut Game:Street Fighter Alpha (Rose).
• Characters: Millia Rage, Zato-One (Guilty Gear), R. Mika (Street Fighter 5), Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat 1)

Many mix-up characters are also Set Play characters. Set plays are specific mixups players can use to keep their opponent down after knocking them down. Usually, doing the same moves over and over would become predictable and open the player up for reversals. With the right, tightly-timed set plays, they can keep the opponent guessing as they press them into the ground.

Guilty Gear‘s Zato-One is good at this because he can use his shadow creature, Eddy, to attack one way while striking the opponent in another. However, his rival, Millia Rage, is just as famous for this, as her Tandem Top static projectile lingers long enough on-screen for her to suddenly jab from another direction. One minute, the opponent is trying to get up. Next, they’re getting crossed up and exposed to more of Millia’s overwhelming offense.

14 Mimics

Copycats

• Debut Game:Tekken 3 (Mokujin).
• Characters: Charade (SoulCalibur 2), Eleven (Street Fighter 5).

Not to be confused with characters who can turn into others, a la Mortal Kombat‘s Shang Tsung, Mimics mostly exist for players to show off their extensive character knowledge. They swap between other characters’ move lists per round randomly, so they can offer the player’s main character, or give them the lowest tier scrub in the same match. Either way, players need serious skills to get the most out of them.

The most famous mimic character is Tekken‘s Mokujin, who’s been switching up move lists since Tekken 3. The only difference is that the wooden dummy has set proportions. This means some of his mimics can be better or worse depending on the character. For example, he has better reach than Julia Chang, so his take on her style can close the distance more easily. But he has a much shorter reach than Kuma, Panda and the Jacks, making mimicking his style less ideal.

13 Composite Characters

Mixing And Matching Moves

• Debut Game:Virtua Fighter (Dural)
• Characters: Ogre (Tekken 3), Double (Skullgirls), Shang Tsung (Mortal Kombat 11).

Composite characters, not to be mistaken with clone characters or mimic characters, fight with a mix of moves taken from the rest of the game’s cast. This can make them very easy to pick up as they offer some degree of familiarity, but very difficult to master because they have different set-ups to everyone else.

For example, Street Fighter 4‘s Seth has Chun Li’s Lightning Kick, Zangief’s Spinning Pile Driver, and Dhalsim’s stretchy limbs. Aside from the trickiness of putting all these moves together, he has less health than most of the roster too. But, like other composites, he’s flexible enough to adapt to different styles of play, or even combine the effectiveness of one class (Rushdown) with the damage output of another (Grappler).

12 Stance Characters

Strike A Pose

• Debut Game:Virtua Fighter 2 (Shun Di).
• Characters: Gen (Street Fighter), Lei Wulong (Tekken), Aria (Killer Instinct).

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. Since these characters possess a massive amount of moves and applications as a result, mastering every aspect of these characters can be quite difficult.

While one stance may excel in one area like spacing and mid-range combat, another stance may excel at close-range fighting. That’s not getting into characters like Tekken‘s Lei Wulong, who has 13 different stances to work with in Tekken 7. Knowing when to use one or the other becomes as important as how to use them, or how to combine them together.

11 Puppet Characters

Letting Someone Else Do The Fighting

• Debut Game:Guilty Gear (Zato-One).
• Characters: Carl and Relius Clover (BlazBlue), Rosalina (Super Smash Bros), Stand Users in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future.

One of the more complex and difficult-to-use fighting game archetypes are puppet characters. They essentially allow a player to control two characters simultaneously, with one entity dealing damage to protect their puppeteer, who’s more frail by comparison.

In the hands of an experienced player, puppet characters can make an opponent feel outnumbered as they’re ganged up on both sides, unable to block the oncoming punishment. However, fresh players can feel overwhelmed as they have to learn how to set up their puppet in the right place to do this, then learn how to keep their opponent’s defenses open with their lead character’s strikes.