Intro
Players have been asking others which character they should use. To which the reply is, "Choose whoever fits your style." This isn't a very helpful answer. It begs the questions, "What styles are there in a fighting game? Which characters fit a particular style?" My post here is going to explain just that.
Because a game is a limited world, you also only have so many questions and answers to derive from it. During a battle in a fighting game with a competitive mindset, there are three questions you're always asking yourself. "What is the Situation?(Airborne, off the edge, lag, etc.) What is the distance?(Spacing) And what is my opponent doing?" Once you've answered your question, you decide on a response, which is then put to action through your character. You're playstyle is how you personally pick your questions, answers, and responses.
Everything I wrote isn't set in stone, and they're only my own thoughts. Everything I'm saying in regards to strategy and characters isn't absolute, and you can use characters in different ways and be effective. This is meant to only give a general idea.
Questions and Responses
These are all the questions and their possible responses. Try to think about what goes through your mind during a match. What question do you tend to ask yourself the most during, and which response is most appealing? Once you select your favorite, head down to the next section.
Question
"What is the situation?" I.E. Am I in the air?
Response
In any situation there are only two choices.
"I'll change it." Or "I'll keep it."
"I'll adapt."
Question
"What is the distance between me and my opponent?"
Responses
With distance you can only choose to...
"I'll get/stay far away."
"I'll get/stay close."
"I'll keep him at arm's length. (Keep a specific distance)"
Question
"What is my opponent doing?"
Responses
There are probably more responses to this question then I'm giving, but this is all we'll need.
"It doesn't matter." Or "I'll beat him at his own game."
"I'll confuse him."
"I'll set him up."
The Playstyles
You'll see I've assigned a name and a defining character, along with a description of your strategy. Like so.
"I'll adapt."
Counter
Mario
You like to never be at a disadvantage, and change your strategy when appropriate. You recognize specific positions with their inherent advantages and weaknesses.
Being near the edge you know that if you're hit there's a good chance you won't be able to make it back. And from this same position if you whack your opponent, he'll likely land back on stage. But there are three ways you can reverse this. You could do a back throw, which would be the best option because it puts the enemy off the stage, but he might expect this. Or you could jump over, or roll behind him.
Mario has no large weaknesses, and his specials excel in their own specialties. He has a good anti-air game. His fireballs can keep a ground opponent at bay. The Fludd can slow the pacing of the opponent. And the cape can reflect projectiles or turn the enemy.
"I'll change it." Or "I'll keep it."
Control
Zero Suit Samus
You only feel right when you're dictating your opponent's moves. Once you gain an advantage, you press it all the way to victory.
ZSS has two paralyzing moves, a long grab, and an up-B that pulls enemies down. She decides when and where her opponent is. She can stop you in your tracks with a stun, follow it with a back grab to send you off the edge, and then use the up-B as you recover for the KO. And if someone ever gains momentum against her, her down-B can reverse it.
"I'll get/stay far away."
Projectile Spammer
Samus
With this mindset you want to be safe by always keeping away from the opponent while still sending attacks. This could mean running to the other side of the stage, or jumping into the air. But you'll need a character with a projectile to justify doing such a thing.
Samus's missiles and grapple beam have great reach, and if you're so far away that even you can't attack them, you still have your beam shot to charge. She's also an amazing aerial combatant with her long jumps and floaty control.
"I'll get/stay close."
Rushdown
Captain Falcon
This is about constantly getting into the face of your opponent, without regard for your own well being, in hopes of overwhelming them with your speed. It's never good enough to be out of attack range for you. If you hit your enemy away, you don't wait to see what he does, you charge right after him.
The captain has the second best running speed, he has nothing but melee attacks, and all of his specials bring him closer with velocity.
"I'll keep him at arm's length."
Mid-Range
Marth
You have to move backward or forward based on your opponent. You keep the perfect spacing where your strikes outreach others' close range attacks, and they can't counter with a projectile. This playstyle can either be the ultimate "reading their mind" or "reaction" based style. Your position is constantly be affected by your opponent, therefore you ability to read/react is always being tested.
No one exemplifies this style better then Marth. Marth's sword possesses the perfect reach when your careful to prevent counterattacks. Not only that, but he needs to strike with the tip to do the most damage.
"It doesn't matter."
Overpower
Bowser
This mindset simply wants to beat his opponent's options. If the game were rock paper scissors, you wouldn't want your rock to beat scissors and tie rock, you'd want your rock to defeat both his rock and scissors! It shouldn't matter what you guess in the long run.
Bowser has many attributes to define this style. His attacks either push a shielding opponent too far away to counter him, actually go through their shield (the klaw), or puts on too much pressure (flame breath). Bowser's Down-B ignores attacks with its super armor. And if you ever guess wrong, it shouldn't matter as much because of Bowser's enormous weight.
"I'll confuse him."
Hit & Run
Pikachu
This is all about the mindgames. You like to weave in and out of your enemy's attack range with weird movements and hit from odd attack angles to bait him into making a mistake. You might condition him in to a certain response, which you'll take advantage of later with a feint. You want to read you opponent, but you don't want to let him read you.
With Pikachu's quick attack cancel tactics and slow thunder jolt, he can constantly keep the enemy on his toes. Maybe you'll attack him from the front again, or you'll teleport behind and grab, or perhaps you'll opt for pestering with a thunder jolt.
"I'll set him up."
Trapper
Snake
With a Trapper, it's more about cutting off your opponent's movements. You'll need a character that can generate simultaneous hitboxes. You want to force the opponent to come to you, and you'll make it as hard for him as possible.
Snake with his C4, mines, grenades, and rocket launcher, can literally blow the whole place up. If the opponent stays away from you, he'll always have to deal with your grenades, but to come to you he'll have to traverse two mines and a rocket.
I hope my work helps. This is only meant to be a starting place. There are other characters, and most of them concentrate on multiple questions and answers. For instance, I'd say Sonic is a combination of "I'll get close," and "I'll confuse him."
Players have been asking others which character they should use. To which the reply is, "Choose whoever fits your style." This isn't a very helpful answer. It begs the questions, "What styles are there in a fighting game? Which characters fit a particular style?" My post here is going to explain just that.
Because a game is a limited world, you also only have so many questions and answers to derive from it. During a battle in a fighting game with a competitive mindset, there are three questions you're always asking yourself. "What is the Situation?(Airborne, off the edge, lag, etc.) What is the distance?(Spacing) And what is my opponent doing?" Once you've answered your question, you decide on a response, which is then put to action through your character. You're playstyle is how you personally pick your questions, answers, and responses.
Everything I wrote isn't set in stone, and they're only my own thoughts. Everything I'm saying in regards to strategy and characters isn't absolute, and you can use characters in different ways and be effective. This is meant to only give a general idea.
Questions and Responses
These are all the questions and their possible responses. Try to think about what goes through your mind during a match. What question do you tend to ask yourself the most during, and which response is most appealing? Once you select your favorite, head down to the next section.
Question
"What is the situation?" I.E. Am I in the air?
Response
In any situation there are only two choices.
"I'll change it." Or "I'll keep it."
"I'll adapt."
Question
"What is the distance between me and my opponent?"
Responses
With distance you can only choose to...
"I'll get/stay far away."
"I'll get/stay close."
"I'll keep him at arm's length. (Keep a specific distance)"
Question
"What is my opponent doing?"
Responses
There are probably more responses to this question then I'm giving, but this is all we'll need.
"It doesn't matter." Or "I'll beat him at his own game."
"I'll confuse him."
"I'll set him up."
The Playstyles
You'll see I've assigned a name and a defining character, along with a description of your strategy. Like so.
The list isn't meant to define a character, but to give an example of what capabilities you may be looking for to match your mindset. You can be most anything with any character, although some will be more effective with a certain strategy then others. I wouldn't think Captain Falcon would do well with a far away mindset.
"I'll adapt."
Counter
Mario
You like to never be at a disadvantage, and change your strategy when appropriate. You recognize specific positions with their inherent advantages and weaknesses.
Being near the edge you know that if you're hit there's a good chance you won't be able to make it back. And from this same position if you whack your opponent, he'll likely land back on stage. But there are three ways you can reverse this. You could do a back throw, which would be the best option because it puts the enemy off the stage, but he might expect this. Or you could jump over, or roll behind him.
Mario has no large weaknesses, and his specials excel in their own specialties. He has a good anti-air game. His fireballs can keep a ground opponent at bay. The Fludd can slow the pacing of the opponent. And the cape can reflect projectiles or turn the enemy.
"I'll change it." Or "I'll keep it."
Control
Zero Suit Samus
You only feel right when you're dictating your opponent's moves. Once you gain an advantage, you press it all the way to victory.
ZSS has two paralyzing moves, a long grab, and an up-B that pulls enemies down. She decides when and where her opponent is. She can stop you in your tracks with a stun, follow it with a back grab to send you off the edge, and then use the up-B as you recover for the KO. And if someone ever gains momentum against her, her down-B can reverse it.
"I'll get/stay far away."
Projectile Spammer
Samus
With this mindset you want to be safe by always keeping away from the opponent while still sending attacks. This could mean running to the other side of the stage, or jumping into the air. But you'll need a character with a projectile to justify doing such a thing.
Samus's missiles and grapple beam have great reach, and if you're so far away that even you can't attack them, you still have your beam shot to charge. She's also an amazing aerial combatant with her long jumps and floaty control.
"I'll get/stay close."
Rushdown
Captain Falcon
This is about constantly getting into the face of your opponent, without regard for your own well being, in hopes of overwhelming them with your speed. It's never good enough to be out of attack range for you. If you hit your enemy away, you don't wait to see what he does, you charge right after him.
The captain has the second best running speed, he has nothing but melee attacks, and all of his specials bring him closer with velocity.
"I'll keep him at arm's length."
Mid-Range
Marth
You have to move backward or forward based on your opponent. You keep the perfect spacing where your strikes outreach others' close range attacks, and they can't counter with a projectile. This playstyle can either be the ultimate "reading their mind" or "reaction" based style. Your position is constantly be affected by your opponent, therefore you ability to read/react is always being tested.
No one exemplifies this style better then Marth. Marth's sword possesses the perfect reach when your careful to prevent counterattacks. Not only that, but he needs to strike with the tip to do the most damage.
"It doesn't matter."
Overpower
Bowser
This mindset simply wants to beat his opponent's options. If the game were rock paper scissors, you wouldn't want your rock to beat scissors and tie rock, you'd want your rock to defeat both his rock and scissors! It shouldn't matter what you guess in the long run.
Bowser has many attributes to define this style. His attacks either push a shielding opponent too far away to counter him, actually go through their shield (the klaw), or puts on too much pressure (flame breath). Bowser's Down-B ignores attacks with its super armor. And if you ever guess wrong, it shouldn't matter as much because of Bowser's enormous weight.
"I'll confuse him."
Hit & Run
Pikachu
This is all about the mindgames. You like to weave in and out of your enemy's attack range with weird movements and hit from odd attack angles to bait him into making a mistake. You might condition him in to a certain response, which you'll take advantage of later with a feint. You want to read you opponent, but you don't want to let him read you.
With Pikachu's quick attack cancel tactics and slow thunder jolt, he can constantly keep the enemy on his toes. Maybe you'll attack him from the front again, or you'll teleport behind and grab, or perhaps you'll opt for pestering with a thunder jolt.
"I'll set him up."
Trapper
Snake
With a Trapper, it's more about cutting off your opponent's movements. You'll need a character that can generate simultaneous hitboxes. You want to force the opponent to come to you, and you'll make it as hard for him as possible.
Snake with his C4, mines, grenades, and rocket launcher, can literally blow the whole place up. If the opponent stays away from you, he'll always have to deal with your grenades, but to come to you he'll have to traverse two mines and a rocket.
I hope my work helps. This is only meant to be a starting place. There are other characters, and most of them concentrate on multiple questions and answers. For instance, I'd say Sonic is a combination of "I'll get close," and "I'll confuse him."
It's sad how idiots come here, add useless less-than-twenty character comments and leave. This is a perfectly fine thread ( compared to some other junk posted here and the General Brawl Forums). This thread obviously needs more work so we'd all appreciate it if you idiots stop saying "inb4flames" and all that junk and please actually post something useful like DanGR, Rapid__Assassin and Dryn have. Useless comments like "ZOMGZ FLAMEWARS!" aren't needed here thank you very much. 
