character vs playstyle

[extremelotus]

Ok guys, suppose you only have the choice to pick one, would you rather main a character that you love, or a character that fits your playstyle. You can only choose one, and please name why.

P.S. This is mainly aimed toward competitive smashers, but anyone can still answer the question

 

[Jigglystep]

Well, I generally adapt my own playstyle over time to fit that of my favorite character, though on a surface level I'd say I take more value in representing a character I love. I find Smash to be more enjoyable that way; I get to see my efforts paying off in a character that I can actually relate with and love.

You do have to wonder how many people actually play Fox in Melee or Diddy in Smash 4 for the love of the character.. (shoutouts to those real Star Fox and DKC fans!)

 

[Sean²]

Play style all the way. I can promise you I have never been a Star Fox or Duck Hunt fan in my entire life.

 

[LusterGuru]

I sort of like playing my mains because I think they're cool, and to me, fighting games are only fun because of the characters, so I'd choose characters I love. I could make a cool play style out of a character's move set even if they didn't really come naturally to me

 

[Xermo]

Favourite characters first. After that, I may pick up others based on how they play.

 

[FunkyKapu615]

I choose the characters first

 

[bkslider]

Usually play style since I really do enjoy all the characters. Was really excited for Lucario in Brawl and then never played as him much since he didn't fit me. Now I love Pit due to Uprising, but I'm super lucky that I enjoy his play style just as much.

 

[JamesDNaux]

Speaking purely on a basis of character, Solid Snake was my absolute favorite from Brawl, despite my lack of experience within the Metal Gear franchise itself. Through various other means, and Brawl itself, I've genuinely come to enjoy him as a character.

From a gameplay perspective, Snake also held one of my favorite movesets, and was a character that I did very well with, matched by only Olimar. So in that regard, I was very lucky to be able to play as my favorite character and also enjoy doing so.



Unfortunately, with his loss in Smash 4, I'm missing both the character and his playstyle... badly...


Speaking solely on the characters within Smash 4, my current main is Duck Hunt, from a game that I never particularly enjoyed. Though the dog and duck have a charm about them in Smash that I love, the projectile/zoning playstyle is what hooked me.

Particularly speaking, of all of my mains with each game (Ness, Game & Watch, Olimar, and Duck Hunt), only G&W and DH were characters that I had any familiarity with at the time of their arrival within Smash, and only G&W had games that I enjoyed and was a character that I was pleasantly surprised with from the get-go. I fell into Ness because he had the most unique moveset of Smash 64, and I initially mained Olimar solely because his playstyle meshed with me so well (though his and the Pikmin's cuteness definitely was a factor). Though after playing EarthBound and Pikmin 3, I've come to love both as characters as well.

Currently, I have one instance for both character vs playstyle. I have never played Xenoblade and don't know a thing about Shulk other than his amazing accent, but his amazing range and zoning capabilities are absolutely a joy to play. On the other hand, I've always been severely disappointed with FalconDorf, but I still find myself using him because he's Ganondorf.

I suppose it's a case by case thing for me, but I enjoy playing as nearly every character to some extent, and I also know enough about all of them to enjoy them as characters as well.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Playstyle.

I don't even like Charizard much as a Pokemon.

 

[Wintropy]

Character. It's why I forced myself to git gud with Lady Palutena, and I am thankful of it every day.

 

[MarioFireRed]

Character. I don't know my own playstyle yet (zoning tends to have slight preference over all though) and I'd much rather play someone I actually like rather than force through someone I hate just because I'm good and win with them.

 

[Duplighost]

Casual play? Character. It makes battles much more enjoyable playing with someone you like.
Competitive play? Playstyle.
Personally, I'd rather play with someone I like than play with someone I dislike just to win. Despite how bad a person's favorite character is, they'll adapt to that character's playstyle regardless of how terrible it is. It's kind of like growing up a fan of your favorite football team for over twenty years, but then simply rooting for another team just because they're better than the other.

 

[extremelotus]

It's not exactly rooting for another team. Let's say you love Pikachu because you grew up with pokemon, but your favorite fighting style is pure pressure and rushdown like captain falcon, in my opinion, picking your favorite character does motivate you to try harder, but you start thinking to yourself "how much better would I be, if I choose a character in which suits how i Play? Yes I love Pikachu, but the way he plays isn't to my favor, but on the other hand, even tho I don't even know who captain falcon is, the way he plays flows with my style"

It can go both ways, but I'd say you would be better if you stuck with your fighting style rather than a character that you like. Because once you choose a character that you love and you start losing with that character, your gonna question yourself because your not feeling that synchronization (speaking competitively)

 

[Arcadenik]

Spoiler

Characters I like:


Characters I don't like or I am neutral toward:


Gameplay I like:


Gameplay I don't like or I am neutral toward:

Ultimately, I pick gameplay over character... but it is nice and convenient to have a fighter who is someone I like and has a gameplay that I like.

 

[Duzzzyy]

Initially it was pure character, I didn't even know her kit but I had to bring myself to learning all I could about her, since I've been a massive Metroid fan for as long as I can remember. Surprisingly, ZSS was a perfect match in both character and playstyle for me, being a fast and agile character with lots and lots of flashy playmaking, giving that oh so satisfying feeling when you perfectly nail that Nair > Fair > Upair > Boost Kick finisher.

I'm extremely happy with having chosen to make Zero Suit Samus my main and lucky to have it match so well.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Diddy is easily my favorite character in terms of playstyle and character in both Smash games he's in so far. In Brawl I was especially attracted to him as he has easily the deepest level of complexity and the results of mastering him are great. In Smash 4, I get he's popular cause of a lot of bandwagonning, but am 100% using the character for the character. Otherwise I wouldn't have this username.

in Melee really gave me the same vibes, as his playstyle in Melee especially was amazing. Loved those U Air combo's, wouldn't want to play another character. Even though I do not have anything against the StarFox cast, and think they are actually quite cool, I never picked up or because their styles don't mesh with me.

admittedly was played less despite me really loving the character cause of his playstyle. I honestly was quite dissapointed he turned into a full powerhouse character, but with some adaptation I began to like him regardless. Mostly because his animations where so accurately reflecting his FE9 fighting style, but Eruption always bothered me. really looks the deal so playing him is extremely enjoyable, especially since I got used to his style.

I also played less due to discovering the flaws in his character, but I decided to stick with him as a secondary after I picked up as a main. After playing a lot of Fire Emblem, and especially FE12, I decided that actually was quite cool to, and wanted to get good with him as well.