What makes the Platform Fighting genre engaging?

[GothicSlenderman]

There have been maby Platform Fighters that have come out in recent years. Some with varying success. Multiversus, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, Rivals of Aether, Smash Ultimate and others. Many have added their own changes to the gameplay but it makes me wonder.

What part of the gameplay engages you the most? The combos? The control? The specials? The Knockout system?

If there was a new Platform Fighter that had to have a simpler gameplay style what would be your biggest priority to keep?

Are grabs necessary? Does there need to be differences between walking and running? Should characters turn in the air? Are side attacks needed? Does it need to be more competitive or casual? Stage hazards? Items? Competitive legal stages?

Some indie games might want to tone down their gameplay for the sake of a larger roster but they might not want a Dive Kick situation where since there's only one attack the game can only be so engaging and replayable.

I'm genuinely curious about your responses on your thoughts.

 

[Veca Gorebyss]

well. there's "mortal kombat" style. where you are faced a particular direction always. or toward opponent. and then "smash bros" style.

i think maybe what people get from playing something like "mortal kombat" is what new things are added into it.

but. i. a person who prefers "smash" style.

its lovely to be able to "feel" as the character.

i think is why most people play the game to begin with. is to move around as their favorite chosen character.

the way of "smash" is pretty much solid. im sure there are other ways to make the characters move.

and perhaps nobody has really thought about it because no one expects to be a video game designer. or to be contacted.

my thoughts for now.

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[Amaterachu1]

It generally seems the crossovers are #1. That's what engages people the most. Then they stick for gameplay after they play it enough.

Now as a total weirdo myself I love to play janky games because there are niche weird glitches you can find or do. I've always enjoyed glitch hunting in games like Overwatch and Sly Cooper, but in platform fighters, you can genuinely use glitches/techs to your advantage from a competitive standpoint (sometimes) like Mewtwo on Battlefield. Idk why but janky stuff like this is just funny to incorporate into gameplay.
And of course, without other people to play the game with, I wouldn't have that fun to begin with. What keeps me playing isn't necessarily the game itself but the friends we made along the way.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

Movement. Need I say more?

 

[Torgo the Bear]

I was initially drawn in by the fact that they’re usually crossover games. But I’ve stuck with them because I genuinely love the simplicity of it, at least in comparison to traditional fighters. I don’t like having to learn tons of crazy inputs based on spinning control sticks and such, especially when every character’s inputs are usually completely unique from each other.

But when there’s literally only about 20 or so moves everyone has and they are all triggered in the same exact ways (barring special cases, who are almost exclusively characters who originated from traditional fighters), it’s much easier to get into and memorize.

The added simplicity also means I can usually get behind playing any character and don’t need to memorize how to control wacky inputs for hundreds of different moves. I feel like I could only ever really learn like two or three characters in any traditional fighting game, but I can pick up anyone in any platform fighter.

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

I personally think a large part of it is because of the fundamental uniqueness of what a platform fighter provides - more fluidity than the majority of fighting games, a greater degree of simplicity resulting in a lower bar of entry, and the capacity to extrapolate the limited and basic tools you're given in unique ways (similarly to in a tradfighter) but with the other two elements combined.

Furthermore, the inherently very modular nature of the genre makes it unique compared to other fighters - unique stage layouts, mechanics like items, and a variety of ways to handle summons or assists are just some of the ways in which each experience can differ in slight but vital ways whilst still basically being the same thing.

Whilst characters and IP are a big part of currently-existing platfighters, they're moreso responsible for opening the door to newcomers. I think that the primary long-lasting draw - above others - is the sheer amount of emergent behaviour that comes about from the limited (and typically simplistic) tools you have at your disposal. It means it's theoretically possible for anyone to use those tools in interesting ways, regardless of skill - but skill is still rewarded overall.

 

[Janx_uwu]

Landing the perfect back air. Pure bliss. I play platfighters for satisfying reads like that.

 

[StrangeKitten]

Unpredictability. Fluid and engaging movement. Always improving, plateauing for a while, and then improving again. I'm someone who struggled heavily with video games as a kid, so to see myself destroy level 9 CPUs without even getting hit once sometimes is a pretty big personal achievement. It's also just a fun hobby that helps keep my body warm while we experience a severely cold winter (by California standards at least, lol).

I think that's why traditional fighters don't interest me as much. If they're on a simple 2D plane, the movement options are much, much more limited. Additionally, games will be a lot more predictable and samey when you'll either land your combo for half their life bar, or they'll land their combo for half your life bar. I know there's much more to traditional fighters than that, mind you, but when that's what they tend to look like on the surface level to me, you can see why a platform fighter just feels like it offers me so much more. Smash has so many variables and moving parts that it never feels that stale.

 

[Oracle Link]

I only really played smash and Kirby so i guess its that kirby Superstars Movesets were just amazingly Complex Yet Simple couple that with Competition and you just have a Amazing Game!
Yeah if most plattfighters are "SmAsH cLonEs" Than smash is a Kirby Clone Kirby Is Best!