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Why Street Fighter V's Biggest Fighters Get the Biggest Reactions
In fighting games, big-body characters can be crowd favorites — or enemies of the FGC, if they do too well. Why do opinions on these titans swing so drastically?
Capcom Cup 2017 was a kind of fever dream compared to the rest of major Street Fighter V tournaments. Where viewers would normally see a handful of Lauras, Balrogs, Karins and Guiles, the season’s final competition sported a Bison and Birdie in Top 8 -— with no boxers or BJJ specialists in sight. RISE|MenaRD won the title of World Champion with SFV’s donut-munching grappler, a major accomplishment for an 18-year-old Dominican fighter using a character largely regarded as mid-tier by most.
Although Mena worked hard to earn the cup and its corresponding $250,000 check, victory isn’t alway sunshine and roses. As is customary, characters are subject to intense scrutiny upon winning a major. A win that might have otherwise felt legitimate is called into question. Characters’s moves may be broken down frame by frame, or players’ tactics placed under the magnifying glass of what is seen as “good” Street Fighter. Grapplers and big-bodied characters are no exception to this rule.
While the big boys are great at generating excitement as underdogs, characters reliant on command grabs or other such tools might be viewed as cheap after too many wins or a major victory against “fair” fighters. The label is only attributed after these conditions are met, even if the player won fairly, which can lead to some head-scratches from fans and enthusiasts.
Is it all muscle power?
While he’s certainly not the first, Birdie is the most recent character to undergo this treatment. Mena’s win at Capcom Cup against Echo Fox|Tokido incited some questioning as to his legitimacy as a player and whether or not he was carried by his character — or EX Bullhorn, for that matter.
Mena's skill showcased Birdie's strengths at Capcom Cup
© Capcom
BxA|The Cool Kid 93 was similarly slammed with a barrage of criticism upon winning the last-chance qualifier for Red Bull Battle Grounds in Boston. While nearly every character has something about them that could be perceived as unfair, Abigail’s outrageous damage output and armored moves triggered a response that had even the most even-keeled top players venting to Twitter. Looking forward, however, there were no Abigails in Top 32 of Capcom Cup, and Cool Kid ended up at ninth place for the LCQ.
Don’t let recent events fool you — the crowd went wild when Cool Kid took Battle Ground’s LCQ, and the Anaheim arena was absolutely deafening with cheers after Mena won Capcom Cup. The community eats up these massive victories by massive characters — would the crowd have gone nearly as wild had Cool Kid won with Rashid? Abigail’s entire mantra as a character is how over-the-top he is; his Hugo-esque stature and frightening ability to easily deflect projectiles render him a unique face amongst the rest of the cast. Taking a look back at Absolute Battle 8 when F3|Alucard took third with the car-crazed Canadian, fans were running through the aisles mimicking motor noises in an impression of Abigail each time he won, and couldn’t resist punching invisible speedbags when he landed a super.
CEO 2017 saw similar amounts of energy when Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis took the event without so much as letting Punk reset the bracket. He’d taken second place twice before then, so seeing him win a tournament for the first time that season was a major relief — especially with the Red Cyclone, Zangief. Just two years ago at First Attack, Infiltration beat Snake Eyez in SFIV Grand Finals with Hugo, inciting major excitement for the crowd and a birthing a legendary pop-off. This enthusiasm could be attributed in part to the fact that no one knew Infiltration had a Hugo. It was a light-hearted affair, but seeing two massive fighters go head-to-head in the final battle of the day made for a exciting finish.
Vroom, vroom! The argument for Abigail
Cool Kid is familiar with what it takes to get the crowd riled up when it comes to big bodied-characters. “The damage is really what makes the crowd go crazy,” he said. This is true — Abigail’s Critical Art, Abigail Special, does 350 points of damage and is fully invincible on frames 1-7. “But I also think it’s the fact that they are hardly seen in Grand Finals or at high level in big tournaments. So when that happens, it’s a treat to see. The players behind them definitely play a part as well. I feel like people wouldn't get as hype if the player behind the character was a jerk.”
Abigail roared his way onto the scene, whether some liked it or not
© Capcom
Cool Kid is certainly a likeable underdog of the SFV scene, which explains why he didn’t pick Abigail based on his damage alone. “What drew me in about Abigail is his personality and his playstyle. Many people were turned off by how he looks. But it definitely didn't bother me. His damage on top of his animations and just his overall style brought me in. The way he walks to the opponent is menacing, and then on top of that, he hurts! That alone will make people scared of him.”
A fighter with command grabs, massive juggle potential and guard-breaking moves is either loved or hated — it’s nigh impossible to feel neutral toward a character so anomalous.
Frustrating fighters
While these fighters are fun and flashy, they can annoy some if they get a few too many wins. Grapplers’ playstyles tend to make them appear as though they aren't working that hard, which might be a part of why particular audiences rally against them.
On top of this, grapplers don't cater to traditional methods of play, where mid-screen control is imperative and cornering opponents is deemed dirty. Grapplers are also blessed with a unique Oki, due to their blend of command grabs, normal throws, strikes and generally forward-moving special moves. This mix can render their wake-up pressure particularly potent, especially in comparison to other characters.
This power might feel unearned to those expecting good wake-up pressure to have a laundry list of requirements like muscle memory, a tight sense of timing and skillfully whiffed buttons. It's a debate that tackles tools versus skill, and if a grappler is owning the tournament, it can seem like their player is being carried.
Rick Thiher, organizer of Combo Breaker and Twitch staff, has some insights on why grapplers can become an annoyance to crowds when success comes too regularly. “I have generally felt people rally against big-body characters because, particularly at entry level, they appear to be doing less ‘work’ than their opponents,” he stated. “The characters are built around walking opponents down and/or capitalizing on psychological conditioning for big-damage moments. Combine this with the way they can steamroll an opponent after a hard read and you find situations where players and fans feel robbed by a player’s inability to escape ‘obvious’ situations, like long command grab range or the threat of a command grab.”
Big-bodied characters also tend to go against the grain of what is considered the traditional meta of fighting games. “When you consider that many fighting game fans are initially trained to romanticize long, execution demanding combos to achieve high damage, it makes the innate high-damage of a command grab seem unfair,” Rick explained. “Combine this with the idea that corners are cheap or that mid-screen control is of the utmost importance, and you begin to recognize the uninitiated expectations/perspectives that big body characters don’t cater to.”
Less-experienced viewers might not understand the intricacies of grapplers, which can lead to some general misunderstandings of the archetype. “I also feel that the weaknesses of big-body characters aren’t apparent to entry level viewers,” Rick warned. “These are characters with tons of health, gigantic single strike and command grab damage, and often fairly decent pokes. Many will also get strong reversal, wake-up, and forward moving special options. On paper they simply read as strong; as paper overviews rarely convey the patience, spacing, conditioning, and comfort level with risk/reward that make these characters challenging to play.”
Big bodies tend to have an interesting mixture of tools that can be used to their advantage, which, when used well, can likewise lead audiences to feel that these characters are overpowered. “On top of this, I think grapplers have a unique Oki,” Rick established. “Since they have the built in mix-up of command grab, regular grab, special (often forward moving), and strikes it can seem that their wake-up pressure is significantly more powerful than other characters. That sense of power can feel un-earned to viewers expecting Oki to require stringently rehearsed timing, whiffed buttons, and muscle memory to be powerful.” This debate tackles tools versus skill, and if a grappler is owning the tournament, it can seem like the player is being carried by their character.
Big bodies or big brains? Why not both?
Big-bodied characters are often flashy, but they aren't necessarily beginner-friendly. Their weaknesses may not be apparent to newer viewers, who might be blinded by their high health, devastating damage, and useful pokes with decent range. These fighters come across as inherently strong, and newbies might not take into consideration the level of risk/reward they entail.
Big bodies in fighting games aren’t just intimidating — they aren’t often seen in Top 8s, nor in high-level play, so seeing them win brings a fresh look to the tournament scene. Their personalities are often unique and their damage explosive, which is balanced by their slow walkspeeds and jumps. They are methodical, moving mountains and to see the highest peak gleam atop the stage with a trophy in hand nearly brings a tear to the eye.
As long as it doesn't happen too often.
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