Sajam Discusses How to Choose a Character in a New Fighting Game

[@gerram9617]

It finally happened, managed to binge my way through Sajam's discussion vids right into present day

[@cutcc]

Must have been an enlightening experience

[@krbay1019]

Has your 3rd eye opened?

[@Egzvorg]

be careful not to accidentally start playing some game now

[@exalmer14]

@@Egzvorg Scrubs ain't got nothing on Gexver

[@Gilburrito]

All hail the ascended one!

[@Darkpyromaniac16]

I have a good story for how I came to play Jack-O in Xrd. When I first started, I was trying characters like Raven and Ramlethal, but really wasn't feeling any of them. I didn't even want to touch Jack-O because I didn't want to deal with setplay and Starcraft mechanics. At one point, my club picked up a Project Diva F pad with huge buttons for the D-pad and face buttons. So one day I said, "What if we played Guilty Gear with this thing?" I was messing around with random characters, and of course it was really awkward trying to do inputs with big buttons. Then my friend said "Why don't you try Jack-O, since house management is all on down-down inputs?" I did, and next thing you know I was going crazy and actually doing some sick stuff, and it sold me on the character. And now every time we play, we always have to bring up the Project Diva controller.

[@Arlo5.13]

From steering wheels to project diva pads, guilty gear is the game of weird controllers 😅

[@FruitsBootG]

I generally go for the character that doesn't play like the rest of the cast. Tekken? - Yoshimitsu. Skullgirls? - Squigly. KI? - Holy hell I'm in heaven

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

GG sounds like a good fit then.

[@caelan5301]

I was watching GG strive character guides, and at some point I watched May's guide. I saw this tiny ass pirate girl riding a dolphin around and was sold on the character immediately. When strive comes out, I'm gonna main May, and that's how I'm gonna learn the game.

[@sinbadofthe7cs660]

Totsugeki away my friend

[@cinderacedr]

Lol I had the opposite reaction she looked annoying as crap so I decided that I was gonna learn how to destroy that character. See you on the battlefield

[@Shpeedle]

Comrade, we dolphin away

[@destroyermaker]

🐬🐬🐬TOTSUGEKIII 🐬🐬🐬TOTSUGEKIIII 🐬🐬🐬TOTSUGEKIIII 🐬🐬🐬

[@benjamin-papa]

How's it going?

[@kingnewgameplus6483]

If a character's got me doing 360's or charging I'm dipping.

[@Clarkbardoone]

If a characters got me doing 360’s or charging I’m interested.

[@ruok6506]

3rd stike Alex would like to have a word with you

[@meeachael627]

@@ruok6506 alex feels pretty good lowkey, he's a hype ass character

[@depictiongames9758]

Charging is easy lol

[@manuelsputnik]

360s are not hard tho. Charging I get it because of optimal timings for combos

[@brohham3078]

For me it's a mix of two things: I'll choose a character with cool/interesting character design and cool/interesting backstory. Everything else doesn't matter

[@AutokickOff]

“-ninja, thighs, big butt-“ YES “-ons” oh

[@necrofon4047]

My favourite story of picking a character is how i picked Makoto in SF4. It was a first time with SF for me and i was playing with a friend who had some experience with the game, so we went with random select. And, in like 10 games, i got Makoto 5 or 6 times, and he tells me that it's bad luck, cause she's trash. So what did i do? Bought the game and start maining Makoto, of course.

[@Robstafarian]

Have you played Makoto in Third Strike?

[@necrofon4047]

@@Robstafarian this was the first time i ever played any Street fighter game (well, technically i played demo of ex 2 on ps, but i think it doesn't count). I tried third strike, but only after this situation.

[@PipeRetrogamer]

It is destiny

[@KhamStronk]

I look at the characters and pick who looks the coolest. Mostly testosterone fountains like Ryu, Sol, Scorpion, Paul and shit like that. Picking a character takes me about a minute and I usually stick with them unless they turn out complete ass.

[@TheGreatFuckinWorm]

Same except I just pick the biggest character and they often turn out to be ass. Except in Unist, fuck Wald.

[@gigamilk6981]

Meme weed

[@mogullll]

>testosterone fountains >ryu pick one my friend

[@cinderacedr]

Heck yes! Same dude I love those characters!

[@destroyermaker]

I hate when the coolest character doesn't play how I want at all. I really wanted to play Noob in MK11 but it didn't vibe with me. Collector is much more my style apparently

[@zaychavitch5317]

My characters just always end up being blondes, but they're never the character I start the game with. Thought I was gonna play Chun-Li when I started SFV, switched to Karin, then Kolin. Thought I was gonna be Eliza in Tekken 7, switched to Nina. Was gonna be Ramlethal, became Millia. Marth switched to Peach. Lancelot to Djeeta. It goes on into every game I swear, except tag games, where my blonde teams include one non-blonde just hangin' around not-blonding.

[@myboy732]

Is your hair blonde?

[@ghosttactician403]

I think you have a type

[@0verkill312]

Akihiko in P4A is the only time I found a character who I truly loved everything about, and then I started making the mistake of looking for the "Akihiko" in all other fighting games. Recently realized I'm probably never going to find that again, so I just play whoever looks cool and is fun - been a lot happier with my character choices ever since! Another thing I had to tell myself to stop doing is hesitating to pick a top tier cause they make wins feel less satisfying - now I realize I should just absorb any salt that my wins produce for more power. This bit I realized after watching one of Sajam's vids.

[@astrofallz]

I watched Akihiko in p4au and actually played him in bbtag and I've been looking for a char to give me the same kinda satisfaction ever since. Also coming to the realization I'm probably not gonna find it and just need to find the fun in the chars I'm already playing.

[@galancer_1202]

I've been doing this ever since I got into FGs, I thought I was the only one, currently searching for the "Carmine" (UNIST), maybe I should simply follow your example.

[@scarletsabbath9973]

I saw Poison's intro in sf4 and said "yeah, she's my main'

[@SeaTeaFGC]

No matter what game I play, the character I choose MUST have a command throw. That is the only criteria I have for my mains.

[@bigdsweet]

Every character in tekken have command throws.

[@it_me_lui]

I think it's important to realize too that you're not locked to that first character you pick. You're not soul bound to the first character you pick, so don't be afraid to mingle with the rest of the cast if you're not feeling your first pick or you feel like another character might fit you better. You can even play multiple characters. Although depending on the game it might be easier or harder to do.

[@chanceofbliss8175]

My first thing is definitely aesthetic, I cannot play characters that I feel are ugly no matter how much they fit my playstyle. Then I look at combos and moves and if those are satisfying to do then I go for that

[@oinkoink1909]

Wish I found this video before, been in a character crisis in every game I played

[@TaggedByTim]

Me playing my first Guilty Gear game with Strive. " Yo does that man have a bag on his head? I'm sold." And that's how I became a Faust main.

[@hoshi314]

my criteria for the 1st pick : 1. in a world full of swords and magic, they use their fists 2. bonus points if it is a girl with big tits and cool shirt (or not shirt in case of Enkidu UNIST) 2 Alt. muscle girls like Darli Dagger samsho 3. mechanically, no charge characters 4. personality-wise, they prefer to brute force their way to victory 5. Rushdown style combat that is why i main Makoto and Yang in BBtag, and Soriz in GBVS. Yeah most of the are ass competitively but it is satisfying to just punch them. The only exception to this is Akatsuki from UNIST, i prefer Enkidu thanks. at least that is for the first few weeks, i might pocket some others but i will always main the characters with that characteristics.

[@rsotuyo15]

So basically you want Tifa in a fighting game

[@Huizar]

I bet you use Vanessa in kof

[@luan.galaxy]

This is it. The perfect "straight middle-class introvert with slightly above-average grades who likes anime" profiling. I might as well have wrotten your comment.

[@luan.galaxy]

@@Huizar I don't want to play any KoF game that doesn't have Vanessa in it. And I REALLY want to play Strive because Vanessa is in it.

[@siekensou77]

i go through every character's full moveset in training mode to find someone with a playstyle that catches my eye

[@BiFoxxo]

When I start playing a new fighting game, I always ask the same question. “Which one’s the mixup character?”

[@audiosmurf]

I like characters with just frame launchers. It's like when you fall in love with a girl and then you only find girls like that attractive? Welcome to Heihachi main life.

[@VarthDaver]

Combination of "he/she looks cool" and "he/she plays fun"

[@DannYIIF]

I play smash Ultimate, and I picked Mii Brawler. Because the idea of beating someone up as Obama is the most hilarious thing to me.

[@deadfr0g]

If you think about the long chain of interlocking relationships that connect the classical principles of "good cartoon design" to "good visual conveyance of game information" to "the gameplay design and properties of moves and movement" to "viable tactics available to the player" to "game strategy in the context of player-versus-player competition"... it's actually kind of insane that--as players--we can just eyeball a character's appearance and immediately start making some educated speculative guesses with ANY significant degree of accuracy about how that character is actually going to play. I feel like it's only fair to acknowledge that there can be validity in criticizing a fighting game for leaning too heavily on clichés, but I think it's juuuust about magic that we have this common language to communicate character archetypes through images and animation that can be relied upon by players and developers alike. Special shoutout to the immaculate Justin Wong new-game strategy of picking whichever character is wearing a cape: if any character in the game has a cape on, that character has best mobility in the game. You want good movement? Pick the character with the cape.

[@courtz1ace]

Generally, I go for characters I like the aesthetic of or the moveset. Thinking about it however, I also feel this limits me to playing the same archetype of characters (in this case, they're almost always shotos & all primarily swordsmen/women) Akuma, Ky, Jin, Yu, Hyde, Yuzuriha,Goku, Trunks, Fukua, Jago, TJ Combo to list a few

[@WaxxyVanderquail]

Goku is my favorite fighting game woman

[@stolensentience]

kittyfyrepaw 1 mine is jago

[@mrpinguimninja]

I like rushdown characters and characters with great movement options. In Melee I play Fox, in KoF98, mostly Benimaru/Iori and usually Terry, but I'm never 100% on him. In Skullgirls I play Valentine/Fukua/Filia. The most important characteristic for me is beeing able to move as freely and fast as possible on the screen

[@vzm_underscore]

i fell in love with nanase's character design the moment i saw her, and she fit my playstyle Perfectly pom was a character who i saw and her character of not wanting to fight and being a puppet character was really fun to me, and i loved her ryougi shiki took me a bit to get into, but watching her movie series made me really get interested in playing her

[@amircat1009]

vzm NANASE BEST WAIFU

[@Rd0Lg]

I have basically three things that makes me interested in playing a character: Flight mode. Love flight mode as a movement option, love it in combos for cancelling ect. It's good stuff. Violent aesthetic. Things that brutally just maim things, generally with random sharp objects, are fun as hell. Funny okizeme thing. Bonus points if it spins. I love okizeme setplay, and anything that puts a lasting hitbox over the opponent is my type of move. Examples of characters I love: Merkava, Firebrand, Jedah, Painwheel, Raven, Ridley. I wanted Carnage in MvCi so bad.

[@BasedSif]

This is a good conversation. The best character in a fighting game for me that fits all my boxes is Jin Kisaragi from Blazblue. Particularly Central Fiction. Arcana Heart 3 Saki was my first charge character. I played her because I liked how she looks and the combos looked fun. Then I learned she’s a charge character. Had to learn that shiz and I never played like that before. I play so much different characters in fighting games it’s weird. I play Metera and Ferry in Granblue. Seth is my UNI main. Most people I play check off the ‘looks’ box for me first. Aaand that’s usually how I end up maiming characters. Play styles are a big secondary to me. If I like how they look and like how the combos look, I will learn and adapt.

[@amircat1009]

BasedSif aye similar to me in mains kinda. i’m ferry/ lance and seth/nanase

[@ChristmasCakeLover_8866]

I like spear users :) Like Sin, Mai Natsume, P4AU Ken, Zeta.

[@stolensentience]

Ah a spearchucker are we

[@reapercometh]

So do you like hisako or is a halberd not close enough

[@SSM24_]

For me the biggest thing is just playstyle and how a character feels to use, and visual design / aesthetics are kind of secondary. Like, if we're going purely by aesthetics Potemkin is easily my least favorite character in Strive (he's still cool, I just like everyone else better), but I main him anyway because I just love having a big slow character with big dumb attacks.

[@CallsignJoNay]

I need good mobility, a fast jump with a strong cross up normal, swaggy combos or mix ups, and explosive burst damage. Can be male or female as long as they look sick.

[@EliteriderU21]

I just recently picked up BBCF as my first 2D fighter after having played Smash since 64 and some 3D fighters very casually. Reason being cuz I thought I'd check it out and just loved how every characters has so much personality, and usually i pick an easy character i like to learn with (like Lars in Tekken or Mario). In Blazblue though, instead of learning with Ragna which I did try since he's easy, badass and I do like his play style. Instead, I'm learning with Tao, a high difficulty character. Why? I love absurd mobility in video games and she's just fun, plus I love the friendship between her and Ragna, it's so wholesome. I am also learning with Susanoo and I'm really enjoying the game.

[@JacobBiaggi]

I've realized recently that I always gravitate toward characters who leave some sort of object on the stage that can be interacted with. Urien in SF3/5 (Aegis Reflector), Ms Fortune/Beowulf in SG (head and The Hurting), Kokonoe in BB (Grav bomb things), Elphelt in Rev 2 (Grenade)

[@ChristopherMeeker]

You don't choose your character, your character chooses you.

[@618Smokey]

Whomever has simple execution and big damage. Basically a well rounded character. Good to learn with

[@mondaiji679]

Seeing this reminds me of how rivals of aether gave the option to upload your own character through the steam workshop somebody made a character that, fits my playstyle, pleases me visually and has a weird but likeable asthetic and somehow I couldn't get enough of playing rivals for a while even tho I didn't play THAT much before. Thanks to whoever made my perfect character xD

[@AMDGBananaBen]

I recently re-watched your video from around a year ago covering a similar subject, always good to have a refresher =) Also, Urien was my first charge character so respect Sajam!

[@techattack6803]

I always just go for whoever looks the most appealing to me personally or has some moves I like and then check if they're not too complicated to pick up as a first character, but if I find out another character is even more sweet looking or fun to play, I move on to that character. For example: from Corrin to Terry in SSBU.

[@misantrope6267]

As a noob I pick my character like this: -Look up a difficulty tier list, so I can ignore everything but the 'easy' ones -sort the easy characters by how much I like them -try them out in practice from most to least coolest until I find one that has gameplay that 'clicks' with me and makes sense

[@misantrope6267]

That being said, in Tekken i tried out different characters for over 150 hours, ended up really liking Alisa. I tought I would be more into rushdown with counterhits, but Alisa has a lot of safe, long range pokes and very good movement. I just got Guilty Gear Xrd (I saw Giovanna in a trailer and wanted to play her, but she's new in strive, not in Xrd yet lol) and I play Ramlethal

[@ericbogacz6274]

5:03 that happened to me when i was picking up SFV and that character that looked cool was Alex didn't regret picking him up he's hype

[@jaksida300]

Always try to pick the gimmicky/weirdest character or the low tiers. It’s fun.

[@numb3rs2514]

T7 was my first fighting game and I picked Steve Fox because I thought it would be easier to learn a character with no kicks

[@SirCharles.]

Can you do a video just about character archetypes? Specifically for the whole SFV cast.

[@Ephelle]

The only time I've ever found a "perfect" character where the stars aligned and I loved absolutely everything about a character was Kokonoe. I need more fighting games with science cats.

[@grant5758]

i tend to gravitate to grapplers, armored moves and all round Juggernaut types. i run double broly and 16.

[@theasianviking86]

HAHA 3:20, I was playing some MVCI with a friend and I was exactly thought like that "I play grappler but she is a setup character..." and picked her for the heck of it.. now I use Chun and Gamora after messing around with different character.. but normaly I play grappler/heavy character if they meet my taste..otherwise I play around with the idea of expanding my taste.

[@kinginthenorth1437]

When I first pick up a new fighting game I pick up a character that I like as a character based on lore/aesthetics/intro dialogue/ect that I would regret having never played otherwise at the end of the game's life with no reguard for game play. Then in a few weeks when I understand the game better I'll re-evalute and pick up a character that I want to play based on game play/tier/how they fit my style and a bit of the things I took into consideration picking my first main.

[@lucashira337]

I typically try the cast out in untill I find something that clicks (Usually defensive non-specialist zoners). The order in which I try them is entirely dependant on character design however.

[@hoaryu]

I hated KoF Athena growing up but I thought if I could annoy other people with PSYCHO BAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL and the like and get in their head then it was a win in my book. Years later and I genuinely enjoy using her and she's almost always in my team.

[@xavierlane2898]

I’d say pick a character based on the look or story you are drawn too. If you end up hating the play style just decide that switching is totally fine. Playing through multiple characters also helps learn matchups in my opinion. So I think giving everyone on the roster a try is completely worth it and whichever one you find most fun is who you should go for.

[@absolutexero1115]

I agree 100%. I think you should initially pick someone who you think looks cool to you or is totally your jam. Then if you have fun and they turn out to be great, that's awesome.

[@HD-yh4fu]

I take a big survey of the cast and pick a few that I'm interested in aesthetically, then I go read about them and watch high-level matches of the character, and ultimately, and this is the biggest criteria: I choose a character whose win conditions I find fulfilling and rewarding. Will I feel good popping off after winning with them? Yes? CHOSEN

[@miguelestrada1611]

This is actually the most relatable comment I've heard of when picking main thank you sir

[@Bladebrent]

4:49 I agree on ignoring "tier" as that usually only matters at the highest level these days (older games, its a different story), but playstyle I think is really important for how much you enjoy a character. I dont think im the type to play a character because they have "one cool move" when the rest of the character is boring, feels weird, or unintuitive to me. I love Ramlethal's design in Xrd, but I dont really wanna go through her weird normal strings, and setplay shenanigans, especially when she's my first character in a game as complicated as Xrd. I get the idea that you shouldn't *avoid* a character purely cause you hear they're a specific playstyle, as this might end up being an exception because of how the game is, who the character is, or heck, maybe you dont dislike the playstyle and it was some other detail you didnt like, but you're not always gonna wanna stick with a character just cause they have one move you think is cool to land, or they have a nice aesthetic.

[@starsheep1140]

Any time I pick up a fighting game I go through the whole roster to see who I find the most fun and then decide

[@antwuanbutler6580]

I just pick who I think is cute

[@danielspencer5908]

Hell yeah man, Bison for life

[@Jumpingmelonz]

Found the Abigail main

[@stolensentience]

Hugo girl

[@omrizubary]

Kage is cute

[@MUGENanaya]

i like big larg characters, but i also enjoy characters that are just bizzare to act and bizzare to use. these usually end up being the low tiers (pre-buff Majin Buu, for a good example), but i just love large weirdos

[@plok3788]

Strong horizontal control, safety, anti-zoning and anti-airs are the first thing I'm looking for. Then check for air mobility, pressure after knockdowns, reward for whiff punishes and see what I have to give up in terms of damage, defensive options and such to get what I want. Another thing I'm looking for is for properties that render parts of the system mechanics useless and then it still depends on the flow of the game. I like when reactions can play a big role in what a character is able to do, like in opportunities for single-hit confirms. You can easily see the similarities between my go-to characters across the games and I'm glad these characters exist otherwise I wouldn't know what to play. SF4: Adon (great pokes, AA, mobility, safejump 24/7, armor break 24/7, strong anti FB, worst punishes+lowish damage) + Rolento (pokes, aa, mobility, pressure, bad punishes, free on wakeup) SF5: Balrog(anti-zoning machine+one whiff punish can easily lead to death), Seth MKX: Scorpion (when he still had ~15% chip blockstrings, AAxxSpear, FB cancels with +100), Johnny MK11: Kabal (no flawless block gaps+SAFETY), Jade Tekken: Bryan BBCF: Hakumen, Mai GBVS: Zeta, Soriz KI: Kim Wu, Sabrewulf

[@MyBrosephstalin]

I end up never picking and sit in a permanent character crisis. Usually cycling between 3 different characters in most games. =[

[@A.LeMayo]

Play KoF or versus games then, problem solved

[@rollinjay8214]

I immediately look for a slower character with big hotboxes.

[@jojox1733]

The ones who smoke big blunts

[@exalmer14]

Basically me and Potemkin.

[@BloodyParalyzer]

I usually pick up characters in games that I recognize and I can visualize their kit based off their appearance so to speak, such as I've mained Link since melee and played him in every smash game since melee. He can zone and rush down he's versatile. Street Fighter 4 and 5, Juri is the main, I play her for the same reasons I play Link in smash zone/rush down. DBFZ its all about Gogeta, Goku SSJ, and Broly(DBS)

[@oversotit]

I chose Rise in P4AU cause of her DDR special was amazing, helped she was cute. She is now best girl to me in all of Persona thanks to how much I play as her

[@seamusronan5633]

When i first started playing P4U2 I immediately went to try my favorite characters from P4G: Narukami, Yosuke, Yukiko etc. but after messing around with the cast I actually really fell in love with Adachi's moveset. He just felt so unique with the psuedo-grappler playstyle and I really love having the persona grab the enemy and slam them down on the ground. Plus I really enjoyed Adachi's social link in P4 so it all works out. This experience totally subverted my expectations however, because going in I didn't want to touch Adachi at all but now he's my main

[@maraichux]

Are they hot female? >YES: Character chosen >NO -Are there hot female? YES: Search again NO: Choose the most edgy ninja rushdown

[@LChaos2]

I believe there was a Core-A Gaming video about this topic.

[@AlynRapi]

i remember when i first picked a character in skullgirls, i used to play the trial version before buying it and you could only play as filia and peacock, but you could also do some character tutorials and there you could play as cerebella and parasoul for a little. i imediatelly wanted to play as parasoul because i love the whole military theme in fighting game characters, but it was a charge character (which i had almost zero experience with, and i never really liked them). but then i bought the game and started trying the other characters, ms.fortune and valentine were fun but i always wanted to play as parasoul, so i started trying it out and now its the only character i use :> and i lost my fear to charge characters, theyre pretty fun!

[@ram_taka3436]

Usually when I try out a new fighting game, the first thing I think about is mastering as many characters as possible. If I main a character, ill try to master said character and another character at the same time. Its like a split mentality.

[@level3xfactor]

completely agree with Sajam about sticking with a character whose design you like even if their gameplay style doesn't fit yours. I don't play grapplers but I picked up Kanji in Persona 4 Arena because I liked his style and attitude. Ended up being one of the most fun characters I have ever played in a fighting game.

[@Gamsterjeff600]

Its always good to not worry about the other factors and try to have fun with a character. I dont mind playing characters that arent as good on a tier list. But if u cant have fun with a character just stick to your guns even if you have to work harder to win. And try a lot of things

[@SkyTowerKurogane]

There's this character in Blazblue, ES, that I love her design, I love the look of her moves and I love a lot of things about her, but when I play her, I don't have as much fun as other characters, but I don't understand why. Sure sucks, because she is somewhat easy and she's good too.

[@tona4170]

2:56 this really helped me a lot. Velvet is the only character that I felt really interested in TFH, but after seeing she's a zoner I took a step back.. Now I'm realizing her playstyle is not like zoners from some FG i've played and she's more fast paced, so I will try to main her. Sorry velvet haters >:D

[@ryokensan]

Sajam has me feeling like a real old dude. My first main was blanka from SF2, back In The arcade cabinet, lol. 😅😅😅

[@Robstafarian]

Sajam makes me feel old all the time, and I am only 36.

[@kingcallooh]

I just recently picked up Skullgirls, and while watching some tournaments, I saw a few players (Rabbleflaggers, Sev, and dekillsage) using the character Beowulf. Seeing those sick throw combos and his cool design, I knew immediately that I wanted to play him.

[@BakaMangaka]

2:24 That's why I went from Vermillion Akiha to Red Arcueid in Melty And sub Neco Chaos

[@chinesemassproduction]

Honestly, to me it just comes down to "What am I doing in game and how can a character help me achieve that?" I thought I liked playing shotos, but then I started giving characters like Bison, Zangief, and Dhalsim a try. I feel like I wasted time trying to force a playstyle I wasn't as interested in.

[@splatkirby6056]

When I learned Melty Blood AACC, I spent a while flitting back and forth between C-Aoko, H-Len, and F-Ries. Then I hit my first 623C with H-Satsuki and the matter was settled. I've found that if a character has an anti-air grab or some other cool anti-air, that's a big factor in choosing a character.

[@omrizubary]

0:40 I love the big character/Setup characters

[@d0ggy947]

I remember when ultimate came out, we were trying new characters day 1 and when I played inkling I thought "wow this dash is sick, I'll be playing this for sure"

[@learnrx9749]

Aspects for me are characters I can vibe with. Mains I pick are Ky (GGrev2) Hyde (Uni), Jin (BB), Lancelot (GBVS), Taiga (Dfci). I'm guessing I like footies characters.

[@JaredPitcher]

If a fighting game is based on another media franchise, then it's an easy choice for me: I always pick whichever character is my favourite based on the narrative of that series (Piccolo in DBFZ, Chie in P4A, etc). Otherwise, I tend to gravitate towards powerful feeling moves and characters that can land those big hits (Siegfried in SC6, Ganon in Smash). But this isn't a hard and fast rule, my favourite fighting game character of all time is Akuma, and he doesn't really tick any of those boxes I mentioned. There's just something about the way his moveset comes together with his aesthetic and it just gives me a rush every time I play him no matter which iteration of SF I'm playing.

[@cinderacedr]

For me it's a huge muscley guy or a cool looking prince character like Ky in strive. I saw him with his Dragon Install (I love dragons) and I fell in love. I hope to be one of the best Ky's at some point.

[@ZachHenke]

The list for me is: 1. Big Body Brawler 2. Aesthetics 3. Some sort of baked in mixup stance. 4. Character Personality

[@SmashbroElite]

I saw Giovanna on the roster and instantly was pulled in her direction. A badass super secret service officer with a ghost doggo and a bomb ass outfit? Sign me up. And the playstyle is also pretty fun and her demeanor is very funny. Millia and May also invoke the same appealing attributes to me but I couldnt get behind the playstyle off the bat but will try later in strives lifetime.

[@AlluMan96]

I think the way I tend to pick characters is to find a character that is, simply put, comfy. The decision to play a character should be straight forward and simple. If I'm playing a character and have to think about whether this character could feel better if I practice more, I'll know this isn't the one. Yes, I probably could get alot of milage out of certain characters if I practiced and got good with them, but I'd rather be spending that practice on someone I love unconditionally. A character that I don't need to find excuses to pick, because I will be having fun every step of the painful path towards learning the game. When coming to a new game, I know the kinds of things that I want out of my characters going forward. I like fighting at further ranges and abusing footsies, but I don't like the fireball-game enough to zone, so I need someone with big buttons that cover good space. I'm not super good at execution, so I need to compensate for that. I need characters with strong normals, ones that have good properties or just hit really hard and don't require exceptional hand-gymnastics to play. If I can't do top-tier combos, I need to make sure I can squeeze the worth out of every in I do get. In order to get this from a character, I am fully ready to make sacrifices, so resource-characters do not phase me. This process is kinda the lifeline of a fighting game for me. Any game, where I need to cycle the cast multiple times to find a click is immediately gonna be a yellow flag, because no matter who I end up with, my experience with the game will be shrouded in doubt, as I question whether I am just making excuses to convince myself that I'm having fun instead of actually having fun. Guilty Gear Xrd and BlazBlue Centralfiction are the two big fighting games for me right now just for the amount I get to play them, but between the two I have a heavy lean on Guilty Gear and that is because "Who do I play" was never a difficult question. I cycle the cast alot in Xrd, because I enjoy playing a bunch of characters, but Sin Kiske was an immediate hook that made me want to play the rest of the game in the first place. This isn't the case with BlazBlue at all. I can't say I still have full confidence in my choices even after dozens of hours with the game. By the parameters I set before on what I like, Hakumen should be a slam-dunk of an easy pick, but it's not that simple. While I am fine with the resource-game to limit powerful specials, Hakumen's magatama feel too hard on me. Whereas Sin is a strong character with a "fail-state meter" simple enough to manage, but more punishing with every failure, Hakumen has this whiplash of tip-toeing through shards of glass until I've built enough power to just break the match in half with the right circumstance. It just doesn't feel as rewarding to manage.

[@MangaMarjan]

I still love R.Mika in SFV. Not for her vortex or anything but simply because I like that she has wrestling moves as normals. I like characters that don't "only punch". Her intro is also pretty cool. I'm not really good at playing grapplers but there's nothing more satisfying than landing a big hit of from a read.

[@Jumpingmelonz]

I agree with everything Sajam said, but I am an outlier on the 'don't pick a character you don't like' because I have at times picked up characters that I don't like their personality or the way they fight, but I think their bnb is cool or they have a cool move they use often, and I've mained them and would come around to them in time.

[@WraxTV]

I started playing Clark in KOFXIII (actually KOFXII was when I first used him but we pretend that game doesn't exist) just because of he had Yamazaki's stand D. Never played him before that, but now when I go back to play 98 and 02, I'll pull him out every now and then even though he don't got that particular stand D in those games.

[@AllTheRooks]

If they have a handlebar mustache, I have a new main

[@darkgoblin5681]

Abel was also my favorite character for the same exact reason you had :D, after that i changed to cody because he looked sick

[@austingoyne3039]

Inputs. Characters that rely heavily on an input that feels clunky to me are out of the question. Eg. back-forward (lots of mk11 characters) and instant dash attacks (dragunov). On the other hand an input that I find satisfying -for whatever reason- is a big incentive towards choosing that character. Johnny Cage’s f344 in mk11, Steve Fox’s bnb flicker stance combo off of his b1 counter hit, Ukyo’s tsubame gaeshi etc.

[@danielspencer5908]

Big, menacing final boss-like characters with big satisfying buttons - Urien/Gill; Slayer/Leo; Heihachi/Dragunov; Nightmare/Zasalamel Or stylish and responsive characters with smooth animations and a good aesthetic - Cody/Lucia; Lee/Lili; Jack-O'/Johnny; Tira/Cervantes.

[@AnthanKrufix]

I pick whoever's most alike to whatever main I have in my previous fighting game.. _Usually_ Grapplers, preferably fast moving (Bowser, Arizona, etc..) or high range (Astaroth, Hugo, etc.)

[@Venom272X]

I like whatever characters are usually considered the most difficult in games: johnny, zato and chipp

[@shay938]

Choosing characters based on their role in the story/lore >>>

[@DonWippo1]

The funny part is, that the Charge Character Journey Comment on Stream almost mirrors my own experience. Always disliked Charge Characters, then I switched to Stick and learned Kagura on it in the early CP days. Now I instinctively lean towards Charge Characters, playing May in Strive for example.

[@doufancyapickle]

Big characters and cheap strategies are my go to. Like making an M. Bison ragequit from spamming Abigails running grab

[@Sevatar_VIIIth]

I'm a year late but I've always gone with either my favorite character if the game has an anime or w.e. Otherwise I always choose atleast 2-3 characters I think look badass and then figure out which one I want to main and learn first, then later on once I have my main down I learn a second character.

[@randomweeaboo]

The first character I pick is usually the female character that I think is the cutest because I'm weeb trash. Though occasionally I'll pick a male character first if the design is just super cool and appealing to me. Though often the first character I pick is never the character I stick with though. Partly because I always want to try other characters seeing something they do that's cool, though I always keep my first pick as a pocket. I also like and play a lot of charge characters, but I usually don't play charge characters in casuals just because I like moving my joystick and doing combos and feeling fancy.

[@abrittishpanfish6269]

Things I gravitate to in characters: Big normals strong short and long range tools Guy with gun and/or pole-based weaponry

[@SnackCannon]

I like Alex. I've always loved him since I saw him. Big American boy. Relatable. He doesn't lose or afraid of anything. FLASH