The Underrated Art of Character Select Screens

[@soka6732]

I feel like the character select screen is heavily underrated. When you see a good character selection screen, you don’t notice it, but when it’s bad, you do

[@HomeDepotemkin]

That's how it is for a lot of video game aspects. If you don't notice it, it means it is keeping you immersed or engaged.

[@HomeDepotemkin]

Same with graphics. Good graphics is noticed in the beginning in the game, and hardly noticed later, unless you take a moment to take in the scenery.

[@Freefork]

@@HomeDepotemkin Graphics become more noticeable if they are an aspect of gameplay.

[@HomeDepotemkin]

@@Freefork well they always are so that's why people notice graphics right away. Can't have a game without it.

[@mclainboyd5514]

Yeah, I agree. Looking at you, Blazblue Cross Tag Battle.

[@atWisely]

Rivals of Aether has a full button check and handwarmer ability inside it's character select screen, it's incredible. You can move your character around, make sure analog deadzones and controls are set, and even practice against a stationary CPU all while on the CSS.

[@Manachi93]

Also to add, is that you can change the music is played!

[@sonicbhoc]

I was coming here to mention this.

[@koth_harvest_final]

also in the definitive edition/workshop build you can change full rulesets (while another person chooses character!!)

[@poultriarchy]

Rivals is too good for its own good man it’s crazy

[@Massamom]

Rivals character select options are a thing of beauty.

[@chocobocha]

did he really just cite “shower with your dad simulator” as an example in a serious manner in a serious video and not expect us to notice?

[@Percival917]

I guess that's the April Fool's joke.

[@thatonecookie242]

where?

[@thelurkingpanda3605]

when?

[@chocobocha]

TheLurkingPanda 4:19

[@Omarequiem]

"DBFZ separates their heroes from their villains" The hero, Vegeta. The viliian, Vegeta.

[@xMasterSparku]

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, HELL YEAH

[@BenjerminGaye]

the hero goku, the villain goku.

[@robynthethird4776]

Yup. Checks out.

[@alexlee4154]

The 'villain' android 18 The 'hero' android 17 Yes I understand its because its 18 from mid z and 17 from late super but its still weird

[@sampascoe4387]

Bear in mind that its chronological. Base Vegeta is from the saiyan saga where he was still evil. Android 18 is based on her androids saga appearance in Z but later she and 17 become good and his appearance is from Super, as evidenced by his ranger shirt.

[@strippinheat]

One correction. With Injustice 2, the character's "personality" animations don't show until AFTER you've picked your character, which makes that a part of the versus screen, not character select.

[@numa2k147]

I tought the same thing but did 't know how to phrase it. Thank you.

[@yaakov1234]

As a boxer in real life, I always imagine myself in a character select screen. I listen to character select screen music to pump myself up for a workout or for sparring. These screens are super important because they are the connection I make to the characters

[@TheMegaPingasMobile]

Weird flex but ok

[@sour3000]

💯

[@numa2k147]

Anything to put up confidence is good for you.

[@lilonii6849]

whats your favorite css theme for this?

[@yaakov1234]

LIL ONII probably the Ultra Street Fighter 4 css

[@Brian_F]

Amazing point about how a good character select screen that informs new players about the characters and their strengths and playstyle does way more for new players than simplifying gameplay mechanics. So many developers seem to be focusing on simplifying mechanics than making better products. The biggest sin of fighting games... is that they are usually poorly made products.

[@kingbode2611]

It's really funny considering how Blazblue got it right on most games, then they decided to throw it out of the window with BBTag.

[@3To3dSl0th]

Yeah, BBCSE's character select especially is pretty amazing. A literal wheel of fate.

[@Countdownsmiles]

tbf they through everything they did right in the past out the window in cross tag

[@espurrseyes42]

That's not just the character select screen. BBTAG yeeted out everything that made BB and the other franchises cool in favor of overly simple controls and half the buttons typically in the main games.

[@jayfirson13]

Facts

[@arishkhan5918]

My first experience with blazblue was bbtag and I only got it because it was for 5 dollars... I got it on the Nintendo switch that now suffers joy con drift. So I can't choose my mains. Vatista and Merkava.

[@comixproviderftw_02]

I thought it was AVGN in the beginning for a second.

[@abirneji]

same

[@albertthepeacock8020]

Yooooo I thought the same thing too and I was like:I don't remember this episode of AVGN

[@azureblizzard721]

Same here.

[@MaverDick12]

AVGN vs Capcom

[@Rigbone64]

Yup me too lol

[@bocodamondo]

having a good character selection screen was always ultra important to me back when i played M.U.G.E.N non stop

[@Z-1225]

Same

[@somethingcatchy4795]

Which onw would you recommend?

[@SaikouShiva]

@@somethingcatchy4795 Under Night In - Birth Gathers Under Night

[@theannouncer5538]

Good fucking times man

[@ZeroStrife1396]

>M.U.G.E.N. CSS \*Vietnam flashbacks*

[@ThirtyfourEC]

Chun-li being in the center of 3S's selection screen says it all for the god.

[@adamfrancescutti7615]

Except that Yun's considered to be even better now

[@Warrior555MainsGanon]

they always have almost the same tier score on the tierlists, Yun is deemed as superior because he has a positive matchup against Chun-Li

[@briana.9395]

She's a "new" character but at the same time a familiar face.

[@Comments_From_All_Channels]

Tyra: winks & kiss Gisele Heidi: walks with both hands on her waist Adriana/Bratz doll Alessandra the fox Karolina: Swan Lake face. She opened that pass in 2007 show. They didn't play Swan Lake song but she has a beautiful bird/Aves face Odette

[@stenolepis5252]

The year is 5381, and this video has now been deemed obsolete due to the existence of the perfect character select screen and music that all fighting game developers use.

[@aidangillard2041]

Kazuya in Tekken is a terrible example of a good character to learn the game with for a beginner XD That one stuck out like a sore thumb among the other actual beginner characters

[@elpapibigbird1691]

Aidan Gillard I thought the same thing. He should’ve mentioned Paul. East to start with but really hard to master and play at a high level

[@joedee6879]

I dunno I did okay starting with Kazuya

[@HomeDepotemkin]

@@elpapibigbird1691 most assume the main character is the easiest which isn't always a bad guess

[@ArtifactHunterz]

Kazuya is a great character to learn the mechanics with, hes basically only fundamentals he has no cheesey gimmicks

[@freezerbride21]

@@ArtifactHunterz thats not true at all.

[@marche800]

Something i actually just noticed for the first time when you were talking about third strike is that player 1 and 2 both start on the main beginner flagship characters of the game newcomer Alex and classic Ryu, that way the principle of starting on a pick up and play character still applies.

[@shad8635]

This man showed footage of Ballz 3D. You not only have my respect, but also my subscription.

[@Vicobop]

I went looking for this comment. Omg Ballz 3D is just such an outrageous game.

[@GhostOfSparta305]

I’m guessing that Nintendo designed Ultimate’s select screen that way because they knew ahead of time that they’d be adding a ton of DLC fighters. And the easiest way to do that without reshuffling all the characters (more work for the UI designers) and screwing with people’s muscle memory (more player frustration) would be to simply add them all to the bottom, and then come up with “order of appearance” as a convenient way to mask this for marketing. I’m not saying it’s the perfect solution, but anything that makes it easier for more characters to be added to the game turns out better for everyone, no?

[@hoodedman6579]

Surely there had to be a better way to handle it? I feel like shuffling them repeatedly would be more appealing than the mess we have now.

[@MrAgentIncognito]

They already had to create a character select screen for each unlockable character combination, so I don't see how adding additional versions for the dlc would create a significant more amount of work. Especially since the first dlc pack only brought Piranha Plant and Byleth as characters with their series already in Smash, the others could just be tagged onto the end.

[@shortcb]

Except they just threw the DLC on the bottom for Smash 4 too

[@GhostOfSparta305]

Short C. Button That’s exactly my point. Look at 8:12 for Smash 4’s screen. Look at how Mewtwo isn’t with Pikachu, and how Corrin is separate from the Fire Emblem characters. It’s not as organized as this author is trying to claim, and Nintendo probably realized this. They saw that their initial “group everyone by franchise” plan for Smash 4 would’ve required too much UI work + reshuffling whenever a DLC character was added, so for the next game, they reasoned the best tradeoff between organization and ease would be grouping by order of appearance. Even if it’s a bit obscure, it’s still more universally organized than Smash 4’s screen.

[@ivanbackfromthecardshop8093]

It be a nice option at least. more useful the remove 5 characters from the 80 roster we got because that makes a huge difference button

[@ShadyHitchhiker]

Me at start of video: Ah come on, there aren't any css that are THAT bad Me at BBCTB segment: Oh sweet jesus my eyes, they burn!

[@Fizz-Q]

Nah you"ll get use to it

[@Fizz-Q]

If you don't play dlc characters that is

[@alfalfag]

Same here haha

[@jewcas]

I kind of like it but I think that's just stockholm syndrome

[@harrylane4]

@@Fizz-Q that doesn't make it good.

[@YoshiONE2ONE]

Just to add to the whole music discussion, music on the select screen goes a long way to get me to enjoying the game. The original Tekken Tag Tournament has one of the best select themes ever made since it does such a great job of hyping me up for the fight, that and it goes with the visuals pretty well.

[@caseys2698]

A Yellow Yoshi I really liked Smash Ultimate’s menu song at launch, but now it gets annoying. And I can’t change it without completing the World of Light campaign, which I have no interest in doing anymore cause i got stuck & had to start over. :/

[@rogeriomiranda779]

Dead Or Alive 2 select screen tho

[@Guitarman5200]

Tekken 3, Tag 1, Tag 2 and 7 have banger character select screens ost

[@andrethyst905]

If you want to talk music, while the character select screen isn't as good at showing other aspects of the character, Them's Fightin' Herds gives you a character select screen whose music changes as you highlight each character (and modifies it differently based on player 1 or player 2 highlighting a character). Those instruments used in character select are also used to modify the music in a match if you have a big lead, too.

[@poultriarchy]

Rivals and Skullgirls probably have my favourite select screens. Really readable and loaded with quality of life features like button checks or the ability to select colour presets with button combinations for quick access rather than scrolling.

[@notyours807]

I think maybe to new players, Smash Ultimate's character select screen may be hard to read, but as someone who at least played Smash 4, It's saved me an extraordinary amount of time, since I don't have to try and remember where a franchise was, it also makes it easier for 1-off characters.

[@notyours807]

It also stops DLC characters from breaking the rules like they did in Smash 4.

[@DeronHargrove]

Yeah, same for me. Both have their own quirks but I have no issue with Ultimate's

[@hoodedman6579]

You would have to have played every game and kept track of the when the DLC came out to know where everyone is to find any given character, as opposed to just finding the big pool where that character's series, and then just stick the one-offs at the end. Mildly shuffling everything to add new characters that happen to be part of old franchises would hardly be an issue, though that's largely because that happened once so far out of six DLC characters.

[@Sparkjolteon]

​@@hoodedman6579 they've never 'just stuck the one-offs' at the end, though. A character select screen needs to fit within a certain space, so they typically keep characters from the same series in one solid chunk (usually a single row or column), and one-offs are tacked onto the free spaces to fill out the rest of the screen so as to not break up other series chunks. I certainly get the point towards sorting by series and I think that's an easier method for a total newcomer (which is important to consider, since that's the person you need to sell on the game!), but sorting by release date does have its benefits nonetheless imo.

[@Maxler5795]

So.... that last part aged well.

[@jolitero]

I actually prefer Smash Ultimate's character screen for finding characters that are the single rep in their franchise. In smash 4 I could find myself lost in the screen trying to find a specific character because I had no idea where they are but in Ultimate I just have to think "Character was introduced in brawl, I just have to go to the general Brawl area and go from there". But yeah it does making finding characters in franchises with a lot of reps harder

[@robotdude2206]

Agreed, it's a layout that works to the longtime Smash veterans' benefit. The only thing that annoys me is I get tripped up when a new DLC fighter gets added because while the order remains the same, the layout changes. I had a character I use go from one side of the screen to the other.

[@thelastgogeta]

Right. We could definitely have some sorting options added in, but the structure being based around the appearance of characters and stacking echoes means that even playing or watching one prior Smash game gives you a good idea of where to look. The echo part can be a bit confusing for Dark Samus vs Dr Mario and odds are people don't know the franchise everyone is from but it is a good structure to start with. DLC and unlockables (don't forget we unlock most characters and the order can vary greatly) do scramble things so you will be relearning the menu for the lifespan of the game to a limited degree.

[@ascaredmilipede7971]

Heres to hope nintendo squares out the char select cause if the give 4 fighters after dlc2 free or not it will be a perfect rectangle

[@helloill672]

@@ascaredmilipede7971 It is now a perfect rectangle

[@christiant.-sg7719]

That makes sense, b/c I like the layout of Smash Ultimate's CSS and how it is organized compared to other screens.

[@saadhasan2518]

Character select screens are criminally underrated imo plus my favourite one is Kof 13's character select screen specifically the artwork,music and the outfit/color select for your character

[@johnny4941]

snk fighters in general are underappreciated in these videos

[@saadhasan2518]

@@johnny4941 yes I agree same goes for Blazblue as when Blazblue came out the only thing Steert Fighter 4 was better against Blazblue was roster and popularity and it was only played coz it's Capcom as most of capcom fans are double standards the people who picked BlazBlue over were called people with no taste and when Kof 14 came out they made fun of it's graphics by calling it a PS2 game but when MVCI came out they defended it due to it's gameplay which shows how of a double standards they are as they couldn't take DBFZ taking their spot

[@saadhasan2518]

@@johnny4941 I also feel they are underrated in America but SNK games and characters are really popular in countries such as Mexico Brazil and Pakistan

[@johnny4941]

@@saadhasan2518 Yes I know they are popular in those countries. I feel they are not talked about much in these videos about fighting games. I remember seeing a video on the Hardest Bosses and the person didn't include any from SNK, the very company that gave rise to the term SNK Boss Syndrome

[@saadhasan2518]

@@johnny4941 SNK boss syndrome is something which you enter once you aren't gonna escape

[@PragmaticAntithesis]

If we're talking about character select music I'd like to highlight Mario Kart Wii. The music builds up as you go through the menus, telling new players that they're going in the right direction while building tension for experienced players.

[@SachaDow]

Funny you would talk about STRIVE's character select screen when it was recently announced we would get a new one in the CBT. Honestly though, all the info available directly on the select screen is just the greatest touch. Hope it keeps all its clever design elements in the the new version!

[@Sheenulus]

God fucking damn it, I still can't get over the fact that they just had CBT in big letters with no context for a solid 3 seconds before the words closed beta test came down.

[@alphajnitro0072]

I'm only 1 min in But I feel like the best CSS have the characters in their idol animation when you hover over them.

[@smelyjoe8917]

I didn’t notice it till now that smash ultimates character select screen really does look confusing to new players because it’s done by appearance

[@superbro6413]

Eyy, _there's_ that upload! Great work. Thoughts: While you spoke on the "function" of a select screen, I feel like we shouldn't ignore the "form" of one either. While I do agree that Strive presents it's information better than most, me and many other surely agree that how it _looks_ isn't "in tone" with the franchises core artstyle (something something Mario Tennis). On a slight tangent, but this reminds me of the _slew_ of screenpacks and lifebars and such with the Mugen scene. Real deep rabbit hole if you ever find yourself interested. Can't wait for your next showing. Stay safe, and wash those hands! Good stuff as usual

[@keyblader2k6]

6:33 dude cosplaying as the literal mvc2 character select screen? holy hell yeah!!

[@Pewpewpew182]

Yes! A stumblebee video during quarantine:)

[@Fuzunga]

Not only does the Strive character select screen look super bland, but now they've removed the useful information.

[@twinkpeaks9993]

For a giant smash nerd like me, having the characters ordered by series appearance is so useful and nice

[@rockguitarist8907]

Love your content. Ever since the beginning. You cover fighting games in a way many don’t and we can appreciate them through your vids even if we’re not big fighting game experts.

[@MaxMarriner]

Apart from organizing Ultimate’s character selection screen by order of appearance in Smash, I think the Smash team also wanted to encourage casual players to explore the screen and avoid sticking to one franchise they recognize. Sakurai has said the team’s #1 goal with Ultimate was getting every character from the series onto the roster, so naturally they want to encourage everyone to play with all the characters, not just a select few. This may also explain why Ultimate doesn’t have “sticky” character select (though that’s not a great excuse for removing something so convenient).

[@martmine4618]

And they failed and every new player gravitated to ganondorf....

[@ballisticboo7808]

Smash ultimate is my favorite game in the series, but you have to admit they slaughtered the css.

[@HolyHadou]

I don't know if Kazuya is beginner-friendly. He's a flagship character and all but IDK if you'd want to start at Kazuya. At least personally.

[@MrFutte7]

I think he just asumed he was beginner friendly, but Tekken is actually an outlier where all of the Mishima's require good execution, both to play and master Kazuya also lacks tools that almost every other character has, such as a launching df2 and a generic df1 If anything, he's a specialized character that relies on 50/50 and whiff punishment with electric, so someone you shouldn't really start with unless you really like him

[@yeeaahh8863]

I really like “Them’s Fightin’ Herds” Character Select Screen Mostly because of the music The CSS theme has a base beat, and when you hover over a character their instrument is added to the beat. The same goes for player 2 and it feels like a cool 2.5 person band. This is probably easier to do because the roster size is small with 6 characters but it’s so fun the listen to nonetheless. And it feels like you’re travelling the world (or even their world) with each character having their own instrument that is from somewhere on this earth.

[@SFO_Dragonman]

Was hoping someone would mention this. The dynamic music in TFH is such a great touch.

[@saysay7191]

Music in Character Select screens are very important. My favorite FG DBFZ has theme that represents the game and the legacy the characters have. It’s very welcoming.

[@ActionCow69]

lmao RIP to how much you liked the old strive css. The release one is still solid, giving you both a 1-5 difficulty rating and a hint at their style, but that old one gave way more info even if it was a bit uglier.

[@TheGr8T8Channel]

This is one of the most underrated, underappreciated subject when it comes to fighting games.

[@goblinjones]

Opinion: SFV has a really bad character select, all the characters are nearly grayed out so its really hard to tell where each character is, on top of each icon being really small so its just naturally hard to see a character in a dark 60x30 pixel rectangle, and their idol animations don't give you much to go off of personality wise. If there were stats or a more interesting portrait for each character it would go a long way in making it better, as well as obviously more readable icons from afar. Also, I had never thought about it but you're right ultimate's select is a mess for someone who isn't a big smash fan. Great video, Stumblebee! You're improving a lot!

[@hoopsgaming3268]

I’ve always questioned why SFV’s portraits where so grayed out. It confuses me so much to why it has been like that since the beginning.

[@mrkicks7817]

Ssbu is supposed to be a celebration of how far the series has come. I honestly really love that. The problem is that a newcomer to the series would have no idea why Mario and Piranha Plant are in different places.

[@deus_nsf]

"I don't think character select screen get enough... -CREDIT-" Nicely done, nicely done..

[@lordlouie3550]

As an aspiring designer, I will TOTALLY use this video as inspiration! ...assuming Super Duper Appliance Alliance 2 ever comes out.

[@AccelDie]

Best non-joke video in this april 1st for me.

[@drewdonewell2568]

Nice Yatterman PFP

[@mind.reflections7977]

Idk why but I've always been fascinated with character select screens. I just love the music and how the characters are pictured and organized

[@Xelae93]

Damn good video! When I think of a fighting game, the character select theme will most likely get stuck in my head for a while.

[@andyetnobananas]

In fairness to Ultimate, as a long time player who has all the games to heart, I know from memory when each character came in, and where along that line they should be.

[@Luigidagreen13]

I love that you are giving a big appreciation to the CCS, it’s on of my favorite parts of fighting games and the thing that usually gets me excited to play a match, especially with the versus screen that play some super hype music! Like with fighterZ at the current moment, it’s shows you which character you are fighting against along with what assist they run, plus the awesome guitar solo that plays gets me hype every time!

[@jinchuriki7022]

Marvel vs capcom 2 us my favorite screen just for the music. Also sf3 "prepare for battle"

[@RAWSKILLZ1223]

I was looking for someone to mention 3rd Strike!!

[@protoluigi2047]

I think the character select screen is the best part of MvC2 next to the supers. Everything else is okay.

[@Countdownsmiles]

3rd Strike, CVS2 and MVC2 and Fatal Fury 2 will always be my fav select screens

[@RAWSKILLZ1223]

@@Countdownsmiles wow I remember Fatal fury 2 as well. Had that game on SUPER NINTENDO!

[@Masque1419]

I love 3rd Strike's announcer so much. "Yeah! That makes sense!"

[@JayWolf1955]

it's hilarious how one of the biggest compliments i've seen to strive prerelease is something they just threw away in the final game

[@IkeSan]

The music is definitely what makes it to a character select screen. My favorite is SF III Third Strike.

[@Masque1419]

UNIST css theme. One of the pieces pieces of fighting game music ever.

[@mechpilotviolet1478]

Being able to see every character at the same time is such a huge thing on a character select screen

[@behemothbear]

We've missed you.

[@TheSurefireGamer]

I'm glad you shined a light on this, man. A simple rectangular box is sometimes just the best way to convey your characters to the player, but so many games try to go for an overly-artstic style that just ends up taking away from it. One of the ones I hate are the select screens that go for the honeycomb (hexagon) look, which just confuses you as you're moving your cursor in a zigzag formation instead of a straight line.

[@Mickspad]

12:31 thank you for featuring my CSS, I worked hard on that one with the full diamond because holy shit BBTag's CSS sucks, although you covered my favorite part where I snuck in a character I wanted in the game that unfortunately isnt

[@chidori7234]

I like it when character select screens show characters in real time. Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken 6 for example, you pick your character then that badass announcer says out their name as your character strikes a pose, forms their stance, ready to fight, really adds to the tournament vibe of the game, like, playing Tekken 6 in the arcade for example you and your opponent picks each other's characters, seeing them strike a badass pose ready to fight on that large led screen surrounded by people. Add to that the kickass soundtrack that accompanies it. Kinda wish Tekken 7 went that route as well, they should do it with Tekken X Street Fighter.

[@martmine4618]

Killer Instinct really fucked this by having a vague shadow until you take the time to "load" the character. Many news players just get turned off because they can't even see their character in the small boxes,and have to load everytime to see what it looks like.

[@CUTIE_POXX]

I've played Skullgirls for hundreds of hours, and had never seen this version of the character select screen.

[@AnthanKrufix]

5:20 Fighting Herds' character select theme changes depending on which characters are being selected.. The character player 1 is hovering over dictates the overall melody, while the character player 2 is hovering over gives accompaniment and tempo. It blew my mind just how good Fighting Herds' sound design is in general. Especially when in-game the winning player hijacks the background track.

[@rai_harn98]

You know I really wanna see more fighting games select screen like the WCW games

[@majorghoul9017]

Strive's final menu handles this well in that it tells you what a character's deal is with a simple description that introduces you to them and what they want to do, and even ranks how easy they are to use with a 5-star rating system. The balanced characters like Sol, Ky, Leo and May are in the middle with more gimmicky characters and dlc further away

[@xMasterSparku]

As someone who spent a lot of time making Mugen menus I appreciate this. UIs are an underrated art form. Though given Mugen's nature I didn't really do shit with character organization, that's all on the user but most people I see have their own way of organizing and I love seeing it.

[@Stumblebee]

Thank you for your service

[@miac8760]

the point of nostalgia in a fighting game is when after so long watching and hearing the select screen your mind transports you a million memories, it is one of the best experiences. and even many people haven't realized that.

[@hojosa4592]

4:08 this is true for all the examples except for kazuya cause of how much execution and knowledge of the game you need to be good at him compared to other tekken7 characters

[@mbwarrior9643]

"If you dont notice the well made product, then it's Good design. If you notice the issues immediately, then it's bad design" An important lesson you learn in design courses

[@Sin606]

I was talking to a friend about character select screens about 2 weeks ago. I feel Fighterz was Soo close to being perfect in having alignment x saga. I didn't notice that about 3S so I gotta check it out. I kinda like BBTag Layout but understand how unappealing it can be.

[@weebtrash5846]

Under night in-birth has one of the best character select ever. The music, the artstyle, the character placement, and the extra info its amazing.

[@freshboy3968]

It is quite something.

[@keystone5750]

People *defend* the BBTAG CSS. They say they like how it’s sorted. They also ignore that you can’t see half the cast, and the biggest problem, every time the roster is increased, they move around some characters. Just look at where characters like Susano’o or Elizabeth are placed. And considering the game seems to be done with support,(?) I guess we’re stuck with this. Also, I can see why you like Strive’s CSS, but it just is not visually appealing to me. I feel like the ‘archetype boxes’ don’t look good, and are redundant with the 2-word playstyle you brought up. I do hope they’re cut for full versions of the game.

[@EinDose]

I think they'll probably pretty them up a little bit for the final release, but I think what's more important is that when the screen is filled out with a bunch of colorful character icons the big amounts of white space are filled out, so it doesn't look as... unfinished as it kind of does now.

[@jayfirson13]

Everything what you said about bbtag CSS I agree on, but it's also my favorite css if only every bar was full with 7 characters

[@jdrmanmusiqking]

Another underrated aspect of the MvC2 select screen is that its the only fighter ive played who's announcer positively responds to your selections. Just something about the way the guy says "Good decision!"; "Awesome!"; and "Just what i expected!" always stuck with me. Its been 10 years since ive played that game and i still remember the words of encouragement from The Character Select Homie

[@Zedz9756]

seeing this in 2022, almost 2 years after strive's release, what the FUCK was that hud

[@ocha6309]

Dude, thank you SO MUCH!!!! GOD! I've been rambling about character select screens for freaking months now! I'm so incredibly happy to see actual discussion about something like this! The instant this video popped into my feed I jumped up in excitement and went off to tell all my friends! I'm so incredibly happy right now! I hope this gets more people talking about character select screens in the near future!!

[@gerharddamm5933]

Wonder what he thinks of the strive one now

[@MitchYouCantScratch]

Thank goodness you mentioned how foolish it was for smash ultimate to have characters ordered the why they are. But I'd go further to say that since Brawl it hasn't made sense to have Mario in the upper left. They should do what most select screens do and place the most prominent characters in the center. We don't approach a character select grid from like reading a book. Also, Super Smash Bros uses a cursor that starts at the bottom of the screen. It creates further distance from the main characters.

[@cronasan6931]

One of my absolute favorite things about smash 64’s css in particular is how the characters got their own little animation when you picked them and changed their color especially for a low poly game like that I wish it could be done more often if not always it was real cute Also what in the fresh hell was that game at the very end I can’t help but be curious

[@adamfrancescutti7615]

Ultra Fight Da! Kyanta 2. Looks like trash, actually a really fun game where every character is so busted and ridiculous they balance each other out

[@mythosinfinite6736]

Smash Ultimate's menu has the organizational cohesiveness of my childhood LEGO tub.

[@lilsoonerfaninmo]

*midway through* Kinda surprised he hasnt touched BBTA- 10:36 There it is.....

[@21Batcat]

Don't even mind the hiatus. Every video you put out is great and makes me think more about the games I play. Keep up the great work.

[@RevanSecura]

10:01- I recognize that game it's Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom on the OG Wii I played and beat it years ago.

[@rickydargence5948]

Vanilla SF4, MvC 1 AND 2, Capcom vs SNK 2 with the narrator, Saint Seiya Sanctuary PS2, Tatsunoko vs Capcom(both versions), Smash Melee, Dissidia FF and SF Alpha 1 and 2 are some of my favourites, really pump you up. Bloody Roar Fatal Fury has a damn good theme as well.

[@squilliam0909]

Ok Smash 4’s character select isn’t as good as you think. DLC characters had to be just tacked on, even though some of the characters were returning veterans (ie Roy, Mewtwo). Also, a lot of characters were NOT apart of their series. Clones like Dr Mario, Lucina, and Dark Pit were for separated for being clones, and characters like Little Mac had to be randomly inserted due to only having one rep

[@hoodedman6579]

The last good one was Brawl and they've just been going downhill since.

[@squilliam0909]

Hooded Man I think Ultimate made the right call. It’s not perfect, but the roster got too large (shown by Smash 4) and using the numbers for the characters really made sense for the type of game that Ultimate is. Smash 4 was designed poorly but it was an uphill battle for that game.

[@IllusionMaster17]

Character Select Screen is like the most important impression in a fighting game that tell us how exciting and marvelous is gonna be the match. Either that has an order, specs or style, it matters.

[@soka6732]

Can you do a video analysis on why modern anime arena fighters bad, because I agree, quality has gone out the window lately (looking at you Bandai Namco)

[@Freefork]

ONE PUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNCCCHHHHHH Man, the game nobody knows/wants.

[@soka6732]

Freefork yeah, I remember seeing that games reveal trailer and being hyped, than I saw gameplay and thought jump force. That took away any and all want to play that

[@Halfort57]

Because they're made for super casuals. So players can literally beat the shit out of the controller and still win.

[@Freefork]

@@Halfort57 But they can't win consistently so... they're made for gamblers who want complete randomness.

[@supagb7700]

Halford Cincuentaysiete So you’re saying Saitama can finally beat somebody in a fighting game?

[@yuurou7927]

GGST character card is definitely a good idea, then I don't have to make character card myself to persuade my friends to play this game. YES, I did that, I made character cards to give my friends a good idea of which character they're looking for to play.

[@soupmasters]

you are actually a very talented game dev KZbinr, thanks for sharing this!

[@Lazypackmule]

Being split based on when they were introduced to the series makes perfect sense for fans of the series who would know whether a character is from melee or ultimate

[@MrAgentIncognito]

*Shows Vega when cutting off ass.* - nice Shout-out to character select screens that don't show dlc characters, unless that character is bought. An ugly lock or shopping cart on the select screen just sucks.

[@AdrianGonzalez-sh7qm]

MrAgentIncognito I hate that. It just feels like I’m missing out or I’m being called out

[@brawler_baysoi_mld]

You forgot about one element of a character select screen: The sound effects when you switching different character slots

[@ceej6311]

Surprised Smash 3DS wasn't shown. The "Extra Characters" Tab sucks

[@Jesterworx6501]

Good video, also I like the idea of an option for reorganizing or choosing different fighter select screens!

[@carsonclay2965]

Second I saw the title, I knew Fatal Fury 3 would be mentioned.

[@mrkicks7817]

I like how most other select screens have music that just pumps you up for a fight, and then there's Smash's funky/nostalgic music.

[@ilostthecat6973]

Am I the only person who just realized that the dbfz character select screen is separated between heroes and villains

[@1991zabel]

The parry sound on ''fucking'' was perfect. Great video man, i really think this topic should be talked about more, form the music to the presentation. Subbed.

[@adambaryliuk3393]

This guy looks like the Happy Video Game Nerd

[@TANIMAYTO]

Great video with great insight! Going to really take in the character select screens next time I open up a fighter. Since you were talking about menu music I haaaave to geek out about ARMS. Great music in that one! Makes me feel like I'm at a sporting event.

[@mcknife25]

Stumblebeeeeeeeee you dun know to highlight Tekken tag 2 char select theme, my god that track is the definition of "it's party time bitches"

[@aregar1]

One thing that always aesthetically pleases me is symmetry. Rival/related characters across from each other or paired.

[@beaty_orange9728]

Awww man I love that mk11 character select theme🔥🔥🔥

[@neowo7378]

6:11 where do these dancing clips come from theyre amazing

[@Manachi93]

Rivals of aether has one of the best ones, letting you even try the character on the selection screen! That's a deal breaker...

[@romajimamulo]

Uh... A deal breaker is a bad thing

[@Reydriel]

You mean "deal maker" lol

[@adamfrancescutti7615]

When I saw that ROA put a training mode in the character select screen I thought it was the cleverest thing ever

[@MrGameAndToy]

The April Fools joke was when he said Kazuya will give you the best shot at learning Tekken, when Mishimas are so different from the rest of the Tekken cast that the first thing new players are told is to either only play them, or never play them, until they get better at the game.