A character archetype refers to how a character plays in game and they give insight on how to play characters. Characters are not required to play by their self defined archetypes, but archetyping characters is useful.
Variability[]
Variability/All-Rounder characters are fighters that are not too powerful or too weak in anything, meaning they can play in different ways with the same moveset. These fighters can Zone, Rushdown, Space, and even play Defense due to their flexible design.
Variability fighters include: SSB2 SpongeBob
Rushdown[]
Rushdown characters are typically defined by their high speed and aggressive nature, being able to rack up damage very quickly when up close and personal. Typically, your average rushdown is balanced by being light or possessing no projectiles or ranged attacks; this forces the rushdown to always have to approach their oppenent.
FrayTools Rushdown characters include: Rogue, Cube
Subcategories of the Rushdown character include:
Zone Breaker[]
Zone breakers are defined as characters that are able to break through defensive zones with ease. They are a sub category of the rushdown archetype and are still able to rushdown oppenents, but have built in ways to avoid getting camped out, such as reflectors to deal with projectiles and/or their own projectiles made to apply pressure and counter other projectiles. Zone Breakers include: Blade, An Shiraishi
Hit and Run[]
Hit and Run characters are typically either really fast on the ground and/or air , but instead of going for consistent combos they will get a few hits in and the run away in order to bait their oppenent into a bad situation and then punishing them accordingly. Hit and Run characters include:
Zoner[]
Zoners are more defensive fighters that typically have projectiles, traps and long ranged normals in order to help create space between them and their oppenent. This is typically because zoners struggle to approach due to slow speed, light weights and/or poor frame data on their melee attacks. Zoner characters include: Samus, Sans, DoodleBob, Ming Yue, Proto Man.
Sub-categories of the zoner include:
Trapper[]
Trapper characters still count as zoners, but focus on setting up traps to overwhelm their oppenents. They still control space like a zoner but with clever setups rather than just throwing projectiles. Trappers include: Chell,
Spacing[]
Spacing characters are zoners that don't really use projectiles in order to space out their oppenents, and rather use big disjoints and precise sweetspots to keep their foes at bay. Spacing characters include: Shiho Hinomori
Bait and Punish[]
Bait and Punish characters are all about appling pressure and forcing their oppenents to make certain mistakes in order to capitilise of them. They priority close range combat, but are no strangers to fighting from a distance. Bait and Punish characters include:
Brawler[]
Brawlers prefer to fight up close and personal, lacking a lot of the trapping elements that bait and punish characters can possess. They normally aren't as fast as rushdowns, but have explosive power to their attacks, Brawlers include: Bravoman, Shiho Hinomori
Grappler[]
Grapplers like to fight you up close and are good at pressuring shields with their arsenal of powerful grabs. Grapplers tend to have several command grabs, kill throws and deadly combo throws but stereotypically lack range to counterack their aggressive nature. Grapplers include: Dr Roger
Lesser Archetypes[]
Glass Cannon[]
Glass Cannon characters do not really have a specific playstyle, but are defined by being characters that can KO other fights very early with the drawback of being easy to KO themselves. Glass Cannons include: Lumba, Charjabug
Puppet[]
Puppet characters are two-in-one fighters that are able to summon a 'puppet' that can act depending on player input, allowing players to effectively control two fighters at the same time. The 'puppets' are often able to be destroyed, and/or removed from play which will weaken the puppeteer's options. Puppets include: Skyler Damseleye