How 2D Fighter Games are Animated

This is a reworking of my original video which I wasn't entirely happy with, so please enjoy this improved, concise version.

Let's look at some ways to animate a 2D fighting game!

MUSIC USED:

0:02 - Morrigan's Theme - Marvel v Capcom
0:50 - Whiling the Hours Away - Skullgirls
1:29 - A Road in Kyoto - Street Fighter III 3rd Strike
4:31 - Strange Sunset - Street Fighter EX3
6:10 - Precious Heart - Street Fighter III 3rd Strike
6:36 - Custom piece of music by myself

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#VideoGameAnimation #Skullgirls

[marshallr.]

- ideally what you want is, skullgirls -
yep, agreed 100%

[PandanD]

"you dont see it, but you feel it"
so true

[YakubTheKid]

Finally someone talking about the majesty that is Skullgirls

[FragelBagel]

An updated version of one of my favorite videos? Yes please!

[LunaMinuna]

Skullgirls is completely Hand Drawn and it is amazing

[brafricaon]

that... uh... squigly combo at the end there... good friend of mine plays her... gave me some ptsd flashbacks, that combo did.

[Znewts]

Trying to animate a 2D fighter in my free time and this video is a perfect analysis. Something I'd like to add is the rhythm of a particular animation that adds a lot of feel to moves and overall better player satisfaction when linking combos.

[soltrice]

we never see any skullgirls representation. thank you

[TheXev]

The first fighting game I remember with liquid smooth animation was Melty Blood. People really ripped on it back when it was released for not having hi-resolution sprites though. :/

[WesternEchidna]

From an animation student, this was informative. I loved this.

[thedarkcity]

Skullgirls has like one of the best sprite animations for me

[stitch]

Free online 2D games on the internet where two people fight each other. In most of these games, you can choose a character that you want to play as and a character who will be your opponent. You can also use special abilities or combos in them or your super attack when the super attack bar is full. There are multiple different battle modes you can choose in some of them. If you choose to fight against the computer, your opponent will be controlled as an NPC. There can also be two players in some games, which can both play on the same platform. If the multiplayer games are online, then the players can play on different platforms. You can also choose to play a tournament in some games where you need to select one character who is going to fight every other character in the game.

Battle Blitz (Teen Titans) - This is the first and the greatest Teen Titans flash game. Use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, the down arrow key to block, Z to punch, and X to kick. Each playable character in this game has abilities or combos which can be used by pressing the arrow and attack keys in different orders. There are 5 heroes and 5 villains that you can play as. Heroes can't fight other heroes and villains can't fight other villains, only one hero and one villain can fight each other. The heroes are the members of the Teen Titans which are Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy. The villains are Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, Cinderblock, and Plasmus.

Battle of the Behemoths (Regular Show) - Use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, the down arrow key to block, Z to punch, X to kick, and the C key to use a special attack. The playable characters in this game are Baby Ducks, Geese, VCR, Guardian of Secrets, Snowballs, and Warlock.

Final Clash (Ben 10 Omniverse) - Use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, the down arrow key to duck, Z and X to attack. I don't really know all the controls of this game and I can't find that out in a YouTube video, and I also can't play this game because it is no longer available. The playable characters are Ben, Gwen, Kevin, Rook, Attea, Malware, Gokstad, Kruos, Agni, Warchit, Khyber, and Vilgax.

Hidden Kingdom Showdown (Hero: 108) - Use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, Z to attack, and X to parry. Press the arrow key facing to the opponent twice and then Z to shoot. When your super attack bar is full, press that arrow key twice and then X to shoot harder. The playable characters are Lin Chung, Mighty Ray, Mystique Sonia, Jumpy Ghostface, Mr. No Hands, Kow Loon, Alpha Girl, Zebra Bros, High Roller, and Eagle King.

Reef Rumble (SpongeBob SquarePants) - Use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, and the down arrow key to block. Each playable character can shoot if you press the arrow and attack keys in different orders. The playable characters are SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, Squidward, Larry, and Plankton. I wasn't very sure if I could include this game because SpongeBob SquarePants is a show on Nickelodeon and I mostly know the games on the Cartoon Network website.

Save the Day (The Incredibles) - Use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, the down arrow key to duck, and the spacebar to attack. There are also some new combos you can unlock and use by pressing the arrow keys and the spacebar in different orders. Mr. Incredible needs to defeat Omnidroid V.10, Syndrome, and the Underminer in each level. Unlike all the other fighting games, this game actually has 3 rounds instead of 2. When you defeat the opponent in each round, you are still going to have the same amount of health while their health refills until they defeat you. If the opponent defeats you in each round, they will also have the same amount of health while your health refills until you defeat them. This is also the only game where you cannot pick a character that you want to play as or your opponent.

Super Brawl - This is a crossover game with characters from multiple shows on Nickelodeon. There are multiple games of the Super Brawl series: Super Brawl 1, Super Brawl Summer, Super Fall Brawl, Super Jingle Brawl, Super Brawl 2, Super Brawl 3: Good vs. Evil, Super Brawl 3: Just Got Real, Super Brawl 4, and Super Brawl World. In the first 5 Super Brawl games, use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, Z to punch, and X to kick. In Super Brawl 2, you can also press the arrow key facing to the opponent twice and then X to use your special ability. If you do this while your super attack bar is full, you will use your super ability instead. In Super Brawl 3: Good vs. Evil, you can select a fan which is actually a human who looks like each playable character in the game and you can either select a boy or girl version of them, and then you can summon them during a battle by pressing C. Super Brawl 3: Just Got Real looks like the other version except the characters are realistic animals and objects. In Super Brawl 4, use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, the down arrow key to block, the spacebar to attack, and Z to use your special attack when your special attack bar is full. In Super Brawl World, use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, the down arrow key to block, the X key to use your special attack when your special attack bar is full, and Z to use brawl call.

TKO: Titanic Kungfubot Offensive - This is a very fun and nostalgic game that used to be available in the Cartoon Network website. It is a crossover game with characters from multiple Cartoon Network shows, who are robots. It is also the only game that is online and has two players, which means that the players need to play it on different platforms instead of the same one. It's not a singleplayer game, so the opponent can only get selected on the game's own and not your own. Use the left and right arrow keys to move, the up arrow key to jump, Z to punch, X to kick, the spacebar to use your super attack when the super attack bar is full. Every playable character in this game has two combo abilities and one super attack.

[LizaPlz]

Dan, you absolutely knocked it out of the park here. I'm gonna be honest I had my doubts about this one being better than the last one. I was absolutely wrong. Smashed it out of the park man. Great study

[channelnumber]

The game you credit as "One Minute of Mayhem", is actually called "Blade Strangers". This took me a minute to figure out.

[rum]

I may not be an animator, but damn do I enjoy these.

[willkelmanpenapena]

I freaking love Street Fighter III 3rd Strike animation so good

[Sinistar]

I'm still mad you don't have more subs, your dedication is absolutely amazing

[ShiningDawn]

When people think of fighting game animation, they mostly think about the attacks... But what I think is most difficult for the animators are the idle animations and hurt animations. I'd love to see a video studying those.

[PhilipJFryII]

Even though I've seen this one, with the smears and impact frames.
I can watch it everyday thank you for the oldie but goodie!

[Mr_Wiley]

This is a fantastic animation lesson for general animators as well.
Huge up vote