Fighting Styles

These definitions are by no means official, it is merely based on how I generalise each of the 37 character's fighting styles in SSF4.

Fighting Styles

Defensive
Fighters under this category excel at dealing damage from far, usually with projectiles. Up close they often lack the tools other fighters might have to battle at close range. Most of their specials would allow them to escape back to long range either with a good reversal or escape tool. Playing defensive characters requires ingenuity and patience and is one of the harder categories of fighters to use effectively.

Characters under the defensive category include:
Dhalsim, Guile, Dee Jay, Rose, Vega, Gouken

Versatile
These fighters have the best of both worlds. Versatile fighters are able to keep up a strong offense while maintaining a good defense when required. This lets them adapt to almost every situation and it is no wonder that most of the top tier fighters are classified in this category. However, they excel in neither defense or offense which opens up holes for players to capitalize on.

Characters under the versatile category include:
Ryu, Chun Li, Cody, Dan, C.Viper, Juri, M.Bison, Sagat, Akuma, Blanka, Seth, Oni, Evil Ryu

Brawler
The brawler category represents fighters who were built to be aggresive and win matches via sheer offensive pressure. Brawlers are normally weaker on defense compared to the other classes but make up for it with quick movements, strong moves and various techniques to break down defenses. Brawler vs Brawler fights can be some of the most exciting games to watch and play due to the fast pace of the matches.

Characters under the brawler category include:
Adon, Cammy, Fei Long, Sakura, Gen, Guy, Rufus, Balrog, Ken, Dudley, Makoto, Yun, Yang, Ibuki

Grapplers
Grapplers are the powerhouse of the fighting genre. Most often grapplers are bogged down by slow movements and large body sizes but this is more than made up for in sheer damage and high stamina. Certain grapplers break away from this genre and have fast movement speeds and high damage like El Fuerte. While being slower can give difficulty for grapplers to pin down an opponent, their mix-ups and ability to break down defenses in a single grab instills fear in many players.

Characters under the grappler category include:
Abel, El Fuerte, Hakan, E.Honda, Zangief, T.Hawk