Platform fighter
{{Short description|Video game genre}}
{{Original research|date=June 2022}}
File:Slap City gameplay in Hurtland.png
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A platform fighter is a sub-genre of fighting games that emphasizes free 2D movement, often with floating platforms that can be traversed on, similar to a platformer game. The central gameplay involves combat between two or more player-controlled characters, with the goal of attacking an opponent's character until they are defeated.
Unlike other fighting games, platform fighters typically do not have a health bar, instead the damage that a player's character has taken increases the distance they are launched when hit by an attack. Opponents are defeated when they leave the boundaries of the arena.
History
While there have been some 2D fighting games that have used mechanics like platforms in stages like in Savage Reign, these games are not considered platform fighters as they play like traditional 2D fighting games with an added gimmick.{{cite magazine|author=Major Mike|url=https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AGamePro_US_075.pdf&page=82|title=ProReview: Neo•Geo CD - Savage Reign|magazine=GamePro|issue=85|publisher=IDG|date=October 1995|page=80}} Though The Outfoxies was an early example of many of the mechanics featured in most platform fighters, the subgenre would be most defined by the release of Super Smash Bros. in 1999, which was the first game in the subgenre to achieve wide success and defined the mechanics for most games that followed.{{Cite web |last=Gerstmann |first=Jeff |date=1999-02-18 |title=Super Smash Bros. Review |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/super-smash-bros-review/1900-2543713/}} After the release of the original Super Smash Bros., many companies would release their own games similar in style with some being crossover games like DreamMix TV World Fighters{{cite web|author=GameSpot Staff|url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/dreammix-tv-world-fighters-update/1100-6075710/|website=GameSpot|title=DreamMix TV: World Fighters update|date=September 24, 2003|access-date=January 6, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/09/28/tgs-2003-dream-mix-world-tv-fighters|title=TGS 2003: Dream Mix World TV Fighters|last=Irwin|first=Mary Jane|website=IGN|date=September 28, 2003|access-date=January 6, 2020}} or games with licensed characters like Digimon Rumble Arena{{cite magazine |author=Fennec Fox |date=February 8, 2002 |title=Digimon Rumble Arena PlayStation Review |url=http://www.gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/20582.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031205065545/http://www.gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/20582.shtml |archive-date=December 5, 2003 |access-date=May 27, 2021 |magazine=GamePro |publisher=IDG Entertainment}} and Battle Stadium D.O.N.{{cite web|url=https://www.siliconera.com/battle-stadium-don/|title=Battle Stadium D.O.N.|date=July 31, 2006|website=Siliconera|access-date=January 29, 2020}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/12276/battle-stadium-don-gamecube|title=Battle Stadium D.O.N.|last=Bloodworth|first=Daniel|date=October 22, 2006|website=Nintendo World Report|access-date=January 29, 2020}} Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up was notably developed by a studio that contributed to Super Smash Bros. Brawl.{{Cite web|url=https://gamasutra.com/view/news/112970/Ubisoft_Announces_Ninja_Turtles_Wii_Fighting_Game.php|title=Ubisoft Announces Ninja Turtles Wii Fighting Game|first=Eric|last=Caoili|website=gamasutra.com|date=26 January 2009 }}
In the mid-2010s, indie developers began developing fighting games that imitated the mechanics of Super Smash Bros., including Rivals of Aether, Brawlout, and Brawlhalla.{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2015/6/18/8808415/rivals-of-aether-xbox-one-pc-super-smash-bros|title=Rivals of Aether is like a beautiful, indie version of Super Smash Bros.|first=Megan|last=Farokhmanesh|website=Polygon|date=June 18, 2015|accessdate=March 2, 2022|df=mdy-all}}{{Cite web|url=https://bgr.com/entertainment/brawlout-review-nintendo-switch/|title='Brawlout' is an adequate 'Super Smash Bros.' surrogate for the Nintendo Switch|first=Jacob|last=Siegal|date=December 20, 2017}} It was around this time that the term "platform fighter" began to be used more frequently to refer to games similar to Super Smash Bros. {{Cite AV media |title=The Rise Of The Platform Fighter - Developer Roundtable |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRMJGi8f9HY |access-date=2022-06-02 |via=YouTube}} Following the success of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2018, new platform fighters have emerged based on various licensed properties, such as Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, Fraymakers,{{Cite web |title=Fraymakers on Steam |url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1420350/Fraymakers/ |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=store.steampowered.com |language=en}} and MultiVersus.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/nickelodeon-all-star-brawl-spongebob-rugrats-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-smash-bros|title=Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Is a Smash Bros-alike Featuring SpongeBob, TMNT and More|first=Joe|last=Skrebels|date=July 13, 2021|website=IGN}}