History Sandbox / SpectacleFighter

* '''Stylish Action'''' is an ActionGame where combat is not only a complex endeavor but also stylish because of the complexity, with SomeDexterityRequired, and being rewarded with some useful things for doing cool things in the game. The game will expect you to do ever cooler things, and maximize the use of all of your capabilities in the game. -- Getta

%%I'm putting this because by today standard the original DevilMayCry isn't really that deep, whoever due to its status as the TropeMaker it is still considered a StylishAction, not to mention by the standards when it was released it was way deeper than other games. And I also don't want to run into the problem of "b-but X-game is deeper than the Original DevilMayCry"

* ''VideoGame/{{The Wonderful 101}}'': A ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' hybrid with an over-the-top sense of superhero scale, made by Creator/PlatinumGames and directed by Hideki Kamiya. Players fight by combining their team members to form "Unite Morphs," gigantic weapons and objects that can interact with the arena and its enemies in various ways. As with Kamiya's other games, new players can expect lots of difficulty, but the fast-paced combat is ultimately fair once it's mastered.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarSeries'': A hack-and-slash series featuring chained swords, grapples, and magic as its combat components, and perhaps the genre's most basic example. ''God of War'' features easy-to-master combat, a few token combo setups, and a simple scoring system that rewards extended combos at certain lengths. While nowhere near as deep as genre classics like ''Devil May Cry'', the series' accessibility makes it a good choice for casual players trying out stylish action for the first time. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjTG5LpaG3o This video]] from ''God of War III'' shows the best of what the series allows.

TropeCodifier was the original ''Franchise/DevilMayCry''. The director, Creator/HidekiKamiya, stated that his inspiration for the game's combat came from his days of playing at arcades, where he often found the ability to make a cool move because he knew people were watching. Subsequent improvements to the genre have made ''Devil May Cry'' seem shallow by today's standards, but since the core vision behind it is the same, it remains the genre's most well-known example.

* ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'': The TropeMaker, and the first game of which was directed by eventual ''Bayonetta'' creator Hideki Kamiya.

* '''Teaching through difficulty'''. Similar to old arcade games [[NintendoHard and Nintendo's earlier work]], stylish action teaches skills by making it difficult to proceed without them. To do this, stylish action games present a diverse cast of enemies which must be interacted with differently. For example, heavy enemies cannot be staggered or grappled, EliteMooks can break up lengthy combos, and aerial enemies cannot be hit from the ground. Unlike ''Franchise/DynastyWarriors'' and the like, there are no OneHitPointWonder mooks and even the easiest enemies require a decent amount of attention to kill. [[WakeUpCallBoss Boss fights are designed to put]] [[FinalExamBoss these skills to the test]], but the most common archetype tests the player's raw skill [[TheRival against someone]] [[MirrorBoss with similar combat capabilities]] [[NoNonsenseNemesis and no exploitable weaknesses or behavior]], [[RecurringBoss often more than just once]].

* '''Teaching through difficulty'''. Similar to old arcade games [[NintendoHard and Nintendo's earlier work]], stylish action teaches skills by making it difficult to proceed without them. To do this, stylish action games present a diverse cast of enemies which must be interacted with differently. For example, heavy enemies cannot be staggered or grappled, EliteMooks can break up lengthy combos, and aerial enemies cannot be hit from the ground; unlike ''Franchise/DynastyWarriors'' and the like, there are no OneHitPointWonder mooks and even the easiest enemies require a decent amount of attention to kill. [[WakeUpCallBoss Boss fights are designed to put]] [[FinalExamBoss these skills to the test]], but the most common archetype tests the player's raw skill [[TheRival against someone]] [[MirrorBoss with similar combat capabilities]] [[NoNonsenseNemesis and no exploitable weaknesses or behavior]], [[RecurringBoss often more than just once]].

Three variables are the backbone of stylish action:

* '''Combat depth''', which is determined by how much control a player has over a fight. This means more than just how much damage they're doing and how fast they're doing it. Enemies can be knocked down, grappled, launched in a particular direction or at a particular speed, stunned, or pulled toward the player, for example, and different weapons and techniques will get the job done in different ways. The player character themselves can have depth in how they move and interact with enemies, such as by dodging, blocking, counterattacking, dashing or airdashing, jumping off of walls or an enemy's head, entering SuperMode, or (a favorite of Creator/PlatinumGames) controlling the flow of time.

* '''Teaching the player through difficulty'''. Similar to old arcade games [[NintendoHard and Nintendo's earlier work]], stylish action teaches players the fundamentals of combat by making sure they keep dying until they catch on. The biggest way this manifests is through a cast of enemies which must be approached and defeated in different ways; heavy enemies cannot be staggered, armored enemies can break up lengthy combos, and aerial enemies cannot be hit with grounded attacks, for example. Key defensive mechanics like dodging or blocking are often taught by giving the player poor damage resistance, and harder games can enforce better reaction from the player by presenting a strict timing window for some moves.

* '''Providing some challenge or incentive to improve'''. Another aspect of arcade games that stylish action borrows from is [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} that wonderful feeling of watching a number go up]], and most of the genre goes to the trouble of scoring and ranking the player in some way. Expect individual combos to get a numerical score that cranks up a ScoreMultiplier if you're being really efficient and using lots of different moves, while fights and chapters as a whole will give you a letter grade or shiny award that [[AwesomenessMeter takes a bit more into account]]. Stylish action usually employs multiple difficulty settings with a HarderThanHard on top.

* '''Providing some incentive to improve'''. Another aspect of arcade games that stylish action borrows from is [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} that wonderful feeling of watching a number go up]], and most of the genre goes to the trouble of scoring and ranking the player in some way. Expect individual combos to get a numerical score that cranks up a ScoreMultiplier if you're being really efficient and using lots of different moves, while fights and chapters as a whole will give you a letter grade or shiny award that [[AwesomenessMeter takes a bit more into account]]. Stylish action usually employs multiple difficulty settings with a HarderThanHard on top.

* '''Stylish Action''' is a subset of action games that, in addition to presenting the usual goal of surviving levels and defeating enemies in combat, challenge the player to develop their skill and creativity. This can be done in a few ways: players can be graded on their performance after a mission, combo scores can favor diversity or penalize repetition, and point bonuses can be awarded for executing a special move, for example. Regardless of a game's combat depth, stylish action is always characterized by responsive controls and a wide selection of basic techniques that are meant to lead into each other. Mastering a game's combat system is often DifficultButAwesome, and high-level play is both fun to look at and fun to create. Despite being commonly associated with HackAndSlash and BeatEmUp games, stylish action can be used in any genre with a real-time combat system, as evidenced by games like ''Stranglehold'', ''The Wonderful 101'', and ''Nier: Automata''. -- The Orb Of Confusion, 5/9/2017 2:01 PM EDT

'''Stylish Action''' is a sub-genre of action games that especially deals with unrealistic combat and [[RuleOfCool having fun creating it yourself]]. Their main point is to use a deep set of mechanics to be stylish, rather than the style coming from the animations itself. In short, the style is because ''you'', the player, are being stylish, not just the character. It should be noted that while Stylish Action games always have deep combat mechanics, deep mechanics don't automatically make a game stylish action.

Stylish action can overlap with many action genres, but its core characteristics are the same in any. In no particular order, they are:

* Single-player, third-person perspective gameplay in real time making up core gameplay and combat. Quick-time events are common in some earlier games, but stylish action reserves them for cutscenes and special finishers and does not force the player to use them in combat.
* Responsive combat mechanics; the player character fights in strict real time and buffering is not to be relied on.
* Combat options that have depth on par with FightingGames. Techniques will vary in damage, attack speed, stagger, and knockdown, but also give control over PlatformFighter variables like launch direction, launch distance, and even the player's own position in the arena or in the air. These combat options are given in distinct forms: weapons, combo strings, and non-combo standalone techniques with dedicated inputs.
* Little to no direction on how to fight from the game itself; in general, stylish action tutorials will provide a rundown of basic controls, but the properties of individual combos and techniques, as well as how they can be chained together, must be discovered by the player on their own. If present, advanced tech such as cancels will usually go unexplained to the player.
* Diverse enemy and boss types that are meant to challenge the player unless they can adapt their fighting style to them. For example, an armored enemy can break up an AttackAttackAttack player's combo and counter at a whim, while heavy enemies are difficult to stagger and will punish the player for not defending themselves. Most fights in stylish action are not optional, and require the player to defeat all enemies to proceed further in the level.
* The last, and most important, is encouraging the player to improve their skill. This can be done in a few ways, and is usually done with most:
** The general foregoing of experience and level-up systems. To overcome difficulties, players must instead develop their own skill and dexterity. Stylish action games that do have those systems will still demand more from the player than LevelGrinding.
** Scoring is often used for individual combos, and commonly rewards the player for length, diversity, and aggression while penalizing repetition and tentative hit-and-run tactics. A ScoreMultiplier is often used.
** Ranking players with AwesomenessMeter-style battle reports; common criteria are the player's combo score, how long they took to complete the mission, and whether they received any damage or died. However, anything the game wants the player to improve on can be used to calculate their rank, and RankInflation usually offers an award that demands perfection.
** Special moves, usually defense-oriented moves, that reward the player more if they meet a strict or even frame-perfect timing window.
** Multiple difficulty settings, which often offer RankInflation like the reward system to make the game's HarderThanHard mode especially prestigious. However, every difficulty mode is fair to players at its skill level, and they never suffer from luck-based FakeDifficulty.
** Most subjectively, stylish action is just meant to be ''cool'' when it's mastered, and the games are DareToBeBadass in playable form. Individual techniques and combos are meant to be basic, but their open-ended nature and the genre's responsive controls challenge players to see what they're capable of -- and once they've conquered the game, the fast-paced combat still makes for an engaging play.

The modern-day TropeCodifier was the original ''Franchise/DevilMayCry''. The director, Creator/HidekiKamiya, stated that his inspiration for the game's stylish combat came from arcade games -- specifically, when he played at arcades and found the ability to make a difficult or stylish move because he knew people were watching him play. Subsequent games of the genre pushed its definition and flexibility even further, to the point where the original ''Devil May Cry'' seems shallow by today's standards. However, as the vision behind it is the same as the vision guiding modern-day stylish action, it remains the genre's most well-known example.

*

* ''VideoGame/{{The Wonderful 101}}'': Players fight with gigantic "Unite Morphs" composed of their allies. Known for its harsh difficulty and escalation of scale, and directed by Hideki Kamiya.

* Diverse enemy and boss types that are meant to challenge the player unless they adapt. For example, an armored enemy can break up an AttackAttackAttack player's combo and counter at a whim, while heavy enemies are difficult to stagger and will punish the player for not defending themselves. Most fights in stylish action are not optional, and require the player to defeat all enemies to proceed further in the level.

'''Stylish Action''' is a sub-genre of action games that deal especially with unrealistic combat and [[RuleOfCool having fun creating it yourself]]. Their main point is to use a deep set of mechanics to be stylish, rather than the style coming from the animations itself. In short, the style is because ''you'', the player, are being stylish, not just the character. It should be noted that while Stylish Action games always have deep combat mechanics, deep mechanics don't automatically make a game stylish action.

* Combat options that have depth on par with FightingGames. Techniques will vary in damage, attack speed, stagger, and knockdown, but also give control over PlatformFighter variables like launch direction, launch distance, and even the player's own position in the arena or in the air. These combat options are given in distinct forms: weapons, combo strings, and non-combo standalone techniques with distinct inputs.

* The last, and most important, is encouraging the player to improve their skill. This can be done in a few ways:

'''Stylish Action''' are a sub-genre of games whose main point is to be stylish using a deep set of mechanics rather than the style coming from the animations itself, in short the style is because YOU are being stylish, not only the character. It should be noted that while Stylish Action games always have deep combat mechanics, not every game with deep mechanics is a Stylish Action

In addition to the usual action goal of destroying enemies efficiently, spectacle fighters add the twist of also trying to create a visual spectacle through stylish battle, making them the action genre's sandbox of sorts. Rather than by forcing the player to memorize a handful of extensive combos and techniques, spectacle fighters present the player with a vast number of open-ended, basic combat tools capable of leading into each other, allowing skilled players to build highly creative cutscene-level action sequences in regular combat. Spectacle fighters have a high skill floor and an even higher skill ceiling, and play that's close to the game's limits often appears to make use of cheats or exploits at first glance. While the amount of story mode content will vary from game to game, they often employ multiple difficulty settings and performance grades to increase replay value and encourage the player to learn from their mistakes.

As a general rule, these games are thoroughly unrealistic, whether it's controllable gameplay or the storytelling that drives it.

Some common characteristics of spectacle fighters, in descending order of frequency and importance, are:

* Regular enemy encounters that greatly outnumber and/or outmuscle the player, designed to encourage creative, fast-paced gameplay and make unskilled, simple LeeroyJenkins strategies unviable.
* Employing magic or advanced technology as an excuse for the game's unrealistic combat mechanics.
* Scoring and ranking systems that grade the player on variables like how much damage they took, how long the mission or fight took to complete, and a combo score calculated to reward long, uninterrupted combos that make use of diverse combat options.
* Single-player, real-time gameplay with a third-person perspective making up most of what the game has to offer.
* An energy or magic meter of some sort that is charged through regular combat and can be spent on special moves, such as powerful attacks, increased combo multipliers, or enhanced combat capabilities.
* Moves, especially dedicated defense moves, that reward the player for frame-perfect timing.
* Starting off players with movesets and weapons that are already suited to high combo scores, but also giving them access to optional techniques or weapons purchasable with in-game currency acquired through combat and high rankings.
* Most enemy encounters, even ones that are not bosses or story-significant, preventing players from moving on until all enemies have been defeated.
* Optional missions that do not advance the plot and challenge the player to complete special objectives or fight under unusual conditions.
* Quick-time events in combat and/or in cutscenes.
* Control schemes that dedicate at least two buttons or sticks to combat, such as for light and heavy attacks.
* Multiplayer modes that emphasize style and combo scores just as much as, if not more than, kills or completion time.

The TropeMaker was DevilMayCry, released on 2001, the inspiration for the Stylish aspect of the game was according to Kamiya, Arcade Games, more specifically the feeling you get when you are playing at an arcade and people gather around you to see you playing, and you can successfully make a difficult or cool looking move. Subsequent games of the genre pushed the genre even further, to the point where the original DevilMayCry don't seems that deep by today genre standards, it is still considered part of the genre due to historical reasons for being the TropeMaker.

During the years the genre gained a '''lot''' of alternatives names such as'''Character Action''', '''Cuhrayzee Games''', '''Spectacle Fighters''', '''Deep Action''' and '''Extreme Action''',

Despite the name, it's nothing to do with any of the GlassesTropes.

* ''VideoGame/{{Vanquish}}'': A third-person shooter from Creator/PlatinumGames. Guns, grenades, powerful melee attacks, and cover are standard fare for the genre, but ''Vanquish'' adds stylish action with two mechanics: the first is a high-speed powerslide that gives players unrivaled mobility, and the second is "AR Mode", an at-will BulletTime that players can trigger at almost any time and combine with the game's basic mechanics to create combos. A video of high-level play in the game's first level can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tysaJyJ1hA here]].

The TropeMaker was DevilMayCry, released on 2001, the inspiration for the Stylish aspect of the game was according to Kamiya, Arcade Games, more specifically the feeling you get when you are playing at an arcade and people gather around you to see you playing, and you can successfully make a difficult or cool looking move. Subsequent games of the genre pushed the genre even further, to the point where the original DevilMayCry don't seems that deep by today genre standards, it is still considered part of the genre due to historical reasons for being the TropeMaker. The genre itself was created to differentiate the combat style of DevilMayCry from the combat of the VideoGame/GodOfWarSeries and others HackNSlash

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta 2}}'': The most famous modern example and exhibits every characteristic listed above. Known for its deep combat options, difficulty, and BulletTime mechanic. A explanation of some mechanics can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqzztvoVngY here]] and[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOVVmm4KOm4 here]], while an example of the combat being put to its limits can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiPnBzaxKvo&t=378s here]]

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKorra''
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'': Focuses on bladed combat, parrying as defense, and realistic cutting physics along with ''Metal Gear'' stealth. A example of the mechanics being used on a stylish manner can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgsp4oasfAY here]] (Warning: Contain Spoilers of the final boss)

* ''VideoGame/{{Vanquish}}'': A third-person shooter; its surface mechanics of BulletTime, power-sliding, cover options, and variable melee attacks are all capable of interacting with each other and creating deep gameplay on par with melee stylish action.

* '''Stylish Action''' is a GenreBusting subset of action games that, in addition to presenting the usual goal of surviving levels and defeating enemies in combat, challenge the player to develop their skill and creativity. This can be done in a few ways: players can be graded on their performance after a mission, combo scores can favor diversity or penalize repetition, and point bonuses can be awarded for executing a special move, for example. Regardless of a game's combat depth, stylish action is always characterized by responsive controls and a wide selection of basic techniques that are meant to lead into each other. Mastering a game's combat system is often DifficultButAwesome, and high-level play is both fun to look at and fun to create. Despite being commonly associated with HackAndSlash and BeatEmUp games, stylish action can overlap with any genre with a real-time combat system, as evidenced by games like ''Stranglehold'', ''The Wonderful 101'', and ''Nier: Automata''. -- The Orb Of Confusion, 5/9/2017 2:01 PM EDT

*

%% I Will be honest: my english isn't that good to meet the TV Stardards, so I will try to make a skelekton and put some comments why I made the changes and what I think it's important on that part so that you can hopefully rewrite it without losing the essence

*

The TropeMaker was DevilMayCry, released on 2001, the inspiration for the Stylish aspect of the game was according to Kamiya, Arcade Games, more specifically the feeling you get when you are playing at an arcade and people gather around you to see you playing, and you can successfully make a difficult or cool looking move. Subsequent games of the genre pushed the genre even further, to the point where the original DevilMayCry don't seems that deep by today genre standards, it is still considered part of the genre due to historical reasons for being the TropeMaker. The genre itself was created to differentiate the combat style of DevilMayCry from the combat of GodOfWar and others HackNSlash

%%I think some of the problems with the trope os that people don't realize that the entire reason this genre exist is to separate GoW from Devil May Cry, I'm not trying to sound like a dick, but I simply don't know how people are missing that if GoW and Suda51 games are StylishActions, then the entire subgenre loses it reason to exist, because it would basically be referring to simple Hack n Slash/Beat em' Up 3D Games

'''Spectacle Fighters''', also known as '''Character Action''', '''Stylish Action''', '''Deep Action''', '''Extreme Action''', and '''Cuhrayzee Games''', are a sub-genre of action and action-adventure, hack-and-slash, and beat-em-up games.

In addition to the usual action goal of destroying enemies efficiently, spectacle fighters add the twist of also trying to create a visual spectacle through stylish battle, making them the action genre's sandbox of sorts. Rather than by forcing the player to memorize a handful of extensive combos and techniques, spectacle fighters present the player with a vast number of open-ended, basic combat tools capable of leading into each other, allowing skilled players to build highly creative cutscene-level action sequences in regular combat. Spectacle fighters have a very high skill floor and an even higher skill ceiling, and play that's close to the game's limits often appears to make use of cheats or exploits at first glance. While the amount of story mode content will vary from game to game, they often employ multiple difficulty settings and performance grades to increase replay value and encourage the player to learn from their mistakes.

* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'': A GenreRoulette of different game types that plays like an anime show.
* ''VideoGame/AnarchyReigns'': The genre's flagship player-versus-player game. Bayonetta appears as a GuestFighter.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta 2}}'': The most famous modern example and exhibits every characteristic listed above. Known for its deep combat options, difficulty, and BulletTime mechanic.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bujingai}}'': A game inspired by {{Wuxia}} mainly set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with demons.
* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow2'': A reboot of the series that takes some cues from ''God of War''.
* ''VideoGame/DantesInferno''
* ''VideoGame/DarkSiders'' & ''VideoGame/DarkSidersII'': The gameplay is similar to ''[=DMC=]'' and ''God of War'', though the series is an ActionAdventure in the style of ''Franchise/LegendOfZelda'' or ''[[VideoGame/LegacyOfKain Soul Reaver]]''.
* ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'': The TropeCodifier, and the first game of which was directed by eventual ''Bayonetta'' creator Hideki Kamiya.
** ''VideoGame/DmcDevilMayCry'': The reboot of the franchise. Developed by Ninja Theory.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarSeries''
* ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}'': One of the first third person shooters to do this for the genre.
* ''VideoGame/KillerIsDead'': The SpiritualSuccessor to ''No More Heroes'' and ''VideoGame/Killer7''.

* ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'': A game where a zombie hunting cheerleader tries to prevent a ZombieApocalypse.
* ''VideoGame/MadWorld'': A game cel shaded entirely in [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black n' white]] with only one color for red blood, made to look like a comic book. This title took place in a ''Film/TheRunningMan'' style competition where scoring based on how brutal the kills where to your opponents. It features environmental hazards that are mostly harmless to the player, but devastating to any of the enemies.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'': Focuses on bladed combat, parrying as defense, and realistic cutting physics along with ''Metal Gear'' stealth.

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' and ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle''
* ''VideoGame/{{Onechanbara}}'': More so ''Z: Kaugra'' and ''Z2: Chaos'', as both have a ranking system.
* ''[[VideoGame/RainBloodChroniclesMirage Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage]]'': A 2D game whose feudal aesthetic and style mechanics take their cues from {{Wuxia}}.
* ''VideoGame/RisingZanTheSamuraiGunman'': The [[UrExample first]] of its kind back on the [=PS1=]. This game featured a lot of gameplay elements that would you show up in years later in the genre. There are quick-time events, an end of level rank, and has a super mode.
* ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'': The PlayStation/PC ''Versus'' games feature this type of combat in contrast to the main 3DS games, which are full-fledged beat'em ups.
* ''Videogame/{{Stranglehold}}'': A sequel to Jonh Woo's ''Film/HardBoiled'' where scoring is based on how stylishly you shoot enemies and the [[SceneryGorn destruction of the surrounding environment]]. Features BulletTime similar to ''VideoGame/MaxPayne''.

* ''Videogame/{{Wet}}'': Like ''Vanquish'' and ''Stranglehold'', this game is a third-person shooter that scores based on stylish kills by shooting, [[WallJump wall bouncing]], sliding, and melee kills. The game is all about being acrobatic and was another title to have a Grindhouse tone as its theme.