damage_over_time
A move which causes amounts of damage (usually small amounts) continuously for a duration. Commonly referred to by the acronym "DOT"
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stick_figure
Character is depicted in the easiest shorthand of drawing the human form.
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asymmetrical_roster
Games that, in versus and any other multiplayer mode(s), players are not given the same character roster to select from.
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monegasque
Born in, or a citizen of, the city-state/microstate of Monaco.
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crusteacean
Character is a crab, lobster, shrimp, etc.; usually an anthropmorph, or less likely, an actual regular version of that animal.
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replacement
Took over the movelist / gameplay of a character who was removed for plot reasons, regardless of whether the original character eventually returned.
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thief
A character whose job/personality/existence revolves around stealing.
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animal_ears
Character is otherwise human (or appears to be), but has the ears of an animal ("kemonomimi" in Japanese). Also fits characters that wear faux animal ears as a fashion statement.
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shorinji_kempo
Practitioner of Shorinji Kempo, a Japanese pseudo-religious cult centered on martial arts. Not to be confused with Shaolin Kung-Fu, although it's supposedly inspired by it.
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xinyi-liuhe-quan
Uses the Xinyi Liuhe Quan (also known in Japanese as "Shini rokugo ken") chinese martial art, created by the Hui people. It was popularised in the manga Kenji as the main villain's fighting style.
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wing_chun
Uses Wing Chun, a traditional Chinese kung-fu style known for its extremely short range and speed. While the martial art was known to be one of Bruce Lee's foundational styles, it exploded in popularity after his master Ip Man's biopics.
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hung-ga
Uses the Hung Ga martial art, associated with Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-Hung. Part of its syllabus includes the Tiger-Crane fist and the famous Five Animal Fist (Snake, Dragon, Leopard, Tiger and Crane), popularised by Jackie Chan's "Spiritual Kung Fu".
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pi-gua
Uses Piguaquan, a palm-heavy martial art usually considered to be the softer counterpart of Bajiquan.
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mantis-fist
Uses the Northen Praying Mantis martial art vaguely inspired on the praying mantises' movements, or some other fictional equivalent.
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silat
Uses the martial art of silat (usually "pencak silat"), an art developed in Nusantara and used throughout Southeast Asia.
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baguazhang
Uses Baguazhang / Pakua chang, a Chinese martial art known for its circular walking-centered movements.
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sumo
Uses the martial art of sumo wrestling. Alternatively, it may use Mongolian Sumo, a Japanese alias for Bökh folk wrestling.
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amateur_wrestling
Uses some form of Olympic-oriented wrestling, such as freestyle / Greco-Roman / collegiate styles.
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kobujutsu
Uses some variant of Kobujutsu ("ancient Japanese martial arts", traditional combat drills used before mid-19th century). While the term can be used to define a pre-Kodokan Judo / Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu form of Jujutsu, it is usually used as a shorthand for fictional ancient Japanese martial arts.
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aikido
Uses the defensive martial art of Aiki-jūjutsu and/or some of its variants, like Aikido, Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, or other fictional variations.
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boxing
Game is based solely on fistfights and may include actual boxing trappings (punches only, dodge-centric, boxing rings) but otherwise fits the descriptor of fighting games, with quicker movement, special moves (usually done with typical fighting game notations), outlandish locales/characters/attacks, etc.
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self-defense
Uses the generic "Self-defense" (Goshin-jutsu) term as its personal martial art, probably referring to tactics used by law enforcement / military / security personnel.
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finnish
Born in, or a citizen of, the country of Finland.
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savate
Practitioners of the French martial art of savate.
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kancho
Moves that involve sticking two pointer fingers in the booty, a childish "prank" in Japan known as kanchō.
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reporter
Character's vocation involves reporting on news and events.
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new_zealander
Born in, or a citizen of, the island country of New Zealand.
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fishnet
Character wears fishnet or other netting-based clothing.
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combo_break
Players possess the ability to stop being hit, usually in the form of a Burst or Combo Breaker. Sometimes has a special input or costs meter.
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polish
Born in, or a citizen of, the country of Poland.
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customizable
A unique character set aside in a game's cast who is customizable to a degree (usually just in unlockable moves), without the full create-a-character experience of building one from scratch. Physical customization, if any, is minimal.
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politics
This game's cast features politicians - world leaders, mayors, senators, governors, etc. and candidates to these positions - duking out. Usually done without any seriousness and the whole cast is treated either jokes or badasses.
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jewish
Adherent of the early Abrahamic religion of Judiasm.
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stun_gun
Brandishes a taser or other description of stun gun.
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3v3
Usually without rounds, allows you to control teams of three characters and tag / switch in between them freely.
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guest_characters
Features non-canon dlc or otherwise exclusive characters from other franchises.
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combo_break
Players possess the ability to stop being hit, usually in the form of a Burst or Combo Breaker. Sometimes has a special input or costs meter.
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politician
Someone who has run for or was elected into office (president, mayor, governor, senator, prime minister, et cetera).
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half-breed
A character whose biological parentage consists of two different species.
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yellow_skin
Character's skin color is an unnatural yellow or gold.
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unnatural_color
Skin of a color that does not reflect a natural color seen in that species, or that is a bizarre color in an alien species - but only those not covered by another tag.
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animal_kingdom
A member of the animal kingdom (possibly intelligent, but not anthromorphic). Includes robot and alien/otherworldly animals as well.
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throwing
Games where the main, and likely only real attacking method, is grabbing and throwing objects. Any direct attacks from characters are likely special/super moves.
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hoofed
Characters with hooves, usually as a hoofed animal/antropomorph like a horse or deer, or as a devilish character.
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sleeping
Character has moves/attacks or just an in-game demeanor that involves sleeping.
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toys
The game is a tie-in to an existing toyline or, in uncommon cases, is focused on fictional toys.
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stamina
The game has some sort of gauge that limits the characters' abilities in some significant way.
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undulation
Some or most stages in the game feature undulation (irregular height), instead of the traditional flat levels. This technological breakthrough would prove to be short-lived in 3D fighters for balance-breaking issues.
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hapkido
Practices the Korean martial art of Hapkido (합기도), a grappling and striking form adapted from Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu.
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bisexual
Canonly enjoys the romantic and/or sexual company of both genders.
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retooled
A game that has undergone significant changes before its release in another country, to the point where it is a completely different game. This may include complete cast replacements or reusing an engine wholesale to release a different product overseas. This can also apply to games that were mostly/completely finished and then scrapped before being released with a completely different lease on life.
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censorship
Regional difference or update on a specific character. A move was removed, age of the character were changed or hidden, clothes were adjusted to avoid nudity etc.
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nepali
Born in, or a citizen of, Nepal.
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literature
Games based on novels, poetry, etc. basically most/all non-graphical written works.
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bovine
Any number of hoofed animals of the subfamily bovinae, including cattle, bison, buffalo, and antelope.
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gender_bender
A character whose gender is the opposite of what is presumed by other characters/players, has transitioned genders, or whose gender is simply left unclear.
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soft_reboot
A favorite of long-runner franchises, some series decide to start over or ignore some of its previous games' events in favor of something new, but they don't quite wipe the slate 100% clean.
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chair
Character wields a chair, likely in a pro wrestling context, or otherwise utilizes one to hurt the enemy with.
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crossover
Two or more established, separate "universes" come together and do battle.
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piscine
Having qualities of a member of fish species - they are a fish, an anthropomorphic fish, look like a fish, etc. Includes sharks and other subspecies.
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damage_over_time
A move which causes amounts of damage (usually small amounts) continuously for a duration. Commonly referred to by the acronym "DOT"
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coins
Utilizes coins as part of their moveset.
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victim_pov
Moves where the camera changes to the receiver's point of view (as in, as if from their eyes) when the move is performed. Normally relegated to super/desperation and finishing moves.
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depowered
A character who has had his or her moveset drastically changed for one or more game(s) due to a storyline element that involves the character losing his or her well-known "powers". Also may include alternate forms of a character without these powers.
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size_change
Character possesses one or more attacks/moves/techniques to grow or shrink during battle.
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corpses
Hey kids, wanna see a dead body?
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hong_konger
Born in, or a citizen of, the "Special Administrative Region" of Hong Kong.
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canine
Character has strong association with dogs, such as being a dog or having a dog motif. This usually means a domestic dog but can apply to any non-wolf or fox canids.
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vulpine
Character has strong association with foxes, such as being a fox or having a fox motif.
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martial_arts
Written in katakana as "māsharu ātsu" (マーシャルアーツ). Fictional martial art loosely based on American kickboxing rules with an invented U.S. military origin in the style of CQC (Close-quarters combat).
It was created in the 1978 manga Shikakui Jungle, based on an mistranslation/exaggeration of kickboxer Benny Urquidez's fighting style.
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china
Game takes place exclusively (or almost) in mainland China or one of its territories (Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc.), usually in a historical_fiction or kung fu setting.
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flag
Character uses or fights with a physical flag or banner. Not to be confused with being adorned with flags on attire/tattoos (that's "patriot")
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shovel
Character wields or is otherwise equipped with a shovel.
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south_american
Characters from South American countries not covered by another tag.
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gravity
Characters who manipulate gravity to fight.
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jetpack
A character who embraces the future and actually has one of these neato contraptions.
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one-leg_stance
Is capable of standing with only one leg when in combat.
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book
Carries a book in combat.
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sibling
This character has a brother or a sister. Or both.
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road_signs
Road signs can be seen with this character. They can also use it in battle, wheter it is a melee weapon or just a projectile.
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broom
Carries a broomstick. Can also be used as a melee weapon.
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cell_phone
The character is equipped with a cell phone or a smartphone.
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headphones
Character prominently displays headphones on their person during the fight.
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hot_pants
Wears hot pants or anything short that expose the legs.
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converse
Wears Converse shoes or anything similar.
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stick_figure
Character is depicted in the easiest shorthand of drawing the human form.
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waitress
Female character who serves food and drink to the customers.
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body_parts
Some parts requires to be destroyed in order to make progress or to win a battle, (usually but not always during boss battles).
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heart_effects
Heartshaped objects or special effect can be seen, whether it is a special move, a pose or a taunt.
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censorship
Regional difference or update on a specific character. A move was removed, age of the character were changed or hidden, clothes were adjusted to avoid nudity etc.
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unarmed
Character who, in a game otherwise centered around weapon combat, chooses to fight with his or her hands.
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teleporter
Able to warp about the battlefield, while his/her contemporaries are unable to.
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classical_music
The character has some arranged, classical background music, usually during battle.
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palindrome
The characters name can be read either forward or reversed.
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unarmed
Character who, in a game otherwise centered around weapon combat, chooses to fight with his or her hands.
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amnesia
Has either forgotten / lost their memories, or had them taken away somehow.
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