History AwesomeButImpractical / FightingGames

* Some hyper combos in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' are Awesome, But Impractical. ''[[Anime/TimeBokan Ippatsuman]]'' has it the worst, though. His Level 3 Hyper Combo has him summon his signature robot for the player to control. However, all of its attacks are slow, don't do much damage, and can't combo past two hits. He does have 3 unblockable moves in the mode, two of them being telegraphed sword attacks and a humongous unavoidable flash that kills the opponent if it connects. The problem with the flash, however, is that it takes ''ten seconds even hit with the move, the most time of any non-boss character in VideoGame/CapcomV history'' and can be interrupted by attacking the robot's head during the charging sequence. Finally, in the international release, the time the robot stays on the field decreased by a large margin and ate every bit of meter when used.

* Many fighting games have super moves that do insane amounts of damage and are awesome to watch, but often require [[SomeDexterityRequired complicated button combinations]] that only [[Franchise/FantasticFour Mr. Fantastic]] can pull off. One example is Ivy from ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'', whose telekinetic attack Summon Suffering is absolutely amazing and devastating, but the human players who can pull it off can probably be counted on one hand. Not that you won't see it often, but [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard it won't be against a human]].

** The most powerful attack in all of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' is one of G's moves. It deals 500 damage (or 600 on a counter), which is enough to knock off half the health bar of most characters, and stuns the character enough that it can be easily followed up with a combo or a juggle. What is it? It's the bit in his idle animation where he points to the sky and flashes--and he hits that bit if you leave him idle, neither hitting a single button nor having your opponent hit him, for ''64 seconds''. This is well past the point of practicality and straight into EasterEgg territory; you are not hitting this in a match unless your opponent falls asleep.

** Giorno and Kars's transformation [=GHAs=] in ''VideoGame/JojosBizarreAdventureAllStarBattle''. While both offer new moves, properties, and very increased mobility, it's far too easy for a player to shoot themselves in the foot if their opponent smacks them before the transformation is finished. To this end both characters have a move or two devoted to creating space in order to transform safely; Kars has a kick that sends the opponent to the other side of the screen, and Griono's [=HHA=] does the same while also briefly stunning the opponent afterward. Pucci averts this by his entire moveset being geared around getting to Made in Heaven, and Made in Heaven itself being completely worth the investment.

* Counters: which are any special move that requires the opponent to hit you to trigger them, can have legitimate uses as reversals or hard reads on the opponent. However, when connected to cinematic moves such as supers, they suddenly become tactical suicide. A key strength of most counters is how minimally they're telegraphed, which goes out the window when a mini cutscene or flash makes very clear they've been triggered. And if it fails, you wasted your meter completely, while having the standard counter downside of a severe punish if it fails and they're ready for it. They are thus only going to succeed in countering newbies who don't yet know it's a counter stance, or fighters who are already in the middle of their attack animation. Infamous cases include Remy's Blue Nocturne super in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'', as well as Fei Long's Gekirinken Ultra and Cammy's CQC in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV''.

* Athena Asamiya's ''Psychic 9'' in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' is a good example. It requires 2 special bars and you need to input a series of commands at a certain pace as she's attacking. Fail at the inputs and she'll be left wide open, but doing it right will make a long, flashy combo. It's made worse in that her other 2-bars super move, ''Shining Crystal Bit SDM'', does not require additional inputs and does almost the same damage as Psychic 9 '''in one single hit'''.

** Double's "Megalith Array" has her turn into a BulletHell spewing [[EenieMeenieMinyMoai Moai statue]] which can potentially deal insane damage, but she turns back if she takes even a single hit, potentially wasting your entire stock of meter if timed improperly or if your enemy is skilled enough, which makes the move DifficultButAwesome.

** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'':
*** Byleth's Aymr, which is the same kind of move. While it lacks the raw power of the Warlock Punch (and unlike the punches, doesn't gain extra power from being turned around), it makes up for it by punishing anybody foolish enough to try and shield it with ''an instant shield break''.

*** The reverse Falcon Punch and its stronger variation, the reverse Warlock Punch. These moves require that you turn at just the right frame to make Cpt. Falcon or Gannondorf spin around and punch the opponent. Amazing when successfully pulled off, but it takes even longer to get to the actual punch and only does ''slightly'' more damage.

** Athena Asamiya's ''Psychic 9'' in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' is a good example. It requires 2 special bars and you need to input a series of commands at a certain pace as she's attacking. Fail at the inputs and she'll be left wide open, but doing it right will make a long, flashy combo. It's made worse in that her other 2-bars super move, ''Shining Crystal Bit SDM'', does not require additional inputs and does almost the same damage as Psychic 9 '''in one single hit'''.

** Many super moves in the game are governed by minigames, and Haggar gets the short end of the stick here too. His takes the form of a roulette wheel that spins around at a ridiculous rate of speed, and where you stop it determines what move you get. Sometimes you'll get something decent like a triple-slam but more often than not you'll get a crappy leg-whip that barely does any damage.

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' brutalities. Flashy, incredibly nasty ways to finish your foes. Also nearly impossible to pull off. They require a sequence of button presses that's near impossible to actually do. It's awe inspiring to see it pulled off though.

** On the other hand, the [=IKs=] in the original ''Guilty Gear'' were a game breaker in that a successful hit not only won that round, it outright won the match entirely and were easy to do, so [=IKs=] got {{nerf}}ed HARD.

* Instant Kills in the ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' games do exactly what the name suggests: finish the round in favor of whoever connects one. Most of them [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38N67X68oxw&feature=related look pretty cool, too]]. Unfortunately, to keep them from being {{game breaker}}s, they can only be used once, they're extraordinarily difficult to hit with unless your opponent isn't paying attention (you have to switch into a "sudden death" stance, complete with a [[PowerGlows glowing outline]], making these better suited for Mind Games and last-chance desperation attacks), and if you attempt one and miss, you can't use ''any'' move that requires meter for the remainder of the round. And because this is ''Guilty Gear'', which places a lot of strategy on meter management and aggression, chances that the Instant Kill you just missed will cost you the match are about 99%.
** The [=IKs=] in the original ''Guilty Gear'' were a game breaker in that a successful hit not only won that round, it outright won the match entirely and were easy to do, so [=IKs=] got {{nerf}}ed HARD.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

----

* Counters: which are any special move that requires the opponent to hit you to trigger them, can have legitimate uses as reversals or hard reads on the opponent. However, when connected to cinematic moves such as supers, they suddenly become tactical suicide. A key strength of most counters is how minimally they’re telegraphed, which goes out the window when a mini cutscene or flash makes very clear they’ve been triggered. And if it fails, you wasted your meter completely, while having the standard counter downside of a severe punish if it fails and they’re ready for it. They are thus only going to succeed in countering newbies who don't yet know it's a counter stance, or fighters who are already in the middle of their attack animation. Infamous cases include Remy’s Blue Nocturne super in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'', as well as Fei Long's Gekirinken Ultra and Cammy’s CQC in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV''.

** Several of the [[LimitBreak Final Smash]] attacks in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' and onwards qualify for this trope. For example, any one that requires a player to catch an opponent will often do large amounts of damage and kill at low percentages to those unfortunate enough to get caught in one and are often very flashy. But, they usually have very short range, making it easy for zoning characters to try and hit the smash ball out of you, and will go to waste if dodged, which is often easy given that the short range most of them have often forces predictable usage of them. Special mention to Marth's (and Lucina's) final smash. It does ''60%'' damage and an almost guaranteed kill on hit, as well as having an absolutely insane amount of movement range. But, not only is it just as easy to dodge as any other similar Final Smash, but the range is also so large that it's easy to self-destruct with it if you use it carelessly (such as using it in the air on a small stage). This is subverted if you press B again to cancel the movement and end the attack, [[GuideDangIt though the game doesn’t explain this up front]].

** Ganondorf's Warlock Punch is the most powerful punch in the game, but one of the slowest attacks. He also has an overhead kick that's [[UpToEleven even more difficult to hit with, but even more powerful]].

** The Ice Climbers' chaingrabs. Having the ability to infinite-combo anyone makes them incredibly annoying to play against (the strategy for dealing with them is "don't get grabbed and separate them whenever possible"). Actually pulling it off requires a long series of two-frame timings that vary based on the weight of the chaingrabbed character, having both Climbers close enough together that your opponent can't escape before you begin the throws, not being interrupted by an environmental hazard or other player as applicable, and, because everyone knows that one grab is death, having to deal with the aforementioned strategy just to get the grab in the first place. Granted, it's somewhat easier than it sounds. The "impractical" part comes in when you factor in the mental fortitude required to pull it off two or three times per game (they still can get kills the old-fashioned way, after all)... two or three games per set... and, depending on the size of the tournament, 7+ sets per tournament. And you could have put all the practice you did into Meta Knight instead.

*** Hatchet Man is a very powerful move that either does 45% damage and/or kill at very low percents or an instant shield break if it connects. The downside, is that it's very slow and has limited range, when using Command Selection takes enough time as it is, so Hero players will be very hard pressed to land it in an actual match.
* Some hyper combos in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' are Awesome, But Impractical. ''[[Anime/TimeBokan Ippatsuman]]'' has it the worst, though. His Level 3 Hyper Combo has him summon his signature robot for the player to control. However, all of its attacks are slow, don't do much damage, and can't combo past two hits. He does have 3 unblockable moves in the mode, two of them being telegraphed sword attacks and a humongous unavoidable flash that kills the opponent if it connects. The problem with the flash, however is that it takes ''ten seconds even hit with the move, [[UpToEleven the most time of any non-boss character in]] VideoGame/CapcomV history'' and can be interrupted by attacking the robot's head during the charging sequence. Finally, in the international release, the time the robot stays on the field decreased by a large margin and ate every bit of meter when used.
* In the ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' series, some characters have a stomping move to use after they knock their opponents down. When the ninja Kage does it, [[UseYourHead he jumps ridiculously high and turns upside down to hit the fallen opponent with his head.]] [[HilarityEnsues It's cool, but even the CPU on easy mode can easily roll out of his way.]] If it hits, it doesn't do more damage than the other stomps anyway.

** Several of the [[LimitBreak Final Smash]] attacks in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' and onwards qualify for this trope. For example, any one that requires a player to catch an opponent will often do large amounts of damage and kill at low percentages to those unfortunate enough to get caught in one and are often very flashy. But, they usually have very short range, making it easy for zoning characters to try and hit the smash ball out of you, and will go to waste if dodged, which is often easy given that the short range most of them have often forces predictable usage of them.
*** Special mention to Marth's (and Lucina's) final smash. It does ''60%'' damage and an almost guaranteed kill on hit, as well as having an absolutely insane amount of movement range. But, not only is it just as easy to dodge as any other similar Final Smash, but the range is also so large that it's easy to self-destruct with it if you use it carelessly (such as using it in the air on a small stage). This is subverted if you press B again to cancel the movement and end the attack, [[GuideDangIt though the game doesn’t explain this up front]].

*** Goes even more for Ganondorf, whose Warlock Punch is the most powerful punch in the game, but one of the slowest attacks. He also has an overhead kick that's [[UpToEleven even more difficult to hit with, but even more powerful]].
*** In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', there's also Byleth's Aymr, which is the same kind of move. While it lacks the raw power of the Warlock Punch (and unlike the punches, doesn't gain extra power from being turned around), it makes up for it by punishing anybody foolish enough to try and shield it with ''an instant shield break''.
*** The ''true'' Awesome, But Impractical move is the reverse Falcon Punch and its stronger variation, the reverse Warlock Punch. These moves require that you turn at just the right frame to make Cpt. Falcon or Gannondorf spin around and punch the opponent. Amazing when successfully pulled off, but it takes even longer to get to the actual punch and only does ''slightly'' more damage.
** Ice Climber chaingrabs border on this. Having the ability to infinite-combo anyone makes them incredibly annoying to play against (the strategy for dealing with them is "don't get grabbed and separate them whenever possible"). Actually pulling it off requires a long series of two-frame timings that vary based on the weight of the chaingrabbed character, having both Climbers close enough together that your opponent can't escape before you begin the throws, not being interrupted by an environmental hazard or other player as applicable, and, because everyone knows that one grab is death, having to deal with the aforementioned strategy just to get the grab in the first place. Granted, it's somewhat easier than it sounds. The "impractical" part comes in when you factor in the mental fortitude required to pull it off two or three times per game (they still can get kills the old-fashioned way, after all)... two or three games per set... and, depending on the size of the tournament, 7+ sets per tournament. And you could have put all the practice you did into Meta Knight instead.
** The Home-Run Bat became this in ''Brawl''. In the original and ''Melee'', it had a slightly unwieldy swing time but was still usable much of the time and was a reliable one-hit KO, stage obstacles notwithstanding. In ''Brawl'', it works more-or-less the same way, except the swing time is dramatically increased. It makes a highly effective thrown weapon in every single game, however.

** Roy's Flare Blade in ''Melee'' and ''4''. If fully charged, it can OHKO just about anybody, provided there isn't anything blocking their path. However, you can't hold the charge or move during the move, meaning either your opponent has to be holding still for a while or you need to read them '''really''' well. And using the move at full charge will do damage to Roy, making it even less advisable.

** A game about massive prehistoric beasts duking it out sounds like a truly epic idea, but unfortunately, this game's extremely rushed state and janky frame rate means the playable dinos will often have a hard time getting a good hit at their enemies with their stubby limbs using the vaseline attacks, which means you'll have to rely on the combos at your disposal to defeat your opponents. And even though the combos are fairly easy to execute, they will take up energy slots which have to be replenished by roaring, which can leave you unprotected if you're not fast enough. Not helped by the fact that you can get interrupted in the middle of a combo, and that you're almost always outmatched by [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the rival AI]] in most of the stages.

** In almost every ''VideoGame/StreetFighter'' game, Akuma's Raging Demon is this. A devastatingly powerful super that eats away half of your opponent's health bar, leaves them in a knockdown state, and provides you with a [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/f3b5f40951e9a84a5ee83990f6ea0280/tumblr_ngpgqaTASb1qd0br1o1_500.gif badass win pose]] if you win with it... too bad it requires a strict, awkward sequence of button presses to make it happen. And not only that, but it's nigh-impossible to set up appropriately if you aren't incredibly tight with your execution. In order for it to land, the opponent has to be on the ground and Akuma can get hit out of it by projectiles. Interestingly, starting with ''Street Fighter III'', the Raging Demon can be cancelled into from other attacks (inputting the commands for one attack while another hits, thus cancelling the recovery animation of the attack in progress into the startup animation of the next attack, leaving the opponent unable to react), thus being able to consistently and quickly cancel into it out of a handful of moves is required at high level play. With the correct setup, it's actually a really viable choice.

** Big Band's level 5 is confusing to pull off, requiring you to play the first five notes of the game's opening {{Leitmotif}} on his trumpet, which leaves you wide open to attack since only the first of those honks will hit an enemy. And to make matter worse, Big Band's level 5 itself doesn't do any damage, but rather stops time for the sake of giving you time to play without being attacked, or use to unleash [[RapidFireFisticuffs Satchmo Deathblow]], which can be used much easier (but in turn dealing much less damage) by taunting the enemy and then hitting with his ground level 1.

** Big Band's level 5 is confusing to pull off, requiring you to play the five notes of the game's opening {{Leitmotif}} on his trumpet, which leaves you wide open to attack since only the first of those honks will hit an enemy. And to make matter worse, Big Band's level 5 itself doesn't do any damage, but rather stops time for the sake of giving you time to play without being attacked, or use to unleash [[RapidFireFisticuffs Satchmo Deathblow]], which can be used much easier (but in turn dealing much less damage) by taunting the enemy and then hitting with his ground level 1.

** Big Band's level 5 is confusing to pull off, requiring you to play the game's opening {{Leitmotif}} on his trumpet, which leaves you wide open to attack since only the first 5 honks will hit an enemy. And to make matter worse, Big Band's level 5 itself doesn't do any damage, but rather stops time for the sake of giving you time to play without being attacked, or use to unleash [[RapidFireFisticuffs Satchmo Deathblow]], which can be used much easier (but in turn dealing much less damage) by taunting the enemy and then hitting with his ground level 1.
*** A much more ridiculous one is the "Happy Birthday Combo", which involves pulling off a very specific combo that gets Big Band's Blockbuster Meter to full in a single go, enough so to play every note of "Happy Birthday" and finishing with a Satchmo Deathblow. This is an unstoppable instant-kill on the opponent, and comes with a popup emulating Mortal Kombat's "Toasty!" to signify accomplishing it... but even pulling it off on a practice dummy is nigh-impossible, and anyone who can do it in a live match deserves to be immortalized, especially since ''Skullgirls'' has [[ComboBreaker a burst mechanic]] to stop excessively long combos.

** Donkey Kong's Final Smash, a rhythm minigame with a soundwave that grows bigger with each beat that's hit correctly. It takes some time to get its range to anything useful and has no outstanding damage output or knockback. It was even worse in ''Brawl'', where the player wasn't even given a button prompt, so it ended up being luck more than anything. Small wonder it was replaced in ''Ultimate''.

** Donkey Kong's Final Smash, a rhythm minigame with a soundwave that grows bigger with each beat that's hit correctly. It takes some time to get its range to anything useful and has no outstanding damage output or knockback. It was even worse in ''Brawl'', where the player wasn't even given a button prompt, so it ended up being luck more than anything.