History AwesomeButImpractical / FightingGames

*** 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 carefully (such as using it in the air on a small stage).

* Long, flashy combos in tend to get this, as most games since the early editions of Street Fighter 2 will implement some form of combo scaling to ensure that each hit gets weaker as the combo continues, as well as the highly technical execution requirements most will entail. The only exceptions to this in modern games tend to be infinite combos.

** Long, flashy combos in general get this, as the game's engine actually decreases the damage of each hit the longer a combo gets.
*** The [=IKs=] in the original Guilty Gear was a game breaker in that a successful hit not only won that round, it won the match and were easy to do, so [=IKs=] got {{nerf}}ed HARD.

* Several of the [[LimitBreak Final Smash]] attacks in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros. Brawl'' qualify for this trope. For example, Meta Knight, who can get off attacks ''frighteningly'' quickly and has decent smashes, gets a fairly weak Final Smash, which is hard to hit with, but if it connects with one character, it will hit everyone. Jigglypuff probably has the most ridiculous example of this trope, with a Final Smash that has such a long startup time that it almost never hits and is useless on large stages. However, if it connects, it kills.

*** Lucario's Final Smash in ''Brawl'' as well. While the beam is aimable, it takes a while for it to move, and the charge up time it takes before Lucario fires gives the opponents a good amount of time to start running away. More often than not, other fighters can just go to the corner of the stage, jump out of the way when the beam's about to hit them, and before the final smash can do much damage, it'll already run out.

* You know those massive, intricate, and awesome looking combos that you usually see in combo videos & online matches? They're a relative rarity in tournaments, where [[BoringButPractical short, cheap bread and butter combos]] are immensely preferred.

** 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 [[GenreSavvy 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.

* {{VideoGame/Killer Instinct}} newcomer Omen possesses a 100% potential damage command grab called Demonic Despair whenever he has all of his Shadow Meter filled, and not only does it do ludicrous damage, [[SoCoolItsAwesome it also looks really badass]]. However, it is plagued with so many problems that almost no Omen players use it. To start, Omen needs his Shadow Meter to perform the mixups essential to his offense, so using all three of his bars in one go is already a risky proposition. Also, the move has 24 frames of startup,[[note]]For reference; Jago's light Tiger Fury, one of the most punishable moves in the game, has 27 frames of recovery. [[/note]] and the animation doesn't resemble any normal of his, so the attack is incredibly telegraphed. Another problem; if the opponent Combo Breaks Omen's attempt to cash out the damage and finish his opponent, then they get all of that health back, since Demonic Despair deals potential damage. And to top it all off, even if you ''do'' land it, it sends the opponent flying across the screen and leaves Omen taunting in place for several seconds; more than enough time for an opponent to take a breather and assess their options. On the plus side it can be cancelled into from blocked normals, so it has its place catching opponents who like to block.

** Then there's Captain Falcon's [[MemeticMutation famous]] signature move, the Falcon Punch. One of the most damaging attacks in any of the games, but its charge-up time not only makes it extremely difficult to land a hit without proper planning and/or a bit of luck, but it also leaves him wide for attack. Needless to say, when someone ''does'' manage to pull it off, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mRtuum-xng it can only be]] [[https://youtu.be/lXNZsBJmjnA&feature=related described as awesome]].

** Then there's Captain Falcon's [[MemeticMutation famous]] signature move, the Falcon Punch. One of the most damaging attacks in any of the games, but its charge-up time not only makes it extremely difficult to land a hit without proper planning and/or a bit of luck, but it also leaves him wide for attack. Needless to say, when someone ''does'' manage to pull it off, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mRtuum-xng it can only be]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rItrXj1lEGc&feature=related described as awesome]].

** The Kaioken, Kaioken x3 and Kaioken x20. Each of these attacks boost up your stats, but they will eat away at your Stamina and prevent you from building up Ki, thus you won't be able to slap your opponents around with constant Super attacks.
** Super Saiyan forms are the inverse as they eat away at your Ki power, though this can be counteracted by using Super abilities that charge up Ki. The only downside is that it's Stamina that doesn't charge up.

** Another example from the ''Soul Series'' are the unblockable attacks. These attacks are powerful and [[CaptainObvious unblockable]], but are so painfully slow that even inexperienced players can easily sidestep or dodge them, and counterattack with impunity. Starting and then canceling these to psych out the enemy is the only real use for them.

** Roy's Flare Blade in ''Melee'' and ''4''. If fully charged, it can KO 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.

* Some hyper combos in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' are Awesome, But Impractical. [[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/CapcomVsWhatever 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 ''GodHand'', the main character has a variety of "guard breakers", attacks that stun a blocking opponent. These range from sobats to flying kicks to haymakers to spinning backfists, but the best guard breaker throughout the entire game... is the basic, boring overhead chop. Plus it somewhat adheres to RealLife in that misuse of the powerful-but-slow moves usually gets you punished.
** The biggest offender as far as GodHand is concerned is definitely Yes Man Kablaam, a ridiculously slow and uneffective punch that leaves Gene completely defenseless as he turns his head and smiles to the invisible crowd after the attack. Its only major advantage is that if the punch connects, it raises your Tension bar by a lot, but it's generally not worth it...unless you learn to [[DifficultButAwesome dodge-cancel out of the recovery]].

** X-Ray attacks in VideoGame/MortalKombat9 are insanely gruesome, showing your opponent's bones breaking and organs rupturing in slow-mo from the brutal strikes. They also require 3 bars of meter, which is also used for the extremely important and useful breaker move. On top of that, many of them are slow and easily blocked or dodged, meaning that the only way to reliably land them was to use them mid-combo, where damage scaling severely reduces their damage.

** 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 honk 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 launch [[RapidFireFisticuffs Satchmo Deathblow]], which can be used much easier by taunting the enemy and then hitting with his ground level 1.

** The biggest offender as far as GodHand is concerned is definitely Yes Man Kablaam, a ridiculously slow and uneffective punch that leaves Gene completely defenseless as he turns his head and smiles to the invisible crowd after the attack. Its only major advantage is that if the punch connects, it raises your Tension bar by a lot, but it's generally not worth it...unless you learn to dodge-cancel out of the recovery.

** For that matter, Fatalities in general. Sure, the franchise pretty much invented the concept, and they are ''really'' cool, but in most games, they and the other finishing moves provide no real tangible benefit to gameplay. The first game was an exception; you did gain bonus points for doing them, and it was also a requirement for unlocking Reptile. (Unfortunately, that meant Sonya could not fight him, because her Fatality required the Block command, which disqualified her due to another requirement.) Ironically, in many other fighting games that have similar moves (like say, the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'') there ''is'' a tangible benefit for doing the finishing moves.

* In {{VideoGame/Skullgirls}}, a few characters have a level 5 [[LimitBreak Blockbuster]], which is usually worthless: Valentine's "[[MagicalDefibrillator Forbidden Procedure: Rebirth Ex Machina]]" can revive an ally or damage an enemy, but the damage is not that much better than her level 1 Blockbusters, and the meter would generally be better used towards finishing your enemy since by the time you gain 5 bars and have a dead character, the fight should be nearing its end. Meanwhile, 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. 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 honk 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 launch [[RapidFireFisticuffs Satchmo Deathblow]], which can be used much easier by taunting the enemy and then hitting with his ground level 1.