YMMV / ClayFighter

• Broken Base: Regarding which of the Nintendo 64 games is better:
  • Many consider Sculptor's Cut to be superior to the original Clayfighter 63⅓, with its bigger roster and removal of side-stepping and the Killer Instinct-styled combos, both of which would be considered unsatisfying in practice.
  • Those that say Sculptor's Cut is worse cite the removal of the aforementioned mechanics, in addition to some animations and entire special moves, saying that despite the extra characters, the game feels incomplete.
• Critical Backlash: Clayfighter 63⅓ was savaged by critics and gamers upon release, quickly being regarded as the worst N64 game up to that point, due to its janky animation and broken gameplay. Not to mention some offensive-even-for-1997 ethnic stereotyping with some of its characters. Over the years, however, the game has developed a bit of a cult following due to its refreshingly non-serious tone, as well as having some cool ideas that, with more polish and better execution, could've made the game great.
• Cult Classic: Due to its uniquely cartoonish characters for the genre, Affectionate Parody leanings and the novel premise of stop-motion animation, the series has a small but pretty loyal fanbase that continues to hold out for a revival, as seen by the large number of them now trying to take that into their own hands.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: For all of the problems C2: Judgement Clay had, the general consensus is that Hoppy is the best thing to come out of that game. The creators seem to agree, as he's the only C2 character to return in the next game.
• Ethnic Scrappy:
  • Kung Pow, DEAR LORD. Possibly one of the most blatant ethnic stereotypes ever included in a fighting game, or any media in general. He is basically every offensive caricature of a Chinese, Japanese and Korean person thrown together. Even for the time he was pushing it, you'd never see a character like him in a modern release.
  • While not as infamous as Kung Pow, Houngan and the Zappa Yow Yow Boys have also received flak for this — the former being a rather stereotypical evil Witch Doctor, and the latter being a trio of Hollywood Natives.
• First Installment Wins: Many fans consider the first game (sometimes including its update, Tournament Edition) to be the best of them all, lacking the dull aesthetic and stripped-down game feel of the second, or the annoying sounds, racial insensitivity and brokenness of the third. Doesn't hurt that the first game is the only one to be re-released so it's the most well-known- first on Wii Virtual Console, then on the Sega Mini 2.
• Game-Breaker: From the original:
  • Ickybod Clay, who had a teleport and plenty of other tools to counter everyone in the roster.
  • The Blob. His signature buzzsaw move (where he'd turn into a saw blade & rocket towards his opponent) hit the opponent repeatedly if they blocked, dealing more damage than it was supposed to!. This got fixed in Tournament Edition.
• Just Here for Godzilla: It's not uncommon for some players to pick up the Nintendo 64 titles just for Earthworm Jim.
• Nausea Fuel: Comes with the territory when Boogerman is in the game, but he's far from the only example.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The "Happy Harry's Hut" stage and its music... Not to mention Houngan himself.
  • Blob's manic grin when he appears on C2: Judgement Clay's versus screen.
  • Also High Five: a giant monstruous human-size hand with the veins coming out from its severed wrist... and also can talk! (... in the voice of Tress MacNeille...)
• Obvious Beta: The entire series seems to be this since the many events surrounding the creation of every game:
  • Clayfighter have various unwanted features like some characters making too much damage (like Blob's buzzsaw move making more chip damage than being hitted by it), the lack of other modes apart of Story and Versus, and the glitch to choose N.Boss, things that were fixed with Tournament Edition.
  • C2 is the only game that didn't received an updated version, but various things were getting out of the final release, mostly Lucy the Gorilla who were replaced by Tiny using the same sprites of the first game. Also in prior announces, there were hinted the game would have Claytalities, which wasn't true in the end (but this was added in the next game).
  • 63⅓ isn't safe of this: five characters and various things like a proper intro were left of the final release because of the limited capacity of N64 cartridges, but also there were some bugs unfixed, mostly on stages. Sculptor's Cut re-added these things at the cost of removing the KI-esque system and some characters got less moves and Claytalities. At least some of Combo Openers were kept as special moves (like Jim's Dashing Elbow).
    • And the characters weren't finished after all: only Lady Liberty, Lockjaw Pooch and Zappa Yow Yow Boyz have complete movelist, High Five has a limited moveset, one super move and no Claytalities, this one finally set as Unlockable Content.
    • And with all of this, HoboCop was left out of both games because of the censorship.
  • All possible games (mostly ports of 63⅓) possibly were cancelled for this, plus Executive Meddling. This would include the final appearance of HoboCop.
• Porting Disaster: The Sega Genesis version. Genesis-related limitations aside, the game was significantly glitchier than its Super Nintendo counterpart, and that one was no stranger to glitches to begin with.
  • And then it got picked for Virtual Console release. Averted with the 2020 handheld console Evercade, who took the SNES version for their "Interplay Collection."
• Sequelitis: Hit with this pretty hard. C2 suffered from mediocre graphics, (according to the producer) a generally uninteresting, limited cast of Shotoclones and overall dull gameplay. Clayfighter 63⅓ improved on a lot of those things, but due to Executive Meddling and poor reviews, wound up being the Franchise Killer.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: The Sculptor’s Cut is a considerable improvement over 63⅓, and is one of the most highly regarded games in the series... which makes its rarity all the more painful.
• Suspiciously Similar Song: "Clayribbean Cruise" is a parody of "A Pirate's Life for Me" from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
• That One Boss: N.Boss, the final boss of the first game, who constantly lobs projectiles at his opponents. These projectiles also happen to be from the other fighters. Add in a sick grab move and you have one tough opponent to beat.
• The Woobie: Kangoo. She is a boxer who is highly against hurting people, but she's forced to do it as her fans would get mad otherwise. What's worse is that she is legitimately unable to retire, as her fans threaten to lynch her in cold blood if she did. She really should've found another hobby...

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