The Comeback Mechanic: why its here to stay

Street Fighter II, the forefather of the fighting game genre, is a brutally difficult game to play. If you were down on health you were at a severe disadvantage. Your opponent doesn't have to worry about pressing the attack, and in many cases can afford to make a mistake without paying a high consequence. The “Super Turbo” (ST) edition of SFII changed the game only slightly. A super meter was added to the game, allowing you to unleash a flashy and damaging super combo when the meter was full. The meter was filled up by using special moves and otherwise attacking your opponent, awarding the aggressor.

This mindset is prevalent in the 90's and early 2000's fighting games. You played offense, filling your super meter and allowing you access to your most powerful techniques. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 had the aggressor bar. King of Fighters, Marvel vs Capcom 1, 2, and all the other vs games had super meters. They almost all functioned in the same manner: both attacker and defender received meter, with the attacker gaining significantly more.

The way these meters work defined how the games were played. A comeback in one of these games was not only hard to do, it was special.

In ST for example, when you are down in health and pinned in a corner against an Old Sagat player, you can almost concede to put the controller down and walk away. It would take a very special player to make a comeback in that situation.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_E3n0hZZug#t=2m0s

In 3^rd Strike, as long as you had built some meter through aggressive play a comeback was more feasible, though barely: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtuA5we0RZU

When Street Fighter 4 hit the shelves in 2009, it was the first casual gamer relevant fighting game since 2001's release of Marvel vs Capcom 2. It plucked enough heartstrings to get people interested, and had solid enough gameplay to keep people invested.

With SF4, however, came a controversial addition to the classic formula: a revenge meter. Only through being damaged does the revenge meter fill up, allowing you access to each characters most deadly attack. Now, instead of the aggressor being rewarded, the victim has a reliable attack to even the odds no matter the health deficit. The ultra combo changed the SF series, although not quite as significantly as some would proclaim. Its impact on the genre is the more important effect.

Marvel vs Capcom 3 included the x-factor, a power-up which DRASTICALLY increases the power of the last remaining character. In fact, the game incorporates a character, the Dark Phoenix, based solely off of her comeback potential. No more will you see a rare epic comeback like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVmc5ZepdVs (no x-factor needed)

Mortal Kombat 9's new meter fills up much like the meters of old, but instead of the attacker receiving more meter, the victim benefits far more.

This new comeback mechanic available in these games diminishes the value of the comeback itself. It makes anyone playing Ryu with a full ultra gauge and 2 bars of super a legitimate threat for a comback no matter how good a position you put yourself in.

What the mechanic brings to the table in a positive way, however, is invaluable. The fact that anyone has the ability to make a comeback means that everyone can play the games and feel like they have/had a legitimate chance to win. Honestly, they probably didn't actually stand a chance, but the ultra combo/x-factor/MK bar gives them that feeling. Most experienced fighting game veterans already have a handle on the comeback mechanics and have devised strategies to avoid them.

This sense of competitiveness (even if it is false at times) will only help the genre grow. The more the casual gamer can feel like they can stand a chance, the more likely they will stick around and join the community of fighting game fans. One day we may see a revert back to the classic days of fighting games, where a comeback was something to get excited about, but that can only be accomplished by building the community back to point where we don't need help to feel competitive.