Fighting game
Also said as Fighter, Versus fighter
Two characters, one screen, health bars and rounds. It promises a conversation between two people, conducted in punches, where you learn to read your opponent as much as your own buttons.
Everything comes down to frames: how long a move takes to start, and how long you are open after it. That is how a fast reflex game can become a slow game of guessing and punishing.
Say it
“Light punch is 4 frames of startup and safe on block. Heavy is 12 frames and punishable by 8, so a heavy has to be a read, not a reflex.”
Where you’ve seen it
Street Fighter II (1991) set the form with eight playable characters and a stable of special moves. Its combos began as a quirk of how attacks could be cancelled into others, and players kept them, so later games built them in.
Not to be confused with beat 'em up
A beat 'em up has you walking through crowds of weak enemies. A fighting game is one even duel, usually against another person.