After the incredible success of Street Fighter 2, many developers released one-on-one fighters using Capcom's flagship series as a model.

Over the years, gamemakers added their own innovations to the genre, but never strayed too far from Capcom's winning formula. Let's take a look at eight common features found in many popular fighting games.

Projectiles:

Ki blasts are a perfect way of hitting your opponent from a safe distance. Projectiles like Ryu's hadouken function as a flying punch to the face, but other types of "fireballs" may stun, hold, or incapacitate your foes. Noob Saibot's is especially annoying.

This is not the game of "crossfire" the Servbot had in mind.

Combinations:

Every hit counts, so mastering the art of combinations is essential. An opening strike leaves your adversary staggered long enough for you to sneak in a second or third attack. In the case of Killer Instinct, combos that hit fewer than 20 times won't impress onlookers.

A four-hit combo is not punishing enough for all the pain Shaq Fu caused us.

Super moves:

Desperation attacks, as some people call them, can only be unleashed under certain conditions, but once executed, your enemies are in serious trouble. How many times has a super move saved your life?

My money is on Pocket Akuma.

Bonus stages:

On your way to becoming a master, you must take a break from bashing faces to pulverize a few inanimate objects like a sport-utility vehicle. Let's hope the car owner is insured.

Elder Gods take their shirts off for no one.

Cheap bosses:

Do you hate your boss? Probably. Now imagine you work for Street Fighter Alpha 3's M. Bison (X-ism) or The King of Fighters' Rugal. Suddenly your superior's mom seems like less of a bitch.

Cheap fighting-game bosses are responsible for many thumb calluses and broken controllers, yet we like fighting them. A love-hate relationship science will never understand.

Thank goodness Wyler's belt didn't break.

Finishing moves:

Winning a match is cool, but sometimes that's not enough. Finishing moves became really popular when Mortal Kombat introduced "fatalities." People who say Midway's bloody franchise is better than Street Fighter because of its fatalities are idiots, but I admit it's incredibly satisfying turning your opponents into ketchup, especially at the arcade.

Basara feels a bit detached.

Lord Wülf's weight-loss plan is super effective.

Hidden characters:

What do you do after beating the game with every fighter? You hunt for secrets. Finding and battling Reptile at the bottom of the Pit is neat, but unlocking a fully playable Akuma in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo is even better.

We know Smoke hangs out behind trees, but what do other hidden fighters do while they're found?

Sexy female bruisers:

Female combatants mean serious business when it comes to kicking ass, but it comes at the expense of actually showing their asses. Character designers dream of a world where women fight in little more than their underwear and kick really, really high.

Carol is about to get her ass kicked by Yagumo...literally.