Puppet characters in fighting games subvert the one-on-one trope since these characters utilize another entity in their match to help them attack their adversaries. This essentially makes it a two-on-one situation, and if the enemy isn’t careful, they might be knocked out in short order.
Such characters can typically command their puppets and pressure the opponent while the puppet master jockeys for a more advantageous position to land the decisive blow, or have their puppets stall while the master gathers themselves and gets back into the fight. But which puppet characters are the best at wreaking havoc? Here are some of them:
7 Rosalina and Luma (Super Smash Brothers Ultimate)
Rosalina and Luma are Nintendo characters in Smash Bros. that feature as a tag team duo, notorious for their zoning single or multiple enemies and edge guarding antics. They possess good combo strings and are extremely dangerous once they close in on a target. Conversely, Luma can act as a shield to block damage for Rosalina, allowing her to get out of sticky situations. She can also use Gravitational Pull to ward off pesky projectiles, pull in items and enemies towards her, and calls Luma back to Rosalina.
Some players utilize Rosalina and Luma’s Lunar Landing move where Rosalina would cancel her attack while mid-air so that Luma can perform its own aerial attack. This allows Rosalina to immediately strike with Luma once its attack is done, dealing considerable damage. However, pulling this move off requires precise timing.
6 Chaos (Under Night In-Birth)
Chaos is the second-in-command of the Amnesia organization in Under Night In-Birth next to Hilda. He always displays a calm demeanor during matches, evoking that he is always scheming the next tactical move to give him the advantage. Unlike most puppet characters who like to keep enemies at a manageable distance, Chaos prefers quick in-and-out, close quarters combat. He commands Azhi-Dahaka, his lizard-shaped Void creature to execute heavy attacks that often have invulnerability frames against opponents.
Chaos can also strike opponents during Azhi-Dahaka’s attacks to keep the pressure on. Chaos can only be damaged when Azhi-Dahaka is recovering from its attacks, so most players look for openings to get their chance to strike. Other times, they can strike Azhi-Dahaka to render it unavailable for a short time, leaving Chaos vulnerable to attacks.
5 Shadow Labrys (Persona 4 Arena Ultimax)
As the maligned manifestation of Labrys’ desire to become human and experience going to school, Shadow Labrys is the more vicious and sadistic version in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. She is accompanied by Asterius, her Persona, a massive bipedal bull whose head, torso, and arms are visible on the stage.
Both Asterius and Shadow Labrys can command the stage since the former can cover huge distances with its attacks that hit like a truck, while Shadow Labrys can effectively hit opponents from a good range due to her ax swings. Along with Asterius Bite attack, Shadow Labrys can set up opponents for devastating combos and wall carries that leave their targets blocking at a wall, waiting for their turns.
4 Devo (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future)
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is known for their characters having powerful Stands. Devo is one of DIO’s assassins whose Stand, Ebony Devil, has the power to possess inanimate objects. His Stand’s damage is reliant on how much anger Devo has against his target, so most of the time, Devo allows his targets to hit him: this results in his body having a lot of scars from previous battles.
Once Devo activates Ebony Devil, they can effectively zone opponents, thanks to Ebony Devil’s unique movement: it can walk on walls and ceilings and unlike other puppets, if Ebony Devil is deactivated, it stays where it is until it’s turned back on. Devo has long and stylish combos along with his outstanding neutral game to pressure enemies. However, activating Ebony Devil and properly placing it is required to execute such massive combos. But once players get the hang of it, Devo’s pressure and mixup game is hard to contend with.
3 Carl Clover (BlazBlue)
One of the more diminutive fighters in BlazBlue, Carl Clover is a vigilante who has brought many criminals and ruffians to justice with the help of his robotic doll, Machine God: Nirvana, who believes is his sister, Ada Clover. Carl commands Nirvana to strike at their enemies up close to deal damaging combos while he keeps away and pelts them with various machine parts like cogs and rivets he produces via magical means.
Nirvana is especially deadly whenever Carl activates his Overdrive skill, Synchro High Speed. As the name suggests, it boosts Nirvana’s movement speed, allowing her to move around and add even more pressure to enemies. Nirvana’s attacks can be halted if it gets hit or if Carl blocks or gets hit by enemy attacks. But hitting Carl is easier said than done, since he’ll have Nirvana always in between himself and their target.
2 Zato-1 / Eddie (Guilty Gear)
Zato-1 is the premiere puppet character in the Guilty Gear games, having been available in every game since the first title. He made a pact and sacrificed his eyesight to become the host of Eddie, a Forbidden Beast made up of shadow. Their attacks consist of Zato-1 commanding Eddie to transform into various shadow constructs to attack and maim the opposing fighter. Zato-1 and Eddie can unleash devastating mix-ups that lead to combos and command grabs.
Players need to adjust to the Negative Edge commands when playing Zato-1 since utilizing this scheme allows them to command Eddie. Aside from that, Eddie also has a gauge that players need to monitor. Whenever Eddie is summoned, it consumes a bit of its gauge: if Eddie gets hit or the gauge is fully depleted, Eddie cannot be summoned for a short duration until its gauge is filled up again.
1 Ms. Fortune (Skullgirls)
Part of the Fishbone Gang, Nadia Fortune is a feral feline thief who became undying when she consumed the Life Gem she stole in the underrated Skullgirls games. This resulted with her having the ability to remove her head and use it to attack her enemies. While her head is detached, Ms Fortune can still move around and attack opponents: she can make blood gush out from her legs to make her jump higher, she can use and remove her arms to set up surprise attacks at weird angles, and she can even transform her tail into a sword to slice her enemies, on top of her nimble claw strikes.
Ms Fortune can do these acts due to the Life Gem bestowing her extreme regenerative powers. One downside of removing her head during battles is that enemies can target it and deal damage to her. This is why after attacks, she needs to pick her head up to avoid getting hit back.