by CTF » 28 Mar 2018 20:47
I have played 200-300 hours of both SF5 and Tekken 7 and I would like to maybe shed some light on this discussion. In Tekken 7, the up input is used both for jumping and for sidesteps and the down input is used for both crouching and sidesteps. If you tap up you will sidestep into the background and if you hold up you will jump. Similarly, if you tap down you will sidestep into the foreground and if you hold down you will crouch. In addition, double tapping in these directions will make your character walk continuously into the background/foreground. In general it is very rare for characters in Tekken to jump compared to a 2D fighter as the purpose of jumping in Tekken is different to that of 2D fighters. There are three exceptions to this rule, the two guest characters: Akuma from Street Fighter and Geese from King of Fighters, and Eliza which is a unique character that heavily borrows mechanics and inputs from 2D fighters. In any other match not featuring these three characters out of the 40 character roster you will rarely see any jumps at all (and most of the ones you will see will be used in a specific setup after a wall splat).
Other than sidestepping, 3D fighters usually have another key difference in how the hits are categorized. In Street Fighter you have high attacks which can be blocked standing or crouched, low attacks which can only be blocked crouching, overhead attacks which can only be blocked standing up and jumping attacks which function the same way as overheads. In Tekken, all attacks are either high, mid or low. Mid attacks can only be blocked standing up (much like overheads in 2D fighters) low attacks can only be blocked crouching (same as their 2D counterpart) but high attacks are different, high attacks can be blocked standing up but completely evaded while crouched. Which means that in Tekken if your opponent is throwing a series of 3 high attacks at you, you don't have to stand there and block, you can duck it and punish him. This has no counterpart in 2D fighters.
As for the key differences that these changes create in the matches themselves, I would say the most important thing is how it affects the way players defend during a match. In Street Fighter, if you are blocking your opponent's string you are probably going to remain in a blocking state until he does a move that is negative on block or the pushblock pushes you far enough out of harm's way. In Tekken, even if your opponent keeps pressing safe buttons in your face, you still have defensive options to outmaneuver him. Suppose you just blocked a move that is +4 on block and your opponent now has the initiative on you. In Street Fighter, it would be stupid to press any button in this case (unless it's an invincible reversal which only a select characters have access to), you would simply keep blocking until your opponent gives up his advantage on you. In Tekken, you have other options, you can keep blocking or you can sidestep to evade his next attack (this will lose to moves that catch sidesteps, called homing moves) or you can duck if you anticipate your opponent throwing a high attack (this will lose to a mid attack). This completely changes the pace of the matches.
In 2D fighters, there is a concept called blockstrings, it's a string that is completely safe on block that you can throw to pressure your opponent hoping he will either lose patience and press a button or not know the blockstring. This safe string you do also lets you hit confirm in case you hit and keeps the momentum on your side. In 3D fighters, this concept is almost non existent, there are usually no strings you can apply that are guaranteed to be safe because your opponent has other defensive options that he can apply between hits of the string. In Tekken, there are more opportunities for the momentum to shift and indeed in high level Tekken matches you will see constant momentum shifts between the players and in less predictable places.
The aforementioned blockstrings create something in 2D fighters that people sometimes refer to as "turns". It is common to hear stuff like "he didn't wait for his turn" or "he pressed a button too early" when talking about a game of Street Figher. That is because the definition between when you should attack and when you should defend is clearer. You weather your opponent's attempts to open you up, wait for your turn to strike back and then do a mix-up of your own. Because of how the basic universal movement options of Tekken work, this concept is a lot less defined and fights become more dynamic and varied. No longer you only have to wait and block during your opponent's turn, now you can catch his tendencies on offense, find a hole and surprise him with a well placed side step or a duck. Almost every single moment in a Tekken game you have a chance to predict and outsmart your opponent in ways that are impossible in a 2D fighter. Not only that, some moves can only be sidestepped right and some can only be sidestepped left which means you also have to know which direction to sidestep. This can make otherwise safe moves become punishable with proper 3D movement. Tekken also features moves that are called "crush" moves which are invulnerable to either high or low attacks during their animation which adds another of layer or responses to dealing with your opponent's offense.
In general I feel the 3D movement makes the matches in Tekken less "turn based". Your ways of defending and punishing your opponent's habits as well as how you apply pressure because of this majorly change how 2D and 3D fighters play and feel. This makes for fights that are more dynamic as every single moment you have more choices and more variables to consider which in turn makes the flow of the battle feel more natural and reactive thus making your interactions with your opponent more interesting. In a high level Tekken match, you will see the players not just blocking their opponents moves, but also using the full 3D range of motion as well as ducking to evade their attacks and fight back in ways that either cannot be (side steps) or are currently not implemented (ducking to avoid high attacks) in 2D fighting games.
Hope this helps fill in some blanks about the appeal of 3D fighters. There are also many aspects of 2D fighters that are almost non existent in 3D fighters like cross-ups, projectiles, less left-right mix-ups in general and a totally different zoning game among others. All these differences are enough to still distinguish between these two subgenres for the fighting game community. If you would like me to elaborate, clarify or answer some questions you don't think I have answered I would do so gladly.