Tifa's entire moveset in FF7R may be the most beautifully animated hand to hand combat I've ever seen. Every movement just has such incredible momentum, you can _see_ her building up the power in her core and follow it as it travels through her body and gets unleashed through her limbs. Because the game lets you go into slow motion at any moment, they pretty much _had_ to go all out in the animation department because they needed every animation to look good at both speeds, but even then, I feel like they have Tifa special attention in the animation department. There's a reason why Tifa combo videos became a thing after FF7R's release.
Eliza from Skullgirls heavy punch string is one of the sickest pieces of animation I've ever seen. The animation is fluid, and the weight behind the final hit is so good.
Dante's Judgement in Sin Devil Trigger form. The way it slows time to a halt, he winds up with the sword behind his back and does a small nod to himself as everything goes silent until the glass shatters and then just unleashes a flurry of choreographed violence and destruction on everything nearby and the fact the moves being done are an homage to Sparda just makes it the sickest move in anything for me
One of my favourites is absolutely the Falcon Punch. It has this nice beat of Cap reeling back, his fist catches fire and he just unleashes that straight with a fiery bird that slams into you. That or the wicked weaves from Bayonetta. I just love holes in reality opening so that giant fists or claws or stiletto heels can crush your enemies.
I'm gonna say the leg break move in Sleeping Dogs just because it causes all the enemies around you to flinch back in horror. The instant takedown moves in the Batman Arkham games are pretty great too
The way Link delivers the final blow to Ganon in Wind Waker is probably one of my favorites. You're just playing a fun happy adventure game with standard combat and Link comes out of nowhere with a Nero-ass upper slash and down stab into Ganon's fuckin' skull. It's so sick.
@@Rusty_Spy And the helm-splitter, which is probably one of the coolest moves in Twilight Princess, came from one of Windwaker Link's counter moves. Toon Link was more brutal than we remember.
Akuma's raging demon in third strike, landing a finishing blow with that move feels like you not only read your opponent but got the instruction booklet for them. Bro there are so many good moves in games that i cant even choose other than maybe akuma
Every single Overed Weapon animation from Armored Core 5/ Verdict day. The sight of large unstable weapons transforming from your AC's back while your hud and AC system voice is glitch out giving you error messages telling you to "immediately STOP USING IT" was the coolest. The Foundation's "What are you doing? So this is the hope of mankind?! when had you had him as your system voice made it even more anime. Also the sound design for every single one perfect, the grind blade noise lives rent-free in my brain.
Man, i can go on forever. Armor King's midair giant swing command grab, Rugal's genocide cutter, galactica phantom, K's supers, the killing blows in Sekiro, judgement cut, there's too many.
Honestly, *one of* my favourite attack animations has to go to Halo's melee, specifically the CE-to-3 era. The meaty THWACK, the recoil most enemies suffer when melee'd, the near-frame one moment of impact where there's NO windup or input lag, it just cuts straight to the smack. Plus, there are certain weapons where a melee just *FEELS* better, alot of the rifles ramming the butt of the gun into them, the Needler jamming its needles into them, god those games had some good melee in them.
You'd love Darkwatch for the PS2/Xbox OG, most of the weapons in that game had a bladed grip or something to give melee attacks some extra oomph, whacking people with the shotgun's blade if you ran out of ammo was a viable strategy.
Yo, great editing, shout out to @Solidus113 ! My answer would be Hollow Knight's Crystal Heart, the way the Knight prepares for it, visibly storing the power, and upon release you see the flicker of the silhouette, the sound conveys the power, little stage effects shining here and there when you are doing it, and the way the Knight pauses, fighting the momentum, when it's canceled - everything about that move feels put together really well. If we are talking more simple moment to moment things, the way 2B slides the ladders, using one hand and one leg, just oozes elegance and power. Now that I think about it, almost every 2B animation is full of that feel, except the stumble.
Nero's Red Queen combo B comes to mind, but really Nero's whole moveset once you learn how to Exceed is some top tier character action game attacks with impact
Any form of the (spinning) Izuna Drop, specifically Hayabusa's. Performing that off any high stage transition in Dead or Alive is incredibly satisfying, bonus points if you shatter any objects or surfaces on the way down.
Siegfrieds moveset in Soul Calibur 3 comes to mind. The one where he stabs through then suplexes the opponent. The grab where he knocks them down with the hilt. The stomping. All the big up-to-down, down-to-up and side-to-side swings. It's so good.
In the final battle in Elden Ring, all of Radagon’s hammer strikes have visible momentum. You can see how the hammer carries his arm through the arc, and I think that’s fucking radical. And it lets you feel the impact whenever the attack connects and you get knocked off your feet. His streak attack where he travels across the arena to smack you is the best example of this. Edit: I can’t believe I forgot Radahn’s Psycho Crusher! I will praise that move until the cows come home, because it is _sick!_
If we're including boss moves, then Sister Friede's grab attack (3rd phase), Isshin catching lightning midair and Midir's Laser Beam are some of my favorite Fromsoft animations.
Special shoutout to Morgott's sword rain attack, that shit made my jaw drop when I first saw it. His weapon summoning in general is one of the sickest boss gimmicks they've done
For me, it's Elden Ring as well, but it's a much simpler move: when Mohg, in his second phase, simply stabs you with his trident he can follow it up by clutching it one hand and SPINNING it, causing the Bloodflame to flay off of it in a spiral pattern. One of the simplest, and sickest, moves I've ever seen.
@@dannyboi5887 I just hate how much he (and by extension most bosses and enemies in ER) attacks compared to the player, but his animations are sick indeed.
Radagon's grab where he turns your face into a blacksmith's anvil is my favorite. Every time I get caught by it I yell "I'M SORRY" right before the big impact sends me flying across the stage
Pretty much everything from Jojo All Star Battle. The entire game displays a perfect understanding of translating manga panels to motion, and ends up creating things from the genuinely creative (like the bizarre idle posing and movement of the pillar men) to the perfectly derivative (like Kira's 2nd super being a mish mash of motions taken directly from panels in Hayato's arc).
The special attacks in CrossCode are worth doing just to see their animations, the level 3 ones especially are so f'in over the top it's insane. The ones that come to my mind first are the lightning ultra combos and the meteor rain.
Some personal favorites of mine... - The Explosion finisher from KH2 - KH2's Aerial Finisher into Magnet Pull into Aerial Finisher - Ramlethal's Erarlumo chain (the Rekka attack) in Strive - Lion's Claw in Elden Ring - Bloodborne's visceral attack - Spinesharking in Metroid Dread - Stylish Jumps in Paper Mario TTYD
My vote goes to Lee's Scatter Kick from Tekken. For those who don't know, it's hard to write out, but I'll try: Out of a crouching stance, he throws out a heel kick to the head. Once that hits, he hooks his foot around the other side of their head and pulls them down, slamming their face into the floor. It's a super slick and fluid motion too. It is THE most styling shit I've ever seen, since I first saw it in T4 back in 2001. I implore you Google "Lee Chaolan Scatter Kick" and just watch the first gif. That shit is *incredible*.
The Last Rite attacks in Ender Lillies are up for there for me, ESPECIALLY Umbral Knight's. There's just something so satisfying about watching multiple sword cuts come out of a single slash.
2:13 The pantheon of "Big ol' wind up punches" just got a contender for best in class in Street Fighter 6 I think, with Marisa's level 3. The framing on the lead-up is beautiful, biiiig wind-up into *that bounce*. It's so good. Then again, that might just be the novelty of it talking.
Annie’s cross up in Skullgirls looks so fluid, also anytime you nail a critical wind-up attack in Monster Hunter. Shoutouts to all of the animation in Punch-Out!!! Wii and Batman’s multi takedown in Arkham Knight.
A weird one, but one I've always been attached to is Mario's forward-aerial in the Smash Bros games, there's something incredibly satisfying about the windup to a volleyball spike at the startup, the arc of the swing down and then watching someone get instantly spiked into the ground and/or the depths as soon as it connects. Any kind of dunk animation is really satisfying to watch but that was the first one that made me revolve my entire playstyle around landing one killer move.
For me, it's either KH2FM's Lingering Will's big cannon and his "super attack"; both of those animations make you *FEEL* oh, this is what fighting a Keyblade Master (ironic, huh) feels like. That and the animation of the alt attack of the Farron Blade in DS3, the one where you do two sweeps that end with the Artorias aerial spin, that singlehandedly made me fall in love with that weapon. And if we're talking fighting games, K' sunglass toss is still the sickest shit ever
not my all time fave but shoutouts to ridley's command grab in smush dragging you face first across the entire stage into that big toss(or the flip release for more pressure) But it gets even better if you play on a stage with walls, he has a specific animation for pulling you up off the ground and slamming you into the wall with full force
I’m a fan of God Hand specials. Especially God Stomp 2 because I just love how RAW the stomping is. There’s no grace, there’s no style, your enemy is on the ground and you’re keeping them there as the earth shatters with each brutal stomp you feed their body.
Probably not my all time favorite, but I LOVE Orochi Yashiro's command grab and grab super where he just slams you back and forth over and over before tossing you away
Armor King's animations are sick as hell: his triple stomp on a downed enemy; his triple headbutt; his airthrows... Just... So much of his moveset is rad as fuck
Before the video even started I also picked a 3rd strike ryu move: his donkey kick. The little step forward and then his fingers fanning out looks so cool to me
I love how Hazama has the coolest move set in Blazblue cause this smug snake is always dancing and posing with every single sit and Houtenjin is just one hell of a kick that sent you to jesus and is an instant YES for me
Two attacks come to mind, Big bands "Take the a' train" is rad. He scoops the opponent up inside a giant brass fist, a piston slams through the fist three times and on the third the fist pops open and the opponent skids across the floor. Don't know if it counts as a in game but Eizen from ToB has Perfect Mayhem, where he knocks his opponent into the air, flips a coin then dempsey rolls them so fast that by the final hit he can spin around and catch the coin as it falls.
Most of the high-end scythe attacks from Dante's Inferno. The suicide fruit from the same game, if only for the screaming. Hyper Beam from Red and Blue. Beating up the Penguin in Arkham City. Heavy Melee for the batarian in ME3 multiplayer. Jesus Christ, what an incredible question.
Monster hunter lv 3 greatsword charge especially with the wyvern ignition is one of the meatyest animations i can think of and the feeling you get when landing it in some poor monsters face ESPECIALLY if it staggers back from it is such a damn rush
Haven’t gotten to adult brother NieR yet so I’m not sure if it’s in Replicant yet but the box pushing animation on Papa NieR in Gestalt when he goes from a normal push into full on shoving his back into it was always really satisfying.
B.B. Hood's Beautiful Memory super in Vsav/Darkstalkers 3 has gotta be my favorite. Not only does she stuff you full of rocks but then overhead tosses you into a deep puddle of her own crocodile tears. It being so incredibly gonzo but also linking right back into her theming as Little Red Riding hood is truly a *chefs kiss*. I could probably fill a top 10 with moves from Darkstalkers alone(Soul Eraser, Finishing Shower, Hell Dunk, Jedah's Contract Super) let alone other Capcom games(Blodia Punch, Silent Kill, Legion, Senkukyaku, Chaos Dimension, Hyper Megaman). Honorable mentions go out to stuff like Metal Slug's Shot Gun and Super Shotgun, feel so good and impactful using it to blow enemies away. Pretty much all of Bayo's wicked weaves as well as moves like Breakdance. And Kirby's plethora of one use abilities and shit like Final Cutter and Gazer Spiral.
ngl megaman zeros the (game series) summersault slash has always felt great for how simple it is and another would be links charged jump attack from twilight princess even though its abit impractical i always enjoyed the voice acting and sound effects of it the monadk buster in the original xenoblade always had a good impact especially when it peaks the audio and something that doesnt involve swords would be z brolys medium or heave lariat express from fighterz
Huge fan of Lunar Phase and any move that has you vertically spin in the air and come down with a slam. Flipsaw from Darksiders is my personal favorite version of this. Ken's Shippu Jinrai has also always held a special place as well. Akuma's Raging Demon when it kills. The transformation attacks for the Blades of Mercy in Bloodborne. Link's Spin Attack done with just the full circle motion in OoT/MM.
Peacock's Goodfellas super in Skullgirls, without a doubt. The flow of the entire move is executed flawlessly: the beatdown, the casual drag on the cigar, the tossing it back, and that fucking smarmy, psychotic little grin she gives when the explosion hits - pure, perfect Peacock energy. It's the most iconic move in Skullgirls for me and I legit think it's up there with DIO's road roller super in terms of memorability. Other than that, Falcon Punch. Because it's Falcon Punch.
I'm seeing a lot of good answers that I would have given too, so I'm going to go for a different pick. Some of the program advances in the Battle Network are just cool, but the clear winners are Master Style/Master Cross and Double Hero. Seeing Megaman split up into his multiple styles or crosses, combo the enemy, AND THEN BLOWING UP THE ENTIRE STAGE had me put it into ever folder I could back then. With Double Hero, seeing Protoman and Megaman barrage the enemy's area with slashes and charge shots is just cool. Also, for as cool as Devil Trigger is, I always felt like using BeastOut was a much cooler pop. It used up one of the 5 chip selects you could use for that turn, the screen goes dark, you see Megaman roar with a surge of energy coming out of him, and BAM, Megaman is now in Beast Cross, ready to overpower whatever is in his way. It's defined a surge of power for me moreso than DT and even Sin DT for the longest time.
VECTOR CANNON is great, but I think what's taken the cake for me in Zone of the Enders was ALWAYS Anubis' Dash Laser attack. This explosion of lasers that all turn ONLY AT 90 DEGREE ANGLES TO HUNT YOU DOWN is such an aesthetic that I want to see more of in games and by god I may just have to do it myself one day because it has inspired me for years. As for normal moves? Big Band's Big Fist attacks from Skullgirls. Painwheel's Buer Attacks too, they both feel so weighty and so CRUNCHY and I love using them.
There’s an old show called Fighterpedia that seems to have vanished from the internet, or maybe it never existed at all, but it’s the answer to this question in video form.
Personal favorites that come to mind: Shin Shoryuken (Street Fighter) Judgment Cut End (DMC) Dante's Stinger, Real Impact & Royal Guard (DMC) Tiger Drop (Yakuza/Like a Dragon) Ripostes (Bloodborne) Zweihander Heavy Attack (Dark Souls) Mikiri Counter & Lightning Reversals (Sekiro)
Maybe it's cause i main Dragunov, but i love his running 2. The way he puts all his weight and momentum behind a punch is insanely satisfying, and when you get that counter hit, damn, almost makes you forget you're playing a lower mid tier character.
I got a good few from both fighting and non-fighting games. Recently I’ve been loving Marisa’s Scutum grab, with that punch that just looks like it kills and then the kick off for add flavor. Then from Elden Ring when Godfrey becomes Hoarah Loux, his high powerbomb with the added chest rip if it kills. My most favorites has to be from fighting games King’s Muscle Buster string from T7, cause as a wrestling fan, the idea that there is an internal commentary team doing the play-by-play as King just ragdolls the poor unfortunate soul caught in his grasp made me hype and my favorite from non-fighting game has to be the standard kill animation from DOOM
Mine is probably from the end of Gungrave Overdose, where the antagonist is being approached by the 3 protagonists and they all start to charge up their ultimates and the way they charge up with the main theme amping it up all for one gigantic team blast as the antagonist is washed away in the light of the explosion... It's a rough ass game that gets downright god-awful at times but man is that bit the best
Woolie can make 5 videos about this topic alone, shit, each fighting game franchise might need a video. 3rd strike alone had: Elena's like 40-frame win animation, Urien's Japanese time over loss animation, the aforementioned shin shoryuken, both of Gouki's 3-bar super arts, EVERYTHING MAKOTO DOES, Dudley also, the list goes on.
M.Bison Paint the fence Combo - CvS2 Twelve Light attack/Chip fall down - 3rd Strike Peacock Level 3 Blockbuster - Skullgirls Lucky Hell bound super - KoF '98 PK freeze/The actual ice hit animation at high percentage (SO SATISFYING)- Smash
Just about anything with big startup and hitstop gets the good feel chemicals flowing. Personal examples: Shin Shoryuken, Byleth's Down B in SSBU, Charge Blade's Whirling Axe Mode in Monster Hunter (or Whirligig Saw in Bloodborne). I really don't have much else, thinking hard about it, if only because I don't play much fighting games and what I've been playing outside of that has been pretty limited.
I agree with all the examples. For me what I would add would be, not necessarily a specific animation, the glory kills introduced in Doom 4 (2016). This is what helped elevate that game from being just a good FPS game. It’s one thing to just shoot at the enemy until they die, but getting up close and personal to deliver the finishing blow, especially against enemies you struggled with, was such a powerful and satisfying feedback. The fact that the animations were unique depending where on the body you targeted them was just icing on the cake. Punchy, brutal, and the right amount of brevity, and flowed perfectly with the gameplay.
I'm very partial to Majima's Slugger-style animation that uses the bat like nunchuks in Yakuza 0. No, it's not as mechanically satisfying as Tiger Drop or Komaki Parry, but there's something about that animation that is so stupid that it's awesome. Every single animation for the Hunting Horn is why I like using it. It just feels heavy and cumbersome in all the right ways. And of course the little swaying dance you do when you play a song (pre-Rise at least) is just fun as shit.
A bunch of my favourites are the 'sync kills' (finishing animations) from Dawn of War. Some were so elaborate for 2004 and you could really see the animators going the extra mile.
This is definitely recency bias, but Final Fantasy XVI has some absolutely bonkers style in its attack animations. The big punches you do with Titan’s powers especially are SOOO clean. If we’re talking historically, though, the entire Beowulf moveset from DMC3 (and carrying over to Balrog in 5) is pretty hard to beat.
ancient catasrophe in tales of vesperia is high on my list, but i'm a mage/wizard playing dork in most games i play, and hi-ougi tend to be cutscenes, so it's debatable if this counts. K' in kof throwing his shades and then doing his combo before catching his shades and putting them back on is extremely satisfying. and upgrading on woolie's choice of shinshoryu, i think distortion real impact is right up there as well. on the same note of vector cannon in ZoE2, the extremely situational and impractical 15 second long trance slash you can do by having tempest axe and demon riot active before going into the trance slash in MH4U. usually you have to put the monster in a trap and have it set up before it gets caught to even meet the 15 second long window to get the final hit off. most limit breaks in XIV. the first time going through RE5 and i had to do the boulder punching cutscene, or also in RE5 when you find an opportunity to do a full co-op mode only tag-team combo to instant kill the fat guys.
Evil Ryu's ultra 2 in SF4 has always been a favorite, and basically sold me on the game. It's not just the quality of the animation, but the combination of the cinematography, sound design and voice lines that create this viscerally satisfying rhythm to the whole thing. Also shoutouts to donkey kick and hazanshu from 3S.
Almost all of the Ultimate Weapons in Armored Core V/Verdict Day. Special Mention to Mass Blade which is less a blade and more the structural supports of a building that rockets you at a million miles an hour and destroys everything you come in contact with while leaving you completely shit outta luck if you miss.
Tidus' Blitz Ace overdrive from ff10 Artorias Back spin jump into stinger or triple somersault Soul of Cinder juggling you in phase 2 and then stabbing you into the ground and his sword explodes, 10/10 would eat it every time
DMC 5, Nero powerbombing Vergil is pretty high up there, hard to land but there is something so primally enjoyable about forging all these fancy tricks and attacks and just dropping him like a sac of potatoes.
The Legion Pulse from ACV is one of the 5 Overed Weapons. It's absolutely a waste to use by technically being the worst of the OWs, but the animation of this massive set of fan shaped gun batteries on the AC's back charging up and firing off simultaneously is just the dopest thing ever.
Any charge attack in games that takes so long you should have no feasible way of landing the hit. But when you do... The game rewards that hit so much with a borderline cinematic hit you get ALL the dopamine. Especially if you drop it it at the last possible moment before it fails/you lose it to being hit. I couldn't name a single moment, but you know the ones I'm talking about.
T.Hawk's Ultra 2 from SF4 is still one of my all time favorite supers in fighting games. Start with an anti air pile driver, SUHLAM the crap outta them, (the sound effects of that part are great, too) WHIIIIIIRL 'em around, and one final slam down as he shouts the move's name; "Raging SLASH"!!!
Yeah that is a loaded question indeed. Off the top of my head.... Seth's version of Hyakuretsukyaku in SF4. The Meter Burn of Spawn's Guns Blazing/Blaze of Glory in MK11. Hell just about all the Fatalities in MK11 That one Glory Kill in Eternal where Doom Slayer smashing a zombie's head into their torso with a single hammering punch. Kratos' Cyclone of Chaos in God of War 3. Sophitia's Heaven's Arch. All the Ouroboros Chain Attacks in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. The Heavy Guard Class' Variable Turret in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Just about everything the Full Metal Jaguar does in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. That thing Nappa does where he jabs two fingers into the air and something explodes. That one move that MMX2 Sigma Virus has where he goes side to side shooting a laser straight down from his mouth. Proton Cannon! INFINITY!!! The World's Muda!Muda!Muda! in the Capcom Jojo fighter. That one command grab that King from Tekken does where he smashes the other guy's face on his knee. Almost everything in Ki 2013. And pretty much everything Voldo does........but only if I'm using a female create-a-character in his place >:3
I haven't played nearly as many games where the attack animations are specifically notable, but: Jax's long X and Y strings in MK11 (the ones you have to equip as a variation) are not especially useful, you can usually get better damage with Quad grab, but feel SO good to land. They really make Jax feel like a boxer working his opponent's body over. Marisa's Critical Art is super satisfying AND really useful, since it takes your opponent to the corner no matter where you are AND is brutal as hell. God, I love Marisa.
Kind of a niche one, but in the Megaman X rpg, command mission, when you're like 10% away from finishing an enemy you get to excute a rush with all your party and subweapon that rely on you massing the shit out of your input to spam attacks, it's very satisfying especially if you get it on a boss.
I love SFIV Heavy Punches, just so fucking beefy. Ryu/Ken stHP: just that wicked hook, Abel close HP: Two giant meaty hits out of the step kick, Honda st.HP that big ass chop along with njHP: the legendary stop sign, Fuerte: the way RSF looks is so good. Sagat cr.HP: Maybe not as oppressive as CvS2, but still crazy good. Decapre cl.HP: weirdly enough also super good looking
Bloodborne's 2 handed Hunter Axe gives me the dopamine. Light combo, wide combo, charged heavy, all of it. It's got such a great snap that I felt was missing from the polearm weapons in Dark Souls and Elden Ring.
Im a big fan of Ganon's animations in Smash Ultimate. His hits are super impactful and his voice sells it too. His forward tilt "sparta kick", neutral air kicks, Warlock punch. Pretty much all of it. Hits like a truck is an understatement. Too bad he's bottom tier.
I don't see anyone mentioning DBFZ so I'll add Broly S Kamehameha point blank. It's definitely up there for me. Goes from launching a green projectile to launching you with the projectile and it just feels gross AF to land.
Man, it's tough to come up with THE single best animation but WAR's Fell Cleave animation from FFXIV comes to mind. That animation is such an oddity because most other melee attacks feel... well, floaty. Whenever a PLD slashes, it kinda feels like they just wave their sword in front of the enemy and damage numbers pop up. Even DRKs, who carry huge swords, don't exactly evoke that sensation of weight. FFXIV doesn't "exactly" have hitstop, but I think the reason the Fell Cleave animation feels so meaty and heavy is that you can see your character sort of... struggle to finish the axe swing. The animation itself is fast, but there's a certain... CLUNK chhhkkk to it that is kinda hard to describe. The ability was pretty popular out the gate when they introduced it in Heavensward, and while the fact that it hit HARD contributed to it, I'd like to think that the animation did as well.
getting order sol's full dragon install to play out. napalm death just doesn't feel the same without the wings and tail coming out, or the hair coming loose after
Tifa's entire moveset in FF7R may be the most beautifully animated hand to hand combat I've ever seen. Every movement just has such incredible momentum, you can _see_ her building up the power in her core and follow it as it travels through her body and gets unleashed through her limbs. Because the game lets you go into slow motion at any moment, they pretty much _had_ to go all out in the animation department because they needed every animation to look good at both speeds, but even then, I feel like they have Tifa special attention in the animation department. There's a reason why Tifa combo videos became a thing after FF7R's release.
Eliza from Skullgirls heavy punch string is one of the sickest pieces of animation I've ever seen. The animation is fluid, and the weight behind the final hit is so good.
On the topic of Skullgirls: Big Band. Not even any specific animation, just everything he does.
Still on Eliza, Nekhbet Breaker is so good!
I'm still in awe at the genius of EKG Flatliner from Valentine
Dante's Judgement in Sin Devil Trigger form. The way it slows time to a halt, he winds up with the sword behind his back and does a small nod to himself as everything goes silent until the glass shatters and then just unleashes a flurry of choreographed violence and destruction on everything nearby and the fact the moves being done are an homage to Sparda just makes it the sickest move in anything for me
One of my favourites is absolutely the Falcon Punch. It has this nice beat of Cap reeling back, his fist catches fire and he just unleashes that straight with a fiery bird that slams into you.
That or the wicked weaves from Bayonetta. I just love holes in reality opening so that giant fists or claws or stiletto heels can crush your enemies.
I'm gonna say the leg break move in Sleeping Dogs just because it causes all the enemies around you to flinch back in horror. The instant takedown moves in the Batman Arkham games are pretty great too
YESSSS
>Arkham finishers
Not like Woolie would know anything about that
The way Link delivers the final blow to Ganon in Wind Waker is probably one of my favorites. You're just playing a fun happy adventure game with standard combat and Link comes out of nowhere with a Nero-ass upper slash and down stab into Ganon's fuckin' skull.
It's so sick.
And his yelling as he does it too. He's so done with Ganondorf's shit
All of WW Links attacks are satisfying as hell. Especially his roll counter.
@@Rusty_Spy And the helm-splitter, which is probably one of the coolest moves in Twilight Princess, came from one of Windwaker Link's counter moves. Toon Link was more brutal than we remember.
Akuma's raging demon in third strike, landing a finishing blow with that move feels like you not only read your opponent but got the instruction booklet for them.
Bro there are so many good moves in games that i cant even choose other than maybe akuma
The reload animation for Johnny Silverhand's gun in Cyberpunk2077.
That thing is so goddamn satisfying to use because of that animation.
Every single Overed Weapon animation from Armored Core 5/ Verdict day. The sight of large unstable weapons transforming from your AC's back while your hud and AC system voice is glitch out giving you error messages telling you to "immediately STOP USING IT" was the coolest. The Foundation's "What are you doing? So this is the hope of mankind?! when had you had him as your system voice made it even more anime. Also the sound design for every single one perfect, the grind blade noise lives rent-free in my brain.
Man, i can go on forever. Armor King's midair giant swing command grab, Rugal's genocide cutter, galactica phantom, K's supers, the killing blows in Sekiro, judgement cut, there's too many.
Honestly, *one of* my favourite attack animations has to go to Halo's melee, specifically the CE-to-3 era. The meaty THWACK, the recoil most enemies suffer when melee'd, the near-frame one moment of impact where there's NO windup or input lag, it just cuts straight to the smack. Plus, there are certain weapons where a melee just *FEELS* better, alot of the rifles ramming the butt of the gun into them, the Needler jamming its needles into them, god those games had some good melee in them.
My favourite is the Plasma pistol's where instead of hitting them with the weapon itself you just fucking PUNCH them.
You'd love Darkwatch for the PS2/Xbox OG, most of the weapons in that game had a bladed grip or something to give melee attacks some extra oomph, whacking people with the shotgun's blade if you ran out of ammo was a viable strategy.
Yo, great editing, shout out to @Solidus113 !
My answer would be Hollow Knight's Crystal Heart, the way the Knight prepares for it, visibly storing the power, and upon release you see the flicker of the silhouette, the sound conveys the power, little stage effects shining here and there when you are doing it, and the way the Knight pauses, fighting the momentum, when it's canceled - everything about that move feels put together really well.
If we are talking more simple moment to moment things, the way 2B slides the ladders, using one hand and one leg, just oozes elegance and power. Now that I think about it, almost every 2B animation is full of that feel, except the stumble.
Hollow Knight is usually pretty great at selling the impact of moves.
Nero's Red Queen combo B comes to mind, but really Nero's whole moveset once you learn how to Exceed is some top tier character action game attacks with impact
Any form of the (spinning) Izuna Drop, specifically Hayabusa's. Performing that off any high stage transition in Dead or Alive is incredibly satisfying, bonus points if you shatter any objects or surfaces on the way down.
3:02 after the idol showdown stream the editor is now in the rabbit hole with us YES
Siegfrieds moveset in Soul Calibur 3 comes to mind. The one where he stabs through then suplexes the opponent. The grab where he knocks them down with the hilt. The stomping. All the big up-to-down, down-to-up and side-to-side swings. It's so good.
Siegfried in general honestly. He the forever main for a reason
Or the nightmare one that stabs the enemy on the ground and pulls down a lighting.
@@lefteron6804 Most move is SC3 look amazing, but I singled out Sieg, because he's my main.
In the final battle in Elden Ring, all of Radagon’s hammer strikes have visible momentum. You can see how the hammer carries his arm through the arc, and I think that’s fucking radical. And it lets you feel the impact whenever the attack connects and you get knocked off your feet. His streak attack where he travels across the arena to smack you is the best example of this.
Edit: I can’t believe I forgot Radahn’s Psycho Crusher! I will praise that move until the cows come home, because it is _sick!_
If we're including boss moves, then Sister Friede's grab attack (3rd phase), Isshin catching lightning midair and Midir's Laser Beam are some of my favorite Fromsoft animations.
Special shoutout to Morgott's sword rain attack, that shit made my jaw drop when I first saw it. His weapon summoning in general is one of the sickest boss gimmicks they've done
For me, it's Elden Ring as well, but it's a much simpler move: when Mohg, in his second phase, simply stabs you with his trident he can follow it up by clutching it one hand and SPINNING it, causing the Bloodflame to flay off of it in a spiral pattern. One of the simplest, and sickest, moves I've ever seen.
@@dannyboi5887 I just hate how much he (and by extension most bosses and enemies in ER) attacks compared to the player, but his animations are sick indeed.
Radagon's grab where he turns your face into a blacksmith's anvil is my favorite. Every time I get caught by it I yell "I'M SORRY" right before the big impact sends me flying across the stage
Metal Slug 3 zombie grenades. The slow wind up with the almost full screen clearing effects, is so satisfying
The Panchaku three-hit combo in Dead Cells has no right looking that good for a joke weapon.
Pretty much everything from Jojo All Star Battle. The entire game displays a perfect understanding of translating manga panels to motion, and ends up creating things from the genuinely creative (like the bizarre idle posing and movement of the pillar men) to the perfectly derivative (like Kira's 2nd super being a mish mash of motions taken directly from panels in Hayato's arc).
The special attacks in CrossCode are worth doing just to see their animations, the level 3 ones especially are so f'in over the top it's insane. The ones that come to my mind first are the lightning ultra combos and the meteor rain.
Some personal favorites of mine...
- The Explosion finisher from KH2
- KH2's Aerial Finisher into Magnet Pull into Aerial Finisher
- Ramlethal's Erarlumo chain (the Rekka attack) in Strive
- Lion's Claw in Elden Ring
- Bloodborne's visceral attack
- Spinesharking in Metroid Dread
- Stylish Jumps in Paper Mario TTYD
Gotta be Kongou Kokuretsu Zan from 3rd strike Akuma, the super where he punches the ground and purple energy explodes upwards.
Gonna give bonus point for being able to one-shot Twelve with the right setup.
My jaw dropped to the floor when i first saw it.
My vote goes to Lee's Scatter Kick from Tekken.
For those who don't know, it's hard to write out, but I'll try: Out of a crouching stance, he throws out a heel kick to the head. Once that hits, he hooks his foot around the other side of their head and pulls them down, slamming their face into the floor. It's a super slick and fluid motion too.
It is THE most styling shit I've ever seen, since I first saw it in T4 back in 2001. I implore you Google "Lee Chaolan Scatter Kick" and just watch the first gif. That shit is *incredible*.
Its so good! I also love his Foward+(LeftKick) rapid fast kicks going up your body
Reggie’s composure when Woolie brought up Galactica Phantom was stone cold.
3:02 of course, the floodgates opened with Idol Showdown
I had to reinstall strive to get that footage, let it be known.
The Last Rite attacks in Ender Lillies are up for there for me, ESPECIALLY Umbral Knight's. There's just something so satisfying about watching multiple sword cuts come out of a single slash.
The first time I saw Judgement Cut End in DMC4 SE my life was changed forever
2:13 The pantheon of "Big ol' wind up punches" just got a contender for best in class in Street Fighter 6 I think, with Marisa's level 3. The framing on the lead-up is beautiful, biiiig wind-up into *that bounce*. It's so good. Then again, that might just be the novelty of it talking.
the fucking Hololive Potemkin Buster lmao
Annie’s cross up in Skullgirls looks so fluid, also anytime you nail a critical wind-up attack in Monster Hunter. Shoutouts to all of the animation in Punch-Out!!! Wii and Batman’s multi takedown in Arkham Knight.
The Izuna Drop from Ninja Gaiden is pretty fire. Also, 2B's and A2's walking and running animations are great.
A weird one, but one I've always been attached to is Mario's forward-aerial in the Smash Bros games, there's something incredibly satisfying about the windup to a volleyball spike at the startup, the arc of the swing down and then watching someone get instantly spiked into the ground and/or the depths as soon as it connects. Any kind of dunk animation is really satisfying to watch but that was the first one that made me revolve my entire playstyle around landing one killer move.
For me, it's either KH2FM's Lingering Will's big cannon and his "super attack"; both of those animations make you *FEEL* oh, this is what fighting a Keyblade Master (ironic, huh) feels like. That and the animation of the alt attack of the Farron Blade in DS3, the one where you do two sweeps that end with the Artorias aerial spin, that singlehandedly made me fall in love with that weapon. And if we're talking fighting games, K' sunglass toss is still the sickest shit ever
not my all time fave but shoutouts to ridley's command grab in smush
dragging you face first across the entire stage into that big toss(or the flip release for more pressure)
But it gets even better
if you play on a stage with walls, he has a specific animation for pulling you up off the ground and slamming you into the wall with full force
I’m a fan of God Hand specials. Especially God Stomp 2 because I just love how RAW the stomping is. There’s no grace, there’s no style, your enemy is on the ground and you’re keeping them there as the earth shatters with each brutal stomp you feed their body.
More games need attacks where you violently stomp or punch a grounded enemy.
Probably not my all time favorite, but I LOVE Orochi Yashiro's command grab and grab super where he just slams you back and forth over and over before tossing you away
Armor King's animations are sick as hell: his triple stomp on a downed enemy; his triple headbutt; his airthrows... Just... So much of his moveset is rad as fuck
Before the video even started I also picked a 3rd strike ryu move: his donkey kick. The little step forward and then his fingers fanning out looks so cool to me
I love how Hazama has the coolest move set in Blazblue cause this smug snake is always dancing and posing with every single sit and Houtenjin is just one hell of a kick that sent you to jesus and is an instant YES for me
Two attacks come to mind, Big bands "Take the a' train" is rad. He scoops the opponent up inside a giant brass fist, a piston slams through the fist three times and on the third the fist pops open and the opponent skids across the floor.
Don't know if it counts as a in game but Eizen from ToB has Perfect Mayhem, where he knocks his opponent into the air, flips a coin then dempsey rolls them so fast that by the final hit he can spin around and catch the coin as it falls.
Most of the high-end scythe attacks from Dante's Inferno.
The suicide fruit from the same game, if only for the screaming.
Hyper Beam from Red and Blue.
Beating up the Penguin in Arkham City.
Heavy Melee for the batarian in ME3 multiplayer.
Jesus Christ, what an incredible question.
Monster hunter lv 3 greatsword charge especially with the wyvern ignition is one of the meatyest animations i can think of and the feeling you get when landing it in some poor monsters face ESPECIALLY if it staggers back from it is such a damn rush
Haven’t gotten to adult brother NieR yet so I’m not sure if it’s in Replicant yet but the box pushing animation on Papa NieR in Gestalt when he goes from a normal push into full on shoving his back into it was always really satisfying.
B.B. Hood's Beautiful Memory super in Vsav/Darkstalkers 3 has gotta be my favorite. Not only does she stuff you full of rocks but then overhead tosses you into a deep puddle of her own crocodile tears. It being so incredibly gonzo but also linking right back into her theming as Little Red Riding hood is truly a *chefs kiss*. I could probably fill a top 10 with moves from Darkstalkers alone(Soul Eraser, Finishing Shower, Hell Dunk, Jedah's Contract Super) let alone other Capcom games(Blodia Punch, Silent Kill, Legion, Senkukyaku, Chaos Dimension, Hyper Megaman).
Honorable mentions go out to stuff like Metal Slug's Shot Gun and Super Shotgun, feel so good and impactful using it to blow enemies away. Pretty much all of Bayo's wicked weaves as well as moves like Breakdance. And Kirby's plethora of one use abilities and shit like Final Cutter and Gazer Spiral.
ngl megaman zeros the (game series) summersault slash has always felt great for how simple it is and another would be links charged jump attack from twilight princess even though its abit impractical i always enjoyed the voice acting and sound effects of it the monadk buster in the original xenoblade always had a good impact especially when it peaks the audio and something that doesnt involve swords would be z brolys medium or heave lariat express from fighterz
Robo Ky's intro where he's sitting on a throne that pops his sword out, the entire throne collapses down and retracts into his body.
Huge fan of Lunar Phase and any move that has you vertically spin in the air and come down with a slam. Flipsaw from Darksiders is my personal favorite version of this. Ken's Shippu Jinrai has also always held a special place as well. Akuma's Raging Demon when it kills. The transformation attacks for the Blades of Mercy in Bloodborne. Link's Spin Attack done with just the full circle motion in OoT/MM.
Peacock's Goodfellas super in Skullgirls, without a doubt. The flow of the entire move is executed flawlessly: the beatdown, the casual drag on the cigar, the tossing it back, and that fucking smarmy, psychotic little grin she gives when the explosion hits - pure, perfect Peacock energy. It's the most iconic move in Skullgirls for me and I legit think it's up there with DIO's road roller super in terms of memorability.
Other than that, Falcon Punch. Because it's Falcon Punch.
I'm seeing a lot of good answers that I would have given too, so I'm going to go for a different pick. Some of the program advances in the Battle Network are just cool, but the clear winners are Master Style/Master Cross and Double Hero. Seeing Megaman split up into his multiple styles or crosses, combo the enemy, AND THEN BLOWING UP THE ENTIRE STAGE had me put it into ever folder I could back then. With Double Hero, seeing Protoman and Megaman barrage the enemy's area with slashes and charge shots is just cool.
Also, for as cool as Devil Trigger is, I always felt like using BeastOut was a much cooler pop. It used up one of the 5 chip selects you could use for that turn, the screen goes dark, you see Megaman roar with a surge of energy coming out of him, and BAM, Megaman is now in Beast Cross, ready to overpower whatever is in his way. It's defined a surge of power for me moreso than DT and even Sin DT for the longest time.
Heidern winning pose animation and Leona's Kamen Rider special. So many details... So good.
It might sound weird, but all the attacks from the bannersage. Not something very big or flashy, but they feel so raw and hardhitting.
VECTOR CANNON is great, but I think what's taken the cake for me in Zone of the Enders was ALWAYS Anubis' Dash Laser attack. This explosion of lasers that all turn ONLY AT 90 DEGREE ANGLES TO HUNT YOU DOWN is such an aesthetic that I want to see more of in games and by god I may just have to do it myself one day because it has inspired me for years.
As for normal moves? Big Band's Big Fist attacks from Skullgirls. Painwheel's Buer Attacks too, they both feel so weighty and so CRUNCHY and I love using them.
There’s an old show called Fighterpedia that seems to have vanished from the internet, or maybe it never existed at all, but it’s the answer to this question in video form.
Mother Brain's Hyper Beam and that arm thing she does in Super Metroid.
The Hyper Beam in Metroid Prime.
Personal favorites that come to mind:
Shin Shoryuken (Street Fighter)
Judgment Cut End (DMC)
Dante's Stinger, Real Impact & Royal Guard (DMC)
Tiger Drop (Yakuza/Like a Dragon)
Ripostes (Bloodborne)
Zweihander Heavy Attack (Dark Souls)
Mikiri Counter & Lightning Reversals (Sekiro)
Which stinger? I like 3's the most personally.
@@jdtheba9171 Any of them do the job, but probably 5's cause of the "EYAH!" spam as well as the impact of the move when in DT.
Maybe it's cause i main Dragunov, but i love his running 2. The way he puts all his weight and momentum behind a punch is insanely satisfying, and when you get that counter hit, damn, almost makes you forget you're playing a lower mid tier character.
*Russian Breath Noises*
I got a good few from both fighting and non-fighting games.
Recently I’ve been loving Marisa’s Scutum grab, with that punch that just looks like it kills and then the kick off for add flavor. Then from Elden Ring when Godfrey becomes Hoarah Loux, his high powerbomb with the added chest rip if it kills.
My most favorites has to be from fighting games King’s Muscle Buster string from T7, cause as a wrestling fan, the idea that there is an internal commentary team doing the play-by-play as King just ragdolls the poor unfortunate soul caught in his grasp made me hype
and my favorite from non-fighting game has to be the standard kill animation from DOOM
I misread part of that as Scrotum grab
One of the simpler ones: Slayer's Dandy Step to Mach Punch in GGX2. It feels like how a vampire would deliver a direct punch.
Mine is probably from the end of Gungrave Overdose, where the antagonist is being approached by the 3 protagonists and they all start to charge up their ultimates and the way they charge up with the main theme amping it up all for one gigantic team blast as the antagonist is washed away in the light of the explosion... It's a rough ass game that gets downright god-awful at times but man is that bit the best
Woolie can make 5 videos about this topic alone, shit, each fighting game franchise might need a video.
3rd strike alone had: Elena's like 40-frame win animation, Urien's Japanese time over loss animation, the aforementioned shin shoryuken, both of Gouki's 3-bar super arts, EVERYTHING MAKOTO DOES, Dudley also, the list goes on.
M.Bison Paint the fence Combo - CvS2
Twelve Light attack/Chip fall down - 3rd Strike
Peacock Level 3 Blockbuster - Skullgirls
Lucky Hell bound super - KoF '98
PK freeze/The actual ice hit animation at high percentage (SO SATISFYING)- Smash
Just about anything with big startup and hitstop gets the good feel chemicals flowing. Personal examples: Shin Shoryuken, Byleth's Down B in SSBU, Charge Blade's Whirling Axe Mode in Monster Hunter (or Whirligig Saw in Bloodborne). I really don't have much else, thinking hard about it, if only because I don't play much fighting games and what I've been playing outside of that has been pretty limited.
I agree with all the examples.
For me what I would add would be, not necessarily a specific animation, the glory kills introduced in Doom 4 (2016).
This is what helped elevate that game from being just a good FPS game. It’s one thing to just shoot at the enemy until they die, but getting up close and personal to deliver the finishing blow, especially against enemies you struggled with, was such a powerful and satisfying feedback.
The fact that the animations were unique depending where on the body you targeted them was just icing on the cake.
Punchy, brutal, and the right amount of brevity, and flowed perfectly with the gameplay.
Resident Evil 4 rifle reload animation
There is no right answer, but if there was, it would be Judgement Cut End.
I'm very partial to Majima's Slugger-style animation that uses the bat like nunchuks in Yakuza 0. No, it's not as mechanically satisfying as Tiger Drop or Komaki Parry, but there's something about that animation that is so stupid that it's awesome.
Every single animation for the Hunting Horn is why I like using it. It just feels heavy and cumbersome in all the right ways. And of course the little swaying dance you do when you play a song (pre-Rise at least) is just fun as shit.
A bunch of my favourites are the 'sync kills' (finishing animations) from Dawn of War. Some were so elaborate for 2004 and you could really see the animators going the extra mile.
This is definitely recency bias, but Final Fantasy XVI has some absolutely bonkers style in its attack animations. The big punches you do with Titan’s powers especially are SOOO clean.
If we’re talking historically, though, the entire Beowulf moveset from DMC3 (and carrying over to Balrog in 5) is pretty hard to beat.
ancient catasrophe in tales of vesperia is high on my list, but i'm a mage/wizard playing dork in most games i play, and hi-ougi tend to be cutscenes, so it's debatable if this counts.
K' in kof throwing his shades and then doing his combo before catching his shades and putting them back on is extremely satisfying.
and upgrading on woolie's choice of shinshoryu, i think distortion real impact is right up there as well.
on the same note of vector cannon in ZoE2, the extremely situational and impractical 15 second long trance slash you can do by having tempest axe and demon riot active before going into the trance slash in MH4U. usually you have to put the monster in a trap and have it set up before it gets caught to even meet the 15 second long window to get the final hit off.
most limit breaks in XIV.
the first time going through RE5 and i had to do the boulder punching cutscene, or also in RE5 when you find an opportunity to do a full co-op mode only tag-team combo to instant kill the fat guys.
Evil Ryu's ultra 2 in SF4 has always been a favorite, and basically sold me on the game. It's not just the quality of the animation, but the combination of the cinematography, sound design and voice lines that create this viscerally satisfying rhythm to the whole thing.
Also shoutouts to donkey kick and hazanshu from 3S.
I love I-No's jumping heavy slash, I mean it's a damn guitar to the face
for me tekken 3 intro with hworang and other character doing warm up with that awesome music. simply art
Almost all of the Ultimate Weapons in Armored Core V/Verdict Day. Special Mention to Mass Blade which is less a blade and more the structural supports of a building that rockets you at a million miles an hour and destroys everything you come in contact with while leaving you completely shit outta luck if you miss.
Tidus' Blitz Ace overdrive from ff10
Artorias Back spin jump into stinger or triple somersault
Soul of Cinder juggling you in phase 2 and then stabbing you into the ground and his sword explodes, 10/10 would eat it every time
DMC 5, Nero powerbombing Vergil is pretty high up there, hard to land but there is something so primally enjoyable about forging all these fancy tricks and attacks and just dropping him like a sac of potatoes.
The Legion Pulse from ACV is one of the 5 Overed Weapons. It's absolutely a waste to use by technically being the worst of the OWs, but the animation of this massive set of fan shaped gun batteries on the AC's back charging up and firing off simultaneously is just the dopest thing ever.
Any charge attack in games that takes so long you should have no feasible way of landing the hit. But when you do... The game rewards that hit so much with a borderline cinematic hit you get ALL the dopamine. Especially if you drop it it at the last possible moment before it fails/you lose it to being hit. I couldn't name a single moment, but you know the ones I'm talking about.
Squall's Rough Divide from FF8. Seeing that thing gets me hype every time - even though it's the worst limit break Squall has.
T.Hawk's Ultra 2 from SF4 is still one of my all time favorite supers in fighting games.
Start with an anti air pile driver, SUHLAM the crap outta them, (the sound effects of that part are great, too) WHIIIIIIRL 'em around, and one final slam down as he shouts the move's name; "Raging SLASH"!!!
goro daimon has a similar super usually and I love it just as much
Yeah that is a loaded question indeed. Off the top of my head....
Seth's version of Hyakuretsukyaku in SF4.
The Meter Burn of Spawn's Guns Blazing/Blaze of Glory in MK11.
Hell just about all the Fatalities in MK11
That one Glory Kill in Eternal where Doom Slayer smashing a zombie's head into their torso with a single hammering punch.
Kratos' Cyclone of Chaos in God of War 3.
Sophitia's Heaven's Arch.
All the Ouroboros Chain Attacks in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
The Heavy Guard Class' Variable Turret in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Just about everything the Full Metal Jaguar does in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
That thing Nappa does where he jabs two fingers into the air and something explodes.
That one move that MMX2 Sigma Virus has where he goes side to side shooting a laser straight down from his mouth.
Proton Cannon! INFINITY!!!
The World's Muda!Muda!Muda! in the Capcom Jojo fighter.
That one command grab that King from Tekken does where he smashes the other guy's face on his knee.
Almost everything in Ki 2013.
And pretty much everything Voldo does........but only if I'm using a female create-a-character in his place >:3
I haven't played nearly as many games where the attack animations are specifically notable, but:
Jax's long X and Y strings in MK11 (the ones you have to equip as a variation) are not especially useful, you can usually get better damage with Quad grab, but feel SO good to land. They really make Jax feel like a boxer working his opponent's body over.
Marisa's Critical Art is super satisfying AND really useful, since it takes your opponent to the corner no matter where you are AND is brutal as hell. God, I love Marisa.
i love me a good teleport slash. Mythra's Photon Edge gets me going real good
Kind of a niche one, but in the Megaman X rpg, command mission, when you're like 10% away from finishing an enemy you get to excute a rush with all your party and subweapon that rely on you massing the shit out of your input to spam attacks, it's very satisfying especially if you get it on a boss.
I love SFIV Heavy Punches, just so fucking beefy. Ryu/Ken stHP: just that wicked hook, Abel close HP: Two giant meaty hits out of the step kick, Honda st.HP that big ass chop along with njHP: the legendary stop sign, Fuerte: the way RSF looks is so good. Sagat cr.HP: Maybe not as oppressive as CvS2, but still crazy good. Decapre cl.HP: weirdly enough also super good looking
Neros showdown attack will always be the sickest thing I’ve ever seen
Anima's "Oblivion" Overdrive is mine
EDIT: This is a summon from FFX for those who don't know
Sol badguys bandit bringer, bowsers forward smash
Q's Deadly Double Combination is way up there for me.
Bloodborne's 2 handed Hunter Axe gives me the dopamine. Light combo, wide combo, charged heavy, all of it. It's got such a great snap that I felt was missing from the polearm weapons in Dark Souls and Elden Ring.
The Guardian Swordspear from ER and Broken Santier's Spear from DS2 are also amazing, way better than the standard polearm movesets.
The Dudley Boyz 3D in WWF No Mercy was the best of all time
As useless as it is, as impractical as it is, it is oh so satisfying to land Alex's DDT in 3rd Strike.
Im a big fan of Ganon's animations in Smash Ultimate. His hits are super impactful and his voice sells it too. His forward tilt "sparta kick", neutral air kicks, Warlock punch. Pretty much all of it. Hits like a truck is an understatement. Too bad he's bottom tier.
I don't see anyone mentioning DBFZ so I'll add Broly S Kamehameha point blank.
It's definitely up there for me. Goes from launching a green projectile to launching you with the projectile and it just feels gross AF to land.
Mgs4 ocelot vs snake fight. Idk if that counts but every moment of it is fuckin sweet
Leon's suplex always makes me yell in either version of re4
clearly Peppino when he unleashes his vengeance in the final battle... :-P
Advanced Guardian Heroes Heavy Punch
Man, it's tough to come up with THE single best animation but WAR's Fell Cleave animation from FFXIV comes to mind. That animation is such an oddity because most other melee attacks feel... well, floaty. Whenever a PLD slashes, it kinda feels like they just wave their sword in front of the enemy and damage numbers pop up. Even DRKs, who carry huge swords, don't exactly evoke that sensation of weight. FFXIV doesn't "exactly" have hitstop, but I think the reason the Fell Cleave animation feels so meaty and heavy is that you can see your character sort of... struggle to finish the axe swing. The animation itself is fast, but there's a certain... CLUNK chhhkkk to it that is kinda hard to describe. The ability was pretty popular out the gate when they introduced it in Heavensward, and while the fact that it hit HARD contributed to it, I'd like to think that the animation did as well.
getting order sol's full dragon install to play out. napalm death just doesn't feel the same without the wings and tail coming out, or the hair coming loose after