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Anytime an ally comes in to help you in any way. This mechanic is most common in fighting games.
Because you'd never expect a banana to be an undercover cluster grenade.
In video games, breaking the fourth wall occurs when a game becomes aware of its nature as a game, or when a character directly acknowledges the player.
When a character from an existing media franchise makes a brief appearance in a video game, sometimes without even openly acknowledging their origins.
A concept in games with multiple characters, a screen with pictures of all playable characters with the possibility of stat listings.
A character in a game who uses unorthodox moves, and who likes to play 'practical jokes' on opponents. This makes losing to him/her all the more humiliating.
Typically found in fighting games, combos are a series of strung-together moves.
The comic relief is a character, other than the main character, who is meant to add humor and lighten the mood of the game. These characters are usually very dumb or very witty, and are usually very talkative.
One or more events from someone's past that negatively affected them. Plenty of video game characters have such pasts.
Your friend in medicine. Mostly.
Finishing moves are typically moves that end a fight in a traditional fighting game.
A phenomenon by which one or more aspects of a character are exaggerated to the point of becoming a much bigger and more pronounced part of their identity than they previously were, even to the point of becoming the character's defining characteristic. Named after The Simpsons character Ned Flanders, who in-between the show's earliest and latest seasons had his religious background exaggerated to the point of becoming an intolerant Fundamentalist.
Whether it be a close up shotgun blast, far away sniper rifle, explosive, or backstab, the "one hit kill" is a popular kill strategy. Usually hard to master and even harder to avoid, the instant kill is loved and hated by gamers everywhere.
Where one character strikes another character in the groin, either unarmed or with a weapon.
Martial arts are a popular set of skills that many video game characters possess. Martial arts are the cornerstone of any fighting game, and have influenced many platforming and adventure games.
Used in fighting games, projectiles are objects that a fighter can launch at another fighter to attack from a distance. While they can be used to simply inflict damage, projectiles are often used to maneuver opponents into disadvantageous positions.
A Random Number Generator (hence RNG) is a system designed to randomize a sequence of numbers. Most games technically use a table of 'random' numbers, simulating random chance.
The idea of deriving a feeling of pleasure through inflicting pain or suffering on another living being.
Featured mainly in fighting games, special attacks usually require more than just pressing a button to activate. They are usually unique or at least varied between characters.
A move used in a lot of games where the standing/moving attacker spins upon himself, damaging the surrounding enemies.
Commonly found in fighting games, a super meter increases when either a character takes or gives damage (depending on the game). There are many variations on the super meter, depending on the franchise or game.
The ability to move from one area to another instantaneously - typically through some sort of special power or device.
A tragic hero is a protagonist who makes several mistakes to fall from glory, or is affected by tragedy and seeks revenge or redemption.
An antagonist who isn't a villain by choice and is not in control of their emotions or a victim of tragic circumstance.
Characters whose ages have never been revealed in a game or officially by the creators. This may be due to an added sense of mystery, to avoid controversy, or just lazy character development.
Zoning Characters (also called Keepaway Characters) is an archetype that use long range attacks to the control space in fighting games.
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