Analyzing 2D and 3D Fighting Games - Which Are the Best of Each?

Well we all know that the fighting Genre is very large and very diverse. There are a lot of fighting games that are extensively played today and so I'd like to hear from you guys how you analyze/how you should analyze these fighting games. I'll start by listing some criteria that should be obvious.

2D:

-Balance of Characters. Is there a good mix of people being used successfully in competitive and casual gaming? Or is there a small sect of characters that will almost guarantee a win over others?

Examples of games that do this well: Super Street Fighter IV, (Ultimate) Marvel vs Capcom 3, Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike.
Examples of games that do this poorly: Marvel vs Capcom 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.


-Mechanics. Are the mechanics flexible? Are they very stiff to the point of being difficult to truly improve at a certain point? In other words, how many options are you given in the game that can make you successful?

Examples of games that do this well: Marvel vs Capcom 2, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 64, (Ultimate) Marvel vs Capcom 3
Examples of games that do this poorly: Street Fighter II (And any of the main remixes), Street Fighter IV, Super Smash Bros Melee (To the point of Metagame only. The basics are as easy as the other two Smash bros.).


-The interest and draw. Which fighter will encourage you to play for hours on end? Will it bore you after one or two arcade runs and a few online matches?

Examples of games that do this well: Super Smash Bros 64, Super Smash Bros Melee, Super Smash Bros Brawl, (Ultimate) Marvel vs Capcom 3.
Examples of games that do this poorly: Marvel vs Capcom 2, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter IV.


-Items (If applicable). If there are items in this game, do they make the game more or less fun? Do you often find yourself playing without items or do you often want them on?

Examples of games that do this well: Street Fighter x Tekken, Super Smash Bros. 64.
Examples of games that do this poorly: Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.


-Overall playability. The obvious question, is it fun? Every fighting game I listed above is fun and definitely re-playable (Except Street Fighter x Tekken and 3rd Strike which I haven't played enough to say but I know that they do what I listed them as well), although there are definite cons. So this comes down to "Which are the most fun to you?".

I personally don't have a specific set of favorite 2D fighters because I love a lot of them.


3D:

Balance of Characters.

Examples of games that do this well: Tekken 3, Power Stone (Both), Soul Calibur II
Examples of games that do this poorly: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series


-Mechanics.

Examples of games that do this well: Power Stone 2, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series, Budokai Tenkaichi series, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations
Examples of games that do this poorly: Tekken 3


-Interest and Draw.

Examples of games that do this well: Power Stone 2, Soul Calibur II, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2


-Items (If applicable).

Examples of games that do this well: Power Stone (Both), Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series


-Implementation of 3D environment. How you move around a 3D stage is crucial. You can dodge attacks altogether by sidestepping or run around a character depending on the game.

Examples of games that do this well: Power Stone (Both), Tekken series, Soul Calibur series, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series, Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and 3, Budokai 2, Budokai 3.


-Overall playability. Of the games I played above, I like them all. But the one that obviously sticks out the most is Power Stone 2. This game has just the right amount of every criterion set for it. This is definitely my favorite 3D fighter.


Add your own criteria and judge the fighters you've played and/or use some of the criteria I used.