I pick whoever looks cool. If they aren’t fun to play I move on to someone else.
I have a fondness of wrestlers/command grapplers. I can’t use them well on every game, though.
I just pick whoever seems to play the quickest.
I.E., Cammy, Chipp Zanuff
I like aggressive style characters and the safer the moves/combos/pokes the better 
Street Fighter 2 Super Turbo - Zangief/E.Honda
Third Strike - Ken/Elena
Street Fighter 4 - Balrog/Rufus/Dictator
At first, I go with storyline, art, and whatnot to attract me into trying him or her out. After that, I see how comfortable I am with the character. If I happen to find a character that kind of “flows” better to me, I just switch. I’ll look at, really, movement most of all, then some of the basic moves and stuff. I don’t really touch combos or anything non-rudimentary when selecting a character.
I pick depend on what type of martial art the character use.
I think its safe to say for me and fighting games that I dont necessarily pick my main, they pick me.
When I picked up SF4 I wanted so bad for Guile and Ken to be my mains. Then I wanted Vega and Akuma to be my mains, but I was randomly good with Balrog and Bison.
Needless to say, Bison and Balrog are my mains, I hate playing as Balrog though, even though he almost guarantees me a win–I just understand his movements and play style more.
I guess my answer to the OP’s question is that I believe every player has a pre-set attitude, approach, and “feel” for a fighting game. With that said, its simply a matter of finding a match.
My advice would be to mess around in training mode with random characters, do the challenges for all characters (even ones you think you may not like [I never once believed I’d like or even be good with Bison]) and go with the one that “feels” right. If you feel like you are constantly forcing moves to come out or consistently making bad execution judgments on your character’s behalf, maybe you should consider switching characters.
Before playing the game, i just go off character design, which is like, always a girl. After playing, i then actually lean toward who i find the most fun to play, whether it’s the character I started with or not.
First I go by looks, then if that character turns out to mesh well with my style I stick with them.
I like someone who can zone, and play keep away. Someone with Godlike anti-airs or have several ways to avoid moves. I also like someone who by design can easily avoid lockdowns and pressure. So it’s basically
Guile and Dhalsim
If not Guile and Dhalsim, the a Guile or Dhalsim clone. Save for Remy who I just could not fathom picking.
In KOF I always use Athena or Malin or Kyo, Ash, or Shingo. I pick Kyo because he's just cool looking, and Shingo for the same reason. But when it comes to Malin and Athena, I just love their keep away game and their ability to stall.
In Guilty Gear I like Baiken for her counter, and her many ways to avoid pressure. I am going to use Haku-men in Blaze Blu for the same reason.
Basically I hate attacking or getting close, but if I have to get close, I want to be able to make them sorry for getting close. So if you can
A) zone
B)run
C)stall
D) counter
I am probably going to choose you are my character. The only exceptions really being Kyo and Shingo. and that’s only because they’re so cool.
After spending some time with whatever game I’m playing, I usually start playing the character that I’m the most solid and comfortable with.
Yeah basically what I do is play the game. Then which ever character I liked playing as the most, I play as them.
Mini skirt tsundere lil’bitches for the win! …but no lollis! (I don’t like “children” in fighting games! …konoha, bao, bridget, Carl etc…)
GG: Jam (I like I-no, Millia and Baiken too… but WAAAAAY too much love for Jam, I just can’t play anyone else!)
SSF2X / Zero3: Cammy / Sakura
BlazBlue: Noel / Lychie
Arcana: Saki / Akane
Vampire: Felicia / Morrigan
KOF: Bluemary / Kula / Yuri
Samurai Spirits: Nakoruru / Reira
CVS2: Nakoruru ratio 2 / Yuri ratio 2
I don’t give a shit about tier lists and stuff… my main MUST be hot! …otherwise I just don’t play the game.
A character that can grapple those players who wish they could do all their moves while holding back.
I can’t play females in fighting games unless they are turtle characters. And unfortunately there aren’t a lot of turtle female characters in fighting games. Well there is Baiken with her awesome defense. I feel the same as Artyu, I probably couldn’t play Guilty Gear if it wasn’t for her with her counters.
For some reason, chicks with robes really speak out to me though. Such as Aoi in VF, but it could be her defensive counter based playstyle.
Whenever I get a new fighting game, I just usually mess around in training mode and pick whoever I’m most comfortable with.
I don’t pick mains. I don’t consider Shoto/Mishim’as mains either because they have all relatively been the same forever.
I only play HDRM nowadays, and that game requires you to be good with multiple people. Suprisingly, I find Dhalsim in HDRM very very fun though hehe.
hmmm… not really.
this is why:
Atryu version:
I can’t play female characters in fighting games unless they are HOT!
And fortunately, there are a lot of HOT female characters in fighting games.
There is Jam with her awsome pointing little bubbies, I probably couldn’t play Guilty Gear if it wasn’t for her with her sexy legs and little ass.
Savy? :bgrin:
I don’t pick main characters. Main characters pick me!
My character needs to fit the following criteria:
1: interesting/complex play style
2: not ugly
3: not the main character
And it’s also preferable if they aren’t human. Robots, animals, monsters, aliens are all much more interesting to me.
I haven’t yet found a fighting game where I liked playing as the protagonist.