>>718286084
Phoenix & Maya are actually extremely useful in 2 overall since not all Guardbreak Solo Attacks are created equal, and theirs does the vast majority of the Guard damage at the start with that Psyche Lock while others spread it out or even backload it which is way worse (and one of the reasons Ingrid sucks). They also have pretty good skills overall and their attack generally keeps enemies pretty still during juggles which makes for easy Cross Break setups; I paired them Kazuya & Jin a lot since those two can shit damage but have a tough time against high Guard enemies.
>You say PXZ2 had improvements to gameplay but I honestly never noticed
To be honest you can absolutely play 2 like 1 and get by, but it will take longer which is probably why you had a similar experience. Optimizing your damage keeps 2 more engaging AND helps you get through it more smoothly, and that stacks on replays where you get more passive skill slots and can get the best gear for your units in Challenge Map chests. I got to the point where my NG++ run was also a "buy nothing from the shop" run. My 4th playthrough will probably be a fresh NG shopless run (or at least no consumables from the shop).
>I did notice the fewer characters which was a shame.
For me 2's biggest downside against 1 is that it scrapped every single Capcom solo unit from 1, particularly Batsu, Lady & Arthur. Captain Commando helps make up the difference but Ingrid really fucking sucks (AND the game forces you to use her against a boss in one of the lategame chapters), also Leon being his RE6 self due to the timing of the game's development is a bit lame too even though he's otherwise a great addition.

>>717056762
They're often not respected because they're considered simpler or cheap. A good one came out a week ago and >>717041420 is the only post about it I've seen on /v/.

>>717056968
Urban Reign's so damn cool. I wish we could either get another one or at least another Tekken Force mode. That beat-em-up section in 8's story is so fucking janky in comparison.

>>715888728
Beat em ups are actually in a renaissance of popularity this decade, the big successes of River City Girls, SoR4, and Shredder's Revenge have lead to a bit of a boom. When publishers sitting on random licensed IP are getting cheap pixel art beat-em-ups made to capitalize, you know it's on the rise. Shmups have basically been in the same place they've been since the mid-late 90s until now; the dedicated playerbase will play and let each other know about basically anything worth playing and they're pretty easy/cheap to make if you know what you're doing on the design side.

Fighting games are probably having the bubble burst in the next 3-5 years though with Tekken 8 being rejected, SF6 being in a holding pattern out of fear it'll pull a T8, SNK not finding the AAA success the Saudi marketing budget pushed for, international travel declining due to the economy and the state of the US, and the critical mass of tag fighters on the horizon. Marvel Tokon will do well, SF6 will remain because it's SF, and the rest will fend for themselves.