What makes a good fighting game? What Makes a great one?

Yeah that's a good point too. SFXT is shit. I was tempted to rebuy it on PS3 but decided against it especially since the characters and stages are getting ported into SFIV.
I finally did cave and get SFXT and at first I liked it but the more I played it the more it was shit. The more I dominated online using JUST Cammy the more I hated it. The more On Disc DLC I found, the more I hated it. Then there was the whole No Pac Man/Mega Man thing for 360 even though they were in the game. Just bullshit all around.

Hopefully Tekken X Street Fighter won't suck and I have no doubt it'll be a solid fighter as the Tekken Series has been on a roll lately.

 

Nails it.

This is what I meant by "I just see frames/hit boxes". It's not that I "ignore" the other aspects as much as "I can look past" a games presentation and enjoy a game with solid game play.

 

marval vs capcom, street fighter vs xmen, street fighter alpha series, pocket fighter, tekken 2 and 3, guilty gear, kof 2000 where my favs on psone

 

For me, above the mechanics its the presentation and the characters which make a fighting game.
If the characters have the appeal, then it will help make the game attractive enough to dig the surface of the gameplay.