Recently, there seems to have been a renewed interest in the fighting genre. Virtua Fighter 4 knocked our socks off, Capcom Vs. SNK: EO Online for the Xbox is about to hit, and gamers everywhere are salivating over the Guilty Gear series. It's all bound to reach its peak this summer when Soul Calibur II drops its magic on all three consoles, complete with special hidden characters.
This week, our editors look back to the fighters that made the greatest impressions on them. Some head back to the 16-bit days, some get misty-eyed over the fighters dream machine, the Sega Dreamcast. It seems all of our editors have a brawler that rests close to their hearts.
What about you? What fighters get you all hot and bothered? Join the discussion in our free forums or drop us a line at X-Communication.
How frustrating that phrase could be, depending on who caused it. Killer Instinct, with its incredible “create-your-own” combo system, is hands down my favorite 2D fighting game. Nothing else even comes close. KI’s combo system was so flexible, allowing the player to string all sorts of moves together. Combos easily reached the double digits, but could be stopped easily enough. Part of the trick was mixing up the combos, as performing the same combo over and over again made it much more likely to be broken. I racked up quite a bill with my SNES X-band modem playing KI, but it was well worth it. I just hope Rare decides to make another one, hopefully with Xbox Live support.
On the 3D side of things, Soul Calibur is my game of choice. I still regularly have hours-long Soul Calibur matches with a friend of mine. We’re both quite good, and the matches are almost always super-close. I can’t even guess at how many hours of “Siegfried versus Siegfried” we’ve played. There are so many different moves for each character that even experienced players can be surprised at what the other player dishes out. The variety between characters is great, too. Each fighter has a distinctly different style, which forces the player to change his strategy depending on his opponent. Plus, dressed in his black armor, Siegfried starts to look just a little bit like Gatsu.
Soul Calibur is high on my list of fighting games that I need to spend more time with, but until I decide to fork over 30 bucks for a Dreamcast, I'm quite happy with the original, Soul Blade. A classic on the PSone, and hands down the best weapons-based fighter that a Sony system has ever seen. The moves were relatively simple to pull off, but there was an aspect of timing and strategy that made the game a unique gem among 3-D fighters - plus it features one of the finest 'extra modes' ever - the Edge Master Mode, which laid down an RPG-like story progression to the already solid arcade mode, and only added to the game's longevity. It's hard to find, but worth every cent.
Searching around many message boards, I find myself noticing that there is a debate amongst fighting game fans; there's those who prefer the over-the-top fighting games, and those who prefer the more reality-based, 'pure' fighters as they're sometimes called. The Marvel vs. Capcom series would be a good example of the former, while games like Virtua Fighter 4 demonstrate the latter quite well. I want to know what you all think about this.
Killer Instinct resulted in more broken controllers than any other game I've ever played. Oh, don't worry - I wasn't the one breaking them.
You see, I have a friend - we'll call him Niles - who has a temper. A bad temper. The kind of temper that's sure to one day make him turn big and green if he happens to be standing too close to an active microwave when things go badly for him in a videogame. Killer Instinct was just another of the games in which controllers would end up smashed, so nobody else could play. So where am I going with all this? The majority, indeed the vast majority of controller smashings were due to fighting games.
Fighters cause higher levels of competition between human opponents than any other genre of videogame I've played, which makes the playtime all the more memorable. From the first Shoryuken to the last K-K-K-KILLER COMBO, fighting games have traditionally been all out action highlighted by humiliating defeats and incredible comebacks.
Unfortunately the day of the 2D fighter seems to be about done. Lately I've found all the 2D releases to be fairly simplistic in nature - appealing more to the button masher than the strategic fighter. The last 2D fighter I recall that I really enjoyed was Samauri Showdown, it had tons of strategy mixed in with the cool moves and flashy specials. Now I see people bash on the buttons in the latest So-and-so vs Capcom game and end up with a 40+ hit combo...
On the bright side, 3D fighters are really coming into their own. Mortal Kombat: DA melded weapon and non-weapon combat enroute to revitalizing the MK series. Virtua Fighter remains as powerful a martial arts simulation as has ever been developed, hands down the most strategic 3D fighter available to the home console owner. The future also appears promising, with Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus promising several gameplay ideas that could provide the impetus needed to once again kickstart the genre.
As for going online with Capcom vs SNK - I'm afraid I'm not all that interested. To me, fighting games lose the appeal when you're not really interacting with the other person on a face to face level. The competitive nature is somewhat marred by the anonymity, though I'm sure it'll help the trashtalking.
I have always been into the Street Fighter games right from the early versions on SNES and the collection of titles in PSX. It has to be my favourite “Fighter” on any console, but recently I have gone off the beat ‘em up genre and headed down the more winding road of stealth ‘em ups, but lets not get into that now.
I don’t know about any of you guys, but I always enjoyed smashing that car to shit in Street Fighter. Don’t ask why, I just did. Saying that, I did however get Street Fighter Alpha 3 on PS2 in its early days and played it daily, but for some reason I ended up trading it against another title. GTA3 I think, so I guess it was worth it.
During my early gaming years I was introduced to the Tekken series, but after playing Street Fighter for so long, it seemed too slow and very much overrated. Okay, there are people out there who would hunt me down and slap me with a wet kipper for saying that, but honestly I’d just turn around and let off a few “Hado-ken” and finish off with a “Shin-riyuken”. No reason, I just practice them from time to time and it would be nice for me to practice my Street Fighter skills on a living target.
What I’m saying is, I’m not really a big beat ‘em up fan I’m more for the serious titles and I get slightly worried that I have lost my “fun side” when it comes to gaming. Who cares, my GameCube should help me out there.
My first fighting game experience was Street Fighter for the Turbografx-CD. I'm not sure exactly why, but some legal issues forced the publishers to change the name to "Fighting Street". Either way, your options were limited to playing as either Ken or Ryu against the usual suspects that are now famous. Sadly, it didn't make that big of an impression on me.
Then came Street Fighter II. Oh sweet glory. The original SNES version is still, to me, the one to have, if only for nostalgic purposes. Going to the old Aladdin's Castle in the mall downtown also provided great memories of ass whupping; that ass usually being mine.
I have to say that for a while I dismissed fighters as a passing fad. I mean, in the 16-bit days, you couldn't pick up a gaming mag without seeing Street Fighter II: Mega Uber Ultimate Knuckle Edition Version 4.6, or one of its many clones on the cover. Clay Fighters, Brutal, etc., etc., bored me to tears.
Until the Dreamcast.
On 9/9/99 I walked into Software Etc., grabbed my fully paid for Dreamcast, four controllers, two VMUs, Sonic Adventure, Ready 2 Rumble and...Soul Calibur. It was like the second coming for me. Finally, a game with the depth, style, and replay value that had sorely been lacking for years in the fighting genre. I was hooked, and until this day, SC is still the fighting game to beat. I took Hwang all the way to the end, unlocking every hidden feature and art card, and enjoyed every last moment of it.
I do get a kick out of Virtua Fighter, Marvel Vs. Capcom, Power Stone, Guilty Gear, and others, but Soul Calibur is the one that I keep coming back to. That'll all change this summer, I'm sure. Oooh la la.
The future of fighters is looking really slick and I foresee a renaissance of sorts for the genre. With online fighting finally starting to take shape with Capcom Vs. SNK: EO for Xbox, as well as the surprising amount of interest from the general public in the Guilty Gear series, I'm hoping for a revolution similar to the old 16-bit days.
There are a few fighters that stand out in my memory, and most of them are Capcom's. Street Fighter II was the original ball breaker. Between all the money I spent on arcade machines and console versions, I think I'm probably looking somewhere in the neighborhood of $400. I followed the series from Championship Edition to Super SFII and Super SFII Turbo continuing through the alpha series. The word for it was obsession. I was insanely psyched when Capcom started making Marvel fighting games. I feel strongly that X-men: Children of the Atom is one of the best 2D fighters ever. That trend continued to evole into Marvel Super Heros and Marvel vs. Capcom 1& 2. These rule. If you've never played M vs.C 2, get it. You'll thank me.
I was also a big fan of Darkstalkers. I think that's the game that opened the door for really off the wall fighters like Guilty Gear X and the new X2, which is proof that 2D fighting is still alive and kicking (along with Capcom vs. SNK).
Samauri Showdown is another one that I care for deeply.
Of the 3D variety, my favorites include the Virtua Fighter series, DOA 2 and 3, and the new Mortal Kombat really turns my crank (would that be 3D?).
For my money, right now, nothing beats Ubi Soft’s Rocky for the Gamecube, for the sole reason of what I call "The magical right jab." Actually, due to a hitch in the timing mechanism, any punch landed can be repeated on your hapless recovering opponent ad infinitum (I prefer Right Jab!) Once you find the hitch in the timing mechanism, repeat punch over and over and you will gleefully watch all who oppose you get pummeled and fall to the canvas in a heep. Clubber Lang? That Communist Soviet Bastard? No matter, right jab, right jab, right jab…down you go. You can pretty much finish this game in an evening of right jabs.
Why do I pick this as my favorite fighter? Well, if you haven’t figured it out yet, fighter is not a particular favorite genre of mine. But more importantly, Ubi Soft’s Rocky captures the essence of Sylvester Stallone’s fight sequences in the Rocky film series – stereoptypical characters, fighting predictable, unrealistic bouts.
