#10 - Powerstone 2
I know! What an amazing way to start off a list, right? The first Powerstone was one of the shining gems in the American Dreamcast launch, giving a completely new look into one on one fighting games. Instead of being confined to two dimensions or just being able to dodge into the foreground or background, Powerstone's gimmick was allowing full, three dimensional carnage with tons of items that were there for you to use along with special moves. There were several characters, with about 3 different weight classes that gave you different perks (lighter characters can jump higher, while bigger characters were harder to knock away and could rip off gigantic stone pillars to smack you with). The second one managed to improve on the formula by allowing up to 4 players to square off against each other, then you had the ability to play through the entire fighting game co-op, more characters, incredible level designs, etc. You could knock the game for having simplistic hand to hand combat controls, but learning how to use each item and character, along with using the terrain to your advantage AS that character, all while 3 of your best friends are flying around the arena safely secure this game a spot on this list.
#09 - Real Bout Fatal Fury 2
The original Fatal Fury games were really well done for the time, sporting a small change from the SF2 and Mortal Kombat gameplay styles since you were able to dodge into the background. At the end of the day though, it was another 2d fighting game that had combos and special moves. The Real Bout series, while 2d fighting was it's core gameplay element, you were also rated on how well you did in each round, which greatly helped players in improving their game. The number of characters was increased, especially with the second game. Instead of stopping with a creative rating system though, the game added in different arena restrictions. In the regular Fatal Fury games, you were able to dodge into the background and fight back there or fly in towards your opponent in the different plane. Real Bout had boxing rings with ropes that actually was a visual indication to the end of a level and best of all, barricades on others that if you slammed your enemy against enough times throughout the match, you would eventually be able to score a ring out on them, which gave turtler's something to be wary of.
#08 - Samurai Shodown 2
After playing all of the games in the Samurai Shodown series, I still consider the second to be the definitive release. The first game was the first fighter that actually stood out in the arcade to me alongside Street Fighter II since it actually had a new gimmick: weapons. The first wasn’t a bad game and is still fine to play, but the second took everything that one offered, refined it, threw in a few tricks of its own, and managed to actually keep people away from other fighting games from the time. There was nothing quite like having someone shoot a fireball then using the new crouching maneuver to avoid it, rushing in, and delivering that final blow. When playing against a human, few games have come close to having gripping, battle changing moments like this game offered (clashing weapon battles = awesome). This game also seemed like it was the last of the more lighthearted games in the series, with the 3rd being somewhat forgettable and the 4th being a great fighting game, but lacking that sense of humor this game and its background judge presented. Samurai Shodown 5 would easily be my second favorite in this series.
#07 - Guilty Gear X2
The first time I saw a Guilty Gear game, I immediately fell in love with the art style. Every aspect of it looked like it was well thought out, from the level design to the amazing character artwork. Instead of stopping with just having a gorgeous looking game though, Guilty Gear X2 can quickly become one of the fastest paced, over the top games you've ever played. The Guilty Gear is mainly remembered for it's instant kills moves, that sound cheap on first hearing, but most of them take a ridiculously long time to pull off, and missing one means you're missing your special meter until the match is over. You also had roman cancels, which let you cancel out most moves into other ones, but X2 took all of that and still managed to push the insanity. There were new characters added, rebalancing, the addition of the false roman cancel, all while keeping up the high bar set in the original game, making some consider this to be the most balanced 2d fighter ever, along with the craziest.
#06 - King of Fighters 2002
It's another old game, but in my opinion, King of Fighters 2002 is the highlight of the series, with ‘98 being a close second. KoF 2002 wasn’t the most innovative in the series, but it did manage to refine the mechanics, incorporate a bigger number of characters that were all pretty well balanced, then give you plenty of versatility in your fighting style, whether you be a fan of rushing in with furious combos or staying back and waiting for that hole in your enemies offense. The graphics hold up incredibly well today, capitalizing on SNK’s trademark hand drawn art style.
While many people never even gave the series a shot besides one or two games, if you’re looking for a quality fighting game that’s NOT by Capcom, look no further than here.
#05 - Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix
I was honestly debating between putting this and the original on the list. HD Remix made the cut thanks to new tweaks to the moves, more balancing corrections, online play (especially quarter mode) and the amazing art style. It’s subtle differences in the two games, such as Akuma not being all powerful, E. Honda’s jab flying headbutt being able to fly through fireballs, and easier to perform specials (people can actually do the infamous spinning piledriver without having to jump!) that really makes this stand out and seem like it’s now the definitive release for Street Fighter II. While the art style isn’t for everyone, it does grow on you over time and really looks nice once you have it on an HDTV. All that’s missing from this release of the game is an official arcade machine for it!
#04 - Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
The chaos. The insanity. Don’t blink, or you’ll probably be dead in Marvel Vs Capcom 2. Many look at the game and instantly assume it’s a button masher. That’s fine if you want to think that or even play it like that with friends, but the first moment you try button mashing against a person that’s invested a large amount of time in this title and you’ll quickly see that there’s a lot more strategy to the game. It’s most notable for its flashy combos and ridiculously large character selection which clocks in at a whopping 56. While MVC2 may not be the most balanced fighting game ever, trying to figure out what team you’re going to use against what characters, which version of their support attack you want, and exactly how you’re going to use them is only the beginning of the depth present in this title. It’s easy to watch a Magneto player and call them cheap or say they’re button mashing, but learning exactly how much work goes into doing his air dash, canceling out, starting a combo, calling a support character, then tagging out is a lot more complicated than you can ever imagine.
#03 - Virtua Fighter 5
Finally, we’ve made it to the top 3. Virtua Fighter 5 is the pinnacle of true 3d fighting. Many 3d fighting games are basically played out on a 2d plane with 3 dimensional graphics, but in order to succeed in VF5, you’re going to have to learn how to dodge, when to parry, how to use cancels to mess with your opponents mind, and even what attacks give you an advantage by dodging slightly into the foreground while you perform them. On the downside, there were only a few characters added to this game, but each one of them plays completely different from any of the current existing ones and none of them are actually bad. If you pick up the 360 version, there’s also online play, meaning you can finally test your skills against fighters from around the world. If you don’t have Xbox Live or just pick up the ps3 version, there’s at least a really in depth arcade career mode that has you traveling to various arcades and fighting against AI representations of various real players while accumulating different items to customize your characters appearance and the nice ranking system. In addition to having a very rewarding fighting system and that career mode, the graphics are very pleasing to the eyes. While they might not rival something like Crysis or Killzone 2 or whatever, for realism, there’s nothing that comes close in fighting games so far. Virtua Fighter isn’t for people that aren’t willing to invest time into it, but for those that do, this game is pure gold and definitely belongs in your collection.
#02 - Marvel Vs. Capcom 1
Gasp! BOTH Marvel vs Capcom games made the list? Well, it’s my list and I can do things like that! While the second game pushed the bar on what could be considered over the top (3 character supers, forcing your opponent to tag out, etc) Marvel Vs Capcom 1’s style was more emphasized on the actual combat in my opinion and not so much what characters you had on your team. Since you had a separate, non-player-controlled character for your assist, this allowed players to pick two characters that they actually enjoyed fighting as, such as a team with Gambit and Chun Li. This was also the game that I actually started to understand the mechanics of the classic Capcom chaining method (lp, lk, mp, mk, hp, hk) and learned that even in a fast paced game like this, everyone had their uses. The music also felt more in tune with the gameplay in comparison to that light jazz stuff offered in MVC2. The fact that this game could actually be played in 4 player mode secures this the number 2 spot on this list.
#01 - Capcom Vs. Snk 2
Capcom Vs Snk 2 is a game I’ve lost countless hours to over the years. When it first came out, I was a bit put off by how different it was from the first game. I really liked the art style and everything, but the fact that there weren’t any real tiers in place made me think the balance was going to be a bit lopsided. Instead of just offering two grooves, CvS2 upped the ante with a 6 grooves and 2 extra’s for the console versions. When anyone first tries out the game, they almost always just navigate to the C groove, which is similar to the charging system from SFA3 (3 levels, dashes, rolls, super jumps, etc), but after you start playing more, you quickly learn that almost all of them are useful in their own way. You’ve got A Groove, which gives you the option to use custom combo’s ala SFA2, P groove, which was similar to the parry system from SF3. That right there would probably have been enough for most players, but Capcom refused to stop there! There’s also S groove (old school KoF with dodging and charging, then infinite level 1 specials when you’re near death), N (Advanced system from the later KoF titles. The highlights are running, rolling, 3 gauges, only two gauges needed for what would be a level 3 super otherwise), and K groove (a mix between Garou’s Just Defend system and the rage system in Samurai Shodown). On top of all of the versatility with the grooves, there’s a ridiculously large character select screen highlighting characters from each of the two universes that everyone’s grown to know and love (or hate *coughRaidencough*). If you ever come across an arcade, it’s amazing how many people still stick to this game after all of these years and consider it to be one of, if not the finest fighting game of all time.
*Honorable Mentions*
Project Justice (2nd rival schools game) – Best idea ever, meshing the styles of the SF games with MVC and starring a cast from rival high schools! 10/10!
Street Fighter Alpha 2 – Introduction of Custom Combos, awesome levels, best of the alpha games in my opinion.
Vampire Savior (3rd darkstalkers game) – All of the games in the series were leading up to this point. It plays similar to the 1st two, but felt a bit more complete and had more characters, which is always a plus (jedah/b.b. hood ftw!)
King of Fighters 98 – my second favorite in the series. The art style is a bit dated nowadays, but the gameplay is just as tight as it was the first time I played it.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment