My 10 All-Time Favorite Fighting Videogames

People tell me that they write blogs or microblogs for catharsis. While I respect such opinion, I’ve always considered fighting games as a better stress-reliever. There’s no problem so severe that it can’t be made better by beating people up, as long as the kicks and punches are all in the mind – or TV. Wait, I said TV! Please drop that fighting stance!

Perhaps the most straightforward genre of videogames, fighting games always follow the same format: pit a fighter against another and have them beat each other up until one falls (or sometimes until the time runs out). Since the game would’ve been too short had it ended after just winning one fight, there’s usually an arcade mode (or “career mode”) where I choose a fighter and run him/her through a tournament, fighting with set number of opponents until I become the champion. Oh, and it’s usually possible to compete against an opponent controlled by a second player, as a test of who has a better “fighting instincts”.

Essentially, all fighting games play like that; they only differ in what can be done in their battlegrounds, but then, those differences dictate why some fighting games are better than others. See my 10 favorites in no particular order after the jump.

1. Super Street Fighter II

No top fighting games list is complete without mention of any entrees of Street Fighter II (of which there are too many: World Warriors, Champion Edition, Turbo, Hyper Fighting, Super, Super Turbo, and so forth). Varied martial arts techniques, flashy and strong special moves executed by the motions of a controller, diverse fighters from different lands of origin – all of them characteristics that Street Fighter II isn’t the first to attempt, but the first to have perfected, essentially laying the groundwork for all fighting games to come. Even the supposed glitches (combos, cancels) would become mainstays. Without Street Fighter II, fighting games wouldn’t have been a sensation, I wouldn’t write this list, and Kasumi from Dead or Alive would not exist. Imagine the direness this world would be without fighting game hotties and their volleyball games. Wait, where was I?

 Get a room, please!

I chose Super Street Fighter II because it’s Street Fighter II with four additional fighters. So why not Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which is the same game but with supers (i.e. enhanced special moves) for every fighters? Well, I dunno if I’m the only one who thinks this, but the CPU-controlled fighters in Street Fighter II always deal more damage than human-controlled ones. It’s even more apparent with the supers, making them more annoying than necessary.

2. Mortal Kombat II

If you were a Time Magazine subscriber in the early 90s, chances are you’ve read their moral panic for games like Night Trap and Mortal Kombat, which ironically gave the latter all the publicity it needed, attracting teenagers who want to look cool (like myself) to play the fighting game that tries to be cool. Ninja, shaolin monk, thunder god, JCVD-wannabe, violence, violence, violence - how in the world did we survive in an era of being so awed by all those goofy fads (except for the last 3, which until now still provoke giddy-like reactions for all unfathomable reasons)?

  People actually looked at that with a straight face

Anyway, in case you were born after the nineties or were living under a rock on that decade, Mortal Kombat is a fighting game whose claim to infamy was that its fighters can kill their opponents in their own ways (known here as “fatality”). There’s one who rips hearts out, another who ignites by a “kiss of death”. Play this game in front of your parents for a heartwarming family moment.

Unlike Street Fighter (for that matter, other fighting games in this list) Mortal Kombat’s fighting is simpler, because all fighters have the same attacks (they all punch and kick the same way) aside from their original special moves and fatalities, thus requiring less effort for mastery. Alas, this made the first game lackluster; the novelty of the fatalities wore off too soon and the thin cast of characters lacked variety. Part II, though, made everything better – more fighters, more fatalities, more special moves for each fighter. The combos were fun without being too hard to do. And the game had a sense of humor: instead of killing my opponent I can finish my match with a joke move, like turning my opponents to babies or offering “friendships” with them.

It may not be the most complex fighting games made, but sometimes I just want to kick ass without too much prior preparation. Mortal Kombat II is the perfect fighting game for such an immature need.

3. Street Fighter III: Third Strike

On one hand I enjoy simplified fighting games (see item 2), on the other hand I love super-complex ones. Widely considered the most controversial entry of the series, Street Fighter III is a game you’d either love or hate. Detractors criticize the “uninspired” character designs and the complicated gameplay. Supporters praise the “offbeat” character designs and the complicated gameplay. So what is it anyway, uninspired or offbeat?! I’m not gonna set that record straight, because like fetishes, aesthetics are purely a personal preference thing. We can argue all day about what is beautiful and we’ll just end the same way we sta– wait a minute, did I just say fetish?!

So here’s the thing about complicated gameplay. In Street Fighter III, all attacks can be parried, making them ineffective and leaving room for counterattacks. The catch is that parrying requires precision; failing it is a free ticket to the world of hurt. How precise? Like sniping a target on a moving helicopter precise. Like jumping off a bridge to catch a train below precise. Like teleporting into a moving Enterprise precise. Well, I hope you get the picture.

  Akuma must really hate nearly-naked men

So if you have no dedication for long stretches of practice in a game, you will hate Street Fighter III; if you have the dedication, you’d be participant in some of the most impressive fights ever seen in fighting games (watch the video below). Fair trade? I think so.

Street Fighter III: Third Strike is my logical choice of the trilogy – New Generation, 2^nd Impact, Third Strike - because it’s the last update and has the most fighters.

4. Garou Mark of the Wolves

The popularity of Street Fighter II inevitably spawned thousands (maybe millions?) of its imitators. Of the imitators, Fatal Fury (or Garou, in Japan) is the most persistent; it followed every step Street Fighter took. When Street Fighter went Super and added four characters, Fatal Fury followed suit with Special. When Street Fighter went for a more cartoony look with Street Fighter Alpha, Fatal Fury did the same thing with Real Bout. When Street Fighter went 3-dimensonal with EX, so did Fatal Fury with Wild Ambition. How about when Street Fighter decided to make a part III with an “out with the old, in with the new” mentality? Fatal Fury did the exact same thing with Garou Mark of the Wolves, retaining only the series protagonist Terry Bogard (while Street Fighter had only Ryu and Ken) and then introducing an all-new cast.

It even ripped off Street Fighter III’s parrying and called it “just defense”, which is done by pressing back instead of forward just when I’m about to be hit. The difference is that Just Defense is less risky because even if I failed it, I would’ve blocked the attack, which is also done by pressing back.

Oddly, though, Garou Mark of the Wolves is the most accessible game of the series. In other Fatal Fury games some, but not all attacks can be evaded by jumping and rolling and jump-kicking and running to a plane different to the opponent’s. That would’ve worked for a 3d fighting game, but Fatal Fury is 2d, and shifting planes overcomplicated and prolonged each fights, making them very inelegant. Garou Mark of the Wolves ditched all those, and by being an easier-to-play Street Fighter III, it arguably surpasses what it’s imitating.

5. Samurai Shodown IV

This is probably what SNK thought of when making Samurai Shodown. Look at all these fighting games. Why does everyone have to punch and kick? Why can’t they slash? Then they made Samurai Shodown, a fighting game with swords and their variants.

Unlike other fighting games, Samurai Shodown is much, much slower, and a single blow hurts a lot more. Attacks, and especially special moves, would cause so much damage that they deplete half the life of their target, but the fighter doing them would also take longer to recover his/her poise. A fight in Samurai Shodown becomes mind games of tricking fighters to strike and miss, and then being punished by blows so fatal they may cut bodies. Its pacing is more methodical than other fighting games, and adding to that atmosphere is a music with traditional Japanese instruments.

 Yeah, “cheels”

Maybe a brat who refuses to play fighting games without infinite combos in it would find the slower pace and the quieter music of Samurai Shodown boring, but who cares about those brats? Kids today just can’t appreciate art and squirms at every mention of “masterpiece”! Speaking of masterpiece, Samurai Shodown feels like that, in that it rewards only those with patience. It’s like gourmet dinners as opposed to fast-foods that are other fighting games. You can have your cheeseburgers and fries; I’ll just play Samurai Shodown with a bowl of miso.

 I’m gonna steal that line and use it in the Supreme Court. Gym Socks? I didn’t realize Japan had gyms in year 1500-1600.

I like Samurai Shodown IV the most because although it’s not the newest game of the series, it feels like the most complete one. The fights here last even longer than its predecessors, and the fighters are diverse without being over-the-top (which the sequels suffer from). What more, everyone has “a light and a dark side”, with distinct moves for each, making the cast twice as big as it seems.

6. Last Blade 2

It’s such a big crime that Last Blade was overlooked, the House of Congress should pass a new law that states that everybody who ignored this game shall be imprisoned for two years and be forced to play solitaire nonstop. You know why this game was overlooked? Because people who should know better dismissed it as a ripoff of Samurai Shodown! Does it even make sense for SNK copy its own game? (Okay, so maybe Capcom did that a few times. Just look at Dino Crisis to Resident Evil. MADNESS!) Yes, they both have swords, and they both have samurais, but that’s about the only things they have in common. They don’t just look different – they’re even set on different time periods for crying out loud! Wait a minute, why am I being so aggravated? – they also play different.

 He’s not gonna talk about gym socks too, is he?

Last Blade falls in the middle ground of Samurai Shodown and all other fighting games. Players starting the game get to choose their fighter and then one of two styles they’d fight with: “power” for slow methodical Samurai Shodown style; “speed” for faster combo-based everyone-else style. It’s possible to pit a “power” fighter against a “speed” opponent.

But doesn’t that make half the game a Samurai Shodown? Still, no. Unique to Last Blade is a parry button. Press it and I can deflect an attack (complete with the CHING! sound you’ll hear in movies when swords clash) leaving my opponent very open for counters so that I could stick my tongue out to their faces. Okay, I’m kidding about sticking tongues out, because the game doesn’t allow it (the only drawback), but at least I can hit back.

Along the fighting, I fell in love with Last Blade for its presentation. The word that describes it is melancholy, a feeling reflected in the period of Japan history (which Last Blade took place in) when traditions were brushed aside in favor of Western cultural influences. The moonlight and autumn leaves add to the somber tone. The music, oh my God, it’s just so breathtaking. Get the arranged album if you can.

Last Blade 2 refined the first game in every way that it makes me even angrier about the whole series being overlooked, abruptly ending them after part 2. Here, I can choose a third fighting style, which has the strength of “power” and the speed of, well “speed”, with the obvious advantage being balanced by a weaker defense. The new characters are unforgettable. Seriously, just take a look at Setsuna:

 Evil swordsman with pet owls are always cool in my book

7. Soul Calibur II

And yet another weapon-based fighting game, this time in full-3d. A little bit of history before I write about the game proper.

In 1993, Sega released Virtua Fighter, the first 3d fighting game ever made. It was a commercial and critical success, and although this is hard to believe now considering how blocky it looks, back in the days its graphics blew videogamer’s mind more than a copy of Playboy magazine did. Since then, numerous gaming companies attempted to take a shot at making 3d fighting games, partly to showcase their graphical wizardries, and partly to refine the rather simplistic gameplay of Virtua Fighter. Namco answered with Tekken, which was very much like Virtua Fighter. Meanwhile Tamsoft, a relatively obscure developer, graced Sony PlaysSation with Battle Arena Toshinden, which became the first weapon-based 3d fighting game. Few years later, Namco also developed a 3d weapon-based fighting game, Soul Edge.

At that time, 3d fighting games tried and tried to be as similar to real fighting as they can, and yet few things were not quite right. For instance, fighters leapt so high they would humiliate Lebron James in a slam dunk contest (and he’d walk away without shaking their hands). Tekken 3 fixed this misstep, but then there was another. If the games were in 3d, then why weren’t the fighters moving in 360 degrees? Why couldn’t they walk or run in z-axis (i.e. left and right of their opponents)? Yes, they sidestepped, but fighters in 2d games could – and in fact did – do that. Konami attempted to change the trend when they released Kensei: Sacred Fist, which allowed 360 degrees movement. Unfortunately, Kensei flopped because of uninspired fighters that blatantly copied Tekken’s. When it seemed like no other 3d fighters would ever take the fighting to the third dimension and do well commercially, Namco gave Soul Edge a near-complete makeover and released it as Soulcalibur. And wow, was that ever a massive hit! It not only single-handedly sold Dreamcast units, but also consistently get ranked high on best games of all times lists by many videogame review sites.

I played Soulcalibur in the arcades but didn’t spend enough time with it, and I’ve never owned a Sega Dreamcast (I was in college then, a time when I was most consistently broke). When I got a PlayStation 2, I played Soulcalibur 2 for months. The 360 degree movement added a lot of strategic depth to the fighting, but there were also parries, and even the attack buttons have their own strengths and weaknesses. As a plus, the fighters moved with such grace and seamlessness they would’ve been natural fits for martial arts movies.

8. King of Fighters 2003

People often discredit SNK for releasing too many fighting games when none of them came anywhere close to the success of Street Fighter II. What they fail to realize is that SNK brought more innovations to the genre than even Capcom. Super moves of Super Street Fighter II Turbo? That’s the only thing Capcom copied from Fatal Fury. Soulcalibur’s weapon parry? SNK had it first with Last Blade. Weapon based fighting games? SNK made them popular with Samurai Shodown. Fighting games that cross over characters from various games? If you think that Capcom did it first with X-men vs Street Fighter (Capcom did an X-men fighting game too), that’s okay, you’re still my friend. But anyway, you’re wrong. SNK also got there earlier with its King of Fighters 94.

King of Fighters is an annually-released fighting game series gathering characters from other SNK games. Each battle consists of a trio against another. It’s still one-on-one fighting, but instead of being best-of-two-rounds slugfests, the victory is granted to the team with the most number of surviving members (and in 94, who has the most clothes on!!!). From King of Fighters 94 to 2002, each member of the trio have to take turns fighting; it wasn’t until 2003 when they could tag in and out anytime. Yep, that’s what made 2003 my favorite of the series. Although there are sequels, they did not significantly change the series the way 2003 did.

No idea what she’s saying, so I’m just gonna stare at her chest 

9. Marvel vs. Capcom 2

This almost didn’t make it to the list because it had a lot of vexing qualities. I’m not even gonna talk about the awful soundtrack, or the excess of characters (like Cable and Magneto) who are so overpowered you need to pray that they do something stupid if they’re your opponent — hey, at least Marvel vs. Capcom 2 teaches you to be religious, so maybe that’s not a very bad thing. Recall what you read about brats earlier in the list. Yeah, that may feel like 10 years ago. Recall anyway. Marvel vs Capcom 2 is exactly the game that combo-happy whippersnappers who disparage Samurai Shodown eat up!

So how did the combo-intensive fighting of Marvel vs Capcom 2 came about? Capcom first made X-Men: Children of the Atom, which is its first fighting game featuring superheroes and supervillains from Marvel comics. Prior fighting games have over-the-top special moves, but they all pale in comparison with the exaggerated spectacle from here. Simply put, its characters are destructive; they cause gigantic beams and explosions all over the place, just like what they do in their comic books. Then Capcom released another fighting game, Marvel Super Heroes, and it expanded X-Men’s core design by adding air combos which can be done by launching opponents in the air and then leaping to beat them up from there. Successors like X-men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Street Fighter, and Marvel vs. Capcom all followed the same template of Marvel Super Heroes, except they featured characters from Street Fighter and other Capcom games.

See how much stuff I’m telling you about fighting games? Now you’re all set to be a fighting game guru while totally sucking at playing one. No, I’m not talking about myself… okay, so maybe I am. Moving on.

Good as all these games were, they consistently made some characters too strong or too fast that they handicap all the rest. And after Marvel Super Heroes, combos just went on for too long, sometimes they end only when their receiver runs out of life. I don’t want to accuse these games as being devoid of strategy; they aren’t. It’s more like it has such an imbalance of cast that the winner is often determined by who the first one to pull off long strings of combo or blast a giant-sized projectile is. That’s fun when you’re the one hitting, but not when you’re the one taking hits. Still, the flashy combats wow me in a profound way. I told you it was a religious game, didn’t I?

Oh dear. 

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is the most recent Marvel fighting game that plays that way, and it expanded each battle to three fighters per side (instead of 2 from its predecessors), and has the largest cast ever seen from fighting games.

10. Guilty Gear XX#Reload

What do you get when you mix the over-the-top madness of the Marvel fighting games with rock music? You get Guilty Gear! The first game went by unnoticed, but the second game (Guilty Gear X) became a hit due to its vibrant looks and its hypnotic battles. Guilty Gear XX#Reload is the third game and a further refinement of part 2.

Guilty Gear XX#Reload plays like a weapon-based Marvel fighting game. Each fighter can link various attacks for a long and devastating combo. Unlike the Marvel games, this game allows every combo to be interrupted by its recipient, making it less of a combo spam-fest.

(I could say something about this pic, but I’d rather not)

In fact I think the game is too complex. Fighters can not only air combo or break combo, but also perform “faultless defense”, “roman cancels”, “jump cancels”, “super jump”, “burst attack”, “instant kills”, etc. And then there are so much gauges in the screen, including a life gauge, a “tension” gauge, a “burst” gauge. Some fighters have their specific gauge, like “coin” gauge or “level” gauge. And there’s also an aneurysm gauge hidden in players’ butt that rapid fills up whenever they try to master this game, which requires so much practice, coordination and memorization that they might as well be remembering the whole periodic table. Sure, you could win in the game with just the basic combo and special moves, and it could even be fun doing just those, but wouldn’t you be bothered by the thought that you’re not doing everything allowed? I sure would be.

Still, I got drawn to Guilty Gear XX#Reload by its rocking music, and its eccentric cast. A lot of the fighters were made to look or act like real life rock musicians; there’s even one called Axl Low, based on the lead singer of Guns N’ Roses. And if that didn’t make the rock influence obvious enough, each characters essentially fights for the same cause of “sticking it to The Man”. Seriously, these guys should come out and perform in a Woodstock for videogame nerds!