What is your favorite fighting game and why? (REVISITED) Fighting Game Revival!

Here it is folks, back in action. I started a forum like this about a year ago and got quite a few entries and some great converations going too. Now that Street Fighter IV is on the horizon, I thought it might be a good time to revisit this old topic and see what some new people have to say about it. I'm also curious as to how most of you feel about the upcoming Street Fighter IV. I for one couldn't be more excited. I have already pre-purchased the Tournament Edition Arcade Stick, the Chun Li Fighting Pad, and the Special Edition of Street Fighter IV for the 360. Everything is bought and paid for... now all I have to do is wait until Feb 17th.

To recap from the days of yore, my two favorite fighting games are thus:

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike for 2D
Virtua Fighter 5 for 3D

Street Figher III: 3rd Strike is everything anyone could want in a fighter. The balance of this game is 2nd to none. Graphically and animation-wise, nothing comes close in 2D fighting. It is fully customizable for those that feel the need to mess with perfection, and it is pure hardcore fighting at its finest. The parry system is what sets this fighter aside from other 2D fighting and it is what seperates casual players from hardcore fighters. I believe (at this point without having played Street Fighter IV yet) that this game will still remain the game of choice for the absolute diehard hardcore fighting game fan. It is pure in its presentation and should someone master it, they are truly one of the best gamers in all of fighting game fandom. There is a reason this is the game of choice in tournaments around the country. That reason is because it's simply the best!

Virtua Fighter 5 gets my vote for most incredible 3D fighter. This is largely due to the depth that has gone into such an incredible fighting system. Each character has a plethora of moves to master. It is graphically one of the most gorgeous games to lay eyes on and the Xbox 360 version is the superior version due to an almost flawless online addition. While the item collection lets you customize the look of your character beyond recognition, the core of this game is pure fighting maddness. Most people skip Virtua Fighter and move on to something much more simple to play like Dead Or Alive or Tekken. While these games are a blast to play and offer a significant challenge when playing with friends or online, no 3D fighing experience compares to Virtua Fighter. The reason most people skip out and move to easier games is simply because Virtua Fighter V (and the preceeding titles) is too hardcore for most. This is a game you have to spend serious time with to master. But for those that spend that time, the rewards are well worth it.

Since first posting this forum, Virtua Fighter V had not been released. Today, we are blessed with another 2D masterpiece that almost overshadows Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike... almost. I'm talking, of course, of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. This game has been an absolute dream come true to fans of the genre. I have yet to see any 2D fighter recieve such care and dedication by a developer. Backbone deserves major thanks and kudos from every fighting fan all over because of a perfect update to an already incredible game. If you are one of those that has not checked it out on Live Arcade or Sony Network, stop reading and go download it now so you can play it. If nothing else, it is the best possible way to whet your beaks until Street Fighter IV makes it home.

Another honorable mention as of late is Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. While it in no way compares to the greatness of the Street Fighter games or Virtua Fighter, I have to honestly say that it was a shock to me how good it actually turned out. More than anyhing, this game is just tons of fun to play. And it's games like this that are sure to keep the fighting genre from dying out.

I'm glad to see there is a revival of the fighitng genre coming about. It's obvious that Street Fighter IV is the game that will breathe new life into fighting games just as Street Fighter II did back in the day. We already have other titles to look forward to that may never have come out were it not for this revival. King of Fighters XII is well on its way and it's once I can't wait to see in action either. I've also heard rumors of another new Samurai Showdown title in the works. It so great to see these games coming back, anew. It makes me feel like a kid again in the arcade! While the arcade scene will never be what it once was, as least on this side of the pond, it's nice to know that online is there to substitute arcades and I'm happy knowing that fighters of the past will be facing off with fresh blood that these newer games and remakes are sure to bring in.

To answer my own question, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is my all time favorite fighting game. It probably always will be. What about you out there? What's your favorite fighting game and why? What do you all think of the fighting game revival?

But if there is a Fighting game series that remains close to my heart, that is Capcom's own DarkStalkers. It might be evident by my avatar and sig, but what is most exciting is that 2009 is the 15th Anniversary of the series and Udon Crew (The art house responsible for the Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix's art plus plenty of comic based upon Capcom licenses) will release a tribute art book based upon one of my all time favorite game series: DARKSTALKERS! YEEEEESSSSS!!!!!

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Super Smash Bros Melee, and Street Fighter II

Haven't played Brawl yet, and SF4 looks great.

My favorite fighting game is Tekken 5 DR

I've been playing Tekken since the first one back in 1995 on the Playstation and been hooked ever since.

Looking forward to playing Tekken 6 BR in the fall.

I started my fighting game addiction on the Tekken series. But when Guilty Gear X was release i become focus on it.

These days i play Guilty Gear on the arcades (mostly Slash and AC) and Tekken DR. I dont play Tekken 6 that much although i have to get on it sometimes as my moves are very much outdated

I am also a darkstalkers fan. It had all the goodness of a capcom fighting title,but I always liked the charachters and movesets more,like it made me feel streetfighter was a little stale.

I also love the guilty gear series,they sort of made 2D fighting still revalent,and the animation and art was beautifull.

Brawl. To those of you who think it's a "party brawler" or some crap like that.....please hand over your Gamer's Badge. And the gun. Brawl IS a fighting game, and a good one.Video_Game_King

I'm with Brawl as well.

Soul calibur II was pretty awesome too, though.

[QUOTE="Video_Game_King"]Brawl. To those of you who think it's a "party brawler" or some crap like that.....please hand over your Gamer's Badge. And the gun. Brawl IS a fighting game, and a good one.DJ-Lafleur

I'm with Brawl as well.

Soul calibur II was pretty awesome too, though.

Does Brawl even count as a fighting game? :D

I kid, I kid!:P

Brawl. To those of you who think it's a "party brawler" or some crap like that.....please hand over your Gamer's Badge. And the gun. Brawl IS a fighting game, and a good one.Video_Game_King

Virtua Fighter remains my favorite fighting game series.

It has most depth and balance among fighters, and to me that's most important.

What are you all playing with when it comes to your fighting? Are you using the standard controllers or are you using the Hori Arcade sticks? Is anyone, besides me, using any custom arcade sticks? Who out there is planning on buying a new conroller and/or stick when Street Fighter IV comes out?

Just to put this out there, playing with a stick is the only way to go when it comes to serious competition fighting. I'm still learning how to master a stick because I grew up playing more on SNES and Genesis, so I am more used to controllers. But after forcing myself to learn how to use a stick (I have two custom sticks, one for PS2 and the other for Xbox 360) I see that the versatility that comes with a stick is the only way to pull off the best moves and combos effectively.

Just my opinion.

I have two favorite fighting games:

1) Dragonball Z: Budokai 3 -- It doesn't take itself too seriously as a fighting game, the fights are fast paced, and powerful combos can be performed without hitting X,X,half-turn left, slant right, jump,O,X,O,O,Taunt...you get the idea.

2) Def Jam: Fight for NY -- Again...not hard to pull off combos, easy blocking (none of that high, med, low block ****), and the hits just sound PAINFUL and are incredibly fun to pull off, especially the "blazin" moves. Oh, the character development system is also a big bonus.

I forgot to name a few ones I enjoy:

1. Last Blade 2

2. Samurai Shodown V and VI

3. Garou Mark of the Wolves

4. Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen IV (only because it's pretty fun to play)

What are you all playing with when it comes to your fighting? Are you using the standard controllers or are you using the Hori Arcade sticks? Is anyone, besides me, using any custom arcade sticks? Who out there is planning on buying a new conroller and/or stick when Street Fighter IV comes out?

Just to put this out there, playing with a stick is the only way to go when it comes to serious competition fighting. I'm still learning how to master a stick because I grew up playing more on SNES and Genesis, so I am more used to controllers. But after forcing myself to learn how to use a stick (I have two custom sticks, one for PS2 and the other for Xbox 360) I see that the versatility that comes with a stick is the only way to pull off the best moves and combos effectively.

Just my opinion.

shabulia

I use controllers. Never bothered to learn how to use a stick. Just something Im used too since the Snes days.

3D-Soul Calibur 2 (SFIV will take the crown once it comes out)

2D-SFII

Recently, Arcana Heart. A lot of people dismiss it for appealing to the moe sensibilities in oppressed Japanese youth, but walk into a Tokyo game center and start playing it with somebody, and you'll very quickly see just how great it really is. There's also a PS2 port, for those that can't afford to fly to Tokyo. I don't actually know if it came out in the West, however.

All-time, Street Fighter II (Hyper Fighting, usually), for obvious reasons (well, hopefully obvious reasons).

Virtua Fighter remains my favorite fighting game series.

It has most depth and balance among fighters, and to me that's most important.

TriangleHard

I like Virtua Fighter, don't get me wrong, but to say that it has the most depth and balance among fighting games is to be guilty of exaggeration. If you want depth and balance, there are plenty of other games/series that do it better.

i'd say my favourite fighting game is dragon ball z on the ps1 (2D of course)

and as for more recent fighters...dead or alive 4 was a load of fun...

Recently, Arcana Heart. A lot of people dismiss it for appealing to the moe sensibilities in oppressed Japanese youth, but walk into a Tokyo game center and start playing it with somebody, and you'll very quickly see just how great it really is. There's also a PS2 port, for those that can't afford to fly to Tokyo. I don't actually know if it came out in the West, however.

All-time, Street Fighter II (Hyper Fighting, usually), for obvious reasons (well, hopefully obvious reasons).

[QUOTE="TriangleHard"]

Virtua Fighter remains my favorite fighting game series.

It has most depth and balance among fighters, and to me that's most important.

Greatgone12

I like Virtua Fighter, don't get me wrong, but to say that it has the most depth and balance among fighting games is to be guilty of exaggeration. If you want depth and balance, there are plenty of other games/series that do it better.

dead or alive 4
marvel vs capcom 2
project justice
and
smash bros brawl
kemar7856

[QUOTE="Greatgone12"]

Recently, Arcana Heart. A lot of people dismiss it for appealing to the moe sensibilities in oppressed Japanese youth, but walk into a Tokyo game center and start playing it with somebody, and you'll very quickly see just how great it really is. There's also a PS2 port, for those that can't afford to fly to Tokyo. I don't actually know if it came out in the West, however.

All-time, Street Fighter II (Hyper Fighting, usually), for obvious reasons (well, hopefully obvious reasons).

[QUOTE="TriangleHard"]

Virtua Fighter remains my favorite fighting game series.

It has most depth and balance among fighters, and to me that's most important.

shabulia

I like Virtua Fighter, don't get me wrong, but to say that it has the most depth and balance among fighting games is to be guilty of exaggeration. If you want depth and balance, there are plenty of other games/series that do it better.

I'm actually quite shocked to see Virtua Fighter's depth is getting questioned.

I thought it was common knowledge by now.

[QUOTE="shabulia"][QUOTE="Greatgone12"]...what?

I like Virtua Fighter, don't get me wrong, but to say that it has the most depth and balance among fighting games is to be guilty of exaggeration. If you want depth and balance, there are plenty of other games/series that do it better.

TriangleHard

I'm actually quite shocked to see Virtua Fighter's depth is getting questioned.

I thought it was common knowledge by now.

Well said. When it comes to depth of play and character moves, Virtua Fighter is second to none.shabulia

Virtua Fighter is so deep, it doesn't even have random character select. Picking character you don't know how to use often means waste of time.

Still, depth is not really best part of Virtua Fighter.

It's the balance. Absolutely no fighter has better balance than Virtua Fighter.

[QUOTE="shabulia"]

Well said. When it comes to depth of play and character moves, Virtua Fighter is second to none.TriangleHard

Virtua Fighter is so deep, it doesn't even have random character select. Picking character you don't know how to use often means waste of time.

Still, depth is not really best part of Virtua Fighter.

It's the balance. Absolutely no fighter has better balance than Virtua Fighter.

How about Capcom Vs. SNK? I owned the first one on Dreamcast and I have its re-release on the PS1. Capcom Vs. SNK 2 I have on my PS2 and then I have the SNK incarnation, SVC: Chaos as a Japanese import for my PS2. I love the crossover aspect of these games as they were friendly rivals back in the day. Personally, I think SVC: Chaos was a severely underrated game and it deserved more credit than it got. Yes, it looked old because it was built on the Neo Geo, but the animation was fantastic and the play was outstanding. I would love to see any of these games get an update on current consoles.shabulia

Those are fun, but often the are least balanced fighter out there.

Well, considering they have serious fighter build, not like some random bull like Dragon Ball games.

Recently, Arcana Heart. A lot of people dismiss it for appealing to the moe sensibilities in oppressed Japanese youth, but walk into a Tokyo game center and start playing it with somebody, and you'll very quickly see just how great it really is. There's also a PS2 port, for those that can't afford to fly to Tokyo. I don't actually know if it came out in the West, however.

All-time, Street Fighter II (Hyper Fighting, usually), for obvious reasons (well, hopefully obvious reasons).

[QUOTE="TriangleHard"]

Virtua Fighter remains my favorite fighting game series.

It has most depth and balance among fighters, and to me that's most important.

Greatgone12

I like Virtua Fighter, don't get me wrong, but to say that it has the most depth and balance among fighting games is to be guilty of exaggeration. If you want depth and balance, there are plenty of other games/series that do it better.

Then I'm asking you to list "plenty" of games that do it better.

Also, I bought Arcana Heart at launch and it was nothing overtly special. I found Battle Fantasia to be much more fun, actually.

No offense, but I couldn't disagree more. I think it's people that haven't given Virtua Fighter enough playtime that think this way. Virtua Fighter is probably the deepest of all fighting games, even besting Street FIghter II and maybe even III (in terms of depth and moves per character only). The reason I say this is because the amount of moves for each character in Virtua Fighter can take years to master. Each move can be strung together through combos and it's just how well you play that determines who wins. Most games out there are button mashers. Go into a Virtua Fighter match with someone that knows what they are doing when all you know is how to button mash and you will get your ass handed to you. Other games let you get away with button mashing. It's possible to play Tekken and come out the winner even if you've only played it once or twice. With Virtua Fighter, not a chance. I hate to say it but TriangleHard's right. GG12, you're wrong.shabulia

I've been playing Virtua Fighter for hundreds, maybe thousands of hours, over the past ten or so years (in fact, I have the IC Card to prove that I've been playing Virtua Fighter 5 for at least one-hundred hours, not to mention the time spent with that one version of the game on its PS3 and Xbox 360 ports). Don't say that I haven't given the game enough playtime. The fact of the matter remains that I have played a large number of fighting games, good and bad, more than you have probably even heard of. I've taken time to learn each and ever one of those games, and I know how their systems work. Unlike you, presumably. I'm not saying that Virtua Fighter isn't deep, but your reasons for defending why Virtua Fighter's depth are quite stupid. The moves for each character can take years to master? What does that even mean, master? Are you saying that it takes years to be able to pull off character's moves in Virtua Fighter? That's not true! Each move can be strung together through combos, and "it's just how well you play that determines who wins"? No ****! It's an action game! They're all based on skill! As with any competitive action game, your ability to play well will determine who wins. Even button mashers, in the end, but I'm not going to get into that right now. And on the subject of being able to play Tekken and come out the winner even if you've only played it once or twice... So? It depends on who you're playing with. You haven't specified the ability of the opponent, so it really doesn't matter how long you've been playing.

I hate to say it, but you don't know anything about fighting games. Stop being so presumptuous, too. It's making you look bad.