Fighting Games (Yay, 1000th post!)

[Durxom]

Though 1000 posts may not be that much around here, but I just want to celebrate mine with something that I hold close to my gaming heart: Fighting games

Though many people I know have mixed feelings about them, I'm sure somewhere at some point in your life, you have played one and found a character that just clicked for you. So that is what this thread is about. =D

1) What is your favourite fighting game?
There are tons of them around, 2D to 3D, to even 2.5D, and each have their own systems and ways of play, so what is your favourite.

Mine is Street Fighter, just because while it may be frustrating at times, I love all the different matchups, themes, characters and flow of the games. The vs. games are right behind them though (just picked up MvC2 for the PS2 yesterday)

2) What is your favourite character from said game?
So you might like said game, but who to you like to play as. Are a projectile thrower, a swordsman, a karate master, a grappler? or are you some freak with moves that can be pulled off every which way.

Though franctically, searching through them and trying to find my click, I think it might just be Fei Long (Bruce Lee inspired Street Fighter) for his move set, and personality, though I do love both Vega, and the Red Cyclone, Zangief.

3) What is your favourite thing about fighting games?
So with all of this questions, there must be a reason why you like them. Is it because of the flashy moves, the diversity, the skill, etc.?

For me, it's two things. The first is the flashyness of it all, being able to pull off large good looking combos ending in a fatality/finishing move is always nice to see. And the second is the whole "easy to play, but hard to master" aspect of it. Almost anyone can pick a title and play it and have fun, but if you want to be great, you really have to master it and learn all of the matchups and pokes and everything.

And finally..
4) What is your least favourite thing about fighting games?
So while you may like them a lot, there is also probably something you really don't like about them. Is it the difficulty, can't find anyone to play, or are you just getting your butt handed to you for unknown reasons.

I personally hate clones. While some may change it up a bit, or later on branch out into their own characters, there is nothing worse to me than a large chunk of the roster being made up of lookalikes/playalikes.

So, with that done with, I'd just love to see some of the Escapist's feelings/opinions or choices on some of these things.

 

[strum4h]

I hate button mashers. I have always loved Super Smash Brothers. Sadly the two cross a lot.

 

[-Seraph-]

1) What is your favourite fighting game?
Man that's a tough one so I'm just gonna list my favorite 2D and 3D fighter because I love them both to bits.

For 2D: it's Guilty Gear all the way; Blazblue is a close second but it still lives in the shadow of its predecessors glory. It's one of the most balanced, deep, fun, and overall greatest 2d fighters of all. The combat is fast, simple but still retaining massive depth, and just so damn fun. I guess it's safe to call it Street Fighter on speed and crack, with the most awesome music mixed in for good measure. Oh and don't get me started on the visuals, your eyes will bleed from the pure awesome of the visuals and the well animated sprites.

For 3d: Dissidia: Final Fantasy, and anyone who knows me knows that's a no brainer. I love it for all the exact reasons I love Guilty Gear and more. Awesome visuals, a really unique and in depth combat system with a great roster of unique fighters. Big and creative stages where you can destroy shit and send people flying into walls and junk. It successfully melded RPG elements into a fighter and the degree of customization and content is amazing. It's also an incredibly balanced game even with the gear and RPG elements and junk. It's just so perfect and it makes me all the happier to know a sequel is on the way


2) What is your favourite character from said game?
Well I guess I'm going with two answers for these types of questions. Chipp Zanuff from Guilty Gear and Golbez from Dissidia.

Chipp- First off, he is fucking fast as a bullet, he's a ninja, and he has a cool weapon. I love Chipp so much for his speed, his excellent zoning capabilities, his insane combo potential, his design, his fucking character theme. He is the weakest character in the game with piss poor health and damage output, but get good enough with him and you can really lay on the pain. He can teleport to almost anywhere on the stage to deliver sneak attacks, his alpha blade and gamma blade attacks are great for traps and quick set ups, and with the addition of force breakers in Accent core; he has excellent anti air with his beta blade and his force breaker attack.

Really, just look up vids of Chipp in action, he's fucking awesome. This guy plays a mean Chipp, and I'm not that far off from his skill level by that videos comparison.

Spoiler

Golbez- Golbez is the by far my favorite fighter and is the most balanced overall character in the game. It's just so hard to top a character like him whose offensive and defensive game both garner deadly effects. The fact that his HP attacks can be used to counter and defend is brilliant and non of his attacks come close to "useless"...there is no such thing as a useless attack for Golbez. His speed is average but his ability to cover great distances and his attack range are beneficial. He can attack from awkward angles which allow him to hit even after being guard-stunned, and his chaining capabilities make him one of the best combo characters in the game. While yielding only average damage that stacks to do multi-hit attacks, specific perks like sneak attack make his critical hit rate go through the roof. Add to all that his EX perk "Black Fang", which breaks an opponents brave and he's pretty powerful. Every one of his attacks can chain into any other attack making him extremely versatile, and his invincibility frames from jumping can do wonders in terms of defending and playing mind games on the enemy. Nightglow is a great offensive and defensive ability, and the fact that he can chain any of his attacks into Cosmic Ray makes him incredibly dangerous to get caught in his attack.

Spoiler: Him in his EX form

Seriously this guy is badass and is just an amazingly well balanced out character to use. I could go on and on about how awesome Golbez is but I think I've made my point. Oh and did I mention his finishing move is him freezing you and then pummeling you with massive meteors? Yea...don't fuck with this moon man.

3) What is your favourite thing about fighting games?
Pretty much what you said OP. I love the gameplay, the depth, the style, and the purity of it all. The competitive nature and unmatched by any other genre and it's a great experience fighting someone at your skill level or higher and not being "cheap".

4) What is your least favourite thing about fighting games?
I too hate clones OP. I also hate button mashers simply ebcause it's not fun fighting them and their attitude to the whole thing just bugs me. I also despise the ignorant masses who you can tell don't play fighting games, go on about how a button masher can take down a good player and all that practice is for nothing. NO, STOP!! you are an idiot who knows nothing about fighting games and have never taken the time to LEARN them. Button mashers don't win, the only time they win is because either the person they are fight with sucks, or gets caught up in their own hubris and eventually loses because of it.

Even within the randomness of a button mashers moves, there is order and predictability. They leave themselves with massive open gaps for punishment, and anyone with decent eyes and knowledge of the games cues can spot certain moves coming from a mile away and react to them instantly.

Oh..and bullshit AI, everyone hates bullshit AI.

 

[Serenegoose]

Smash Bros Melee, without a doubt. I'm also a huge fan of Street Fighter - I think those 2 games flow better than other fighting games on the market, which is a large factor in my enjoyment of them.

In Smash Bros, my favourite character is Samus Aran. Not only do I like the character in general, but I liked her reasonable pace and power, and loved her ability to control the battlefield with ranged attacks - I would use them not to hit people (though obviously I would use them for that too) but to make them jump, or block, or dodge - because whilst they're doing that, they can't hit me or make their own choices about how the match is going. In street fighter, my favourite character is Sagat. I know that balance is a problem with Sagat, but that aside, I love his style.

I like them because they're a close, 1v1 skill contest. Very simple, but when 2 people, equally matched start playing against each other, it's just beautiful.

 

[Outright Villainy]

Either Smash bros brawl or Tekken 4. Two very different games, but enjoyable in their own ways. Smash bros is an amazing 4 player brawler, and the fighting system is really engaging once you get to grips with it. Tekken 4 to me is just the king of one on one fighters.

Toon link and marth are my favourites from brawl; I like speedsters who dodge and weave as much as possible. I like that they both have punishing counter attacks too, really suits me. My favourite in tekken 4 is Jin. A no muss guy, but he's incredibly intuitive, and I found myself learning all the moves really quickly. Easily felt the most natural.

My favourite part is how direct and competitive is. It's constantly trying to outwit your opponent, and you're always on your toes.

My least favourite part is how easily I get beaten by button mashing. I'm no expert. I'm pretty good in brawl, but the "I win" items can get a bit annoying. Though I wouldn't have it another way, final smashes are awesome.

 

[soulasylum85]

1. smash brothers brawl

2. ike

3. i love how competitive fighting games are

4 i hate how repetative they are, most fighting games i get bored of very quickly simply because there isnt much to do