Poll: Best fighting game franchise?

[Soxafloppin]

Mortal Kombat, Yea like others have said its not deep, and its only recently became tournament viable, but my god its fun, and Content! It beats out any other fighting game (Except maybe SSB) in sheer content.

 

[CLC Akira]

I voted other because Virtua Fighter wasn't on the list but in all honesty I love all fighting games.

 

[ColeusRattus]

Me too, I have a soft spot for Virtua Fighter, so I'd have voted for that if it were on the list.

BlazBlue is great too.

But I don't understand the craze about Smash Brothers. It's just not fun, at all. At least for me. And nope, it didn't get more fun with two to four players either.

 

[Logodaedalus]

When it comes down to it fighters for me are not about carefully thought out comboes and cutting edge graphics, they are about fast paced action to be played on the couch with friends, and for that Super Smash Bros. has no equal.

Not only can you have tons of zany and hilarious moves, its entire system is much more gratifieing (spelling?). Kicking someone and watching a healthbar go back a bit is good and all, but it does not compete with the "OMG LOLZ OWNED!!" factor that sending someone flying at Mach 1 across the screen gives. This is particularly true when it ends with a large bang and when said person is sitting next to you.

 

[L3W15 M]

I said other although super smash bros would be my second choice closely followed by MK
I say other because the dragon ball fighting games have always been the best to me. So many characters and so much hectic action. the ability to fly and destroy your battlefield and of course the childhood memories that go with the characters. So thats my choice.

 

[StormShaun]

I love the...

Tekken Series and Soul Calibur series because of their non confusing gameplay unlike Street Button masher fighter 4, and Soul Calibur because of the same reason and because of their character customisation.

Also Blaz Blue was awesome because they made fighting quite easy and awesome, while making the story as a visual novel which I love.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

Street Fighter...or BlazBlue. When I lose in those games it doesn't feel like I got cheated unlike a certain other game named MvC3. Admittedly I didn't try to get into Mortal Kombat much but I don't think I would like it as much as I do those two.

 

[Drizzitdude]

Mortal kombat, Blazblue, Super smash Bros

 

[Smertnik]

Guilty Gear beats them all.

 

[Fenixhart]

No Love for Dissidia: Duodecim?

 

[Odysseous2]

Mortal Kombat has been a joke for the last 15 years and just last year released one game that wasn't as horrible as the last 10 of them.

It's been a joke for you. But the series has been getting enough support over the years to actually *last* for this long, and that means a lot of people would disagree with you. Even if Mortal Kombat *is* a joke, the fact still stands that it's been around for almost 20 years now and it's a household name in fighters. You really can't argue that Mortal Kombat doesn't belong on the list. It's right up there with Street Fighter as one of the most popular fighting franchises ever.

Super Smash Brothers is a party game whose depth stemmed from the glitches that were overlooked by the devs and by it's community cutting away 90% of the content in order to make is as playable as actual fighting games. It's also (brawl especially) widely considered a party game over a fighter by most fighting game experts.

By most fighting game experts? I didn't realize you could major in "fighting game nomenclature" in grad school. I'm just as much an expert as anyone else, considering I've played through every game on the poll and ALMOST every game people are mentioning (except Dead or Alive). And if you're wondering, then no, I'm not a Nintendo fanboy. As a matter of fact, I have absolutely no respect for Nintendo at the moment. So no, I didn't put Super Smash Bros up there because I'm a fan of the series. I put it up there because it's popular. And, all things considered, it's a game where you choose one of a bunch of characters and use them to beat up another one of a bunch of characters. That's the premise of just about all fighting games. And, as you can see by the results, people seem to agree that SSB is a good fighter. Sure, it might be less deep than others, and it might be designed to play with friends, but that doesn't evict it from the genre. It's very possible for a game to be both a fighter and a party game at once. (And this is coming from a so-called "expert")

Guilty Gear isn't obscure, it has been out since 1998, has over 10 games and has been renown as one of the best fighters ever to the fighting game community. Blazblue, it's spiritual successor, has received raving reviews, ones even found on THIS site too, as well as awards for best fighter of the year etc. It's an egregious series of oversights to not mention either of them.

Yeah, I've heard this story before. Every single franchise listed on the poll has more or less the same history. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat started as arcade games in 1991 and 1992 respectively. Since then, both have been consistently evolving to fit with the newer generations of technology while at the same time being hugely supported by their respective fanbases. They're household names. They belong on the list.

If I'm not mistaken, the original Marvel vs. Capcom was released in 1995 as an arcade game, and was instantly deemed the "greatest fighting game of all time" by most fans of the genre. At the time, MvC was about as deep and advanced as the genre got. And all the critic acclaim of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 means that, yes, it still holds the same reputation today. That belongs on the list.

Super Smash Bros, I already covered.

If you remember, Soul Calibur started out as Soul Edge, which was released in 1996 as an arcade game. It was the second fully 3D fighting game ever to be released (the first being some obscure arcade release that nobody's played). Also, at the time, it was an oddity for fighting games to feature weapons. If you remember, not even Mortal Kombat had much of the arsenal it uses today. Most characters just fought bare-fisted, because that's the way fighting games were. Soul Calibur changed that, as well as fixed the misconception that fighters could only be played on a 2D plane. That belongs on the list.

Tekken's first game was in 1994, and though it didn't do much in the ways of innovation, it's a series that's held in high esteem by most gamers, not just fighting enthusiasts. It's probably the third most popular name in fighters, just below Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. And, if I remember correctly, it was the first fighting game to be completely loyal to actual martial arts (that is, every move the characters use is something possible in real life. No hadoukens, no flaming breath). I don't know if it's still that way today, as I haven't played very much Tekken lately, but its historical significance still stands. That belongs on the list.

I'm not downgrading Guilty Gear's importance. I'm just saying that it's not quite in the league that these legendary fighters are in. Again, I would have listed more, but there are only 8 slots. And yes, I *did* feel that the "all fighting games suck" choice was necessary.

 

[FalloutJack]

-Snip-

Well, your candor on the matter is appreciated. Having been a poll-meister myself plenty of times, I don't blame you, so thank you for the 'Other' column. As for me...

Street Fighter is nice, but I feel not much has changed since I played Street Fighter II (the reason being I can just pick up SF4 and play just as well as I did long ago). Can anyone tell my why Bison's been inflated with a bicycle pump?

I'm an old player of Mortal Kombat. HOWEVER...it's taken years on end for them to get back to MKIIs level, and I say that because MK9 compares well with it, straight down to bullshitty Shao Kahn, which all of us older players are use to.

M. VS C. ummm... *Shrugs* Haven't played it and don't read enough comics. Deadpool was a nice touch.

Super Smash? Fun and funny, but better for tournaments.

Soul Calibur... Thing is, I bought 3 because it was more than just a fighting game and had character creation too. Then, years later, after some cajoling, I bought SC4 for 20 bucks and...meh. It's JUST a fighting game again.

Tekken? Never played it.

So, I'm throwing in my Other vote for Blazblue.

 

[Delsana]

Tech Romancer for the Dreamcast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqe8pCwa9go

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Yeah, a lot of the time, fighting games come down to a contest of who can mash buttons the fastest. But there's nothing quite like a well-balanced fighting game where a skilled player can feed a novice their own ass before they know what's what. So, what franchise is best?

I'd have to go for Mortal Kombat myself. I know, it's not very deep, and it's mostly about the spectacle... But I love it all the same.

EDIT: I'm well aware that Guilty Gear and BlazBlue have been left off the list. If it's *that* important to you, see my response to Dreiko on page 3 to know why.

Just curious as you obviously know it exist why not call Soul Calibur its proper name the Soul Series as it does contain Soul Edge/Blade.

OT: I am between DoA, Soul series and BlazBlue as they all bring something different to the table.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Gotta give it to Street Fighter. It's not the flashiest franchise out there, but it might be the most balanced. In most other fighting games, it doesn't take long for the community to discover the one fighter that towers above all others, thus reducing all fights to mirror matches. In Street Fighter, there's usually a handful of characters that perform better than others, but the rest aren't so outclassed that they can't be played competitively as well.

Basically, I'd rather fight Yun and feel like I have a chance than fight Meta-Knight and know that I don't.

I would say BlazBlue is more balanced than Street Fighter. With Street Fighter, it's a giant pile of Abel, Rufus, Ken, the occasional mixer. Just about everyone is viable in Blazblue (Except Carl. Poor Carl)

OT: Blazblue and Guilty Gear. Your lack of them in the poll disturbs me.

Carl is actually damn good man, Tager is the poor man (or robot ) out. Carl is just hard to use, he's high-tier in all 3 BBs.

It's been a joke for you. But the series has been getting enough support over the years to actually *last* for this long, and that means a lot of people would disagree with you. Even if Mortal Kombat *is* a joke, the fact still stands that it's been around for almost 20 years now and it's a household name in fighters. You really can't argue that Mortal Kombat doesn't belong on the list. It's right up there with Street Fighter as one of the most popular fighting franchises ever.

Sonic has lasted this long too, so have a bunch of other mediocre to horrible series.

Again, this topic is titled "BEST fighting game franchise", regardless of popularity, MK has sucked balls for the last 15 years, regardless of how much people liked it, it hasn't had any representation in fighting game tournaments (SBO, EVO,TOUGEKI) until now. You can't argue around these facts.

Just because something is popular it doesn't mean it's good.

As for why it's popular, it was really violent, so it was thought of as cool. If THAT is what you think fighitng games are all about you really don't comprehend the experience derived from playing a deep fighting game on a high level.

By most fighting game experts? I didn't realize you could major in "fighting game nomenclature" in grad school. I'm just as much an expert as anyone else, considering I've played through every game on the poll and ALMOST every game people are mentioning (except Dead or Alive). And if you're wondering, then no, I'm not a Nintendo fanboy. As a matter of fact, I have absolutely no respect for Nintendo at the moment. So no, I didn't put Super Smash Bros up there because I'm a fan of the series. I put it up there because it's popular. And, all things considered, it's a game where you choose one of a bunch of characters and use them to beat up another one of a bunch of characters. That's the premise of just about all fighting games. And, as you can see by the results, people seem to agree that SSB is a good fighter. Sure, it might be less deep than others, and it might be designed to play with friends, but that doesn't evict it from the genre. It's very possible for a game to be both a fighter and a party game at once. (And this is coming from a so-called "expert")

When did academia enter into this? A fighting game expert is someone who is at a really high level of skill at the games. Having played every game on the poll means nothing, a lot of gamers have done much more and they too are still nowhere near as good as the experts. I never said "I" was that either, I was just referencing. As for the whole nintendo fanboy thing, I guess you have a little nagging thing in your head over it cause I never even thought of something like you being a nintendo fanboy until you mentioned it lol.

Your simplistic view on what makes fighters good is bothersome. You're like a little kid explaining to his mom why you like these games.

Fighting games are about high level reflexes, intense situational adaptation, thinking on your feet, perfect memorization and execution of complex inputs and a high level of competitive spirit that will drive a person to spend a lot of time and effort in "getting good".

All that "pick who you like and beat your friends with the press of a button! wohoo!" is just BS marketing in an attempt to make easily intimidated folks give the genre another chance. That has no actual effect in the way the games were meant to be played or indeed are played by those who play them best.

Yeah, I've heard this story before. Every single franchise listed on the poll has more or less the same history. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat started as arcade games in 1991 and 1992 respectively. Since then, both have been consistently evolving to fit with the newer generations of technology while at the same time being hugely supported by their respective fanbases. They're household names. They belong on the list.

If I'm not mistaken, the original Marvel vs. Capcom was released in 1995 as an arcade game, and was instantly deemed the "greatest fighting game of all time" by most fans of the genre. At the time, MvC was about as deep and advanced as the genre got. And all the critic acclaim of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 means that, yes, it still holds the same reputation today. That belongs on the list.

Super Smash Bros, I already covered.

If you remember, Soul Calibur started out as Soul Edge, which was released in 1996 as an arcade game. It was the second fully 3D fighting game ever to be released (the first being some obscure arcade release that nobody's played). Also, at the time, it was an oddity for fighting games to feature weapons. If you remember, not even Mortal Kombat had much of the arsenal it uses today. Most characters just fought bare-fisted, because that's the way fighting games were. Soul Calibur changed that, as well as fixed the misconception that fighters could only be played on a 2D plane. That belongs on the list.

Tekken's first game was in 1994, and though it didn't do much in the ways of innovation, it's a series that's held in high esteem by most gamers, not just fighting enthusiasts. It's probably the third most popular name in fighters, just below Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. And, if I remember correctly, it was the first fighting game to be completely loyal to actual martial arts (that is, every move the characters use is something possible in real life. No hadoukens, no flaming breath). I don't know if it's still that way today, as I haven't played very much Tekken lately, but its historical significance still stands. That belongs on the list.

I'm not downgrading Guilty Gear's importance. I'm just saying that it's not quite in the league that these legendary fighters are in. Again, I would have listed more, but there are only 8 slots. And yes, I *did* feel that the "all fighting games suck" choice was necessary.

You're thinking of street fighter vs capcom, MvC1 wasn't made in 95. Also your quotes were about MvC2, which was out in 2000. I didn't even say anything about it, although simplified it's a deserving series, no beef with it being there.


Either way, no need to justify tekken or sf or even the soul series, I never said anything about them for a reason, they deserve to be there, all I said was that smash and MK don't. Oh as for the first "real martial arts" game, that's virtua fighter. As for tekken, Tekken 3 released in 1997 had a dinosaur that both breathed fire and farted poison...and the first tekken still did have Yoshimitsu, a robot ninja with a sword whose hand spun like a helicopter, enabling him to fly mid-battle, might wanna rethink your whole reasoning behind why tekken is liked due to it realistically depicting martial arts and all that.


Again, this thread is about which series is "best", GG is pretty much THAT. To not have it in cause it's not popular or "technologically up to date" enough is just ignorant. (as though that even matters...again you display how little you comprehend about fighters, graphics technology matter in them less than they do in text games...and blazblue has HD sprites, they're pretty much the top sprites in any game ever, it doesn't have to be 3D to not be primitive)

 

[Ordinaryundone]

[quote="NameIsRobertPaulson" post="9.306986.12376865I would say BlazBlue is more balanced than Street Fighter. With Street Fighter, it's a giant pile of Abel, Rufus, Ken, the occasional mixer. Just about everyone is viable in Blazblue (Except Carl. Poor Carl)

OT: Blazblue and Guilty Gear. Your lack of them in the poll disturbs me.[/quote]

Wait, what? Abel and Rufus? The only real high-level Rufus player out there that I can think of is Justin Wong, and he doesn't really dominate with him like he used to. Abel hasn't seen any serious play since Vanilla, and is basically low-mid tier at best. Ken is still a popular choice online, but other characters have surpassed him as the go-to OP character, so he doesn't get as much play as he used to. These days its all about Yun; he's the new Ken. Not to mention Ryu, Sagat, Dudley, Akuma, Adon, Chun-Li, Guile, Dhalsim, Seth, and Zangief are all still popular choices in tournament play.

OT: Street Fighter. Its not as fast or flashy as Marvel or Blazblue, but its been balanced to a razor's edge (cept Yun. Stupid Yun) and every match challenges you on several levels if you have a good opponent. When I lose a fight in MK, or Marvel I sometimes feel like I was cheated; that something went wrong and I got jacked up by a single combo taking away half my health. In Street Fighter, when I lose, it only ever feels like my fault.

 

[ManInRed]

No Virtua Fighter listed too?

It's one thing to not have King of Fighters, Bushido Blade, or any of Sega's other fighting game series (I know, you got a limit sized list), but Virtua Fighter the longest running 3D fighting game series. Couldn't have combine "Capcom VS" with "Street Fighter" series to make room?

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

As far as balance goes, Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core should be the top one, Blazblue continuum shift 2 also surpasses AE's balance since there's no Yun-like char in it. SBO was also won by a low tier char in blazblue (Hakumen). SSF4 was more balanced than AE IMO.

 

[Javarock]

Don't know if its conventional but I consider it a "Strategy Fighting Game" but Toribash is excellent. Free too, Ragdoll as well I enjoy it.

 

[teisjm]

SSB.
I really like how i mixes fighter gameplay with platforming, managing to create deep gameplay with only somewhere around 12 different moves for each character, excluding moving and jumping.
It seems more about doing the right things in the right circumstances, than about remembering 100 different moves/combos.
Beeing able to know how to do everything the characters can do very very fast, leaving the real challenge to be how to use those moves proberbly is great, and one of the few cases in which i'll use the "less is more" phrase.
I just played SSBB today after ages of not playing it, and got back into the routine of controlling the characters and making them do what i wanted to with ease in only a few minutes, but when i play tekken (which don't get me wrong, i also enjoy a lot) i spend the first 10 minutes of each character trying to remember how to pull off the different moves, while still limiting myself to a fraction of the characters full moveset, even if it's only been a month since i last played.

I really appreciate how they added costumization regarding what items will spawn, so you can avoid the element of randomness, by excluding the most powerfull items, if that displeases you, and how you can even create your own maps.