Historical & Critical Review of Video Games
By
Warren Gill
(DGH1)
Historical Review of Fighting Games
Has how we play fighting games changed?
By
Warren Gill
(DGH1)
Historical Review of Fighting Games
Has how we play fighting games changed?
Early 1990's:
The arrival of Street Fighter II in 1991 is regarded as being one of the most significant moments in the fighting game saga. Yoshiki Okamoto and his team not only made the game but they created the interface around a super accurate joystick and button system, unseen in the genre before, that they also developed. Such a thing finally allowed players to reliably execute multi-button special moves, the success of which had previously been a random occurrence at best. The graphics used Capcom's CPS arcade chipset, with highly detailed characters and stages. Previous fighting games saw players pitted against computer-controlled enemies whereas Street Fighter II allowed players to finally play against each other. A massive milestone one can say with the utmost confidence. The menus featured full colour , the stages were unique to each character and featured animated backgrounds usually people moving a little or even animals, there were even bonus stages and the soundtrack featured numerous songs and individual character audio again unique to each character of the game all gave it a flavour unseen untill that point. One or two players can choose from eight selectable World Warriors and must defeat the other seven, before finally taking on four non-selectable 'boss' characters.
Each fighter has a different feel and fighting style as well as physical appearance and each one possesses a couple of amazing 'special moves'. With the addition of the new control system to the interface these special moves are considered to be the first genuine and 100% reliable to activate in the genre. Of course there was the usual moves like kicks, punches and throws. Street Fighter II has game play that is deceptively deep and strategic thus ensuring experienced players being able to dispatch simple 'button mashers' easily.
The popularity of Street Fighter II took the gaming industry by huge surprise. Arcades were jammed to the rafters by new fans of the game. It is well known that during this street fighter 2 craze arcade owners were forced to order more machines to keep up with demand. Street Fighter II was also responsible for popularizing the combo mechanic, which is basically when skilled players learned they could combine several attacks, leaving no time for the opponent to recover. Of course as with all things in the Street Fighter II game play these combos take a lot of skill to master.
Street Fighter II continued on being super popular and quickly spawned a special Champion Edition that improved game balance and allowed players to use additional characters. However as interest in this "version" waned Capcom released Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers this practice occurred several times with many itterations of what was basically the same game, giving birth to the infamous term "grey market enhancements". Eventually it ended with Super Street Fighter II Turbo Although Street Fighter is a massive force for good in gaming culture this enhancement version practice alone mars it immensely. They didn't know at the time but this practice would cause untold controversy and consumer dissatisfaction for a long time to come. Many companies have taken to this style of conducting business over the years and has left the genre stagnant and leaving little room for innovation and or progression.
Street Fighter II was eventually released for home game consoles and it came to define the future template for fighting games in more ways than one unfortunately. It also spawned an incredibly popular anime movie and a couple of not so popular Hollywood movies, Street Fighter 2: The Movie and a more recent attempt, The Legend of Chun Li. The games media reach expands decades and ventures into many realms of the entertainment industry, like comics and T.V.
Each fighter has a different feel and fighting style as well as physical appearance and each one possesses a couple of amazing 'special moves'. With the addition of the new control system to the interface these special moves are considered to be the first genuine and 100% reliable to activate in the genre. Of course there was the usual moves like kicks, punches and throws. Street Fighter II has game play that is deceptively deep and strategic thus ensuring experienced players being able to dispatch simple 'button mashers' easily.
The popularity of Street Fighter II took the gaming industry by huge surprise. Arcades were jammed to the rafters by new fans of the game. It is well known that during this street fighter 2 craze arcade owners were forced to order more machines to keep up with demand. Street Fighter II was also responsible for popularizing the combo mechanic, which is basically when skilled players learned they could combine several attacks, leaving no time for the opponent to recover. Of course as with all things in the Street Fighter II game play these combos take a lot of skill to master.
Street Fighter II continued on being super popular and quickly spawned a special Champion Edition that improved game balance and allowed players to use additional characters. However as interest in this "version" waned Capcom released Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers this practice occurred several times with many itterations of what was basically the same game, giving birth to the infamous term "grey market enhancements". Eventually it ended with Super Street Fighter II Turbo Although Street Fighter is a massive force for good in gaming culture this enhancement version practice alone mars it immensely. They didn't know at the time but this practice would cause untold controversy and consumer dissatisfaction for a long time to come. Many companies have taken to this style of conducting business over the years and has left the genre stagnant and leaving little room for innovation and or progression.
Street Fighter II was eventually released for home game consoles and it came to define the future template for fighting games in more ways than one unfortunately. It also spawned an incredibly popular anime movie and a couple of not so popular Hollywood movies, Street Fighter 2: The Movie and a more recent attempt, The Legend of Chun Li. The games media reach expands decades and ventures into many realms of the entertainment industry, like comics and T.V.
A word or two on the pioneer behind Street Fighter II, Yoshiki Okamoto. Early on in his career he was heavily involved in the creation of games such as Gyruss and Time Pilot, both of which set the standards in
the shoot 'em up genre. Okamoto joined Capcom in 1984, where he created one of the most immensely
innovative and popular titles in history, 1942. Another massive hit he created was Gun Smoke and moving on from shooters he made Final Fight which featured the "mayor of the world" Haggar pounding enemies with "the pipe" and is one of the beat-em ups that set the standard for all those that followed.
Other titles he created are SonSon, Side Arms and Forgotten Worlds. He also played a key role in creating Street Fighter and including many other games like, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past, Mega Man X4, Mega Man X5, Mega Man X 8, Eco Fighters, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Super Puzzle Fighter 2 and even Devil May Cry 2.
Through Flagship, Okamoto proceeded to develop games for Capcom including Resident Evil. He was also produced both the first and second Resident Evil movie adaptations. In 2004, he left Capcom to form his own video game company, Game Republic. They produced some PS3 titles like, Genji: Days Of The Blade and the amazing Folklore. Unfortunately Game Republic is now closed down and Okamoto is allegedly retired. After an incredible career and contribution to gaming culture on a whole that was sad day indeed.
Through Flagship, Okamoto proceeded to develop games for Capcom including Resident Evil. He was also produced both the first and second Resident Evil movie adaptations. In 2004, he left Capcom to form his own video game company, Game Republic. They produced some PS3 titles like, Genji: Days Of The Blade and the amazing Folklore. Unfortunately Game Republic is now closed down and Okamoto is allegedly retired. After an incredible career and contribution to gaming culture on a whole that was sad day indeed.
SNK released Fatal Fury a few months before Street Fighter II on the Neo-Geo. It was designed by Takashi Nishiyama, the creator of the original Street Fighter. Fatal Fury was all about storytelling but the interface and gameplay was unique as it focused on the timing of special moves and also added a two-plane system. Characters could switch between the foreground or background. Players could only select one of three characters though, compared to Street Fighter II's 8. They were Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi and of course they faced an onslaught of opponents ending with Billy Kane and Geese Howard. While two players played, they could fight cooperatively against a computer opponent or against each other. The menus and audio and health bar set up was pretty the norm at this point. The game was later ported to Genesis and SNES. It spawned a plethora of sequels and some later games dropped the two plane system and replaced it with a complex
system of dodging including everything from simple half second dodges
into the background to a three plane system. Characters often had moves
that could attack across the two planes, attack both planes at once, or
otherwise attack characters attempting to dodge. Some of the games in the ground breaking Fatal Fury series are, Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special, Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory, Real Bout Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition and last but not least Garou: Mark of the Wolves.
It wasn't all sunshine and sangria though for some companies in the early 90's and their attempts to emulate the big successes and pave a way for themselves as pioneers in the fighting game genre. Sega experimented with Dark Edge. It was a very early attempt at a 3D fighting game. The interface featured characters that could move in all directions but the character sprites remained 2D so it lead to some weird looking and odd feeling game play. It was never released outside of Japan because the overall impression was negative and many thought "unrestrained" 3D fighting games were not enjoyable. The HUD during the fights was also on the bottom, for some reason, again a questionable design decision that many thought was off putting and these ultimately lead to the game's downfall. The audio was not best compared to other titles from the time and again many felt it grating and tedious. Although a commendable effort by Sega it was misunderstood at the time and has been long forgotten.
Sega also attempted to introduce 3D holographic technology to the genre with Holosseum in 1992. One of two games Sega made using a cabinet setup with the screen's image being reflected onto a curved mirror thus emulating a hologram. According to System16, the other game, the Laserdisc game Time Traveler, the laserdisc had major hardware problems and Holosseum was created to replace Time Traveller. Unfortunately it was rather unsuccessful and Holosseum was never released outside the U.S.A.
Sega also attempted to introduce 3D holographic technology to the genre with Holosseum in 1992. One of two games Sega made using a cabinet setup with the screen's image being reflected onto a curved mirror thus emulating a hologram. According to System16, the other game, the Laserdisc game Time Traveler, the laserdisc had major hardware problems and Holosseum was created to replace Time Traveller. Unfortunately it was rather unsuccessful and Holosseum was never released outside the U.S.A.
Midway Games, the creators of some of my personal favourite games, Defender, Rampage, Spy Hunter and NBA Jam achieved an unmatched infamy when they unleashed Mortal Kombat on the world in 1992. The fighting game genre had kind of stagnated at this point with the same things being rehashed over and over again stave a few gems but Mortal Kombat changed all that. The interface was new and fresh, over the top and extremely controversial, as this news story covered, with the gore element but innovative nonetheless. The characters were of actual images from real actors and not hand drawn sprites like the usual games. There were hidden and unlockable secrets throughout the game like the "fatality" system of finishing maneuvers in which the player's character gruesomely kills their opponent if the correct sequence is entered on the controls at a specific time. Every character has a different story line and ending explaining their involvement in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Mortal Kombat is almost as well known for its Cheats, Tricks, Bugs, and Easter Eggs than its gore factor. You could find hidden stage fatalities, play as the bosses a simple idea that gave the game an edge over its competition. It gave a game already bustling with originality an extra depth and only served to add more to its replayability.
There was also bonus stages called test your might and these were a button mashers dream as players had to mash the buttons fast as possible and raise the power bar above a certain point in order to win. This broke the trend of trying to oust the poor old button masher and gave the game even more notoriety and appeal. The menus and stage backgrounds weren't spectacular but did the job and the audio was the same old arcade sound but the characters said some of the wackiest and memorable in gaming history. One in particular stands out and not a lot of people wouldn't know it I dare say. All of this combined meant the game play was fast and fluid and extremely fun.
It was eventually ported to home consoles on September 13, 1993, a day promoted as "Mortal Monday". The Mortal Kombat franchise achieved iconic status not far off Street Fighter after many, many sequels, two movies, a dodgy anime, a half decent television series, and overbearing merchandising. This trend is another blight on the gaming industry, leaving only popular franchises churning out version after version.
There was also bonus stages called test your might and these were a button mashers dream as players had to mash the buttons fast as possible and raise the power bar above a certain point in order to win. This broke the trend of trying to oust the poor old button masher and gave the game even more notoriety and appeal. The menus and stage backgrounds weren't spectacular but did the job and the audio was the same old arcade sound but the characters said some of the wackiest and memorable in gaming history. One in particular stands out and not a lot of people wouldn't know it I dare say. All of this combined meant the game play was fast and fluid and extremely fun.
It was eventually ported to home consoles on September 13, 1993, a day promoted as "Mortal Monday". The Mortal Kombat franchise achieved iconic status not far off Street Fighter after many, many sequels, two movies, a dodgy anime, a half decent television series, and overbearing merchandising. This trend is another blight on the gaming industry, leaving only popular franchises churning out version after version.
Killer Instinct is a fighting game that the acclaimed Rare Ltd developed and was promptly published by Midway and Nintendo. The interface features a plethora of innovative game play elements completely unique to all fighting games of the time period. It was a highly popular and ground breaking game in many areas. Like how instead of the usual best-of-three rounds set up, each player is given two life bars. Once both bars are depleted the match is over. It is an excellent edition that has been copied many times since as one would expect.
Finishers like Mortal Kombat's Fatalities, each character has at least two moves known as No Mercy or Humiliation. Ultra Combos that were like finishers only they allowed the character to perform long set of hits as the combo finisher instead which could get as high and above 80 hits.
The game's interface control system utilised the newly invented 8-way joysticks with six buttons each for attacks and also introduced an auto combo system which let players press one button to make characters perform combos on opponents. Another new and innovative feature were Combo Breakers which were until then never seen before and allowed players to stop a combo in progress. This one thing alone propelled killer instinct into the realms of legend and offered fans of fighting games a way out of the dreaded, "waiting for a combo to finish trap" and or infinite juggle states achievable and endured in other games of the time. The menus and HUD design again was the standard but the games audio and in particular the announcer shone and to this day is as close to infamy as Scorpion's in Mortal Kombat.
Upon its resounding success the game was quickly followed by an inevitable sequel. The 1996 arcade game Killer Instinct 2, and was later ported to the Nintendo 64 as Killer Instinct Gold. There is also a 2013 revival in the works for the old franchise as a launch title for Xbox One much to the delight of many fans of this beloved game. Over the years various publications have considered Killer Instinct among the greatest fighting games of all time.
Finishers like Mortal Kombat's Fatalities, each character has at least two moves known as No Mercy or Humiliation. Ultra Combos that were like finishers only they allowed the character to perform long set of hits as the combo finisher instead which could get as high and above 80 hits.
The game's interface control system utilised the newly invented 8-way joysticks with six buttons each for attacks and also introduced an auto combo system which let players press one button to make characters perform combos on opponents. Another new and innovative feature were Combo Breakers which were until then never seen before and allowed players to stop a combo in progress. This one thing alone propelled killer instinct into the realms of legend and offered fans of fighting games a way out of the dreaded, "waiting for a combo to finish trap" and or infinite juggle states achievable and endured in other games of the time. The menus and HUD design again was the standard but the games audio and in particular the announcer shone and to this day is as close to infamy as Scorpion's in Mortal Kombat.
Upon its resounding success the game was quickly followed by an inevitable sequel. The 1996 arcade game Killer Instinct 2, and was later ported to the Nintendo 64 as Killer Instinct Gold. There is also a 2013 revival in the works for the old franchise as a launch title for Xbox One much to the delight of many fans of this beloved game. Over the years various publications have considered Killer Instinct among the greatest fighting games of all time.
Then in 1994 a PlayStation launch title called Battle Arena Toshinden landed. It is touted as the first "true 3-D" fighting game. The game's interface was the first to employ the now common sidestep ability, which IGN described as "one little move" that "changed the fighter forever." It was also the first weapons based 3D fighter. The characters have their own unique set of basic moves, special attacks, and a desperation attack. That moves could only be used once a player has reached 10% energy or less. The game's unique selling point was that the player could freely move in 3D around the 3D arenas by hitting the L/R shoulder buttons. This sidestepping was used to dodge projectiles and or escape danger.
The other elements of the interface like the round HUD, menu and story scenes were pretty standard for the genre at this point and I guess it's become indicative of the old if it's not broke don't fix it trick. Aside from the vast improvement in sound quality due to the Playstation's sound capabilities compared to previous consoles and even the arcade machines it was a massive step up for gaming in general. However the game did have some issues with slow animations during the fights and an almost slow motion feel at times. These issues were mere minor though. The game followed the Mortal Kombat trend and featured unlockable characters and one of which was the awesome, Earthworm Jim.
The other elements of the interface like the round HUD, menu and story scenes were pretty standard for the genre at this point and I guess it's become indicative of the old if it's not broke don't fix it trick. Aside from the vast improvement in sound quality due to the Playstation's sound capabilities compared to previous consoles and even the arcade machines it was a massive step up for gaming in general. However the game did have some issues with slow animations during the fights and an almost slow motion feel at times. These issues were mere minor though. The game followed the Mortal Kombat trend and featured unlockable characters and one of which was the awesome, Earthworm Jim.
Later in that year, SNK released The King of Fighters '94 in arcades. K.O.F. 94 was a crossover and it brought together characters from SNK's previous fighting games, Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting. SNK also included improved characters from some of their older games, Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier, along with several original characters. The move was designed to attract new and old fans of the games in question and combined with the new innovative gameplay, it worked. K.O.F. 94 was the first fighting game to employ an interface structure in which players had to pick teams of three characters. Each character on the team could then fight one by one and only enter the fight if another on the team is eliminated. Once all members of your team had been defeated you lost or vice versa. The menus and so on were all pretty standard with the usual slight differences but nothing knew and or innovative other than the super move bar at the bottom which increased a players strength for a brief period.
The game was and the franchise is still a massive success. But like anything that works and enjoys success it gets milked and milked and milked some more. It seems to be a sad fact within the gaming industry that blazes on even today and I doubt it will ever end. Here's a list of the many incarnations of K.O.F in gaming and other entertainment media.
The game was and the franchise is still a massive success. But like anything that works and enjoys success it gets milked and milked and milked some more. It seems to be a sad fact within the gaming industry that blazes on even today and I doubt it will ever end. Here's a list of the many incarnations of K.O.F in gaming and other entertainment media.
Late 1990's:
At the mid point of the decade, Capcom began to release "updates" to Street Fighter II, including Super Street Fighter II and Super Street Fighter II Turbo. These "updated" versions featured more characters and new moves and some stages but in essence it was the same game with little to no difference in the interface at all. Widespread criticism of the "updates" grew and players and fans of the game began to demand an actual sequel and to stop trying to cash in on "updates". By 1995, the most successful franchises were the Mortal Kombat series in the United States and Virtua Fighter series in Japan, with Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams unable to match the popularity of Street Fighter. At this point in time fighting games were the dominant genre in video gaming, largely due to the masses of enthusiastic fighting game players gripped with the bug of becoming the best in town and staying on top of the pile.
In the latter part of the decade, due to this endless rehashing of the same games, the fighting game genre began to lose steam as the dominant genre and even popularity with it's fan base. "Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded the excess of fighting games the "Most Appalling Trend" award of 1995". Even though Capcom released Street Fighter EX and tried to introduce 3D graphics to the now flagging franchise, the fans couldn't be convinced.
The interface featured innovations in 3D as well as the inclusion the "Guard Break". The Guard Break, if it connects, breaks a block and sets the enemy into a dizzy state and can be used at any time with one level of the Super Combo gauge. A Special Move can be done after a Regular Move or another Special Move, this is called "Canceling". In the process of doing a Super Combo, another Super Combo can be performed. This is called "Super Canceling" and can be done with Super Combos. Despite these innovations that are now commonplace in most fighting games the game never gained any traction and withered into obscurity.
Capcom later released Street Fighter III in 1997 which featured improved visuals and characters but nothing ground breaking other than the parry sytem which is the ability to deflect an incoming attack without receiving damage and this was another welcome addition to the franchise ever expanding interfaces. Although gaining a strong player base and following Capcom again failed to match the reach of the behemoth that was Street Fighter II.
The interface featured innovations in 3D as well as the inclusion the "Guard Break". The Guard Break, if it connects, breaks a block and sets the enemy into a dizzy state and can be used at any time with one level of the Super Combo gauge. A Special Move can be done after a Regular Move or another Special Move, this is called "Canceling". In the process of doing a Super Combo, another Super Combo can be performed. This is called "Super Canceling" and can be done with Super Combos. Despite these innovations that are now commonplace in most fighting games the game never gained any traction and withered into obscurity.
Capcom later released Street Fighter III in 1997 which featured improved visuals and characters but nothing ground breaking other than the parry sytem which is the ability to deflect an incoming attack without receiving damage and this was another welcome addition to the franchise ever expanding interfaces. Although gaining a strong player base and following Capcom again failed to match the reach of the behemoth that was Street Fighter II.
Despite the downturn in popularity for the 2D fighters several well rounded 3D fighting games appeared and ended up solidifying their places in video gaming history. One of the big ones and a game that has become the biggest selling fighting game franchises of all time is, Namco's Tekken (released in arcades in 1994 and on the PlayStation in 1995) was crucial to the PlayStation's success and later its inevitable sequels.
The game's interface was ground breaking again as with many of the other pioneers in its control scheme. Instead of the usual 3 buttons for kicks and 3 buttons for punches, Tekken dedicated a button to each limb of the fighter. This meant players could learn special attacks more intuitively. They could see the animations on screen and know the appropriate commands. This new set up, coupled with the Playstation controller offering 100% percent reliabilty and accuracy of inputs and instantaneous character response, the experience was second to none. Players could choose to set the match ups from one to five rounds, as well as options for the time limit of each round. The round left a bit to be desired but i'm pretty sure nobody cared as the action on screen was so captivating. The game also featured full 3D rendered cut scenes for the story lines of all of the characters. A staple of the now mega franchise that is Tekken. By today's standards they are pretty shabby for those of us back in the day these cut scenes were like the second coming and I for one can attest to looking forward to them in the subsequent sequels. The original Tekken did receive a little backlash as Heihachi Mishima, the boss character, was over powered and also because his unstoppable air juggle combos ruined many players' experience of the otherwise bug free interface. This was long before the advent of DLC patches so it wasn't corrected until later versions of the series.
The game's interface was ground breaking again as with many of the other pioneers in its control scheme. Instead of the usual 3 buttons for kicks and 3 buttons for punches, Tekken dedicated a button to each limb of the fighter. This meant players could learn special attacks more intuitively. They could see the animations on screen and know the appropriate commands. This new set up, coupled with the Playstation controller offering 100% percent reliabilty and accuracy of inputs and instantaneous character response, the experience was second to none. Players could choose to set the match ups from one to five rounds, as well as options for the time limit of each round. The round left a bit to be desired but i'm pretty sure nobody cared as the action on screen was so captivating. The game also featured full 3D rendered cut scenes for the story lines of all of the characters. A staple of the now mega franchise that is Tekken. By today's standards they are pretty shabby for those of us back in the day these cut scenes were like the second coming and I for one can attest to looking forward to them in the subsequent sequels. The original Tekken did receive a little backlash as Heihachi Mishima, the boss character, was over powered and also because his unstoppable air juggle combos ruined many players' experience of the otherwise bug free interface. This was long before the advent of DLC patches so it wasn't corrected until later versions of the series.
SoulCalibur is a weapon-based 3D fighting game developed by Project Soul and produced by Namco. It is the second game in the Soul series, preceded by SoulBlade (1996). It was originally in arcades in 1998, on the Namco System 12 hardware and then ported to the Dreamcast as a launch title with improved graphics and new features in 1999. A little more recently the old gem became available as a downloadable title on Xbox 360's Xbox Live Marketplace in 2008.
The game's interface is one of very few console versions of a game that surpassed their arcade counterpart graphically with the beautiful stages and not only that but SoulCalibur unleashed a couple of ground breaking innovations to fighting games and they include: a massive focus and inclusion of the weapons in the fighting styles of the characters and a brand new and unique eight-way movement system. One of the biggest innovations introduced by Soulcalibur to the game play interface. Older 3D fighting games had limited movement along the third axis and some allowed sidestepping and rolls providing useful but no free roaming capabilities as such. In Soulcalibur, if the player held a joystick direction down the character would run in that direction in 360 degrees, offering a player a complete sense of freedom, which immensely improved the immersion and strategy of the fights.
Soulcalibur improved 3D fighter game play with a system known as "forgiving buffering", executing the input for a move before the player's character has finished recovering from their previous move, and leads to executing a quick succession of moves. Most of the other big titles have strict buffering, i.e. very tight timing is required to pull off many combos, Finally, the Guard Impact offensive blocking move from Soul Blade was given better scope. This allowed players to push back or redirect attacks and deflecting an enemiess weapon while stunning them.Soulcalibur is widely regarded as one of the best Dreamcast titles and is one of the most critically acclaimed fighting games of all time.
The game's interface is one of very few console versions of a game that surpassed their arcade counterpart graphically with the beautiful stages and not only that but SoulCalibur unleashed a couple of ground breaking innovations to fighting games and they include: a massive focus and inclusion of the weapons in the fighting styles of the characters and a brand new and unique eight-way movement system. One of the biggest innovations introduced by Soulcalibur to the game play interface. Older 3D fighting games had limited movement along the third axis and some allowed sidestepping and rolls providing useful but no free roaming capabilities as such. In Soulcalibur, if the player held a joystick direction down the character would run in that direction in 360 degrees, offering a player a complete sense of freedom, which immensely improved the immersion and strategy of the fights.
Soulcalibur improved 3D fighter game play with a system known as "forgiving buffering", executing the input for a move before the player's character has finished recovering from their previous move, and leads to executing a quick succession of moves. Most of the other big titles have strict buffering, i.e. very tight timing is required to pull off many combos, Finally, the Guard Impact offensive blocking move from Soul Blade was given better scope. This allowed players to push back or redirect attacks and deflecting an enemiess weapon while stunning them.Soulcalibur is widely regarded as one of the best Dreamcast titles and is one of the most critically acclaimed fighting games of all time.
Tecmo released Dead or Alive, the creation of Tomonobu Itagaki, the creator of the timeless Ninja Gaiden. D.O.A. was first unleashed on the public in 1996 and in the Japanese arcades. It was later ported to the PlayStation 1 in 1998. It has become yet another innovative and long running franchise but unfortunately known and loved for all the wrong reasons.
The game's interface featured run of the mill 3D graphics in the stages and menu elements compared to Soulcalibur but fast paced action and an innovative countering system allowed for great player interaction and was one of the game's saving graces. All of that aside D.O.A, regrettably, gained global popularity, amongst young fighting game enthusiasts for its cast of busty female characters and the animation of their breasts. As a comical aside this has actually become to be known as "boob physics". Some call the developers of DOA sick perverts but the majority of people call them marketing geniuses. The popularity of said physics lead to the creation of the spin-off game Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and many sequels.
The game's interface featured run of the mill 3D graphics in the stages and menu elements compared to Soulcalibur but fast paced action and an innovative countering system allowed for great player interaction and was one of the game's saving graces. All of that aside D.O.A, regrettably, gained global popularity, amongst young fighting game enthusiasts for its cast of busty female characters and the animation of their breasts. As a comical aside this has actually become to be known as "boob physics". Some call the developers of DOA sick perverts but the majority of people call them marketing geniuses. The popularity of said physics lead to the creation of the spin-off game Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and many sequels.
As the decade came to a close the dawn of the fighting game crossovers happened. Though it was not the first, it was the first massively successful and of course the old band wagon began a rolling. These games featured a mixture of characters from different franchises. An early example that paved the way for the countless others to come and again long running franchise, though it had a ten year hiatus and finally released a third installment, was Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes. The games interface though not ground breaking or innovative improved on existing interface elements and the many other games like it also, offered players a new form of interaction between their favourite characters, from different franchises and other players that were fans of other games they may have never played.
In 1999, Nintendo released Super Smash Bros. and this little gem rejuvenated peoples faith in fighting games as it's popularity grew over time indicated by it's sequels ever increasing and massive success worldwide. If there was ever a case for how we play fighting games changing to be made then this would be it.
The interfaces of the Smash series is comprised of amazing 3D graphics, a unique and totally different style of controls and game play when compared to other uber popular fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Health bars and two out of three rounds were not employed the interface at all in. Basically in order to win a fight, players have to get the other players off the stage or level which was always small and confined. If a character is hit, their damage meter increases and goes up to 999%. The higher it gets, the easier it is to punch or kick an enemy into oblivion. If the percentage of said move isn't strong enough to send the player off of the level boundary, the kicked player can try to jump back to safe ground and continue the fight.
Smash Bros. has very simple controls. Rather than memorizing complex button sequences to perform moves, like in Street Fighter, Smash Bros. allows for the "one attack, one button" style and this ultimately proved to be a huge factor in the overall popularity of the game franchise. Also, players aren't forced to be facing their opponents like most fighters, but rather can run around the multi platformed levels freely. Power up items can be used to help players attain more percentage and or get a KO. Not only that but the game supported 1 and up to 4 player battle modes meaning 4 players fighting simultaneously, unheard of until then and immensely important to the games interface and player interaction or rather the fun factor. It had an adventure mode for the 1 player experience, that wasn't a shining force for the game's reputation and there was also little training mini games.
Needless the say the game's fresh and innovative interface had widespread appeal to all ilks of gamer let alone fighting game aficionados. It and its subsequent sequels are some of the most innovative and enjoyable games in the whole of gaming.
In 1999, Nintendo released Super Smash Bros. and this little gem rejuvenated peoples faith in fighting games as it's popularity grew over time indicated by it's sequels ever increasing and massive success worldwide. If there was ever a case for how we play fighting games changing to be made then this would be it.
The interfaces of the Smash series is comprised of amazing 3D graphics, a unique and totally different style of controls and game play when compared to other uber popular fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Health bars and two out of three rounds were not employed the interface at all in. Basically in order to win a fight, players have to get the other players off the stage or level which was always small and confined. If a character is hit, their damage meter increases and goes up to 999%. The higher it gets, the easier it is to punch or kick an enemy into oblivion. If the percentage of said move isn't strong enough to send the player off of the level boundary, the kicked player can try to jump back to safe ground and continue the fight.
Smash Bros. has very simple controls. Rather than memorizing complex button sequences to perform moves, like in Street Fighter, Smash Bros. allows for the "one attack, one button" style and this ultimately proved to be a huge factor in the overall popularity of the game franchise. Also, players aren't forced to be facing their opponents like most fighters, but rather can run around the multi platformed levels freely. Power up items can be used to help players attain more percentage and or get a KO. Not only that but the game supported 1 and up to 4 player battle modes meaning 4 players fighting simultaneously, unheard of until then and immensely important to the games interface and player interaction or rather the fun factor. It had an adventure mode for the 1 player experience, that wasn't a shining force for the game's reputation and there was also little training mini games.
Needless the say the game's fresh and innovative interface had widespread appeal to all ilks of gamer let alone fighting game aficionados. It and its subsequent sequels are some of the most innovative and enjoyable games in the whole of gaming.
The 90's weren't without its fair share of clunkers and awful rip offs as in the 80's. Some real shockers cropped up throughout the decade. The interfaces of these games compared to some the ones I've covered here were just, in a word, dire.
Games like BloodStorm which did little or nothing to impress anyone favourably in any way and only tried to imitate the formula of others like Mortal Kombat, only poorly. As a little aside, the actor who played Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat, got fired for promoting it by Midway. Rise of the Robots was another rather unimpressive foray into the fighting game experience for many.The game's interface featured state-of-the-art graphic design, but sadly was completely panned by video game critics. The controls for the characters were few and far between thus leading to uninspiring monotony. Shaq Fu is more representative of the awful cash in attempts by many in this period, by using famous people to promote drivel. Primal Rage and its backwards control interface only served to confuse people and ultimately got the game and nowhere but the back of beyond. There was a string of Mortal Kombat clones that sprang up and a considerably awful one was Kasumi Ninja which shall only be remembered for its Scottish character that shot fireballs from under his kilt and not the horrific interface design in all aspects. Moving swiftly on to the big kahuna of tripe, Time Killers it was pretty horrific in every sense, it was a blatant Mortal Kombat clone and the killer move aspect completely ruined it regardless of the other tragedies embedded in the game's interface. It is considered by many THE worst fighting game ever but who's to say? I'm sure there are plenty more well deserving titles of said honour out there in the multiverse.
Games like BloodStorm which did little or nothing to impress anyone favourably in any way and only tried to imitate the formula of others like Mortal Kombat, only poorly. As a little aside, the actor who played Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat, got fired for promoting it by Midway. Rise of the Robots was another rather unimpressive foray into the fighting game experience for many.The game's interface featured state-of-the-art graphic design, but sadly was completely panned by video game critics. The controls for the characters were few and far between thus leading to uninspiring monotony. Shaq Fu is more representative of the awful cash in attempts by many in this period, by using famous people to promote drivel. Primal Rage and its backwards control interface only served to confuse people and ultimately got the game and nowhere but the back of beyond. There was a string of Mortal Kombat clones that sprang up and a considerably awful one was Kasumi Ninja which shall only be remembered for its Scottish character that shot fireballs from under his kilt and not the horrific interface design in all aspects. Moving swiftly on to the big kahuna of tripe, Time Killers it was pretty horrific in every sense, it was a blatant Mortal Kombat clone and the killer move aspect completely ruined it regardless of the other tragedies embedded in the game's interface. It is considered by many THE worst fighting game ever but who's to say? I'm sure there are plenty more well deserving titles of said honour out there in the multiverse.
Was the decline of the fighting game genre's burgeoning popularity related to the stagnant level of development? Was it the lack of new products and innovation by the top franchises? Was it all of the above and their cash cow mentalities? Was it the ever increasing complexity and level of specialization within the newer titles in order to master the games?
It is widely accepted that the difficulty and level of dedication needed to become skilled in most popular fighting games ended up alienating the casual players and the market for fighting games became smaller and more elitist. Arcades gradually become less profitable and relevant throughout the world due to the increasing power and popularity of the consoles and the other things I've mentioned above. Having said that though, Smash Bros. changed all that and people became excited again to get involved in the fighting game scene and moving on into 2000's onwards the fighting game genre and community began its next evolution.
It is widely accepted that the difficulty and level of dedication needed to become skilled in most popular fighting games ended up alienating the casual players and the market for fighting games became smaller and more elitist. Arcades gradually become less profitable and relevant throughout the world due to the increasing power and popularity of the consoles and the other things I've mentioned above. Having said that though, Smash Bros. changed all that and people became excited again to get involved in the fighting game scene and moving on into 2000's onwards the fighting game genre and community began its next evolution.