This is an ambitious Top 9 list mostly because I’m not a huge gamer. However, I am a rabid fan of fighting games (all fighters, of course… but this list is specifically composed of versus fighters… that’s why you won’t see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game on here). Granted, this will be skewed towards the Capcom fighting engine — but that’s with good reason. And I’m sorry to say that there will be glaring omissions, if only because I’ve played a limited selection of fighting games in my time. Still, this is a sweet list.
9. Mortal Kombat – I don’t care much for this game. The playability is just whatever. However, the game is a cultural phenomenon. And it does have a few redeeming qualities, namely the fatalities. Also, the first MK movie was sweet.
8. Tekken 3 – You can’t have a top fighting games list without a Tekken game. As for which Tekken to choose, that’s up for debate. I don’t like the arcade version of Tekken 5 and I forget the nuances of the other versions. I deferred to Justique for this decision, and she chose Tekken 3 as the best.
7. Street Fighter Alpha 3 – The playability is intriguing, with character quality ranging from painfully stiff to amazingly fluid. Even though the response time could be improved, the character sprites are terrific and the overall selection of playable characters is wonderful.
6. Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi – On the face of it, this game appears to be a subpar licensed fighter from an era of awkward 3D gameplay. But this game has everything you need — competitive playability, decent character customization options, great unlockable characters, fun little secret tricks (like giving the characters tiny bodies and huge heads), and a solid mythology to pull from (in this case, the marketable Star Wars mythology).
5. Soulcalibur II – Exquisite playability. Great character moves, strong specials, nice looking stages, good character design, and quality response time. I think it lacks some of the finer touches of the top versus fighters on this list, but this fighting game is a modern classic and true fan favorite.
4. Marvel vs. Capcom – I went over this last week, so I won’t do it all again. Suffice to say that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is not allowed on this list. But that’s no true loss as its predecessor has far stronger gameplay anyway. In fact, I would venture to say that this is Capcom’s most well-rounded versus fighter: the character designs are elegant, the playability and response time are almost perfect, the customization options and unlockables are good incentives, and it’s a great cast.
3. Dead or Alive 2 – Customization decadence. A plethora of unlockable costumes make this game like Barbie dolls for dudes. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the gameplay is extremely strong, with a ton of awesome moves and a surprisingly diverse set of fighting styles. And don’t forget about the ever-classic “age” option, which gives all the ladies giant boobies when you set it to “99.”
2. Marvel Super Heroes – I’m not your average gamer. I’m a comic book fan that just happens to love fighting games, not the other way around. And this game is the ultimate in comic book fighting game indulgence. The character sprites are absolutely amazing. Sometimes I just turn on my PS1 and watch the intro to Marvel Super Heroes play over and over. The proportions, the movements, the speed – it’s all there, like the heroes have come to life right off of the pages. The playability is extremely competitive and the Infinity Gems theme makes for some awesome special moves. It’s almost the greatest fighting game ever, with the clear exception of…
1. Street Fighter II Turbo – Let me tell you a story. I was 11 years old. My family was on a rare overseas trip to Italy. And on this particular day, we were visiting the small mountain town of Bisenti. We started at the bottom, driving up a long spiraling road. First it was sunny, then it was rainy, then it started to hail, then it started snowing, and finally it was bright and sunny again at the top. Though Bisenti was supposed to be my ancestral home, I was bored as shit… until I stumbled into the tiny general store in the center of town and saw the Street Fighter II arcade game glowing like it dropped out of heaven. I slipped a coin into the slot, selected E. Honda, and played that game until I had to be forcibly removed from the premises. I was just a little kid but I was two characters away from beating the damn game on one coin. Two months later I was back at home, playing Street Fighter II Turbo for the first time on a console and I cleaned my friend’s clock so bad that he actually started to cry. Thus began my love affair with fighting games and Street Fighter. SF II Turbo is pretty much universally accepted as the best version of this classic versus fighter, and most certainly deserving of the top honors here on the AudioShocker.
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Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.
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