i want to start getting into fighters

BaronVonSnakPak

title explains it all, what im working with: ps2, wii (gamecube), and 360.

games ive played in the last few years:
soul caliber 2
project justice
street fighter alpha 3
tekken 4
doa3 (demo)
naruto 3 (gc import)

Kewop Decam

what you mean by getting into? Seems like you're already into them.

BaronVonSnakPak

those i listed were either demos, rentals, or played at a friends.

i dont own any fighters, so im asking what the general consensus on some of the best. whats worth my time and money, whatre the different types of fighters, etc.

Polago

If you want 2D fighters, you can aquire Street Fighter 3: Third Strike and Capcom vs SNK 2 for the PS2, along with Marvel vs Capcom 2. All 3 are quite well renowned titles, and also lay out a lot of the basics and groundwork of different types.

All the Street Fighter 2 titles come with Third Strike on the PS2 (collection), so those can show you what was big in the 16 bit generation, though i'm assuming you know enough about the series already having played SFA3.

Darlan

My personal favorite is Virtual Fighter 4, though it doesn't seem to be popular with the general gaming community: I can never find humans to play against.

Stigma

I vouche for Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution on PS2.

Feral

Virtua Fighter 4 Evo is a little technical and it's hard for a fighting newbie to get the most out of it.

I'd suggest starting with either SF Alpha 3 (PS1 or SF Alpha Collection) or Soul Calibur 2. Both of these games cater to a wide range of skill levels and have nice smooth learning curves. You could also give Tekken 5 a try, though I strongly feel that the Tekken games encourage bad habits (combo spamming for instance) when playing against the CPU.

TehSpectre

Mortal Kombat: Annhilation is fun and easy to pick up and play without having to learn many combos or scary special things....it also boasts somewhere around 50+ characters AND a character creation mode (which leaves a bit to be desired.)

Also pick up Soul Calibur 3 as it is the single best fighting game ever made.

SilentCoconut

Does Super Smash Bros. Melee count as a fighting game?

Eteric

Smash Bros Melee if you want a good party fighter (or brawl if you wait).

Shujaa

Soul Calibur is my favourite, and has been consistently kickass.

DekuStick

Guilty Gear is the way to go for 2D fighters IMO. Bunch of characters that range from a huge tank beast to a quick yo-yo weilding transvestite.

Drake

Shujaa wrote:

Soul Calibur is my favourite, and has been consistently kickass.

Soul Caliber 2 is what I always end up playing when I'm sick of other fighters.

TIE Fighter

Another vote for Soul Calibur 2 and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Those two would easily account for 50% of my total Gamecube playtime. They're both ridiculously easy to just pick up and play, but damn nigh impossible to master - I don't even know all of Seung Mina's moves in SC2, and she's my favourite character. Smash Brothers is less complex in terms of amount of moves, but it doesn't hurt at all for it.

4rch3nemy

A third vote for SuperSmashBros:Melee.

Soul Calibur is fun but can be frustrating.. especially for fighting game novices IMO.

Start with a 2d fighter like Marvel VS Capcom 2 on Dreamcast or something.

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I want my own recommendation: I love 2d fighters.. anything good coming out / recently out? My favorite fighting game of all time is MvC2.. so recommend based on that.

zubisman

You have several sub-genres in the fighter world.
2d games are pretty clear cut at this point.
There's the "low combo" fighters. There's the 2d King of Fighters series, which is a bit harder to master than the Street Fighter series, but they're both very well made. Darkstalkers and Fighter Maker are alright too, but Darkstalkers is weird...very weird.
Then there's the HUGE combo 2d fighting games like Marvel Vs. Capcom 1+2. You can perform combos with more than 100 hits. It's wild stuff.

If you want some quality nostalgic fun, pick up Mortal Kombat Trilogy for the PS1. It should be available in pawn shops everywhere.
Come to think of it, though, 2d fighters are an exercise in modern nostalgia anyway.

3d fighters are another matter entirely. The Virtua Fighter series is, as has been said, a pretty demanding art. I'm a fan, but it's hard at first. Tekken, Dead or Alive, and Soul Calibur all offer more fluid fighting, and can be picked up and learned in a matter of hours. Very good games, very fast pace, very fun.

Then there's the "fantasy" games based off of anime series and the like. Naruto and Dragon Ball Z come to mind. Sure, Street Fighter has fireballs, but nothing like THIS shit.

The new Mortal Kombat games move more stiffly than the other 3d fighters. They're pretty easy to pick up, pretty hard to master. They're very fun, outlandish games, though.

If you had a PSP or Dreamcast I'd recommend Power Stone, but oh well.

Smash Bros is the closest you can get to Power Stone, given your systems, and I'd say that, in terms of playing with your friends, you'll have the most fun with Smash Bros. That is, as long as you have more than one friend.

Soul Caliber is my personal favourite right now, with the latest Dead or Alive a close second. Tekken 5 was good, but you'll undoubtably meet someone who's much better than you at it, and chances are they'll be a real asshole about THAT, and you'll have to kill someone. It's just reality.

Alec

DekuStick wrote:

Guilty Gear is the way to go for 2D fighters IMO. Bunch of characters that range from a huge tank beast to a quick yo-yo weilding transvestite.

This can not be emphasized enough. Guilty Gear is the best 2D fighting series I've ever played.

And Street Fighter 3: Third Strike is the best stand-alone 2D fighter I've ever played.

And King of Fighters is the most technical of them all, IMO. You get a greater sense of accomplishment when you pull off some sort of ultimate move to win a match.

Page-

You need people to play against. That's the most important thing. It doesn't really matter which game you start with, as long as it isn't MK(sucks balls), as long as you and the people you play with like it and want to get good at it. Most general skills you acquire in 2d fighters will carry over to the others, and the same thing goes for 3d fighters. Except MK, which sucks.

For instant fun I'd recommend DOA. Soul Calibur, also, but ofter new players get pissed about ring-outs, range and speed. VF is fun to play, but getting good at it takes real work. And the characters aren't really endowed with charisma. At all.

You don't really need to be tournament ready to enjoy a fighting game, though. The most important thing is to find a game that you're comfortable with, because once you get past movelists and bread+butter attacks, once you can do what you want when you want, it's really you vs your opponent, and not really the game.

etoychest

You need some Tobal No. 2 action.

zubisman

etoychest wrote:

You need some Tobal No. 2 action.

If you can find either of the Tobals, hold onto them! If you can play Japanese games, make sure you get ahold of Tobal No. 2. Best 40 bucks I ever spent (right after it came out, of course).

Captain K

Darlan wrote:

My personal favorite is Virtual Fighter 4, though it doesn't seem to be popular with the general gaming community: I can never find humans to play against.

I have the same problem.


There have to be at least 5,000 English-speakers on the planet who enjoy VF4. Let's all move to one town together.

zubisman

Captain K wrote:

Darlan wrote:

My personal favorite is Virtual Fighter 4, though it doesn't seem to be popular with the general gaming community: I can never find humans to play against.

I have the same problem.


There have to be at least 5,000 English-speakers on the planet who enjoy VF4. Let's all move to one town together.

Yeah, but we'd be segregated into Evo and non-Evo players.

Baratus

I'm a Tekken fan, and you having played only four is kind of, well, unlucky. Before it, Tekken Tag is simply a blast and plenty deep to enjoy. And more recently, of course, Tekken 5 and the updated Dark Resurrection are pretty darn good, so if you could get your hands on either of those I'd suggest them highly. But like what others have said, playing people is what really matters. I played Tekken Tag and Tekken 4 pretty often at the mall/arcade and playing against real people, even if it is for fifty cents a pop, is just awesome. It makes you want to be better and it is the only way to really get better, and you'll appreciate the depth of the games that much more when someone shows you just how good you can be.