Old School Fighting Games

**Shredder** · 08-20-2009, 01:59 AM

As I said in the obscure games thread, I think we need a thread just for classic fighting games. While today first-person shooters are all the rage, back in my day *shakes a cane*, it was all about the fighting games, thanks especially to the popularity of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. Which were your favorites (or least favorites)? I'm talking about games like Eternal Champions, Toshinden, Killer Instinct, World Heroes or whatever else you remember. Share your favorite characters, strategies, or memories about these games. Discuss!

*XERO* · 08-20-2009, 02:05 AM

Well, besides the obvious Street Fighters and Mortal Kombats, I totally dug Eternal Champions, too.

I remember reading the biographies for all the fighters and finding out that they all friggin' died. That was epic to me back then, especially as a kid.

Screw a fatality. These guys were fighting for the chance of resurrection.

But the real reason was the music. To this day, I still think Blade's theme is one of the most badass fighter themes ever.

**GK Punk** · 08-20-2009, 02:09 AM

I really miss those days sometimes. Me and my brother would veg out for hours playing The Street Fighter series, Mortal Kombat, Eternal Champions, Samurai Showdown, Fatal Fury 1 and 2 (Never had Special.) World Heroes 1 and 2, and good lord there must have been several others.

At the time, we owned basically every system there was available. So we had a lot of Fighting Games at our disposal, and as you said it was really the thing to do back then.
One of my favorites was when I got Ranma 1/2 Super Battle for the Super Famicom for Christmas one year, it was likely 1994. Me and my brother had been in to Ranma for several years at that point, so it was really awesome to get to play that. We had no idea who characters like Mariko and Herb were yet, they weren't that far in the Viz translations of the manga. (And the anime had only just started getting released.)

**ThirdMarioBro** · 08-20-2009, 03:37 AM

I picked up Street Fighter II at age eight. Nobody assumed I would be any good at the game, so it was totally easy to shark teenagers and even college kids at the arcade. Mom would give me fifty cents and I could clean four or five "new challengers" out.

My other love was Killer Instinct. It was like the comedian's Mortal Kombat. Humiliations were awesome. Heck, its been so long since I played, I doubt that I could pull off a decent Combo Breaker now. The home port made the SNES look really bad though, because the arcade game was beastly.

Honestly, I know its weird, but I could never get into Mortal Kombat. I enjoy watching the games, and always wanted to get involved, but never could figure it out. Its the total opposite of Street Fighter, and the special moves were so darn difficult to memorize. And forget about the fatalities. Just a bunch of confusion to me. With Street Fighter, you could kind of accidentally roll into some of the specials with experimentation. Not with Mortal Kombat though. If ever there was a game made to sell a Player's Guide, that was it.

*That Matt Guy* · 08-20-2009, 07:00 AM

Man, I love Eternal Champions. When I was a kid, my friends and I used to rent it all the time and stay up late trying to do all the deaths. I even had a poster of the box art at one point. Xavier had the coolest level, and you could knock your opponent into that burning stake if you knew how.

*Ninjinister* · 08-20-2009, 09:11 AM

I'm still all about fighting games, old-school and new, to this very day. Street Fighter II was probably the first one I ever played, followed by Mortal Kombat and Fatal Fury. I also recall playing Yie Ar Kung Fu in arcades way back when, and obscure Namco platformer/fighter "The Outfoxies" was pretty popular in the local arcade.

Patraw · 08-21-2009, 09:51 AM

I also liked Eternal Champions, but man-oh-man, was that game hard, especially the final boss. I think I managed to beat him once in my entire life. If memory serves, you had to beat him like 3-5 times in a single round, it was insane.

*oldmanwinters* · 08-21-2009, 11:47 AM

Is Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 old enough to be considered "old-school"? I love the Capcom Vs. engine and MvC2 is my favorite remix of that formula.

**ThirdMarioBro** · 08-21-2009, 11:29 PM

I consider Dreamcast old-skool at this point. Some may disagree.

愛 · 08-21-2009, 11:32 PM

Dreamcast came out in 1999. That's old enough for me.

*XERO* · 08-22-2009, 03:10 AM

Anything that's been around for at least a decade is considered old skool in my book.

*oldmanwinters* · 08-23-2009, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ai

Dreamcast came out in 1999. That's old enough for me.

I don't own any game system unless it's at least 10 years old!

Exception: My Retro-Bit Retro Duo, but that's old school in a different sort of way.

**Jester** · 08-23-2009, 10:09 PM

I dug the Clayfighters games if only because of the wacky characters. I really need to track down CF 63 and a 1/3.

*oldmanwinters* · 08-23-2009, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jester

I dug the Clayfighters games if only because of the wacky characters. I really need to track down CF 63 and a 1/3.

I never got to play that franchise. Looked interesting though.

Does anybody here find the "World Heroes 2" SNES port to be any good? I was a bit disappointed with it as the fighting mostly consists of throwing each other around. And the small character sprites don't help either. Poor Neo-Geo home conversions.

DonatelloDomeHead31 · 08-23-2009, 10:58 PM

Clayfighters was my favorite for the SNES because of the opening song and I always was The Blob. Also the creative name of "Bad Mr. Frosty" made me laugh.

Street Fighter II started it off for me in the fighting genre. Another game that I liked was the "Art of Fighting" because it had good graphics and the storyline was cool.

*Ninjinister* · 08-23-2009, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

I never got to play that franchise. Looked interesting though.

Does anybody here find the "World Heroes 2" SNES port to be any good? I was a bit disappointed with it as the fighting mostly consists of throwing each other around. And the small character sprites don't help either. Poor Neo-Geo home conversions.

If you've got a PS2, there's always World Heroes Anthology. It'll make everything right.

Wingnut · 08-26-2009, 07:30 AM

My all time favorite. Followed closely by Street Fighter II, King of Fighters 98, Soul Calibur, Red Earth and Garou: MOTW

Patraw · 08-26-2009, 09:25 AM

I think the port of WH2 for SNES is pretty good. I also have WH Anthology for PS2, so that's what I play now, but, considering how few Megs it has in comparison to the Neo Geo version, the SNES one is pretty impressive.

I though Clayfighters was all right, nothing special, but okay. I remember playing Clayfighter 63 1/3 over my friends house and wasn't all that impressed with it. I'd stick with the originals on the SNES.

*Ninjinister* · 08-26-2009, 10:54 AM

Nobody ever played Clay Fighter to play a good fighting game, only for the humor. The older ones were "okay" in this regard, but the ones on the '64 were a mixed bag. Some of the parodies of other fighting games/culture were chuckleworthy and the voice actors were culled from the greatest, but the lamest Claytalities were shared across several characters, and there were some stupid stereotypes. If they ever produced a new Clayfighter, hopefully they avoid all of the previous trappings.

Patraw · 08-28-2009, 09:37 AM

They cut out several characters from Clayfighter 63 1/3 too--if you look at the old ads for the game you can see some of them. There was a Statue of Liberty character, my personal favorite "Hobo Cop" (a drunken bum dressed up in garbage Robocop "armor"--he obviously got cut 'cuz he wasn't PC enough), etc. Sumo Santa was awesome.

08-20-2009, 01:59 AM	#1
Shredder Admin/Layton Apprentice Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Isla Nublar Posts: 481	Old School Fighting Games As I said in the obscure games thread, I think we need a thread just for classic fighting games. While today first-person shooters are all the rage, back in my day shakes a cane, it was all about the fighting games, thanks especially to the popularity of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. Which were your favorites (or least favorites)? I'm talking about games like Eternal Champions, Toshinden, Killer Instinct, World Heroes or whatever else you remember. Share your favorite characters, strategies, or memories about these games. Discuss! __________________ "Well, actually, I always wanted to be a writer. Being a ruthless conqueror was my second choice." --Shredder, Take Me to Your Leader

08-20-2009, 02:05 AM	#2
XERO Hybrid Theorist Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Alamo City Posts: 8,185	Well, besides the obvious Street Fighters and Mortal Kombats, I totally dug Eternal Champions, too. I remember reading the biographies for all the fighters and finding out that they all friggin' died. That was epic to me back then, especially as a kid. Screw a fatality. These guys were fighting for the chance of resurrection. But the real reason was the music. To this day, I still think Blade's theme is one of the most badass fighter themes ever. __________________ "Travel at the speed of light... then hit the nitro!"

08-20-2009, 03:37 AM	#4
ThirdMarioBro Tea Time! Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 8,905	I picked up Street Fighter II at age eight. Nobody assumed I would be any good at the game, so it was totally easy to shark teenagers and even college kids at the arcade. Mom would give me fifty cents and I could clean four or five "new challengers" out. My other love was Killer Instinct. It was like the comedian's Mortal Kombat. Humiliations were awesome. Heck, its been so long since I played, I doubt that I could pull off a decent Combo Breaker now. The home port made the SNES look really bad though, because the arcade game was beastly. Honestly, I know its weird, but I could never get into Mortal Kombat. I enjoy watching the games, and always wanted to get involved, but never could figure it out. Its the total opposite of Street Fighter, and the special moves were so darn difficult to memorize. And forget about the fatalities. Just a bunch of confusion to me. With Street Fighter, you could kind of accidentally roll into some of the specials with experimentation. Not with Mortal Kombat though. If ever there was a game made to sell a Player's Guide, that was it. __________________

08-20-2009, 09:11 AM	#6
Ninjinister 無問題 Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Moesko Island, WA Posts: 14,348	I'm still all about fighting games, old-school and new, to this very day. Street Fighter II was probably the first one I ever played, followed by Mortal Kombat and Fatal Fury. I also recall playing Yie Ar Kung Fu in arcades way back when, and obscure Namco platformer/fighter "The Outfoxies" was pretty popular in the local arcade. __________________

08-21-2009, 09:51 AM	#7
Patraw Stone Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 689	I also liked Eternal Champions, but man-oh-man, was that game hard, especially the final boss. I think I managed to beat him once in my entire life. If memory serves, you had to beat him like 3-5 times in a single round, it was insane. __________________

08-20-2009, 02:09 AM	#3
GK Punk I'm your Devil Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 12,439	I really miss those days sometimes. Me and my brother would veg out for hours playing The Street Fighter series, Mortal Kombat, Eternal Champions, Samurai Showdown, Fatal Fury 1 and 2 (Never had Special.) World Heroes 1 and 2, and good lord there must have been several others. At the time, we owned basically every system there was available. So we had a lot of Fighting Games at our disposal, and as you said it was really the thing to do back then. One of my favorites was when I got Ranma 1/2 Super Battle for the Super Famicom for Christmas one year, it was likely 1994. Me and my brother had been in to Ranma for several years at that point, so it was really awesome to get to play that. We had no idea who characters like Mariko and Herb were yet, they weren't that far in the Viz translations of the manga. (And the anime had only just started getting released.)

08-20-2009, 07:00 AM	#5
That Matt Guy Honey Bunches Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lone Star State Posts: 5,840	Man, I love Eternal Champions. When I was a kid, my friends and I used to rent it all the time and stay up late trying to do all the deaths. I even had a poster of the box art at one point. Xavier had the coolest level, and you could knock your opponent into that burning stake if you knew how.

08-21-2009, 11:47 AM	#8
oldmanwinters Overlord Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow! Posts: 15,509	Is Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 old enough to be considered "old-school"? I love the Capcom Vs. engine and MvC2 is my favorite remix of that formula. __________________ Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries! Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"! View my sketch work! I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items!

08-21-2009, 11:29 PM	#9
ThirdMarioBro Tea Time! Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 8,905	I consider Dreamcast old-skool at this point. Some may disagree. __________________

08-21-2009, 11:32 PM	#10
愛 Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 7,449	Dreamcast came out in 1999. That's old enough for me.

08-22-2009, 03:10 AM	#11
XERO Hybrid Theorist Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Alamo City Posts: 8,185	Anything that's been around for at least a decade is considered old skool in my book. __________________ "Travel at the speed of light... then hit the nitro!"

08-23-2009, 10:09 PM	#13
Jester Rat-faced Dude-guy Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26,301	I dug the Clayfighters games if only because of the wacky characters. I really need to track down CF 63 and a 1/3. __________________ "Clearly, you're Ninja Turtling incorrectly." - Leo656

08-23-2009, 10:58 PM	#15
DonatelloDomeHead31 Stone Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Helping Casey Jones fix the Pick-Up Truck Posts: 878	Clayfighters was my favorite for the SNES because of the opening song and I always was The Blob. Also the creative name of "Bad Mr. Frosty" made me laugh. Street Fighter II started it off for me in the fighting genre. Another game that I liked was the "Art of Fighting" because it had good graphics and the storyline was cool. __________________ Donatello: Pork rind. Donatello: Yeah, a few inquiries. Donatello: Turtles don't migrate, Raph. Birds do! Donatello: Have you seen the way this guy drives? Donatello: 0.00000003%! Donatello: I don't know, but it doesn't look good...

08-26-2009, 07:30 AM	#17
Wingnut Mad Scientist Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Pao Pao Café Posts: 1,264	My all time favorite. Followed closely by Street Fighter II, King of Fighters 98, Soul Calibur, Red Earth and Garou: MOTW __________________ "I'll be what I wanna do."

08-26-2009, 09:25 AM	#18
Patraw Stone Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 689	I think the port of WH2 for SNES is pretty good. I also have WH Anthology for PS2, so that's what I play now, but, considering how few Megs it has in comparison to the Neo Geo version, the SNES one is pretty impressive. I though Clayfighters was all right, nothing special, but okay. I remember playing Clayfighter 63 1/3 over my friends house and wasn't all that impressed with it. I'd stick with the originals on the SNES. __________________

08-26-2009, 10:54 AM	#19
Ninjinister 無問題 Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Moesko Island, WA Posts: 14,348	Nobody ever played Clay Fighter to play a good fighting game, only for the humor. The older ones were "okay" in this regard, but the ones on the '64 were a mixed bag. Some of the parodies of other fighting games/culture were chuckleworthy and the voice actors were culled from the greatest, but the lamest Claytalities were shared across several characters, and there were some stupid stereotypes. If they ever produced a new Clayfighter, hopefully they avoid all of the previous trappings. __________________

08-28-2009, 09:37 AM	#20
Patraw Stone Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 689	They cut out several characters from Clayfighter 63 1/3 too--if you look at the old ads for the game you can see some of them. There was a Statue of Liberty character, my personal favorite "Hobo Cop" (a drunken bum dressed up in garbage Robocop "armor"--he obviously got cut 'cuz he wasn't PC enough), etc. Sumo Santa was awesome. __________________