Note from racketboy: A special thanks goes out to Ack from this roundup of the N64 fighting library.  You may remember his journey through the SNES fighting collection (both the good and the ugly) in addition to a number of other wonderful contributions.  I hope you enjoy this guide!

When people think of the Nintendo 64, fighting games are never the first thing to come to mind.  In fact, they never really come up at all.  After all, the two big publishers of fighters, Capcom and SNK don’t lend any of the their fighting properties to the N64.  In the entire N64 library, fewer than 25 titles are really fighters, and the quality of many of them is generally poor.  Still, there are a handful worth playing (and maybe a few more if you just love exploring the genre).  Here’s a look at the various fighting games on the Nintendo 64, with my personal thoughts.  Nothing fancy, just a quick rundown.

Super Smash Bros.

No conversation about fighters on the Nintendo 64 could come without this gem, easily one of the defining games of the console.   In typical Nintendo fashion, Super Smash Bros. takes a genre that typically scared off more casual gamers and turned it into something that because a favorite in dorm rooms and parties for gamers of all experience levels.

Players select leading characters from Nintendo’s biggest properties, characters like Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, and Pikachu, and then have them duke it out for dominance over the various themed stages.  Instead of health bars, damage adds to a percentage at the bottom, with the higher the number the farther a character will fly when hit.

Ultimately the goal is to knock all other characters off the stage, though this formula can be modified via multiple modes and gameplay options.  In fact, if you’ve never partaken of the four-player mayhem in this classic title, go buy it.  Go buy it now.
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Killer Instinct Gold

Ok, so this title isn’t perfect, and purists of the KI fighting property will argue for hours about how this does not replace KI2 in the arcades since FMV sequences and some frames of animation were removed due to hardware limitations.  Still, it is the only way to play Killer Instinct 2 on a home console without emulation, and it did see some improvements over the arcade.

Stages are fully 3D rendered, with zooming camera, and with much more in the way of options, including Team Battle.  Multiple training modes were also put in to help teach the KI system.  While it’s not my favorite Killer Instinct due to the removal of a certain glowing inmate by a boxer who shall remain nameless, it’s worth a look if you can find it.  Oh, and on a side note, raise the game speed to the highest setting, and KI Gold becomes even more intense.
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Flying Dragon

It’s unfortunate that this title is often overlooked as it’s actually two fighting games packed onto one cartridge with more options than you can shake a stick at.  The first is a normal 3D fighter, reminiscent of Virtua Fighter, though for kicks you can turn on a 2D mode which does effect dodging and various moves.  The other, and arguably better, mode is a super deformed version with RPG elements, including acquiring items to make the character more powerful in combat.  Characters appear in both modes.

The title is generally considered one of the best N64 fighters to make the American market.  The Japan-only sequel, S.D. Hiryu no Ken Densetsu, apparently featured a refined version of the SD segment with more characters, items, and game modes, though good luck finding it for sale.  I’d say this is definitely worth owning by any fighter fans who want something for their 64.
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Custom Robo

This is more a mecha RPG with a combat system that reminds me of a colorful Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.  than a fighting game, but fans of the genre might be interested.  Fights are composed in arenas with pre-constructed characters, though storyline is handled in more the standard RPG fare.  Players acquire new equipment to load out their fighters, enabling varying attack means and styles.

A particular favorite of mine is to use rapid fire machine guns since enemies can be knocked into combos fairly easily, though all manner of mayhem from big bombs to lighting fast bum rushes are accessible.  Unfortunately both it and it’s sequel, Custom Robo v2, were Japan only.  I really liked them, I just wish I spoke Japanese.
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Rakuga Kids

The plot of this game basically boils down to a bunch of kids drawing doodles that battle it out with each other in a six-button layout.  It’s colorful, kiddie, and unfortunately never saw release in America, though Europe was lucky enough to get this game.  The cast list is small at seven(nine counting the two bosses), though incredibly diverse: everything from a super hero to an astronaut with a ray gun to a robot to a bear tank.  Yes, you read that right, a bear tank.

The game’s not the deepest, and it’s charming demeanor might not endear it to the crowd of gamers that play only M-rated games, but it’s hard not to enjoy it.  It does seem a bit choppy visually and it really hasn’t aged well, but give it a chance and you might find yourself liking it.
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Mortal Kombat 4

Before we begin, I suppose I should note that this is personally my least favorite of all the Mortal Kombat games, 2D or 3D.  That said, there are a lot of things that Mortal Kombat 4 did right.  First, it included Goro, as did all the ports of the game.  Second, it brought us a new stage and extra costumes.  And third, since it could use FMV for the intro, bios, and endings, it used the in-game engine to do it.

The audio is great, using a lot of bass, and al speech is digitized, though it is unfortunately only in mono.  The lighting is excellent, the graphics are well designed, and the game keeps up a consistently high framerate.  Control is well implemented, definitely a step up from the test case War Gods, though it still feels like a 2D Mortal Kombat in 3D.  Still, a valid title, worth owning by any MK fans who have a Nintendo 64.
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Mortal Kombat Trilogy

Often overshadowed by its superior PlayStation, Saturn, and PC ports, Mortal Kombat Trilogy still offers some interesting surprises on its Nintendo 64 version.  Motaro and Shao Kahn were given fatalities.  Chameleon was replaced by a female counterpart, Khameleon, who gets a full storyline.  The “Ultimate Kombat Kode” was included.  A new stage was added, as well as tweaks to older stages.  And most importantly, three on three battles were included, allowing players to use three characters each, one after the other, to beat the snot out of each other.

Still, cartridge size did require that the classic versions of many characters had to be left out.  Frames of animation were cut so character movement isn’t fluid, and boss characters are only available through cheat codes.  Also, the two Sub Zeros are combined and Goro and Kintaro were cut.  And audio was only used from Mortal Kombat 3 and is in horrendous quality in comparison to other ports, though all the ending themes are intact.  Ultimately, I’d say it’s best to pass this version up for the CD-based ports.
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Fighter’s Destiny

In what I consider one of the more interesting takes on the genre, Fighter’s Destiny and its sequel, Fighter’s Destiny 2, are point-fighting games.  Ultimately the point is to win battles by earning the required amount of points to move on, by doing such things as pummeling your opponent, knocking them to the ground, ringing them out, or various other techniques.  In this sense it is more like the sport-martial arts systems that have had heavy influence in the genre over the years.

Unfortunately it’s not the most entertaining, as combat is a bit stop-and-go, generally in very short bursts with a short break as points are totaled after a specific move is executed, again just like point-based martial arts tournaments.  The game’s also visually bland, with the actual arena never changing.
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Clayfighter 63 1/3

The continuation of the ClayFighter series brings many new characters, 3D environments, another dose of bizarre and irreverent humor, and a strange mix of styles, including a Killer Instinct Gold-esque combo system and Street Fighter style special moves, parries, and super move bars.  Arenas are big, multi-room affairs, giving plenty of space for the twelve fighters to duke it out.

All the character moves are done with claymation, which is unique but leaves characters seeming stiff.  Perhaps one of the biggest pluses to the game is that both Earthworm Jim and Boogerman are playable characters.  The rarer and more expensive Blockbuster exclusive, ClayFighter 63 1/3: Sculptor’s Cut, adds new fighters but removes the combo system and some super and special moves.  It would be the last release in the ClayFighter series.  If you’re a CF fan, they’re worth looking into.
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Super Robot Spirits

This title’s not without its problems, but still a very cool idea.  Super Robot Spirits is a Japanese-only 3D fighting game offshoot of the Super Robot Wars series, which incorporates many of the more popular mecha anime series in its universe.  Series with characters in SRS include Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Aura Battler Dunbine, Dancouga – Super Beast Machine God, and more.  It features combat both on ground and in the air, unblockable super moves, and some great audio and sound work, though graphically it’s somewhat dull and combat is a bit slow.

Super Robot Spirits also holds the distinction of being one of the worst selling N64 games in Japan, with fewer than 10,000 units sold.  While it’s a bit on the mediocre side, N64 fans don’t have a lot to choose from, and fans of the various series that are represented will probably get a kick out of it.
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Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.

Some consider the Nintendo 64 version superior to the PlayStation in this fully 3D futuristic game of cyborg mayhem.  Above all else, it does earn its Mature rating.  Combat takes place not just on the ground in a circular arena, but also in the air, from up close to long range.  Any of the eight main characters and the two boss characters(one of which is playable) can be dismembered or outright killed.

Dismemberment plays heavily into the control system, as buttons correspond to maneuvers with various limbs.  Unfortunately, it is this control scheme that makes or breaks the game, and opinions on it are a very mixed bag.  I found it enjoyable, but not so much that I keep returning to it.
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Xena: Warrior Princess – Talisman Of Fate

Published by Titus, the same company that brought us Superman 64, this Xena title isn’t great but surprisingly gets enough things right that it’s worth noticing.  First, it allows the player to chose from a decent handful of characters from the show, including Joxer(Ted Raimi) and Autolycus(Bruce Campbell).  Each character features unique attacks and special moves, and the game allows four player combat.

Unfortunately it doesn’t have much depth to the combat, and I did have some problems with targeting different opponents.  Graphically it’s mediocre, though sound clips are included from the show and alternate costumes are available.  It does experience some balance issues as well.  Still, I enjoyed it.  It’s the kind of thing I’d play for laughs with a few friends.
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Tom And Jerry: Fists Of Furry

This is a Power Stone clone, through and through, though it does its absolute best to stick to the sense of humor of its namesake.  Arenas are settings from the animated series, with even the load screens looking like the cartoon title screen.  Players must grab various spawning objects such as recliners or cookie jars and hurl them, go man to man with fisticuffs, or use various stage traps to deal damage to their opponents before the timer runs out.  Players only start with Tom and Jerry selectable, though by playing through the game, more cartoon characters are unlocked.

Unfortunately, the amount of health players possess often makes that the only way to win a match.  There really isn’t much to the game, and it is seriously hindered by only allowing two player support, though it is entertaining for a short while.  This is perhaps the greatest problem with the title, as four player battles would have been epic.
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Mace: The Dark Age

At the time of its release, it was incredible looking, featuring interesting character designs, nice stage detail, and water effects that were realistic for the time.  The music fits the theme, and Midway was even good enough to include options to let us listen to it;  I wish we could still get that in games.  A nice practice mode was included, and the game keeps a large cast.

The secret characters also prove the creators had a sense of humor.  Unfortunately there are some issues with framerates and poor animations, and the controls don’t feel so great.  Also, the game suffers slowdown problems.  I really want to like Mace, but with all its problems I just can’t bring myself to do it.  Still, it does allow me to play as a chicken.
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Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals

This was the second Blockbuster exclusive fighting game for the Nintendo 64.  It featured a slightly different cast of characters than the mass market PlayStation release of the same game, as well as a sizable selection of mini games and individual endings for each character.  The game also features voice work from the Beast Wars television show, though it isn’t in the best quality and the music is pretty awful.  Graphically, it’s got a few little touches, but it’s nothing much to look at.  If nothing else, they could have gotten size correct.  Now everybody’s the same height.  Waspinator is the same size as Rattrap, who is the same size as Tarantulas.  But at least they’re all shiny.

The game also suffers from shoddy hit detection, tracking shots that don’t always connect, and the dreaded unblockable attack.  But you can transform between Beast Mode, Robot Mode, and Vehicle Mode.  There are better games out there, though fans of the series may enjoy it.  Unfortunately it’s somewhat rare due to its exclusivity and one of the most expensive fighters on the console.  Also, if you manage to pick up a Japanese version of the game, you can use the Nintendo 64 Transfer Pak to unlock information in the Japan-only GameBoy Color game, Ketō Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Senshi Saikyō Ketteisen.
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Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction

This title was one of the last to ever be officially released on the Nintendo 64.  It wasn’t worth the wait.  It does include the flagship characters of the series as well as a horde of enemies, though much of the exuberance is gone.  First off, the game operates like a bad version of Power Stone.  While it’s not the only clone of that game, it does feature shoddy collision detection, poor controls, and a camera that doesn’t understand how to properly zoom.  This is especially hazardous when considering the levels are irregularly designed, leading players to become trapped or even not shown.  But even when the camera does catch the action, poor particle effects can obscure the play field.

The voice acting is limited to pained outbursts, and not by the actual voice actors, and the one song is the Powerpuff Girls theme.  It’s not so bad at first, but after ten minutes, your ears will be bleeding.  Still, the 3D intro is pretty cool.  I’d avoid this game and watch the intro on YouTube.
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Dark Rift

This is the sequel to Criticom, and one of the first fighting games on the Nintendo 64.  It’s also notable as the first game on the Nintendo 64 to hit 60 frames per second.  Unfortunately that’s where the good parts end.  On its release, Dark Rift was generally slammed for poor gameplay, with its graphics being the high point.  And those graphics really haven’t aged well.

Factor in that some model televisions are incapable of rendering the game in color(I wouldn’t have believed it if it hadn’t happened on one of mine), and this game doesn’t seem worth it.  Still, it’s ok for a short amount of time, and if nothing else the character design is on the inventive side.  The PlayStation-only Cardinal Syn is the conclusion to the trilogy.
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G.A.S.P.!! Fighters’ Nextream (Gasp)(Deadly Arts)

G.A.S.P.!!  Fighters’ NEXTream, sometimes known as GASP in Europe and Deadly Arts in the United States, has some nice stuff going for it.  There are multiple unlockable characters, the game featured a character creation system that could be saved over to the Nintendo 64’s Memory Pak, and the music is passable.  It’s too bad the system was terrible and the controls were garbage.  Plus, the game just isn’t that difficult and just doesn’t entertain.

To add to the problems, character design and stage design lack anything to set the game above the pack.  This is a case of a good company, Konami, just making a bad game.  This is one to generally avoid.
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War Gods

Basically, if you took a 2D Mortal Kombat, put it directly into 3D, removed all of the characters and plot and threw in a bizarre story about ten people finding magic stones.  And while some of the characters are reasonably based on mythic immortals, such as Anubis or a Valkyrie and gladiator, or an Aztec priest or a Pagan witch, there are a few that will raise an eyebrow, such as the cyborg.

And then there’s my favorite description ever, from Wikipedia: “Warhead (Radioactive American soldier with missiles).”  I have no words for that. This game was literally Midway testing a 3D gameplay engine for Mortal Kombat 4, and attempting to make some money in the meantime.  Seriously, don’t bother.
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Dual Heroes

Duel Heroes has the express honor of having once been voted the worst video game in the world by the readers of Nintendo Gamer magazine in Australia.  It’s not exactly highly considered in any other country, either.  Fights generally end with you mashing only one button, either punch or kick over and over again as the shoddy AI stands there and takes it.  Still, there are some interesting ideas, such as the “gamer” selection.  The player must choose an opponent “gamer” who then picks one of the eight playable characters to use against you.

All of the “gamers” have different speeds and preferred tactics, which could have seriously helped the game if the system weren’t garbage already.  There’s also Robot Mode, which enables you to train the AI by showing it various techniques and combinations, so it will use them against other opponents.  Oh, and it doesn’t help that the graphics make me want to stab out my eyes with a fork.
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Summary

So there you have it folks.  All of the fighters on the console, not including sports titles like wrestling or boxing titles.  As you can see, the console does feature the genre, though quality isn’t always their strongest suit.  But if you’re sitting there on a rainy day, hankering for both a fighter and a 64 game, you do have a few options.  And yes, I do own most of these, though not all…yet.

When someone says “bad fighting game” to you, what do you think of?  If you’re reasonably versed in the Super Nintendo, your thoughts may drift to Shaq Fu, C2: Judgement Clay, or even the Primal Rage port that was, let’s face it, atrocious.  But spend a little time with them, and you’ll realize that these games aren’t the worst.  Sure, they have low sprite counts, horrid colors, terrible controls, pathetic single-player games, and gameplay that flows like an avalanche, but are these truly the worst?  God no.  Oh God, no.  If talking about bad games makes you queasy, stop reading now.  If thinking about bad games makes you ill, turn back.  Because we’re about to break ground in a Gaming No Man’s Land.  And frankly, you don’t want to touch these titles with a ten foot pole.

Ballz 3D: Fighting At Its Ballziest

So Virtua Fighter gets released, and suddenly somebody at PF Magic decides “Hey!  A 3D fighting game.  That’s awesome!  I sure wish we could make one of those.”  And so they did.  Ballz 3D sticks the player in a flat, circular arena, complete with two levels of background.  The closer one contains a screen where mindless taunts are displayed about every time someone gets hit.  This also displays all information, such as match number, opponent name, and even home many opponents are left when you beat someone.  The farther background is about a screen’s worth of picture, which simply repeats itself over and over.  All in all, bland and boring, just like the flat stage you’re fighting on.

But I suppose the important question is how does it play?  First, it is a two-button fighter.  It uses all six buttons on the SNES controller, but two are repeats of the attack buttons and two are used for jumping.  Never mind that jumping is usually pretty useless in 3D fighters, and this one is no exception.  As for the characters, they’re all made up of balls.  It’s an interesting idea, but they tend to lean more towards the crude side(A farting monkey, anyone?), or stereotypical (Look, a strong guy, a clown, and random girl A).  Also, while they got the 3D bit down rather well for the time, distancing is almost impossible to tell.  You know if a move has connected if the other guy blinks white, but because everything spreads on a character when they attack, move, or do anything, I can’t tell where the hit box is.  It’s also pretty easy to lose the other guy on the screen, so often times you can wander far enough away and have no idea where the fight is supposed to be.  Also, because of the 3D action, blocking is a bit weird to pull off, as are special moves.

Finally, the music is bizarre.  The track at the Title Screen is…well, let’s just say I feel soiled after listening to it for a few minutes.  I finally believe it is possible for a game to have too much attitude.  Even with Nintendo censoring some of the language, I still feel insulted playing this title.  And dirty.  Very dirty.

Battle Blaze

So back before they were producing Guilty Gear, Sammy decided they would grace us with a fighting game featuring barbarians and knights and monsters for the Super Nintendo.  That got us Battle Blaze, a game where demons take over a fighting tournament to let their demon king free upon the earth.  The only problem with the demon king’s plan was that one of the fighters managed to beat down the demon sent after him.  He doesn’t get possessed, but dies in the process, and so his son must take up the sword and go beat down his father’s possessed old friends.  This is where you come in.

There’s only two game modes, The Hero and The Battle.  The Battle is your standard arcade, where you can select one of six characters to play against the CPU or a friend.  It has a nifty prep screen for the battle where a soldier lists your names and tells you the King decrees no cheating.  It’s a nice touch.  Then there’s The Hero, where the son must go around the map to fight the other champions and win the day.  It sounds cool, right?  Unfortunately, it means little more than picking the order in which you fight your opponents.  Traversing the map equates to picking a location where certain characters will fight you.

And then there’s the combat itself.  Battle Blaze takes a controller with six buttons and uses two of them.  And one of those buttons is for jumping.  That’s right, it’s a one button fighter.  To make matters worse, the jump button is also used in performing special moves, where it has to be held down to perform the move.  Now factor in the son as the worst character in the game, with little power, little range, and weak specials.  And then there’s the enemies’ ability to air block by attacking.  That’s right, when the main character attacks in the air, he swings his sword.  A quick animation that’s done in less than a second.  The CPU villains’ animation doesn’t end until they hit the ground, and the main character lacks the range to go through it to connect.  This is the rule of the game, not the exception.

Bottom line is this: I want to like Battle Blaze.  I really do.  It’s got some good ideas, and while the stages are bland, I really like the sprites and the music.  But this is not a good fighting game by any stretch of the word.  Don’t bother with it.

Pit-Fighter

I’ll be honest.  I wasn’t a fan of Pit-Fighter in the arcade, and I’m not that into digitized sprites.  But the SNES port is nothing short of a mockery of the original game.  To fit Pit-Fighter on the cartridge, animations were dropped(in some cases to single frames), stages were reduced to fewer then ten colors, characters were resized and redrawn so they look almost nothing like their arcade counterparts, the music was dropped, and the sound quality is garbled.  And to make up for it…nothing.  Not even an options menu.

If you want to see an example of a bad port, look to Primal Rage.  If you want something that could hardly be considered the original game, there’s Pit-Fighter.  The title was literally stripped down to the bare bones, with even the final winning screen cut from the game.  Because of the dropping of frames and the lack of options, the closest thing a player can get to a difficulty setting is by picking different characters, with Ty the easiest(a one-frame punch, just spam it to make it through the entire game), to Buzz being the equivalent of Hard Mode(slowest character in the game).  Everything about this port is bad, from the pathetic lack of color to the random image of the boss showing up between every three or so rounds.  Half the time he says something, but the sound quality is so bad I can’t make it out.  The other half, he just kinda stares at me like an imbecile.

If you enjoyed Pit-Fighter for the arcade, don’t bother with this.  In fact, no one should bother with this.  THQ took a game that was actually quite good looking for its time and gave us utter garbage.

Rise of the Robots

There was so much going for this game.  Originally for the PC, Rise of the Robots featured FMVs showing enemy intros and defeats even on the SNES, as well as an intro that shows the Cyborg entering the city.  Graphically it looked amazing for its time, from the menu design with the Cyborg sitting at a console, pressing buttons for certain objects, to some pretty entertaining character design.  Pieces would go flying off whenever a hit connects to bounce on the ground, and there are even reflections of the characters on some of the stage floors!  And with a soundtrack featuring Brian May, formerly of Queen, it had to be good, right?

Well, no, actually.  For starters, while May was doing his best with the soundtrack, and actually composed a full album, his record studio continually requested delays, forcing Mirage to do all their own music.  Second, while the graphics are good, stage design was actually a bit bland, and characters had few animations.  All six buttons on the controller were used, but only for four different attacks, a system of weak and strong punches and kicks that share similar frames of animation.  They look so similar, it’s actually difficult to tell the two apart.  Factor in single-button special moves, and you have a recipe for disaster.

And then there was the horrid multiplayer, where one character was forced to play the main character, and the other got to be their choice of enemy robot.  None of the robots were rebalanced, either, so certain characters were vastly overpowered.  In the end, it may look good, but it is not a quality title by a long shot.  Game journalist Stuart Campbell even went so far as to write an angry letter to Mirage and Time Warner about it.  Do yourself a favor and avoid it.

Street Combat

Ever wonder what would happen if you took a Ranma ½ game in Japan, edited all the sprites to make Ranma into some guy with a mullet, and did away with the story entirely?  Why, you’d have Street Combat!  The game has little in the way of options beyond 2-player and Vs. CPU, only 8(technically 7) characters, and no plot.  Make it through Vs. CPU mode, and a random man gives Steven(the player) a trophy and tells him he’s a fine young man.  Never mind that if I walked around beating the snot out of random individuals, no one would call me that.  But back to the game…

So Steven has to fight a bunch of random individuals who make corny taunts and are all redrawn Ranma sprites.  To make matters worse, not only does this game commit the mortal sin of 2D fighters by having a jump button, it also uses the L and R buttons for blocking.  That’s right, no pressing away from your opponent on the D-pad.  This game goes above and beyond with unintuitive design.  It’s really a 3-button fighter, with one for punch, kick, and special, which makes Steven create some magical circle.  Don’t ask, it’s never explained.

As for design, the game is very bright and colorful, almost nauseatingly so.  The music is pretty bland, with the IREM publisher screen potentially having the best music in the game.  In multiplayer, there are two Steven’s available, one in the weird blue armor, and one in what I can only image are “street clothes,” as well as all the other characters.  In Vs. CPU mode, the player is forced to play as Steven, though at the Versus screen they can change costumes using the D-pad.

For the record, the game was actually created by NCS/Masaya, known for their wonderful child-friendly series Cho Aniki.  If you don’t know what that is, don’t look it up.

Ultraman: Towards the Future

Hey, Ultraman!  This has got to be good, right?  Wrong!  ScrewAttack once claimed this was the worst fighting game ever made, and after spending a few minutes with it, it’s hard not to agree.  The player controls Ultraman as he faces off against ten of his monstrous enemies.  All six buttons on the controller are used, with B and A serving as punch and kick, respectively, X serving as jump, Y as special attack, and L and R to cycle through different special attacks.  Special moves, like somersaults, flip kicks, and other abilities, can be performed by pressing different directional buttons and attack buttons at the same time.

Sounds like a nice system, right?  Unfortunately, in all this Ultraman mayhem, Bandai forgot a block button.  There is an Ultraman Shield, but no way to block your average attack.  Also, don’t bother crouching, as there are no crouching attacks.  And the majority of the time the enemy is backing away from you, so you’re constantly on the move anyway.  Why is the enemy moving away?  Two reasons: first, enemies regenerate health.  Ultraman doesn’t.  Whoever thought that was a good idea is an idiot.  Then there’s the second reason.  To kill an enemy, Ultraman not only has to beat them down to no health, he then has to hit them with a special attack, called Plasma Bolt.  It wouldn’t be so bad, except you have to charge up your special attacks, and it takes a good thirty seconds to charge a plasma bolt.  Miss, and you have to recharge the full attack again.  Now factor in any other special attack, or that shield I mentioned before, draining power, and it takes even longer.  Meanwhile the enemy is regaining health, so even if you do get charged, they have to be beaten back down.  Throw in a three minute time limit, and this is a recipe for disaster.

Now factor in everything not in the game: specifically alternate game modes, and animations.  That’s right, all that exists in Ultraman is the single player game, and there is little in the way of animation for most of the enemies.  That monster just turned around in two frames.  Apparently that was some kind of attack.  It opened its mouth.  Apparently that was another attack.  Outside of their projectiles(which they abuse constantly), there is no way to tell if something is fighting back or not.  And there’s no way to change difficulty settings, so after a while, an enemy will inevitably knock the crap out of you.  You only get two credits to play through the game, too, and while you may gain extra credits for earning 50000 points, that’s at least a good three or four battles in even when playing well.

I suppose I can’t be too harsh.  Ultraman is ok about a few things.  It’s stage design is pretty cool, often with smashed buildings in the back and foreground.  Unfortunately this does hamper the player’s site, and said stages just wrap around.  There is no corner to knock the enemy into so they can just keep running and regenerating.  The game’s also nice about dying.  Get killed and when you come back, the monster will be close to where you left it in terms of health.  Of course you still have to recharge your Plasma Bolt, so it’s not that much of a boon.  And then there’s the the intro to each fight.  Honestly, that’s the best part, watching a bunch of explosions and then Ultraman shows up, just in time for an extreme closeup.  No matter how angry I was with this title, I’d break out into laughter every time I saw it.  It’s actually a pretty good stress reliever, there to keep me from screaming in rage about the rest of this horrible game.

Out of all of the fighters, these are the bottom of the barrel.  Sure, Shaq Fu might have had poor framerates and clunky controls, but these titles prove that it’s actually rather mediocre…just on the low end of mediocre.  Then again, playing these titles makes just about any game look good.

Some Other Titles to Avoid

• Brutal Paws of Fury
• Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
• Ranma ½: Hard Battle

The Low End of Mediocre

• ClayFighter
• ClayFighter: Tournament Edition
• C2: Judgement Clay
• Doomsday Warrior
• Justice League Task Force
• Power Moves
• Primal Rage
• Shaq Fu
• Tuff E Nuff

Note from racketboy:  Our newest contributor, Ack, has been on a recent quest to track down a copy of every US-released fighting game on the Super Nintendo.   After playing through the good and the bad, he was kind enough to share his recommendations.  (even if there are better ports out there)

The 16-bit generation was really the heyday of the 2D fighter.  It was the genre that defined the arcade of the late 80s and early 90s, fueled much of the gaming violence debate through the decade, and holds within its ranks the title that many point to when debating how Nintendo ultimately won the generation’s console war over Sega.  And in the United States, we ate it up.  For many of us, dreams of the hits that sucked us into gaming came from our arcades, and ports of those same titles brought us to love our home consoles.

Unfortunately, the US didn’t get all the fighters that would populate the Japanese market.  We didn’t see great titles like Gundam Wing: Endless Duel on our shores.  But that doesn’t mean we didn’t get some great games.  Here’s some titles you might have missed while waiting to get that import-ready SNES off eBay.

Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition

Based on the television series Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, this title is really a giant monster fight.  It features 8 playable characters from the start, 4 good megazords and 4 villains.  It’s a 4-button fighter, features the original Power Ranges theme, and various stages designed to emphasize that you are fighting in giant size.  Unfortunately it also runs into problems because of these same perks.  While the stages emphasize size, there’s a lack of them in the game.  All the Megazords use the same “Zordon’s Hideout” stage as their base.  To make matters worse, Zordon’s stage uses the Power Rangers theme song as background music.  The Power Ranger’s theme constitutes about 70% of what you’re going to hear in this game.

The game does have some interesting other features, however.  The player can pick Story Mode, Fighting Mode, or Trial Mode.  Fighting Mode is the name for Player vs. Player, and Trial Mode lets the player pick any character and play the CPU.  Story Mode only allows the player to pick from two Megazords, and they then fight all 8 opponents before finally facing Ivan Ooze.  Whenever a monster is defeated, the player is treated to a cut scene where the Rangers finish off the villain.  Also, if the player happens to lose, they get to see a pretty interesting continue screen, where Lord Zedd’s finger taps on the option you’re currently selecting.  As far as losing is concerned, I didn’t mind too much considering how interesting it looked.

The game also features a new way of building power.  Each character’s power bar fluctuates on the bottom of the screen, filling from nothing to full, then dropping to nothing again.  When a special move is used, it will be more or less powerful, depending on how full the bar was when the move was executed.  If the bar is full, it changes color next time it fills up.  After the player uses a special move 3 times when the bar is full, their character enters a special mode where they can use special attacks as much as they want at their most powerful setting, for a limited amount of time.  Each character’s play style and special attacks are unique, making for a well-diversified cast.  This title is definitely worth a look.
Find Power Rangers Fighting Edition on eBay (about $12.00)

Street Fighter Alpha 2

First off, Street Fight Alpha 2 is well known, but not on this console.  Why?  It saw an extremely late release, coming out in arcades and for the SNES in 1996.  More people played it for Playstation and Sega Saturn, where it was released in 1997.  As far as SNES fighters go, it’s the most expensive American fighting release, averaging nearly double what other good fighters on the console cost.  It also lacks many of the secret characters from the arcade title.  The game was manufactured using the S-DD1 chip for graphic decompression, making it gorgeous and hard to emulate, as the chip doubles as copy protection.

The title brings many staples of later 2D Capcom fighters to the end of the 16-bit era, including the three-level Super Combo bar, counters, fall breaking, and a particular favorite of the writer, air-blocking.  It’s a deep game with 18 playable characters, not including an alternate version of Chun Li that can be unlocked in the title.  It’s a well-designed 6 button fighter, combining much of the classic Street Fighter characters with the Alpha series, and introducing Sakura’s first apperance.  Backgrounds are detailed, the music is great, and for the most part, sound effects are well done.

This does not mean the game is without its problems.  The limited size of the cart caused a lot of frames of animation that could not be ported.  Alpha 2 also suffers from some pretty nasty pauses while trying to load.  Every time the announcer says “Fight!” the game will pause for a moment to load.  Any load screens will cause the game to freeze for a second or two.  While it doesn’t get in the way of gameplay, it does swiftly become annoying.  Sound effects have trouble too, especially if two are played at the same time, say from two characters executing special moves.  The game won’t pause, but one effect will briefly override all other effects.  In general, sound quality is also diminished.  Again, it doesn’t effect gameplay, but it is noticeable.  And in a last bit of censorship, Alpha 2 is one of the last SNES titles to go under Nintendo’s knife.  Apparently Nintendo of America disliked the biblical implications of one character’s name, so in this title, Sodom is called Katana.  This has never been repeated in any other Street Fighter game.

Finally, the game lacks the options of the first two titles I’ve mentioned above.  All the player can do is Arcade and Versus.  That is all that’s available.  Of course the two modes you get are excellent, but it really does have to be weighed against the high price tag the game carries.
Find Street Fighter Alpha 2 on eBay (about $22.00)

World Heroes 2

The World Heroes series has had a bit of a bad run in the United States.  When the original title appeared on the screen, it featured characters and controls similar to Street Fighter, causing the series to be written off as just another SF clone.  The series would only see two more releases, and only the first two titles would appear on the Super Nintendo in the United States.  World Heroes 2 is the better of the two titles.  It’s a 2 or 4-button fighter, depending on the options you pick at the beginning.  The game features only Two play modes from the beginning, Single Player and VS.  This is where the game becomes quirky.

Indeed, World Heroes 2 is all about Quirkiness.  There are actually several different game modes, depending on options selected at various points.  For a different experience, the player can start by selecting Arcade or SNES controls, being 2 and 4 button control schemes respectively.  The player can also set the health bar to arcade, normal, or seesaw, the last causing health to go back and forth between fighters.  Do more damage, get more health.  Also, when picking Single Player, after selecting a character, the game asks if the player wants Normal Mode or Survival.  The cast features 14 playable characters from around the world, and the game gets even more wacky when considering who to pick.  Do you want the German military commander who’s also a robot?  How about the football player from America?  The Pacific Islander with a  giant Tiki mask named Mudman?  Why not the pirate captain, who is apparently not from a country at all?  Each character is more bizarre than the last, and it makes for some excellent fun while using an engine that’s as deep as the game is weird.  Also note, projectiles can be reflected back at targets, possibly multiple times.  Can you think of a better way to piss off your buddies while proving you’re number one?
Find World Heroes 2 on eBay (about $6.00)

Power Instinct

Power Instinct is the English name for Gōketsuji Ichizoku, or The Gōketsuji Clan, a fighting game released on the console in 1993 by Atlus.  While its sequel would be released in 1994, it didn’t see another console port until the Playstation.  Power Instinct follows a family tournament of the Gōketsuji, who fight every so many years or so to see who should control the clan.  The game focuses on a strange blend of fighting and comedy, and though some of the humor was lost in translation, the game’s about as quirky and bizarre as World Heroes 2.  It’s a 4 button fighter featuring 8 selectable characters and one boss who is a palette swap of one of the main characters.  The game features a Vs. Mode, “Life Attack,” which is basically a survival mode, a standard arcade mode, and two different practice modes, one where the CPU stands or sits, and the other where they fight back.

The game’s got some interesting moves.  Double jumps and double dashes make mobility a must in the game, and players can knock their opponent through barriers on both sides of the stage, making it larger.  The SNES version also looks and sounds better than the Sega version.  Unfortunately the game does have issues with material being cut out.  Character endings were removed, as well as character bios that originally appeared between game demos.  In fact, the game intro demo was removed.  But perhaps the worst loss of all was the Karaoke Mode that was removed from the SNES port, prohibiting American Nintendo fans from singing along.

Still, we do get to use Otane, the old woman.  She has perhaps the greatest projectile in all of gaming history(Hint: it’s her dentures).
Find Power Instinct on eBay (about $5.00)

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

The Mortal Kombat series was possibly Street Fighter’s biggest rival in American in the early 90s.  It popularized digitized sprites, proved palette swaps could still be made fairly unique, and got the gaming industry into a fair bit of trouble with its rampant bloodshed and violence.  Of the four MK titles released on the SNES, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 had it all.  The same 4 button high punch/low punch/high kick/low kick system as the arcade.  23 characters.  2 on 2 Vs matches.  8 player tournament mode.  Unlockable boss characters for two-player fights.  There was even an option to turn blood and fatalities on or off.

The game also featured some interesting additions not found in the arcade.  The Brutality, where a player would wail on their opponent until they exploded, was invented for the SNES port.  Many of the characters hidden in the arcade were playable from the start.  There was even an easter egg where the player could access up to three different cheat menus, changing gameplay, watching character endings, accessing hidden content on the cart, and so on.  But the title did lose some things just to get all this on the cart.  The character Sheeva’s animation data was removed, though she can technically be played through some glitches.  Many backgrounds from Mortal Kombat 3 were removed.  Certain characters fatalities were edited, and in some cases removed entirely.  And finally, the announcer does not say character names when selected.  For the most part, however, gameplay remains intact.
Find Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on eBay (about $13.00)

Fatal Fury Special

Unfortunately for the Fatal Fury series, the series was plagued by allegations of ripping off Street Fighter 2 from day one, even though the first title was in development by the time Street Fighter 2 was released in arcade.  Nevertheless, Fatal Fury was well built and inventive from the get go, becoming known for its two-lane fighting system.  Players could jump and attack between lanes for quick escapes or reprisals, and could also throw their opponent into the other lane if desired.  The series would see its next installment a year later in Fatal Fury 2, and an update a year later in Fatal Fury Special.  Fatal Fury Special featured all the playable characters from Fatal Fury 2, plus the four bosses as playable characters, and three more from the original Fatal Fury, totaling 15 available from the get go.  The title also features one unlockable character, Ryo Sakazaki, from Art of Fighting.

Fatal Fury Special is a 4 button fighter, with R and L serving as “3D Move” and “3D Attack,” allowing a quick switch to a different fighting lane.  The game features a single player arcade mode, V.S. Game, and an option called Count Down, where the player has infinite health and 3 minutes to defeat as many CPU opponents as possible.  On a bit of a surprising note, the game also features Dolby Surround Sound.

There are a few problems.  Jumping sometimes feels a bit floaty, taunts have strange controls, and the lane system isn’t quite there yet in this title.  But it features a unique cast with varied characters, mixes up the lane system by throwing a few stages into the mix that don’t have a second lane, and decent controls.  If you’re a fan of SNK, this game is a must.
Find Fatal Fury Special on eBay (about $12.00)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters

This game was created after the popularity of the Sparring Match feature in the TMNT: Turtles in Time beat-’em-up.  Unfortunately when this title was released, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were waning in popularity, so this game went largely unnoticed.  It’s a 4 button fighter, featuring 10 playable characters.  The game sports a Tournament Mode, VS Battle, Story Mode, and a Watch mode, to view CPU battles.  Tournament Mode serves as the standard arcade battle, where players can select any of the ten characters to fight others for cash.  Story Mode is a bit more deep, making the player select one of the four turtles, then moving them from location to location to fight villains while trying to rescue April O’Neil and Master Splinter.

It’s unfortunate that this title sees so little recognition, as its fighting system is actually well developed.  TMNT Tournament Fighters was one of the first games to ever use a power bar that is charged by fighting.  Build up enough energy, and the player is able to unleash a powerful super move on their opponent.  This feature would become a staple of the 2D fighting genre.  The game is also great for nostalgia purposes, both for its TMNT characters as well as the use of character bios after Demo fights.  It’s deep, controls well, has great music, and a very unique attitude that lives up to its namesake.  There are a few issues with names and grammar in Story Mode, but these can be easily overlooked.  On a side note, this was also released on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis.  The Super Nintendo version is considered the best of the three.
Find Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters on eBay (about $9.00)

Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct was a great game in the arcade, and its success lead to a release on the SNES less than a year later.  It was a 6 button fighter that borrowed some of the best elements of other popular series at its time, and then added its own into the mix.  Techniques such as Automatic Combos, Combo Breakers, and even Ultra Combos going over 80 hits were all on the playing field.

Killer Instinct was known for its dual health bars.  You don’t win rounds in Killer Instinct, you pummel the other guy down, give him a breather, then pummel him some more.  If the player was hit before beating him down, that’s no problem.  The player still have all that health left over when the other guy gets back up.  And once the player had beaten down their opponent, the screen flashes red and finishing moves become available.  The Humiliation finisher was always a particular favorite of mine.

Of course, some changes had to be made to the game so it could run on a Super Nintendo cartridge.  First of all, all character sprites had to be toned down, in both size and quality.  Previously 3D stages were changed to straight 2D, and some were completely dropped.  The game’s camera was also changed to be more static.  And in perhaps the most heinous of cuts, the full motion videos for victory poses were changed to static images.  Heart-breaking, but necessary.

To make up for it, Rare added new game modes.  An 8 player Tournament Mode was put in, similar to what Mortal Kombat fans would see on their SNES carts.  Killer Instinct also featured a Practice Game, essentially a training mode where the player wails on Fulgore in a random stage.  Stage finishers and character bios during the game demo were also left in the game.

Killer Instinct also has three particular notes of interest.  First, it was released in a black cartridge in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States, not the standard gray for most SNES titles.  Second, the game was never released in Japan.  And third, and perhaps most important of all, the game came packaged with a 16 track CD of songs taken straight from the game, titled Killer Cuts.  The CD was later sold via Nintendo Power, where it could also be ordered in cassette format.
Find Killer Instinct on eBay (about $7.00)

Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers

When talking fighters on the Super Nintendo, most point to Street Fighter 2 Turbo as the genre and era defining fighter.  But a year later, Capcom would release a new version of Street Fighter 2 on the SNES.  Many believe this game was released to early, and another tweaked version called Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo would be released a little while later, but it would never make it to the shores of the United States, probably in part due to the failure to sell Super Street Fighter 2.  Commercially, it tanked.  Too much supply, not enough demand.

Super Street Fighter 2 is a 6 button fighter, much like its predecessor.  It featured a similar arcade mode, called Super Battle.  Versus Battle, Group Battle, and Tournament Mode all served as multiplayer options.  Group Battle and Tournament Mode were both for handling multiple fighters or players beyond the second.  Want 8 individuals to play in random pyramid chart?  Tournament Mode.  Want to duel 8 characters vs. 8 characters with your best friend?  Group Battle.  A Time Challenge mode was also included, where the player picks their character and their CPU opponent, then tried to beat them as quickly as possible.

But beyond extra game modes, what else was there?  Quite a bit, actually.  New character portraits were devised for the game.  Characters had 8 palette swaps to choose from by pressing different buttons to select a fighter.  Chun-Li’s ending was changed, and the bosses all had new endings put in.  New animations for special moves were also put in for a few characters, including Chun Li’s fireball.

But that isn’t all.  Capcom took the time to put in a fully fleshed out combo system, keeping track of the number of hits and adding bonus score, while also awarding bonus points for things like getting the first hit.  Reversals were added into the game, to help combat some of the issues found in Street Fighter 2.  Character bios were interspersed with game demos at the start of the game.  New characters were brought in, including Cammy, bringing the total up to 16 playable characters, each with their own unique stages and fighting styles.  The game also featured an updated intro, one that is quite possibly my favorite of the entire Street Fighter series.  The only real downside was that the game was slowed down, back to speed with Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition.
Find Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers on eBay (about $15.00)

Additional Recommendations

But just because I recommend these titles doesn’t mean you should stop there.  Here’s a few more recommendations for all your fighting needs  (And just to let you know, most of these were left off of the above list because I wanted to only included one installment from each series).

• Art of Fighting
• Fatal Fury
• Fatal Fury 2
• Fighter’s History
• Mortal Kombat
• Mortal Kombat 2
• Mortal Kombat 3
• Samurai Shodown
• Street Fighter 2
• Street Fighter 2 Turbo

Of course, there are even more fighters to be found on the SNES.  You can see my quest to collect each on on this forum thread.

This has actually shown up on a number of sites in the past few months, but I wanted to be sure to share this with everyone on here.  I’ve always been a big fan of arcade cabinets wheter they be you standard old-school designs or sleek and modern gaming stations.

The Sega Lindbergh-based Virtua Fighter 5 arcade cabinet is a great example of a modern design and I know many people would love to get their hands on their own.  However, due to the price of the machine itself and the necessary shipping, it’s not exactly practical for more people.  L_A_Akira  from the VirtuaFighter.com forum took matters into his own hands by desiginng his very own relatively low-cost, homebrew setup.  It helps that he’s a skilled 3D modelist, but you can see from some of the shots below that it turned out quite well.

The images on the original forum thread seem to be broken, but Tatoon seemed to grab most of them and put them on Flickr.  You can see all the images here and also view them in slideshow mode.

Presented by: Fastbilly1, Marurun, & Racketboy
New To Together Retro? Check out the introduction to the club

For the fourth entry in the Together Retro Game Club, we will be shifting gears and trying out one of SNK’s classic 2D fighters, Samurai Shodown.  Thats right boys and girls we are going back to the arcade and going to one of the best weapon based fighting games ever created.  Now we know many of you want an RPG soon, but based on sagical advice that Marurun gave us, we decided to hold off on that for one more session so those who are currently in finals can devote the time neccessary.

About The Game

Samurai Shodown was first released in 1993 for the Neo Geo MVS system.  As one of the early games for the arcade monolith the game quickly became a favorite for arcade enthusiast because of its solid gameplay, beautiful graphics, and fun verses mode. 

Taking place during a war between twelve worldly fighters and one overly evil man who has made a pact with a demon to bring back Ambrosia.  Each of those twelve fighters uses a unique fighting style; from a Ronin practicing bushido to a Kabuki performer, to a Bandit, there is a character for everyone.

And for those who like the blood in their fighting games, well most of the characters are using bladed weapons.  Focusing less on the combo chains that most fighters at the time were concentrating on and more on precision and timing.

If you are used to only playing your mainstream Street Fighter games, samurai Shodown will give you a fresh perspective on the genre and will require you to think a bit differently about how you approach the battle.

Recommended Ports

An arcade hit has to be ported to as many consoles as possible right?  While it does not have as many ports as Street Fighter II, it does have its fair share. Obviously the Neo-Geo original is going to be the best, but the Sega CD and 3DO versions are pretty good if you are willing to deal with the load times of the older hardware.  The game was also included in Japanese Samurai Shodown Kenkaku Yubinan pack on the PS1 and is said to be pretty good.

There were also ports on the Genesis and the SNES, but they were pretty stripped down in terms of graphical effect, detail and Earthquake (a large character) is missing.  The SNES port also isn’t as dominant against the Genesis version as you might expect (the sprites are as good as they could be).  The SNES port is also zoomed out and censored for blood but still maintains the complexity of the original game and offers it in Dolby Surround.  However the more modern compilation ports are also very good ports.   (See this post at HG101 for more info and comparisons)

There are also two brand new SNK compilations for the PS2 and PSP that are quite affordable.   (PS2 version is $15 at Amazon.com)   These isn’t a lot of detail on the quality of the release since they are brand new, but you can find some discussion on the topic in this forum post.

Neo-Geo	Sega CD	3DO	PS1	PS2	PSP

Emulation for Samurai Shodown

Since there are various ports of Samurai Shodown, there are also various ways to emulate them.  However, the most practical thing would be to emulate the arcade original.    In that case, you have a handful of great options:

• NeorageX
• MAME (MAMEUI)
• Kawaks

If you want to emulate one of the other console ports, you can emulate the Sega CD port (or even the inferior Genesis version) with Kega Fusion (see our Kega emulation guide).    ePSXe will also emulate the Playstation version if you want to go with that.

If you need assitance setting up any emulator, please post your question in the Emulation section of the forum

How To Play / Controls

• Directional Pad – Move, Crouch and Block (utilizes all 8 ways)
• Forward Twice Quickly – Dash (hold to keep running)
• Backward Twice Quickly – Hop back
• A – Weak Slash
• B – Strong Slash
• A + B – Powerful Slash
• C – Weak Kick
• D – Strong Kick
• C + D – Powerful Kick
• Full Controls at Strategy Wiki
• Character-specific moves at Strategy Wiki

Together Retro Discussion

Instead of posting in the comments section of the blog, we will be using the forum for all of our discussion in order to keep things more organized. So get your hands dirty with Samurai Shodown and talk to us about your thoughts in the forums. We want to know your tactics, your strategies, your successes and your failures.

• Samurai Shodown General Discussion
• What Samurai Shodown Characters Are You Using?
• What Techniques Have You Found Helpful in Samurai Shodown?
• How Do The Samurai Shodown Ports Compare?
• Extra Credit: The Samurai Shodown Series…

Additional Resources

• Wikipedia’s Samurai Shodown Entry
• Hardcore Gaming 101: Samurai Shodown
• Temple of Samurai Shodown

There is no denying that there is a great deal of buzz going around about the upcoming release of Street Fighter IV. Even though some of us long-term fans would have liked the game the feature hand-drawn animations in pure 2D, SF4 looks to maintain much of its heritage in terms of overall style and gameplay.

We have learned a great deal since the games official announcement back in October. Even though I can’t quite keep up the pace of updates that some sites offer, I wanted to post an overview of what we have seen so far via a collection of videos, screenshots, and links.

The Newest Trailer

To get the quickest feel for the game and most of the announced players, take a look at the new AOU 2008 Amusement Expo Trailer (high-def version here):

As you can see, all of the original eight characters from Street Fighter 2 are featured in addition to two new characters, Crimson Viper and Abel. While there hasn’t been an official “announcement” that I have seen so far, both Sagat and Balrog (the Boxer) have also been spotted in the arcade test units and, subsequently, various videos online.

Real Gameplay Video

Considering the use of 3D graphics, I was surprised to see how similar the character animation has been to previous Street Fighter games — primarily Street Fighter 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3. The trailers show too much zooming in and special angles, but if you look at normal gameplay videos captured by those who have tried the game out, it will look much more familiar to you. Take a look at the video links below to see your favorite characters in action.

• Blanka: Vs Guile, Vs Abel, Vs Dhalsim,
• Chun-Li: Vs. Abel, Vs Ken, Vs Guile
• Dhalsim: Vs Guile, Vs Abel, Vs C Viper
• E. Honda: Vs Guile, Vs Ryu, Vs Zangief
• Guile: Vs Zangief, Vs Blanka, Vs Abel
• Ken: Vs Ryu, Vs C. Viper, Vs Chun-Li
• Ryu: Vs C. Viper, Vs Ken, Vs. Abel
• Zangief: Vs E Honda, Vs Guile, Vs Sagat and Balrog
• Crimson Viper: Vs Ryu, Vs. Blanka, Vs. Ken
• Abel: Vs Guile, Vs Blanka, Vs. Chun Li
• Sagat: Vs. Zangeif
• Balrog: Vs Zangeif

High-Def Screenshots

If you want to see more detail of the graphics, you can take a look at this collection of 720p screenshots of various characters courtesy of GGL Wire on Flickr. (You can also see them in Slideshow Mode)

The Gameplay Engine

We’ve heard a bit about the gameplay engine a bit as well and it will most closely resemble Street Fighter II, but will have Super and Ultra Moves in addition to the new system known as “Saving” or “Revenge”.

As the Wikipedia entry for the game states, “The system features a four-segment “Revenge” gauge that builds up as the character takes damage. A player can use one segment of the gauge in combat by simultaneously pressing both strong punch and strong kick to unleash a special attack that will deal instant damage and render the opponent immobile for a short time. The buttons can also be held down and charged to unleash a devastating unblockable attack at the cost of 3/4s of the full “Revenge” gauge. The gauge can also be used to fuel EX Specials — stronger versions of regular special moves — at the cost of one stock of the gauge. Both the Saving move and EX Specials can be “canceled” by dashing towards the opponent (the move will still be performed and will still do damage however), this dash can again be “canceled” by performing another EX Special or Saving move, this however will require pinpoint timing so that only skilled players may execute this kind of combo.Ono has stated that this system was incorporated in order to shift the emphasis away from combos and toward a more realistic system he has compared to boxing, in which “the skill is in reading your opponent’s move before he starts moving … We haven’t forgotten about combos and linked moves, but saving makes it so that you have to read your opponent.” The system aims to make ground attacks as viable a way of approaching opponents as jumping was in previous games.”

My Impressions So Far

I was rather worried about this game initially due to the original images and videos or Ken and Ryu, but now that I see actual gameplay video without all the zooming and effects, I am much less concerned. The gameplay does seem solid, but I’m still a little disappointed that parries and such are missing, but it will be interesting to see how the Revenge system makes up for it. I like the fact that the overall style and character animation seems like a blend of Street Fighter II and the Alpha series.

What Do You Think?