The platform for 16-bit fighters

[marurun]

So, I just got an Avenue Pad 6 recently so I can finally play SFII' on my PCE with a modicum of proficiency, and it got me thinking about the state of fighting games on 16-bit consoles. On the one hand, Street Fighter 2 had only good ports across the 16-bit spectrum, but there were lots of other fighting games that didn't fare so well. And that got me thinking about which console was really the best one to have for fighter fans.

I think my choice would have to be the PC Engine. With the Arcade Card and CD attachments, the PC Engine had the best ports available of Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury 2 & Special, and World Heroes 2. It had a HuCard port of SFII' that stands pretty much toe to toe with SFII for the SNES and Champion Edition on Genesis. It had Kabuki Ittou Ryoudan, which was one of the better console-only fighters of the time. Sure, there were duds like Strip Fighter II, and Martial Champion was pretty mediocre. Flash Hiders was fun, if flawed, and the SFC sequel/remake, Battle Tycoon, wasn't, in aggregate, actually any better, just different.

Now, the PCE had only two HuCard fighters, and Strip Fighter II sucked, so you have to have CD capabilities, and the best fighters among the CD titles were ACD titles, which was another expense, so being a PCE fighting fan wasn't cheap. It was, however, quality.

The SNES and Genny had more options, including ports of Samurai Shodown, which, while lacking, were still fun. If it was quantity over quality, the SNES probably took the cake.

Yes, this post is blatantly biased : ) So now it's your turn to tell me what I missed and share your opinions.

[ZeroAX]

Neo Geo AES probably .

I don't know, I think the SNES was probably the best of the mainstream home consoles at fighters, cause of its higher specs, plus the fact that it was the biggest 16-bit console in Japan, meaning it probably got the most ports of the local arcade fighting games

[marurun]

Neo Geo AES probably .

But SNK called themselves 24-bit!

I don't know, I think the SNES was probably the best of the mainstream home consoles at fighters, cause of its higher specs, plus the fact that it was the biggest 16-bit console in Japan, meaning it probably got the most ports of the local arcade fighting games

Too much probably in there. What fighters did you like on the SNES? Don't guess. Put yourself out there. Also, be cautious when mentioning specs. It could be argued the SNES had the weakest CPU of the generation, and the SNES's record with shooters (arguably the most taxing genre) is not so good at all.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Neo Geo AES probably .

I don't know, I think the SNES was probably the best of the mainstream home consoles at fighters, cause of its higher specs, plus the fact that it was the biggest 16-bit console in Japan, meaning it probably got the most ports of the local arcade fighting games

Bah! I disagree wholeheartedly (not with the Neo Geo comment..that is spot on). The Sega Genesis was a far superior fighting game console than the SNES (as long as you had the six button pad). Not only was their version of Samurai Shodown a lot better visually, they had other awesome games like Eternal Champions. Also, they had the uncensored content from the Mortal Kombat series to boot. Genesis does what Nintendon't!!!!!

[Ack]

Neo Geo AES probably .

I don't know, I think the SNES was probably the best of the mainstream home consoles at fighters, cause of its higher specs, plus the fact that it was the biggest 16-bit console in Japan, meaning it probably got the most ports of the local arcade fighting games

Bah! I disagree wholeheartedly (not with the Neo Geo comment..that is spot on). The Sega Genesis was a far superior fighting game console than the SNES (as long as you had the six button pad). Not only was their version of Samurai Shodown a lot better visually, they had other awesome games like Eternal Champions. Also, they had the uncensored content from the Mortal Kombat series to boot. Genesis does what Nintendon't!!!!!

Except the censorship bit ended after the first Mortal Kombat, so Mortal Kombat 2 is generally considered superior on the SNES.

Of the generation, I'd argue the SNES had the best selection. Here's some info on just the NTSC-U fighting games:

3 different types of Street Fighter II(World Warrior, Turbo, and Super Street Fighter II)

Street Fighter Alpha 2

4 Mortal Kombats, of which the first was horrendously ported, but featured the best home port of MK2 at the time.

Art of Fighting and 3 different Fatal Furies, albeit they're not the best ports.

A superior version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters

The exclusive Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition

The only place at the time to find both World Heroes games without the words Neo-Geo in the machine's title.

The only home port of Killer Instinct.

If you are into the series, the SNES is the only place to find the first three ClayFighter games.

Probably the best version of Double Dragon V (which isn't saying much).

The only home port of Fighter's History.

A better looking and sounding WeaponLord with a larger screen, though admittedly the Genesis version plays a bit faster.

That said, there are some places the SNES didn't do as well as the Genesis, such as in the home port of Power Instinct, and the Genesis version of Deadly Moves is overall better than the SNES' Power Moves...though again, not saying much. The SNES has a large collection of bottom-of-the-barrel crap too, though mileage may vary: Tuff E Nuff, Ultraman: Towards the Future, Street Combat, Battle Blaze, a terrible Primal Rage port, the worst port of Pit-Fighter, and so on.

[brunoafh]

PC Engine is always the answer, the question is irrelevant.

[o.pwuaioc]

PC Engine is always the answer, the question is irrelevant.

What's the worst of the top 3 16-bit consoles?

[indecks]

The only home port of Fighter's History.

The Neo AES had FH Dynamite, wasn't it just a "champ edition" of FH?

And come on, SNES wins because of RISE OF THE ROBOTS.

[Ack]

The only home port of Fighter's History.

The Neo AES had FH Dynamite, wasn't it just a "champ edition" of FH?

And come on, SNES wins because of RISE OF THE ROBOTS.

Actually I've always heard FH Dynamite was a sequel.

And I've beaten Rise of the Robots. I never want to do that again.

[marurun]

PC Engine is always the answer, the question is irrelevant.

What's the worst of the top 3 16-bit consoles?

Back under your bridge, you...

It's kinda funny, actually, that the PC Engine and the Genesis were opposites in the US and Japan. The TurboGrafx-16 largely flopped here, and the Mega Drive was no mean success in Japan.

But for fighting games, all the 16-bit consoles were losers. The Saturn and Playstation changed all of that.