Back to the basics

[marurun]

So, even though I love fighters, I suck at them. One of the reasons I suck at them is because I don't play them much. I don't play them much because:

1. No local opponents (and most of the games I own have no or crappy net code)
2. Most of my controllers suck for fighters and there seem to be no cheap fighter controller options that are any good
3. Newer fighters are incorporating more complicated systems and tighter timing schemes, meaning it takes a lot more practice and time to get any good

OK, yeah, this is mostly whining, here. But I got to thinking about point 3. I understand that in the tournament community frame-perfect timing is great to have and those complicated systems make for great high-level play, but are there any basic fighters for the rest of us? One of the things I really love about Street Fighter II, II', and II' Turbo is that they're both complex and basic at the same time. You have a lot of moves and various move timings to learn and there are some basic combos. But there's no parrying/just defense, no dial-a-combos or magic combos, no massive juggling chains. I like Samurai Shodown (the first) for much the same reason. I put Virtua Fighter 2 also in this category, as long as you stick to certain characters. Even though I love the way the newer fighters are animated (for the most part) and I love the character designs, I feel like there's a little too much depth.

Are there any modern fighters that stick to this basic model? Nothing crazy, just solid fighting action with interesting characters, cool moves, and decent character balance?

[ninjainspandex]

I suck at fighters as well so if you ever want someone to spar with I have street fighter 2 hd and sf 4 on the xbox 360.

[Gamerforlife]

Rival Schools United by Fate

Marvel Super Heroes

X-Men vs Street Fighter

Battle Arena Toshinden 2

Psychic Force

There are anime based fighters out there that are fairly simple. There's one for Inuyasha on the PS1 that comes to mind.

Also, maybe some of the Dragonball Z Budokai games would be up your alley

EDIT: Haven't played them myself, but maybe the Super Smash Bros. and Power Stone games would work for you too

[ninjainspandex]

I second Super Smash Bros, it's perfect for us filthy casuals

[marurun]

I really enjoyed Powerstone, but I also like stuff that's more traditional VS fighter. I just get tired of trying to have perfect timing at a jillion different skill sets to pull off 100+ hit combos and parry every hit.

[the7k]

KOFXIII and SFxT are the best modern fighters.

KOFXIII has decent netcode on PC (in my experience) and the balance is very good. I got Top 16 at Final Round with very basic footsies and spacing. You don't need to learn super hard combos and, while 1-frame links exist, they aren't practical and no character was designed with them in mind. Almost every combo is built on cancels.

SFxT has extremely good netcode (by far Capcom's best - works off the same principal as GGPO) and the balance is also very good, although that's in part due to the tag-team functionality. If it were just one on one, it'd probably be just as counter-pick focused as SF4, but tag-teaming allows you to cover your bad matchups with a character that can handle them.

If you are looking for fighters that have a lot of people playing that are older games, then get Fightcade, it's the currently supported alternative to GGPO and you should have no trouble finding opponents in Super Turbo, Vampire Savior, Alpha 2, KOF98, KOF02, Garou and probably a few others I'm forgetting.

[Ack]

You realize, the7k, that based on what he is asking, he probably has no idea what you just said.

[marurun]

I have KOFXIII, but the netcode actually seems pretty weak. Also, drive cancels and such are among the features I consider over-complication. Otherwise I do tend to get along with KOF games, despite the fact that I will likely never enter high-level play.

I don't have any modern consoles, so SFxT is probably out.

I used to enjoy GGPO, so I'll have to explore Fightcade some. I have a metric crap-ton of older fighters on the Saturn and Dreamcast already, so many of the titles you mentioned are at least nominally familiar to me.

Still, it would be nice to see a modern fighter developed to not be combo-heavy, not rely on juggling, and not have any weird parry or cancel systems. It would all come down to knowing your move set: timing, reach, and priority.

[bmoc]

Skullgirls might be worth a shot. The combos can get pretty long but you certainly don't need expert execution to beat up the CPU. It is stupidly cheap on Steam at the moment too because of the summer sale. If you get it, be sure to download Beowulf while he is free. Of the modern fighters that I have played, it is probably one of the easiest to pickup and play but it does have a lot of depth if you really want to get into it. SFxT is also available on Steam.

[BogusMeatFactory]

So, even though I love fighters, I suck at them. One of the reasons I suck at them is because I don't play them much. I don't play them much because:

1. No local opponents (and most of the games I own have no or crappy net code)
2. Most of my controllers suck for fighters and there seem to be no cheap fighter controller options that are any good
3. Newer fighters are incorporating more complicated systems and tighter timing schemes, meaning it takes a lot more practice and time to get any good

OK, yeah, this is mostly whining, here. But I got to thinking about point 3. I understand that in the tournament community frame-perfect timing is great to have and those complicated systems make for great high-level play, but are there any basic fighters for the rest of us? One of the things I really love about Street Fighter II, II', and II' Turbo is that they're both complex and basic at the same time. You have a lot of moves and various move timings to learn and there are some basic combos. But there's no parrying/just defense, no dial-a-combos or magic combos, no massive juggling chains. I like Samurai Shodown (the first) for much the same reason. I put Virtua Fighter 2 also in this category, as long as you stick to certain characters. Even though I love the way the newer fighters are animated (for the most part) and I love the character designs, I feel like there's a little too much depth.

Are there any modern fighters that stick to this basic model? Nothing crazy, just solid fighting action with interesting characters, cool moves, and decent character balance?

Play Virtua Fighter 5 Final Shodown. You do not need to worry about frame perfect combos as every move is delayable, based on when you press the button, which makes the back and forth style of gameplay really interesting and engaging, yet simplistic. Each character has a variety of moves that offer a lot of interesting strategic options and understanding how to pull those moves off are very simple, relying on a simple directional input and buttons instead of the ridiculous motions required in some fighting games.

I couldn't recommend the game enough. People talk about Virtua Fighter being the most difficult game to learn, but it is exactly the opposite. It is the most simplistic, but offers ways to play that can't be completely predictable like in Street Fighter. Its challenge is more playing the mind game with your opponent and opening them up for attacks and trying to make the most of it. If you have a PS3, I will be more than happy to play with you on it!