The Greatest Fighting Game – Part 1


With the hysteria of Evo 2013 fading away, it’s time we got down to some serious business. Fighting games are a genre like no other. The pure passion they can ignite within huge crowds of fans is the nearest thing we have to the gladiatorial battles of ancient Rome. It needs to be felt before it can be understood. You’ll hear the word hype being thrown about by those in the know but we think it’s time you understood what that really means, and we’ll start by giving you the lowdown on which games you should be playing, or at least watching. We’ve stalked and cornered those in the know and forced them to answer the most important question of all.

Keep an eye on this series of features, Part 2 will follow shortly and we’ll finish up with a competition that you simply won’t believe. A prize pack so perfect that I am not yet able to put it into words. You have been warned.


Ryan King Editor, Now Gamer
What is the greatest fighting game of all time?

Capcom vs SNK 2 – It’s the hipster choice of fighting game.

I like playing underused characters in fighting games who are gimmicky and weird. While everyone else flocks to the top tiers and batters their opponents with Genei-Jin or Hidden Missiles, I’d rather explore the rejected characters and find my fleeting gaming fame that way instead. It’s because I’m an asshole and a hipster. You should see my iPod. I’m an awful human being.

Capcom vs SNK 2 was a game made for hipster assholes like me. Outside of the expected Street Fighter and King Of Fighters characters were lots of unusual choices who fit surprisingly well into the game engine – Hibiki, Morrigan, Nakoruru, Kyosuke (sort of), Eagle, Maki and so on. But it wasn’t just that CvS2 had eight million characters that it stood out. It was also the Groove system, which let you change the way the characters are supposed to play and discover new tricks. Pop demons with N-Akuma. Paint the fence with A-Bison. Shoshosho with A-Sakura. Roll cancel electricity with C-Blanka. Short hop super with K-Rolento. You could play a rushdown Dhalsim or a combo-heavy Zangief without feeling like you’ve delved into illegal mugen territory. The huge amount of play styles Capcom vs SNK 2 allowed was refreshing and hasn’t been matched by any other game.

[youtube width=”300″ height=”181″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuFFELA3yXM[/youtube] [youtube width=”300″ height=”181″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci59o6sxLhw[/youtube]

I loved the pace of it as well – it was fast but it was still a fight for spacing thanks to the high damage of the pokes, the brittle guard crush meter, and strong anti-airs for most characters. Roll-cancelling was also the most fun glitch, making any special moves momentarily invincible so you could do ridiculous stuff like sail through fireballs with Yuri’s slaps or invincible command grabs. It was just the ridiculous variety of stuff you could do that made CvS2 fun. I played that game for over seven years, ran tournaments for it in the UK, travelled abroad for tournaments to compete, and I still feel like I’ve still got so much more to see in that game.

I don’t think enough people played CvS2 but the hipster asshole in me probably wouldn’t have liked that anyway. Basically, Capcom vs SNK 2 is the best fighting game ever made. If you don’t like it then you are probably evil and I will find you and I will fight you.

Fighting Game Snog/Marry/Avoid
Snog: Hugo – Marry: Hugo – Avoid: Hugo


Aoife Wilson Staff Writer, Official Xbox Magazine
What is the greatest fighting game of all time?

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 – Anyone can play, but TTT2 takes time to master.
Whilst it’s true that fighting games would not be experiencing the console boom they are right now without the fantastic Street Fighter IV (in all its various forms) and its solid mechanics and design, there’s a part of me that will always keep coming back to the gloriously flamboyant Tekken. It’s one of the more technical fighters out there, and certainly one of the best looking – a series-spanning trend that began with the impeccable Tekken 3, which helped cement the original PlayStation’s reputation as the home of state-of-the-art graphics.

There have been a few weaker entries to the franchise in recent years, but Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is, in my opinion at least, the culmination of decades of constantly improving and refining a winning formula. In some ways TTT2 is pure fan service; a non-canonical brawler that brings the entire roster together for the first time (something fans had been asking for for years). But it’s also a great title for Tekken newcomers to jump into, thanks to the ludicrously intricate Fight Lab tutorial feature. TTT2’S vast array of options means there are so ways to fight; there’s a nice balance to combos, and the tag-team battles add an extra strategic layer to combat.

[youtube width=”300″ height=”181″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZhpvvF0xxQ[/youtube] [youtube width=”300″ height=”181″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o_kIMzyhUc[/youtube]

But putting the mechanics of the game to one side, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is, quite simply, a whole lot of fun. There’s a character in there for everyone, from an elderly butler to a velociraptor with boxing gloves, the soundtrack is wonderfully eclectic, and almost anyone can pick up and play – though it takes a bit more practice to win King of Iron Fist.

Fighting Game Snog/Marry/Avoid
Snog: Voldo – Marry: Ling Xiaoyu – Avoid: Quan Chi


Our thanks to Ryan and Aoife. Remember to check back for part two and our too perfect for words competition.


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