Old 2D fighters are better

[VideoGameCritic]

So I've been reviewing Samurai Shodown for the PS4 and boy am I underwhelmed. I couldn't really figure out why. The characters are nicely rendered, the fighting action is solid, and the orchestrated music sounds professional enough. There's no arcade mode, but there are a few other offline modes to pick up the slack. It just didn't seem very fun.

So I decided to go back and play the old Neo Geo game to see if I was just looking a the past through rose-colored glasses. Nope! The original Neo Geo game is SO MUCH better.

For one thing, the old pixel art graphics are far more interesting. In the wildlife scene, the animals in the original game are really getting into the fight, and some of the animations are hilarious. In the new game, the animals look real but they might as well be stuffed. They're just dull scenery.

The fighting in the old game was better too. I can't really put my finger on it but I think the old games are simpler and more exciting. The tappable buttons on the Neo Geo controller also help make the game feel more arcadish.

So if you ever feel like fighting games were better in the old days, you're not crazy. If anything I like the more realistic graphics take away a lot of the charm. Kind of like how Disney is making live action versions of their old animated films, and they suck.

Thoughts?

[Herschie]

I've been playing a lot of Dead or Alive 2 on the Dreamcast lately, and there are most definitely some good 3D fighting games out there.

[DrLitch]

Back in the early 90's the bar set by Street Fighter 2 in it's various forms was so high some developers really went all out to perfect the formula while adding their own innovations. That plus pulling off your vision with far more limited hardware it could be a case of creativity and art excelling in the face of many more constraints. Despite the excellent graphics of games like Street Fighter V, how many seriously prefer it to Street Fighter 2 Turbo/Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo? I have played the modern Samurai Showdown. It is alright, in the same sort of sense that quasi 2D Tekken 7 was alright. The original Neo Geo game was fun and quirky. I look forward to Critic's review of Samurai Showdown mainly because there is not much you can say. How can you write more than half a paragraph on something so derivative and blah?

It has been a long time since a great 2D fighter came out.

[VideoGameCritic]

I've been playing a lot of Dead or Alive 2 on the Dreamcast lately, and there are most definitely some good 3D fighting games out there.

Don't get me wrong, I love 3D fighting games, but they are a different animal. They let you use the entire 3D space with side-stepping and such. I'm talking about the traditional 2D games that play out on a single plane.

[noah98]

Mortal Kombat 9, 10, and 11 are the only 3d versions of a classic fighting franchise that I like better and feel like are still fun, although I do hate the lame x-ray moves.

King of Fighters 14 is so boring and just has no style compared with 13. Not much to get excited about. Street Fighter V also has boring graphics and terrible art style for the characters. I've been tempted to get the new Samurai Shodown, but I had a feeling I would be disappointed. Thanks for the heads up!

[Zack Burner]

I definitely agree that 2D fighters are better, they're more to the point and overly elaborate, though I've always had a soft spot for Tekken 3, I think my favorites were always Street Fighter II Turbo and Killer Instinct. There's a magic of these two that kept me coming back for more. Whether it's the style and personality of the characters the cool moves that want you to do it over and over and over again, I could go on forever. I still don't execute all moves though, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun trying!

[velcrozombie]

I know you didn't care for it, but I think Skullgirls has a lot of personality and charm while having some nice modern innovations (like adjustable teams sizes and a crazy detailed training mode that some later fighting games took inspiration from). It also has smooth, detailed animation without going for the retro pixel look. It was designed with Marvel Vs Capcom 2 and Guilty Gear in mind but doesn't straight-up copy either of them (although there are a few obvious homages).

[BlasteroidAli]

I popped in Kasumi Ninja on the Atari Jaguar. Yeah you are right. The pinnacle of fighting games on the most powerful games system in the world at the time it was released. Amazing.

[ThePixelatedGenocide]

So I've been reviewing Samurai Shodown for the PS4 and boy am I underwhelmed. I couldn't really figure out why. The characters are nicely rendered, the fighting action is solid, and the orchestrated music sounds professional enough. There's no arcade mode, but there are a few other offline modes to pick up the slack. It just didn't seem very fun.

So I decided to go back and play the old Neo Geo game to see if I was just looking a the past through rose-colored glasses. Nope! The original Neo Geo game is SO MUCH better.

For one thing, the old pixel art graphics are far more interesting. In the wildlife scene, the animals in the original game are really getting into the fight, and some of the animations are hilarious. In the new game, the animals look real but they might as well be stuffed. They're just dull scenery.

The fighting in the old game was better too. I can't really put my finger on it but I think the old games are simpler and more exciting. The tappable buttons on the Neo Geo controller also help make the game feel more arcadish.

So if you ever feel like fighting games were better in the old days, you're not crazy. If anything I like the more realistic graphics take away a lot of the charm. Kind of like how Disney is making live action versions of their old animated films, and they suck.

Thoughts?

Top tier pixel art vs. budget tier 3d.

Guilty Gear Xrd proves we're at a point where polygons can pose as sprite art and animation cels when they want to. And that game is 6 years old, and was a first attempt in that style. (the models were frequently deformed in order to imitate the subjective nature of an artist's eye.)

Another 2d fighting game with great looking polygons was Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

There's no reason for the creative stagnation we're seeing now, except that it reflects the state of SNK.

[MSR1701]

Be careful saying Old 2D Fighters are Better... There are scores of bad 2D fighters for every bad new 2D Fighter.

NeoGeo fighters are usually good, though there are the odd duds here and there (and most of the NGPC fighters are really good, minus Fatal Fury NGPC), though when you get to the early 90s and the SFII Clones, yeesh... That and almost any fighting game on the 8-bit consoles (Game Boy did have a couple of note, namely Mortal Kombat II and Killer Instinct).