The Best PURE 2d fighter?

[michiyoyoshiku]

I had this debate with a few people Some Love alpha 3 the most and consider it the best of 2d Fighting, I defy anyone to find a more polished fighter than 3rd strike.

I also love guilty gear and find it one of the most acessable easy to pick up and play yet deep 2d fighters out there.

I don't Think SNK has ever come Close to 3rd Strike But I think the closest they came was Garou.

So your thoughts?

Alpha 3?
3rd Strike?
Guilty Gear?
Garou?
Other? (and explain)

[Weasel]

Of the games mentioned, I've only played the PC version of Guilty Gear X (briefly), Alpha 3, and Garou. Garou is my personal favorite of all of them. It's an easy battle system to get into, the special moves are simple to pull off (none of this HCF+P, HCB+P, F+P stuff), and the game has an emphasis on timing instead of figuring out which character's moves have priority over the others. Also, Rock Howard's Raising Storm is about the most beautiful super move I've ever had the joy of using.

[YourAverageJoe]

Personally I don't want to bother with the Street Fighter series since it's so hard to get into. Garou may be deep and easy to get into, but there's something about Guilty Gear that just feels so RIGHT.

[dartagnan1803]

my faves;

3. Guilty Gear XX#reload
2. 3rd Strike
1. Samurai Showdown II

[YourAverageJoe]

Last Blade feels so fluid, but I've yet to take it seriously enough to play it on a technical level.

[michiyoyoshiku]

dartagnan1803 said:

my faves;

3. Guilty Gear XX#reload
2. 3rd Strike
1. Samurai Showdown II

Why Shodown 2?

If we're going to count old School neo geo than hands down Fatal Fury Special. Probably SNK's best

[MRSKELETON]

The last blade

[ninjarygar]

michiyoyoshiku said:

dartagnan1803 said:

my faves;

3. Guilty Gear XX#reload
2. 3rd Strike
1. Samurai Showdown II

Why Shodown 2?

If we're going to count old School neo geo than hands down Fatal Fury Special. Probably SNK's best

No way man. Samurai Shodown II was way ahead of it's time.

Guilty Gear wins I think. SFIII still has the best animation of any 2d fighter to date though, but Guilty Gear's Graphics, and Gameplay are Good as Gold. I prefer it over SFIII, but I play them both. I love the variety in the characters in both design and gameplay. It's also very balanced.

[munchy]

I keep trying Guilty Gear thinking I'll really get into it, but I never do. I love the unique character designs, but playing as just about any character feels so... unwieldy. At least King of Fighters has some guys that feel familiar; this game just has me hitting random buttons and trying desperately to do something skillful. I guess I'll just have to get used to it.

Street Fighter 3 is kinda cool. After a few rounds of playing with Hugo, I felt right at home. Even so, it still feels much like a cooler looking version of Street Fighter 2 with parrying. Not that that's a completely bad thing.

I enjoyed Alpha 3 when I had it on the GBA, but actually trying to enjoy it as an arcade game is nearly impossible. Not because I use the easy mode, but because the arcade difficulty tends to fuck me up pretty hard. It doesn't pique my interest much anymore.

Then there's Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. At one time I was above average with Zangief and felt pretty badass. Then I went to the arcade and promptly got my ass handed to me by combinations of Magneto, Sentinel, Psylocke and Storm. If I find an opponent that doesn't gay me with infinicombos to boost his ego (i.e. .00002% of all MvC2 players, I'm convinced), I genuinely enjoy myself whether I win or lose. I know the game's not purely 2D, but I like it.

I'm pretty damn good with Zangief in Street Fighter 2, but you can only take so many dances with Gorbachev before getting bored with it.

[ahnslaught]

I'm partial to 3rd Strike and Last Blade myself. SF3 and Last Blade, while not high-res, has great animation, likeable characters (SF3 not so much), and is just fun for anyone to get into and enjoy, even if you're not going to become a master at the game.

ASW games are visually appealing to me and I still find them fun to play, but it just feels...cluttered. It has too many gauges to keep track of, as well as too much flying around the screen, and is therefore harder to get into than most other 2d fighters.

[michiyoyoshiku]

ninjarygar said:

michiyoyoshiku said:

Why Shodown 2?

If we're going to count old School neo geo than hands down Fatal Fury Special. Probably SNK's best

No way man. Samurai Shodown II was way ahead of it's time.

Guilty Gear wins I think. SFIII still has the best animation of any 2d fighter to date though, but Guilty Gear's Graphics, and Gameplay are Good as Gold. I prefer it over SFIII, but I play them both. I love the variety in the characters in both design and gameplay. It's also very balanced.

I'm not knocking Shodown 2 it did give us one of if not my favorite Character of all time Genjuro. After 2 is was all down hill III felt unfinished, IV was too fast, V was utter cheap crap and everything since has just been rehash.

[Shellshock]

Ooohhhhh fighting games!!! I was one of the best at Alpha 2 in my neighbourhood and also competed in tournaments. I would base my whole game in reflexes for alpha counters, without using supers. I love that game.

Alpha 3 I liked too, use to play with Vega and Cody.

3rd Strike plays great except for it's weird roster of characters. Too weird for me, only liked 4 of them.

Samurai 2 is great. Specially if you know all the commands and kinda-secret moves. Like "Down Down" to duck, or "HCF + A" when dissarmed to grab the opponent's weapon and then "B" to kick him and take his weapon away. Hidden desperation moves are great too.

Real Bout Special is amazing. The combo system is great and is different for each character. Some crazy stunts.Plus it has that Fatal Fury "emotion" in its presentation that I miss...and those hard to pull desperation moves!!!

Garou is excellent too. The only game I enjoyed mastering EVERY character. Crazy combos too.

[Shellshock]

By the way, whatever happened to the hard-to-pull-out desperation moves Art Of Fighting and Fatal Fury were known for??? I stopped playing KOF when they made everything HCF HCF + button. Try pulling out Andy's or Geese's in the middle of a heated fight. That's skill.

[YourAverageJoe]

I like the streamlined feeling of easy-to-pull-off moves, it places more emphasis on tactics than nimble hands.

[zzz]

SF3 3rds arguably might be the most refined fighting game, but individual preference wise? I am more of a SNK fan. My favorite dozen fighting games are:

Samurai Shodown 1-4
King of Fighters '98-2000
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special & 2
Garou MotW
Last Blade
Matrimelee

If I had to choose A favorite it would be SS2. I enjoy it's reaction based fighting system more than any Capcom game's combo based fighting system. I still like Capcom's fighting games, but they are not my favorites. Other fighting games that are among my favorites are:

Yie Ar Kung Fu arcade version & home version & YAKF2 The Emporer Ye Gah
Gundam Wing Endless Duel (This was SFA done to perfection if you ask me)
Every NGPC fighting game
Art of Fighting 1-3
Fatal Fury 1-3
Joy Mech Fight
any decent pre Street Fighter II fighting game
Dragon Ball Z Hyper Dimension
Ranma 1/2 Chogi Ranbu Hen
Ninja Masters
the best and most charming "bad" fighting games (Cho Aniki, ect)
SS 5 Special
KoF 94-97 & 2001-2003
KoF EX & EX2
GGX
more or less any Capcom fighting game is solid
is Great Swordsman a fighting game? that would be a iffy definition
Weaponlord
World Heroes Perfect
the best freeware fighting games (MindArms, Dogma, Duel Toys, ect)
SD Hiryu no Ken
Super Chinese Fighter
Ossu Karate Bu

Obviously I have a open mind towards fighting games.

And YES, fighting games should have more simplistic controls. Every fighting game should control like Smash Bros. or DOA.