Best Fighting Game Series

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I think it's safe to say we've all played a fighting game at one point or another in our lives. Some play them non-stop, picking up every entry in every fighting series ever made, while others play them casually at a friends house. Some games are ridiculously challenging, and require hours of practice just to memorize a Fatality, while others are tailor-made to pick up and play. I personally love games that make it easy to play with your friends, but also reward those that spend the hours grinding in order to hone a character. I know many people who prefer to only play Mortal Kombat because of the difficulty, and there's nothing wrong with that.

So, here's the question: what is the Best Fighting Game Series of all time. I'm going to list a few, and include a poll for the options I do give, but I'm sure I will miss something. To be clear, I will only include games in a "series" if there is more than one (seems fair right?). In this case, MvC would count, but a spin-off like MK vs DC would not (and I think we can all be thankful for that...).

TEKKEN
Release: 1994
Highlights: Tekken 2, Tekken Tag Tournament
Tekken is one of those series that has stayed true to its original form. They may have included a side-scrolling fighter as an add-on, or some other form of mini-game, but the core fighting mechanics have remained pure. It's not an overly complex game, and I've ashamed to say I have been beaten on one occasion by my youngest brother, who was purely button-mashing and spamming one of his attacks. That being said, it's great if you just want to pick up and play, and the cast of unlockable characters is usually pretty solid.

Dead or Alive
Release: 1996
Highlights: Dead or Alive 2, Dead or Alive 4
One of the more popular series, largely because of the amount of bouncing boobies, I'd wager. I can't say much more than that, because I've rarely played them.

Super Smash Bros.
Release: 1999
Highlights: Super Smash Bros. Melee
I questioned putting this one in for a second, because it's not what comes to mind for most people when you think "traditional fighting game". But after thinking about it, it's a popular game involving Nintendo characters (and special guests) beating each other up, where the goal is to be the last man (or Pokeman) standing. It's definitely a fighter. I know each game means a lot to different people, but I definitely enjoyed Melee the most. I thought it had the most balanced system, balanced characters, and most enjoyable controls. Definitely a game that anybody can get into, but good luck defeating anybody that's been playing since the original.

Marvel vs. Capcom
Release: 1996 (?)
Highlights: X-Men vs. Street fighter, MvC2
The "?" is because the actual series dates back to X-Men vs. Street Fighter, but most only recognize the last three games actually CALLED Marvel vs. Capcom. I had to throw the originals in there, because I used to play them at Pizza Hut when I was younger and we'd all go out to eat. XM vs SF was AWESOME in the arcade, but terrible when it got porter to the Playstation. And of course...if you haven't played MvC2 on a Dreamcast, you simply haven't lived. I'd wager it's one of the most played games in the history of the industry.

Soul Caliber
Release: 1996
Highlights: Soul Caliber II
I never really enjoyed the controls of the SC series, but I do remember having a serious issue deciding whether to buy the PS2 or Gamecube version. As a long time Tekken fan, but also a long time Zelda fan, it was not an easy decision. In the end, I got the PS2 version, and made my brother by the GC version!

Mortal Kombat
Release: 1992
Highlights: Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Mortal Kombat (2011)
Perhaps the most well-know fighting game series of all time - likely the most challenging as well. Known for its graphic, bloody presentation and extremely difficult move sets, this was NOT a game for the casual fighting fan. As such...I almost never played it. It wasn't until the 2011 re-make that I found myself thoroughly enjoying Mortal Kombat. After honing my skills in that, I went back and played the original...got my ass handed to me by a computer.

Street Fighter
Release: 1987
I cannot wait for the new Tekken/Street Fighter cross-overs. The fact that Namco and Capcom are working together to produce two different games based on the style of both worlds is awesome, and I'm sure they'll be a slew of playable, unlockable, and even guest characters. I've always loved the artistic style of the SF series, and I remember playing the original game, where you could only play as Ryu, in arcades in the very early 90s. It is also the series that has found its way into pop culture the most, spawning shows, manga, anime, card games, and a really...really terrible movie.

Other choices:
King of Fighters
Gulity Gear
Virtua Fighter
Samurai Shodown

 

[FlexAmerican Dynamite]

Marvel vs Capcom because it's the mix of Street Fighter, classice Capcom games and Marvel Super Heroes.

 

[Cracka Jack]

I've always been a big fan of Mortal Kombat, I can't deny how fun the Smash Bros. series is, I respect the technical aspects of Street Fighter and Soul Caliber, and I was partially raised on Virtua Fighter, but above all else, Tekken has always been my favorite fighting game franchise. Being a great Tekken player comes down to knowing your character and predicting your opponent's movements, guessing when they'll go in for a strike and prepping the perfect counter. It's a game of rock-paper-scissors played over and over again, but with way more options. Chaining combos and mastering cancels are part of the fun, giving you more tools with which to fool your opponent. It takes some dedication to truly get the game, but doing so is a joy in itself.

 

[ABMorales787]

Marvel VS Capcom on the sheer number of fans it can gather. It also blends many of Capcom's best fighting game gimmicks. It's also the home of the Aerial Rave and the debut of Tag Team fighting. Without it Tekken Tag Team Tournament and it's upcoming sequel would have even been conceived or other tag team gimmicks that followed.

Character-wise it is nothing but dream matches. Ryu vs Wolverine, Deadpool vs Dante, Megaman vs Ironman, the roster is infinite as dips into TWO full-blown franchises. The Marvel Universe is littered with all sorts of characters worth exploring as showcased by UMVC3 and the Capcom universe is of course constantly expanding.

I'll assume this also includes the SNK, Namco and Tatsunoko franchises are part of the deal as the Capcom VS includes them too, right? That expands even more. Adopting more gimmicks from SNK Playmore and who knows? Maybe after Tekken X Street Fighter, Soul Calibur and Darkstalkers are added to the mix along with SC's weapon's system. Just to show how damn good this crossover idea really is.

 

[TheSDQQKidJoe]

Tekken was a family thing so i'll go with that here. But, SSF4 has beaten the last couple games that are in the fighting series. Hopefully, the crossovers between Tekken and Streetfighter change that.

 

[Davi323]

Went with the Street Fighter series. There is the huge nostalgia factor, considering how many hours my brothers and I spent kicking each other's asses on the SNES playing Street Fighter II and sequels, and the obvious: without Street Fighter, none of the rest of those games would exist.

but there is also the pop culture value...

Deadpool once gave a shoryuken to Kitty Pryde just to piss off Wolverine. If Deadpool imitates it, it gets bonus points automatically.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

It's like McDonalds french fries tying with an extra value meal.

Thank you for that little gem of insight...

I have to go with Super Smash on this one guys. I know it's not a "hardcore fighter" or anything, but I freaking love that series. My family played a lot of Tekken, and I do really love some of the playable characters, but it's just not the same as being able to destroy my friends using the best Nintendo characters from the history of video games.

Call me a nerd, but the idea of going to war with Toon Link against Samus, Donkey Kong, and Lucario is just AWESOME. What other game (other than Mugen, Mr. Fucking Thunder) gives you that kind of experience? I suppose the MvC series is comparable in that aspect, but all my friends who are ridiculously good at that game have gotten there because they know how to spam the same controls for every single character. There is a bit of differentiation, but over all it's mainly an aesthetic change. That's my interpretation of those games anyway, and I am open to being proven wrong... I'll admit it, I suck at MvC!

Every character (ok...almost every character) in Smash feels unique. You want to spam projectiles? Everyone's favorite fem fatal bounty hunter is more than willing to help you with that... You want to go all-out attack? The Fire Emblem cast has your back! You want a mix between projectiles and hack-and-slash? I believe there is a green Hyrulian that can help you with that problem. My biggest issue with most fighting games is that either the characters don't feel unique, or the controls are so frustrating the unique characters are just a pain to play with. Turn on the Wii, throw in Brawl, and if you really have an issue with certain OP characters, be a wizard and play with Balanced Brawl.

 

[Darkshot77]

I miss the Video game Section.

I LOVE fighters, everything about them. But the one that is best for me. Marvel vs capcom.

I loved this series from the first Marvel vs. Capcom. I love how it is fact paced. assists, air combos, and high combo-ing super combos are the main features I like. Marvel Vs Capcom is all about combos, they are easy to perform, and skilled plays make them ridiculous. In other games it is simply linking one move after another, in MVC things just flow. Four quick attacks, launcher, end with a hyper and boom there is 1/3 of a health bar gone. The game is quick and fun to play and that is why it is my favorite.

 

[Mr. HD]

If not for the 3 on 3 Craziness and sheer epicness that is Marvel vs Capcom, I would've taken Tekken in a landslide.

I didn't grow up with Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter like most people. I grew up with Tekken. The first Tekken was underrated, but Tekken 2 was a masterpiece. Every character had a backstory and the movesets defined who they were. Nina was the cold blooded killer, Law was the Martial Arts Master, King was the Monster with a Good Heart, Paul was the Brawler, so on and so forth. The moves that could be pulled off were pretty sweet. Then, they went on with Tekken 3 with new character, Tekken Tag Tournament and IMO, the best Tekken Game since 2 in Tekken 6. Tekken had everything you wanted in a fighting game. Badass characters and even more Badass moves.

But here's what did it for me with Marvel vs Capcom. I didn't play the first one, but I've seen videos of it. I played Marvel vs Capcom 2 on the Dreamcast and what did for me in a heartbeat is the 3 on 3. What I love in fighting games is chaos, mayhem, and havoc. And with a 3 on 3 Battle System, that was guaranteed. You would have assists, air combos, and now in MVC3, Team Air Combos, and of course the 3 Team Hyper Combo.

MVC2 had a STACKED Roster. The combos that could be pulled off with these people are insane and they upgraded in MVC3. I mean sheesh! Talk about Craziness in one fight. It makes fighting games fun again and that's what it should be about. Me and Friends could play for hours and not get bored cause it was fun. Not only all that, but it was characters everybody knew and they would love making up their own Dream Teams.

I remember in MVC2, my team always ranged from Cable, Gambit, and Iron Man to Captain Commando, Venom, and Ken mostly.

MVC3, my Dominant Team has always been Dante, Wesker, and Taskmaster.

The sheer fun, the combos, the Hyper Combos, the assists and everything above and beyond puts MVC as the best fighting game IMO.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Honestly, I gotta go with Smash Bros here. While there is a great deal of nostalgia attatched to both the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat series for me.... Smash Bros blows them both out of the water. Players get a chance to answer the endless questions of which classic characters could defeat each other in battle. Then there's the quality of the series. Smash Bros improved with each release while both Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter have numerous titles in their franchises that sucked. The mayhem of multiplayer mode in Smash Bros also trumps the VS modes in just about any other fighting series. Smash Bros wins due to having superior quality throughout its series, and more enjoyable gameplay as well. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat round out the top tier, and Soul Caliber is a distant 4th. The other series are too far behind these 4 to matter in my rankings.