After staying away from the game for too long, I’m back in a groove of playing Super Street Fighter IV about every other night. I truly love the game. It’s super easy and quick to play online, and it takes me back to my younger years of playing Street Fighter 2 on the SNES. If younger me could see me playing now, with the fight stick and the big TV, I would have kicked future me in the shins and stole the key’s to the DeLorean. You have a Delorean, Steve? What Delorean? Who’s asking? Who are you and why are you involved in my personal affairs?!

I can remember playing Street Fighter 2 for hours. Sometimes by myself, just honing my skills over and over with the miserable AI, and sometimes playing against a friend from across the street. She was a worthy opponent but eventually got bored with the game, plus she simply didn’t like video games as much as I did. She mostly played because she knew I enjoyed it and sometimes it was just too damn hot to play outside.

Street Fighter 2 was my and many others’ introduction to the fighting game genre. I’ve went on since then to play a slew of other fighters; some great, some horrible, and some that you may have never heard of. Here is a list of the fighting games I’ve played in my years:

Now, seeing as this list is from memory, I’m sure I missed a few. If you can think of any that I HAD to have played, or even some that I didn’t, I’d love for you to drop them in the comments. If I played it, I’ll talk about it, if not, I’ll add it with a note that it’s one that I’ve overlooked. I just may be interested enough to go hunt down a copy.

Hope you enjoy!

Guilty Gear – This was an amazing game, not only for the stunning visuals, but also for the fast paced combat (and for the fact that it was the best 2D fighter ever made for the first Playstation). Guilty Gear is special to me because it came out at a time when 3D fighters were becoming the norm, yet I still saw value in 2D. I admired the creative process in drawing and animating all the sprites, and I felt that there was a technical aspect in 2D fighters that their 3D counterparts couldn’t touch. I often used Guilty Gear as an example to help prove my points. Yeah, nobody listened. The team that created the game has since moved on to create BlazBlue Calamity Trigger, and its sequel BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (a game I really need to pick up).

Virtua Fighter – This sort of goes along with what I mentioned about Guilty Gear, but I was never a huge fan of the Virtua Fighter games. When the first Virtua Fighter hit the arcades, I thought it was interesting to see a 3D fighter, but preferred to spend my quarters on matches of Mortal Kombat II. The game just never felt right to me. I don’t mind juggle combos at all, but it always felt like you were fighting on the moon.

Dead or Alive – Dead or Alive was a series that I could stomach much more easily than Virtua Fighter. The combat was much more fluid and pointed 3D fighters in a direction that made more sense. Eventually though, the game became known more for its large breasted women and the jiggle-physics, thus slowly killing any ability I had to take the game seriously as a fighter.

Tekken – The Tekken series was way up on my list for a while. Finally, a 3D game in which sidestepping seemed to matter, and while there was juggle combos, they weren’t bonkers. In my opinion, Tekken has given us some of the best 3D fighters ever, but there hasn’t been a really good one since Tekken Tag Tournament (a game that I’ve spent more quarters playing than I care to admit). Something happened. Either my desire to play 3D fighters disappeared, or they just kept recycling the same game too much, but the “neat!” factor eventually wore off. I hope that the love that Namco is getting from Capcom in the upcoming Capcom X Namco and Namco X Capcom games will revitalize the series in some way, it needs it.

Mortal Kombat – Everyones favorite bloodfest, Mortal Kombat was a game I grew up with in a way. I can remember always trying to find an MK machine wherever I was. I’ve played it in normal arcades, I’ve played it in arcades at county fairs, and I’ve even played it in a hotel. Looking back though, the one from the series that really sticks out in my mind is Mortal Kombat 2. It seemed so refined in comparison to its predecessor, and added my absolute favorite character, Kung Lao. Something about a coolie hat with a blade on it was just magical to me. Like Tekken, the series really took a nose dive after the first three iterations, and again like Tekken, will be seeing a rebirth soon. Let’s home that this reboot plays as good as it looks.

Tobal no. 1 – Ever heard of it? Better yet, have you ever played it? If so, then I tip my hat to you. Tobal was a pretty bizarre 3D fighter on the Playstation 1. I’d argue that it’s one of the best looking games that ever graced that platform. All of the characters were designed by Akira Toriyama, maker of Dragon Ball (side note, no, I didn’t like Dragon Ball). The visuals were comprised of very smooth textures and it had a solid framerate. But the game used one of the most confusing control schemes I’ve ever laid my hands on. It used a grapple system and took advantage of the analog sticks, but I could never figure out how to consistently pull off any moves. Interestingly trivia; it was actually published by Squaresoft, and was the first Square game on the Playstation.

Soul Calibur – This was probably the game that I mark on my personal timeline as the one that convinced me to just stay home, and forget going to the arcade. The home version on the Dreamcast (which I still own) looked just as splendid as its quarter munching counterpart, and it had an amazing quest system side game to boot. I probably dumped a hundred ours into the game, something that I didn’t do with any game again until I began playing MMO’s.

Super Smash Bro’s – I know this might tick off some people, but I have never understood why people like the Super Smash Brothers games. The only redeeming quality they have is the cast of characters. I truly love that they have brought some of the most iconic faces in gaming under one roof to duke it out, but I’ve never been able to grasp how this is a good fighting game for some people. Is it a good party game? Sure, but nothing I can take seriously and try to get good at playing.

Bloody Roar – This was a great game; in fact I’d love to see a modernized version of it (UPDATE: I had no idea until I was working on this article, that they made a third and fourth game, both on the PS2, I may have to check them out). It was like the Altered Beast of fighting games. Your human character could, at the press of a button, morph into an animal form for a limited time to unleash (harhar) some extremely powerful combos, some of which could end up reaching 50+ in numbers of hits. The high hit count per round often reminded me of Killer Instinct, but the game was far more fun.

King of Fighters – A series that needs about as much introduction as Street Fighter. While it may not have the credentials that its Capcom cousin has in the states, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve it. The both have a very fundamental style of play, but I think KoF has always been a bit more technical. The main difference between the two games that I love KoF for is the how the game is played out. Instead of having a best of 3 rounds, each player chooses three fighters from the massive list of SNK characters. Whoever loses all three first is the loser. This creates some interesting tactics with how you play. Do you choose your best fighter to be up first, hoping to take down your enemy without needing to break out the reserves, or do you save him or her for last? The only problem I’ve ever seen with the series is that it can sometimes feel a little unbalanced in comparison to Street Fighter, but with so many characters in one game, it’s hard to not have a few outshine the rest.

Fatal Fury – While I’ve always preferred the style of play offered with The King of Fighters, I have to show a bunch of love to Fatal Fury for bringing me Kim Kaphwan. He is by far one of my most loved characters in all of fighting games. The game itself is more of a traditional fighter than KoF, along the lines of Street Fighter (which is who I’ve always assumed was their main competition), but the characters never seemed as crazy. Something I think can be attributed to why people in the states favor Street Fighter.

Darkstalkers – I was introduced to the Darkstalkers franchise via Night Warriors on the Sega Saturn. I was in my “2D fighters are the true way” phase during that era, which made me a staunch supporter of the Saturn. Night Warriors was a Capcom fighting game, and that’s all I needed to know before deciding to pick it up. I really ended up loving the game, and I’ve been awaiting another sequel for quite some time now. Hopefully if all the rumors are true, we may see one in a few years.

Samurai Showdown – There used to be a video rental place around here that we used to use. Just a couple doors down from that place, was a Laundromat. The only redeeming quality of the Laundromat? It had an SNK machine in it with Samurai Showdown. Any time we went to get rentals, I’d bum some quarters and make my way down for a quick game. While it’s not on the top of my list for 2D fighters, it definitely is a noteworthy game.

Killer Instinct – This is one of those games that you love, but if you ever go back and play again years later, you wonder just what the hell you were thinking. I really was addicted to this game in the arcade (back when we still had an arcade around here). The crazy-ass characters and amazingly high combo numbers equaled success in my young eyes. I saw the game a few years ago and just shook my head at how awful it was.

Primal Rage – Really not much to say here other than; this game was, and still is, horrible. The idea of fighting dinosaurs was pretty bonkers, but seeing it in action was offsetting and just plain dumb. Please future, take heed of this game, and never attempt to recreate.

Power Stone – A Dreamcast classic to say the least, Power Stone melded the concepts of a traditional fighting game, and a brawler like Final Fight. It put two or more (up to 4 in the sequel) combatants into an area with obstacles, improvised weaponry, and magical stones. It was a pretty chaotic game to say the least, but always a blast. They re-released both of the games on the PSP, but I’d really love to see Capcom revisit the series and add online play.

X-Men: Children of the Atom – This came out at a time when I was SUPER into comics, and really digging the X-Men. So it is of course and instant classic to me. I mean, seriously, I can use the X-Men and various villains…in a FIGHTING GAME?!? What could be better than THAT? Oh….maybe the next game on the list…

X-Men vs Street Fighter – And just like that, the first X-Men fighting game becomes nearly erased from memory – completely crushed under the weight of the Capcom crew and their awesomeness. Really, the only thing I could even compare this to on a scale of banana-ness is if they expanded it to include-HOLY SHIT!

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter – Okay, that is just nuts, but what if it was…OH SNAP!

Marvel vs Capcom – And thus the cycle is complete. Year after year we saw a new “vs” game hit the arcade, and year after year during high school, I would drive over to the local arcade and dump quarters into these machines. Just the idea of these two worlds colliding still brings a smile to my face.

Capcom v SNK – Here’s one that, at least around here, got largely ignored. The two biggest names in the fighting game biz finally brought their respective libraries of characters to the table, and let them go at it. I will say, in the entirety of Marvel induced fighting games, I didn’t have a lot of trouble picking out who I wanted to use, but I did have a heck of a time picking a good team with Capcom/SNK. There were just so many unique figures to choose from.

Ready 2 Rumble – I’ve probably put more hours into Ready 2 Rumble, without actually owning it, than any game I can remember. It was available to me in a demo display when I worked at Electronics Boutique. I think nearly every night I worked, a couple of us would stay around and play for a round or twenty. At the time, it was simple, fun, and hilarious. I’ve never enjoyed a boxing game more, and I’m not sure I ever will.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – Here’s another one to file under “ever heard of it?” JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was based on a Manga series in Japan. Capcom Fighting game? Check. Crazy cast of characters? Check with a capital “C”. Could it hold a candle to the great ones like Street Fighter or King of Fighters? Not so much. But I do still have a lot of love for the game. What it lacked in playability, it easily made up for in killer steamrollers.

Star Gladiator – Don’t ask me why, but I had a freakish love for this game. Like, slept with it under my pillow kind of a relationship. Well, maybe not to that extent, but I really did dig the hell out of Star Gladiator. You can’t tell from the video below, but at the time it looked damn good, and I really enjoyed that it didn’t play like a traditional 2D or 3D fighter. Due to the weapons playing such a huge part of the game, it honestly felt more like a fencing match where you had to apply tactics in your distance from your opponent as much as you had to worry about what move to make.