TRZA
New member
Its not a vast overstatement. No fighting series is as big as Street Fighter, period. In Japan America, outer-space, no matter. And look at what happened when MKvDC was annoucned? It made noise. LOTS of noise. Why? Because its MORTAL KOMBAT. These 2 franchises are the SOLE reason why anybody plays anyothers fighters. They are the Pepsi & Coke of the genre. Others drink Mountain Dew, some Dr Pepper. But they all drink soda.
And sorry to burst your bubble, but there is no plethora of quality 2-D fighters. Most are garbage, but still fun to play. (Guilty Gear) Some are just not very good, but a blast to play (World Heroes). Some are pretty good, but arent even the best games of the series (MKII, SF2:CE). There a re good ones, but I know with todays technology, better ones could be made.
Point taken. I think GG is a great game, even though it has its share of balancing issues. But then again, we miss out on a lot of imports simply because Westerners are kind of cold on fighting games these days, which I've always lamented as a crying shame. Don't forget some of the old school series - Samurai Shodown, Rival Schools, Dark Stalkers - even if they're developed and published by the 2D giants Capcom and SNK. It just seems that 2D fighters have a more varied and rich history from which to draw. That doesn't mean that every 2D game out of Japan will be worthy of competitive play, but the odds are in their favor.
As to technology, fighting games have typically done more with less. The original VF notwithstanding, fighting games aren't usually on the technical cutting edge (however graphically flashy they may be). I would dare say that the improving technology isn't so much of a boon to fighting games as simply the West's renewed interest in them. If solid, balanced fighters with interesting gameplay concepts could take hold again, then I'd be happy to head to the arcades.