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In a 'fighting game', players face off against each other or against computer-controlled characters in close combat. The main distinction between this genre and the beat 'em up genre is that players are of roughly equal power to their opponents, and fights are self-contained matches involving a small number of characters (usually between two and four). While not defining traits of the genre, the vast majority of fighting games involve life bars, fights that last an odd number of rounds, and are viewed in profile.
History
The first recognized fighting game was the 1979 arcade game, ''Warrior''. This game used simple monochrome vector graphics projected over the top of printed backgrounds. It was over a decade later that fighting games would establish themselves as a major genre and player versus player combat would become popular.[1]
Screenshot of ''Way of the Exploding Fist'' (1985)
''Way of the Exploding Fist'', published in 1985, is an example of an early fighting game. [2] In ''Fist'', the player progresses through a series of one-on-one karate tournament fights. Although the health bars found in modern fighting games were not present (rounds ending when any strike connects with the opponent), it is regarded as one of the games that established this genre. [3]
Modern fighting games can either be two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D). Characters in 2D fighting games (''Street Fighter'', ''The King of Fighters'', early ''Mortal Kombat'') are hand-drawn/digitized and animated sprites, and can move left and right and duck and jump, but in many games they can't sidestep or move closer to the screen. Games where the player can slightly take advantage of depth of the fighting arena include many of those in the ''Fatal Fury'' series. The player's viewpoint scrolls in various directions but stays at a fixed angle. The 2D fighter's characteristic gameplay mechanics are exaggerated jumps, projectile attacks, and an "air/ground/low" attack/block system. Since there is a lack of depth, two-dimensional titles usually involve extensive moves that take advantage of the height of the screen, as jump attacks are essential moves. Two dimensional games stem from long-established fighting systems that have been greatly refined over the years, resulting in most modern 2D fighters having more possible standard techniques than 3D fighters.
Two-dimensional fighters also have a greater number of ''crossovers'': games where several characters from various other games are merged into one title. These games typically have a very large amount of playable characters, sometimes numbering over 64. Mashup fighters tend to be tag matches; the player chooses several characters, can switch between them during rounds, and utilize team-up attacks. Additionally, these games tend to have several different fighting systems to choose from, incorporating the fighting system from each originating game. Crossovers include Capcom's "''Vs''" series, SNK's ''King of Fighters'' series, and Sega's ''Fighters Megamix''.
In 3D titles (''Virtua Fighter'', ''Soul Calibur'', ''Tekken'', ''Dead or Alive'', later ''Mortal Kombat'' games), the characters and stages are 3D polygon-based models. The camera's viewpoint is not fixed and can rotate and move in any direction, and the characters can sidestep as well as duck and jump. In contrast with the gameplay of 2D titles, jumping and projectile attacks are typically minor elements. Often blocking and attacking are more complex, featuring high, mid, and low attacks and blocks. Thus, the gameplay in 3D fighters is generally two-dimensional as well, although in the XY dimensions instead of XZ; however, there are exceptions such as ''Power Stone'' and ''Tobal No. 1''. 3D fighting games usually have slower attack speeds than their 2D counterparts, because instead of a punch being represented by a two-frame animation, a 3D game usually has a longer sequence (often created using motion capture) which is allowed to play fully, causing the overall attack to be slower but more realistic.
Three-dimensional games usually have much larger fighting arenas, which can have multiple sub-sections/paths (most notably in the ''Dead or Alive series''). There is a tendency for a number of environmental hazards that can be utilized against the opponent, such as knocking a player off a cliff or into an electric fence. Many three-dimensional fighters have two win conditions; standard health depletion or ring-out. A ring-out is accomplished by forcing the player out of the fighting arena either with an attack or just pressure. In some games, such as the Super Smash Brothers series, Ring Out is the primary (sometimes only) method of victory. Some 3D fighting games have gameplay that closely mimics 2D fighters, incorporating three-dimensional depth as a method of escaping attacks rather than an essential part of the fighting system. Notable examples of this include Capcom's ''Rival Schools'' and ''Street Fighter EX'' series, SNK's , and Midway's ''Biofreaks''.
Control styles
Fighting games are controlled in three different ways:
Arcade-style controller
The arcade style interface for fighting games is the most reconizable and most used control scheme for fighting game pursuists. In the past, fighting games have roots in the arcades. For most traditional fighting games in arcades, most are played with 4-6 buttons(used for punch and kick attacks) along with a joystick(which controls your fighter). At times, novices in fighting games would have to mash buttons aggressively to acquire a victory in rounds. Experienced fighting game players, however, are much more skilled in tapping and mashing buttons peforming combos and using both special moves and super moves strategically, for well played matches, thanks to practice. Today, third-party accessory manufactuers, such as Hori, are developing arcade sticks for seventh generation home consoles such as the PS3 and Xbox360. As well as for Nintendo's new-gen console, the Wii.
Game pad
When ''Street Fighter II'' appeared on the SNES in 1992, the game became a big seller for console gaming. The SNES controller became the Gamepad controller that made fighting games on consoles more popular thanks to the D-pad, and spawned many other controllers like it such as the Sega Genesis controller and the Playstation controller. Unlike the arcade joystick on arcade sticks, the D-pad on many traditional game console controllers made it much easier to control your fighter and peform attacks in 2D and 3D fighters. Later on, other consoles such as the Playstation 2 and Sega's Dreamcast were also popular for fighting games. Although some Dreamcast and Playstation owners complain that the D-pads on the Dreamcast and Playstation controllers were uncomfortable for fighting games.
Motion sensing controller
Nintendo's seventh-generation console, the Wii, brings the innovation of motion sensing controls, also known as the "Waggle style", to the fighting game genre. Games like '', ''(released exclusively in Japan), as well as the Wii versions of ''Guilty Gear XX Accent Core'', ''Legend of the Dragon'', '' along with '', and ''Mortal Kombat Armageddon'' demonstrate examples of this new style of control using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. These games also include the Classic Controller/Nintendo GameCube controller as added options for gamers who wish to play Wii fighting games with traditional controls. Even though the motion sensing control style may open new gameplay possibilities for the genre, it appears to be used more as a tool to attract casual gamers than anything else. It has been noted that the motion sensing control style in Wii fighting games, like the Wii version of ''Guilty Gear XX Accent Core'', is well suited for casual gamers who are not used to using the arcade stick or game pad.[4]
Gameplay
There are several concepts common to many fighting games. A common game mechanic is health, usually in the form of a rectangular life bar. In 2D fighting games(mostly Capcom fighting games), common attack elements like combos are used in which several attacks are chained together using basic 'punch' and 'kick' attacks emphasizing Low/Medium/High, special attacks and super attacks. Blocking is another basic technique in which you defend yourself from attacks whether in the air(mostly in Capcom fighting games) or the ground. Games like Capcom's Street Fighter III provide an advanced blocking technique in the genre called "Parrying" while SNK's involve 'Just Defending': SNK's answer to Capcom's parrying system in SFIII. Throwing is a close-up attack in which you input a specific command when getting close to the opponent. Zangief is a famous example of a character in fighting games who's style is grapple-based. Counter attacking, whether it's done in projectiles, during blocking(such as the 'Alpha Counter' in the Street Fighter Alpha series), or hand-to-hand combat, is also another basic type of gameplay technique for fighters.
Character intros
Character intros in fighting games are based on personality and they occur before a match begins. Most character intros are solo, while others are based more on their encounter with someone they know deeply. A famous example of this is when Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami from King of Fighters have a brief conversation while showing off their flames.
Knockout (K.O.)
In most traditional round matches in fighting games, when you drain your opponents health bar and peform a K.O. in each round, you earn a mark. Examples in this basic concept include a 'Perfect', where the player manages to defeat an enemy without losing any health; or a 'one hit K.O.', where a player defeats an enemy with only one action and more. Moreover, when both players hit each other simutaniously with their weak health bars, this is called a 'Double K.O.'. Examples like these are often accompanied by a voiceover declaring the event and a bonus for the player. Especially famous for this is the "Flawless Victory" of Mortal Kombat. Guilty Gear games are different though. Instead of a K.O, they use the word ''slash'' or when the character performs an instant kill, they use the word ''destroyed''. After every K.O. in every fighting game match or round, fighting game characters perform his or her trademark victory pose. Much like character intros, victory poses are diverse in every fighter based on their personality and defines part of the fighters personality. A famous example is when some fighting game characters show the 'V' for victory sign such as Ken Masters of Street Fighter fame.
Ring Outs
Ring Out (most notably in Soul Edge(Soul Blade), Soul Calibur, and possibly Virtua Fighter and Bloody Roar) is a faster way of defeating your opponent. In an event of a ring out, whoever pushes their opponent off the arena will automatically win. For example in ''Soul Calibur'', Kilik attacks Ivy off the arena. Which means the round is over and the winner is Kilik. Instead of a K.O, the ''ring out'' sign will be placed on screen. Ring outs can only happen in arenas that has open spots with no wall blocking it. In the Super Smash Bros. (series), however, the 'Ring Out' concept is different: with the opponents percentage meter high in damage, when you attack your opponent out of the ring on the left or right side of the stage, the opponent self-destructs, or when you knock out your opponent vertically, they would fly farther away from the stage. This 'ring out' style concept in the SSB series can be done over and over again using 'stocks' or 'unlmited stocks' if matches are timed.
Fatalities
In 1992, ''Mortal Kombat'' introduced 'fatalities' in which you finish off your opponent by killing him/her after beating him/her in rounds. To peform fatalities, you would have to input specific button presses to activate it. Later on, other fighting games such as Rareware's ''Killer Instinct'' and Sega's ''Eternal Champions'' (known in the series as 'Overkills'), adopted this concept.
Sudden Death
In many fighting games, 'Sudden Death' is a match which occurs after matches that end on the final round in a 'Double K.O.', or a 'Draw' if the timer runs out with both fighters having similar depleted bars. To have either of the fighters break the 'tie' in a sudden death match, one of the opponents must win by beating him/her. In the Super Smash Bros. series, after the timer runs out in 'timed stock' matches if each of the fighters has the same number of knockouts, sudden death begins with fighters starting with percentage meters on 300% high in damage in which makes it easier to knock out the fighter for the win to break the tie. Sudden Death is also a term and an advanced version of ''Overkills'' in the Sega CD version of Sega's Eternal Champions.
Taunting
Taunting is a type of move introduced by the Art of Fighting series and has since been used in many games of the genre. Taunting is personality-based, much like victory poses and character intros. Dan Hibiki of Street Fighter Alpha fame is famous for his aggressive and humorous taunting. Taunting is noticeable in the Street Fighter series or any other Capcom 2D fighting game. It is also added in other fighting game series such as Guilty Gear, King of Fighters, and Soul Calibur III.
Single player
Fighting games usually include a single-player mode, but in almost every fighting game, single player modes most often focuses less on a fighters story anytime you select and play with any fighter. However, Super Smash Bros. Brawl's adventure mode, which is called 'The Subspace Emissary' is more character driven. Soul Calibur's 'Mission mode' focuses on earning points in order to buy new weapons for its single player.
Multiplayer
4-way simultaneous Vs. fighting
In fighting games such as Guilty Gear Isuka,Yuu Yuu Hakusho Gaiden, the , , or the Super Smash Bros. (series), there are matches in which four fighters fight each other all at once.
Team-based fighting
Traditionally, fighting games were always one-on-one battles. However, in the mid 90's, bars have been pushed for cooperative-style Vs. fighting:
Simultaneous Team
As a 'secret mode' in ''Street Fighter Alpha'' and in its sequels an optional mode, a cooperative style of fighting called 'Dramatic Battle' lets you play with two characters at once against another opponent. However, unlike dramatic battle, adopts and features this kind of fighting as a super attack, known as the 'Duo attack', during matches. When activated, this kind of attack lets you perform 'dramatic battle' style attacks, along with performing unlimited supers during a brief period. Simultaneous team battles can also be chosen in the Smash Bros. series via team color(Red, Blue and Green) during the character select screen. Here, matches range from 2 on 1. 3 on 1, or 2 on 2 simultaneous matches depending on the team color.
Tag Team
Capcom took the team concept for fighting games to new levels with ''X-Men vs. Street Fighter'' which became the first fighting game to use 'tag-teaming' in Vs. matches while ''Marvel vs. Capcom 2'' became the first to introduce 'trio' tag teaming. King of Fighters 2003 is the first in the KOF series to introduce tag-teaming which is referred to as "multi-shift", while Tekken Tag Tournament featured this style of fighing in the 3D fighing scene and the DOA series featured this as a mode for its sequels. The rules vary on how matches are won for each tag-team fighting game. For example, to win tag-team matches in Capcom's 'Marvel Vs.' games, you have to defeat all the fighters on the team one by one. In Tekken Tag Tournament, only one K.O. is needed to win a tag-team match during 'rounds' rather than defeating all fighters one by one.
Assisting
Assisting is another type of 'team-based' fighting game technique in the genre. In games such as Marvel Vs. Capcom, assisting is used to call out characters, which aren't playable, as a 'call for help' strategy, wheres in MvC2 assisting is done by calling out any of your two fighters you selected in your team. Other fighting games such as KoF '99 which introduces the 'striker' system in the series, while Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the first in the series to introduce 'assisting' characters using 'assist trophies' in the game. However, in the first two SSB games, Pokeballs to summon Pokémon were used as the assisters.
Tournament based fighting
Due to the fall in popularity of scrolling fighting games, the terms 'fighting game' and 'fighter' are generally taken to refer to competitive fighting games. In contrast to side-scrolling fighting games, most fighting games are competitive rather than co-operative. Some offer players the chance to battle as teams (two-on-two or three-on-three being most common, although "handicap" one-on-two, two-on-three, and one-on-three are possible in some games) instead of one-on-one. The characters can be alternated in either a tag team (characters can be switched out in the middle of the round) or elimination mode (team whose members lose the individual rounds loses the match). In a few of these team-based games, players can opt to play on the same team, usually in a tag team fashion. Because of their competitive nature, fighting games are conducive to tournament play.
3-on-3 Elimination
In 1994, ''King of Fighters '94'' introduced 3-on-3 'elimination style' matches in fighting games. When a match starts, after selecting a trio team of characters and choosing your order of which fighter you want to use, the same rules apply much like in traditional round matches. The difference, however, is that instead of earning marks, everytime an opponent is K.O.ed, you face-off against the second opponent in each others team. This goes on until the last one is standing. Since then, this kind of fighting has been adopted as an optional 'mode' into other fighting games such as ''Dead or Alive'', ''Tekken'' and many others. In Capcom's representation of the ''SNK vs. Capcom (series)'', elimination matches are done using a 'ratio' system. With this system, in CvS1, you can choose your fighters based on their ratio strength. Ratio teams such as 2+2, 1+3, 1+1+2 or 1+1+1+1 are the types of teams needed create a 4 ratio team. The sequel, CvS2, enables you to choose the ratio strength yourself for your chosen characters to create 4 ratio teams instead of choosing characters based on ratio.
Survival
Unlike traditional round matches, 'survival' lets you face off against an unlimited number opponents while keeping your life bar from empyting out. When winning matches, your life bar replinishes depending on the time you have left on the timer, much like in elimination matches. Survival is often featured as a mode in many fighting games.
Realism
''Bushido Blade'' for the Playstation took the genre in a more realistic path. Its system does not rely on traditional features such as health bars, guard crush meters, stun meters(seen in ''Street Fighter III''), and super meters in traditional fighters. Instead, it focuses more on realism. For example, in Bushido Blade, the moment you hit or slash your opponent while fighting, the opponent dies instantly.
Custom creation
Custom creation, or create-a-fighter, is a feature of some fighting games which allows a player to customise the appearance and moveset of their own character. This feature had been used in wrestling games (as "Create-a-wrestler") since ''Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium'' (1996), [5] but ''Fighter Maker'' (1999) was one of the first fighting games with this concept. [6] Other fighting games such as ''Soul Calibur III'', [7]''Mortal Kombat Armageddon'', [8] and '' [9]adopted this concept.
Fighting role-playing game
The ''Legend of Legaia'' series, in one way, defines the fighting/RPG sub-genre. ''Legaia's battle system mixes the turn-based battle systems seen in most traditional RPG's and the traditional gameplay formula for traditional fighting games into what is called the 'Tactical Arts System'. However, other games such as the ''Tobal'' series feature a mode that focuses on dungeon crawling combined with the traditional fighting game elements, and ''Virtua Quest'' which is more 'action/RPG' style in its battle system.
=See also=
★ Beat 'em ups ★ Gaming crossovers ★ List of fighting games ★ List of fighting game companies ★ Tougeki - Super Battle Opera |
=Notes and references=
1. The Making of... Warrior, , , , Edge Magazine, 2006
2. The US Complete Guide To Beat-'em-ups, ''Your Sinclair'' May 1990 issue 53; retrieved from The Your Sinclair Rock 'n' Roll years
3. ''Karate Ace'' compilation review ''from Your Sinclair'' Oct 1988 issue 34; retrieved from The Your Sinclair Rock 'n' Roll years
4. Snackbar Games exclusive interview with Aksys Games
5. Super Fire Pro Wrestling Premium X
6. Fighter Maker review
7. Soul Calibur III Review
8. Mortal Kombat screens and Create-A-Fighter details
9. Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (PS2) preview
=External links=
★ Fighting games at MobyGames
★ Fighters Generation
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