[ongoing project] Playing all versus fighters - chronologically!

[Samuray]

Shaq Fu (SNES)

So we decided to shaq it up a bit.

At first "Shaq Fu" wasn't even part of our game plan but after finding a copy for five Euros we figured we'd throw it in the mix, being curious to find out if it really warrants its horrible reputation.

And to our massive surprise....it doesn't! It's by no means a fantastic game but we found it to be really solid. Why is it so notorious? Got to habe something to do with the way the game's PR hyped it up before release, right?

I mean, yeah, the sprites are rather small, but they look nice and detailed and are rather well animated. And the backgrounds are way better than we expected.

Control feels a bit strange, though...maybe a little too floaty?

But as I said, we all thought it's a surprisingly decent fighter! It could never hope to replace the reigning king on SNES, i.e. SF2 in all its variations, but it complements it nicely.

Has anyone ever played both versions of "Shaq Fu"? I hear on Mega Drive it has one more playable character, but visuals are nice on SNES?

[samanosuke]

I’ve never actually played Shaq Fu as given it’s notoriety, I’ve never felt compelled to.

I’d be interested to know if you will be covering any Mega Drive fighters from the 16-bit era? Yu Yu Hakusho is a great exclusive with a rather crazy four-player mode, and Eternal Champions is a decent exclusive as well.

[Leon Retro]

And to our massive surprise....it doesn't! It's by no means a fantastic game but we found it to be really solid. Why is it so notorious?

I even visited EA back in the day and told a producer I thought Shaq Fu was rubbish. He said the company had spent millions on it. I thought "All that money and it's a joke next to SF2".

The main bad point of Shaq Fu is the stodgy feel of the fighters - it just feels really horrible to control them. The graphics might have been nice for an Another World/Flashback sort of game, but the sprites are way too small for a fighting game.

It amazes me that a big company like EA would fund the development of a fighting game that's a joke next to best examples in the genre. Even something really average like Dead Dance/Tuff E Nuff on the SNES is much better.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Really? I was certain it would be fully polygon. Sweet, if so!

Samurai Shodown (NEO GEO)

Hooo boy. What a game!!!

I'm sure everyone still reading this thread knows it well so I won't be saying anything about its contents. Anyway, SNK had an absolutely fantastic idea doing a fighter based on weapons, and placing it in feudal Japan is just icing on the cake.

The cast of characters is amazing, and it nails the perfect mixture of samurais and contemporary warriors with other styles/ professions. Personally I like Haohmaru a lot, his outfil it stylish and so is his katana, and his hair. He's not the usual "boring protagonist" for sure.

It's really cool to have ninjas in here (Hattori Hanzo and Galford, and I guess Earthquake ), and it's also nice to have two girls instead of one. Speaking of .... does anyone else constantly mix up Charlotte and Janne from "World Heroes"? Those two look really really similar. Always been wondering how that came about.

Gen-An is great too, with his claws and his laughter....however, I was disappointed to read that it's supposedly just coincidence he bears the same last name like Mai Shiranui. To me, he will always be her great-great-great-great-great-uncle, or something like that.

Everyone in our club really likes the music, or sometimes lack thereof. Sometimes it's traditional instruments, sometimes it's more like modern rock...excellent.

Oh, and the stages. The stages. Sooo wonderful. My absolute favorite has to be Texas, USA (Earthquake's stage). The screenshot back then nearly knocked me out and even today I can hardly believe this really is on my TV. Unbelievable.

That bamboo forest is breathtaking as well, as is Hanzo's old battlefield.

I'm less enthused with Tam Tam's Green Hell stage (South America)....it sure is colorful, but I don't know...doesn't really speak to me.

We're playing with the AES switched to Japanese, of course, and the splatter and gore is just the right amount. Not too ridiculous like with "Mortal Kombat" but noticable enough.

I'm sure many people dislike the control scheme, using A+B for a strong slash and C+D for a strong kick, but I really like it. Feels really powerful landing a slash like that, and having to push TWO buttons for that supports that emotion.

The Last Blade & The Last Blade 2 should blow your minds if you ever get around to playing them.

Both of them are infinitely better than any Samurai Shodown game.

[Samuray]

I’ve never actually played Shaq Fu as given it’s notoriety, I’ve never felt compelled to.
I’d be interested to know if you will be covering any Mega Drive fighters from the 16-bit era? Yu Yu Hakusho is a great exclusive with a rather crazy four-player mode, and Eternal Champions is a decent exclusive as well.

If you ever get the chance, give "Shaq Fu" a chance....maybe just a finy one. Two people from our group have the intention to buy a copy for either SNES or MD if and when they get the chance.

I have never heard of "Yu Yu Hakusho", will have to look into that...thank you for the pointer! But yes, more Sega stuff is of course coming. So far we played "Turtles Tournament Fighters" on Mega Drive (as well as SNES), and we have three more titles coming up, not to mention Sega 32X.

I even visited EA back in the day and told a producer I thought Shaq Fu was rubbish. He said the company had spent millions on it. I thought "All that money and it's a joke next to SF2".

The main bad point of Shaq Fu is the stodgy feel of the fighters - it just feels really horrible to control them. The graphics might have been nice for an Another World/Flashback sort of game, but the sprites are way too small for a fighting game.

It amazes me that a big company like EA would fund the development of a fighting game that's a joke next to best examples in the genre. Even something really average like Dead Dance/Tuff E Nuff on the SNES is much better.

True...that's pretty fascinating and makes the game itself more interesting for me/ us. How anyone could have seriously eypected this game to stand any sort of chance against the genre competition....unbelievable.

The "Another World" comparison is a good one, regarding the visual style!

The Last Blade & The Last Blade 2 should blow your minds if you ever get around to playing them.

Both of them are infinitely better than any Samurai Shodown game.

Chances are good we will....

->Open Spoiler<-

[QualityChimp]

How's this going, [MENTION=16705]Samuray[/MENTION]?
You gone a bit bonkers yet?!

[Leon Retro]

The "Another World" comparison is a good one, regarding the visual style!

The game was designed by Paul Cuisset at Delphine Software, who also designed Flashback. The artists behind Flashback obviously did the graphics in Shaq Fu,

I think the graphics are nice and detailed, but they would suit an action adventure game more than a fighter. At the time, 16-bit fighters had big chunky sprites, so Shaq Fu felt quite 8-bit in comparison because of the small sprites. It also doesn't play fluidly like a fighter from Capcom or SNK. I think people can look at it now and say "It's not too bad", but at the time it failed to compete with rival fighters that did things so much better.

[Samuray]

How's this going, [MENTION=16705]Samuray[/MENTION]?
You gone a bit bonkers yet?!

Thanks for asking! But I don't.....uh...what do you mean by this? Is that a reference I'm not getting?

The game was designed by Paul Cuisset at Delphine Software, who also designed Flashback. The artists behind Flashback obviously did the graphics in Shaq Fu,

I think the graphics are nice and detailed, but they would suit an action adventure game more than a fighter. At the time, 16-bit fighters had big chunky sprites, so Shaq Fu felt quite 8-bit in comparison because of the small sprites. It also doesn't play fluidly like a fighter from Capcom or SNK. I think people can look at it now and say "It's not too bad", but at the time it failed to compete with rival fighters that did things so much better.

Wow, seriously? That's a fascinating piece of information. I would never have guessed....although yeah, now that I know, it's almost obvious.

And I can imagine how "Shaq Fu" really must have felt like a pile of steaming crap compared to other games of that era....but today it's an interesting piece of fighter history and it costs only 5 bucks. Had I payed the full 50 or 60 for it when it came out, my impression would have been a lot less favorable, I fathom.

[Leon Retro]

And I can imagine how "Shaq Fu" really must have felt like a pile of steaming crap compared to other games of that era....but today it's an interesting piece of fighter history and it costs only 5 bucks. Had I payed the full 50 or 60 for it when it came out, my impression would have been a lot less favorable, I fathom.

I think the dev should have made an action game with the engine, as the graphics would definitely suit that sort of thing, and the animation is quite impressive. It just doesn't work as a fighting game.

Even Amiga fighters like Body Blows had big chunky sprites. Gamers during the 16-bit era demanded big sprites and fluid feeling gameplay in fighting games. EA/Delphine gave people the opposite. It's crazy that producers at EA didn't cancel the project early on. I guess they were just focused on the Shaq Fu license and its potential to attract buyers.

So it may not be a terrible looking game, but it deserves its reputation as a really bad 16-bit fighter.

[Samuray]

Battle Master (SNES)

This is what you would call a pleasent surprise, I guess.

Bought this on a whim together with "Golden Fighter", and this is a really good one. Visuals are really good for SNES, but screenshots don't do it justice....it really shines in motion. Gameplay is quite fast without ever feeling hectic, you are always in control, and fights just feel good.

The cast of characters is a bit peculiar, with a mixture of sci-fi themes and ...fantasy? At least there's a werewolf here, for some reason.

It's a nice little touch that you can jump on top of objects on the sides and attack from above. Makes the battlefield feel much more three-dimensional.

Speaking about three dimensions, this reminds me of "Power Athlete" because you could move in eight directions, with a jump button. While "Battle Master" thanksfully retains a more traditional approach and is purely 2D, it appears it was made by the same people? If so, they have improved their skills greatly since then, we think.

Anyway, the whole game feels very coherent and well made, despite being an unknown title. Or maybe just unknown to me? Anybody here has played it?

[_SD_]

This definitely rings a bell... I think I may have tried it out in Telegames. Cool box art.

[Leon Retro]

Anyway, the whole game feels very coherent and well made, despite being an unknown title. Or maybe just unknown to me? Anybody here has played it?

The box art is very 'World Heroes' in style. It's a decent B-grade SFC fighter. The graphics and animation are similar the Turtles Tournament, so it looks reasonably professional. The background layers are a nice touch. I'd say the music is OK, so some of it is quite memorable. The most important thing -- is it plays well and feels responsive. There's a very Fatal Fury(the first game) vibe about the whole production. On a machine that doesn't have many quality fighters, I'd say it's worth playing.

[Samuray]

The King of Fighters '94 (NEO GEO)


(First off, apologies for being slow with updates; I did say in the beginning that I would have to slow down once the thread caught up to the point our group is at, since we meet only once a month, but right now the reasons are more "real-lifey", i.e. wife getting fired, the daily chaos with the kids during school holidays, and so on....y'all know what I'm talking about ))

Yeah. So we finally arrived at KOF94.

I have been looking forward to this one immensely because it's been one of my absolute favorite games since when I got it, back when I was 15 years old. I remember popping it in on Christmas Eve, after having experienced other gems like "Samurai Shodown" and "Fatal Fury 2" just minutes before it, and being introduced to the PAO PAO CAFE sign in Mexico. I was in love right in that moment, and to this day.

I don't think I have to tell anyone what the series is about...3 on 3 fighting, first game with teams like this, and so on... But apart from the snappy gameplay and the tight controls, it was the game's atmosphere, the visuals and the music, that impressed me to no end and still do today. Holy cow, this game is beautiful!!!!!!

Yeah, most people seem to dismiss it because you can't pick the characters and the teams are set....but I love that, and I'll play every KOF this way. I like the added challenge of having to use a character that's maybe not as easy for me as, say, Terry Bogard or Mai Shiranui, which are well-known to me from "Fatal Fury 2". Also I feel the teams feels just right the way they are, with their backstories (although I don't really care about those) and their particular flair.

Anyway, the music in KOF94 is absolutely outstanding, and yes, this included this strange crowd chanting in the intro...I'll never be able to unhear that. Same goes for the music in the USA stage....this could easily be my favorite music track ever, in all of gaming. It's that perfect, and it sure helps that it is accompanied by the most stunning stage I have ever laid my eyes on. I am a fan of all urban themes in stages and old rusty cars are particularly nice....in this case it comes with a breathtaking color palette, and cats! What more could I ask for!

I love all those great details, like the travel bags in the background of China stage...make the game really feel like a world tour. And how every stage has such a unique feel to it...you can almost smell the surroundings in Mexico, Italy is so uplifting, Korea feels gloomy and menacing somehow, and Japan feels like a hot night in the middle of the city, with exhaust fumes lingering about, flashing lights everywhere....it's so great.

I always thought that KOF94 looks vastly different from the rather cartoony looking games before it...way more realistic, with those fine pixel artworks. I mean, some characters in "Samurai Shodown" look realistic as well, and the whole "Art of Fighting" cast does too....but there's just something about KOF that elevates it above all else.

Gameplays feels really really good as well, and having small clouds of blood every now and then adds some seriousness to the already intense action.

I loved this game and I always will. Everyone in the group pretty much agrees that this truly is something special.

[Leon Retro]

Yeah. So we finally arrived at KOF94.

I remember really liking KOF95 -- it really was something special back in the day. The detail in the graphics and powerful music really impressed me. I haven't played KOF94, but it sounds like it's very much the same sort of experience in all departments.

I've never been into the series though, so I can't say which particular games are good or bad. I know KOF98 gets called the best in the series by a lot of people. I might sit down and give them all a go at some point, just to see which one grabs me the most.

[Samuray]

I remember really liking KOF95 -- it really was something special back in the day. The detail in the graphics and powerful music really impressed me. I haven't played KOF94, but it sounds like it's very much the same sort of experience in all departments.

I've never been into the series though, so I can't say which particular games are good or bad. I know KOF98 gets called the best in the series by a lot of people. I might sit down and give them all a go at some point, just to see which one grabs me the most.

It's definitely something special even today. You should definitely take a look at KOF94 if you get the chance, it is really wonderful.
Not sure if there really is such a thing as a truly bad 2D KOF....I can't imagine that, just judging from 94, but we'll see.

Yes, KOF98 is lauded a lot, but I believe that every iteration has some interesting facets that makes it special somehow.

Why not play along with our group and share your opinions in this thread? Would be way cool!! KOF95 is coming up but 96 is still a long time off, I think. Well, kind of.