[ongoing project] Playing all versus fighters - chronologically!

[Leon Retro]

Despite the visuals that haven’t aged all that great and the sluggish gameplay, we feel that playing this was worth it. We won’t be coming back to it but it was an interesting excursion!

I remember thinking the graphics and animation were quite impressive, with some funny characters that had interesting moves, but it all felt very clunky to play. Once you've played it for an hour or two, you just want to go back to playing SF2 Turbo with your friends. I don't think many people would have been obsessed with playing ClayFighter.

It did spawn a sequel - and a spinoff platformer though, so lots of people must have bought it. I can certainly see why it grabbed attention and might have appealed to people.

[BigDeadFreak]

I rented it with some friends back in the day. We were all intrigued by the combination of impressive graphics and terrible review scores. We played it for about 5 minutes and got bored. The graphics weren't that great and it was tedious to play.

[Asura]

It did spawn a sequel - and a spinoff platformer though, so lots of people must have bought it. I can certainly see why it grabbed attention and might have appealed to people.

Yeah, wasn't it Clayfighter 63-and-1/3? For the N64?

That's the level of creativity we're talking about.

[Leon Retro]

Yeah, wasn't it Clayfighter 63-and-1/3? For the N64?

That's the level of creativity we're talking about.

No, it was called 'ClayFighter 2: Judgment Clay. A SNES exclusive.

[Asura]

No, it was called 'ClayFighter 2: Judgment Clay. A SNES exclusive.

OK, that's actually better. The N64 one must've been the third.

[Samuray]

I remember thinking the graphics and animation were quite impressive, with some funny characters that had interesting moves, but it all felt very clunky to play. Once you've played it for an hour or two, you just want to go back to playing SF2 Turbo with your friends. I don't think many people would have been obsessed with playing ClayFighter.

It did spawn a sequel - and a spinoff platformer though, so lots of people must have bought it. I can certainly see why it grabbed attention and might have appealed to people.

Yes, me too, definitely. It seemed like a great idea at the time.

This clay look really appeals to me, which reminds me I still want to get "Skull Monkeys" one day.

But yeah, if SFII was also available I'm sure people/ kids returned to that rather swiftly...

I rented it with some friends back in the day. We were all intrigued by the combination of impressive graphics and terrible review scores. We played it for about 5 minutes and got bored. The graphics weren't that great and it was tedious to play.

It really is, but the gameplay feels fitting for how the characters look, if that makes any sense.

Did it score so badly? That I cannot remember. Maybe German reviewers liked it somewhat better, due to the strong disapproval towards violent videogames...?
Lemme check.

...errrr, nope. 65%, 47%, and once more 65%....there are even scans of some reviews.

Wait....here's another site with scans, and that 75% review is the one I remember! Check this out, it's the top one.

And the bottom one awards it a 2+ which is a B+. quite an excellent score.

The Mega Drive version was reviewed worse, at 65%. Interesting.

Yeah, wasn't it Clayfighter 63-and-1/3? For the N64?

That's the level of creativity we're talking about.

No, it was called 'ClayFighter 2: Judgment Clay. A SNES exclusive.

Yeah, we're getting to those. I know, it's hard to contain the excitement!

OK, that's actually better. The N64 one must've been the third.

That's correct. Interested to find out how the game fares without any claymotion but fugly polygons instead. We shall see.

[Asura]

That's correct. Interested to find out how the game fares without any claymotion but fugly polygons instead. We shall see.

Pretty sure the N64 one was still claymation; just it had 3D backdrops.

[Dogg Thang]

It’s no Primal Rage.

[Leon Retro]

which reminds me I still want to get "Skull Monkeys" one day.

I didn't play Skullmonkeys back in the day - but when I bought a copy around 10 years ago, I really enjoyed it. It's such a crazy game full of fun. I really need to go back to it. Looks like it's worth far more than the £5 I paid for it.

[teddymeow]

I remember renting ClayFighter from Blockbuster.

My little bro and I both thought it was ****e!!

Primal Rage was a rental too. Playing it round my Nan and Grandad's house on an 11 inch black and white TV in the spare room.

Awe, and indeed, some!

[Samuray]

Pretty sure the N64 one was still claymation; just it had 3D backdrops.

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.

[Leon Retro]

Hooo boy. What a game!!!

I get to mention the 3DO again.

I remember Samurai Showdown being a really big thing back in the day, with even people who weren't heavily into gaming telling me how impressive it was. So when I bought the 3DO version in Autumn '94, I managed to really get to grips with it and find out how great it is. I remember feeling that it was the first Neo Geo fighter that really felt special - the graphics, sound, and gameplay were all top notch. I really loved the design of the characters, stages, and all the little details that added charm to the game.

So, when I finally bought an AES a while back, I got my hands on Samurai Showdown 2 and regularly go back to it. The sequel is a nice refinement of the first game. Samurai Showdown is one of the great games from the glory years of '90s gaming.

[Samuray]

I get to mention the 3DO again.

I remember Samurai Showdown being a really big thing back in the day, with even people who weren't heavily into gaming telling me how impressive it was. So when I bought the 3DO version in Autumn '94, I managed to really get to grips with it and find out how great it is. I remember feeling that it was the first Neo Geo fighter that really felt special - the graphics, sound, and gameplay were all top notch. I really loved the design of the characters, stages, and all the little details that added charm to the game.

So, when I finally bought an AES a while back, I got my hands on Samurai Showdown 2 and regularly go back to it. The sequel is a nice refinement of the first game. Samurai Showdown is one of the great games from the glory years of '90s gaming.

....and just had a long-overdue sequel announced, as y'all probably have heard!

Anyway, that 3DO version of "Samurai Shodown" is really fascinating. Only seen it in magazine reviews back then, never got to play it, but I'd like to one day! One of my favorite systems meeting one of the best fighting games - match made in heaven, right?

Back in the day, however, I remember feeling a little annoyed that an affordable and really good port of a Neo Geo game had come out. I would have opted for the Neo Geo version regardless due to its origin on the system and the joysticks, but up until that point I was so used to ports being immensely inferior....so that was a new development.

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

A strange 'bargain bin' sort of game. I remember being amazed by how clunky and unpolished it felt when I first played it. It looks quite promising in screenshots - but then you realise it's a poor game in all areas when you play it. You can sort of see some potential in the design, but the developer just didn't have the skills to create a polished product.

It's like Kung Fu on the PCE. Looks rad in screenshots but runs juddier than streaming a grot movie on a dial up connection.

[Leon Retro]

....and just had a long-overdue sequel announced, as y'all probably have heard!

It actually looks promising. Fingers crossed it does the series justice.

Anyway, that 3DO version of "Samurai Shodown" is really fascinating. Only seen it in magazine reviews back then, never got to play it, but I'd like to one day! One of my favorite systems meeting one of the best fighting games - match made in heaven, right?

Well, I've heard a few mumblings about it not being a perfect port, but people do say it's decent enough. I remember being impressed with the big sprites and scaling. It seemed like the arcade game in the home to me. Looking back, you can see that RAM was always going to be an issue with the 32-bit machines running 2D fighters, but at least the Saturn got RAM expansion cartridges.