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   PlanetDreamcast | Games | Best Dreamcast Games | Fighting
   

Best DC Games - [Intro] [Fighting] [Platform] [RPG] [Sports] [FPS] [Racing] [Puzzle] [Shooter] [Adventure] [Misc.]

Best DC Fighting Games

Versus fighting games have been around a while, all the way back to the original Karate Champ. They didn't really hit it big, though, until the 1991 debut of a little game called Street Fighter II. SF2 set the arcades on fire, and inspired an onslaught of similar fighting games that still continue to dominate arcades. Old arcade mainstays like the shooter and the side-scrolling beat'em up have been all but replaced, and arcades will never be quite the same. Since the original SNES port of SF2, fighters have been quite popular in the home arena, too. Although the graphics are now 3-D and the moves are often motion-captured, the general idea remains the same: beat the crap out of your opponent. Right. Fighters, both 3-D and 2-D, are one of the Dreamcast's greatest strengths, making the system a must-own for fighting fans.

  • Marvel vs. Capcom 2

    With 56 characters, there's something for everyone.
    I wanna take you for a ride! Capcom's fourth entry into the spazz versus fighter arena, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is easily the most intense 2-D fighter ever seen. With dizzying special moves and three person tag team combos and assists, the frantic action alone is enough to make you roll over into a seizure. Add in the single largest fighting game roster ever created -- a whopping 56 available and unique characters -- and you can be sure that everyone around you will be too busy enjoying this fighter treat to even think of holding your tongue and saving your life.

    While many purists may dismiss the Capcom vs. series as shallow, the games are simply too much fun to play to not give them due notice. The game will never be a "serious" fighter, but then that doesn't necessarily make it a button masher, either. Nothing beats unleashing a warship to stab and blast your opponent, chain it and watch as Spider-Man knocks the poor chump up and around the screen, and finishing it off with linking into the tried and tested Dragon Punch. While 3-D graphics may have won over the public at large, nothing in any 3-D fighter can match the exaggerated chaos and fun that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 delivers.

  • Power Stone 2

    Flame thrower always beats rock.
    While both the original Power Stone and its sequel offer up some neat anime-inspired characters and quick and frantic battles, we have to give the nod to Power Stone 2. Power Stone 2 doesn't make any attempts to expand upon the combat system, because, well, that's not what the series really is about. It's not so much what you can do, but what you can use.

    Power Stone 2's designers knew this and greatly expanded upon the battle arenas. Huge -- no, really, HUGE -- pain-stakingly detailed, multi-level arenas are a testament to both Capcom's creativity and Dreamcast power. Fight on an airship while it crumbles apart, fall to the ground while battling for umbrellas, and hitch a ride in a tank while avoiding opponents' catapults -- all during the same fight! With six new characters and over a hundred (100!) weapons, variety really is the spice of life with Power Stone 2. It easily is among the most fun you can legally have with four people, and the simplistic controls are easy enough for drunken party guests to pick up and destroy stuff without suffering any real damage.

  • Street Fighter III: Third Strike

    Animation so smooth you'll wipe your biscuits on the disc.
    Capcom milked its Street Fighter franchise for all its worth after the monumental success of Street Fighter II. The game which revitalized the arcade industry, Street Fighter II taught kids that drugs are bad but violence is A-OK. Those same kids would become adults by the time Capcom finally released the eagerly anticipated Street Fighter III. New characters, new moves, and a new fighting system help to advance the series past its forefathers while keeping the successful elements that made it famous in the first place intact.

    Third Strike is the third release (didn't see that coming, eh?) in the Street Fighter III saga. Most notably it marks the return of Chun Li, but it also tweaks the system a bit more and adds a few more brawlers to the roster. One of the greatest assests of the Dreamcast version is the ability to customize the fighting system to your liking, meaning that if you don't like a certain gameplay element, you can turn it off. Third Strike is truly a serious fighter for the serious fighting fan. The technical aspects alone put the game leagues ahead of the competition and show that Capcom still is king of the fighters.

  • Dead or Alive 2

    Looks chilly.
    Back in the 32-bit heyday, there were only two major 3D fighting series that were worth one's time - Tekken and Virtua Fighter. With few exceptions, everything else was more or less crap. Until, that is, Tecmo's Dead or Alive appeared on the scene. The game had more in common with Virtua Fighter than Tekken, but innovated on its own with the incorporation of a "reversal" button. Pushing this button at the right time would catch your opponent's limb and send it back to them, giving you the attack initiative. Of course, your enemy could then time their reversal and strike back, and so on and so forth, until one player screwed up and got smacked down. This gameplay mechanic and a well-developed grapple system added up to a game that was both fresh and different from its contemporaries. This trend continues in the Dreamcast sequel, Dead or Alive 2. DoA2 betters the original in every way, with gorgeous graphics, awesome environments, and, yes, more attractive ladies. The reversal system is more involved this time, too, so there won't be as many annoying ten minute exchanges this time around.

  • Soul Calibur

    Beautiful streaks of light follow the weapons -- just like in real life!
    Fragmaster wrote the following a good while back, and it still holds true:
    Yeah, big surprise, eh? Soul Calibur is, hands down, the best fighting game available for the Dreamcast. It's got stunning graphics, incredible audio, solid gameplay, oodles of depth, and, most important, mind-blowing fun for all. The GameSpy staff has been playing this game every day since it came out over five months ago, and it still draws a crowd. We're still seeing moves we haven't seen before and pulling off combos we previously only dreamt of. As we all get better and better, the matches become more exciting. Many people here have bought a Dreamcast just to practice up on Soul Calibur at home. No doubt about it, the Soul still burns bright.
    Amen. I think we have seen all the moves now, though.

    Next: Platform Games

    Have a game you think deserves to be included? Mail Feedback.


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