Best Games List: Fighting Game

Two very good friends of mine, the bloggers behind Soul Kerfuffle and LastBestAngryMan (both very experienced in the arts of video gaming), have decided along with myself that it would be entertaining to post our top (and bottom) video games of all time to our respective blogs. These will be sorted by category and no platform is barred.

Why do this, you ask?

So we can argue, er, *ahem* - I mean debate, and mock, er, *ahem* again - critique each other's decisions, of course!!!

#5. King of the Monsters (Arcade/Sega Genesis)

I loved this game in the arcade. It was a total blast to throw "Astro Guy" into a building with Geon, a pretty bad rip-off of Godzilla. The game was originally ported from the arcade to the Neo Geo system, which was pretty much the 90's equivalent of an Alienware computer - extremely over priced. Thank god it eventually wound up on Sega Genesis!!!

#4: Street Fighter II (Arcade/NES)

My first experience playing a 2D fighting game, and boy was it a blast. It was extremely well balanced - all characters were capable, in the hands of the right person, of taking out any other character. A good model for all of those that followed and a hell of a lot of fun.

Unless you were playing one of those jerks who was really good at it.

Then you just wanted to "Shoryuken" them.

#3: Killer Instinct (Arcade)

First and only game I have ever beaten in an arcade with one credit (with Sabrewulf!!!). This game was straight up fun. Yes, it bit off of the Mortal Kombat "ultra violent" video game hype, but made up for it with really cool characters including Fulgore, a big scary cyborg, Sabrewulf, a werewolf, and Spinal, a skeleton. Memorable "No Mercy" moves (yes, a blatant fatality rip) included Orchid, a female character, flashing the opponent and turning him into a frog and Jago, a monk, meditating, which in turn makes a car fall out of the sky onto the defeated foe.

#2: Iron and Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft (PC)

No one has ever even heard of this little known computer game, but boy was it fun!!! I mean really, you could play as all kinds of fun characters inspired by the D&D Ravenloft campaign setting, siding with either Chaos or Law. I didn't care who won, I played as an executioner with a huge honking axe or a little goblin wielding two swords.

#1: Mortal Kombat (Arcade/NES)

Picture it: North Wildwood, NJ circa 1992. Two young brothers approach an arcade. In the distance, they spot a game they have never seen before called Mortal Kombat. Intrigued, the older brother puts in a quarter (games actually cost $0.25 to play then, not $3.00 like today).

The older brother previews all of the characters and choses Sub Zero, of course because he looks like a bad ass ninja. The game choses Raiden, who seems like he stumbled off the set of Big Trouble in Little China.

Battle begins on what looks like a bridge in the middle of a hurricane. Punches and kicks were exchanged. Sub Zero was electrocuted. Raiden was frozen. In the end, however, the mighty computer prevailed.

What happened next changed the way I, the aforementioned older brother, viewed fighting video games for the rest of my life. The screen darkened and a disembodied voice yelled "finish him!!!" Raiden closed in and rocked his staggered opponent with a tremendous uppercut.


Sub Zero then tumbled off the edge of the bridge...


Down...


Down...


Down...


INTO A FREAKING PIT OF SPIKES!!!


I will never forget the joyous shock of that moment. I looked over and my brother had the same wide-eyed "holy crap" look on his face. To say that wasn't expected was an understatement.

Next up my brother played as Kano and the computer chose the previously defeated Sub Zero. Again we fell prey to the wily computer. The screen the darkened again. Sub Zero approached. We were expecting another trip into a pit of spikes.

We were very mistaken.

Sub Zero grabbed Kano by the neck and ripped his head from his torso, with bits of spinal column following after. Wow. About $20.00 worth of vicious carnage later, I knew damn well I was going to get that game on my Sega Genesis the day it came out.


Any game that makes you stare in sheer guilty glee and your unexpectedly impaled is surely the best fighting game of all time. Many have tried to copy, but none were as shocking as the original.


Worst Fighting Game of All Time: Time Killers

What a load of absolute garbage. This game tried to cash in on the Mortal Kombat "brutal bloody violence" hype.

It failed miserably.

I don't know what was worse, the graphics, the sound, or the awful gameplay. The characters were impossible to control and looked plain goofy hopping around with their limbs cut off.

Horrendous. Absolute pile of steaming fecal explosion.

Hey, Strata, I want my $0.25 back.