Its a shame though they didnt make it 60 characters in totall instead of 48 They could have easily added jedah demitri from capcom and ralf andy Clark from snk for examaple
It's funny how everyone rolls their eyes at FGC "boomers" who complain about the direction of modern fighters, and yet there's a ton of people who weren't competitive until years later that love MvC2, Third Strike, and CvS2. Makes you wonder if there really is something missing in modern FGs.
Samurai Showdown has to be one of my favorite fighters ever. Reminds me a lot of Dark Souls in the fact that you could be killed with just a few attacks if you weren't careful. MK2, MK3 Ultimate, SSF2 Turbo & OG Killer Instinct were all awesome as well. Just had to make sure you were playing on actual arcade cabinets, & not inferior home console ports, lol!
Lists are always subjective and arbitrary but i think its worth noting KOF 2002 is just about as old as 3S and its always trading places with 3S on fightcade as the most played game. Garou Mark of the Wolves is really fun too if you like 3S. I'm a capcom guy too so i get it haha. Just thought SNK should have a little more representation :)
@@snax087 It's always 3S everytime I look. Right at the moment of typing this comment 3S has 732 people in the room and KoF2002 624. Which is pretty impressive for both those games TBH those two and KoF98 are pretty much holding fightcade up.
@@markhavick7115 Have you considered that it must have to do with your schedule pattern and region time? Because If you live in North America or any European country you probably don't match with the best time of the predominant regions that play old KOFs. But it matches with that of regions that play more Capcom fgs - and very few of SNK fgs and almost nothing of KOF particularly. Because SNK culture doesn't exist in North America and Europe.
I love that you picked 3rd strike as your favorite SF game. That freedom is so rewarding and I always go back to it. I can also never get mad at that #1 pick ;)
@@michaelwaynetucker I agree so much with you on this. I always thought that 2nd Impact was the superior game, other than the balance. The announcer, the character portraits during the fights, the sound effects, everything about it was way better. I wouldn't mind playing it again. But again, no one wants to play it and instead just plays 3rd Strike only.
Marvel vs Capcom 1&2 were a big thing for me back when I'd hit the arcade on weekends. I've never been more than okay at fighting games but those two were so much fun. Especially since I knew how to use hidden assist characters in 1, which as a young teen felt really special. Usually lost once a human showed up but beat the solo boss often enough. Always had fun anyways. Even getting my butt kicked was usually fun to watch.
Lilith is low-key a goddess in dark stalkers!! She got this fireball that doesn't even go a quarter of the way across the screen but somehow someway I keep hitting my opponent with that dinky little fireball. Honestly I didn't think I would stick with her but she became my favorite character in the game... By the way Maximilian is sick at killer instinct! I was watching him play a little bit and the combos you can do in that game are just out of this world!
Only thing that surprised me about this video is no mention of Persona 4 Arena at all!! Either way, I really enjoy listening to you talk about the things you think are fun in fighting games, and definitely can relate to the things you enjoy in them. That feeling of being able to mess around in training mode and just figure stuff out forever is seriously amazing.
@@jmcrofts When I read the title of the videos "The Real", I immediately played the video. I'm glad you said in the intro that this is your own list and of course there's some bias. Because I think there is no "Real" list regarding the best fighting game. Like MVC2, I have stopped playing MVC games because this franchise then I resumed playing in MVC3 but many of my friends regards MVC2 is one of the best. Off topic though with John's comment.
@@luna_kits2345 MvC2 in some ways is the worst game in the series. It has the best roster obviously but the backgrounds are completely forgettable and the soundtrack could be nominated for worst fighting game soundtrack of all time. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter and CVSM 1 were better overall aesthetic packages. They had cool little hidden characters and gimmicks in them too.
MvC2. Greatest game of all time. The hundreds of hours I've poured into the game in the past and I'm still a novice. And when you suck at comboing like myself, having to learn how to defend against so many characters and their mixups with assists was it's own game too.
I agree with everything you said. Everything. It’s my number 2 overall of any type of game behind FF7. I spent literally hundreds of hours every night after school breaking sleep, playing hard defense because like you I sucked at combos. Learning how to high jump in and start with light attacks and break fighters down. Then meeting someone who made you look like you just started playing. Everything down to the music I loved. Greatest 2D fighter hands down
Fun Fact: Back in the day, Street Fighter 3 [Including Third Strike] was deemed a Commercial Failure & 'killed' the franchise due to Competition, Arcade Hardware being ran on [which was the CPS-3], Change in Direction & Developmental Constraints. It took Capcom 3 full years to port New Generation & Second Impact [Dubbed Double Impact] on the Dreamcast in June of 2000 with Third Strike ported 4 months later. 4 Years Later, Evo Moment 37 was the time where Street Fighter 3 gained a cult classic. Now Third Strike became a beloved fighting game but back in the day, it was the game that caused Capcom to go back to the drawing board & rethink their strategy within the Street Fighter Franchise
SF3 didn't "kill" the franchise that way, with quotation marks... literally it was the last SF for NINE YEARS. Which is huge for the biggest and most influential fg franchise in the 90s, and for an industry that worked with annual or biannual fg releases. Also no other famous franchise died like that, and some actually never died like Tekken. And other 90s 2d franchises never died like Guilty Gear and KOF. (And only if you want to force the argument so hard your own way, you could say "2d MK" died in the 90s and stayed dead for as much long, but that's laughable) Also that early death killed the future of cps3, making it kinda the Dreamcast of fg history: promising impressive next gen system with a tragic early death.
It was fighting game cancer. Plenty of people I know never even played it. I don't care how much revisionist history that was always beloved and good. I recently tried replaying it and still found it terrible as it's too sluggish and clunky. Like fighting underwater. The pro scene might have adopted it years later, but it put the franchise in a coma.
@@moon-berserker8870 I just found every other version of Street Fighter (Barring SF 1) was more enjoyable for their time than any version of Street Fighter 3 ever was for me. Street Fighter Alpha 3 came out around the same time, and was easily one of the most amazing games in the series. I loved playing through World Tour mode and creating custom characters, and unlocking all the goodies fighting thru it. The Ism system and the custom character system gave so many layers to the game. Was it balanced? , probably not but was fun to see what crazy stuff you could do. It was one of my favorite games in the series, and probably one I played the most till SF 4 came along. I am not a huge fan of Street Fighter 5, but I still prefer it over 3. Some of the characters grew on me over time in SF 3, like Elena, Dudley and Alex, but at the time so many of them were characters I couldn't give a crap less about. Like Ryu , Ken and a bunch of freaks. SF 3 had so much going against it. Is it the worst fighting game ever..Absolutely not, but I found it to be a terrible Street fighter game compared to the standard of what greatness the series had otherwise achieve. If capcom had simply made it a new series as originally planned, I think it would been better received than being a SF 3. Capcom had put off making SF 3 for so long, as gampro had a joke of the count from sesame street trying get capcom to count to 3 as the executives couldn't do it.(They also had a parody for MK and Cookie monster trying show them the letter C existed.) There just was too much build up to a SF 3, and so when it finnally did happen after years of multiple SF 2 versions coming out, this was a massive let down. May be nothing could delivered the needed levels of hype to fullfill this much of a build up, but if any game could have...IT WAS NOT SF 3.
It's a solid list! Pretty much like my list, except I do have MK9 in my top 10; I have fond memories of MK2 so the series being rebooted in MK9 was hype for me - I put so much time in practice mode and was able to go on a 21 game win streak with my fav character Baraka (considered low tier in that game).
I like street fighter vs x-men alot for the secret characters and dark variations or characters. The gameplay was solid too. I at least knew some of the "2d vs" games would make the list. Vampire Savior / Dark Stalkers is sooooo underrated!
Yeah X-Men Vs. Street Fighter is my favorite of the Capcom vs. Marvel series. It's drawback is it's small roster but the overall aesthetics of that game were the best imo. The whole thing just fit right. Capcom Vs. Marvel 2 had the best roster obviously but most of the stages were completely forgettable, I didn't like the 4 button system and the music was fuckin horrible. I mean the game Marvel Vs. Capcom and the music is this cheesy jazzy piano crap. I hated that Take Me For A Ride song so much I could barely turn the game on.
I will add Samshow 5 Special. Outside of not having Rollback as in the future for the newest one, Samshow V Special feels that is the pinnacle (for now) for a game that is basically less complex mechanics but simple fun and damage that can appeal to everyone. maybe not in the main list, but worth the mention in my book.
Two personal favorites of mine are battle arena toshinden and under night in birth. Toshinden was one of the games we had when we got a PS1, I think it's still pretty fun, obviously a early PS1 title but at the time it was pretty epic. I played so much of this as a kid. Under night is the only arc system game I've put a significant amount of time in. Yea the characters are all pretty generic anime people, but learning each character, how to counter certain moves and the handful of systems the game has is very rewarding. Oh, and the soundtrack is pretty terrific too. Honorable mention of ehrgeiz, aka the one with cloud in it. Such a neat idea, it makes me miss when square did more than just jrpgs.
@@penismightier9278 remember the obnoxious menu sfx? Although again, killer ost for ehrgeiz. A brand new quest was great, what fighting game just randomly puts in a whole action RPG side game in ? Not to mention the beach mini games.
These games are some of the best fighting games ever but soul calibur has the distinction of being of the best games ever made. To me and others soul calibur on the Dreamcast has hit that mark up there with sf2. That's huge points right there
Bbcf is king for me, very unbalanced but I love the game so much, the feel of combos, the incredible uniqueness in the cast, all of it. Blazblue central fiction is great 👍
I never tire of JM’s joyous enthusiasm. My favorite games are probably my SF3 Second Impact. CvS2. Super Turbo. Vampire Savior. KoF 98. Garou Mark of the Wolves. And SamSho V Special.
Personally I wouldn't put MvC2 so high in the list entirely because of how inaccessible the game is to new players. Some people just never stopped playing that game, these regulars make it way too hard to get into as a new player these days. You'd have to jump in with someone else just as green as you to get anywhere.
I don't know how the professionals feel about it, but from a casual fighting game enjoyer, FighterZ is one of the best fighting games out there. I've been hard-pressed to find a fighting game with the amazing visuals and music that this game has, everytime I combo into one of my characters' level 3 supers I get this insane dopamine rush for pulling off something that looks so cool. When you do cool shit in FighterZ, you feel really cool.
And it's pretty easy to do cool shit on fighterz. If you're a casual it's one of the most accesible 2D fighters out there, and at comp level, without counting some janky shit, you depend a lot on your reflexes and game sense.
I'm always surprised that, of the 3D fighters, Tekken is the one everyone likes most, because all the other ones seem to have a more identifiable "hook" to them. How JM talks about Tekken makes it sound like a list of knowledge checks, which is a hard pass for me, but the enthusiasm he speaks of it with is definitely how I feel about Soul Calibur II.
For me along with the Soul Calibur games it has a much more distinct style than most other 3D fighters. Games like Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive and others all feel too similar to me.
@@VAFranky Dead or Alive has the counter system and tons of environmental interactions, the latter of which may be making its way into Tekken 8, at least. Virtua Fighter always seemed to be the one closest to "real" fighting.
Soul Calibur was every bit as technical as any Tekken out at that time. I've not played the newer entries in the series, I've only seen them a bit, but they largely look the same. VF4 and VF5 are perhaps the most technical 3D fighters ever made.
Playing Tekken with your friends is very different from going online and hitting those knowledge checks. On a basic level, the movement and attacks are actually much more intuitive than most other fighters. You don't need to learn motion inputs to have a full moveset, your attacks usually have good momentum to them so you don't need to learn tight poking ranges, and the stringd and juggles are easy, instead of having to learn what normal can special cancel into what / what juggle state is he in / does this otg? etc. It's kind of like Skullgirls, I would say. Very easy to control and start doing stuff, so it's a great game to pick up with friends, but in competitive that means there's six million ways to die. I also love Arcana Heart for that loose and free gameplay, but I would never try and take that online 😅
No SamSho I am hurt already. Always enjoy your content. Please if you could also do some fight breakdowns like from evo top 8 kawano gachikun and the grand finals.
Dude, playing as Iori in Capcom vs SNK 2 as a kid WAS my childhood. Thank you so much for including it in this list. I always thought it was the best fighting game ever.
From an aesthetic perspective, MvC2 is the worst game in the series. It has the best roster which is why it's the go to game in the series but the backgrounds are completely forgettable and the soundtrack could be nominated for worst fighting game soundtrack of all time. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter and CVSM 1 were more coherent aesthetic packages. They FELT right, MVSV 2 always felt more like a fan made mod than the actual game to me.
Your summary made it sound like air dashing in Darkstalkers was a universal technique when only a few characters had that ability (especially in the first game when only Zabel had it), it did have mid-air blocking though.
My top 10 1: Third Strike 2: Super Turbo 3: Vampire Savior 4: GGACX2 +r 5: Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown 6: Marvel vs Capcom 2 7: Skullgirls 8: Soul Calibur 6 9: King of Fighters XV/XIII/XI/98 (just couldn't choose one) 10: Under night in Birth exe late
10. Project Justice - character design and overall quirkiness does a lot for it. 9. The King of Fighters 96 - obviously not the best but it's what got me into KOF. 8. Capcom vs SNK: Millenium Fight 2000 - mostly nostalgia but I still prefer its flavor of broken to CVS2s 7. Real Bout Fatal Fury - embodies classic Fatal Fury the best in my eyes 6. Arcana Heart - Probably has my favorite grappler of all time and every sequel just kept losing what made the original so good. 5. Samurai Shodown IV/64 - Can't really pick between the two. Played more of 64 competitively but IV got me into the series. 4. Virtua Fighter IV: Final Tuned - only played it a little but it's easily my favorite version of VF. Had I been able to play it regularly it would most likely number 2. 3. X-Men vs Street Fighter - hands down my most played arcade game. Defined my youth. 2. Street Fighter Alpha 2 - Similar situation to XvsSF and mostly gets the edge since I've been able to go back to it a little easier. 1. Vampire Savior - My second favorite video game of all time. Just does everything right aside from not having Donovan in it.
Been WAITING for this list from you, I know whatever games you put on the list, will be put there with respect and love for all fighting games, even if I may disagree with one or two. Keep putting out the killer good content, you've been slapping some damn good videos down lately
Great list, tbh. I genuinely had a grin on my face for the KI section. I've been a life long SF /Capcom/SNK 2D guy but I had a stint in my childhood where I was OBSESSED with KI on SNES. I really wanted to get into the revival of the series but I was already knee deep in other fighters at the time. Also much love for CvS2 . It was like my childhood headcanon fights made real Keep up the great content JM.
Love Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and 3. Easily my two favorite fighting games of all time. I know they kindof dropped the ball a bit with the 4th one, but I hope Marvel and Capcom can collaborate together again on a 5th one that brings back the magic of 2 and 3.
Glad you made a top 10 yourself, this is a really solid list. I thought 3rd Strike would've been your favourite but I underestimated your love for yout top pick lol. It's very interesting, a lot of the games you enjoy have a distinctly classic fighting game aesthetic. In your normal videos your preference don't really show as bias, you're really good at being the everyman fighter and roping people into the genre through hype and good vibes.
Accent Core best characters are busted but not undefeatable, the range between low tiers and top tiers is small enough to overcome. I think most characters had good results in tournaments actually. As for thrid strike there are 3 or 4 characters that are by no means viable but everyone else has a chance in high level play
The ten most important fighters for me are Tekken 3, Tekken 7, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat X, Mortal Kombat 11, BlazBlue Continuum Shift, Guilty Gear Strive, DBFZ, and SoulCalibur 2. Not super hardcore, but these games have given me the most joy.
I would love to hear a follow-up Top 10 Anime Games/Airdashers. Not only could you talk about Uni, a series I think you would like a lot, but you could even cheat and put Vsav down twice
I think Mortal kombat 2 should've been on here. Also, if you want a good Zangief team run Zangief on point with venom and blackheart. Venoms ground assist works into lariat into SBD where its abusive. Blackheart zone assist combos with Zangief's air throw. You can pressure any team into SBD super or regular
Have you ever tried Tekken Tag Tournament 2? My favourite Tekken game (actually, it's my favourite fighting game) and I remember the online being pretty decent on it.
This is a good list. I'd probably switch out Them's Fighting Herds for Skullgirls, as it's basically that game on steroids. Other than that, great list!
i’ve never played mvc2 but i REALLY want to. i hope they come out with a re-release or something for current gen consoles so i can pick it up and experience that beauty of a game.
I think fighting better players in Skullgirls is actually pretty fun after you get some basics down. The robbery factor of being able to reset the enemy to death off of any hit means you can get games off players who might beat you consistently in more "honest" games
1 - SF 3 Third Strike 2- Kof 98 3- SF Alpha 3 4- Marvel vs Capcom 2 5- Jojo Bizarre Adventure Heritage for the Future 6- Tekken 5 7-Garou Mark of The Wolves 8-The Last Blade 2 9- Guilty Gear 10- Kof 2000
Has someone who has never played fighting games past Tekken on the PS1, but has always watched the content and enjoyed it, MvC3 is my favorite game to watch because I love the sheer amount of chaos that can be happening on the screen at any given moment.
I was just wondering where is Melty Blood, Dem's Fightin Herds, Lost Blade 2, Akatsuki BlitzKamphf, Blazeblue, Tatsunoko Vs Capcom, Persona 4: Arena, Lethal League, Samurai showdown, Super Smash Brothers Melee, Garou, Injustice, Fantasy Strike, Bushido Blade, Rising thunder, Windjammers, Bloody Roar ARMS, Street fighter X Tekken, Pokken Tournament and PlayStation AllStars.
I highly disagree with the statement of "Plus R's top tiers being too broken." Every character in plus r makes you play their own game. Learning that game, playing that game, or breaking that game with your character/playstyle is a very unique and personalized experience. This means that your Sol badguy might have a better match up against a Faust than another Sol. Sure, one character does seem to be slightly better then the rest (Testament), but the rest are either separated into really great or just good (even with saying that Testament isn't even broken, just slightly over tuned compared to the rest). Every character is viable, and each one provides their own game with a shit ton of player expression, in combination with the amazing movement and defensive mechanics. I understand that at a lower level many characters can break the game for new players, but once you get over that, you'll find that this game is one of the best Expression/Balance Ratio I've seen in a fighting game ever. So pick up your character, learn the match ups, practice, make your own style, have fun, and win. Everyone is High tier over here
My list in no particular order Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection Street Fighter 3 Third Strike Soul Calibur Series (Love em all) Guilty Gear Xrd Smash Bros Ultimate Absolver Lethal League Blaze But my Top 1 is: Touhou Hisoutensoku (Scarlet Weather Rhapsody) I am super serious that this game is doing some future shit. You literally can pick up and play it, it has no grabs so the gameplay is focused in a different way, you can customize your character MID MATCH, and pre match you costumize your deck that changes how you fight and your resource war versus the opponent. All characters can fly or at least, air dash for a long time making the fighting very vertical, and mostly everyone has a method of zoning. This game is zoning fiesta, but there is another fundamental to it which is dashing through most projectiles. It has single button specials, as well as motion inputs. This game is insanely innovative for a 2d fighter. I highly suggest the FREE GAME. I hate how other fighting games dont copy certain things from this game. If I ever, in my life make a fighting game. Touhou Hisoutensoku will be a primary reference.
I think I mentioned in the comments of another video MK11 is pretty high on my all-time list. Sad that a MK title didn't make your list at all. I get it though - I can't say I am crazy about the input system for a lot of special moves. But I respect the opinions. And it makes sense since you are more of a SF guy whereas I am a MK/Tekken guy. I also think pretty highly of Tekken 7 despite it's not that great online. But we all enjoy different things. I don't like tag based games like MvC2 or DBFZ. They wouldn't even make my top 20. In fact games like MvC2 is one of the reasons me and my friends left the fighting game genre for so long.
@@carlosaugusto9821 I didn't say it was the only reason but it was one of the big one's. MK went to a 3d style which we didn't like. We stopped playing after Deadly Alliance. Tekken 4 felt so different than Tag. We just kept playing Tag mostly until we drifted. Folks got married/moved ect. But it was MvC2 and games like it coupled with MK going in what we thought was a poor direction that fighting games just were not on the menu anymore - except the very occasional Tekken Tag match.
The distinct lack of Capcom vs SNK 2 on everybody else's lists was criminal. Unironically my favourite fighting game of all time.
Its a shame though they didnt make it 60 characters in totall instead of 48
They could have easily added jedah demitri from capcom and ralf andy Clark from snk for examaple
So true...wish arcade1up would come out with the cabinet
@@terrybogars8933 They could've easily added Lilith too.
same here.
I am happy with my mugen so i can always play iori vs jedah
Ten copies of Shaq Fu, clearly.
At the end of the day, “Top 10 Games I Like The Most” is really the only thing that matters
I came for the db fighterz content
I stayed because JM is a good wholesome dude
Keep up the good work!
Same!
Appreciate the Darkstalkers representation! Definitely deserves more praise and recognition!
In my list Alpha 3 is definitely in the top 5, top 3 maybe. Such a charming and stylish game!
Ahh yes then you experience vism infinites
@@blaire9524 🤓
If only the music was more similar to Alpha 2 it would definitely be the best SF game
@@blaire9524 yea only bad part of the game
@@humaneshadow300 v ism makes it bad also even without the infinites, there are a handful of characters that are good or better in aism
It's funny how everyone rolls their eyes at FGC "boomers" who complain about the direction of modern fighters, and yet there's a ton of people who weren't competitive until years later that love MvC2, Third Strike, and CvS2. Makes you wonder if there really is something missing in modern FGs.
Samurai Showdown has to be one of my favorite fighters ever. Reminds me a lot of Dark Souls in the fact that you could be killed with just a few attacks if you weren't careful. MK2, MK3 Ultimate, SSF2 Turbo & OG Killer Instinct were all awesome as well. Just had to make sure you were playing on actual arcade cabinets, & not inferior home console ports, lol!
Would definately have Samurai Showdown on my top 10 also. But its subjective... But yeah the high stakes gameplay was pretty rewarding.
Lists are always subjective and arbitrary but i think its worth noting KOF 2002 is just about as old as 3S and its always trading places with 3S on fightcade as the most played game. Garou Mark of the Wolves is really fun too if you like 3S. I'm a capcom guy too so i get it haha. Just thought SNK should have a little more representation :)
Just got on to fightcade and was surprised how popular it is, definitely most played game on there
@@minechaftgamer288 yea it seems to depend on the time of day which has more people in it
@@snax087 It's always 3S everytime I look. Right at the moment of typing this comment 3S has 732 people in the room and KoF2002 624. Which is pretty impressive for both those games TBH those two and KoF98 are pretty much holding fightcade up.
I agree with you best is 2002 new gen best is 13, 15 no longer feels like classic kof they changed it quite a bit
@@markhavick7115 Have you considered that it must have to do with your schedule pattern and region time? Because If you live in North America or any European country you probably don't match with the best time of the predominant regions that play old KOFs. But it matches with that of regions that play more Capcom fgs - and very few of SNK fgs and almost nothing of KOF particularly. Because SNK culture doesn't exist in North America and Europe.
Garou: Mark of the wolves 🔥 is my most favourite fighting game, SF Third Strike is a close 2nd & I love MVC2 on the Naomi hardware 🙂 Great video
Garou is one of the top way better than tekken and darkstalker easily
Don't forget about fatal fury real bout and fatal fury real bout special
I love that you picked 3rd strike as your favorite SF game. That freedom is so rewarding and I always go back to it. I can also never get mad at that #1 pick ;)
Isn't that the one everyone picks?
@@DANCERcow as their favorite Street Fighter?
@@michaelwaynetucker I agree so much with you on this. I always thought that 2nd Impact was the superior game, other than the balance. The announcer, the character portraits during the fights, the sound effects, everything about it was way better. I wouldn't mind playing it again. But again, no one wants to play it and instead just plays 3rd Strike only.
it was aesthetically pleasing i agree but the OST was buns in comparison. but all these comments are just opinion, and thats mine
Marvel vs Capcom 1&2 were a big thing for me back when I'd hit the arcade on weekends. I've never been more than okay at fighting games but those two were so much fun. Especially since I knew how to use hidden assist characters in 1, which as a young teen felt really special. Usually lost once a human showed up but beat the solo boss often enough. Always had fun anyways. Even getting my butt kicked was usually fun to watch.
Lilith is low-key a goddess in dark stalkers!! She got this fireball that doesn't even go a quarter of the way across the screen but somehow someway I keep hitting my opponent with that dinky little fireball. Honestly I didn't think I would stick with her but she became my favorite character in the game...
By the way Maximilian is sick at killer instinct! I was watching him play a little bit and the combos you can do in that game are just out of this world!
The fact Capcom has barely used her in any crossovers is criminal.
Ironic, considering she's supposed to be a Dan-like joke character.
@@MagmaMKII Um… where’d you get that shit?
Now THIS is a solid list I can support. 👍
No Fight of Animals 0/10
Only thing that surprised me about this video is no mention of Persona 4 Arena at all!! Either way, I really enjoy listening to you talk about the things you think are fun in fighting games, and definitely can relate to the things you enjoy in them. That feeling of being able to mess around in training mode and just figure stuff out forever is seriously amazing.
p4a would probably be in that 11-13 area, it's close!
Sorry but no on persona being in 10 top.. close but no
@@jmcrofts When I read the title of the videos "The Real", I immediately played the video. I'm glad you said in the intro that this is your own list and of course there's some bias. Because I think there is no "Real" list regarding the best fighting game. Like MVC2, I have stopped playing MVC games because this franchise then I resumed playing in MVC3 but many of my friends regards MVC2 is one of the best. Off topic though with John's comment.
As I respected your opinion but there are so many FGC players that even doesn't know that fighting game from persona franchise exists.
@@luna_kits2345 MvC2 in some ways is the worst game in the series. It has the best roster obviously but the backgrounds are completely forgettable and the soundtrack could be nominated for worst fighting game soundtrack of all time. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter and CVSM 1 were better overall aesthetic packages. They had cool little hidden characters and gimmicks in them too.
MvC2. Greatest game of all time. The hundreds of hours I've poured into the game in the past and I'm still a novice. And when you suck at comboing like myself, having to learn how to defend against so many characters and their mixups with assists was it's own game too.
I agree with everything you said. Everything. It’s my number 2 overall of any type of game behind FF7. I spent literally hundreds of hours every night after school breaking sleep, playing hard defense because like you I sucked at combos. Learning how to high jump in and start with light attacks and break fighters down. Then meeting someone who made you look like you just started playing. Everything down to the music I loved. Greatest 2D fighter hands down
Fun Fact: Back in the day, Street Fighter 3 [Including Third Strike] was deemed a Commercial Failure & 'killed' the franchise due to Competition, Arcade Hardware being ran on [which was the CPS-3], Change in Direction & Developmental Constraints. It took Capcom 3 full years to port New Generation & Second Impact [Dubbed Double Impact] on the Dreamcast in June of 2000 with Third Strike ported 4 months later. 4 Years Later, Evo Moment 37 was the time where Street Fighter 3 gained a cult classic. Now Third Strike became a beloved fighting game but back in the day, it was the game that caused Capcom to go back to the drawing board & rethink their strategy within the Street Fighter Franchise
SF3 didn't "kill" the franchise that way, with quotation marks... literally it was the last SF for NINE YEARS. Which is huge for the biggest and most influential fg franchise in the 90s, and for an industry that worked with annual or biannual fg releases.
Also no other famous franchise died like that, and some actually never died like Tekken. And other 90s 2d franchises never died like Guilty Gear and KOF. (And only if you want to force the argument so hard your own way, you could say "2d MK" died in the 90s and stayed dead for as much long, but that's laughable)
Also that early death killed the future of cps3, making it kinda the Dreamcast of fg history: promising impressive next gen system with a tragic early death.
It was fighting game cancer. Plenty of people I know never even played it. I don't care how much revisionist history that was always beloved and good. I recently tried replaying it and still found it terrible as it's too sluggish and clunky. Like fighting underwater. The pro scene might have adopted it years later, but it put the franchise in a coma.
@@Lastjustice Only these fgc massive capcom fans praise third strike i find it descent but nothing special.
@@moon-berserker8870 I just found every other version of Street Fighter (Barring SF 1) was more enjoyable for their time than any version of Street Fighter 3 ever was for me.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 came out around the same time, and was easily one of the most amazing games in the series. I loved playing through World Tour mode and creating custom characters, and unlocking all the goodies fighting thru it. The Ism system and the custom character system gave so many layers to the game. Was it balanced? , probably not but was fun to see what crazy stuff you could do. It was one of my favorite games in the series, and probably one I played the most till SF 4 came along.
I am not a huge fan of Street Fighter 5, but I still prefer it over 3. Some of the characters grew on me over time in SF 3, like Elena, Dudley and Alex, but at the time so many of them were characters I couldn't give a crap less about. Like Ryu , Ken and a bunch of freaks. SF 3 had so much going against it. Is it the worst fighting game ever..Absolutely not, but I found it to be a terrible Street fighter game compared to the standard of what greatness the series had otherwise achieve.
If capcom had simply made it a new series as originally planned, I think it would been better received than being a SF 3. Capcom had put off making SF 3 for so long, as gampro had a joke of the count from sesame street trying get capcom to count to 3 as the executives couldn't do it.(They also had a parody for MK and Cookie monster trying show them the letter C existed.) There just was too much build up to a SF 3, and so when it finnally did happen after years of multiple SF 2 versions coming out, this was a massive let down. May be nothing could delivered the needed levels of hype to fullfill this much of a build up, but if any game could have...IT WAS NOT SF 3.
@@Lastjustice Cant wait to see mk 12 destroying sf 6 xD
It's a solid list! Pretty much like my list, except I do have MK9 in my top 10; I have fond memories of MK2 so the series being rebooted in MK9 was hype for me - I put so much time in practice mode and was able to go on a 21 game win streak with my fav character Baraka (considered low tier in that game).
MK9 was hype as fuck. Posthumous MK games don't have the vintage charisma MK9 had
I like street fighter vs x-men alot for the secret characters and dark variations or characters. The gameplay was solid too. I at least knew some of the "2d vs" games would make the list. Vampire Savior / Dark Stalkers is sooooo underrated!
Yeah X-Men Vs. Street Fighter is my favorite of the Capcom vs. Marvel series. It's drawback is it's small roster but the overall aesthetics of that game were the best imo. The whole thing just fit right. Capcom Vs. Marvel 2 had the best roster obviously but most of the stages were completely forgettable, I didn't like the 4 button system and the music was fuckin horrible. I mean the game Marvel Vs. Capcom and the music is this cheesy jazzy piano crap. I hated that Take Me For A Ride song so much I could barely turn the game on.
Other TH-camr's B-Roll: "Look at how much I win!"
jmcroft's B-Roll: "Look how much I get bodied!"
I will add Samshow 5 Special. Outside of not having Rollback as in the future for the newest one, Samshow V Special feels that is the pinnacle (for now) for a game that is basically less complex mechanics but simple fun and damage that can appeal to everyone. maybe not in the main list, but worth the mention in my book.
If Karate Champ on NES isn't #1 your entire list is bullshit!
Two personal favorites of mine are battle arena toshinden and under night in birth. Toshinden was one of the games we had when we got a PS1, I think it's still pretty fun, obviously a early PS1 title but at the time it was pretty epic. I played so much of this as a kid.
Under night is the only arc system game I've put a significant amount of time in. Yea the characters are all pretty generic anime people, but learning each character, how to counter certain moves and the handful of systems the game has is very rewarding. Oh, and the soundtrack is pretty terrific too.
Honorable mention of ehrgeiz, aka the one with cloud in it. Such a neat idea, it makes me miss when square did more than just jrpgs.
Ehgeiz was a blast, especially Quest mode. I spent a ton of time in both modes.
@@penismightier9278 remember the obnoxious menu sfx? Although again, killer ost for ehrgeiz. A brand new quest was great, what fighting game just randomly puts in a whole action RPG side game in ? Not to mention the beach mini games.
No one ever talks about Toshinden. Those games were great. And the stripped down 2D version on Gameboy was pretty hype too.
not having soul calibur and virtua fighter make this list terrible ;d
These games are some of the best fighting games ever but soul calibur has the distinction of being of the best games ever made. To me and others soul calibur on the Dreamcast has hit that mark up there with sf2. That's huge points right there
Bbcf is king for me, very unbalanced but I love the game so much, the feel of combos, the incredible uniqueness in the cast, all of it. Blazblue central fiction is great 👍
My mans really been cranking out banger video after banger video
There was an PS1 fighting game called Bloody Roar. It was pretty tight
I never tire of JM’s joyous enthusiasm. My favorite games are probably my SF3 Second Impact. CvS2. Super Turbo. Vampire Savior. KoF 98. Garou Mark of the Wolves. And SamSho V Special.
Skullgirls and Capcom vs SNK 2 are always my all time fave. I'm glad they are part of your list ^_^
Personally I wouldn't put MvC2 so high in the list entirely because of how inaccessible the game is to new players. Some people just never stopped playing that game, these regulars make it way too hard to get into as a new player these days. You'd have to jump in with someone else just as green as you to get anywhere.
I don't know how the professionals feel about it, but from a casual fighting game enjoyer, FighterZ is one of the best fighting games out there. I've been hard-pressed to find a fighting game with the amazing visuals and music that this game has, everytime I combo into one of my characters' level 3 supers I get this insane dopamine rush for pulling off something that looks so cool. When you do cool shit in FighterZ, you feel really cool.
And it's pretty easy to do cool shit on fighterz. If you're a casual it's one of the most accesible 2D fighters out there, and at comp level, without counting some janky shit, you depend a lot on your reflexes and game sense.
I'm always surprised that, of the 3D fighters, Tekken is the one everyone likes most, because all the other ones seem to have a more identifiable "hook" to them. How JM talks about Tekken makes it sound like a list of knowledge checks, which is a hard pass for me, but the enthusiasm he speaks of it with is definitely how I feel about Soul Calibur II.
For me along with the Soul Calibur games it has a much more distinct style than most other 3D fighters. Games like Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive and others all feel too similar to me.
@@VAFranky Dead or Alive has the counter system and tons of environmental interactions, the latter of which may be making its way into Tekken 8, at least. Virtua Fighter always seemed to be the one closest to "real" fighting.
Soul Calibur II is my favorite fighting game of all time, and was my introduction to the FGC.
Soul Calibur was every bit as technical as any Tekken out at that time. I've not played the newer entries in the series, I've only seen them a bit, but they largely look the same. VF4 and VF5 are perhaps the most technical 3D fighters ever made.
Playing Tekken with your friends is very different from going online and hitting those knowledge checks. On a basic level, the movement and attacks are actually much more intuitive than most other fighters. You don't need to learn motion inputs to have a full moveset, your attacks usually have good momentum to them so you don't need to learn tight poking ranges, and the stringd and juggles are easy, instead of having to learn what normal can special cancel into what / what juggle state is he in / does this otg? etc.
It's kind of like Skullgirls, I would say. Very easy to control and start doing stuff, so it's a great game to pick up with friends, but in competitive that means there's six million ways to die. I also love Arcana Heart for that loose and free gameplay, but I would never try and take that online 😅
>Capcom vs SNK2 in top 3
This list is legit.
No SamSho I am hurt already.
Always enjoy your content. Please if you could also do some fight breakdowns like from evo top 8 kawano gachikun and the grand finals.
Dude, playing as Iori in Capcom vs SNK 2 as a kid WAS my childhood. Thank you so much for including it in this list. I always thought it was the best fighting game ever.
From an aesthetic perspective, MvC2 is the worst game in the series. It has the best roster which is why it's the go to game in the series but the backgrounds are completely forgettable and the soundtrack could be nominated for worst fighting game soundtrack of all time. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter and CVSM 1 were more coherent aesthetic packages. They FELT right, MVSV 2 always felt more like a fan made mod than the actual game to me.
ac+r is my favorite fighting game ever.
Well-made video as usual, you've got a great, well-spoken, very articulate way of talking about fighting games that always makes for a fun watch!
Your summary made it sound like air dashing in Darkstalkers was a universal technique when only a few characters had that ability (especially in the first game when only Zabel had it), it did have mid-air blocking though.
My top 10
1: Third Strike
2: Super Turbo
3: Vampire Savior
4: GGACX2 +r
5: Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown
6: Marvel vs Capcom 2
7: Skullgirls
8: Soul Calibur 6
9: King of Fighters XV/XIII/XI/98 (just couldn't choose one)
10: Under night in Birth exe late
i love watching MVC2 but with the point system. i love seeing low tiers being played.
I don't really like Fighting Games but (for some reason) I keep watching your videos! I really love your attitude! GREAT JOB!
The 99 meter in darkstalkers is crazy. I thought it was just a training mode thing when I first saw it 😂
10. Project Justice - character design and overall quirkiness does a lot for it.
9. The King of Fighters 96 - obviously not the best but it's what got me into KOF.
8. Capcom vs SNK: Millenium Fight 2000 - mostly nostalgia but I still prefer its flavor of broken to CVS2s
7. Real Bout Fatal Fury - embodies classic Fatal Fury the best in my eyes
6. Arcana Heart - Probably has my favorite grappler of all time and every sequel just kept losing what made the original so good.
5. Samurai Shodown IV/64 - Can't really pick between the two. Played more of 64 competitively but IV got me into the series.
4. Virtua Fighter IV: Final Tuned - only played it a little but it's easily my favorite version of VF. Had I been able to play it regularly it would most likely number 2.
3. X-Men vs Street Fighter - hands down my most played arcade game. Defined my youth.
2. Street Fighter Alpha 2 - Similar situation to XvsSF and mostly gets the edge since I've been able to go back to it a little easier.
1. Vampire Savior - My second favorite video game of all time. Just does everything right aside from not having Donovan in it.
Quirky
As an avid fighting game spectator, KI and 3rd Strike are definitely my favorite games to watch.
Bold choice to make Shaq Fu your number 1 pick, but I respect it
the fact that he spent 1 hr talking about it deserves respect too
Thank you for putting Capcom vs Snk 2 on this list!
Been WAITING for this list from you, I know whatever games you put on the list, will be put there with respect and love for all fighting games, even if I may disagree with one or two. Keep putting out the killer good content, you've been slapping some damn good videos down lately
17:58 I can play this game all day.
- Captain America (MVC2)
Now we just need IGN and WatchMojo to collab on a reaction to this.
Great list, tbh. I genuinely had a grin on my face for the KI section. I've been a life long SF /Capcom/SNK 2D guy but I had a stint in my childhood where I was OBSESSED with KI on SNES. I really wanted to get into the revival of the series but I was already knee deep in other fighters at the time.
Also much love for CvS2 . It was like my childhood headcanon fights made real
Keep up the great content JM.
Kof XV over 98 and 2002 is a hell of a take.
3rd Strike
MvC2
CvS2
KoF 98
Darkstalkers 3
Samurai Shodown 3
Guilty Gear X2
MK2
SF2
Tekken 5
mk2??? 😂😂
Finally we have the true, objective, top 10 fighting games ever made.
Love Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and 3. Easily my two favorite fighting games of all time. I know they kindof dropped the ball a bit with the 4th one, but I hope Marvel and Capcom can collaborate together again on a 5th one that brings back the magic of 2 and 3.
Bit surprised with no mention of Blazblue, but I guess it makes a little bit of sense considering that your top GG game only made it to 9th
Can you explain how Capcom v SNK 2 feels more like a Street Fighter than Street Fighters? I did not understand that one bit?
Glad you made a top 10 yourself, this is a really solid list. I thought 3rd Strike would've been your favourite but I underestimated your love for yout top pick lol. It's very interesting, a lot of the games you enjoy have a distinctly classic fighting game aesthetic. In your normal videos your preference don't really show as bias, you're really good at being the everyman fighter and roping people into the genre through hype and good vibes.
Watch mojo list: I sleep
Jmcroft: *real shit*
Accent Core best characters are busted but not undefeatable, the range between low tiers and top tiers is small enough to overcome. I think most characters had good results in tournaments actually. As for thrid strike there are 3 or 4 characters that are by no means viable but everyone else has a chance in high level play
great list, i'd have put melee, sf2, sfa3, tekken 5 in my top 4 though, respectively
The ten most important fighters for me are Tekken 3, Tekken 7, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat X, Mortal Kombat 11, BlazBlue Continuum Shift, Guilty Gear Strive, DBFZ, and SoulCalibur 2. Not super hardcore, but these games have given me the most joy.
I was wondering if you going to do this. LET'S GO!
Your LIVE twitch streams are very good and entertaining!!!!
I used to love Bloody Roar and Fighting Vipers. A shame they were forgotten.
I would love to hear a follow-up Top 10 Anime Games/Airdashers. Not only could you talk about Uni, a series I think you would like a lot, but you could even cheat and put Vsav down twice
A satisfying list. Thanks for listening to all the demand in the reaction videos.
DOA is so much fun. Definitely worth a try! It got me into fighting games.
I always use BB Hood, Tron Bonne and Son Son or War Machine such an awesome game!
Great list!
Subscribed because of your mention of cvs2! 👌🎊
I wish I could get DBFZ with SG's 1-3vs1-3 system. I want to play a whole team of just a really strong Kefla XD
It would be amazing, but in contrast to skull girls, FighterZ characters are not balanced to fight solo.
@@El_Chuchuca True, it's just a wish. Not like I ever thought there was a chance of it.
I think Mortal kombat 2 should've been on here. Also, if you want a good Zangief team run Zangief on point with venom and blackheart. Venoms ground assist works into lariat into SBD where its abusive. Blackheart zone assist combos with Zangief's air throw. You can pressure any team into SBD super or regular
Have you ever tried Tekken Tag Tournament 2? My favourite Tekken game (actually, it's my favourite fighting game) and I remember the online being pretty decent on it.
The King of Fighters series is awesome 😀👍
Very good list. My list has Xmen Children of the Atom, Ultimate MK 3, SS 5, World Heros Jet, Tekken 3
This is a good list. I'd probably switch out Them's Fighting Herds for Skullgirls, as it's basically that game on steroids.
Other than that, great list!
I’m surprised that Tatsunoko vs Capcom wasn’t on the list since JMCrofts likes it so much.
Beautiful content, keep it coming jmcrofts
Is the matchmaking for kof 15 still rough?
i’ve never played mvc2 but i REALLY want to. i hope they come out with a re-release or something for current gen consoles so i can pick it up and experience that beauty of a game.
There are PC versions that are the most ideal way to play atm
I find these videos so entertaining, also still nursing the dream that Power Rangers Battle for the Grid will appear on a list sometime
I'll make you one if you want.
Power rangers just manages to squeeze into mine at number 10.
I love Them's Fightin' Herds. Has my favorite tutorials of any fighting game, and loved coming up with my own combos!
Outstanding video and great list!!!❤❤❤❤
“you’re never in a helpless situation in 3rd strike”
*laughs in makoto*
I think fighting better players in Skullgirls is actually pretty fun after you get some basics down. The robbery factor of being able to reset the enemy to death off of any hit means you can get games off players who might beat you consistently in more "honest" games
This vid and comments have reminded me to get into Vampire Saviour. Don't recall seeing it so highly praised before.
1 - SF 3 Third Strike
2- Kof 98
3- SF Alpha 3
4- Marvel vs Capcom 2
5- Jojo Bizarre Adventure Heritage for the Future
6- Tekken 5
7-Garou Mark of The Wolves
8-The Last Blade 2
9- Guilty Gear
10- Kof 2000
Has someone who has never played fighting games past Tekken on the PS1, but has always watched the content and enjoyed it, MvC3 is my favorite game to watch because I love the sheer amount of chaos that can be happening on the screen at any given moment.
I was just wondering where is Melty Blood, Dem's Fightin Herds, Lost Blade 2, Akatsuki BlitzKamphf, Blazeblue, Tatsunoko Vs Capcom, Persona 4: Arena, Lethal League, Samurai showdown, Super Smash Brothers Melee, Garou, Injustice, Fantasy Strike, Bushido Blade, Rising thunder, Windjammers, Bloody Roar ARMS, Street fighter X Tekken, Pokken Tournament and PlayStation AllStars.
1. Third strike
2. Soul calibur 2 (ps2)
3. CVS2
4. DNF duel
5. SF2 new challengers
6. SfIV
7. GGxrd
8. GGXX
9. P4Au
10. Footsies
I’ve been playing mvc2 since it came out and I was a kid. Still learning new stuff!
Pleasantly surprised that Killer Instinct is even on this list, especially so high!
"It feels like streetfighter on crack"
❤
I played MvC2 in the PS2 of all things. I remember it fondly but have never played it again after I started liking fighting games more seriously
Great list! No room for Samsho?
I highly disagree with the statement of "Plus R's top tiers being too broken." Every character in plus r makes you play their own game. Learning that game, playing that game, or breaking that game with your character/playstyle is a very unique and personalized experience. This means that your Sol badguy might have a better match up against a Faust than another Sol. Sure, one character does seem to be slightly better then the rest (Testament), but the rest are either separated into really great or just good (even with saying that Testament isn't even broken, just slightly over tuned compared to the rest). Every character is viable, and each one provides their own game with a shit ton of player expression, in combination with the amazing movement and defensive mechanics. I understand that at a lower level many characters can break the game for new players, but once you get over that, you'll find that this game is one of the best Expression/Balance Ratio I've seen in a fighting game ever. So pick up your character, learn the match ups, practice, make your own style, have fun, and win. Everyone is High tier over here
My list in no particular order
Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection
Street Fighter 3 Third Strike
Soul Calibur Series (Love em all)
Guilty Gear Xrd
Smash Bros Ultimate
Absolver
Lethal League Blaze
But my Top 1 is: Touhou Hisoutensoku (Scarlet Weather Rhapsody)
I am super serious that this game is doing some future shit. You literally can pick up and play it, it has no grabs so the gameplay is focused in a different way, you can customize your character MID MATCH, and pre match you costumize your deck that changes how you fight and your resource war versus the opponent. All characters can fly or at least, air dash for a long time making the fighting very vertical, and mostly everyone has a method of zoning. This game is zoning fiesta, but there is another fundamental to it which is dashing through most projectiles. It has single button specials, as well as motion inputs. This game is insanely innovative for a 2d fighter. I highly suggest the FREE GAME. I hate how other fighting games dont copy certain things from this game. If I ever, in my life make a fighting game. Touhou Hisoutensoku will be a primary reference.
I think I mentioned in the comments of another video MK11 is pretty high on my all-time list. Sad that a MK title didn't make your list at all. I get it though - I can't say I am crazy about the input system for a lot of special moves. But I respect the opinions. And it makes sense since you are more of a SF guy whereas I am a MK/Tekken guy. I also think pretty highly of Tekken 7 despite it's not that great online. But we all enjoy different things. I don't like tag based games like MvC2 or DBFZ. They wouldn't even make my top 20. In fact games like MvC2 is one of the reasons me and my friends left the fighting game genre for so long.
Very strange to drop all fgs because of just MvC2, but ok
@@carlosaugusto9821 I didn't say it was the only reason but it was one of the big one's. MK went to a 3d style which we didn't like. We stopped playing after Deadly Alliance. Tekken 4 felt so different than Tag. We just kept playing Tag mostly until we drifted. Folks got married/moved ect. But it was MvC2 and games like it coupled with MK going in what we thought was a poor direction that fighting games just were not on the menu anymore - except the very occasional Tekken Tag match.
I really like your list, it's full of pure love for classics
10 guilty gear acr or XRD
9 killer instinct reboot
8 soul calibur 2 GameCube
7 mortal Kombat 9
6 street fighter alpha 3
5 king of fighters 13
4 marvel vs Capcom 2
3 Tekken tag tournament or 5
2 BlazBlue central fiction
1 Capcom vs snk 2
Thanks for mentioning Virtua Fighter. Sega doesn't or simply can't give this series what it truly deserves.