Street Fighter 2 ~Arcade 1991~ Vs. Mortal Kombat ~Arcade 1992~
The Battle for Retro Fighting Game Glory
This debate has haunted many a arcade ever since the good folks at Midway began shipping the highly innovative first launch game in 1992, as a answer to Capcom's Hugely successful StreetFighter series.
Soon sides were chosen and die hards were born. You had those who lived for the brutal bloodshed that was MK and those mastering insane combination carnage that was Streetfighter 2.
But now we are 15 years past the first shot in this gaming gurellia warfare,The scene has settled and it's time to look back on who exactly was the winner in in the Capcom/Midway smackdown.
-Street Fighter 2-
Although not usually called such, the second of the series was a huge stepping stone for Fighting games in General, Especailly with the credit of being the first such game to allow cancelling and innteruptions of moves, which enabled players to create combinations. This would set up a very intense competition of players at local arcades facing off for bragging rights and popping in quarters at a almost unbelieveable rate.
But let's not place the addictions of this game on gameplay alone.
The Graphics were a glorious combination of brightly lit stages and fast moving sprites that truly ran the gambit of all fighter types.
Frankly both the stages and characters were just plain fun, Especailly stages that allowed interaction with breakway crats or statues,Another rarely seen quality in a game.
The music was at times cartoonish, Stereotypical but rarely ever boring.
what could have been parody of national athems became standard fighting music as each was sped up or given tight riffs to give the music a intense live by the second feel.
In all Street Fighter 2 perfected the basics, Invented a few new game standards that would be become standard fighting game workings. Add just a classic Campom job sticking with the fun and adveturous tone, Seen in Final fight and other games, rather then a darker one, You have a classic game people still talk of.
Mortal Kombat-
The first of it's series really came out of no where and took the arcade world by suprise, Generally by just how different it could was to any other fighting game.The Digitalized Photography sprites, The ultra Violence and of course easter eggs not totally unseen in gaming, But done in a edgy new way.
The darker tone in general was awe inspiring to teens, who felt finally a game was really directed toward them, Fun yet adult in nature.
This was never so present as it was with the added finishing techiques called ,Fatalities. these blood filled finishers at first look would get pause in disbelief of what just seen, Yet later would be met with chuckles once executed against friends, Bragging rights turned from just wins, To total Humiliation that came from sending a player down into the pits.
But that was Mortal Kombats true hook, Not only win, But win big and reap the rewards, Flawless victories and execution of fatalites earned you a fight against secret character Reptile, A cloned sprite, yet still fun to face. The win big theory won big for Kombat and earned it a grandfather role in more ultra violent and amazing new ways to achieve secrets.
Versus- Graphics
Probrably the hardest to compare, like apples and oranges, it's really about taste. Frankly one could come to the conclusion that Mortal Kombat's graphics are rather overrated now time has past. Personally I find them more of a niche rather then a real achievement. The process was far from new, with such a game like Pit fighter being released a few years before it. The sleek look was Unreasonable called cutting egde when it just wasn't the case. Not that they weren't good, just that presenting it as the new thing was more based on the gore and not the appealing look.
Streetfighter 2 is another confusing topic when speaking of it's graphics, Far from new, Infact it was done in what I think could be reasonably called "Capcom Style" yes Capcom brought the A game to the style, but it was far from new. If I was asked I would call this a draw.
Music
Streetfighter has alot going for it, The music still has it's appeal but only when playing, I doubt many could listen to the music stand alone and enjoy it, It's the full package that earns it smiles.The intense speed is best with intense gameplay
Mortal Kombat on the other hand had a first grasp of techno feel. Which makes asking if you like the soundtrack more of a question of do you like techno? which many did, seeing as the soundtrack sold reasonable well. Sure it's a more mellow beat then your average Techno, but it fits well in the stage and the slower paced fighting style. This round goes to Kombat for me, because they took a chance and made it work
Gameplay
Streetfighter has more playable fighters, More complexed moves and faster game play, But the button combinations must be mastered in ordered to get any good, Which is great for fanactics but only great for all during the intial fad of such a product, Sure for a few months everyone wanted to be a SF master but that wore off and only the true fans stayed aboard, But was this such a bad thing? Not really seeing as the first true great fighting game set a bar for itself that didn't always have to top itself, but rather just stay on par and it would please the die hards.
Mortal Kombat was more forgiving to button mashers, and the combinations needed to execute moves were alot nicer. So maybe fatalities were out of your reach but moves like scorpion's hook could be done relatively easily.
Which looked cool enough as it is. Mastering the game was never set up as the end all be all of it, Only to the die hards. So it was more easier to manage to the average gamer. Also add in the difficulty was alot less hair tearing then Street fighter, Frankly you can get lucky with Kombat, which is good and bad. Good versus computer, but rather disliking when you lose to a friend with a lucky punch from a button masher.
The biggest difference is the speed frankly. As I said before Kombat was slower, you had time to think it out, but then again the luck factor toppled even that. So with that major draw back, I give this round to Street fighter.
Story-
Mortal Kombat and Streetfighter both had stories, And they both were shrugged at by the average gamer, Who cared why scorpion and subzero were butting heads, Or about Guile's and Bison's history, We just wanted to perform the ultra cool looking moves. Which is a shame really because once you read the story it might not so much add to the game itself, but even if they both have well thought out plots.
Another tie here.
Modes
Both had mini games that satisfied,even though streetfighters may have been a little more enjoyable and interactive,But both are rarely spoken of really. Both had challenge modes that were throw away. The endings a series a cut shots that never gave as much satifaction as just beating the game in general, Both had versus modes You know these games aren't that much unlike at all when you come down to it.Tie again
Winner?
First I have to say, the truest winner is us. I know this is corny but it's oh so true. If you've read this far you'll notice that it's not alot about better so much as to what you enjoy personally. And these two games have given us alot to choose between. Ultra Violence or Ultra Combos? Slow and thought out game play or Super sped up matches? Anime Inspired sprites or realistic combatants? It's no wonder the debate can even rage on 15 years after the fact.
My personal winner though, Streetfighter 2. Because most of it's Innovations truly did change the face of gaming and are still implied today, Not to mention that the mortal kombat series itself would later take from it down the line. with much larger character lists and harder to pull off combos instead of just hard to pull off fatalities. Streetfighter also had the sucess without the gimmicks, truely asking fans to rate it by the game itself and not it's marketing ploys, which saddly Mortal Kombat did.
True Mortal Kombat is the grand-daddy to all Blood soaked gaming after it, and maybe it was clever in it's easter eggs but frankly the game just isn't as re-play able as Streetfighter, Why this is I am unsure. Maybe it's because with street fighter, You always tried to master one step at a time. Your goals ranging from executing Ken's fire punch to beating the Bison in a new record time. But you rarely mastered the game totally theyre was always a challenge to be done from youth you never got around to and will go back and try again.
Kombat doesn't have that going for it saddly.You can master it! You can perform all flawless victories and fatailities for every match with every character because of it's slowler pace. Even the intermediate gamers, Once getting down the button combinations could achieve such after a year or so.
Blood was a gimmick and frankly for me it wore off later on, When I still seem to want the gratification of beating Bison one last time.
So now I present the question to you..which is better Fighter or Kombat, because the answer hasn't been given in here, this is simply a guide to compare the two. Maybe down the line we'll have a game that pits the fighters against each other, Til then we have Mugen programs but if they ever did do that, I will go to the arcade and stand next the machine, Pop in my 2 quarters and smile as I pick ryu..and hope you pick Scorpion.
now that would be a match we all would win...Oh and loser pays by the way.
Thank you for your time I'm out
The Battle for Retro Fighting Game Glory
This debate has haunted many a arcade ever since the good folks at Midway began shipping the highly innovative first launch game in 1992, as a answer to Capcom's Hugely successful StreetFighter series.
Soon sides were chosen and die hards were born. You had those who lived for the brutal bloodshed that was MK and those mastering insane combination carnage that was Streetfighter 2.
But now we are 15 years past the first shot in this gaming gurellia warfare,The scene has settled and it's time to look back on who exactly was the winner in in the Capcom/Midway smackdown.
-Street Fighter 2-
Although not usually called such, the second of the series was a huge stepping stone for Fighting games in General, Especailly with the credit of being the first such game to allow cancelling and innteruptions of moves, which enabled players to create combinations. This would set up a very intense competition of players at local arcades facing off for bragging rights and popping in quarters at a almost unbelieveable rate.
But let's not place the addictions of this game on gameplay alone.
The Graphics were a glorious combination of brightly lit stages and fast moving sprites that truly ran the gambit of all fighter types.
Frankly both the stages and characters were just plain fun, Especailly stages that allowed interaction with breakway crats or statues,Another rarely seen quality in a game.
The music was at times cartoonish, Stereotypical but rarely ever boring.
what could have been parody of national athems became standard fighting music as each was sped up or given tight riffs to give the music a intense live by the second feel.
In all Street Fighter 2 perfected the basics, Invented a few new game standards that would be become standard fighting game workings. Add just a classic Campom job sticking with the fun and adveturous tone, Seen in Final fight and other games, rather then a darker one, You have a classic game people still talk of.
Mortal Kombat-
The first of it's series really came out of no where and took the arcade world by suprise, Generally by just how different it could was to any other fighting game.The Digitalized Photography sprites, The ultra Violence and of course easter eggs not totally unseen in gaming, But done in a edgy new way.
The darker tone in general was awe inspiring to teens, who felt finally a game was really directed toward them, Fun yet adult in nature.
This was never so present as it was with the added finishing techiques called ,Fatalities. these blood filled finishers at first look would get pause in disbelief of what just seen, Yet later would be met with chuckles once executed against friends, Bragging rights turned from just wins, To total Humiliation that came from sending a player down into the pits.
But that was Mortal Kombats true hook, Not only win, But win big and reap the rewards, Flawless victories and execution of fatalites earned you a fight against secret character Reptile, A cloned sprite, yet still fun to face. The win big theory won big for Kombat and earned it a grandfather role in more ultra violent and amazing new ways to achieve secrets.
Versus- Graphics
Probrably the hardest to compare, like apples and oranges, it's really about taste. Frankly one could come to the conclusion that Mortal Kombat's graphics are rather overrated now time has past. Personally I find them more of a niche rather then a real achievement. The process was far from new, with such a game like Pit fighter being released a few years before it. The sleek look was Unreasonable called cutting egde when it just wasn't the case. Not that they weren't good, just that presenting it as the new thing was more based on the gore and not the appealing look.
Streetfighter 2 is another confusing topic when speaking of it's graphics, Far from new, Infact it was done in what I think could be reasonably called "Capcom Style" yes Capcom brought the A game to the style, but it was far from new. If I was asked I would call this a draw.
Music
Streetfighter has alot going for it, The music still has it's appeal but only when playing, I doubt many could listen to the music stand alone and enjoy it, It's the full package that earns it smiles.The intense speed is best with intense gameplay
Mortal Kombat on the other hand had a first grasp of techno feel. Which makes asking if you like the soundtrack more of a question of do you like techno? which many did, seeing as the soundtrack sold reasonable well. Sure it's a more mellow beat then your average Techno, but it fits well in the stage and the slower paced fighting style. This round goes to Kombat for me, because they took a chance and made it work
Gameplay
Streetfighter has more playable fighters, More complexed moves and faster game play, But the button combinations must be mastered in ordered to get any good, Which is great for fanactics but only great for all during the intial fad of such a product, Sure for a few months everyone wanted to be a SF master but that wore off and only the true fans stayed aboard, But was this such a bad thing? Not really seeing as the first true great fighting game set a bar for itself that didn't always have to top itself, but rather just stay on par and it would please the die hards.
Mortal Kombat was more forgiving to button mashers, and the combinations needed to execute moves were alot nicer. So maybe fatalities were out of your reach but moves like scorpion's hook could be done relatively easily.
Which looked cool enough as it is. Mastering the game was never set up as the end all be all of it, Only to the die hards. So it was more easier to manage to the average gamer. Also add in the difficulty was alot less hair tearing then Street fighter, Frankly you can get lucky with Kombat, which is good and bad. Good versus computer, but rather disliking when you lose to a friend with a lucky punch from a button masher.
The biggest difference is the speed frankly. As I said before Kombat was slower, you had time to think it out, but then again the luck factor toppled even that. So with that major draw back, I give this round to Street fighter.
Story-
Mortal Kombat and Streetfighter both had stories, And they both were shrugged at by the average gamer, Who cared why scorpion and subzero were butting heads, Or about Guile's and Bison's history, We just wanted to perform the ultra cool looking moves. Which is a shame really because once you read the story it might not so much add to the game itself, but even if they both have well thought out plots.
Another tie here.
Modes
Both had mini games that satisfied,even though streetfighters may have been a little more enjoyable and interactive,But both are rarely spoken of really. Both had challenge modes that were throw away. The endings a series a cut shots that never gave as much satifaction as just beating the game in general, Both had versus modes You know these games aren't that much unlike at all when you come down to it.Tie again
Winner?
First I have to say, the truest winner is us. I know this is corny but it's oh so true. If you've read this far you'll notice that it's not alot about better so much as to what you enjoy personally. And these two games have given us alot to choose between. Ultra Violence or Ultra Combos? Slow and thought out game play or Super sped up matches? Anime Inspired sprites or realistic combatants? It's no wonder the debate can even rage on 15 years after the fact.
My personal winner though, Streetfighter 2. Because most of it's Innovations truly did change the face of gaming and are still implied today, Not to mention that the mortal kombat series itself would later take from it down the line. with much larger character lists and harder to pull off combos instead of just hard to pull off fatalities. Streetfighter also had the sucess without the gimmicks, truely asking fans to rate it by the game itself and not it's marketing ploys, which saddly Mortal Kombat did.
True Mortal Kombat is the grand-daddy to all Blood soaked gaming after it, and maybe it was clever in it's easter eggs but frankly the game just isn't as re-play able as Streetfighter, Why this is I am unsure. Maybe it's because with street fighter, You always tried to master one step at a time. Your goals ranging from executing Ken's fire punch to beating the Bison in a new record time. But you rarely mastered the game totally theyre was always a challenge to be done from youth you never got around to and will go back and try again.
Kombat doesn't have that going for it saddly.You can master it! You can perform all flawless victories and fatailities for every match with every character because of it's slowler pace. Even the intermediate gamers, Once getting down the button combinations could achieve such after a year or so.
Blood was a gimmick and frankly for me it wore off later on, When I still seem to want the gratification of beating Bison one last time.
So now I present the question to you..which is better Fighter or Kombat, because the answer hasn't been given in here, this is simply a guide to compare the two. Maybe down the line we'll have a game that pits the fighters against each other, Til then we have Mugen programs but if they ever did do that, I will go to the arcade and stand next the machine, Pop in my 2 quarters and smile as I pick ryu..and hope you pick Scorpion.
now that would be a match we all would win...Oh and loser pays by the way.
Thank you for your time I'm out
