All Killer, No Filler Gamelists Part 2 - VS FIGHTERS

[BadMouth]

Directory of "All Killer, No Filler Gamelists"

JUST BECAUSE A GAME IS IN THIS LIST DOES NOT MEAN IT IS WORKING 100% CORRECTLY IN MAME.
LOTS OF GREAT GAMES ARE PERFECTLY PLAYABLE, BUT HAVE SMALL SOUND OR GRAPHICS ISSUES CAUSING THEM TO BE LISTED AS NOT PERFECTLY EMULATED IN MAME.
DO NOT USE A NO-NAG VERSION OF MAME AND THEN COMPLAIN TO MAME DEVS AFTER YOU'VE REMOVED THE GIANT RED BOX THEY PUT THERE TO INFORM YOU THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE GAME.  IF YOU FEEL THE NEED TO ASK ABOUT AN ISSUE, ALWAYS TEST WITH THE UNADULTERATED OFFICIAL MAME BUILD FIRST.

EDIT: OK, I'm happy with this one and calling it DONE.

Tekken 2 and Star Gladiator are commented out in the batch file because there are sequels which are better.
If your PC isn't powerful enough to run the sequels full speed though, you may want to delete the colons :: so the older and less demanding games are copied over. 

Needed CHDs (batch file does not copy over):
jojo
kinst
kinst2
mace
sfiii3


ORIGINAL POST:

Here's the idea:

All killer/No filler gamelists per genre for people who are interested in quality over quantity.
Yes it's subjective, but I trust the judgement of people with a passion for a genre.
This is not about listing every game in a genre.
That would put us right back up to scrolling through thousands of games, most of which suck.

Arcade games only

Next up is Vs Fighting games.  I pared down my original list a lot already based on searching the internet for forums where fans of a franchise discuss the best and worst of them.
Example: Street Fighter: nobody plays the first one, gotta have SF2CE, Gotta have a hyper or turbo version of SF2.  Third Strike is generally considered the best of SF3. EX is still there well, because I thought there should be at least one from the EX series.

There are a TON of great fighting games playable on emulators other than MAME.  I've pulled those out of this list, but do not have them organized by emulator yet.
I will post them later.  There may be a few that I missed that need removed from this list.

So what's missing?  What isn't so great and needs pulled?
I currently have all the wrestling games under sports.  Should they be in this list as well?





currently on the list:

mame

ART OF FIGHTING 3
ASURA BUSTER - ETERNAL WARRIORS
BATTLE ARENA TOSHIDEN 2
BLOOD WARRIOR
BLOODY ROAR 2
BREAKERS REVENGE
CYBERBOTS - FULL METAL MADNESS
DARAKU TENSHI - THE FALLEN ANGELS
DEAD OR ALIVE ++
EHRGEIZ
FATAL FURY 3
FIGHTING LAYER
GAROU:MARK OF THE WOLF
GOLDEN AXE - THE DUEL
JOJO'S VENTURE
KILLER INSTINCT
KILLER INSTINCT 2
KING OF FIGHTERS '96
KING OF FIGHTERS '98 - THE SLUGFEST  (alternatively) King of Fighters 98 - Ultimate Match Hero (PGM2) is working in MAME .193, ROM not included in batch file)
KING OF FIGHTERS 2000
KIZUNA ENCOUNTER
LAST BLADE 2
MACE: THE DARK AGES
MARTIAL CHAMPION
MARTIAL MASTERS
MARVEL SUPER HEROES
MARVEL SUPER HEROES VS STREET FIGHTER
MARVEL VS CAPCOM
MATRIMELEE
MEGA MAN 2: THE POWER FIGHTERS
METAMOQESTER
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM EX
MORTAL KOMBAT II
ULTIMATE MORTAL KOMBAT 3
NIGHT WARRIORS: DARKSTALKER'S REVENGE
OUTFOXIES
PLASMA SWORD
PRIMAL RAGE
RAGE OF DRAGONS
REAL BOUT FATAL FURY 2
RIVAL SCHOOLS
SAMURAI SHODOWN II
SAMURAI SHODOWN III
SAMURAI SHODOWN V SPECIAL
RING OF DESTRUCTION:SLAM MASTERS II
SNK VS CAPCOM: SVC CHAOS
SOUL CALIBUR
STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 2
STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 3
STREET FIGHTER EX 2 PLUS
STREET FIGHTER II: CHAMPION EDITION
SUPER STREET FIGHTER II Turbo
STREET FIGHTER III 3RD STRIKE
SUPER GEM FIGHTER MINI MIX
TEKKEN 3
TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT
VAMPIRE SAVIOR: THE LORD OF VAMPIRE
VIRTUA FIGHTER
WAKU WAKU 7
WORLD HEROES PERFECT
X-MEN VS STREET FIGHTER
X-MEN:CHILDREN OF THE ATOM

model 2

DEAD OR ALIVE
FIGHTING VIPERS
LAST BRONX
SONIC CHAMPIONSHIP
VIRTUA FIGHTER 2

model 3

FIGHTING VIPERS 2
VIRTUA FIGHTER 3

atomiswave


FIST OF THE NORTH STAR
NEO GEO BATTLE COLISEUM
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XI
THE KING OF FIGHTERS NEOWAVE
THE RUMBLE FISH 2

naomi

CAPCOM VS SNK 2 MILLIONAIRE FIGHTING 2001
DEAD OR ALIVE 2 MILLENIUM
GUILTY GEAR XX ACCENT CORE
JINGI STORM
MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2
MOERO! JUSTICE GAKUEN
STREET FIGHTER ZERO 3 UPPER
TOY FIGHTER


Taito Type X/X2

BATTLE FANTASIA
BLAZBLUE: CONTINUUM SHIFT
KING OF FIGHTERS 98 ULTIMATE MATCH
KING OF FIGHTERS XIII
KOF - MAXIMUM IMPACT REGULATION A
SAMURAI SPIRITS SEN
STREET FIGHTER IV

eX-board (but usually packaged with TTX)

ARCANA HEART 3
DAEMON BRIDE


Rule breakers: emulated console ports that deserve to be in your arcade list (these will be the only ones.  We aren't getting into PS2 and beyond)
Soul Calibur for Dreamcast
Soul Calibur II for GameCube

[harveybirdman]

There are some stinkers on that list, I think you can cull it down.

And it's a silly game that wasn't exactly developed well as some sprites are 2D and some 3D but I am fond of Tōkidenshō Angel Eyes.

[vwalbridge]

What? No MK4?







....good, keep it off the list. 

[BadMouth]

Some guidance:

I'm trying to avoid having every game in a massive series like KOF when most of them are the same.
I'd like only the top few games in each franchise, unless the versions offer very different gameplay.
A lot of these franchises continue onto NAOMI and Taito Type X hardware, so that is something to keep in mind.
(KOF XI, KOF NeoWave, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, etc)

I left out Karate Master because the dual joystick control was fairly far outside the norm for these type games.

For the Neo Geo fighters, I went off of comments on Neo Geo message boards and reviews at Neo-Geo.com
I don't want the list to be overwhelmed with every "me too" Neo Geo release.

[BadMouth]

There are some stinkers on that list, I think you can cull it down.

And it's a silly game that wasn't exactly developed well as some sprites are 2D and some 3D but I am fond of Tōkidenshō Angel Eyes.

I remember cutting that one, lol.  I'll give it another look.

I PROBABLY WON'T BE ABLE TO UPDATE THIS LIST VERY SOON, BUT GO AHEAD AND KEEP DISCUSSING!!!

[vwalbridge]

If we are talking arcade games strictly, it should be just Punch-Out!!

(not the Mike Tyson's NES version)

PS - Even though the NES version is much better IMO.

[eds1275]

Mortal Kombat 3 VS UMK3... I wish that they had kept the backgrounds in UMK3, I think they ditched the graveyard and also that stupid uppercutting through the floor into the next arena actually ended up messing up the order of arena rotation making it realy hard to get to some places such as the belltower.

Also it's hard to say if it counts, but I really REALLY love The Outfoxies.

[romshark]

My friends are bigger on fighting games than any other arcade genre, so this will help me list the good ones.

I can post the Taito X fighting game list (and a few other emulators too) when I get off work later, but Daemon Bride on the Taito X has become a recent favorite of mine.

[harveybirdman]

What's the Naomi emulator these days?

Gotta get the Guiltly Gear series represented if possible.

[BadMouth]

What's the Naomi emulator these days?

Gotta get the Guiltly Gear series represented if possible.

Demul if you have the horsepower.
I just downloaded the latest version and my old 9800GT doesn't like the new Dx11 plugins.
Crazy Taxy was running at 13FPS.

On my cab, I'm running most of them on Makaron, but also run Demul .5.8 (old Dx9 version) for the Atomiswave games.
The bad part about Makaron is that you had to be around when it was being developed to know how to use it and have a working romset.
My makaron romset is a weird collection of various file types, but they all work.

[paigeoliver]

Here is the real all Killer, No Filler gamelist for VS. Fighters.

Marvel Vs. Capcom
Mortal Kombat 2
Street Fighter II Champion Edition.

Those are the only ones that have both aged well and that you have any hope of your guests remembering or knowing how to play.

[monkeybomb]

Here is the real all Killer, No Filler gamelist for VS. Fighters.

Marvel Vs. Capcom
Mortal Kombat 2
Street Fighter II Champion Edition.

Those are the only ones that have both aged well and that you have any hope of your guests remembering or knowing how to play.

If you have room for 3, I absolutely agree with this.  This would be perfect on a cabinet with 25 games or so.  The next two in my book would be KOF 98 and Tekken 3.  They are different enough to get into the mix of a very short list imo.

For the big list that is going here, I would definitely swap out Night Warriors for Vampire Savior 2.  Night Warriors isn't different enough from Dalkstalkers and VS2 has more characters.

It's might be worth setting putting the top 5 or so on the top of the list as a tier one.  I'm not suggesting a full ranking.  Non fight fans are more likely to benefit from a very short list with one game representing each style within the vs fighting category.

[BadMouth]

Here is the real all Killer, No Filler gamelist for VS. Fighters.

Marvel Vs. Capcom
Mortal Kombat 2
Street Fighter II Champion Edition.

Those are the only ones that have both aged well and that you have any hope of your guests remembering or knowing how to play.

Eh, a similar thing could be said of the shmups gamelist.
All Killer, No Filler sounded better than "you're not missing much by ignoring the games not on this list"

[pbj]

Here is the real all Killer, No Filler gamelist for VS. Fighters.

Marvel Vs. Capcom
Mortal Kombat 2
Street Fighter II Champion Edition.

Those are the only ones that have both aged well and that you have any hope of your guests remembering or knowing how to play.

Yep, nailed it.  Also agree with adding Tekken 3 and then you're done.

 

[harveybirdman]

Dear god your avatar. ......

[vwalbridge]

Dear god your avatar. ......

 

Took me a second. 

[Token]

Here is the real all Killer, No Filler gamelist for VS. Fighters.

Marvel Vs. Capcom
Mortal Kombat 2
Street Fighter II Champion Edition.

Those are the only ones that have both aged well and that you have any hope of your guests remembering or knowing how to play.

Yep. These are exactly the only three fighters anyone has ever played on my cab.

But I do appreciate these expanded lists. It gives some games to try out for myself.

[harveybirdman]

Geez ya snobs, give something else a few quarters and expand your mind....

They do have a point though, some of even these are just awful.

Avengers in galactic storm? BARF! Thank god MVC came along to rescue that property.

But if you haven't played Matrimelee and farted with Poochy at your enemies you really haven't lived.

[RetroGreg]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo used to be a big game in the competitive scene and a lot of people prefer Alpha 2 to Alpha 3 so I'd include that as well.

Edit: I like Vampire Savior as well. I think that's on mame if I remember correctly.

Edit 2: I also like Pocket Fighter and I think there are some games that could be cut unless I'm underestimating them.

[leapinlew]

Can't end the night without some Time Killers

[romshark]

(MAME) I’m not sure I’d count Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters as a VS Fighter game like the others. Even with two players, you’re both working together to take down a Robot Master NPC. You never fight the other person.

(Model 3) Add Fighting Vipers 2.

(Atomiswave) Rumble Fish 2 is pretty much the same as the first, but with more characters and some new moves on the other characters. I’d say the first Rumble Fish can be left out.

(Naomi)
Dead or Alive 2 Millennium is an updated version of the regular Dead or Alive 2. The regular one can be removed. Same thing with Capcom Vs SNK Millennium Fight 2000 (The “Pro” version is the update).

All the "Guilty Gear XX" games are updates to the same game. Guilty Gear Accent Core is the most up to date version. I’d say you can get rid of ALL the other Guilty Gear games listed also (the Atomiswave version especially looks bad compared to the others.) (I have a real Naomi, and I’ve had a Guilty Gear game in there that I play on occasion. I haven’t switched it out for one of my other Naomi games in over a year. So I do find enjoyment in that series.)

There’s a fighting game called Akasuki Blitkampf Ausf. Achse. (I do own the real Naomi version of that too.) I’ve played it with friends. We’re not sure what to make of it, but we talked about it for a while.

Didn’t care for Senko No Ronde. Too confusing for me. I downvote the two in that series.

(Taito Type X/X2)
In my opinion, we can keep BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, but don’t need BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger.

I don’t think anyone needs to bother with Chaos Breaker. Battle Fantasia was kinda bland for me too.

King of Fighters XIII was the only KOF game I could get to run. So other opinions are needed there.

Don’t kill me, but I think Street Fighter IV should be taken off. You can’t even play 2-player with this (it wants two linked cabinets to do this.) Get the PC version and use guides on this forum as needed to play against a buddy.


I’ll try to think of more additions or removals.

*****************************

Edit: I like Vampire Savior as well. I think that's on mame if I remember correctly.
 

Yup, it’s in MAME. Actually, Vampire Savior and Darkstalkers are the same series. Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire (USA 970519) is the specific one I like to use in my setup.

*****************************

What's the Naomi emulator these days?

I run Demul (I just upgraded the Nvidia card last year on that system.) Getting it to run with a front-end is a challenge, though. There’s no “quit emulator” button like escape or anything (use “closemul” or similar so you can quit with the escape key or whatever you choose.) While you can designate a system and rom to run with the command line, you can’t select a Naomi Bios from the command line (some games change language based on Bios region, others won’t even boot on a different region Bios, and Hotd2 will only boot on its own dedicated Bios.) I had to use batch routine files to get that mess working.

*****************************

[BadMouth]

Great feedback! 

Man, I have a comment for almost everything posted, but do not have time right now.
Keep it coming.

Can't end the night without some Time Killers

I was reluctant to pull that one from the list because I remember how awesome I thought it was as a kid to be able to cut limbs off in a fighting game.
It really does suck though.  Or am I mistaken?

[harveybirdman]

No it sucks...


Bloody Storm does the same thing, but it sucks too.

[BadMouth]

(MAME) I’m not sure I’d count Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters as a VS Fighter game like the others. Even with two players, you’re both working together to take down a Robot Master NPC. You never fight the other person.

eh, I imagine people on here play their cabs solo a lot of the time and it's different enough that it adds some variety.

(Model 3) Add Fighting Vipers 2.

(Atomiswave) Rumble Fish 2 is pretty much the same as the first, but with more characters and some new moves on the other characters. I’d say the first Rumble Fish can be left out.

(Naomi)
Dead or Alive 2 Millennium is an updated version of the regular Dead or Alive 2. The regular one can be removed. Same thing with Capcom Vs SNK Millennium Fight 2000 (The “Pro” version is the update).

All the "Guilty Gear XX" games are updates to the same game. Guilty Gear Accent Core is the most up to date version. I’d say you can get rid of ALL the other Guilty Gear games listed also (the Atomiswave version especially looks bad compared to the others.) (I have a real Naomi, and I’ve had a Guilty Gear game in there that I play on occasion. I haven’t switched it out for one of my other Naomi games in over a year. So I do find enjoyment in that series.)

Aight.  On Capcom Vs SNK Millennium Fight 2000 though, shouldn't I just keep 2001 or is there something about 2000 Pro that makes it better?

There’s a fighting game called Akasuki Blitkampf Ausf. Achse. (I do own the real Naomi version of that too.) I’ve played it with friends. We’re not sure what to make of it, but we talked about it for a while.

I never could get it working correctly in an emulator.  It was playable, but the graphics glitches were too severe.
I will check it out in the newer versions of Demul if I get a new Dx11 video card.

Don’t kill me, but I think Street Fighter IV should be taken off. You can’t even play 2-player with this (it wants two linked cabinets to do this.) Get the PC version and use guides on this forum as needed to play against a buddy.

That was originally the case, but someone has since hacked the 2 player version.
This is one of the issues with the Taito Type X games.  There are now a bunch of different versions of each game out there that were all released at different points in their being hacked.
The newer ones are more stable and flexible as far as incorporating them into front-ends go, but I have no idea how to tell them apart.
I have an old set that was a PITA to get working, but I did track down the 2 player SFIV.

[BadMouth]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo used to be a big game in the competitive scene and a lot of people prefer Alpha 2 to Alpha 3 so I'd include that as well.

Edit: I like Vampire Savior as well. I think that's on mame if I remember correctly.

Edit 2: I also like Pocket Fighter and I think there are some games that could be cut unless I'm underestimating them.

How does the gameplay in Super Street Fighter II Turbo vary from that in Hyper Aniversary?

[8BitMonk]

If you're including other emulators then Dolphin - Soul Calibur II has to be on this list. One of the best VS. fighting games of all time imo.

[BadMouth]

On Street Fighter Alpha 2 vs Alpha 3, I did some googling and some people prefer 2 because some of the gameplay mechanics were changed on 3.
I'd chalk this up to people who are good at it being annoyed that the gameplay mechanics have changed.
There were also a few comments about the music and backgrounds.

I'll check them both out.  As a noob to it, if they look extremely similar to me, but 3 has more characters...I'm just going with 3.

[BadMouth]

If you're including other emulators then Dolphin - Soul Calibur II has to be on this list. One of the best VS. fighting games of all time imo.

Arcade version is playable on dolphin?

[Malenko]

I'll check them both out.  As a noob to it, if they look extremely similar to me, but 3 has more characters...I'm just going with 3.

Alpha 2 and Alpha 3 play much differently. The mechanics of the games really did change a lot. If we're getting picky on versions, I say keep Alpha 2 and SFA3 Upper

If you're including other emulators then Dolphin - Soul Calibur II has to be on this list. One of the best VS. fighting games of all time imo.

Arcade version is playable on dolphin?

I think this is where the console versions can be better than the arcade counterparts. GC version of SCII has Link as a playable character. Of the exclusives, he was the best. XBOX had Spawn, PS2 had Heihachi Mishima

[8BitMonk]

I think this is where the console versions can be better than the arcade counterparts. GC version of SCII has Link as a playable character. Of the exclusives, he was the best. XBOX had Spawn, PS2 had Heihachi Mishima

Yep, the console version is nearly identical to the arcade version and adds characters. 

[BadMouth]

Well, I was planning on slipping the dreamcast version of Soul Calibur in my own list, but not adding it publicly.   
I'll check out the gamecube version of II.  I guess it's worth mentioning them at the bottom of the list, but I do not want to get into console fighting games.
This list is arcade only.

[8BitMonk]

Well, I was planning on slipping the dreamcast version of Soul Calibur in my own list, but not adding it publicly.   
I'll check out the gamecube version of II.  I guess it's worth mentioning them at the bottom of the list, but I do not want to get into console fighting games.
This list is arcade only.

In most cases I agree with not including consoles, SCII is the exception. Notable as one of the best fighting games of all time and this is the best way to play it on a cab. I'd say the same goes for the Tekken 3, the console emulation is better than mame.

[acvieluf]

Can't end the night without some Time Killers

Agreed completely.  Much more simple gameplay, but IMHO, much more fun.

[romshark]

Aight.  On Capcom Vs SNK Millennium Fight 2000 though, shouldn't I just keep 2001 or is there something about 2000 Pro that makes it better?

Just tried 2001 for a few minutes. Looks cool to me. Unless they removed stuff or messed up in some other area, I'd probably go with 2001.

That was originally the case, but someone has since hacked the 2 player version.

Really? I had no idea. Time to hit Google.

I never could get it working correctly in an emulator.  It was playable, but the graphics glitches were too severe.
I will check it out in the newer versions of Demul if I get a new Dx11 video card.

Hold off on upgrading till we see what Tekken 7 requires (it's rumored to be coming out on PC). That's my plan anyway.

[BadMouth]

You guys keep saying there are a bunch of turds in the list.
Start pointing them out!

Should anything at all in the smaller "still deciding on" list below the main list be kept?

[leapinlew]

You guys keep saying there are a bunch of turds in the list.
Start pointing them out!

Should anything at all in the smaller "still deciding on" list below the main list be kept?

We are more of the idea men.
yeah, I'm going to need you to come in this weekend and make the list better. Oh, and do it faster. That would be great.

[pbj]

I don't think ANY of the mid-90s Neo Geo fighters have aged well at all.  Nobody remembers them and there are similar, newer games that are better in every way.  I'll give a pass to Samurai Shodown 1 & 2.  Cut the rest.

[harveybirdman]

I'd lose these

BLOOD STORM
BREAKERS
PLASMA SWORD
STAR GLADIATOR EPISODE I: FINAL CRUSADE


And most of the Polygons not named Tekken can get tossed as far as I'm concerned.

[Malenko]

ha, this forum ---smurfing--- hates me. I keep typing up replies then get taken to the sign in screen.

Too many fatal Fury games, not enough KOFs.
Dont need both Star Gladiator games. (plasma sword is the slightly better of the two)
MK1 is terrible, UMK3 over MK3, use tournament edition hack of MKII and UMK3
Red Earth, MvC1, HSF:AE and Tekken II can definitely go.
Add KOF 96 and 2k
War Gods is just a terrible MK4 without MK characters.
Add Martial Champion, its colorful and stylish and the 3 button fighting is a welcomed break from the 6 button games.
Drop Soul Edge since you have Soul Calibur

SAMURAI SPIRITS TENKAICHI KENKKAKUDEN is just SamShow4; 2 ,3 and 5 are better.
SURVIVAL ARTS is terrible, I mean tattoo assassins terrible.
KOF - MAXIMUM IMPACT and SAMURAI SPIRITS SEN are both really bad 3D iterations of 2D games.
drop Tekken 1, you already have 3. If they cant get MAME to run, the PSX ports are serviceable.

[harveybirdman]

What about Battle K Road?  It's pretty realistic, for a fighting game, screw your health bar if you get rocked enough in rapid succession your ass goes down.

Also what about Cyberbots Full Metal Madness?  That's pretty unique.

[BadMouth]

Too many fatal Fury games, not enough KOFs.
Dont need both Star Gladiator games. (plasma sword is the slightly better of the two)
MK1 is terrible, UMK3 over MK3, use tournament edition hack of MKII and UMK3

Done, although I had trouble crossing off MK.
What put me over the top is that I have one friend who only plays MK1 and only uses Sonya.
It gets annoying.

Red Earth, MvC1, HSF:AE and Tekken II can definitely go.

I want to keep MvC1 for people who are doing MAME only and can't run 2.
I'm reluctant to ditch Tekken II.  Will give it some play time this weekend.

Drop Soul Edge since you have Soul Calibur

I could be remembering wrong, but I'm pretty sure the versions I have listed look and play fairly different.
One is more like the console versions I remember than the other.
I will give them a play test this weekend.

KOF - MAXIMUM IMPACT and SAMURAI SPIRITS SEN are both really bad 3D iterations of 2D games.

But they purty and new lookin'.



Thanks for helping out.

[jeremymtc]

I second Harveybirdman's nomination of Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness.

I'm not a huge fighter player, but when I do play, it's Samsho (the first), Cyberbots, MvC and The Last Blade (& Last blade 2).

[Malenko]

I could be remembering wrong, but I'm pretty sure the versions I have listed look and play fairly different.
One is more like the console versions I remember than the other.
I will give them a play test this weekend.

Literally have all the PCBs and a Namco cab. Soul Edge is pretty bad =D My stupid V2 board died and V1 is almost impossible to beat.

[BadMouth]

I could be remembering wrong, but I'm pretty sure the versions I have listed look and play fairly different.
One is more like the console versions I remember than the other.
I will give them a play test this weekend.

Literally have all the PCBs and a Namco cab. Soul Edge is pretty bad =D My stupid V2 board died and V1 is almost impossible to beat.

done.

[BadMouth]

I'm pretty happy with this list.
The only two that I'm still on the fence with:

Fist of the North Star.  yay or nay?

Battle K-Road.   yay or nay?

[Malenko]

FotNS is very Guilty Gear-ish, I think its a keeper.

Never played Battle K Road, just looked up some videos and I think ShaqFu was a better game :p



Shame you banned console games, WeaponLord is a pretty great SNES/Gen fighter that never was an arcade game but sure could have been.

[harveybirdman]

Battle K Road has a low rating at mamedb, and Psyiko is represented with fallen angels so, I'm okay if you scrap it.   The sprites do move pretty awkwardly.

What about Super Gem Fighter?

SD fighters? Actually that one looks cool but is pretty lame.

[RetroGreg]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo used to be a big game in the competitive scene and a lot of people prefer Alpha 2 to Alpha 3 so I'd include that as well.

Edit: I like Vampire Savior as well. I think that's on mame if I remember correctly.

Edit 2: I also like Pocket Fighter and I think there are some games that could be cut unless I'm underestimating them.

How does the gameplay in Super Street Fighter II Turbo vary from that in Hyper Aniversary?

Honestly I can't tell you, but they made an HD remake of Super last gen. Not the anniversary version, but maybe it's close enough? And I still think Vampire Savior is different enough from the first two Darkstalkers to include. If you're going to cut a Darkstalkers game the first should be the one to go. I know I already mentioned Pocket Fighter. It's a fun diversion for Capcom fans and worthy of being played now and then.

Edit: Pocket Fighter may be Super Gem Fighter in mame? Harvey mentioned this game above. Sorry for the confusion. I play most of that era's Capcom fighters on my Saturn still so some names may vary.

[Malenko]

Pocket Fighter is the Japanese name of Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix  , and I agree it should be on there. Its not a tournament type game but its a blast between friends.

[BadMouth]

And I still think Vampire Savior is different enough from the first two Darkstalkers to include. If you're going to cut a Darkstalkers game the first should be the one to go.

I got a bit confused trying to follow the chronology and versions of the Darkstalkers/Vampire Savior series.
When I looked at it before, I thought that Vampire Savior was just what it was called in Japan.
I see what you mean now.

[Malenko]

you going to add Slam Masters 2 here since you tried to put it in the sports genre?

[BadMouth]

you going to add Slam Masters 2 here since you tried to put it in the sports genre?

I don't even know what that is....

As stated, not a lot of thought went into the sports list I'm starting with.
I asked if wrastlin' games should go here (if that's what it is) and nobody commented.

[Malenko]

Slam Masters was a 1-4 player wrestling game in a ring. Slam Masters 2 is a 1 on 1 fighting game with both fighters on a single plane. I didnt even think about the game till you mentioned it in the sports thread


Slam Masters is an 8 way + 3 button game (attack, jump, pin)
Slam Masters 2 is an 8way + 6 button game (lp,mp,fp,lk,mk,fk)

So they basically took the guys from SM1 added a few new ones, and made SM2 a SF style game instead.

[BadMouth]

Slam Masters was a 1-4 player wrestling game in a ring. Slam Masters 2 is a 1 on 1 fighting game with both fighters on a single plane. I didnt even think about the game till you mentioned it in the sports thread


Slam Masters is an 8 way + 3 button game (attack, jump, pin)
Slam Masters 2 is an 8way + 6 button game (lp,mp,fp,lk,mk,fk)

So they basically took the guys from SM1 added a few new ones, and made SM2 a SF style game instead.

Thanks for the explanation.
I looked at a youtube video.  Looks like something someone might want to play on their fighting cab and would add a little variety.
So it's added here.

I'm fine with games being on more than one list.
My reasoning is that someone using this list for a dedicated fighting cab shouldn't miss out on it just because it happened to appear on a different list.
This will come into play a lot when we get to the CLASSICS list.

[BadMouth]

Play tested, added missing bios files to the batch file, added list of CHDs.
I need to test all the games again from scratch with the updated batch file before I can call it done.

Does it matter if we stick with the Euro version for all the games where that is the parent?
It saves the hassle of dealing with multiple rom files.

[monkeybomb]

I suspect if it's in English, it's good to go.

[Frank Drebin]

Just like to offer a sincere thank you for putting these lists together.  I am in the process of culling down my machine to the hundreds from thousands.  I'm not quite ready to go to the level of paigeoliver's minimalism, but I do see where he is coming from.

[Haze]

and since I'm posting in these anyway to address a problem with the 'platform games' list I should probably make a note

you might want to replace
King of Fighters 98 (NeoGeo)
with
King of Fighters 98 - Ultimate Match Hero (PGM2)

which will be emulated in MAME 0.193.  It's an official updated, rebalanced, bugfixed version of the game which is generally considered to be better.  The only drawbacks are the only language options available are English and Chinese, it doesn't support Japanese or Spanish like the original as it wasn't released in those territories.