Your Fighting Game History

What was this first fighting game you ever played? What other games influenced you to end up taking this genre seriously? Why VF?...

Similar to @Modelah 's "Get to know each other" gamertag thread, I'm interested in you guy's fighting game "roots", your own personal stories and experiences with the fighting game genre and how you ended up playing VF in particular. Make your posts as long or as brief as you'd like, It'll be cool to learn a bit more about all of you.

Calling out random peeps to share their stories: Modelah, @Riskbreak , @Unicorn , @BLACKSTAR , @Dhaval Katbamna (max of 5 tags in a post..)

Spoiler: Mah roots

Mine began way back around when I was around 1 and mashing away on Tekken 3 on the ps1, apparently my first word was "Tekka", but it wasn't until 2012 when TTT2 came out that I got to really take fighting games seriously. It started with the question "how can I improve?" which lead me to tekken zaibatsu where I learned much about fighting games In general. I played Tekken solidly for around 8 months, though only playing my brother, never going online much cus I was too anxious to try (maan I've changed ). More on that later..

After that I went "off" tekken (still am) and spent the next year or so playing LOADS of different fighting games, some seriously, some not. I ended up on VF around mid July this year (though i've "dabbled" in VF before) and NONE of the games I played were anywhere near as great as this one.

I intend to stick with this game until I am the best in the west and can body everybody there is to body then set out to body Japan. Watch me.

But REWIND back to around this time last year, this hunger for strength didn't come from nowhere! The single biggest influence that bolstered my competitive spirit (though it was kindled by other means) was getting into dark souls 1 online PVP after a long hiatus of playing it after getting bored of the offline. Imbalanced/broken, laggy as hell with a steep learning curve and facing conflicting personal values CONSTANTLY, for some reason I couldn't get enough of it. I could write an essay on DS pvp but all you need to know is that I grew some balls playing that game and still love it dearly... shame about DS2

Now go way back to 2010 (?) to where I perfected (more or less) good ol' masterpo's art of losing. Spending 800+ hours on Monster hunter freedom unite Is how I exponentially improved my skill of learning from my mistakes, the single most useful skill I have which comes into use in everything from VF to college to bettering my personal character as a young man. My favorite thing to do is put this skill to use, and fighting games is the perfect place to do it, hence why I love this genre so much.

Now go WAYYYY back to where It ALL started.. with Metal gear solid 1... the VR missions disk. I was grinding the levels on this game at around 5 and onwards (according to pops), never letting anyone assist me, trying my best to improve myself and beat those levels... trying learn from my mistakes. MHFU was where I mastered this skill but this is where I learned it. This game is the single biggest gaming related influence on me ending up playing VF and loving fighting games... hell, on me ending up the way I am.

"And that, as they say, is that."

 

1st fighter i played seriously was samurai shodown 2. I then went on to play the hell out of Virtual On Oratorio Tangram (and probably VOOM before that). I then got seriously into VF4 (the tutorial was amazing in the ps2 version - AMAZING!), then dibble dabbled in VF5, but haven't dabbled (or dibbled) in a while...

 

When i was a kid i was playing in arcades Street fighter, Mortal Kombat, samurai showdown but My first real fighter was Fighter Megamix. My first real fighter where i dedicated time to learn all the moves in command training, that game in general was amazing, the combination of virtua fighter and fighting vipers was superb. I loved it with passion and then started getting into VF games. VF3,VF4,EVO,VF5 and FS now. After Fighter Megamix, the VF game i dedicated my time most was VF4EVO. what i can say about that game, it HAS everything, it has the best training mode of all fighting game history, it has the best quest mode with all these quest orders that forced you to learn the game how it should be played. For me and im sure for all ppl who played it is the best fighting game of all time. Now with FS i got more into competitive game, after i joined VFDC i learned a lot from good and competitive players and generally i have more knowledge about fighting games in general than before.

About other titles, Also i used to play and Tekken series, tekken 3 and 5 were my favourites.

For 2d i like SF most and now im playing usf4 a lot.

 

I Thought it was Mortal Kombat on the P.C. but digging a little deeper I found it was:



4D Boxing which for its time very advanced, the camera angles and I seem to remember it had crazy record and replay. I think my main was this dude named Larry Lunch Meat LOL

2nd game was definitely MK, but soon dropped that for Tekken because Tekken was so much more realistic (I thought) played tekken 1, 2, and 3 on PS1 I stumbled on to VF4 and switched from Tekken immediately to a focus on VF for all the obvious reasons that so many of us play VF (Graphics, Realism, Balance, Fighting Engine, Community).

But I've always played Tekken and SC and sometimes DOA just for a change of pace and for comparison. SC is the VF of weapon based fighters. If its a 3D fighter or simulation except WWE LOL , and it showed up for the playstation I've played it. Top 5 out of every 3D fighter (Arcade or Combat Simulation) I've ever played:

Virtua Fighter Series
UFC Undisputed Series
Soul Caliber Series
Fight Night Series
Tekken Series

Not mentioned much on this site, but deserves some attention for originality and gangster fun:

Def Jam Fight For New York (This fighting game is crazy fun)



And Urban Reign

 

Ok, long story short...
When I was a little kid (not more than 2 or 3) my dad would play Virtua Fighter 1 and 2 on our computer. He also used to play tekken. All I could do was watch in wonder as to how these tiny people were doing such magnificent things on the screen. Then a few years later my dad got a Sega Dreamcast (pimpcast if you wish). We had so many fighting games on that... VF3tb, Soul Calibur (the original, not soul blade), Power Stone, DOA, Plasma Sword, the list goes on. As you can see, i've grown up on 3d games. I stuck to VF3 and Soul Calibur, just messing around doing cool stuff and just having fun, as I wasnt more than 7 or 8 years old. Then evenutally (2011) we got a PS3 and the first game we got was VF5 vanilla as well as Soul calibur 4. Then, I kind of stopped playing fighting games and got into racing games. However, i came to my senses a few years ago and picked up VF5 again (not knowing the 5FS was in existence). Then thanks to @Shidosha (your streams) I learned about VF5fs... got the game in late march of this year and joined vfdc... and here I am blabbering on about my fighting game history.

 

For me, it all started with Kung Fu Master, the side scrolling beat-'em-up. It was the first coin-op I ever beat, which is one of my most cherished gaming memories. My next coin-op conquest was Golden Axe.

After a hiatus from games I got back into FGs with my friends when SF2 appeared, but I just couldn't get into it's gimmicky, cartoony vibe (I know that'll irk some people, lol). I quickly dropped it for Mortal Kombat, my next serious FG endeavour.

I remember my first VF game very clearly. I was on a sports trip to Australia, and in our downtime I went to an arcade with my friends. We walked around wondering what to try and there it was, the VF1 cabinet. Watching the demos, I was blown away. It was so amazing to me, and I knew this was a game I just had to play. I played Lau first because I liked his ponytail (LOL), lost in the second round and then tried Wolf after watching someone do the Giant Swing, which was, at the time, the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life. I've liked throw-based characters ever since. That was the only time I would ever play VF1, but it left a profound impression on me that would last for years to come.

In college Tekken 3, Bushido Blade and Soul Edge occupied my free time until I stumbled across VF2, and something reignited inside me. I inserted a dollar coin, hit start to hear that addicting jingle, and kissed my student loan goodbye. I got good at VF2. Really good. I mained Wolf and Jeff and then beat Dural with every other character after learning their movelists. I remember walking 30 minutes to the arcade with only a dollar in my pocket one day, spending it on a game of VF2 and then walking 30 minutes back to my dorm.

I took a year off college to live in Japan, and in the local supermarket 's arcade corner I met VF3. I tried to rekindle the flame but found I couldn't reach the heights of my VF2 exploits, and left the series there. I felt that the new mechanics had left me behind, and felt daunted at the thought of re-learning the game from scratch. I bought Fighters Megamix for the Saturn like @VFEllhn, and I absolutely loved it! I also picked up All Japan Pro Wrestling Featuring Virtua because Wolf and Jeff were in it (I like JP wrestling too though, lol).

Many years later I eagerly picked up VF4EVO on the PS2, invested a lot of time into it and grew to love it, but as I didn't have anyone to play with at that time my interest waned and I put it down after a few months.

When I got my PS3 VF5 vanilla was the first game I bought, I was enchanted once again but only playing against the CPU wore thin so once again I left the series.

And now there's FS. I don't like smoky JP arcades so I'm thankful for an online mode, but without VFDC and the people here I'm sure I would've lost interest long ago. I've met lots of cool people in this community, and have learned so much since joining!

Awesome thread idea @Strider786!

 

Started playing fnc (fight night champion), I was real good at that, played it for about 2 years I think. Then started playing doa on and off for a year and a half, thats where I learnt about frames and stuff like that, then played street fighter 4 ultra for about 2 weeks, then started playing vffs about a month and a half ago.

 

Street Fighter II series, arcades and SNES > most fighters next ten years > some time away for career, travel and relationships > 3s online > VF online.

I still have a fleece jacket from 1992 that fits me, gonna dig it out soon when it gets colder

 

Wow VF 1 and 2 ran on a P.C.? is it still available?

 

I guess it would work if you had Windows 95 running.

 

Yea, I was just checking out some screen shots:

https://www.google.com/search?q=vir...DFYPIsATVnYKQAw&ved=0CCoQ7Ak&biw=1604&bih=843

this stuff is pretty good LOL

 

Great thread, thank you @Strider786.

It's hard for me to remember the order, but some of my experiences:

I'm sure I played SFII early on, but wasn't all that interested at that age.

The town I grew up in didn't have an arcade, so it was rare for me to see them at the time. I do remember seeing a Samurai Shodown machine in Wal-Mart. The opening intro with Haohmaru slicing the laterns and tree blew my mind.

I remember seeing a Tekken 2 machine later at an amusment park, and was very impressed by the uniqueness of the characters throws.

At this time I was too young to have any money, so I was soon pulled away by my parents.

The first time I actually played a fighter for any length of time was SF Alpha on PSX. VF was too difficult for me at the time, though I played 1 and 2 on a friends system. I stayed with the series, and also got into Soul Blade. I played any fighter that I could get; good memories with Tobal No.1, DBZ Final Bout (I know it sucks, but it was novel for the time) Fighters Megamix (Go Hornet!)

I started learning martial arts then and really took a liking to SNK, especially KOF. I really liked their more realistic character designs and concepts i.e. Art of Fighting. When the Dreamcast was released, I bought it day one and played the hell out of Soul Calibur. I didn't really get into VF until part 4, but I've been playing it regularily since then.

 

@Modelah, Bushido Blade was a great one. I'm still waiting for a new version.

 

Calling out @MarlyJay @Stl_Tim @Jacko . What are your stories?

 

Welp, I'm 32 now. I first started playing fighting games in the arcade for about a year and a half, starting just before I turned 13. Playing Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and some Samurai Showdown. I dabbled in the other games that were there. But those were the main ones I spent my money on. Mainly MK and SF.

I quit playing fighting games a little after I turned 14. I might have bought a SF game or two (EX Plus Alpha I think it was called). But I only played the CPU and my older brother. And those didn't stick for very long at all. I turned to action adventure games and RPG's. I played other random fighting games in between lkke K.O. Kings, Fight Night.. And that's bout it I think, hahah.

Fast forward to me being 27, and I rented VF5 cause an old friend of my brother from our arcade days (Jhow) recommended we should try it/thought we would like it. I didn't like it for the first week I played it. But we old school, and I wasn't about to waste my money by not playing it for the remainder of the rental. Even if I didn't like a game, ima play it, lol. In that second week, something clicked and I saw how the fighting system worked. I remember the match that it happened in vividly. It was vs a Pai player. From that point, I fell in love with the game.

The fact that you have no invincible reversals to get you out of trouble or would just beat any move, and that once your move is blocked (besides the rare on plus moves) your pressure/advantage is over (depending on the actions of the opponent) really sparked my interest. It felt like a really fair fighting game that relied on your guessing rather than cheap tactics that could be exploited with characters that had overwhelming move sets to keep people trapped. It felt like that because that's what it was and what it wasn't. So I stuck with it.

Not much of a history, hahah. Year and a half in my young days, and so far, 5 years in my late 20's early 30's. People/somebody rigging my opponents (which I believe happened, hahah) when I went to a tournament in Chicago for Super Street Fighter when I was 14 helped make me quit early. I wasn't happy at all and pretty much said 'screw fighting games' after that. Sometimes I wonder how good I could've been by now if I never stopped. I didn't play long back then. But I was lucky enough to live less than 2 miles from an arcade that had great players there. Air Jacky, Jhow, WesTcyde, just to name a few. Was good times. Shout out to Flippy a.k.a. Brian for teaching me the art of timing button presses.

 

Ok where to start well as far back as i can remember when i was 5 years old the first FG i ever played was MK3 with my family needless to say i was hooked so was my brother me and him have grown up on FGs together we had an arcade in our little palmerston north town we went their every week to spend our pocket money while he fell in love with SF3: 3rd strike i really like MvC2.

as the years the years flew by we played Every fighting game until i started play competitively around 2008 with MvC2 but quit after the scene for it died here then i was looking for something new to learn something i had never really gave a serious go i had owned VF5 FS for about 5 months and never really played it so i thought "Screw it i'll give it a go" I have since bought VF2 Genesis ver and PSN Ver Vanilla VF5 for ps3 and VF4Evo on ps2 to further my vf knowledge and history. It all came full circle when i entered shadaloo showdown 5 which was in Melbourne Australia august this year i finally got to meet the man i've wanted to meet my whole life Ryan hart.

But not only did i meet him i beat him in the first match in tournament. I will always remember our Van vs Kage match i got to meet some awsome aussies like AlexMD Gab Bezerk and other VF players. well i hope to see you dudes next year peace.

 

I started gaming when I was 5 years old. Now I'm thirty and it's stuck with me this whole time.

I don't remember the first fighting game I actually played but I remember getting really excited when reading about Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat from a Super Power mag (a SNES / PS1 era gaming magazine).

I think the first FG might have been this weird translation of SF2 for a 486 I think. I remember it only had 2 attack buttons and some of the stuff was pretty weird.
I think the first time I got into FG's more was when I bought SSF2T for PC. It had 8 floppies (I still have them around somewhere, expect a picture later). All my friends at elementary school copied it and we played each other a lot. I think I was about 10 or 11 back then.

A few years later tried Killer Instinct at a relatives place and fell enough in love with it to get me a SNES instead of a brand spanking new PS1 (thinking back, not a bad choise. SNES > PS1 all the way. Too bad my parents sold it).

We also played a lot of Tekken 1 at a friends place in gatherings.

I dunno why but fighting games have always intrigued me from the very first time I even noticed that stuff was a thing. I also used to be a sucker for kung fu movies so I guess that's just the way I am.

Then there was a couple of years of no FG's but things started kicking around again when PS2 was released and Tekken Tag Tournament became a thing. I never owned the game. I just played it in my friends place or loaned the console to practice or played it at lan parties, lol. It was still just playing with friends back then but I had seen videos of high level play. This is the first game I started learning juggles, frames, stepping... You know the stuff that actually matters to be good.

Tekken 4 was already released by the time my friend told me he had run into a forum witch said there was a 3 day FG event with tournaments near us. So there we went. I thought I'd be good cause I didn't think there were actually likeminded people getting on the bottom of things but lo and behold I got my ass spanked in a horrific way in TTT and realized that we actually have a fighting game community with good players in Finland. This was around 2002 I think.

I never owned T4 either (I didn't even have PS2) but that's the first game I worked on getting to high level. I had a friend who I played with multiple times every week learning the ins and outs. I'd like to say I was pretty good at that game but I only got a shot at two tournaments before T5.0 was released. I didn't get too far in those and that was when I realized tournament nerves are also a thing...

Somewhere around the T4 period we also tried VF4 evo. My friend loved it, I hated it. He ended up going to a couple of tournaments and even traveling for it a bit (you might have seen him here back then, I dunno. I know he registered and I think he used @NEoChu already back then (might be @Neo-Chu).

We also played SSBM with a group of friends for a year or so. It was kinda funny since 2 of us were trying high level stuff and the other 2 were just playing casually.

I hated pretty much everything about T5.0 and after a while I just gave up on it and Tekken in general. Evo was kinda dead at that point too. My friend and I tried GG#R and SF3:3S and ended up playing 3s. We played it almost everyday for a year and a half I think. I decided to take up stick and that's kinda what killed 3s for me. I couldn't do anything. I switched back to pad multiple times but the time spent with stick also made me worse with a pad. I was salty and quit FG's for a while there. My friend ended up being the best 3s player in Finland for a few years, played a lot on GGPO too. These days he studies law far up north but I heard he's taken up 3s after years again and teaching it to some friend of his up there

That first event/tournament I entered was actually a bi-yearly thing back then and it had caught the interest of one of the gaming mags here so they did an interview with the organizer at some point.

Later on when VF was coming they asked if the VF players would like to give it a first try and say a few words about it before it was released. I was never a VF player but I had tried Evo like I said and I was one of the players who was asked to go there. I actually liked the few matches I could get going and ended up getting VF5 (luckily I didn't get it right from the bat and heard about ver.C before buying console. BTW, that was a dick move for PS3 players Sega).

So there I was, a VF player.

Anyway, to carry on to this day and age, when VF5 died I didn't play much any FG for a while but I ended up going to some universitys anime and gaming event when SF4 was new and I participated in the tournament and looks like I got myself a free SF4 with tiger shot spam. I liked the Vanilla version but in Super they nerfed my main to hell and back and I just didn't find it too funny at that point so I dropped it after a while. I still play SF4 sometimes if our weekly FG gatherings have a small local tournament but I haven't practiced that game since Super.

I also got MVC3. I never really tried MVC2 and I hated watching it but 3 was really fun. Then Capcom was being Capcom and they resold the game with the Ultimate prefix. Fucking pricks. I'm not buying the same game twice in half a year. I got the day it dropped from XBL store but haven't played it.

I also got SFxT when it was released. I have to say aside from gems I liked that game a lot. There was some PR disaster with the DLC characters and pay to win gems and the general balance of the game. They fixed those issues but the tumbleweeds were already rolling around. I can't understand how a long time gaming company can fuck things up so bad. All they would have had to do since day 1 was give the players what they wanted (no gems online modes) but oh nooo. Damn ...

There's also a lot of random games that I've played more or less along the way. I played SFa3 a lot with a couple of friends way back when. I played KOF XI for a few month in VF5 times, really good game but there was no scene for it, just a couple of us. I played Arcana heart full (an extension to AH1) for a couple of months. I've tried most of the old KOFs, for a while thought learning XIII but then didn't. I bought SCV but I hated the system and Namco removing my characters and I dropped it almost instantly. I tried getting in to Blazblue but right after I bought BBCS they announced the next installment and I was like fuck this, I had just bought the frigging DLC characters too Currently I'm thinking of giving a try to Xrd as it seems to have a lot of players in Finland, but I'm in no hurry to get it.

So I've spent a LOT of time on all sorts of fighting games. I guess FG's in general are something of a hobby for me. Even if I don't play one I like to know the in depth functions of its system and characters. At least all this has made me pretty fast at picking up new FG's.

I hope this thing is readable. I ended up adding stuff to the middle of of it as thoughts came to my mind and it's probably still missing something. I've played a lot of FGs...

 

The pics from my phone were too large to upload straight to here so I hope this is a valid solution cause I'd rather not go play with photobucket or imgur or anything. I uploaded them on my FB, here's the direct links to the pics. Sorry they're a little low quality.

http://bit.ly/1BfanAE

http://bit.ly/1D0LTgb

http://bit.ly/1x9nOCY