by Gabriel Quizhpis

​

Back when I was a kid, video games were pretty simple. You go to an arcade, or a friend’s house, grab a controller and see what you can do against your friends in a game that usually had a story that made no sense. In a time when there were fighting games galore, Street fighter 2 was the undisputed king. Of course you had other fighting gems like Final Fight, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, Clay Fighter and even the oddly strange, Time Killers. Ah what a time it was to be a gamer. It was great, it was amazing, it was spectacular, but somewhere along the line the formula stopped changing. Games died out due to the popularity, of the slowly emerging, AAA game. I remember when I was racing to get a new edition of a game just to keep up while, at the same time, ignoring the newer IP’s to hit the shelves. But like everything in life, that wouldn’t last forever.

 

We now live in a time when 3D rules, games needs maps bigger than cities, and technology killed creativity (amongst other things). I recently see that Street Fighter 5 has just been updated for the billionth time, but in retrospect,  it’s just the same as Street Fighter 4 in a lot of ways. Not to say that is a bad thing. Capcom really shot off target with that release, but it doesn’t help the fighting genre. It is a great fan service for those diehards who love seeing a 5’3” girl in a beret and spandex beating up a 7ft tall behemoth, but that loses novelty fast.

 

Gone are the days of being a goof with your character, and now we are in the days where people break down a game to the nearest pixel in an attempt to feel like they are actually capable fighters in real life. I admit I was one, but after learning to actually fight, getting some wisdom in my ignorant mind, and stepping back to see what the genre has become, I am saddened to see that the genre is a shell of what it used to be. 3D fighters are almost nonexistent, and people are playing like it is the EVO finals all day, every day. If you are like that, go ahead, but there needs to be something more.

​

Evo itself if not an issue. In its beginnings, it help to bring the genre to the mainstream. Sadly, that was over a decade ago. And now, what was originally the spirit of competition, is now the spirit of repetition. There is no variety in move sets. New characters are bashed and make practically no impact because money needs to be made. This became very evident once players were getting sponsors or starting gaming teams. I am sorry, but having all that doesn’t make things more exciting. Almost all the games that are being used in the competitive circuit are the same games since street fighter 3. Anything new is immediately has its competitive merits scrutinized and loses fans due to it being “not up to fluff”.

​

Recently we had the opportunity to review Dragon Ball Fighter Z which you can see here and although I do see promise in the game, it’s only ONE game. We need to see more. I hope that the new Soul Cailbur 6 and Tekken can stage glorious comebacks with some much needed diversity that I feel fighters are lacking these days. I will even go as far to say to give us another Bloody Roar or Primal Rage. It is time we put some effort in diversity of fighters because I see variety dropping and the genre getting stale.

 

This is just the opinions of a guy who loves to fight, but comments are always welcome.