Serious answer: Yu Yu Hakusho Makyo Toitsusen on Genesis is kind of legit.
Considering I’ve never seen competitive Tobal…
Yeah
sf4 is THE most casual game. any scrub(s) can mash out random shit with any character it looks fun(to them anyway).
sf4 on xbl/psn is probably more active than most other fighting games. majority of the players are “casual” I guess?
The fact that it’s gained such a strong competitive following in spite of being designed as a casual game is proof of how solid it is.
IMO, it’s harder to differentiate between competitive and casual fighters for stuff made in that period in the nineties because a) competitive gaming wasn’t as big as it is now and b) most fighting games were simply copying from the SF/VF/Tekken mold.
The smash games and those naruto clash of ninja games are pretty casual
I think he made it pretty clear that he’s referring to video games that are “fighting games” in the loose definition of the genre, but not strictly “real” fighting games as we think of them, in the traditional, classical sense (SF2 and derivatives). More specifically, I believe he’s referring to any “lite” fighting games that actually happen to stand up really well to hardcore play, or “rigorous competition,” as Sirlin likes to put it. Diet fighting games that that remain dynamic, varied, and enjoyable (ie. that don’t fall apart) when smart/skilled/creative/experienced players get serious and put 101% into trying to win them against each other.
As far as I understand:
- He is NOT referring to a traditional fighting game that is generally only played at a casual level (regardless of whether or not it holds up in hardcore play).
- He is also not referring to a traditional fighting game that (works exceptionally well at lower levels of play but) falls apart at higher levels of play.
Based on sales performance AND grassroots tournament presence, and even just mass accumulated anecdotes, I think that this is the most-unarguably correct answer.
To add some variety to the thread, though:
I know that a lot of people love them Power Stones.
I personally have a massive soft spot for Bushido Blade 1.
I insist, Eretzvaju
The game actually had a good amount of depth that allowed the players to enjoy it if they decided to take it more seriously despite the simplicity of its desing 
I would kill for an hd remox with online play TBH
Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen 4.
Better than Melee. EAT IT RAW.
So is this really askin’ about the most solid nontraditional/unorthodox fighters cuz I have no idea WTF a “casual fighter” is? Never heard of it.
This, a hundred times this.
Smash 64. Highest level casuals will get mad if you turn off items. But besides that any advanced techniques, instant recovery doesn’t look funky like wavedashing or shine-canceling in melee. Casuals stay oblivious to the game’s depth and the execution isn’t even too difficult if people want a glimpse into what serious smash is about (pro tip just mash the z button before you hit the ground).
Everyone of all genders thinks they are good at this game and have no shame in picking up the controller drunk or sober (sample space: Really White College) and it remains fairly entertaining to watch all but the lowest of levels of play (pick kirby brick move. repeat until you pick up a hammer)
Competitively there have been tons of really interesting metagame shifts. The characters that are obviously top tier weren’t really used in the finals of last apex and the strategies employed by top players are pretty baffling and unintuitive (which is to be expected, this game is olddddddd). The game has had its gods and pretty much every character has a use in matchups. There is even a (sort of justified) braintrust that believes the lowest of the low samus has a good matchup against #1 pikachu.
But is Smash 64 one of the most casual friendly games in the world? Even a seriousface dude player like myself has to admit it.
[quote=“petran79, post:21, topic:163320”]
[/quote]Why did I just watch this entire video and lol the entire time? Has anyone seen this at a mystery game tourney?
melee, brawl
A local TO is hosting a bunch of casual games as side events for an upcoming tournament.
One of the games on the list is Def Jam Fight For New York.
My local FGC have been running casuals for it to prepare for the tournament (most of us play poverty anyway, so there isn’t a main game to practice for), that game is surprisingly legit.
There’s a couple bullshit characters and we’ve found two stage specific infinites, but for the most part, game is rock solid.
Also, +1 on Atari Boxing. That game is pure footsies, and black white is a true 5-5
Heck yeeeeah! I think that semi-serious games often make for excellent side-tourneys. I know that sometimes some players can be upset if they feel like you’re running a “silly” game instead of a proper fighting game that they believe (correctly or incorrectly) could’ve drawn decent numbers, but in my experience people usually really enjoy them.
Could you explain a little bit about how the game actually works? With clever, competitive players. I’ve played it only once or twice, briefly, years ago, and I remember coming away from it feeling like it didn’t seem particularly tactically interesting… but it was so popular that I’ve always wondered if I missed something. The fact that you’ve brought it up like this at all leads me to believe that there is more to it than the obvious superficial appeal. What makes it good?
64 Smash is the winner. No other game is even close to being as fun throughout all skill levels. You can get nearly anyone to pick it up and play.
DOA
Essentially, the game boils down to strike beats throw beats block beats strike.
I’m being very general here because the movelists between each fighter is surprisingly varied.
Generally, offense is initiated by performing a strike string. The first two hits are a true blockstring and are safe or positive. After that you can do (generally) up to two more strikes but the strings have gaps and aren’t safe. At any time you may grapple or cancel a strike string into a grapple.
The mixup is, strike counters an incoming grapple. Hitting strike gives you full punish.
There’s a parry command. It has a whiff animation but against incoming strikes it sets you up for full punish (some characters have special strikes that when parried puts them laying down which ironically isn’t a garuntred punish.
If you strike into grab, strike beats you. But if you do a 3+ hit chain, your attack should counter hit.
If you do an extended strike chain, they may block or parry after the gap in the string, setting up some punish. However, that’s when you strike into grapple or cut the chain off early baiting a parry.
The fighting styles attributed to each character determines the risk reward of each mixup. If a streetfighter counters an incoming grab, that’s full haymaker punish, but if you’re playing a wrestler, you need to at some point set up a grab. Though against the top tiers it would probably be best to fish for counter hits until you score a dizzy.
After a few weeks of casuals, the game isn’t as balanced as I originally thought. The top 4 are a lot better than everyone else (one such character has an invincible strike that disregards pretty much all of the above, and parrying it isn’t a standing counter, so no full punish. This is somewhat balanced by him having the worst toughness and health scores in the game and being dizzied easily), so to amend. Low tier Def Jam, that’s a good game.