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Someone explain to me portable fighting games.

Let's face it, a large portion of decent games for vita are ports of console fighting games. And I'm pretty sure this genre must sell well enough for them to appear on psp, 3ds, gba, gbc, gb (that mortal kombat!).

With Tekken Advance being the only portable fighter I've ever owned, I never really understood the appeal of wacking at computers through a barebone arcade mode, or other gimmicky stuff.

Never met anyone else in the world that had tekken advance, so I never tried MP. I know modern portable fighters also have online modes... but latency + other dude not within spitting distance is a bit different.

Also... no portable joysticks (or are there?).

So am I just the wrong dude for this stuff? Why do you pick up portable fighters?
 
they are fighting games, but you can play them when away from your tv?

Sony%20PSP%20Nut.jpg
 

Hato-kun

Member
BlazBlue on Vita is awesome. I usually just pick it up and play to and from Uni on the bus. Translates over the consoles so I can kick ass when needed.

Also, Vita version online, I've experience barely any latency problems and I'm in the asshole of the world. So it's not all bad.
 

MightyKAC

Member
For me Tekken 6 and Soul Calibur 4 for the PSP pretty much validates the existence of fighting games for portables.
 

Zekes!

Member
thinking about it, I figure it's due to portables being popular in Japan and local multiplayer being easier to do there
 

Kazerei

Banned
Tekken Advance? You poor thing.

Fighters are great on handhelds because you can play a quick round here and there.

Oh, and now that handhelds have four face buttons, they're not as gimped as Tekken Advance.
 

fernoca

Member
Why do you pick up portable fighters?
Same reason I pick them on consoles.
Love the genre, love beating the hell out of characters, love the flashy moves, the action, intensity...and I'm not into competitive play. So don't mind, hitboxes, joysticks and all that.
 

Jintor

Member
If I had had a Vita, I would have been playing Ultimate Marvel all the way back from Los Angeles to Sydney with my friend. Until the battery died, anyway.
 
Playing online on a portable is no different from playing online on a console. Dpad or analogue stick works just fine for certain fighting games, some even prefer that method of control to arcade sticks. Local multiplayer is missing, true, but if you have a friend with a portable ad hoc multiplayer is great fun.

Obviously face to face matches at an arcade is the best way to play a fighting game, but sadly that is mostly a thing of the past.
 

ReaperXL7

Member
Let's face it, a large portion of decent games for vita are ports of console fighting games. And I'm pretty sure this genre must sell well enough for them to appear on psp, 3ds, gba, gbc, gb (that mortal kombat!).

With Tekken Advance being the only portable fighter I've ever owned, I never really understood the appeal of wacking at computers through a barebone arcade mode, or other gimmicky stuff.

Never met anyone else in the world that had tekken advance, so I never tried MP. I know modern portable fighters also have online modes... but latency + other dude not within spitting distance is a bit different.

Also... no portable joysticks (or are there?).

So am I just the wrong dude for this stuff? Why do you pick up portable fighters?

It depends on the game for me personally, if it's a fighter I really enjoy, and I can get a portable version i'll probably almost always pick it up, unless there is a major reason not to.

Games like Blaz Blue, and Mortal Kombat I would not call out for just having "bare bones" arcade modes. there is so much content in those games that can be enjoyed from a single player perspective that it makes it worthwhile for me.

Being honest though I was not really into handhelds before the Vita, but since it's release i've realized how much portable gaming works for my lifestyle. It's great having console experiences that I can take with me, and not have to be teathered to my couch/Tv at all times in order to get a match, or a few hours of game time in.

I won't get rid of my console/PC and go strictly portable, but I can very much see the appeal now more than ever of doing so under the right conditions. If anything the Vita gives me hope that at somepoint we will get a full blown portable console, that would be interesting.

I don't see why fighters would be any less desireable than any other genre though, even more so fighters are usually designed with quick pick up and play mechanics to begin with, so imo they make even more sense, than something like RPGs.
 

Marz

Member
I don't see why not? Chances are the majority of people that purchase fighting games aren't going to be winning EVO anytime soon so I honestly don't see what the big deal is.

Portable versions of your favorite fighting games featuring your favorite characters. SOunds good to me.
 
With Tekken Advance being the only portable fighter I've ever owned, I never really understood the appeal of wacking at computers through a barebone arcade mode, or other gimmicky stuff.
Wait, that's gimmicky? Every single arcade fighter ever made had a single player mode. Every home version as well. A lot of people play single player more than they play multiplayer.
 

Skilletor

Member
I buy fighters for a portable training mode. Tekken 6, SC4, UMvC3, BB are all good enough ports to practice on. Really hoping for SC5, TTT2, and DoA5 ports on Vita. :D

Online in UMvC3 is great on Vita, as well, so even though I can't play my best (I use a stick), it's still fun to play. DoAD on 3DS had super solid netcode as well.
 

Mzo

Member
Outside of Match of the Millenium on the NGPC, they're pretty useless for me. That game added a hell of a lot of extras, some fun modes, and it had great controls.

I can't play without an arcade stick and the last time I played the computer in a fighting game was vanilla SF4 to unlock characters. And I hated every second of it.
 

Raonak

Banned
I normally play fighting games offline anyways, so it makes sense for me.
Not really into competetive play.

Tekken has a offline ranking system. So it has lots of replay value. you basically fight ghosts of real characters, and you fight, after you defeat 3-6 people near you rank, you get a ranking oppotinuity, where if you defeat that person, you'll rank up. The higher rank you have, the higher rank ghosts you'll fight- which means they're gonna be harder.
Got 5 characters to the Tekken Lord rank. in tekken 5 and 6.


Plus tekken doesn't really have much quater-circle moves, so it's actually easier to play with a dpad.

actually, tekken 6 was bettr on PSP than the console iterations due to the fact its minimal load times (2-4 seconds vs 10 seconds)

on Umvc3 I just play heroes vs heralds mode.
 
I haven't bought a portable fighting game in some time. I think because I'm used to arcade sticks now. being limited to my thumbs is not for me anymore.
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
To be fair to the history of portable fighters, Vita legitimizes them a fair amount by having an outstanding d-pad for a change - compared to just about every previous portable game device.

Shit's actually fully playable on the pad.
 
Wait, that's gimmicky? Every single arcade fighter ever made had a single player mode. Every home version as well. A lot of people play single player more than they play multiplayer.

or

MK9 might be the only fighter that I've played that had a decent story mode. Other's are just silly billy.
 

OmegaZero

Member
You can train on the go.
BB:CSE and SSFIV3D helped me learn combos and skills that I could use on the console versions.

EDIT: Beaten.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Equal grounds for everyone playing. No arcade stick advantage.

This. And it doesn't hurt that (at least AFAIK) the PSP2's d-pad and hardware is pretty fighting friendly compared to the PSP1-1000's launch hardware.
 

RobotHaus

Unconfirmed Member
Survival mode is a good way to pass time if you don't want to invest too heavily into what you're playing. I would love to play GGX for GBA, played well and passed the time real nice.

With newer games it's even better. I can play DOA or Street Fighter with my brother-in-law while waiting at a restaurant or something like it. It's just more options.
 

Arklite

Member
I always thought fighting games made perfect sense in a portable scene. Matches are quick, always varied, lots of characters to differentiate play, and you can get full matches in moments, or a full arcade mode run if you've got minutes to burn. They almost make too much sense.
 

7Th

Member
Tekken 5 DR for the PSP was easily one of the best games the system ever got.
It was also the debut of the best Tekken character to date.
 

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
thinking about it, I figure it's due to portables being popular in Japan and local multiplayer being easier to do there

Actually that's why they have arcades there. It also explains why fighting games generally have low sales.
 

Salsa

Member
Some erroneously think arcade stick is automatically superior to pad.

no, but i think an expensive pad with a better build is better and easier to master than a cheap one. Same with Arcade Sticks.

It introduces another factor to competition that while it might work best for the most serious competitive play, it detracts to those that wanna play in a more casual manner (like on their portables).
 

QisTopTier

XisBannedTier
no, but i think an expensive pad with a better build is better and easier to master than a cheap one. Same with Arcade Sticks.

It introduces another factor to competition that while it might work best for the most serious competitive play, it detracts to those that wanna play in a more casual manner (like on their portables).

o_O I play default ps3 pad and do fine. *shrug*
 

Salsa

Member
o_O I play default ps3 pad and do fine. *shrug*

I know man, but there's no way of knowing if you're fighting against someone with a better built arcade stick/gamepad and you're gettin your shit kicked out because of that or because of your level of skill.
 
SSFIV on the 3DS completely validated the portable fighter experience for me when I was deployed ...even made me get back into console version for awhile ....until I realized I still suck at competitive play

Anyway, yeah training on the go is bliss and am more than likely gonna buy MK Vita.
 

tearsofash

Member
I really don't know. I buy them anyways, even if it really hurts my hands. BlazBlue actually doesn't hurt my hands, so it wins.
 

A Pretty Panda

fuckin' called it, man
I know man, but there's no way of knowing if you're fighting against someone with a better built arcade stick/gamepad and you're gettin your shit kicked out because of that or because of your level of skill.

No that would be the only reason you'd get your shit kicked in a fighting game.
 
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