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[nkarafo]

There was a time when these games were the poster child of video game technology and development advancing.

Modelling and animating humans was always the hardest thing and 3D fighting games relied a lot on that obviously. Humans have too much detail and too many moving parts and it's very easy to get them look wrong. When Virtua Fighter was released, there was nothing like it. And after that, almost every new cool tech would be introduced in fighting games. Like braids and other hanging parts having their own physics, hair rendering, cloth physics, skin rendering and stretching, muscle flexing, etc. Everything that has to do with rendering or animating a human and his outfit in a videogame would appear in a 3D fighting game first. I still vividly remember when the game media went crazy about Virtua Fighter 3's cloth physics.

Racing games were also close to the stare of the art with things like pushing detailed environments with less and less pop-in but i feel like fighting games were on the top.

But now it feels like fighting games stopped advancing since, dunno, the PS3 days? I don't feel like they look or move any better than they did then. Sure, you get the usual resolution and IQ improvements but to me it feels like fighting games are stuck in the past technologically. I mean, all they have to render is two models in a restricted environment, yet the best looking and most detailed/realistic human models are found in games that have way more complex and sizeable environments to render, even open world games like Horizon have better looking models. Though i must admit the latest Mortal Kombat games do come close to that level of detail and rendering but the animation is pretty bad, like it always was with western 3D fighting games.

 

[winjer]

I still remember seeing Virtua Fighter in the arcade, for the first time.
At the time it was mind-blowing to see such smooth animations, so many polygons, and the camera movements.

 

[Roman Empire]

I still remember seeing Virtua Fighter in the arcade, for the first time.
At the time it was mind-blowing to such smooth animations, so many polygons, and the camera movements.

I found an arcade machine with Soul Edge a good 5 years ago. It was mesmerizing to think it came out back in 1995.

 

[Portugeezer]

But now it feels like fighting games stopped advancing since, dunno, the PS3 days? I don't feel like they look or move any better than they did then.

Did ps3 move like this?

 

[Lasha]

Fighting games don't strive for realistic models. They require animation and art that looks good while also being comprehensible in a fight. GGST, DBFZ, and DNF duel are all excellent looking modern fighters. SF6 looks pretty slick too.

 

[Dr_Ifto]

All a fighting game needs to do it, look good enough, have 0 latency, and killer moves. At least to me. Never really cared about the realistic state of the artness of it, unless that enhanced the move set or latency.

 

[Sethbacca]

Tangentially related, I remember playing fighters on 16bit consoles and the characters were smaller and animations were worse. I feel like getting full fat arcade fighters during the ps1 era was really when that line between arcade quality releases and home releases blurred, leading to the eventual death of arcades.

 

[ReBurn]

When I look back the only two I really see as state of the art are Virtua Fighter and MK II. Virtual Fighter for its role in the foundation of 3D fighters and MK II for its brighter, higher res visuals and sound so good it felt like the arcade cabinet was smacking you every time a hit landed. MK II was my favorite 2D arcade fighter. Conceptually I guess Street Fighter 2 should be in the list but it was more popular than it was innovative, IMO.

In a lot of ways I think the move to 3D set fighting games back a bit. I thought Mortal Kombat's move with MK4 was a downgrade. A lot of that feeling came from the limitations of PS1, N64 and Saturn. Those systems weren't really made to push the performance in arcades. It wasn't until the end of the PS1 and beginning of PS2 that consoles had the power to push 3D fighters in a way I would consider state of the art. Soul Calibur 2 on PS2 kept me going for months.

 

[SF Kosmo]

ArcSys has certainly gotten better at their 3D anime thing, I am stunned by the quality they've gotten to.

Games like Street Fighter 6 are not really technically impressive in the same way, it's true. They've added a lot in terms of style and presentation but there isn't a graphical wow factor in the same way.

 

[jufonuk]

VF and DoA had some great 3D fighting games so did soul calibur and Tekken 3 in my mind all had smooth animation but VF 4 was jaw dropping

 

[Damien Crowley]

Did ps3 move like this?

Something moved alright...

 

[Black_Stride]

ArcSys shading and animation state of art.

I still think most fighting games have absolutely top tier animations.
Analyzing those animations in slow motion :chefs kiss

 

[RickMasters]

First time I saw Virtua racing was that wow moment for me…. Which led to the second wow moment with virtual fighter….. then VF2 came along and I was truly blown away.



Honestly I can’t remember the last time any game made me feel like that. Was a pioneering era. The first steps into that new world of 3D.


We have fancy graphics and things looking almost real and somehow….. I’m no longer amazed by video games. I guess I just thought it would be more exciting by the time we got to this point.

 

[Esppiral]

Edit, wrong quote

 

[Esppiral]

Did ps3 move like this?

Soul Calibur did it way before on Dreamcast

 

[amigastar]

I remember being impressed with graphics from Ready 2 Rumble Boxing on Dreamcast.

 

[nbkicker]

Its not just fighting games its every game, we have just reached a point where its 4k 60 and thats all thats needed, plus the reliance for gaming companys not to drop ps4 , where yrs ago each jump from ps1,ps2,ps3,ps4 was a jump, the jump from ps4 pro to ps5 is mariginal

 

[CamHostage]

Tekken 8 is one of the first mainstream games to use Unreal Engine 5, just as Tekken 7 was one of the first released on UE4.

 

[calistan]

Did ps3 move like this?

Why does she slide across the floor after doing the sweep?

 

[MiguelItUp]

I still remember seeing Virtua Fighter in the arcade, for the first time.
At the time it was mind-blowing to such smooth animations, so many polygons, and the camera movements.

Same, I was at an arcade near a dollar cinema and a good number of people were playing it. Looking at it blew me away, rather than going to play other things I spent time just watching it. I was blown away even more so when I eventually saw Tekken.

 

[Esppiral]

Did ps3 move like this?

The Dreamcast Did proof

 

[GymWolf]

Why does she slide across the floor after doing the sweep?

Not sure what gif was more adapt so i'm gonna post both

Spoiler

 

[GymWolf]

The Dreamcast Did proof

Soft muscle tech uh?

 

[cireza]

But now it feels like fighting games stopped advancing since, dunno, the PS3 days?

The genre peaked even the gen before. Definitely a dead genre in terms of innovation.

 

[Knightime_X]

There's a lot of finer details that you overlook.
Nostalgia says they're the same.
No they are not.

When someone says it looks like ps3, $5 says they probably haven't played a ps3 game since the ps3 days and basing judgment off of faded memories.

 

[nkarafo]

There's a lot of finer details that you overlook.
Nostalgia says they're the same.
No they are not.

When someone says it looks like ps3, $5 says they probably haven't played a ps3 game since the ps3 days and basing judgment off of faded memories.

Nah, i stll play 3D fighting games even from an era before the PS3 came out.

 

[Holammer]

Tekken 2 on the PS1 was a mind blowing technical showcase for its time. Fast loading and better animated because they switched to a cutting edge skeleton animation system, years before Half-life even. Today nobody bats an eye or considers the work required for the IK to place the foot correctly on the surface.
So the genre plateaued. There's only so much you can do with 2 fighters and a background once you figure out hair & cloth physics. It becomes more of a showcase of the developers artistic skill instead.

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

I think it all has to do with polygons, back in the day the chest thumping was how many polygons/triangles can be pushed by console maker’s.

And what better way to do that then with human models and animation like in a fighting game. Remember the early 3D fighting games had hand drawing/pixel/ flat backgrounds.

But as time moved on and you start to hit a plateau with how many polygons your pushing so fighting games I guess kinda fell outta favor to show what each console can do?

 

[Sub_Level]

Seein Soul Blade on our big ass living room CRT in early 1997 was my “holy shit these graphics” moment.

 

[Danjin44]

What tech advancement you guys expect or even want?

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Virtua fighter 3 at the arcades...LooooOooorddd !

Dead or alive 3, a launch title for the OG Xbox = jaws were dropped, truly a system showcase.

I miss those days

 

[Caio]

Sure, I remember. My Playstation and Sega Saturn were on fire at the time of Tekken, Tekken2 and Virtua Fighter2.
What a WOW moment, holy crap, what a memory. Those games were so sexy

 

[F31 Leopard]

 

[NeverYouMind]

Pepperidge Farm remembers...

What tech advancement you guys expect or even want?

For 3D fighters, I desire interactive environments like Dead or Alive 4 where characters can jump over obstacles, great thematic stages based on real locations, hair/faces on par with Injustice 2, Max Payne 3 cloth physics, and animations akin to choreographed kung-fu fight scenes. Outside of the usual quality fighting system design and simple/colorful aesthetics.

 

[Danjin44]

hair/faces on par with Injustice 2

You mean scan faces…….ew no! I don’t think wants that. Also Injustice 2 in-game animation is really bad.

 

[NeverYouMind]

Actually some Injustice 2 animations are incredible (for example those of Gorilla Grod) but not all of them are on par. Besides I want better fighting animation than anything currently available in games as I stated. However, facial animations on par with Injustice 2 would do. No need for Uncharted 4 levels of facial animation.

 

[German Hops]

 

[Danjin44]

Actually some Injustice 2 animations are incredible (for example those of Gorilla Grod) but not all of them are on par.

Just...no.

facial animations on par with Injustice 2 would do. No need for Uncharted 4 levels of facial animation.

I pretty sure I'm not alone on this, I dont think ANYONE to see realistic face on Tekken or any other Japanese fighting games.

Wh the fuck wants this....

Over this..

 

[Beer Baelly]

 

[NeverYouMind]

Just...no.

Don't be a cherry picking Debby. The creator of the video even complements Grod's animations.

I pretty sure I'm not alone on this, I dont think ANYONE to see realistic face on Tekken or any other Japanese fighting games.

Wh the fuck wants this....

If face scans can work for Yakuza and Onimusha, they can work for Tekken and Street Fighter. The key is casting.

 

[Draxon Gamer]

This is often repeated mythological in retrospect, but it wasn't really a theme of the past. It was a handful of games in the later 90s and only really in the arcade.

VF2 and VF3 as well as a few others were the peak of that experience but also take up a good percentage of those few games. The consoles ports were too heavily reduced to have similar impact.

 

[Danjin44]

If face scans can work for Yakuza and Onimusha, they can work for Tekken and Street Fighter. The key is casting.

For Japanese fighting game with exaggerated fights and bodies, the scan face gonna make them look ugly as fuck.



In fact most of the faces Injustice 2 is super ugly, why would anyone want that?

I’m glad Japanese fighting games are not doing same shot as NetherRealm Studio does.

 

[NeverYouMind]

I don't know how you can look at Aquaman, Superman, Supergirl, and Starfire with a straight face and call them ugly. They would all be rated 8 or above on looks alone in real life. You would probably be considered lucky to look half as good as them.

 

[BennyBlanco]

When I look back the only two I really see as state of the art are Virtua Fighter and MK II. Virtual Fighter for its role in the foundation of 3D fighters and MK II for its brighter, higher res visuals and sound so good it felt like the arcade cabinet was smacking you every time a hit landed. MK II was my favorite 2D arcade fighter. Conceptually I guess Street Fighter 2 should be in the list but it was more popular than it was innovative, IMO.

In a lot of ways I think the move to 3D set fighting games back a bit. I thought Mortal Kombat's move with MK4 was a downgrade. A lot of that feeling came from the limitations of PS1, N64 and Saturn. Those systems weren't really made to push the performance in arcades. It wasn't until the end of the PS1 and beginning of PS2 that consoles had the power to push 3D fighters in a way I would consider state of the art. Soul Calibur 2 on PS2 kept me going for months.

You’re tripping. SoulCalibur graphics were crazy at the time and it ran at a flawless 60 fps.

 

[Shadowstar39]

Did ps3 move like this?

What is sad is we won't get this ever again. And the fact that there were grown straight guys bitching about her ass. "I can't play around my wife" ...wtf... So now its all tame. Only fighting game left with sex appeal is Soul Calibur and maybe Tekken, but that is yet to be seen.

 

[Shadowstar39]

Tekken 2 on the PS1 was a mind blowing technical showcase for its time. Fast loading and better animated because they switched to a cutting edge skeleton animation system, years before Half-life even. Today nobody bats an eye or considers the work required for the IK to place the foot correctly on the surface.
So the genre plateaued. There's only so much you can do with 2 fighters and a background once you figure out hair & cloth physics. It becomes more of a showcase of the developers artistic skill instead.

They could do a lot more but don't.

I remember playing games on the ps1 where you would bust through other stages and floors. Punch people through walls. Fast forward to ps3+ era and I don't remember hardly any of that. It was always just one floor with background.

How cool would it be to have a vertical fighting stages. Maybe some waterfalls, spinning floors with ladders and ledges. Brick buildings where you can bust through. There is so much creativity devoid in doing the same thing over and over. PS1 was the best gen for this. AD&D even had a fighter set in Ravenloft. It wasn't great but it was creative. Weapon based. Also bloody roar, and nightmare creatures, etc... There is a lot to do but they stick to the same sf , tekken formula, and occasional soul calibur. Dead or alive was unique but they toned that down and it lost its identity, due to sjw nut cases pissing and moaning.

 

[ReBurn]

You’re tripping. SoulCalibur graphics were crazy at the time and it ran at a flawless 60 fps.

It was great on Dreamcast, and a great looking weapons-based fighter. I just don't think it was necessarily state of the art. Tekken 3 on PS1 @ 60 FPS was a more impressive technical feat.

 

[BennyBlanco]

It was great on Dreamcast, and a great looking weapons-based fighter. I just don't think it was necessarily state of the art. Tekken 3 on PS1 @ 60 FPS was a more impressive technical feat.

It was by far the best looking game of the year and held the crown for a while. What is more state of the art than that?

 

[Draxon Gamer]

It was by far the best looking game of the year and held the crown for a while. What is more state of the art than that?

Best looking game of the year on consoles? Absolutely, but SC was a launch game for the Dreamcast and the competition wasn't out yet so that's a given.

 

[The Pleasure]

Did ps3 move like this?