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[MvCSpiderman]

With the next generation of hardware upon us, the One/PS4/PC didn't have as many great fighting games as the generation before, but if you could pick one game which do you think defined the genre this generation?

Here are several of the more popular fighting games from Metacritic. I noticed a lack of expansions but I guess most people played the originals that voted, so it makes sense.

By score

Injustice 2 - 87%
Dragon Ball FighterZ - 87%
GG XRD Revelator - 86%
GG XRD SIGN - 84%
Blazblue CF - 84%
Soul Calibur VI - 84%
Mortal Kombat X- 83%
Mortal Kombat 11 - 82%
Tekken 7 - 82%
Samurai Showdown - 81%
Naruto UStorm 4 - 79%
KOF14 - 79%
For Honor - 78% I don't think it counts, but it's on the list.
Street Fighter V - 77%
Blazblue CTB - 76%
Killer Instinct 73%

One big thing about this generation, or last now, is that there wasn't a much needed graphical jump. Virtua Fighter 5 from two generations ago looks better than some of these games. Maybe with Series and PS5 that will change, but for One and PS4? Fighting games failed to have a significant upgrade. Yes there are some games that did, but most of them didn't look too good graphically, including the ones not on the list.

The second problem I saw that people may agree with, is the competitive community locking themselves in a steel box without adding any air holes, and some companies went right in with them. Creating a lot of barebones experiences and clearly unfinished releases.

It still wasn't the worst generation for fighting games but it was pretty bad. Here's the list from the generation before:

Street Fighter 4 - 93%
Virtua Fighter 5 - 89%
Blazblue CT - 86%
Mortal Kombat - 86%
Blazblu CS - 85%
DOA4 - 85%
Soul Calibur IV - 85%
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 -85%
Street Fighter X Tekken - 83%
Persona 4 Arena - 82%
Tekken TT2 - 82%
Injustice - 81%
Tekken 6 - 80
KOF 13 - 78%
Soul Calibur V - 77%
DOA5 - 75%
Mortal Kombat vs. Superman - 72%

A pretty stark contrast.

What was the definitive fighting game this generation?

 

[Captain Toad]

The new version of Virtua Fighter 5 and Street Fighter V.

 

[Banjo64]

Smash Ultimate rules them all.

 

[Jigsaah]

Defined the generation? It's hard to say honestly. The FGC really is an eclectic bunch. While we have our favorites, the styles of fighting games are so unique that you can get something new from each franchise.

Mortal Kombat is way different than Street Fighter, but both are great. DBZ is wayy different than BlazBlue but they don't really compete with one another because they are so unique.

Also important to note is that a fighting game's true potential is never realized by time the review score comes out. The FGC discover the depth of the game over time and it's that depth that may truly determine if a game can "define a generation".

I guarantee you'll get several answers here, but I would say DBFZ would maybe fit the bill. New franchise, interesting new mechanics, great and iconic character roster...easily the best looking DBZ fighter of all time.

I would give runner up to Mortal Kombat 11.

 

[Futaleufu]

Those scores show that reviewers dont know shit about fighting games.

 

[ArtemisClydeFrog]

Smash and it's not even close

 

[eastcoastkody]

i dont like Smash.

but its obviously Smash

 

[camaropilot]

Tekken 7 for me, it was a return to what has made the series great in the past with a large roster of characters. It's not perfect but it's the most fun I had with a fighting game for a long time.

I think this thread would be well served by a poll.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[MvCSpiderman]

Tekken 7 for me, it was a return to what has made the series great in the past with a large roster of characters. It's not perfect but it's the most fun I had with a fighting game for a long time.

I think this thread would be well served by a poll.

There's like 70 fighting games, can't really make a poll.

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

GG Xrd was amazing, but only a handful of Gaf users know that.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

I don't think fighting games define console generations.

Perhaps we could say that Virtua Fighter defined the 5th generation of consoles, but that was almost 30 years ago.

 

[ReBurn]

I've played Tekken 7 the most followed bu Soul Calibur 6. I also have both Mortal Kombat games, SF5, Killer Instinct, DOA6 and KOF14.

none of those are particularly generation defining so maybe it's one I didn't play

 

[junguler]

i like tekken 7 the best, shame harada didn't keep to his promise of not selling any og characters as dlc.

 

[MvCSpiderman]

GG Xrd was amazing, but only a handful of Gaf users know that.

Actually this would be one of the few places that even knows what guilty gear is.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

I get the feeling that fighting games either are for eSports or they're storefront for selling costumes and what not... Not interested anymore.

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

MK and Injustice were by far the most popular this gen

 

[Thesuffering79]

The order of where button mashing is least effective to the most effective

1. Smash
2. GG types
3. MK/Injustice
4. SFs

Dont really know where to put Tekken. I dont know how good the punish game is in that game.

 

[Neff]

Smash

 

[Krappadizzle]

Smash

 

[kunonabi]

FighterZ or Tekken 7. MK11 might be in the conversation but it has so many issues that I think it wore out its welcome earlier than expected.

 

[alienator]

No Fighting Layer EX love?

smash is not a fighting game though. Atleast not in a sense of 1 on 1 combo/techniques/ skill-way.... , oh god what did i just say

 

[jufonuk]

currently it’s smash.

Not really a fan of Smash as a fighter I’ve tried, it’s more of a party game to my mind.

[don’t look at me that way. I don’t have to like or agree with everything Nintendo do, yes they are my favourite video game company. But I am allowed to…..no, mummyyyyy! no stay away from me!! -argh ]


but it’s smash current

or under night in birth flipping unwieldy title.

But for me it will always be one/two series since the early Nineties. Fighters His….

sorry
street fighter and virtual fighter

 

[jufonuk]

No Fighting Layer EX love?

smash is not a fighting game though. Atleast not in a sense of 1 on 1 combo/techniques/ skill-way.... , oh god what did i just say

I played the switch version. Eh Im not sure it doesn’t feel so polished.

 

[MvCSpiderman]

The order of where button mashing is least effective to the most effective

1. Smash
2. GG types
3. MK/Injustice
4. SFs

Dont really know where to put Tekken. I dont know how good the punish game is in that game.

Why did you put Smash at 1? Have you played online? Should be 7 at least.

 

[PhaseJump]

Killer Instinct's revival as a F2P, seriously competitive 2D fighting game with a good tutorial and good rollback code, has been the highlight for me. At least until Season 3 came out and I walked away from it.

It was seriously better than Street Fighter, but casuals and capcom fanboys don't care and will shit post about it because of the whole popularity contest mindset, judging KI based on the old games.

 

[BLAUcopter]

Gang Beasts

 

[Plantoid]

Mortal Kombat X

Not generation defining but I loved the fighter z, wish they implement a block button (like in mk) in the next instalment

 

[01011001]

well if anything, this genre shows more than any other that review scores are complete bullshit if a shitshow of a fighting game like Injustice 2 is on top... holy shit xD

 

[IKSTUGA]

Smash Ultimate is GOAT. If it doesn't count for some ridiculous reason then DBZ or Guilty Gear.

SFV was hugely disappointing, 3D fighters aren't my thing and Mortal Kombat battle animations have always revolted me.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Fighter Z for sure, it took a while to get a AAA 80+ score DBZ game, the gameplay, graphics was all a chance.

 

[Ten_Fold]

Nothing really, this gen of fighters just wasn’t super great, they are all pretty watered down compared to last gen, but if I had to pick some standout games I would say DBFZ and I don’t even like it. This gen of fighters made me stop attending tournaments, just didn’t feel any of the games out.

 

[Renozokii]

Killer Instinct's revival as a F2P, seriously competitive 2D fighting game with a good tutorial and good rollback code, has been the highlight for me. At least until Season 3 came out and I walked away from it.

It was seriously better than Street Fighter, but casuals and capcom fanboys don't care and will shit post about it because of the whole popularity contest mindset, judging KI based on the old games.

It’s funny that what few Xbox games I actually really liked last gen Microsoft won’t do anything with. Killer instinct, sunset, and ryse are to date my favorite exclusives the Xbox one had.

 

[Renozokii]

In terms of influence and sheer size I have to think it’s smash, than mortal Kimbat, than a huge gap before anything else. Smash is a monster of a franchise and that along with MK are keeping fighting games main stream almost single handily.

 

[MrMephistoX]

In terms of games I wished had more influence? Killer Instinct: I really wish more companies would adopt the F2P model with a rotating free roster but VF5US is maybe an evolution of that: get on a subscription service for the free base game then charge for whacky DLC. SFV is probably the most influential since that’s kind of what it evolved into: middling base game fixed over years with good DLC. Also see MK11 for the SFV model.

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

Actually this would be one of the few places that even knows what guilty gear is.

GG is now way more popular compared to what it was during the mid 2010s.

 

[SSfox]

Tekken 7 and street Fighter V, despite both have not good netcode. But both have coolest characters and super fun gameplay.

 

[Thesuffering79]

Why did you put Smash at 1? Have you played online? Should be 7 at least.

Yes and i can't win online. The level of play competitively even at low levels is insane. Unless you are talking about people who cheat with lag, yeah i admit that is a problem but i havent encountered that yet.

 

[MvCSpiderman]

Yes and i can't win online. The level of play competitively even at low levels is insane. Unless you are talking about people who cheat with lag, yeah i admit that is a problem but i havent encountered that yet.

It's a pretty big problem. One of the biggest complaints if not the biggest.

 

[MvCSpiderman]

GG is now way more popular compared to what it was during the mid 2010s.

I don't know what sales your looking at but this is doubtful.

DBFZ isn't going to spread to GG if that's your thinking

 

[eastcoastkody]

Smash defined the gen for sure.

My personal favorite was probably Injustice 2. Mostly because of the campaign and the loot. Soul Calibur 6 is probably a better game i just didn't really play it much. As i only got it thru GamePass. Killer Instinct is surprisingly SICK. i just didn't play it until recent tho. Under the radar ass game that it is

all my homies hate Tekken 7

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

I don't know what sales your looking at but this is doubtful.

DBFZ isn't going to spread to GG if that's your thinking

I'm not even thinking about DBZ. Just compare the marketing around Strive to Xrd...

 

[MvCSpiderman]

I'm not even thinking about DBZ. Just compare the marketing around Strive to Xrd...

Marketing means nothing if people aren't interested, just ask Kof.

 

[Astral Dog]

Sephiroth

 

[Varteras]

Well my personal favorite was Killer Instinct but there were plenty of great ones. Couldn't really single one out.

 

[MvCSpiderman]

Sephiroth

?

 

[chriskun]

Tekken 7 seems like the all around winner to me, great casual reception, and super popular and well respected within the fgc. Pretty sure it garnered alot of interest from other branches of the fgc or more compared to any of the other big games.

 

[Labolas]

It's among DBFZ, T7, Smash, and MK11. SFV soured a lot of people. Personally I'd say Xrd Rev2 for me. It was the one game that I loved the most despite the netcode. So much so that I prefer it over Strive although Strive is going to be a different beast through its life cycle.

 

[Platinumstorm]

I think Tekken 7 was the most defining. I never got into it as I'm not a big Tekken fan. SFV had huge missteps, MK11 doesn't have enough options [this was my personal favorite], I think DBFZ was influential, again didn't get into it; Smash was a massive game.

 

[BusierDonkey]

I'm not sure it was the best, but Killer Instinct was a huge surprise for me and I dumped more hours into it than any other fighting game I've ever played. I really hope they make another one soon.