Playing Fighting Games For The Story

[Forsaken Lover]

So I was obsessed with Tekken back in the day. I probably played just as much Tekken 3 as I did any Final Fantasy game, and that's pretty impressive considering the length of time it takes to complete a fighting game vs. the length of time it takes to beat a JRPG.
Anyway, I fell in love with Jin Kazama and I had to know the history behind it all. So I got Tekken and Tekken 2 and I kept up obsessively with the plot up until Tekken 5 when they just kinda stopped caring.

It's not the greatest story ever but hey it's enjoyable for me.

But just try to talk about the story with some of the more...enthusiastic (being polite here) fans who play it competitively or whatever. In fact just try to bring up the story of a lot of popular fighting games.

Odds are you're gonna get insulted or laughed at. An example that always sticks with me was when I was on another forum talking about how Asuka is an insult to Jun. Responses tended to be "big deal. They have the same moveset. Nothing else matters."

It really irks me because they act like caring about the plot is so crazy. I'm sure the developers cared about the story when they wrote up the mythology and gave everyone a personality. It might not be Shakespeae but they obviously cared about the story too so I'm not just being weird here in that I like fighting game plots.

Have any of you encountered this kind of attitude? Do you play any fighting games because you also enjoy the narrative?

I've found that old, Pre-King of Fighters SNK was pretty ahead of their time in this department. The actual stories might not be revolutionary but the storytelling, considering the medium restrictions and the time in which the likes of Fatal Fury and Samurai Shodown were relevant, is outstanding.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

I can see where you're coming from. I was pretty obsessed with Tekken 3 back in the day myself.

I don't know a lot about the lore but it sounded pretty dense for a fighting game. I guess an example could be drawn to Mortal Kombat, as the art was quite evocative and made you wonder about the stories of the characters.

I wonder what Eddie's backstory is. Cat looks like he's seen trout.

[Aulayna]

I used to play every instalment of the Soul Blade/Calibur series because Soul Blade (or Soul Edge in the US) had a fantastic story, so did Soul Calibur 1, 2 and 3 but ever since Soul Calibur 4 they really seemed to have skimped on the story and fun offline modes in favour of the competitive online scene. Which is a shame as some of my favourite memories of that game series are the Edge Master Mode in Soul Blade, Soul Calibur 2's adventure mode and the weird RTS hybrid they had in Soul Calibur 3.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

"Wind, guide me!"

Jeez I used to spam attack Rafael's Y-Y-Y sword lunge and beat everyone I played.

In an effort to maintain that special Tekken quality of our proceedings, I now will regale you all with Eddie's backstory.

"
Eddy was born into one of the richest families in Brazil. When Eddy was 19 years old, his father was killed while trying to destroy a Brazilian drug cartel known as the "Organization". In his last breaths, Eddy's father asked Eddy to take responsibility for his death. Eddy went along with his father's last wish and served eight years in prison, during which he met an old man who taught him Capoeira. For his eight years of prison, Eddy practiced until he became a master. Upon his release, Eddy heard about the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3 and the Mishima Financial Empire (MFE), the sponsor of the tournament and a conglomerate compared to a "large slice of the world" which is owned by Heihachi Mishima.^[15] He decided to enter the tournament, believing he could either convince the MFE or take control of it and force it to help him get revenge on his father's killers.^{[16][17][18][19][20]}
In Tekken 4, it is learned that while Eddy was in prison he learned of his master's granddaughter, Christie Monteiro, and made a promise to his master to teach her Capoeira when Eddy got out of prison. After the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, Eddy found and taught Christie Capoeira, who became impressive at the martial art after two years of training. Soon after Christie's training, Eddy left, saying, "Those responsible for my father's death will pay."^[21] Christie Monteiro entered The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 to find Eddy, as this was the only clue that could lead her to him.^[22]
Prior to Tekken 5, Eddy learns that the master who taught him Capoeira in prison is about to be freed. Eddy goes to his release but discovers that his master has become a weak and frail old man, not the great Capoeira master he had studied under. After he takes his master to a hospital, Eddy learns that he is dying from an incurable disease that will give him less than six months to live. There is hope, however, if the Mishima Zaibatsu's technology and resources could be put to use. Knowing this and hearing the announcement of the fifth King of Iron Fist tournament, Eddy and Christie enter with the hopes of saving Christie's grandfather.^[23]
At the conclusion of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, Eddy spoke alone with Jin Kazama. Jin offered to lend him his money and resources to save his master's life in exchange for his allegiance with the Mishima Zaibatsu. Knowing that this could be the opportunity he had been looking for to save his master's life, Eddy complies. As the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 approaches, Eddy himself has become involved in a number of criminal activities in the name of the Mishima Zaibatsu.^[24] In his ending however, Jin does not do what he had promised earlier and Eddie's master dies. Eddy then angrily throw his Mishima Zaibatsu badge to the ground, signifying his end of service to the company."

[Spooniest]

Jin Kazama, eh?

< > RP LP RP

Or, if you really get on my nerves,

> > RP.

Sit.

Warning.My brother would choose Hworang, and I would choose Jin, we would do training mode set to controller, turn off all the indicators and just fight. For hours.

Try me.

[Vyk]

Chronicles of the Sword <3 Everyone hated that. But I loved it. And so did everyone I know who played the game. It seemed like something that could have grown into something glorious if they built on it. Ever since Legend of Legaia, I've wondered what a JRPG would be like if the battle system was fighting game style. Rather than an action rpg, you just have to survive encounters with skill. And Chronicles of the Sword came so close to giving me this. And it was so long. Too bad the story was kinda laughable. But still enjoyable

Mortal Kombat is probably the best example of a developer creating a fighting game and embracing the story aspect of it. The newest Mortal Kombat game has that one-player story mode where you play as all the characters going through every chapter of the story. So long and detailed, and well done. I really wish more developers would take a page off this. Especially with Soul Caliber. I never got into Tekken much. But Namco obviously used to know what they were doing. I'm with Aulayna. I kinda gave up on SC after 4. Actually felt like I wasted my money on that game. And then they jumped 500 years in the future where only two characters from the past are even still playable (exaggeration). Sad days

[Pike]

My sisters are obsessed with the game BlazBlue for this reason.

[Mercen-X]

Tekken, SoulCalibur, and Mortal Kombat are really the only fighting games I've ever played. I like the mythology behind all three. I think by far SoulCalibur has done a better job up to now of driving its story forward. Mortal Kombat's story just gets weirder with each installment. Tekken does have my favorite character arcs though.

My spam characters have been Jin, Hwoarang, Raphael, Voldo, Scorpion, Raiden, Kung Lao, and Liu Kang.

My favorite stories are for Kazuya, Jin, Hwoarang, Yoshimitsu, Steve Fox, Raphael, Ivy, Mitsurugi, and uh... Prince Taven, I guess.

I've also played Dead or Alive (Hayate pwn... I also like Eliot). The stories herein are a little more confusing. I definitely like the stories for Hayate, Ayane, and Kasumi.

[NeoCracker]

My sisters are obsessed with the game BlazBlue for this reason.

Perhaps because they are the best 2D fighters ever made?

That's a pretty damn good reason if you ask me.

Also it beats out every other fighting games in terms of story. Mostly they overcame the fighting games normal problem of having horrible presentation of their stories.

[Spuuky]

My sisters are obsessed with the game BlazBlue for this reason.

Perhaps because they are the best 2D fighters ever made?

That's a pretty damn good reason if you ask me.

Also it beats out every other fighting games in terms of story. Mostly they overcame the fighting games normal problem of having horrible presentation of their stories.

But, on the other hand, they have the worst name of any game series ever to have existed.

[Forsaken Lover]

Everyone says Guilty Gear and BlazBlue in these topics. ALso they say them when discussing Best Fighting Game Soundtracks.

I have never played either. GG at least seems to make more sense if you read the canon manga than it does if you just play the games.

Maybe I need to try them sometime. Although I wish people would remember older titles like SNK's.... BB and GG get too much attention and overshadow the classics.

[NeoCracker]

Everyone says Guilty Gear and BlazBlue in these topics. ALso they say them when discussing Best Fighting Game Soundtracks.

I have never played either. GG at least seems to make more sense if you read the canon manga than it does if you just play the games.

Maybe I need to try them sometime. Although I wish people would remember older titles like SNK's.... BB and GG get too much attention and overshadow the classics.

Translation: RARG THESE GAMES I HAVE NEVER PLAYED AND NO NOTHING ABOUT DERSVE NOT THE ATTENTION OF GAMES I AHVE PLAYED AND KNOW ABOUT RAAARRRG!

[Spooniest]

Speaking of Fighting Games and Story...



Whoever these Cory Lerios and John D'Andrea are, they introduced me to metal.

[Forsaken Lover]

Everyone says Guilty Gear and BlazBlue in these topics. ALso they say them when discussing Best Fighting Game Soundtracks.

I have never played either. GG at least seems to make more sense if you read the canon manga than it does if you just play the games.

Maybe I need to try them sometime. Although I wish people would remember older titles like SNK's.... BB and GG get too much attention and overshadow the classics.

Translation: RARG THESE GAMES I HAVE NEVER PLAYED AND NO NOTHING ABOUT DERSVE NOT THE ATTENTION OF GAMES I AHVE PLAYED AND KNOW ABOUT RAAARRRG!

Well you know what? One of these days I'm actually gonna play those games and that'll show you.

[NeoCracker]

I look forward to us yelling how wrong the other one is for a couple hours then. ^_^