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In 1985, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) introduced Kung Fu
Growing up in Japan, we got games first, and this was one of the first games I fell in love with. This classic side-scrolling beat-em-up game has it all. Kicks, chops, and classic Kung-Fu sound effects.
The evil villain Mr. X has captured your girlfriend and you must fight off a bunch of dudes that attack you.
I never even beat this game but as a kid I had hours of fun playing the first 2 levels then dying every time I got to the guy that throws knives.
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Ninja Gaiden was one my favorite fighting games back is the day, released in December 1988 by Tecmo for the NES. The story features the protagonist, the ultimate ninja named Ryu Hayabusa on his journey to America to flip, slash, kick, kill and takes names, all without being seen or heard to avenge his murdered father. There, he learns that "the Jaquio" plans to take over the world by unleashing an ancient demon through the power contained in two statues.
Its side-scrolling, tight action-platform gameplay, catchy music and being the first console game which is renowned for its elaborate story and usage of anime-like cinematic cutscenes. It was one of the first games that used “3d” graphics in a 2-d fighting game.
The Ninja Gaiden franchise is well known for its high degree and unforgiving difficulty, particularly in the later levels on the original NES version and Xbox. Needless to say, I am still trying to beat this game! A new game, titled Ninja Gaiden, was released in 2004 on Xbox.
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In 1987 Capcom released Street Fighter - This franchise is considered one of the top 10 of all time.
The “Street Fighter” series for all consoles are great. Chun-Li was one of my early childhood crushes. Basically all of the characters are awesome and the special moves in the game have been pioneered almost all Martial Arts style fighting games.
I had always wanted to do Guile’s flash kick, and now that I can it’s not as cool as I thought it would be, but oh well it’s still pretty cool. Oh yeah, and this game series inspired 2 horrendous Hollywood movies. Awesome.
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| SF 1 |
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| SF 5 |
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| In 1992 Midway Games released Mortal Kombat on the Arcade platform - the first of many incarnations. This game has always been extremely popular and controversial because of its violent content and getting banned in some countries and by parents!
Since the Arcade version, MK has been available on: PS1, N64, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, PS2, GCN, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Wii, PSP, NDS, PS3, Xbox 360, PSN, XBLA, PS4 and Xbox One.
"FINISH HIM!" Enough said.
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Of course we can't forget Namco's 1994 release of Tekken (Iron Fist). This series is considered one of the greatest of all time and one of the best-selling franchises ever.
This is my second favorite fighting game series. Tekken is also one of the first games to make the move into the 3-D, and is a deep fighting game that is fun and easy to pick up and play. I will forever hate Eddy Gordo for all of his cheap (but cool) Capoeira moves, but my favorite fighting character out of this series is Hwaorang, who I believe was introduced in Tekken 3 for the PS2.
He was the first full-on Korean Taekwondo fighter in a fighting game, and boy could he kick his face off! I mimicked my sparring style so closely to his that I would frequently lose matches because I would try to do some ridiculous “Hwaorang”- like move. It was worth it though.
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| Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998) - Is it just me, or is this game really difficult. Its concept and ideas are great for this PS1 platform. It features one of the first stealth game play elements with feudal Japanese historical mythology.
The game play is ok, with castle guards saying “It’s going to be a long night” only to be killed 2 seconds later, but without the cheat codes, this game seems very hard. Maybe I am just not that good at it! Come on, Come on!
Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins (2000) is a prequel to Stealth Assassins on PS1by Activison.
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (2003) - Known in Japan as Tenchu 3, it was published by Activision for the PS2.
It was later ported for Xbox as Tenchu: Return from Darkness (2004) and then to the PSP in 2009.
Tenchu: Fatal Shadows (2004) published for the PS2, by Sega.
"Jikai no Tenchu Kurenai de wa..."
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Bushido Blade 1 (1997) and Bushido Blade 2 (1998)
These are probably my all-time favorite fighting games. They are not necessarily the best gameplay or graphics. I just really like it. There seems to be a limited supply available for these 2 games.
However, I have just secured an almost New condition copy of BB1 – Thank you very much Brian O!!
Does anyone still have Bushido Blade 2, and if so, can I buy it from you?
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Soul Edge by Namco was released as an arcade game in December 1995, then on to PlayStation in December 1996 which was renamed to Soul Blade, and followed up with Soulcalibur in July 1998.
Released in 2002 was Soulcalibur II, and Soulcalibur II HD Online which was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013.
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| Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Loosely based on the movie which follows the same basic plot as the film. Published by Activision for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS and PC platforms.
Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors (2008)
It is a sequel to Kung Fu Panda, for Nintendo DS and Wii.
Kung Fu Panda:
Showdown of Legendary Legends (2015)
Released on PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U and Windows.
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