Fighting games have become popular on the Nintendo 3DS with Super Street Fighter 4, Samurai Warriors: Chronicles and Dead or Alive: Dimensions hitting the handheld earlier this year and with Super Smash Brothers, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 2 and Tekken to be released sometime in the future I thought that it would be a good time to reveal the top games that I think should be released for the console.
Thinking about the graphics, controls and features on the hardware, I looked at many fighting games and while I would like to see Guilty Gear, Ready 2 Rumble, Vs. Capcom, Killer Instinct, Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Street Fighter Alpha and Virtua Fighter all come onto the 3DS, I restricted myself to five.
If there is a fighting game that you would like to see be released for Nintendo’s console or have any opinions of the games listed, please feel free to comment below.
5. Jump Stars
With this fighting series exclusive to the original DS with Jump Superstar Saga and Jump Ultimate Star, it will be great to see developers Ganbarion make a sequel for the 3DS as it has so far been the closest quality to the gameplay and quality to Super Smash Brothers.
Featuring characters from the Shonen Jump mangas, a selection of fighters would fight against each other in a platform-style arenas that are based on the most iconic locations from their most beloved franchises. While the games included characters from recognizable books such as Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Death Note, One Piece, Dr. Slump, Shaman King and Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, the main reason the games were never released over here was that it mostly featured characters that have never reached audiences outside Japan.
But if the developers made some sacrifices and changes to the roster of fighters and stages, the latest game could finally reach gamers from around the world to enjoy this colorful, insane and fun fighting game.
4. Soulcalibur
The Soulcalibur series has been a success since Soul Blade on the Playstation, which was compounded on the release of its first official title for the series on the Dreamcast in 1998. While the first portable game only came out in 2009 on the PSP, an installment for Nintendo’s handheld would be great to see since we have not seen an official game for a Nintendo console since Soulcalibur 2 on the GameCube.
Taking advantage of the 3D effects, the game could really make the fights truly come to life, with the blades and other crazy weapons coming out of the screen that can give the current fighting games on the system a run for their money. Even though it will be great to see trophy collecting, online features and Spot Pass features, the 3D effect is something that I would like to see more than anything as the fighting games on the handheld have either had frame rate issues or used very little 3D during fights and will be great to see this game in particular to fix these issues and to improve them as well.
It would also be great if they had a special guest exclusive to the console that has been the series’ staple since the release of Soulcalibur 2 and it will be great to see the return of Link from The Legend of Zelda games, as well as perhaps seeing a character from the Tekken series as the two fighting games are from the same developers.
3. Darkstalkers
It has been six years since we last saw a game in Capcom’s bizarre and wacky fighting series and with three of the fighters featured in this year’s Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fates of Two Worlds (Morrigan, Felicia and Hsien-Ko), it will be great for the developers to bring back one of their cult games after bringing Street Fighter and Resident Evil to the 3DS.
The roster mainly consists of vampires, demons and other monsters that battle in a variety of dark and colorful arenas, including tombs, graveyards and villages that sees two to four fighters performing crazy combos in the traditional side-view fighting style. But as the games have featured a wide variety of characters that have their own unique styles and powers, this cult series has remained memorable among gamers and in a time where fighting games are making big returns, this could be a great game to see Capcom making after the successful release of Street Fighter 4.
All the previous games have been in 2D sprites and a 3D makeover is long overdue that could also take advantage of the functions of the console that they could use for the first time in the game, including the similar approach to free DLC that has previously been seen in Dead or Alive: Dimensions, an online mode and some collectible trading cards that could also act as AR Cards. Even though the 3D effects would most likely not be as impressive as other games could be, the effects and some usage of blood could help to make the 3D effects be used to at least give the combos a more engaging effect.
2. Punch-Out!!
Nintendo’s classic boxing game has been beloved since Super Punch-Out!! on the Super NES and managed to take advantage of the graphics and motion controls used for Wii game. While most of the fighting games are side-viewed, combo-driven, this boxing series offers gamers the opportunity to see behind your character as you try to take down your opponent and with remakes such as Star Fox 64 3D and Kid Icarus Uprising to be released soon, this could be a great fighting game for Nintendo to release.
If the game used the same camera perspective seen in the Wii and Super NES version of the games, the 3D effects could truly be outstanding for this video game genre by putting the 3D on the character you are playing in the foreground to judge your distance and attacks from your opponent, as well as using the 3D to make your punches look impressive and cool to watch.
There are always wacky characters in these games that have helped to make this a recognizable staple in the boxing games, including Little Mac, King Hippo, Glass Joe, Bald Bull and Super Macho Man. In fact, the original game even featured Mike Tyson however Nintendo choosing to include him in a future game is extremely unlikely.
1. Mortal Kombat
No surprise, really. The Mortal Kombat games have been popular since its arcade debut in 1992 for featuring brutal fighters, bloody violence and its famous Fatalities! With the surprising popularity of fighting games and only a handful of gory games coming to the 3DS, this game would be both ideal and very welcomed that can very easily offer the same features and content that the recent installment on the X-Box 360 and PS3 contains and more.
While this may not be the first 3D game in the series (with the 2011 game having the option to play on 3D televisions), it would nonetheless take full advantage of the splatter of blood, ripped limbs and violent moves that we can all imagine would be brilliant effects for the 3D capabilities of the handheld that is still needed. The Fatalities, stages and the cinematic cut-scenes could also take full advantage of the technology, bringing the shock factor to a new level.
Sound quality would be another advantage with the sound system on the console, adding to the experience of the splatter of the blood and the dismembering of body parts. This would be especially true if it could match with the quality of the sound through the earphones, since Super Street Fighter 4 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D both being great examples of how great the music and sound effects can be.
What’s great about the recent game as well is that it takes full advantage of DLC, a great set-up for the online matches and unlockables, which can be easily done in a handheld version and the 3DS could easily do this with the power and software that is already available for it.
