Introduction World Heroes Perfect was developed by ADK in conjunction with SNK, released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system on May 25, 1995, as the fourth and final entry in the World Heroes fighting game series. The game compiled the largest roster in series history by combining nearly every playable character introduced across the…
Introduction Killer Instinct was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo, released on the SNES in June 1995 as a home port of Rare and Midway’s 1994 arcade fighting game. Despite the SNES’s more limited hardware compared to the arcade original’s dedicated fighting-game board, Rare’s programming team managed to preserve much of the arcade version’s…
Introduction Marvel Super Heroes was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-2 arcade hardware, released in November 1995 as the studio’s second Marvel-licensed fighting game, following 1994’s The Punisher, and its first entry built around a proper Marvel Comics superhero roster rather than a single licensed property. Loosely adapting Marvel’s Infinity Gauntlet comic book storyline,…
Introduction Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge, known in Japan as Vampire Hunter, was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-2 arcade hardware, released in 1995 as the direct sequel to the previous year’s Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors. The game expanded the original’s horror-themed roster with new characters, including the zombie boxer Lord Raptor and the golem-like…
Introduction Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors’ Dreams was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1995 as the first entry in the Street Fighter Alpha sub-series, set as a prequel taking place between the original Street Fighter and Street Fighter II. The game introduced a noticeably different visual style from its predecessors, using a…
Introduction Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-2 arcade hardware, released in Japan in July 1994 as the first entry in the Darkstalkers fighting game series. Set apart from Capcom’s already-established Street Fighter series by its horror movie monster theme, the game’s roster includes the succubus Morrigan Aensland, the Frankenstein’s…
Introduction Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-2 arcade hardware, released in 1997 as the second entry in Capcom’s Vs. series, following 1996’s X-Men vs. Street Fighter. The game replaced the previous entry’s X-Men roster with characters from across the wider Marvel Comics universe, including Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain…
Introduction Saturday Night Slam Masters was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1993 with character designs contributed by manga artist Tetsuo Hara, best known for Fist of the North Star. The game reimagines professional wrestling as a fast-paced arcade fighter, letting up to two players grapple, throw, and slam their way around…
Introduction Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike – Fight for the Future was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-3 arcade hardware, released in 1999 as the third and final revision of Street Fighter III, following the original New Generation and its update, 2nd Impact. The game refined the series’ Parry system, a precisely timed defensive…
Introduction Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-2 arcade hardware, released in Japan in May 1997 as the third entry in the Darkstalkers series, following Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge. The game introduced the Dark Force system, a character-specific super meter that could be activated to grant unique temporary…
Introduction Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1996, its tongue-in-cheek title deliberately echoing that year’s own Super Street Fighter II Turbo despite having no other Puzzle Fighter games to distinguish itself from. Rather than a traditional fighting game, it is a competitive falling-block puzzle game in…
Introduction Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was developed and published by Midway, released in arcades in 1995 as a significantly revised update to the same year’s Mortal Kombat 3. The game restored several fan-favorite fighters who had been left out of the original Mortal Kombat 3 roster, including Kitana, Mileena, Jax, and Scorpion, bringing the total…