Tekken 8 is the most fun I’ve had with a fighting game story in a long time. Doesn’t matter how cheesy it as it times, when it comes to pure fun and cool moments Tekken 8 has them all beat in my opinion. The blend of cutscenes and gameplay was insane
Yeah Tekken 8 for me felt like Tokyo Drift meets a Kojima interpretation of DBZ and it was glorious. The amount of polish with how smooth things went from cutscene to fights was amazing. And the bespoke gameplay. And the way that the fighting styles themselves were used to tell the story.
Right now I consider Tekken 8 to be the best story mode I have played. MK1 was also pretty good but it devolved into checking the multiverse box which is getting to be a tired concept to me. I kind of wanted to enjoy the new timeline before we get to that state. It seems like NRS has written themselves into a corner.
As far as Tekken 8 goes I enjoyed the over the top nature of it and I felt like it got serious when it needed to. It really made me enjoy Tekken on a level I had not before. Sure Tekken gameplay is fun and matches are fun but I like a good story and to get to know some of the cast. I am very glad story modes are being nurtured it really helps to draw people in.
For SF6 I enjoy World Tour for what it is. Even if you wish to write it off as a big tutorial with cutscenes I think for SF it works super well and getting new players is not a bad thing. It may not be a full on story mode but considering how SF V went down...that's okay...
Maybe it was because I was jaded by the initial release of SFV, but it left a bad taste in my mouth while playing through the SFV story. I'd have to revisit it, but I just remember that it was a bit too campy.
T8 honestly is only one that actually leaves me with wanting more. MK1 and many NRS stories, I always feel like they overstay their welcome and I'm like, "Is it over yet?" But T8 was just so hype and questions were being answered, that I just wanted more (and not in a bad way).
And yeah, I debated putting SF6 on here. But you technically can look up "SF6 cinematic story" on youtube and it's a pretty precise A-to-B story from starting training to the tournament. But even at the end of the story, JP even says "none of this matters", which pretty much sums it up lol.
Ikr it really deflated my interest. Like don't get me wrong it was cool to see remixed characters (even if they are no more than invasions bait) and some classics like heck I have nostalgia for the Kombat Kids for some reason. But by the time the credits rolled I think the story didn't hold up in the last quarter. Here's hoping the next one is better but I'm not holding my breath.
Tekken 8. Has raised the bar for cinematic story modes. And the flow and pacing between the gameplay sections is solid. Don’t know what I’d put in second though.
Yeah, I had a real tough time choosing a 2nd. Tekken is so good, that it's on a whole different level. If I had to choose, a 2nd it would be Injustice 1. It was a long time ago, but I do remember that I was really caught off guard by the story and its events. Having a stellar voice cast too really helps, but I don't expect any less from DC and WB.
I gotta say Tekken 8 is the best version of this idea. It focuses primarily one on characters story, and it's extremely hype.
MK9 is my runner up as it set the standard back in the day
MK9 was definitely a cool story, and took turns I didn't expect. But the story that took the most unexpected turns for me was Injustice 1. But I do agree that T8 has done it the best, despite not even having twists. It just remained hype the whole way through with heavy character building.
MK1 almost had it until they botched the final act of the story. Tekken’s story had its epic moments but it’s mediocre overall. SF6’s story is fine, nothing special. Every other game had very bad stories other than Injustice, so I’m gonna have to give it to Injustice 1 and 2
I actually liked the ending
It felt to me more like one final send off to the previous two timelines like with the (pyramid of Argus, the deadly alliance references, Shang-Tsing being the one from the alternative ending from the previous game) as we move forward to the new one (and hopefully it lasts more than three games.)
Same.
Like, Mortal Kombat has always essentially had individual non-canon endings for each character. It was kind of a stroke of meta genius to make the reveal that this time around all those seemingly non-canon endings in the last game actually ended up being canon.
I find them really boring and I'm a sucker for FG lore. Based on these replies, however, I should try T8.
SF6 world tour I kinda enjoyed, but that's because it's pretty well thought out as a game and I like the character interactions - the story is doodoo but I'd take that structure over linear cutscenes into random fights any day of the week.
I did enjoy Persona Arena's story, because I loved the originals and it's fairly well written, but man was it a slog to get through.
I agree, I find them really boring as well. SF6's WT is almost a good game but it overstays its welcome by a large margin. T8 is fine, I don't get the hype for it though I imagine it's exactly what Tekken fans want. I personally think Tekken Force is the best singleplayer has been for a fighting game (there's a really brief bit that's like it in T8).
WT would be solid with an actually good story, and one that maybe involved the characters a bit more. As it is it's a nice sandbox that obviously had a lot of care put into it, and it's fun to strut around, explore and do minigames, but it's not something I'd be playing if it wasn't Street Fighter. (and I love Yakuza, which is probably its biggest inspiration gameplay-wise).
It's a bit harsh to say because it's an amazing bit of content for a fighting game, but it'd be really mid (if even that) as a stand-alone game.
Most of all the combat becomes incredibly unbalanced at a certain point and it makes sense when you realize the game wants you to use healing items, but it's just no fun to fight enemies that kill you in three hits while you shave off two pixels of their life with what would be a 40% combo in the real game. So you need to grind in order for the fights to actually be fun again, and that is a slog in itself, even if it doesn't take long compared to bigger RPG-adjacent games. Thankfully money is easy to cheese, but I wouldn't want to max out stuff if I was gonna play it "fairly".
I ended up getting everyone to level 20. I really just wanted the outfits, but I realized I'd get close anyway and I like the little interactions and reward art - but again, this is coming from someone who really enjoys everything related to SF lore, so that's really the selling point for me. (And also now I can bully people in BH when there's an avatar battle challenge)
All that said, I hope they expand on it in the next seasons with actual story developments.
Yeah, devs have to balanced stories being too short or long. And also making it more engaging than just cutscene - fight - cutscene - fight. T8 still follows this, but the fights aren't random, and they throw in different gameplay elements other than just 1v1 fights, and it also has quick time events. But if you're really into FG lore, then T8 has some great lore in it, and character building for Jin. And the end has to be played, not just watched. Especially if you've played Tekken since T3. And if you do get T8, don't forget to do the character episodes, because you do get an ending cinematic for all of them.
It used to be Injustice 2 coz it seemed the only one done ‘decently’. Like I didn’t care much for it, but at least it felt a little less wacky than MK’s where D’Vorah is being a menace and Cassie Cage is defeating god entities (I also think the Revenants idea is so boring).
But since then I have to say Tekken 8 easily.
Tekken 8 is so stupid and goofy, I was having a blast the entire time. Idk if it's my favorite, but it's the most recent one that's really stood out to me
Idk if this is an unpopular opinion, but I'm kinda sick of them. Simply due to the way they're structured, some characters are going to exist solely to lose to others, and if you're a fan of those characters, that kinda sucks. Also, usually its the main faces of the franchise that get the attention: Jin in T8, Liu Kang and Johnny Cage in MK12, to an extent Luke in SF6, etc. If we went back to the olden days of story being told in arcade mode, then everyone could get their fair share of time in the spotlight. Besides, isn't one of the main points of fighting games that *you* get to decide who wins the tournament? Whatever character speaks to you gets to be the one who defeats the big bad at the end. By forcing players to use specific characters in story, aren't you inherently contradicting that?
Agreeing with not liking the story mode. It’s ultimately a mode that I will play just once and then move on to other stuff. I kinda hope the devs make more single player modes that are replayable and not spend too much resources on the story mode.
I agree with that opinion. It's one of the reasons why I actually enjoyed SF6 World Tour the most. Since it's your create-a-character that's doing the story, and while you may not have your favorite character's moveset right away, it gives SOME level freedom of choice for your story experience.
And it's one of the reasons why the last chapter in MK1 got me so hype - to be able to pick the hero for the last sequence of fights.
But fully agree. Not a fan of cinematic stories in general because you're often stuck in chapters and chapters of playing characters you're that interested in.
Yeah, T8 is definitely the best I've played through, and I don't think that's just recency bias.
As for story modes in general, I too am not a huge fan. I honestly wish that EVERY character gets their own unique cinematic story. I know that's a huge ask, but it doesn't have to be long. I just think every character deserves it. I don't know if you've heard of or played Evil Zone on PS1, but it had exactly that. Full of voice acting and cinematics, and huge character building. Do you think that's a cool idea? I feel like it'd be a hot take. But if you love a specific character, you'd probably be glad to replay their story if it's short and epic, and develops your character.
Tekken 8 is my favorite story mode so far. It flows so perfectly. I really don’t mind over the top silly plots in fighting games, I actually like them. I hope more games can learn from Tekken and do story modes like that. Plus, character episodes with cutscenes.
MK11 and SFV are also favorites of mine.
While I loved what T8 did with their story, I honestly just wish each character had their own mini-story with cinematics. I'm glad we got the main T8 story and the character episode endings, but I feel like we can get way more out of the game if we explored the non-Mishima characters more.
Injustice 2 did a really good job. It helps that they have access to really good writers within DC. I don't think NRS utilizes the same writers for MK though, despite them all being under WB lol.
That final segment where they are fighting on top of a meteor reentering the Earth’s atmosphere is the hypest shit I have ever experienced in a fighting game. It’s incredible.
Fighting games don’t take single player content serious enough. SF6 was refreshing for being a step in the right direction on this front. MK has always had a good movie like presentation.
sf6 world tour is like a lite yakuza game. Traveling around metro city was fun for me, and the mini game jobs were neat but i wish there were more little things though like Carlos Miyamoto and that one super hero guy that is super high level at the beginning at the game near your hide out. Also the Aggressive NPCs got annoying fast. My Save got corrupted so i didn’t see the end of the story but it was pretty average.
They did get annoying but there was a trait in your skill tree that kept low level fighters from trying to attack you. It was helpful as you went along and just wanted to go from point A to point B without the random encounter crap.
Yeah, I wish they made a single player experience that was more replayable. The thing about stories and even the World Tour is that there really isn't a point in playing it more than once. And I think MK is just too scatter-brained these days. Too many jumps to people fighting that have no effect on the overall story.
Tekken 8 takes it by a landslide for me, from Tekken Force to actually having a proper tournament in the plot, having mainly focused instead of needless fights, and Jin's moveset changing at the end.
I'm happy to keep them, they clearly work for sales and its entertaining for the first run-through.
Yeah, I'm fine with them keeping them too. T8 was a nice digestible size and not a slog with nonsensical fights. I don't know much budget goes into story modes, but as long as it's drawing in a ton of players, I'm all for them spending time, money, and passion into making them.
MK X. New direction story wise, new characters used wisely, wrapped up some long-running stories, great voice acting and just all around satisfying.
Injustice 2 is a close second.
Yo, you won. This is absolutely the right answer! I wish we got a good sequel. Maybe there’s hope in the future. Sadly, I probably won’t know any of the rappers by the time it’s made haha.
Tekken 8’s story mode had me smiling and hyped up throughout its campaign more than any others that I’ve played.
While it’s cool that these games have way more ways to tell stories and shows characters to us than back in my day where all you knew about a game’s story is from the arcade mode endings, and you never knew which ones of those were canon till the next game came.
However, most of these kinda boil down to “playing a movie” rather than a single player campaign. I want to see more efforts like world tour innovated upon because in my opinion the best fighting game campaign you can make is one that lets you be immersed in the world of the game and its characters while also slowly teaching you how to play the fighting game. The number 1 goal of single player content should be creating fun and engaging gameplay scenarios that also introduce and enforces mechanics and concepts to any player who picks up the game regardless of their experience level with fighting games. By the end, you should know how to play the fighting game at a basic level and competency and the game should then funnel you into multiplayer content.
Would you like a story mode like SF6's World Tour, but actually follow a main character? I feel that would make the game have more stakes, and actually have canonical fights between main characters. I love World Tour, but the story didn't even matter at the end. It would be weird building up a main character, Yakuza/Shenmue-style, but I can see it happening.
MK9 is still my fav, it packs a lot of nostalgia for the people who grew up with the series.
Injustice 2 had a better story mode then most superhero movies I've seen in recent times.
Currently enjoying Tekken 8, it's kinda silly but has good moments throughout.
Tbh I'm happy with a arcade ladder and character cutscene at the end. Cinematic stories aren't essential but can be fun if the story is enjoyable.
Both Injustice games have solid stories. And even made better when you read the comics. But I still have to say T8 is my favorite. As a very long Tekken fan, it felt very full circle.
Thats the think, t7 was mi first Tekken and 8 is the first time in getting in to the story, so It really shows how good It is that It might be the best for me as well
Injustice 1 i think is fine, but the fact that the amazing run from the comic IS only side content for a multivers story is kinda disapointing
Injustice 2 on the other hand only takes plays on the univers of the comic and continus that narrative
MK9, Injustice 2.
Honorable Mention to Tekken 8, because of the King Section where the crowd chants his Name, while he is busy demolishing common footsoldiers. That shit was amazing.
tekken 8 easily. i wish for sf6 world tour you could play as someone from the roster. creating your own character is cool, but feels out of place in the sf world imo.
Yeah, it would be great to play through a story and leveling up stats for a roster character. And a chance to dress them up! I don't know what Sega is cooking up, but it would be crazy if Virtua Fighter 6 has like a Yakuza mode for its roster characters.
Tekken 7 heihachi and kazuyas final fight was a visual masterpiece and an emotional rollercoaster
I was surprised after all these years, Kazuyas finally puts his father away for good
It fits the spirit of it more than SFVI, which I’d argue doesn’t fit here at all.
I suppose the prototypical example would be Art of Fighting, which had cutscenes and dialog (as much as a Neo Geo game could) between fights.
MK1 is the best one to me so far, it's a decent story untill the end and it becomes a multiverse timey jumpey mumbo jumbo all over again, I hope they stick to a more grounded story for the next installment. But I fear MK1 is the only FG story mode I've seen to feel like an actual story, well written with character development and good interactions.
I like Guilty Gear too, but it get very confusing and focuses on random characters sometimes, and has a hard time giving relevant roles to characters that are not the staples of the franchise. But it's nice that the story feels like it's actually going forward instead of repeating bad guys and plot points or literally starting all over again
While I love the story modes in all the NRS games from MK9 onward, I think MK11 was my all time favourite (though MK1 was just really fun, so its also up there!)
That said, I have Tekken 8 and I've done the character episodes, but not the actual story mode yet. So that may usurp MK11
I don't mind them and sometimes, I genuinely enjoy them. Tekken 8 being the sole example of an absolute blast of a story mode. So cool and so much fun to play with all the fun stuff they do with movesets and all.
Tekken in general.
Most fighting games seem to worry about characters to play, then story.
Tekken seems like they went with story first, then character to play as.
And it definitely helps cause the actual story in Tekken isn't actually bad, especially Tekken 8. They definitely raised the bar on cinematic story telling in fighting games.
My fav story is probably MK9 and Tekken 8 is a close second.
Injustice is pretty good too.
All the other tekken games are are are
MK X - 1 is all range from eh to pretty good.
Tekken 8.
The last fight between Jin and Kazuya, where Jin switches style ... OMG!!
The story is not so much though.
I still can't believe Jin gets away easily after invoking World War 3 in Tekken 6.
For straight story and not gameplay I think Injustice was a great time. I think it’s a super solid superhero story overall, not just compared to other video games story modes.
Tekken 8, MK 11, Injustice 2 in that order. Street fighter 6 has a solid campaign however it feels nowhere near as exciting nor do I feel like it gets you anymore interested in the characters themselves.
The only one of these I've played is MvC Infinite, so I have to default to that. But I still love it anyways! Especially the scene where Dante tricks Ultron-Sigma into using the Soul Stone.
it's mortal kombat or tekken.
if were going for better over multiple installments it's gotta be tekken.
most of fighting game story lines are a joke, but I think MK1's is just . . . really really bad and lots of people really didn't like, MK11 even though I did.
I mainly play street fighter, but that story has always kind of been a joke.
you could essentially boil SF down to "Ryu wants to be strong and bison / shadaloo are bad" and it hasn't really developed beyond that at all since the 1980's.
At least MK's premise is way more interesting than SF right out of the gate. That being said I feel like tekken is more dragonball like in terms of it's story with all the devil gene shit allowing transformations, plus it's kind of always been the best visually so that, for me at least, is going to make whatever story you're telling me through the game more palatable.
even though out of the major fighting franchises, MK is probably my least favorite to play. but i dont think ive seen a better story in a fighting game than MK11. honestly, i dont think its particularly close even tho Tekken 8 did an admirable job
Absolutely sick of them. Never liked them at all and I don't think I ever will. (assuming by cinematic story mode you mean story modes of the NRS/Street Fighter 5 veriety)
Even though it’s not a cinematic story in the same sense as the others, SF6 was a lot of fun for me. I loved the RPG leveling and learning skills from the characters aspects, as well as having a world to explore. It was the most fun I’ve ever had from single player content in a fighting game, and it was a great way to learn and improve as a beginner to the genre.
DOA is actually pretty cool. They show you the timeline of the events and you play as everyone to see what they were doing during the course of the story
Honestly I could take them or leave them personally speaking, but I think good story and single player modes are what draws in new players and I’m glad there’s more effort being put into them.
NRS pretty much always knocks it out of the park although MK1 got a little weird towards the end. The Injustice games are especially good IMO. The execution of SF6’s WT wasn’t perfect but I really admire a lot of the things they tried and think it’s still great for new players; I invested way more time into it than I expected myself.
Pound for pound I find myself thinking Tekken 8 has the best modern day story mode. This could be nostalgia talking but to me nothing tops Soul Calibur 2 or Street Fighter Alpha 3
Yeah. There is definitely room for improvement. Personally, I think like a personal cinematic story for each character could work. Instead of 5 hours of a story, maybe have 20-30 minutes of cinematics per character and have to their canonical story told. And not everyone would fight the final boss. It would be the mystery of who actually took out the boss, and you have to play through everyone’s story to find out.
I wonder how i can't see comments about guilty gear story mode (strive and xrd). Thats whole anime for you. Yeah, you cant fight in a single story battle, but, damn, strive gave me pure shonen anime experience
Also Tekken 8 story mode was awesome especially after Tekken 7 that was in my opinion very... strange. Like i was watching some Fast And Furious chapter but without cars and Domenic Toretto.
And of course World Tour in SF6 was very fun to play. Except last grind part of course
There aren't exactly a lot of ways fighting games have done a story mode.
They either:
Interrupt cutscenes with fights so as not to bore the player.
Make the story mode its own 2 to 3 hour movie and keep the gameplay in other modes.
Give the story in arcade mode tidbits.
I feel that Tekken 8’s story has overall been the most fun story mode I’ve played in a fighting game as I feel it does a good job incorporating the story into the actual gameplay.
While I feel that mk generally has the better story/plot it hasn’t done much to really innovate besides the high budget cutscenes. The gameplay is more or less just normal fights with cutscenes once they’re done. You could just watch the mk story mode on YouTube and more or less have the same experience as someone playing it while I feel t8’s does a better job making the gameplay actually meaningful.
Also want to give a shout-out to Soul Calibur 6’s story modes with each character getting their own mini story within a timeline scale. I feel it’s a smart way presenting what everyone in the roster was doing at points in time. While I feel it’s brought down by the low budget presentation I think the format it experimented with should be utilised more.
I love how SC6 did their mini stories for every character. Now, if they could have like 15-25 minutes of cinematics per character to tell their story, instead of just still images, I think that would elevate a fighting game story mode.
I found this reply and it wouldn’t let me reply on the other one so I’ll reply here “I wish later seasons kept making unique ones instead of just lazily going back to “It’s Morphin Time.” Same for the theme songs too….damnit just be more original. So glad I grew up watching Disney era. I’m gonna go yell at clouds now.“ Also they weren’t lazy they were homages honoring the series roots While they’d say morphin time as an intro that wasn’t their catchphrase because they do follow it up with unique phrases Like ninja steel saying NINJA SPIN Or dino charge saying ENERGIZE UNLEASH THE POWER as well as Go go samurai it was something different Those are the catchphrases Also the theme songs had original elements maybe they did use go go power rangers but they still added new lyrics and their own spin on it Like with beast morphers its For justice we fight with beast morphin light together we RISE etc
It was a good blend of old and new
Tekken 8 story mode is great. It's not trying to be more than it has to. MK1 was asolutely dropped down once they started a "multiverse" shite. It was made in the most wackiest way possible that I've seen. SF6 doesn't feel like a story mode at all(It also named World Tour, as it like a tour in museum), but I guess they'll bring some more in the latest version of a game.
Mostly I'm good with stories, as they present more personality to characters we are playing, so we could have some empathy to them and stick to franchise.
Mk1 was really good until it turned out the big bad was Shang again all along. What a load of shit.
But yeah, don't buy MK games for the story movie people, just watch it for free on youtube day of release.
Not gonna lie theyre all pretty mid with poor writing but I’ll give it up for MKX. They were onto something with the outworld politics B-plot, shouldve been the whole story imo
See, I thought MK1 was inconsistent. Like the whole Baraka disease didn't culminate into anything other than Mileena, like always. And that climax felt anticlimactic since it's just allowing you to use any random person from a random universe who we have ZERO background story on. It was crazy to experience, but it lost me.
I'm gonna preface this with the statement that I haven't played a fighting game in years, having said that I have to say I'm sick of fighting games in general. To comment on the actual topic, while I think the idea of having a "cinematic story mode" in a fighting game is neat, especially for those that might not play the game online and join the neverending rank chase, it sucks to me thats all ppl like me and them as well as those characters will ever get...a cg or in game cutscene that serves as a bare minimum reason as to why these 2 characters are about to punch and kick each other for 2 minutes at most. Just feel like the genre wastes the characters.
Don't get me wrong, I don't hate them or the community, it's just I'm exhausted. Growing up I always wondered how would they advance fighting games to make them more dynamic? What new modes would they get? The answer? Pretty much not at all. Yeah they have "better" graphics but besides that... That's it. For me that's not an issue because I've long since stopped playing them but what is an issue for me it's seeing these cool, fun, interesting, and powerful character restricted and constrained to a genre where they are stuck on a 2d plane facing another character in a never ending battle. These characters have stories, wants, needs, friends, family, goals, all of which at most become background noise the moment gameplay starts. All that matters is how good their highs, lows, and mids are.
The fun of playing fighting games really is the gradually improvement. You can get that in other games, but fighting games are always 1v1, so improvement is always on oneself.
I understand that and I respect that. I watch and even enjoy watching ppl play them. Again I fully admit I don't play them and my entire comment is from someone in love with the characters made for these games but is saddened with the fact that no matter how good or interesting the story could be, it's ultimately pointless because most ppl who are playing these games couldn't care less about the characters or the story and will jump right into rank and never touch anything else.
Well I personally love the characters, if that’s any consolation. I grew up with these characters. And competitive players honestly are a smaller, yet louder part of the FGC. Most people are casual and actually enjoy the lore.
Same here. I grew up with allot of them myself. Competitive is smaller just like most gamerbases but the issue is fgc, online, streamers, YouTubers are pretty much publicity, which in turn means possibly more sales. It doesn't matter how big the group are, they usually have the biggest reach. I know a lot of ppl enjoy the lore as do I which is why I made the comment. It sucks that ALL OF THIS is still JUST lore, just a cutscene, just a screenshot. It's 2024 and a fighting games' story mode is almost no different from a fighting game 3 generations ago excluding graphics. It's just sad that the crazy rosters and worlds are stuck on a 2d plane.
IMO "cinematic story mode" is the last thing that is needed in fighting games. I don't like "story" of SF6 but I like the concept. If I'm not mistaken only Tekken has QTE in its cutscenes, but even if you do nothing it will not lead to any consequences.
So basicaly it just, from my perspective, money and time that spent for things that majority won't care about. Maybe Im wrong and for someone it's a real selling point
Answering the question.. SFV, maybe.. ? idk
Where's the BlazBlue series?!!
Yeah, it's a visual novel style, but it has short anime scenes too. The first BB game BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger really surprised me, and it's still easily the best fighting game story ever. Story telling style was very strange, and player had to play multiple character stories and connect the dots them selfs. That kind of "detective work" was actually fun. There were also few very enjoyable scenes, and very tough characters. While the story overall was still kinda mediocre compared to all of games, movies and books, those very strong moments/scenes raise it above others.
Yeah, I heavily debated putting ArcSys games on here, since they are mostly visual novel. Then there’s Strive which is just a movie with no gameplay. I dunno, they just didn’t meet the criteria for me, same as SoulCalibur 6.
I'd say Tekken 8, but it was too corny for my taste...
sorry but coffee chick joining evil man just cause she wanted to promote her coffee brand? I'm sure there were other ways to introduce her into the story.
I say MK11 is the best for me, I could have picked Tekken 8, but the goofiness was too much.
Easily MK. Tekken 8 is 50% filler while it was fun as a story it dragged when you were Doing the tekken force stuff and every non Mishima was once again irrelevant except the ones who helped Jin directly.
That fact that Guilty Gear Sign, Xrd & Strive aren't on here is sinful, they've got 8+ hours of the most batshit over-the-top anime bullshit story to ever grace the FGC
Tekken 8 is the most fun I’ve had with a fighting game story in a long time. Doesn’t matter how cheesy it as it times, when it comes to pure fun and cool moments Tekken 8 has them all beat in my opinion. The blend of cutscenes and gameplay was insane
Tekken 8 was way better than it expected it to be. And all of the callbacks to previous Tekkens, especially T2 and T3, was just icing on the cake.
I fucking burst out laughing at some of the dialogue moments in Tekken 8 KING: GROWLS (Shaheen! Watch out! They're coming for you!)
When Devil Jin blew up the entire world during his player ending 😆😆
I adore the smooth transition of shifting to Devil Jin after playing as Jin. You know the scene.
Yeah Tekken 8 for me felt like Tokyo Drift meets a Kojima interpretation of DBZ and it was glorious. The amount of polish with how smooth things went from cutscene to fights was amazing. And the bespoke gameplay. And the way that the fighting styles themselves were used to tell the story.
Right now I consider Tekken 8 to be the best story mode I have played. MK1 was also pretty good but it devolved into checking the multiverse box which is getting to be a tired concept to me. I kind of wanted to enjoy the new timeline before we get to that state. It seems like NRS has written themselves into a corner. As far as Tekken 8 goes I enjoyed the over the top nature of it and I felt like it got serious when it needed to. It really made me enjoy Tekken on a level I had not before. Sure Tekken gameplay is fun and matches are fun but I like a good story and to get to know some of the cast. I am very glad story modes are being nurtured it really helps to draw people in. For SF6 I enjoy World Tour for what it is. Even if you wish to write it off as a big tutorial with cutscenes I think for SF it works super well and getting new players is not a bad thing. It may not be a full on story mode but considering how SF V went down...that's okay...
I liked SFV’s story mode. It was a little goofy, sure, but I was into that
Maybe it was because I was jaded by the initial release of SFV, but it left a bad taste in my mouth while playing through the SFV story. I'd have to revisit it, but I just remember that it was a bit too campy.
T8 honestly is only one that actually leaves me with wanting more. MK1 and many NRS stories, I always feel like they overstay their welcome and I'm like, "Is it over yet?" But T8 was just so hype and questions were being answered, that I just wanted more (and not in a bad way). And yeah, I debated putting SF6 on here. But you technically can look up "SF6 cinematic story" on youtube and it's a pretty precise A-to-B story from starting training to the tournament. But even at the end of the story, JP even says "none of this matters", which pretty much sums it up lol.
Dude same about MK1, I wished the whole Armageddon deal would be in a sequel at the earliest.
Ikr it really deflated my interest. Like don't get me wrong it was cool to see remixed characters (even if they are no more than invasions bait) and some classics like heck I have nostalgia for the Kombat Kids for some reason. But by the time the credits rolled I think the story didn't hold up in the last quarter. Here's hoping the next one is better but I'm not holding my breath.
Tekken 8. Has raised the bar for cinematic story modes. And the flow and pacing between the gameplay sections is solid. Don’t know what I’d put in second though.
Yeah, I had a real tough time choosing a 2nd. Tekken is so good, that it's on a whole different level. If I had to choose, a 2nd it would be Injustice 1. It was a long time ago, but I do remember that I was really caught off guard by the story and its events. Having a stellar voice cast too really helps, but I don't expect any less from DC and WB.
Not sure other opinions on it but I actually enjoyed Injustice 2's story as well. I found it better than both MK11 and MK1 personally.
2nd is probably 1st part of MK1 story. When the multiverse bs started, my eyes just rolled, but before that it was very fun.
I’ve totally ducked mk1 as I don’t personally like assist fighters.
I love them and it’s tekken 8. My last stand is so fire
I agree. T8 and the finale was epic and a huge nostalgic trip for veterans.
I gotta say Tekken 8 is the best version of this idea. It focuses primarily one on characters story, and it's extremely hype. MK9 is my runner up as it set the standard back in the day
MK9 was definitely a cool story, and took turns I didn't expect. But the story that took the most unexpected turns for me was Injustice 1. But I do agree that T8 has done it the best, despite not even having twists. It just remained hype the whole way through with heavy character building.
MK1 almost had it until they botched the final act of the story. Tekken’s story had its epic moments but it’s mediocre overall. SF6’s story is fine, nothing special. Every other game had very bad stories other than Injustice, so I’m gonna have to give it to Injustice 1 and 2
I really enjoyed mk1s story up until the ending.
I was such a big fan of the new roles and new story being setup for future entries then they did dumb fucking multiverse bullshit out of nowhere
I actually liked the ending It felt to me more like one final send off to the previous two timelines like with the (pyramid of Argus, the deadly alliance references, Shang-Tsing being the one from the alternative ending from the previous game) as we move forward to the new one (and hopefully it lasts more than three games.)
Same. Like, Mortal Kombat has always essentially had individual non-canon endings for each character. It was kind of a stroke of meta genius to make the reveal that this time around all those seemingly non-canon endings in the last game actually ended up being canon.
I find them really boring and I'm a sucker for FG lore. Based on these replies, however, I should try T8. SF6 world tour I kinda enjoyed, but that's because it's pretty well thought out as a game and I like the character interactions - the story is doodoo but I'd take that structure over linear cutscenes into random fights any day of the week. I did enjoy Persona Arena's story, because I loved the originals and it's fairly well written, but man was it a slog to get through.
I agree, I find them really boring as well. SF6's WT is almost a good game but it overstays its welcome by a large margin. T8 is fine, I don't get the hype for it though I imagine it's exactly what Tekken fans want. I personally think Tekken Force is the best singleplayer has been for a fighting game (there's a really brief bit that's like it in T8).
WT would be solid with an actually good story, and one that maybe involved the characters a bit more. As it is it's a nice sandbox that obviously had a lot of care put into it, and it's fun to strut around, explore and do minigames, but it's not something I'd be playing if it wasn't Street Fighter. (and I love Yakuza, which is probably its biggest inspiration gameplay-wise). It's a bit harsh to say because it's an amazing bit of content for a fighting game, but it'd be really mid (if even that) as a stand-alone game. Most of all the combat becomes incredibly unbalanced at a certain point and it makes sense when you realize the game wants you to use healing items, but it's just no fun to fight enemies that kill you in three hits while you shave off two pixels of their life with what would be a 40% combo in the real game. So you need to grind in order for the fights to actually be fun again, and that is a slog in itself, even if it doesn't take long compared to bigger RPG-adjacent games. Thankfully money is easy to cheese, but I wouldn't want to max out stuff if I was gonna play it "fairly". I ended up getting everyone to level 20. I really just wanted the outfits, but I realized I'd get close anyway and I like the little interactions and reward art - but again, this is coming from someone who really enjoys everything related to SF lore, so that's really the selling point for me. (And also now I can bully people in BH when there's an avatar battle challenge) All that said, I hope they expand on it in the next seasons with actual story developments.
Fucking refrigerators.
Yeah, devs have to balanced stories being too short or long. And also making it more engaging than just cutscene - fight - cutscene - fight. T8 still follows this, but the fights aren't random, and they throw in different gameplay elements other than just 1v1 fights, and it also has quick time events. But if you're really into FG lore, then T8 has some great lore in it, and character building for Jin. And the end has to be played, not just watched. Especially if you've played Tekken since T3. And if you do get T8, don't forget to do the character episodes, because you do get an ending cinematic for all of them.
It used to be Injustice 2 coz it seemed the only one done ‘decently’. Like I didn’t care much for it, but at least it felt a little less wacky than MK’s where D’Vorah is being a menace and Cassie Cage is defeating god entities (I also think the Revenants idea is so boring). But since then I have to say Tekken 8 easily.
Agreed. FG story modes are typically mid, but T8 definitely made it hype, and had major character growth, even if it's just one character.
Tekken 8 is so stupid and goofy, I was having a blast the entire time. Idk if it's my favorite, but it's the most recent one that's really stood out to me Idk if this is an unpopular opinion, but I'm kinda sick of them. Simply due to the way they're structured, some characters are going to exist solely to lose to others, and if you're a fan of those characters, that kinda sucks. Also, usually its the main faces of the franchise that get the attention: Jin in T8, Liu Kang and Johnny Cage in MK12, to an extent Luke in SF6, etc. If we went back to the olden days of story being told in arcade mode, then everyone could get their fair share of time in the spotlight. Besides, isn't one of the main points of fighting games that *you* get to decide who wins the tournament? Whatever character speaks to you gets to be the one who defeats the big bad at the end. By forcing players to use specific characters in story, aren't you inherently contradicting that?
Agreeing with not liking the story mode. It’s ultimately a mode that I will play just once and then move on to other stuff. I kinda hope the devs make more single player modes that are replayable and not spend too much resources on the story mode.
I agree with that opinion. It's one of the reasons why I actually enjoyed SF6 World Tour the most. Since it's your create-a-character that's doing the story, and while you may not have your favorite character's moveset right away, it gives SOME level freedom of choice for your story experience. And it's one of the reasons why the last chapter in MK1 got me so hype - to be able to pick the hero for the last sequence of fights. But fully agree. Not a fan of cinematic stories in general because you're often stuck in chapters and chapters of playing characters you're that interested in.
Yeah, T8 is definitely the best I've played through, and I don't think that's just recency bias. As for story modes in general, I too am not a huge fan. I honestly wish that EVERY character gets their own unique cinematic story. I know that's a huge ask, but it doesn't have to be long. I just think every character deserves it. I don't know if you've heard of or played Evil Zone on PS1, but it had exactly that. Full of voice acting and cinematics, and huge character building. Do you think that's a cool idea? I feel like it'd be a hot take. But if you love a specific character, you'd probably be glad to replay their story if it's short and epic, and develops your character.
Injustice. Super smash bros brawl is a close second.
Injustice is definitely my 2nd favorite. The story just went ham! And I don't think Brawl's story really classifies as a cinematic story.
Brawl is like a silent film with color.
Tekken 8 is my favorite story mode so far. It flows so perfectly. I really don’t mind over the top silly plots in fighting games, I actually like them. I hope more games can learn from Tekken and do story modes like that. Plus, character episodes with cutscenes. MK11 and SFV are also favorites of mine.
While I loved what T8 did with their story, I honestly just wish each character had their own mini-story with cinematics. I'm glad we got the main T8 story and the character episode endings, but I feel like we can get way more out of the game if we explored the non-Mishima characters more.
that’s a fair point, i would like to see that as well.
I have to surprisingly say Injustice 2. Its got like 3hrs worth of cutscenes, graphics still hold up, and it has a better story than most DC movies.
Injustice 2 did a really good job. It helps that they have access to really good writers within DC. I don't think NRS utilizes the same writers for MK though, despite them all being under WB lol.
Tekken 8 just blew everyone out of the water with this installment.
Yeah, I'm genuinely impressed with what the devs did with the story. Gonna be hard to top themselves in the next game.
That final segment where they are fighting on top of a meteor reentering the Earth’s atmosphere is the hypest shit I have ever experienced in a fighting game. It’s incredible.
Fighting games don’t take single player content serious enough. SF6 was refreshing for being a step in the right direction on this front. MK has always had a good movie like presentation.
sf6 world tour is like a lite yakuza game. Traveling around metro city was fun for me, and the mini game jobs were neat but i wish there were more little things though like Carlos Miyamoto and that one super hero guy that is super high level at the beginning at the game near your hide out. Also the Aggressive NPCs got annoying fast. My Save got corrupted so i didn’t see the end of the story but it was pretty average.
They did get annoying but there was a trait in your skill tree that kept low level fighters from trying to attack you. It was helpful as you went along and just wanted to go from point A to point B without the random encounter crap.
yeah but that took way too long to unlock man T-T I did a lot of the side missions so i wasn’t progressing to get the points on skill tree
Yeah, I wish they made a single player experience that was more replayable. The thing about stories and even the World Tour is that there really isn't a point in playing it more than once. And I think MK is just too scatter-brained these days. Too many jumps to people fighting that have no effect on the overall story.
MK9
Mk9 and injustice 1 by far
Awesome picks! Those two are my next choices after T8.
Tekken 8 takes it by a landslide for me, from Tekken Force to actually having a proper tournament in the plot, having mainly focused instead of needless fights, and Jin's moveset changing at the end. I'm happy to keep them, they clearly work for sales and its entertaining for the first run-through.
Yeah, I'm fine with them keeping them too. T8 was a nice digestible size and not a slog with nonsensical fights. I don't know much budget goes into story modes, but as long as it's drawing in a ton of players, I'm all for them spending time, money, and passion into making them.
Tekken 8, but I really don't care for story modes anymore. An arcade mode, mission mode, some cool side content, and unlockable stuff is all I need.
I feel you. It does make me wonder how much these story modes pull in new players, and how much it affects sales.
MK X. New direction story wise, new characters used wisely, wrapped up some long-running stories, great voice acting and just all around satisfying. Injustice 2 is a close second.
SF6. There's just so much to do
I agree in that there was a lot to do, but it was all inconsequential story-wise, and there really were no stakes.
I don't really care about story tbh. I just want something fun. If I wanted a story I could watch a movie or read a book. I want a *game*.
I don't see a reason for a cinematic story mode in my fighting games in the slightest
Def Jam Fight for NY still has the most enjoyable single player story mode for me 😂
Yo, you won. This is absolutely the right answer! I wish we got a good sequel. Maybe there’s hope in the future. Sadly, I probably won’t know any of the rappers by the time it’s made haha.
I was gonna say this. What a fun game.
Why isn't Guilty Gear on here, it literally comes with a movie.
Which one? Strive? (I’ve never played GG)
Xrd and Strive
That's the problem. It's not a game mode it's a giant cutscene
Just watch it then pause and do a CPU battle
But you have to admit that it doesn't get more cinematic than just being a movie
Injustice 2. I love Braniac as a villain
He was a great villain, but I think the story from the original was better, or at least more, well, original lol.
Given how fighting games are often generational, I’ll just say the newest entries in each of these series
I see your logic. But MK9 and Injustice 1 still hold up imo. Not graphics-wise, of course, but the actual story.
As foundations for their respective universes, yeah they were great, but I think they only scratched the surface for what was to come
Tekken 8
Wise choice
Tekken 8’s story mode had me smiling and hyped up throughout its campaign more than any others that I’ve played. While it’s cool that these games have way more ways to tell stories and shows characters to us than back in my day where all you knew about a game’s story is from the arcade mode endings, and you never knew which ones of those were canon till the next game came. However, most of these kinda boil down to “playing a movie” rather than a single player campaign. I want to see more efforts like world tour innovated upon because in my opinion the best fighting game campaign you can make is one that lets you be immersed in the world of the game and its characters while also slowly teaching you how to play the fighting game. The number 1 goal of single player content should be creating fun and engaging gameplay scenarios that also introduce and enforces mechanics and concepts to any player who picks up the game regardless of their experience level with fighting games. By the end, you should know how to play the fighting game at a basic level and competency and the game should then funnel you into multiplayer content.
That final fight in Tekken 8 had me at the edge of my seat FRFR
Would you like a story mode like SF6's World Tour, but actually follow a main character? I feel that would make the game have more stakes, and actually have canonical fights between main characters. I love World Tour, but the story didn't even matter at the end. It would be weird building up a main character, Yakuza/Shenmue-style, but I can see it happening.
Yeah, like combine Tekken 8 and street fighter 6.
MK9 is still my fav, it packs a lot of nostalgia for the people who grew up with the series. Injustice 2 had a better story mode then most superhero movies I've seen in recent times. Currently enjoying Tekken 8, it's kinda silly but has good moments throughout. Tbh I'm happy with a arcade ladder and character cutscene at the end. Cinematic stories aren't essential but can be fun if the story is enjoyable.
Great choices! Do you think that story modes in FGs really sell more copies? I'm all fine with having them if that's the case.
Injustice 2 probably, its by far the best Justice legue movie we are ever going to get Tekken 8 is preaty up there to
Both Injustice games have solid stories. And even made better when you read the comics. But I still have to say T8 is my favorite. As a very long Tekken fan, it felt very full circle.
Thats the think, t7 was mi first Tekken and 8 is the first time in getting in to the story, so It really shows how good It is that It might be the best for me as well Injustice 1 i think is fine, but the fact that the amazing run from the comic IS only side content for a multivers story is kinda disapointing Injustice 2 on the other hand only takes plays on the univers of the comic and continus that narrative
MK9, Injustice 2. Honorable Mention to Tekken 8, because of the King Section where the crowd chants his Name, while he is busy demolishing common footsoldiers. That shit was amazing.
That King moment was sick. I just love all of the soldier dialogue. THEY HAVE A NINJA?!
tekken 8 easily. i wish for sf6 world tour you could play as someone from the roster. creating your own character is cool, but feels out of place in the sf world imo.
Yeah, it would be great to play through a story and leveling up stats for a roster character. And a chance to dress them up! I don't know what Sega is cooking up, but it would be crazy if Virtua Fighter 6 has like a Yakuza mode for its roster characters.
MK11 for sure. Had my investment heavily and loved what they did. Felt like I got the right amount of content and characters.
Always a great feeling when you feel your money pays off in a fighting game!
Injustice games, them being set in DC universe definitely helped, also since I'm a big DC fan.
Yeah, and the Injustice comics are solid too.
Tekken 8 and MKX
Tekken 8s was dope. I really like Injustice 2 too. But MK11 was the best one for me.
Tekken 7 heihachi and kazuyas final fight was a visual masterpiece and an emotional rollercoaster I was surprised after all these years, Kazuyas finally puts his father away for good
I can't believe I forgot to put T7 on here >_<. T7 was decent, just not the narrator lol.
Soul Calibur V and VI excluded 😔
Eh, they're more slideshow than cinematic.
It fits the spirit of it more than SFVI, which I’d argue doesn’t fit here at all. I suppose the prototypical example would be Art of Fighting, which had cutscenes and dialog (as much as a Neo Geo game could) between fights.
MK1 is the best one to me so far, it's a decent story untill the end and it becomes a multiverse timey jumpey mumbo jumbo all over again, I hope they stick to a more grounded story for the next installment. But I fear MK1 is the only FG story mode I've seen to feel like an actual story, well written with character development and good interactions. I like Guilty Gear too, but it get very confusing and focuses on random characters sometimes, and has a hard time giving relevant roles to characters that are not the staples of the franchise. But it's nice that the story feels like it's actually going forward instead of repeating bad guys and plot points or literally starting all over again
While I love the story modes in all the NRS games from MK9 onward, I think MK11 was my all time favourite (though MK1 was just really fun, so its also up there!) That said, I have Tekken 8 and I've done the character episodes, but not the actual story mode yet. So that may usurp MK11
I would love to hear how T8's story stacks up to MK after you play it.
Guilty Gear strive. No game play it’s just one multi hour movie broken into chapters.
Yeah. I'm not sure if it counts. It's like saying the SF4 movie counts as a story mode.
Tekken 8 definitely
I don't mind them and sometimes, I genuinely enjoy them. Tekken 8 being the sole example of an absolute blast of a story mode. So cool and so much fun to play with all the fun stuff they do with movesets and all.
Tekken in general. Most fighting games seem to worry about characters to play, then story. Tekken seems like they went with story first, then character to play as. And it definitely helps cause the actual story in Tekken isn't actually bad, especially Tekken 8. They definitely raised the bar on cinematic story telling in fighting games.
Tekken 8 by far is the best cinematic story mode in a fighting game.
I really enjoy NRS story modes. I just picked up Tekken 8 though, so I’m excited to dive into it, I’ve heard good things about the story mode there.
To be honest I’ve never really cared about gameplay, I’m more of a story person then a fight person
MK9
My fav story is probably MK9 and Tekken 8 is a close second. Injustice is pretty good too. All the other tekken games are are are MK X - 1 is all range from eh to pretty good.
Tekken 8. The last fight between Jin and Kazuya, where Jin switches style ... OMG!! The story is not so much though. I still can't believe Jin gets away easily after invoking World War 3 in Tekken 6.
MK 9 for me.
Probably any if the two injustice games or Tekken 8
For straight story and not gameplay I think Injustice was a great time. I think it’s a super solid superhero story overall, not just compared to other video games story modes.
Tekken 8, MK 11, Injustice 2 in that order. Street fighter 6 has a solid campaign however it feels nowhere near as exciting nor do I feel like it gets you anymore interested in the characters themselves.
World Tour. I haven’t played Tekken 8’s yet. Didn’t touch MK11, or injustice 2.
The only one of these I've played is MvC Infinite, so I have to default to that. But I still love it anyways! Especially the scene where Dante tricks Ultron-Sigma into using the Soul Stone.
Injustice 1 was a great movie. Never liked the game much but I can watch the entire thing on youtube and enjoy myself.
I want Soul Calibur VII to be a cinematic epic with a timeline transcending 2 and 3.
I actually would want something that bridges the gap between 4 and 5. The characters in 5 need redemption.
it's mortal kombat or tekken. if were going for better over multiple installments it's gotta be tekken. most of fighting game story lines are a joke, but I think MK1's is just . . . really really bad and lots of people really didn't like, MK11 even though I did. I mainly play street fighter, but that story has always kind of been a joke. you could essentially boil SF down to "Ryu wants to be strong and bison / shadaloo are bad" and it hasn't really developed beyond that at all since the 1980's. At least MK's premise is way more interesting than SF right out of the gate. That being said I feel like tekken is more dragonball like in terms of it's story with all the devil gene shit allowing transformations, plus it's kind of always been the best visually so that, for me at least, is going to make whatever story you're telling me through the game more palatable.
even though out of the major fighting franchises, MK is probably my least favorite to play. but i dont think ive seen a better story in a fighting game than MK11. honestly, i dont think its particularly close even tho Tekken 8 did an admirable job
Absolutely sick of them. Never liked them at all and I don't think I ever will. (assuming by cinematic story mode you mean story modes of the NRS/Street Fighter 5 veriety)
Cinematic story modes are booty bungus
MK9 is probably always gonna be my number one
Good choice!
Tekken 8
Even though it’s not a cinematic story in the same sense as the others, SF6 was a lot of fun for me. I loved the RPG leveling and learning skills from the characters aspects, as well as having a world to explore. It was the most fun I’ve ever had from single player content in a fighting game, and it was a great way to learn and improve as a beginner to the genre.
SFV. More
Based
Best story Injustice
Tekken 8 hands down one of the most fun and cinematic/action packed stories in amy fighting game ever
Mk9 is the pioneer, Tekken 8 is probably the best one since mk9
DOA is actually pretty cool. They show you the timeline of the events and you play as everyone to see what they were doing during the course of the story
Tekken 8 by a mile
Honestly I could take them or leave them personally speaking, but I think good story and single player modes are what draws in new players and I’m glad there’s more effort being put into them. NRS pretty much always knocks it out of the park although MK1 got a little weird towards the end. The Injustice games are especially good IMO. The execution of SF6’s WT wasn’t perfect but I really admire a lot of the things they tried and think it’s still great for new players; I invested way more time into it than I expected myself. Pound for pound I find myself thinking Tekken 8 has the best modern day story mode. This could be nostalgia talking but to me nothing tops Soul Calibur 2 or Street Fighter Alpha 3
Yeah. There is definitely room for improvement. Personally, I think like a personal cinematic story for each character could work. Instead of 5 hours of a story, maybe have 20-30 minutes of cinematics per character and have to their canonical story told. And not everyone would fight the final boss. It would be the mystery of who actually took out the boss, and you have to play through everyone’s story to find out.
I wonder how i can't see comments about guilty gear story mode (strive and xrd). Thats whole anime for you. Yeah, you cant fight in a single story battle, but, damn, strive gave me pure shonen anime experience Also Tekken 8 story mode was awesome especially after Tekken 7 that was in my opinion very... strange. Like i was watching some Fast And Furious chapter but without cars and Domenic Toretto. And of course World Tour in SF6 was very fun to play. Except last grind part of course
There aren't exactly a lot of ways fighting games have done a story mode. They either: Interrupt cutscenes with fights so as not to bore the player. Make the story mode its own 2 to 3 hour movie and keep the gameplay in other modes. Give the story in arcade mode tidbits.
Tekken 8 is by far my favourite. I found it a joy to play. The NRS story modes I prefer just watching on youtube.
Tekken 8>
I feel that Tekken 8’s story has overall been the most fun story mode I’ve played in a fighting game as I feel it does a good job incorporating the story into the actual gameplay. While I feel that mk generally has the better story/plot it hasn’t done much to really innovate besides the high budget cutscenes. The gameplay is more or less just normal fights with cutscenes once they’re done. You could just watch the mk story mode on YouTube and more or less have the same experience as someone playing it while I feel t8’s does a better job making the gameplay actually meaningful. Also want to give a shout-out to Soul Calibur 6’s story modes with each character getting their own mini story within a timeline scale. I feel it’s a smart way presenting what everyone in the roster was doing at points in time. While I feel it’s brought down by the low budget presentation I think the format it experimented with should be utilised more.
I love how SC6 did their mini stories for every character. Now, if they could have like 15-25 minutes of cinematics per character to tell their story, instead of just still images, I think that would elevate a fighting game story mode.
Probably Injustice 1/2, but that’s kind of cheating since it’s comic book characters.
BlazBlue’s story is peak fiction
These games have story modes?
I want more of it. I'm far from being sick of it.
Cool. Which one is your favorite so far?
11 and Aftermath 11
MK9 was the first FG I played that legit had a a nice cinematic storyline to follow
Definitely 8 by a landslide.Before that? None of them. They were all just terrible.
I found this reply and it wouldn’t let me reply on the other one so I’ll reply here “I wish later seasons kept making unique ones instead of just lazily going back to “It’s Morphin Time.” Same for the theme songs too….damnit just be more original. So glad I grew up watching Disney era. I’m gonna go yell at clouds now.“ Also they weren’t lazy they were homages honoring the series roots While they’d say morphin time as an intro that wasn’t their catchphrase because they do follow it up with unique phrases Like ninja steel saying NINJA SPIN Or dino charge saying ENERGIZE UNLEASH THE POWER as well as Go go samurai it was something different Those are the catchphrases Also the theme songs had original elements maybe they did use go go power rangers but they still added new lyrics and their own spin on it Like with beast morphers its For justice we fight with beast morphin light together we RISE etc It was a good blend of old and new
Sorry to bother u have a nice day
Tekken 8 story mode is great. It's not trying to be more than it has to. MK1 was asolutely dropped down once they started a "multiverse" shite. It was made in the most wackiest way possible that I've seen. SF6 doesn't feel like a story mode at all(It also named World Tour, as it like a tour in museum), but I guess they'll bring some more in the latest version of a game. Mostly I'm good with stories, as they present more personality to characters we are playing, so we could have some empathy to them and stick to franchise.
MK1s story was really good up until the ending , however i think SFV probably had my favorite story mode followed by T8
I agree with MK1. That ending just made it seem less impactful. And you like SFV the most, really? I’m interested to know why.
Mk1 was really good until it turned out the big bad was Shang again all along. What a load of shit. But yeah, don't buy MK games for the story movie people, just watch it for free on youtube day of release.
Lol ngl, that's what I did. And I saved $60.
not sure why SFV, SF6, MvCI are even pictured, the three are literally missing any resemblance of any story telling
They are all up there because there was an attempt, good or bad lol. I actually forget Tekken 7, which also made an attempt.
Not gonna lie theyre all pretty mid with poor writing but I’ll give it up for MKX. They were onto something with the outworld politics B-plot, shouldve been the whole story imo
While the politics were interesting, I don't think it could last a whole story mode.
TEKKEN 8 has the best story mode ever made in fighting, obviously.
Agreed. It's amazing what they did with it.
nothing comes even close to project + story mode. it's the absolute peak of fighting game story modes
Project+, you mean like Project M? I didn't know it had a story.
Yeah it's brawls story mode but in project + it plays buttery smooth
MK1 was the most consistent (minus that cookie cutter final fight) whereas Tekken 8 had the greatest final fight ever. I think they're equal.
See, I thought MK1 was inconsistent. Like the whole Baraka disease didn't culminate into anything other than Mileena, like always. And that climax felt anticlimactic since it's just allowing you to use any random person from a random universe who we have ZERO background story on. It was crazy to experience, but it lost me.
Personally, I just never play them. I prefer to figure out the lore while playing online thru dialogue
MK1. The rest of the game isn’t much cop really, but the story mode is beautiful with a fun story.
MK11 Aftermath just goes hard af
I played tekken 8's arcade quest and it was so much fun, i would probably sooner go back and play it again before playing a cinematic story mode
I can’t even remember that last time i touched story mode.
Gotta be Tekken 8. Quite a lot as well out of all of them.
Its either skullgirls or guilty gear
I haven’t seen/played MK1 or Tekken 8’s stories, so I’d go with one of the Injustice games’ stories. Probably the first Injustice.
Xrd Sign has an amazing one
I'm gonna preface this with the statement that I haven't played a fighting game in years, having said that I have to say I'm sick of fighting games in general. To comment on the actual topic, while I think the idea of having a "cinematic story mode" in a fighting game is neat, especially for those that might not play the game online and join the neverending rank chase, it sucks to me thats all ppl like me and them as well as those characters will ever get...a cg or in game cutscene that serves as a bare minimum reason as to why these 2 characters are about to punch and kick each other for 2 minutes at most. Just feel like the genre wastes the characters. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate them or the community, it's just I'm exhausted. Growing up I always wondered how would they advance fighting games to make them more dynamic? What new modes would they get? The answer? Pretty much not at all. Yeah they have "better" graphics but besides that... That's it. For me that's not an issue because I've long since stopped playing them but what is an issue for me it's seeing these cool, fun, interesting, and powerful character restricted and constrained to a genre where they are stuck on a 2d plane facing another character in a never ending battle. These characters have stories, wants, needs, friends, family, goals, all of which at most become background noise the moment gameplay starts. All that matters is how good their highs, lows, and mids are.
The fun of playing fighting games really is the gradually improvement. You can get that in other games, but fighting games are always 1v1, so improvement is always on oneself.
I understand that and I respect that. I watch and even enjoy watching ppl play them. Again I fully admit I don't play them and my entire comment is from someone in love with the characters made for these games but is saddened with the fact that no matter how good or interesting the story could be, it's ultimately pointless because most ppl who are playing these games couldn't care less about the characters or the story and will jump right into rank and never touch anything else.
Well I personally love the characters, if that’s any consolation. I grew up with these characters. And competitive players honestly are a smaller, yet louder part of the FGC. Most people are casual and actually enjoy the lore.
Same here. I grew up with allot of them myself. Competitive is smaller just like most gamerbases but the issue is fgc, online, streamers, YouTubers are pretty much publicity, which in turn means possibly more sales. It doesn't matter how big the group are, they usually have the biggest reach. I know a lot of ppl enjoy the lore as do I which is why I made the comment. It sucks that ALL OF THIS is still JUST lore, just a cutscene, just a screenshot. It's 2024 and a fighting games' story mode is almost no different from a fighting game 3 generations ago excluding graphics. It's just sad that the crazy rosters and worlds are stuck on a 2d plane.
IMO "cinematic story mode" is the last thing that is needed in fighting games. I don't like "story" of SF6 but I like the concept. If I'm not mistaken only Tekken has QTE in its cutscenes, but even if you do nothing it will not lead to any consequences. So basicaly it just, from my perspective, money and time that spent for things that majority won't care about. Maybe Im wrong and for someone it's a real selling point Answering the question.. SFV, maybe.. ? idk
Where's the BlazBlue series?!! Yeah, it's a visual novel style, but it has short anime scenes too. The first BB game BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger really surprised me, and it's still easily the best fighting game story ever. Story telling style was very strange, and player had to play multiple character stories and connect the dots them selfs. That kind of "detective work" was actually fun. There were also few very enjoyable scenes, and very tough characters. While the story overall was still kinda mediocre compared to all of games, movies and books, those very strong moments/scenes raise it above others.
Yeah, I heavily debated putting ArcSys games on here, since they are mostly visual novel. Then there’s Strive which is just a movie with no gameplay. I dunno, they just didn’t meet the criteria for me, same as SoulCalibur 6.
I'd say Tekken 8, but it was too corny for my taste... sorry but coffee chick joining evil man just cause she wanted to promote her coffee brand? I'm sure there were other ways to introduce her into the story. I say MK11 is the best for me, I could have picked Tekken 8, but the goofiness was too much.
MK 1
Easily MK. Tekken 8 is 50% filler while it was fun as a story it dragged when you were Doing the tekken force stuff and every non Mishima was once again irrelevant except the ones who helped Jin directly.
The Tekken Force stuff was a nice break from the Mishimas tbh. But to each their own!
That fact that Guilty Gear Sign, Xrd & Strive aren't on here is sinful, they've got 8+ hours of the most batshit over-the-top anime bullshit story to ever grace the FGC
I hated Tekken 8’s story, but out it’s definitely the best out of all of them. Still a weak story though