The Dead or Alive series, Soul Calibur are all great.
Come on Baby if you can get a PS2 emulator to work on there is perfect for tournaments.
BCV: Battle Construction Vehicles is another hilarious game you could use.
I haven't tried it on my cabinet, I'm sure it'll work fine though. I used a contrller last time I tried it and the controls are a bit sluggish just cuz you're controlling large construction vehicles.
If nba jam was a fan favorite I would suggest nfl blitz even tho it’s not in the mold of your ask
Some other crowd favorites on my cabinet that would work for this are…
Super off road
Several bomberman arcade games
Super puzzle fighter 2 gets so much damn play on my cabinet and it’s fast matches
Wrestlefest would be some hilarious action as well
Divekick is a newer game but super super simple and you can get it working on cabinet
Spf2t is such a great game. Awesome gameplay where it looks like one person is going to loose and then boom all the gems drop on the other guy. So fun.
I haven't tried getting NFL Blitz to work in a long time. It was always wonky, but I have a 20x more powerful machine now. I will definitely check that out. Any 4p game is huge bonus.
Don't I need three steering wheels for Super Off Road?
Super Bomber Man is a great idea!
Super puzzle fighter 2. Wait, there is a 4 player version of this? That's amazing. Thank you for this!
Hopefully others can chime in. I haven't played them in like 20 years. [Here is GameSack covering the PlayStation versions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFUB5Xau59g&t=2m27s)
Was looking for this comment. Bloody roar is great! And it's one of those where it's so much fun for beginners of the game as well. It takes about 5 seconds to realise what to be strategic about.
I was definitely going to go with a new Mortal Kombat. I haven't been keeping up. Is MK 11 better than the new MK 1?
Killer Instinct 2013 looks great too. I have only tried the older ones. Some tough choices here.
MK 11 is very well put together, well optimized, has a large fanbase, it looks fantastic with gorgeous backgrounds, it has well designed characters and can be had for dirt cheap when it goes on sale at steam.
I don’t own MK 1 but based on what I’ve see I’m sticking with MK 11.
At the moment, MK1 is a superb game but still has loads of content on the way and is still outrageously expensive.
MK11 you can get the super duper edition for very little and it's a fantastic game overall.
I didn't pick Marvel vs Capcom because it was in our local arcade and about half the people were super familiar with it and half had never heard of it. I wanted to keep it fair. I love that game, though.
Sunset Riders would be great fun, but I was afraid of a contestant "accidentally" putting another credit in.
This is a great idea. I’ve been wanting to invite some friends over to play some games and have some good food. Love the tournament idea! I wonder how Virtual Fighter or War Gods would be for a tournament?
Both are great for tournaments. I was surprised how quickly you can get through 16 players with fighting games. Waiting for the Centipede high scores took forever because I let everyone have three credits to get a high score.
That also surprises me. I wonder if you have a mix of fighting, beat-em up games, and shooters like Centipede, Robotron 2084, Smash T.V., Space Invaders etc., if that would slow down the speed at which players go through games. I could create a scoring system to keep track but was wondering what tools you use for keeping score and with tracking players across games.
We don't want to slow players down. We want to speed them up! The tournament took about 6 hours with a short dinner break. I have 5 machines here.
* Motordome pinball machine
* Virtual pinball machine
* JVL bartop touchscreen
* 2 player arcade with trackball and spinner
* 4 player arcade
If players are not involved in a mini tournament, then they should be playing one of the other machines. For the games that are not mini tournaments, players take a photo of all their scores and text me their highest one. I just put the numbers on a spreadsheet and it adds everything up for me. Next year, I am going to put up a screen so everyone can see the scores updated live.
Scoring is
* 1st 1000
* 2nd 800
* 3rd 600
* 4th 400
* 5th 200
* 6th 200
* 7th 200
* 8th 200
* 9th 100
* 10th 100
* 11th 100
* 12th 100
* 13th 100
* 14th 100
* 15th 100
* 16th 1
If there are ties, I just chop the points. For example, in NBA Jam, there are 3 second place winners, so they get 600 points each. If there are ties in a game, we play [Canyon Bomber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05Ni8E526Qs) to break it. This happened on Shuuz when there were ties after the set number of rounds.
The 1 point for 16th place is fun because I can see who the biggest loser is. One of the players scores ended in a 6, but they actually won 1 of the events.
Winners get their named added to a trophy that gets displayed behind my bar. I had a referee shirt, hat, whistle, and yellow flag (which I only needed to throw once). It's very hectic juggling all the people around and yelling at them to turn in their games. An assistant would be helpful. We ran out of ice and no one told me. It was all worth it and one of the best times of my life. I can't wait until next year.
Next year we are setting up the smoke machine and giving everyone WWE intros.
Thanks for sharing this information. Gives me some great ideas. I misunderstood the timing. I now completely understand about speeding up the gameplay!
[Shaolin vs Wutang on Steam (steampowered.com)](https://store.steampowered.com/app/466110/Shaolin_vs_Wutang/)
[https://youtu.be/EHrKa0rPtzU?si=G69RJqafBLe54A3H](https://youtu.be/EHrKa0rPtzU?si=G69RJqafBLe54A3H)
https://preview.redd.it/8v4gvr5u7mfc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bffefc0542e7c334459a07fe757bbbfec74e9cdf
Looks good. Are executions the same a MK finishing moves? I would love to find a game with finishing moves that are not complicated or happened automatically/randomly for new players.
The finishing moves weren’t too difficult (from what I remember). Cool, obscure, game.
Also, perhaps check out ‘War Gods’. That was made by Midway back in the day along with MK.
One of my favorite fighting games is Rival Schools. Not to mention one of my favorite bands.
I know it's 2D, but there's a King of Fighters (I think) I used to like where a guy threw playing cards.
Soul Calibur 2,
Marvel Nemesis,
Def Jam Icon,
Jurassic Park Warpath,
Enter the Matrix (has a silly fighting game cheat),
Dark Rift,
Mugen (2d),
Fight of Animals
I don't know how I never heard of Def Jam Icon. Needs more ODB. Seems fun, but it looks like you can't play it on a cabinet. It requires both thumbsticks.
I did consider Mugen, but one of the guys in the tournament is insanely into it. He would have won easily.
Fight of Animals does look great. Thanks
Power Stone is a really good fit for casual play.
I have never heard of this! It looks great. I love wide open 3d gameplay. Thank you for this.
Also, maybe not for the tournament, but Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks is similar to Powerstone in terms of gameplay. Fantastic game.
Power Stone 2 for Dreamcast is so much fun
I always preferred the first one. Don't really know why but I hardly play the second, after loving the first so much.
This is the one. And it's 4 player.
The Dead or Alive series, Soul Calibur are all great. Come on Baby if you can get a PS2 emulator to work on there is perfect for tournaments. BCV: Battle Construction Vehicles is another hilarious game you could use.
> Come on Baby Holy shit. Winner. Battle Construction Vehicles looks fun. Does it play well on a cabinet?
I haven't tried it on my cabinet, I'm sure it'll work fine though. I used a contrller last time I tried it and the controls are a bit sluggish just cuz you're controlling large construction vehicles.
If nba jam was a fan favorite I would suggest nfl blitz even tho it’s not in the mold of your ask Some other crowd favorites on my cabinet that would work for this are… Super off road Several bomberman arcade games Super puzzle fighter 2 gets so much damn play on my cabinet and it’s fast matches Wrestlefest would be some hilarious action as well Divekick is a newer game but super super simple and you can get it working on cabinet
Spf2t is such a great game. Awesome gameplay where it looks like one person is going to loose and then boom all the gems drop on the other guy. So fun.
I haven't tried getting NFL Blitz to work in a long time. It was always wonky, but I have a 20x more powerful machine now. I will definitely check that out. Any 4p game is huge bonus. Don't I need three steering wheels for Super Off Road? Super Bomber Man is a great idea! Super puzzle fighter 2. Wait, there is a 4 player version of this? That's amazing. Thank you for this!
Bloody Roar is a good crowd pleaser
I haven't played these, but they look great. Any specific version better than the rest?
Subjective, but seconds one is a lot of people's favourite.
Hopefully others can chime in. I haven't played them in like 20 years. [Here is GameSack covering the PlayStation versions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFUB5Xau59g&t=2m27s)
Thanks!
Was looking for this comment. Bloody roar is great! And it's one of those where it's so much fun for beginners of the game as well. It takes about 5 seconds to realise what to be strategic about.
Tekken 3 and Soul Calibur 2, especially for conquest mode
For 3d fighters I’d go with fan favorites Killer Instinct 2013 and MK 11 plus as a bonus Guilty Gear Strive.
I was definitely going to go with a new Mortal Kombat. I haven't been keeping up. Is MK 11 better than the new MK 1? Killer Instinct 2013 looks great too. I have only tried the older ones. Some tough choices here.
MK 11 is very well put together, well optimized, has a large fanbase, it looks fantastic with gorgeous backgrounds, it has well designed characters and can be had for dirt cheap when it goes on sale at steam. I don’t own MK 1 but based on what I’ve see I’m sticking with MK 11.
At the moment, MK1 is a superb game but still has loads of content on the way and is still outrageously expensive. MK11 you can get the super duper edition for very little and it's a fantastic game overall.
In 2D why dont marvel vs capcom 2 over msh vs sf? A 4 player cabinet is great. Maybe some 4 player game like sunset riders and compete for hi score?
I didn't pick Marvel vs Capcom because it was in our local arcade and about half the people were super familiar with it and half had never heard of it. I wanted to keep it fair. I love that game, though. Sunset Riders would be great fun, but I was afraid of a contestant "accidentally" putting another credit in.
Project Justice
Looks very cool. Thanks
Give hat trick a shot. Old school style, 2 player hockey battle game that is easy to play but hard to master.
Love this game. It is so frustrating sliding all over the place.
There's also the NBA Jam on ice game, 2 on 2 Open Ice.
Also great!
Virtua fighter
2
Following
This is a great idea. I’ve been wanting to invite some friends over to play some games and have some good food. Love the tournament idea! I wonder how Virtual Fighter or War Gods would be for a tournament?
Both are great for tournaments. I was surprised how quickly you can get through 16 players with fighting games. Waiting for the Centipede high scores took forever because I let everyone have three credits to get a high score.
That also surprises me. I wonder if you have a mix of fighting, beat-em up games, and shooters like Centipede, Robotron 2084, Smash T.V., Space Invaders etc., if that would slow down the speed at which players go through games. I could create a scoring system to keep track but was wondering what tools you use for keeping score and with tracking players across games.
We don't want to slow players down. We want to speed them up! The tournament took about 6 hours with a short dinner break. I have 5 machines here. * Motordome pinball machine * Virtual pinball machine * JVL bartop touchscreen * 2 player arcade with trackball and spinner * 4 player arcade If players are not involved in a mini tournament, then they should be playing one of the other machines. For the games that are not mini tournaments, players take a photo of all their scores and text me their highest one. I just put the numbers on a spreadsheet and it adds everything up for me. Next year, I am going to put up a screen so everyone can see the scores updated live. Scoring is * 1st 1000 * 2nd 800 * 3rd 600 * 4th 400 * 5th 200 * 6th 200 * 7th 200 * 8th 200 * 9th 100 * 10th 100 * 11th 100 * 12th 100 * 13th 100 * 14th 100 * 15th 100 * 16th 1 If there are ties, I just chop the points. For example, in NBA Jam, there are 3 second place winners, so they get 600 points each. If there are ties in a game, we play [Canyon Bomber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05Ni8E526Qs) to break it. This happened on Shuuz when there were ties after the set number of rounds. The 1 point for 16th place is fun because I can see who the biggest loser is. One of the players scores ended in a 6, but they actually won 1 of the events. Winners get their named added to a trophy that gets displayed behind my bar. I had a referee shirt, hat, whistle, and yellow flag (which I only needed to throw once). It's very hectic juggling all the people around and yelling at them to turn in their games. An assistant would be helpful. We ran out of ice and no one told me. It was all worth it and one of the best times of my life. I can't wait until next year. Next year we are setting up the smoke machine and giving everyone WWE intros.
Thanks for sharing this information. Gives me some great ideas. I misunderstood the timing. I now completely understand about speeding up the gameplay!
[Shaolin vs Wutang on Steam (steampowered.com)](https://store.steampowered.com/app/466110/Shaolin_vs_Wutang/) [https://youtu.be/EHrKa0rPtzU?si=G69RJqafBLe54A3H](https://youtu.be/EHrKa0rPtzU?si=G69RJqafBLe54A3H) https://preview.redd.it/8v4gvr5u7mfc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bffefc0542e7c334459a07fe757bbbfec74e9cdf
Whoa awesome! I call Old Dirty Bastard!
Tekken 2
I've always had fun playing 'Mace: The Dark Age'. Pretty killer soundtrack, too.
Looks good. Are executions the same a MK finishing moves? I would love to find a game with finishing moves that are not complicated or happened automatically/randomly for new players.
The finishing moves weren’t too difficult (from what I remember). Cool, obscure, game. Also, perhaps check out ‘War Gods’. That was made by Midway back in the day along with MK.
Powerstone 2 on Dreamcast. An absolute blast for casual play.
Tobal #2
Thanks
Super smash brothers
Good idea but it's terrible to play on a stick.
Virtua fighter
One of my favorite fighting games is Rival Schools. Not to mention one of my favorite bands. I know it's 2D, but there's a King of Fighters (I think) I used to like where a guy threw playing cards.
I just checked out The King of Fighters 15. I might have to toss that in there to have old and new. Thanks
Destrega on PS1.
Those environments look really fun. Thanks
Soul Calibur 2, Marvel Nemesis, Def Jam Icon, Jurassic Park Warpath, Enter the Matrix (has a silly fighting game cheat), Dark Rift, Mugen (2d), Fight of Animals
I don't know how I never heard of Def Jam Icon. Needs more ODB. Seems fun, but it looks like you can't play it on a cabinet. It requires both thumbsticks. I did consider Mugen, but one of the guys in the tournament is insanely into it. He would have won easily. Fight of Animals does look great. Thanks
Check out tech romancer on dreamcast! That and project justice!
So many Dreamcast games in the list. I had no idea. This looks great. Thanks!
Truly a golden age for gaming starting in 1999!