Topic: Beginner Fighting Games for the Switch

Hello!

I have recently gotten a SNES Classic, and the game on it that I have played the most is Street Fighter 2. Dispite me not being very good at the game, and barely knowing any of the special moves, I really enjoyed it. I wanted to get a 2D fighter on my switch, but I have no idea where to start. I am looking for a game that is more approachable for a beginner to the genre, as the only fighting games I have played before are Smash Bros, Pokken, and ARMS, and one that isn't too crazy with the special moves. I have considered Street Fighter 2: The Final Challengers, but the price is a bit too high for my liking. Any recommendations will be welcome, even for games on other consoles!

You should check out the Street fighter collection releasing in a few days. Comes with 12 games I believe including all the versions of SF2

@redd214 Thanks! I forgot about that. I may get it if I find it for a decent price.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is coming out soon on the Switch. It's a lot more simplified than a regular BlazBlue game so it would be pretty beginner friendly. There's a demo you can try out to see if you enjoy it, although there's currently only 4 characters available in the demo.

@Xaldin I've heard of that. I don't know any of the characters, but I wanted to download the demo.

@AxeltheBuizel yes try the demo, dont worry about not knowing the characters, how many people knew the Street Fighter Characters the first time the put a quarter into the arcade machine

@AxeltheBuizel
Try SF 30th Anniversary Switch version.

@AxeltheBuizel There are loads of fantastic 2D fighters in Hamster's Neo Geo Arcade Archives series. Garou: Mark of the Wolves; Samurai Shodown 2; Last Blade; King of Fighters '96 and '98... This is just scratching the surface. Personally, I have really enjoyed Waku Waku 7, which is a colourful, joyful 2D fighter with a really different visual style to most of its rivals. All of these are great, and can be picked up for a song - certainly much cheaper than Ultimate Street Fighter II (which I own and like very much but wouldn't get with the SF collection coming) and BlazBlue.

I hear Garou is a really simple game to get into, and it's like 8 dollars.

I second the above there are a bunch of NEO Geo fighters , all 2D and simply like SF2

My vote goes for Garou and the SF Collection as well.

The Last Blade is probably my favorite fighter on the Switch right now or ever... In part because it is far more newcomer-friendly than most. This truth has born itself out over many years of fighting rotations, with especially the Neo Geo and SNK catalog as a wellspring.

Over the years it has proven to be one of my go-to fighting games (with Tatsunoko vs. Capcom) in a party setting because it has it all: easy to pick up/fairly simple controls, great movesets, cool/balanced roster, insanely good animation, and the perfect ratio of strategy to button-mashing. The last point is a key one for this purpose.

Then again it's also one of my favorite fighters, period. When it comes to crossroads of depth and accessibility, I feel it's as close to 2D fighting perfection as any game has come. Even if it's not the deepest or richest or most heralded, it's withstood the test of time for us because everyone has fun playing and competing wheras most others have strictly stratified skill ladders, so we still come back it regularly after many, many years in the rotation.

-Try out the Blazblue Cross Tag Battle demo. It seems to be simplified a bit from core Blazblue games, but still has a lot going on.
-Definitely check out the Street Fighter Aniversery Collection. Street Fighter 3 and the Alpha games all play better than SF2.
-My personal favorites available on Switch are Garow: Mark of the Wolves and The Last Blade. Two of the all time best games from SNK.
-Lastly, keep an eye on SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. It's not coming out for a few months but seems to be a simpler, more noob friendly 2D fighting game. Could be what you are looking for.

Mark of the Wolves is a fantastic starting place. Small and very well balanced roster. Impeccably smooth visuals that hold up more than probably any other SNK game to date. Straightforward move lists and game is centered heavily on standard 2D fighter fundamentals so getting into other fighters will be a breeze. The Last Blade is also a great pickup if you like sword based combat.

If you want some games with wider rosters and more complex rule sets, look into King of Fighters or Samurai Shodown. You can do well in any of these games if you focus on a couple of characters rather than jumping from one to another but this goes especially for KoF and SS. KoF '98 is very complex but it is huge bang for your buck given the roster size and depth of gameplay.