The History of Fighting Game Single Player 

(p.s. I think my next video is gonna be about soul calibur guest characters so drop some of your favorite factoids about them right here)

Idk how this got into my recommended 25 minutes after upload when I’m not even subbed, but I’m not complaining.

I love how modern MK games handle the single player, and by modern I mean from the PS2 era onwards. MK Deception and Armaggeddon had their very own "adventure mode", which was like a complete separate beat'em up game of its own with its own original character, where only the boss battles were played in the actual fighting game engine. The armaggeddon beat em up game was surprisingly pretty decent. Say what you will about Armaggeddon, but it's probably the biggesr fighting game ever just from its sheer amount of content.

Since online the single player modes have gone to oblivion. Sadly games who depend so much on online are useless after their online community is gone. SoulCalibur 3 has a fantastic single player mode, I even continue playing that game nowadays. Chronicles of the Swords, best mode in SoulCalibur franchise.

26:31 Mentioning the "future" of fighting games while showing Heritage for the Future footage... I see what you did there

It's kind of funny how similar yet different Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat looked back then and still now of days. You can see this at 1:20

*I remember the time* Singleplayer was all there is. Until someone else inserts a coin and the game goes, _"HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!"_ (Edit: 3:30 Oh you experienced it too. I see you are a man of fighting game culture as well)

I think Blazblue has became my favorite story mode after I did a marathon of the story of all games and crying at the end of the CF. One that was not release in West that I think was promissing but they never did again was the Rival Schools one that you could create a character and choose routes,customize moves and dialogue aside from the main story of the arcade mode.

Some of my favorites single player modes were the rpg modes such as Abyss mode, Tower of Lost Souls, Weapon Master mode, and the mission mode (Soul Calibur 6) in my fighting games. If there's any mode I would like to see more of in the future, it would be Tekken force in other fighters. Just because I love the idea of playing as my mains in a beat em up. Also I would like a separate single player modes like weapon master and Chronicles mode from the Soul Calibur series in other fighting games because it's not only a RPG mode, but it gives you as the player your own story mode. It's like a table top rpg where you interact with the characters as your own hero of the story. Which is why I enjoyed the Soul Calibur modes the most because they give a story mode for the roster and you as the main character of your own story mode. BTW I just found your channel and I love it. Keep it up.

Great job on this. Lots of fun to watch and very interesting to hear how some things went down.

Single player lately has discouraged me from pre-ordering fighting games. I wait 6 months to a year for enough content to justify an 80$ - 100$ purchase! It took 2 years before I could even justify my 2016 purchase of SFV!!

*Blazblue Cross Tag Battle: I don't need Arcade Mode.* *Street Fighter V: Hold my Capcom Mug!*

Blazblue Central Fiction has an outstanding amount of traditional single player modes and content. 1. Tutorial, 2. Training, 3. Challenge, 4. Story, 5. Arcade, 6. Vs cpu, 7. Grim of abyss (survival with rpg elements), 8. Score attack, and 9. Speed star mode. It's story mode is 10+ hours of content and is actually good. It's arcade mode is amazing, each character has 1 to 3 arcade mode acts, which also acts as a separate story from the actual story mode. There's tons of art, music, and character colors to unlock. A library mode that has 503 articles going over character back stories, organizations, terms, places, etc... It's essentially a Blazblue wikipedia. Central Fiction in total has 36 characters, 76 stages, and 94 music tracks to play around with. It baffles my mind that some fighting games can't even include a simple vs cpu mode, games like Tekken 7, mvc2 and umvc3, tvc, mk9, etc... have this problem. I mean the Capcom vs series didn't implement a vs cpu mode until infinite. Another problem is that while most fighting games include a vs cpu, training, and arcade mode, which is fine, they lack other modes like time attack, score attack, and especially survival mode. Some will include a survival mode but not a vs cpu mode, or it'll be a reverse situation. However Blazblue Central Fiction fixes all my gripes about singleplayer modes in fighting games. Other companies should follow Central Fiction's above and beyond example.

My favorite single player content has be the stuff from the PS2 port of Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, It has player rankings and stats, items battles, and a really big training mode with lots of features, a deep tutorial mode which explains all of the game's mechanics and another tutorial called Tactics Advice which shows the player important strategies and combos for each character, it even has an entire encyclopedia which explains the meaning of many VF gameplay terms. There's also this thing called Quest Mode which tries to simulate the experience of going to different Japanese arcades and winning tournaments all this is against A.I opponents based on real Japanese players later on you'll encounter A.I opponents based on Top players with very accurate representations of their playstyles. You can also unlock many menu wallpapers for defeating specific opponents. You progress in Quest mode by winning tournaments and completing missions which make you use the techniques you learned in training mode after completing these you'll be rewarded with customization Items to customize your character or in game currency to buy more items, VF1 skins, win poses, or mini combo videos. In this mode you can also unlock more stages for VS mode which make a total of 36 stage variations as well as unlocking extra vs game modes like one where every move combos into anything. Also in the US version of the game in options you can find the "special" game mode which is basically a remake of the first VF called Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary which uses VF4Evo's engine and characters but has VF1 inspired visuals, physics and mechanics. Originally in Japan this game was a standalone release. It's a shame future games in the series don't have as much content as this one.

Really glad this video started off with SNK stuff. Can never get enough of that.

I'm feeling pessimistic about future single player content. Fighters will mostly focus on the competitive aspect of the game because esports makes money right now. These days, I usually ignore single player content for fighting games anyway and jump straight to online but if Motor Kombat or Tekken Force weren't around, I doubt I'd have the drive to play fightng games competitively in the first place. What I'm saying is that I am personally fine with no single player content but at the same time, I wish there would be some good stuff for people who doesn't want to jump into the competitive scene.

Dude, as someone who’s new to fighters (about 6 months in now) I really appreciate this video. I seen a lot of comments on reddit that a fighter should focus on vs gameplay rather single player content because that’s where the longevity is. But I think single player is equally as important. For someone like me, who is new but wants to exceed casual play, SP can be a place of experimentation and warm-ups. It’s a little more high stakes than training mode but still low stakes enough that I’m not overly worried about performance like online. Like it’s a great middle ground for trying new things and getting comfortable with combos and match ups.

We must also appreciate SNK for being the sole reason Dan Hibiki was created.

NetherRealm and ArcSys have story mode down for fighting games. It’s always a joy when they release new fighting games because the story and lore are integral, and not just shoe-horned. Nintendo does it to an extent with their Smash games. I thoroughly enjoyed Tekken Force too, and wished Bamco did something similar again for T7. Looking forward to part 2 of this series!

The old SNK games may have been onto something with the way their stories were structured; cutscenes were very short and only occurred once every 3 matches or so, keeping the gameplay at the center. Blazblue is wonderful, but its story mode can be VERY tedious with 10 minutes to an hour of huge text boxes between fights. It's understandable that most devs can't provide the insane production values of NRS, but what they can do is provide something snappy, short, easy-to-follow, and fun to play - something like an SNK arcade fighter.

Crazy to think many of us witnessed fighting game history unfold as kids and never realized it back then.

Great video. Very informative. Loved 16:00-20:00 and the conclusion at 26:12-26:30. Single player content is so important for fighters IMO if they are to grow or simply be financially viable. They have to appeal to the average gamer, not just the hardcore FGC. I'd love to see some data on what people spend most of their time doing in some of these titles such as MK11. Ultimately I want fighters to sell. I want them to be profitable. I want them to maintain a great core 1v1 experience for the FGC and competitive gamer. But it seems they will struggle with this alone. It seems to me simplest way to escape the niche tag and expand is by getting a little creative with the single player experience. As a bonus, I hope these games can then find interesting ways to funnel players into the 1v1 competitive experience that feels appropriately challenging and fun. That probably involves managing their expectations and educating them on what "improvement" as a player looks like, rather than just "you lost 30 in a row".

The little pause at 7:32 had me dead. You channel is awesome! Keep up the good work!

If I'm honest it bugs me the fact that Fighting Games totally made to be single player experiences like Red Earth/Warzard or The Ninja Master/Oni Yukihime didn't appeared in the video, but at the same time I can't think about when put them in the video, everything just works really well.

I remember enjoying BlazBlues story mode immensely, even though I did not understand what it was about at all. Those bad anime cutscenes were just so attractive!

@22:10 StumbleBee: "The idea is to keep characters engaged" My friend I watched this video with: "Doesn't he mean players?" Me: "Nah he ain't wrong, I'm a bit of a character."

Even in the early 90s, I saw a lot more single player mode on the cabinets in arcades than I did competitive 2-player play.

This is becoming one of my favourite channels on youtube. Keep up the great work Stumblebee ^_^

Every time I hear the ps1 start up sound , it takes me back to blowing hot air on a disk rubbing it and hoping the game starts

You know I think fighting game stories should take some inspiration from Until Dawn (if you haven't played it and like slasher movies I recommend it). Some light exploration, an emphasis on choices, and the idea that if you lose fights the story keeps going with that loss in mind. If it's a particularly violent franchise then they can have characters die horribly and stay dead when you lose. I also think it would cool to explore the area around a stage, maybe have some optional fights to find.

I have been meaning to watch this for a while now. I am glad I did! You transitions are flawless and presentation is on point. Thank you for this.

great stuff!! The video was a lot more focused than the introduction of the guest character video serie...keep up the good work!

I think Super Smash Bros has the most diverse set of single player modes and that's probably because it's a Platformer/Fighter, so it has alot more freedom to do things like Target Smash and a Adventure Mode that's basically a platformer with a fighting game combat system. The movement is Smash (being a platformer) gives it alot more freedom to do more thing with it's single player compared to traditional fighters. I guess what i'm saying is i would love to see fighting games blend with other genres to widen the horizon of fighters as a whole that would give us new interesting/fresh experiences.

Yuri is one of my favourite fighting game characters. Crazy that she started as a damsel in distress.

Dude, this was extremely well done. And quality scholarship. Thank you for this.

Say whatever you will about the gameplay, the performance issues, or the style. SNK Heroines has by far the best arcade mode I've ever seen in a fighting game. Personalized routes for every every combination of characters in the cast, and some fantastic endings! Terry's ending in that game is the single greatest arcade mode ending I've ever seen.

We don’t talk about MK special forces...

Mortal kombat Shaolin monks was the best mk for single player

Exceptional video, this is some high quality content. Hopefully one day I'll be able to make something as valuable and engaging. Great job seriously you killed it

Can't wait to see how your channel is going to grow. Excellent content

To me KI and Soul Calibur will always be one step ahead of all of the other fighting games out there. Great video!

The original Killer Instinct is my favorite fighting game of all time

I loved sfv's arcade mode, even if the bonus stage is whatever, it's had so much beautiful art, and even remixed versions of the music from the older games.

This is very cool keep up the good work

Subspace emmisary, so much memories.

Single player content is so important to any game. Nothing kills my enjoyment faster and harder than knowing I'll have to play with/against some downright horrible people. I've met some awesome people, too, do it certainly cuts both ways

Pretty much every action behind Harada is ¨Yo, that sounded cool and i wanted to know how much bullshit i can pull out of it.¨

Great video, I could play fighting games' single player content forever so I really like it Also at around 22:11 you said "keep characters invested" rather than players.

Really enjoyed this video as someone who has really enjoyed the way story modes have changed over the years. If there are indeed new episodes, I'd suggest having a look at how King of Fighters not only had arcs throughout the years, but also had characters completely change mechanically to reflect the story, like Kensou and Iori losing their powers and becoming different characters all together because the story demanded it.

X-Men: Next Dimension did the cinematic story mode before MKvsDCU and did it better than any of Netherrealm's takes.

This was a great video, glad I subscribed when I did so I wouldn't miss this. For me personally, I prefer the feel of a fighting game than mass amounts of content, but if you can do both (Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max) you're golden. Still play SfA3 Max today just because of how good the game feels and how much stuff there is to do.

well written and well researched!

Another great video. Awesome work, my man. Love your channel. You're like the Norman Caruso of the FGC. (That is a compliment ;))

Unlockables will always be a huge deal to me. Especially in fighting games, since I’m a loner and don’t want to work super hard to get better

Great & very well done video!

Speaking of Smash Bros. from what I've seen, Ultimate's Single Player is the best one yet, my problem with Classic mode was that it was pretty much the same shit for everyone..... Fight a few characters, do a few solo challenges, Master Hand. but in Ultimate, they are well thought out which I adore

Just discovered this 3 year old (as of today) vid, and man, that was great, very interesting! Also very comprehensive, great job. My ONLY complaint is that you used so much Ehrgeiz footage and didn't mention it by name once! The way it is it looks like that content was from Tekken. Oh well, still an excellent video, and I'm still super grateful for the reminder that game exists, lol.

Ah, this is a very important topic IMO. Looking forward to watching!

"Story mode without a Narrative" Really? Subspace Emissary told a perfectly solid narrative without any dialogue. World of Light is the one that doesn't have any kind of actual narrative or actual "story".

I do hope that Them's Fightin' Herds finds it's way into one of these videos after they release it's 1.0

Can you make more Guilty Gear content. That games my favorite fighter. Offers the best tutorial ever and probably the most complex storyline ever made in any game ever, it's like the love child of Final Fantasy and The Godfather.

Great vid as always!

I always knew the name change lore between M.Bison,Balrog & Vega HOWEVER I didn't know anything about 04:56. From a totally different series, That shit was mind blowing.

very good video mate

Subbed just for this series!

Neat video. I'd love to see someone try to do a full blown fighting game RPG single player mode like they did with Revengers of Vengeance/Battle Fantasy, only with a competent fighting game/RPG system. Guess looking back it was like World Tour mode from Alpha 3 on Sega CD.

I think you missed Guilty Gear X2 and AC+ single player content. The story mode was ahead of its time. Using the visual novel style, branching part depending on your choice AND action during combat. It also had exclusive intro segment that affected the battles. Some battles even give you advantage like Sol vs I-no where Both Sol and I-no had Gold power. Guilty Gear also expend the RPG elements in M.O.M in X2 and then further expand it on Survival Mode in AC series. What you do was after a Dare Devil battle, you have an option to increase stats, give them special ability to your fighter. This will carry over to later ASW games like Blazblue, P4AU....

Great video. I'd love to see something on the development of single player AI development over time.

Melee's Adventure Mode was great because of how it tried to reference or mimic the original games (at least, until the second half): Mario has a straightforward platforming stage, Zelda was based on Zelda II and was more mazelike, Metroid is based on the escape sequences, etc). Brawl technically had the more in-depth Adventure Mode, but I feel it's generic elements (the world, most of the enemies) hurts it and Ultimate's just feels iffy. As for unique fighting modes, The Tobal duology and Ehrgeiz (which you alluded to in the video) are pretty impressive in turning their games into dungeon crawlers. the obscure PS1 game "Abalaburn" does something similar, though less of a dungeon crawler and more of a level-based platformer.

My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SINGLE PLAYER FIGHTING GAME CONTENT is Chronicles of the Sword from Soul Calibur III. I never got to finish it though because my save data always corrupted.

Dissidia and its sequel Duodecim kept me and a few others i know very busy. I enjoyed the hours put into that game. Melee took up a portion of my life too.

Man, Melee and Soulcalibur 2 still prevailing as two of the best video game sequels of all time all these years later. Absolute legends!

umvc3 is my favorite single player fighting game

Great video. I'm surprised you didn't mention Tekken CGI endings and the later installments usage of interludes within the story modes(Ex. Tekken 4 and 5). Glad you mentioned SNK and Blazblue though. I'm always the type to enjoy both multiplayer and single player modes. I eel they offer a balance and I fuck with it. Much respek.

20:58 Ah yes the classic battle between Ryu and Sagat

Smash single player is really fun. Spirits was cool but I wish it was a bit more like Subspace

Great video! I am a fan now.

So dedicated and diligent, you're inarguably a contender for the best analytical fighting game content provider on the tube.

Awesome video.

Smash Ultimate, released in 2018, has A LOT of offline content as of the 5.0 update.

I love fighting games, but am usually disappointed with the single player content, especially with game like Smash bros. Mainly because it’s just modes where you play through it once and experience almost everything there is to offer. Kind of hope at some point, a game comes out where it could have a stupidly long story mode and other modes just for the heck of it.

You're kind of like a budget Core-A-Gaming in the best way possible. Sub and liking when I can remember, keep up the sick videos!

Ggxxac+r has the best survival mode ever

The most recent version of Under-night In-birth has a story mode that's only written dialogue. Complete jump to the visual novel format. I've never played a BlazBlue game either, but I'm pretty sure that series is also known for its visual novel story format? The original Melty Blood also had a visual novel format for its storytelling- but the gameplay was extremely janky.

your videos are awesome

I'm content with an arcade mode that consist of more than 5 fights (Looking at you Tekken 7!). Cinematic Story modes hardly keep me interested. There's probably a reason why I'm firing up fighters on my AES system these days.

keep up the good work!

9:50 is amazing TO SHINE! Maximilian DOOD

Fighting games need strong single player content because if they only depend on online they will become irrelevant after the next game's release and the only people that will stick around will be veterans that will kick your ass the moment you press the "Search Match" button. Street Fighter V launched with no single player and now has more single player content than pretty much any game in the series before it combined. And very soon it's gonna have an even bigger character roster than Ultra Street Fighter IV. I definitely recommend it now for those that avoided it at launch because of how lackluster it was.

Easily my favorite single player modes were the ones in the PSP games Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia Duodecim. Doing all the single player could easily take potentially hundreds of hours depending on skill and dedication.

I heard that Glacius track you slipped in there.. you thought I wouldn't notice, but I did!

Great video

Persona 4 arena ultimax's golden mode was really cool as a game mode and fan service. Its levels were based on the dungeons of p4 and you even leveled up like you were playing a persona game

My guy, Soul Edge/Soul Blade was one of my first ps1 games ever, and one of the best ps1 games i ever played, hearing that opening cutscene song.... Good times Single player stuff in fighting games are awlays really good. Btw, whie you researched, did you find a cool single player mode in fighting game that you didn't knew, and it's actually really good single player stuff?

To this day no FG can match the ingenuity of Project Justice's story mode.

Love the Cody reference! You are officially ALL ELITE!

1:56 Duck Dub Dub from Fatal Fury. (Duck King's theme)

I just wished MK11's single player modes weren't tied to being Online Only for no reason... I mean the game is essentially built off of Injustice's 2 foundation, yet in I2 *you can actually earn things offline* , unlike MK11. Hell, you cant even play the new Krypt offline anymore, and that mode is *100% SinglePlayer Only* ... Why the one from MKX can be played with no internet connection, yet this new one cant just shows a bizarre business choice from the exact same studio known for making good quality offline modes. Which I find a little ironic.

big respect for throwing some for honor in the vid.

Konquest Mode in Mortal Kombat Armageddon for me is Best Single Player Mode for Fighting Game I Ever Seen