Which Classic Fighting Games Are Very Very Unbalanced?

[Rex34]

Explain why/how

 

[Zerpina]

You forgot Mortal Kombat. It is a Classic fighting game.
(How i managed to erase this from the Original post, i have no idea)

Mortal Kombat was designed to maximize profits in arcades, like every arcade game at the time. The AI could counter anything after the first few fights, the moment you hit the buttons.

And that carried over to the home ports.

 

[Fietto!]

MVC2 is a clear winner.

 

[jesterodoll]

literally anything snk has ever put out (at least when it comes to boss fights oh my godddd).
I also like to think that tekken has some pretty glaring balance issues! (still fun as fuck though)

 

[Metroid_Hybrid]

I don't have much experience with CvS 2, so I can't have an informed opinion there. But MvC 2 has multiple characters with infinite loop combos, and certain team-up Supers are capable of inflicting 100% damage.. Sounds pretty busted to me..

 

[PhrawzT]

Mortal Kombat was designed to maximize profits in arcades, like every arcade game at the time. The AI could counter anything after the first few fights, the moment you hit the buttons.

And that carried over to the home ports.

I remember when Mortal Kombat first came out for the SNES. Hours were spent trying to beat the game with my friend and I taking turns on Goro and Shang Tsung and cheering like crazy when we finally managed to beat the game.

Also, any game that has a fighter that is too small to hit with some attacks can be quite frustrating. I'm thinking:
Yoda - Soul Calibur 4
Gon - Tekken 3
Servbot - Marvel vs Capcom 2

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

You forgot Mortal Kombat. It is a Classic fighting game.
(How i managed to erase this from the Original post, i have no idea)

Mortal Kombat was designed to maximize profits in arcades, like every arcade game at the time. The AI could counter anything after the first few fights, the moment you hit the buttons.

And that carried over to the home ports.

This!

But if you wanna talk 'unbalanced', look no further than "Brutal: Above The Claw" — they made it so the CPU reacts to (and counters) your every move as soon as your input goes through, making it nearly impossible to beat.

 

[Zerpina]

I remember when Mortal Kombat first came out for the SNES. Hours were spent trying to beat the game with my friend and I taking turns on Goro and Shang Tsung and cheering like crazy when we finally managed to beat the game.

Yeah, I dropped enough quarters in that thing, I should legally own it.

Kidding aside, I did play my fair share of it. The little gas station where I part-time worked as a teen had an MK1 machine, and I played it... a lot.
Mind you, I knew how to do the piezo lighter trick and make the machine think I dropped quarters into it. I was even an arcade pirate.

Before anyone asks, you basically spark a lighter next to the metal coin slot. If done just right, it would create an EMI, causing the coin slot to have an electricity spike and close and in effect, count as a Credit. It doesn't work now, it has been fixed. I would still think it could work on old vintage arcade cabinets. Just Google "piezo lighter trick" if you're interested

Post automatically merged: Apr 27, 2026

This!

But if you wanna talk 'unbalanced', look no further than "Brutal: Above The Claw" — they made it so the CPU reacts to (and counters) your every move as soon as your input goes through, making it nearly impossible to beat.

That's the same thing acclaim and midway Did with Mortal Kombat, so it would Eat your coins

 

[Metroid_Hybrid]

What happened to the poll?
It's absence removes the context of my answer..

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

That's the same thing acclaim and midway Did with Mortal Kombat, so it would Eat your coins

Sure, but Brutal made it, well, brutal. It not only reacts to your moves, but it pulls the perfect counter as soon as you press the buttons.

It's insanely frustrating.

 

[Aunt Sarah]

Explain why/how

All of them are to some degree, they have that quarter muncher arcade AI baked in.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

MVC2 is a clear winner.

It's got nothing on Sailor Moon S

 

[Xenocloudarius Xenocloudarius]

Shinpan no sousousei kengo retsuden: Selected infinite combos; Verified easy destruction of high and mid-level champions; Special attacks that remove more than 50% of the selected life


Ultimate fucking kusoge fighter game

 

[Graw]

Mortal Kombat was designed to maximize profits in arcades, like every arcade game at the time

I feel like most arcade fighters are pretty unbalanced when it comes CPU fights. Actually, I'd say the majority of fighters are pretty unbalanced when it comes to CPU fights either for or against the player. I really can't think of a single fighting game where the single player mode feels as balanced as playing multiplayer with an equally skilled player. I feel like ai balance and general game and character balance are two different things. You could have a game with perfectly balanced characters and an unbalanced unfair ai or even theoretically a game with unbalanced characters but a relatively balanced and fair ai.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Super Street Fighter II, the SNES version famously was harder than the vanilla port, even moreso the Hyper rerelease, they were meant for pros of the base game, i suppose

 

[CG4R12I4N]

Kaiser Knuckle/Global Champion, cause you will literally never get to the ending.

 

[Yousef Yousef]

The goat.

 

[BrawlMan]

Pretty much nearly any classic Capcom, fighting game. Special mention goes towards the first Alpha game, and Vism in Alpha 3. If you're a shoto or rushdown character, then, congratulations the character will be (even more) busted or have all these different infinites. This actually makes it more fun when you're fighting against the c p u or doing reverse dramatic battle. Almost makes turn into a brawler of sorts when you have it on Vism.

 

[Z77]

Super Turbo. Pick O. Sagat and once you master him you're basically unstoppable.

 

[Mileena]

MK and MK2, my god, I can’t believe I didn’t go bald via ripping my hair out playing these. I didn’t find MK3/UMK3 to be as hard but yeah the first two….wow. Especially Kitana and Mileena, you could not touch those two and I’m sure people remember the uppercuts that never connected as they seemingly went right through other characters which opened you up to get an uppercut. Good times.

 

[Badseed Badseed]

some are

 

[BrawlMan]

Street Fighter II Cheats You

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[BigTony]

Naruto Clash of Ninja 2 let you play as a little dog that was impossible to hit shit was hilarious