[ Fighting Games ] - Is an Arcade Mode still worth it? What do you think about Story Mode?

[Shakunetsu]

This is not just about Street Fighter 6 / SF6 only, this is in general of all fighting games.

Arcade Mode in Modern Fighting Games? Is it worth it? What are your thoughts?

There are many arguments lately about FG's Arcade mode. Some say it is a waste of resources for the devs. because everyone wants online multiplayer and that's the only purpose of arcade mode for them.

I myself wanted arcade mode to stay I prefer CVS2 and SVC Chaos. And I prefer Arcade mode than cinematic/story mode.

In SFV it's about knowing characters backstories for different timeline or what they do during the cinematic events when they are not part of that event, It's kinda an expansion but more character focus. It's the same story sometimes to their previous story from different previous games.

If your having difficulty thinking about your thoughts regarding Arcade Mode in Modern FG. Here are some self-question to make it easier to elaborate your thoughts and opinion. Like what are the improvements you want with a Arcade Mode?

1. Which modern fighting game did you think has the best Arcade Mode?
2. Which retro/old school fighting game did you think has a decent Arcade Mode?
3. What are the problems with an Arcade mode in Modern FG in your opinion?
4. Which do you play the most is it Arcade Mode or Story Mode?
5. What makes an Arcade Mode special than a Story Mode?
6. What makes you comeback to play Arcade Mode not Story Mode?
7. Which are the better single player mode than Arcade Mode?

EDIT:
Comment Links in the thread

1. Some of my previous post for a Narrative Mode ideas and concepts to be more engaging
2. Alternative version of a better Survival Mode done in the past by Capcom
3. Concept Idea of Merging World Tour Attributes to Arcade Mode
4. Concept inspired by KOF XIII Micro-Interaction Features in Arcade Mode (Target Action)
5. Character Management Simulation in a Tournament Setting but not a Tournament Story (Battle Tycoon Flash Hiders)
6. Factors to think about the argument of "Making decent Single Player Experience lessen the PVP community engagement?"

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I would either like an Arcade Mode with more content than just six battles and a boss, or a fully-fledged story mode with special battles and shit.

It bothers me so much how BAREBONES fighting games are becoming nowadays. I have no interest in playing online against random dicks I don't know and can't talk to during matches. Offline content is my haven, and none of the fighters I've played (Strive being the most recent) have ANYTHING meaningful to do offline.

This shit is why I miss Soul Calibur and why it hurts me so much that Namco constantly pushes Tekken over it. Soul Calibur is one of the only fighters that seems to actually try to make meaningful offline content.

 

[s y]

I have 0 interest in any single player mode besides training mode in fighting games. I can't remember the last time I did and I don't even know if arcade modes are that appealing to new players vs a cinematic campaign like Mortal Kombat/Injustice.

 

[Wil Grieve]

I don't play games that don't have a story mode or something equal to it.

 

[Platy]

There are a bazilion of ways of doing offline fighting modes and i am sad that the discussion is only "either story or arcade"
But then again, fans of fighting games hate anything different on their games =P

I like arcade modes that does thing different, like the smash one that changes difficulty if you loose or the street fighter one that you could choose your next opponent from 2 options.
Also, i like arcade modes that are like mini story modes for each characters, like the ones in Pocket Fighter

but my favorite arcade modes are the ones that are not called arcade modes.
Meele's adventure mode, tekken and guilty gear beat em up modes, alpha 3 world tour ...

 

[SoulsHunt]

I honestly don't care about those modes, nothing interesting to play against a bot. I just play ranked.

 

[Deleted member 12009]

I prefer arcade. I don't think anyone has gotten story mode right yet. It's just arcade with bad narrative. Fighting games being as hard as they are to develop, I don't think the resources have been available to really flesh out single player fighting in a way that actually educates the player on how to play and creates a good enough gameplay loop to challenge them to get better.

 

[DeadeyeNull]

The thing that draws people to fighting games is the wide roster, and giving that many characters a chance to shine is inherently bad for story telling imo, but also having your favorite character do nothing in the story sucks. Giving each character a small individual arcade story fixes this.

 

[Noctis]

I personally don't care anymore I kinda transitioned to the online warrior aspect. However, I think for instance in capcom's case they should follow the alpha 3 model.

If anything I miss the simple battle intros between characters instead of the default baked intro from now.

 

[Shakunetsu]

There are a bazilion of ways of doing offline fighting modes and i am sad that the discussion is only "either story or arcade"
But then again, fans of fighting games hate anything different on their games =P

I like arcade modes that does thing different, like the smash one that changes difficulty if you loose or the street fighter one that you could choose your next opponent from 2 options.
Also, i like arcade modes that are like mini story modes for each characters, like the ones in Pocket Fighter

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Yes the Running Battle and World Tour, then the Weapon Master Mode.

I only posted about the two because they are the only two mode that usually people pits against each other because of primarily focus on narrative.

 

[Cantaim]

Story mode is fun to tell a grand story with the entire games cast. Arcade modes can be fun if they instead provide some extra stuff to help highlight a character. I like how MK11 does it personally. When you complete what is basically the games arcade mode you get a "what if" story of if that character beat everyone and became the god of time. You get cute stuff like Jax looping time thousands if not millions of times till he makes a reality where the slave trade never happened and he lives happily with his daughter and wife.

It's fun and makes me appreciate everything in the game more.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Arcade mode on its own just isn't a selling point anymore. If it's combined with a Story Mode though, it's a good way to allow people to get more out of the other characters who might've been snubbed in the story mode.

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1. Which modern fighting game did you think has the best Arcade Mode? - Guilty Gear Strive (Wasn't too long and gave options depending on choice)
2. Which retro/old school fighting game did you think has a decent Arcade Mode? - SF4 (Offered Rival and Ending cutscenes)
3. What are the problems with an Arcade mode in Modern FG in your opinion? - Many don't allow for editing numerous variables for QoL
4. Which do you play the most is it Arcade Mode or Story Mode? - I'll finish a story mode, I won't play everyone's arcade mode if there's no trophy
5. What makes an Arcade Mode special than a Story Mode? - Individual character stories
6. What makes you comeback to play Arcade Mode not Story Mode? - Getting Trophies
7. Which are the better single player mode than Arcade Mode? - Modes that allow for customization of the fighting game experience

 

[Nama]

Dont need a story mode as story can and should be done better in arcade modes but there needs to be a sizable single player mode replacement if you don't have it. Alpha 3 world tour and Soul Calibur weapon master modes are good examples. Smash Melee adventure mode with alot of variables or random bonus stages or Project Justice/Rival School branching paths with win losses also spring to mind. Id lose my mind if Street Fighter 6 Arcade/story lean into the world traveling aspect each round was traveling to a location and getting a random character fight or minigame related to that location. Say you given a choice of flying to 2 or 3 destinations and pick Metro City when you get there it can be a solo fight vs Cody, Guy, Poison, Hugo or a dramatic battle vs Cody/Guy Poison/Hugo or a boss battle vs a buffed Hugo or a minigame thats a small side scrolling beatem up ala Final Fight and to top it all off if you meet some secret condition Hagar can pop up instead.

 

[Santar]

Every fighting game should have at least arcade mode and survival modes. Much rather have arcade than a cinematic story mode that is the same every time.
I also love arcade modes that have secret fights like Capcom vs Snk 2 that let you face different special opponents depending on how you do. It lives up the mode so much.
And I love survival modes for when you just want to sit down and do some fighting.
It's kinda crazy that KOF XV doesn't have survival mode. We're actually regressing in the number of modes in fighting games. Survival mode used to be a given in basically every game.
The gold standard is still the console version of Street Fighter Alpha 3. So much single player goodness!

 

[Ferrio]

Story modes suck, always will. Trying to get an huge cast of characters of oddball characters and trying to make a compelling story where everyone isn't constantly jobbing or some wacky hijinks is impossible. At best it'll come off as a bad wrestling bit (MK), asinine anime, and at worst absolute nonsense like SFV.

Fighting game stories worked best when they're self contained to individual characters, it allows for more freedom for that character's story, as well as leaving enough room for the fans to interpret how all the stories connect. We should be tossing out story modes and expanding on individual stories within each character's arcade mode. This allows for stories to go anywhere, even be non-canon (SF alpha series). It allows for more player engagement for the stories cause not everything is 100% spelled out, with everyone trying to piece things together.

SF Alpha series which is regarded as one of the best Single player experiences did it exactly this way. We should have been building on that template.

 

[BasilZero]

Both.

Story mode is great especially games like Blazblue.

 

[MadLaughter]

MK has a super fleshed out, high quality story mode, but also each character has an ending if you complete their arcade mode equivalent.

I'd want both, but that costs money & time that not every developer has access to.

 

[NeonZ]

I prefer both. Story mode will be something you only play a couple of times at best, but even with a story mode Arcade should be there for quick play sessions. There are people who still don't care for fighting randoms online. Of course, it's better if the Arcade mode still has some level of presentation too, with character endings, like in Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter V post-updates, but I'll take even barebones ones if they're just part of a package with other stuff (like in SCVI, where the arcade mode doesn't have any kind of ending or real presentation, but you have separate story modes and Libra of Soul) rather than just no arcade mode.

Blazblue Cross Tag only having a story mode and then a survival mode, with no proper arcade mode, was dumb.

 

[Grunty]

Definitely both, with more fleshed out story modes like in Mortal Kombat.

 

[PJTierney]

"Arcade Mode" doesn't make sense if a game wasn't available in arcades in my opinion.

Short story modes are fine, as well as the traditional "fight 6 dudes and then a boss" affair, but maybe give it another name 🙂

Overall though, TEKKEN 7's Mishima Saga story mode was the most fun I've had with a story in a fighting game. The cutscenes were great and meaty, the character swaps were frequent and made sense, and I liked how it would transition from cutscene to fight mid-move to hook you in.

• This poll will close: December 15, 2038.

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👀

 

[Tavernade]

I really enjoyed the Arcade-equivalent 'Classic' mode in Smash Bros Ultimate which had thematic battles for each character. It made playing through with everyone really rewarding.

 

[Saikyo]

We need both lol.
There are story modes that cant have all characters so arcade mode can be used by every character.
Also we need more modes in a fighting game, not less.

 

[Slaythe]

IMO arcade mode that had intros, rival fight, and outros, are better than a """"story mode"""".


It incentivizes you to play each character. You still get cool cutscenes, and maybe you can tie a costume or unique colors to unlock by beating it with one character.

It's dope.

Only MK is doing "story" right so at this point I'd rather not have all the others try to comply and force unbearable shit (dbfz), unplayable shit (strive), or cringe borefest (sfv/mvci/tekken7).

 

[J_Macgrady]

Despite becoming an online warrior with SFV, I recently played its arcade mode and had some fun with it. I think the mode is still worth it and I prefer it over story mode. I don't really care the the MK story mode where I play a bunch of characters I don't want to play as. Developers really have seemed to move away from having a bunch of single player modes in fighting games though and it shouldn't be that way. Only single player mode I care about are combo trials, but there should still be a bunch of CPU modes for casuals to mash buttons.

 

[Audible Silence]

gimme a high quality intro, a few random fights, a special "mid fight" with a bit of dialogue, few more random fights, a boss that lines up with the story, high quality ending.

dumb that ever fighter ends up fighting the same boss.

SF alpha 3 was the best example of this.

 

[Zyrox]

I play fighting games mostly for the online but I do enjoy me some singleplayer modes that elaborates and gives context to all the characters and their relationships.
The Blazblue series handled that the best, imo. Sure the actual plot might be barely comprehensible nonsense but I really enjoyed getting to know all these crazy characters and seeing them bounce off each other outside of just fighting (also, the story relationships get carried over to the fighting part with unique interactions and even musical themes for certain matchups).

An Arcade mode should also be available for people who prefer fighting solo vs. the cpu. Even better when there is a little story sprinkled into that as well.

 

[Bunty Hoven]

People remember Street Fighter blowing up in arcades because of the competitive aspect but maybe forget that most people grew to love it playing it solo on home consoles. I welcome non-arcade single player modes but never as a replacement for them.

Fighting games are built best for 1 v 1, so let me play it as it was meant to be played. AI means I can do this without the need of another human. Modifiers, handicap matches etc should be involved in extra side modes only. Most arcade modes get close but ruin it by sticking some imbalanced boss on the end. Gill's resurrecting ass is found in zero multiplayer games in the arcade so why am I spending 30% of every session facing him when solo?

Your basic single player mode in a football game is a series of football matches. That's ok because these type of games play out different each time. Ain't no need for individual nonsense storyline motivations for each team and a tournament final against a team with 13 players on the pitch.

 

[CountAntonio]

I like ladder style arcade modes with well made endings.

The huge sprawling story modes that people love from MK didn't seem all that great to me. Still mediocre and far less replayable then something a traditional arcade mode. Put all those resources into some nice endings and unlocks instead.

 

[Laser Ramon]

If you can't do a story mode, have an arcade mode or SOMETHING interesting for a single offline player to sink their teeth into.

Story modes don't HAVE to be bad. Netherrealm does them the best but that doesn't mean they can't be better, but they are expensive.

 

[Funkybee]

I dont need any. Just training/practice, challenge/trial mode and online play. I'd rather them have a story feature in a movie format for all the characters and that's it.

Edit: I'd rather have the option to select any character as dummy and switch to cpu at hardest difficulty setting in training and learn there instead instead of playing arcade.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

There should be a fleshed-out Arcade Mode. Story Mode should either be incorporated into the Arcade Mode like KOFXV, or a separate mode like SFV's Character Stories, but with much more to them.

 

[Faceless_Caesar]

I prefer having both. Sometimes I just want to hop in and play and arcade mode or vs. CPU is great for that. Fighting games other than MK will get the story part right eventually but they have to keep including it to get practice.

 

[Neoxon]

1. Which modern fighting game did you think has the best Arcade Mode?
2. Which retro/old school fighting game did you think has a decent Arcade Mode?
3. What are the problems with an Arcade mode in Modern FG in your opinion?
4. Which do you play the most is it Arcade Mode or Story Mode?
5. What makes an Arcade Mode special than a Story Mode?
6. What makes you comeback to play Arcade Mode not Story Mode?
7. Which are the better single player mode than Arcade Mode?

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1. SFV, Smash Ultimate, & KoFXV for different reasons. KoFXV as a means of telling its story, Smash Ultimate for having character-specific Classic Mode paths, & SFV for it being a celebration of the series up to that point.
2. I guess the KoF games given how much the story moves forward in each game. But if I'm allowed to deviate a bit, SF Alpha 3's World Tour mode.
3. In most cases, they don't feel meaningful enough to play through.
4. Of the two, Arcade Mode since it's inherently more replayable as each character's run is different.
5. As said above, it better incentivizes additional playthroughs.
6. In the better Arcade Modes, no two runs of the mode are the same (outside of story-specific fights). In Smash's case, Arcade/Classic Mode has paths catered to the specific character with nice nods if you know the character from their source game(s).
7. As mentioned earlier, World Tour Mode from Alpha 3.

Honestly, only Mortal Kombat & Injustice (both NRS) have ever done Cinematic Story Modes right. For literally every other fighting game franchise (unless you're Guilty Gear, which basically did a 3D anime), it's a waste of money. Capcom's time would be better served doing both SFV's Character Story Mode (with more in-game cutscenes rather than 2D art) & a KoFXV-style Arcade/Story Mode that also takes cues from Smash Ultimate by making each Arcade/Story Mode have fights specific to one character. If Capcom can nail a Cinematic Story Mode in SF6, I wouldn't hate it. But I don't have much faith that Capcom can get it right this time after fumbling twice in a row. SF6 needs to have tons of meaningful single-player content if they really want to rope in the masses, & doing another booty-butt-cheeks Cinematic Story Mode will do more harm than good. I've seen casual players who were put off from not only MvCI itself, but the entire MvC franchise because of how awful MvCI's story mode was (namely the demo). Capcom can't afford another screw-up like that with SF6.

 

[KillLaCam]

Story mode is pretty awful in most fighting games besides MK (even if the actual story isn't that well written there either ).

For most games I'm good with Arcade mode that has ending cutscenes or whatever

 

[mute]

I need to have a mode where there are 8-10 fights, best of 3, and light banter before/after the fight. Everything else is whatever, I just need that for single player at a minimum. Which is generally a given, unless you are launch SFV.

I don't know what else I could possibly want from a story mode. I don't need long chunks of dialog between fights as if the above is there I just do that.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Which modern fighting game did you think has the best Arcade Mode?

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Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition/Champion Edition. Multiple routes, lengthy, branching paths, special fights, endings.

Which retro/old school fighting game did you think has a decent Arcade Mode?

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Most of them tbh

What are the problems with an Arcade mode in Modern FG in your opinion?

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Some are way too short, most don't have any branching options, many don't even have special fights or endings etc.

Which do you play the most is it Arcade Mode or Story Mode?

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I barely play either but I would play Arcade more than Story Mode since the common story mode nowadays is something that you only ever need to play once.

What makes an Arcade Mode special than a Story Mode?

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Replayability, focus on playing one character at a time, individual character endings.

What makes you comeback to play Arcade Mode not Story Mode?

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As above, story modes are one and done. Arcade Modes can be replayed multiple times based on character, difficulty, different routes, etc.

Which are the better single player mode than Arcade Mode?

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For me, Missions/Trials

 

[jett]

Playing against fighting game AI is a bore.

But you need to have some form of both to please people that have no interest in going online.

 

[GlitchyDegree]

Which modern fighting game did you think has the best Arcade Mode?

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Street Fighter V. It has multiple routes with a lot of replay value

Which retro/old school fighting game did you think has a decent Arcade Mode?

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It might just be nostalgia, but I loved SoulCalibur 2's arcade mode.

What are the problems with an Arcade mode in Modern FG in your opinion?

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Outside of Smash Ultimate, I can't think of any that I have issues with. It would be cool to see more branching options.

Which do you play the most is it Arcade Mode or Story Mode?

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Arcade. A story mode is one and done, but a fun arcade mode can replayed multiple times.

What makes an Arcade Mode special than a Story Mode?

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Replay value.

What makes you comeback to play Arcade Mode not Story Mode?

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Replay value.

Which are the better single player mode than Arcade Mode?

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Modes that add new purpose to your cpu fights. Weapon Master from SoulCalibur and World Tour from Street Fighter Alpha 3 are great examples.

I prefer having both. Sometimes I just want to hop in and play and arcade mode or vs. CPU is great for that. Fighting games other than MK will get the story part right eventually but they have to keep including it to get practice.

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Just quoting to say I love your avatar!

 

[giancarlo123x]

I like both modes. Story for the one time spectacle, arcade for running through ladders as different characters.

 

[Nano-Nandy]

I don't know why would some vote for either one or the other. Both are the correct answer; more options are always better.

Crappy story modes are not the result of taking resources from other areas; neither lack of options. Neither lack of modes are the result of making story modes.

Like some say that Mortal Kombat can afford it because they have "infinite budget", but they were throwing a ton of content and modes even when they were at Midway which was on its way to bankruptcy. Why? Because they understood while developing Deadly Alliance that the move from arcades to console needed developers to justify people to pay $50+ for a game instead of quarters.

Is why despite their story modes, every game since then also has arcade/towers/ladders with endings too. Games can have both. It mostly depends on the focus and how each developer distribute the resources available.

 

[Gelf]

As far as single player content goes I prefer quest type modes over both of them. See Virtua Fighter 4-5 Quest, most Soulcalibur weapon master type things and Street Fighter Alpha 3 World Tour. Said modes dont even need a story for me to like them, just a reason to have many fights with a character. Indeed Virtua Fighter Quest is just based on touring through different real world arcades.

Forced to only pick between Arcade mode and Story I'd pick Arcade as I want to be able to run through multiple fights + bosses with many characters and not just the fixed ones I've been pre arranged to be able to use in the story. Ideally you'd have both though.

 

[tapedeck]

I just want a proper fleshed out Arcade mode that includes meaningful separate story elements and progression for each character, ideally with one or two rival fights and maybe even a 'secret fight' if certain criteria are met. If this was done then a completely separate 'story mode' isn't necessary, as long as I get a feeling of connection to my character and their background as I progress through the arcade ladder.

 

[JusDoIt]

Established fighting games that have had arcade modes in the past can't get away with not having arcade modes in the future. If SFV has taught us anything it's taught us that.

 

[KamenSenshi]

Arcade mode is definitely worth it. Light story is fine, I don't particularly care for absolutely everything needing to be injected with "wannabe movie" aspirations. As it is Dead or Alive is my maximum story mode tolerance. Dreamcast Soul Calibur/DoA would be the sweet spot.

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

More modes are always good. They serve different purposes.

 

[eraFROMAN]

speaking for myself, and ONLY myself; I prefer an arcade mode that I can finish in like, 30 minutes per character, with very simple endings, especially if there are unlocks attached. I play through NRS stories, but damn, they're almost too long for me, and I absolutely will not touch an Arksys story mode for any reason.

But I usually just play training, vs, and online, so I have no stake in the single player content tbh

 

[BrunOz]

Arcade modes are cool when it's well done like SF Alpha 3 with at least two rival matches with dialogues / interaction against them and the final boss, a good and challenging AI, an at least interesting ending for the character:



Dramatic battle is something that could be done as a cool "Arcade Mode" too:



Reverse Dramatic battle is also a super fun kind of challenge for single player content:



The concept of Dramatic / Reverse Dramatic battle could be integrated into certain moments of a Story Mode (like MK9 did) for gameplay variety to make things more fun. And ofc a full mode dedicated to those concepts will always bring the fun too.

Kudos to World Tour in Alpha 3 which was also pretty fun too.

Quest Mode in Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution was one of the best single player modes ever in a fighting game that I would like to see again in VF or any other fighting game in the future (probably will never happen tho), there's multiple unique playstyle for every AI you fight against (based on actual real life VF pro players!):

A unique feature in Evolution was the ability to play in a tournament quest mode, where the concept was that the player was competing by traveling to various arcades, as opposed to role-playing as the player's chosen fighter. This mode was very popular due to the ability to buy cosmetic items to customize a character, as well as the ability to name a character. Many players of fighting games have unique styles; with the combination of various items allowing for vastly differing appearances, a new depth of uniqueness was added.

In addition, Sega took the top tournament players from the arcade version, and captured their style of play for the AI of a player's opponents for this mode. For example, playing against one Wolf character would be very different from playing another, because the actual player that character's AI was programmed to mimic had a unique play style.

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I'm not a big fan of Story Mode bc it's mostly something that I'll play just once and never touch it again, but I liked the way MK9 handled everything about a full fledged Story Mode: two rounds, no QTE, crazy plot twists, lots of interactions between the whole cast, tag team battles, AI that could go crazy or hold back randomly (instead of doing the same pattern all the time), 1 vs multiple enemies in some fights to bring in some challenge, etc.

If the AI of your fighting game isn't interesting to fight against (like the majority of modern fighting games), story content around it will not help bc the gameplay is going to be a chore.

If your story isn't interesting at all (like MvCI / SFV) I'll just skip it or watch it once and never come back.

I think the best option would be an arcade mode with good AI mixed with bits of cool story / interactions / character development. And it seems to me like most of the time fighting games just have one of those two aspects or neither.

 

[Shakunetsu]

I don't know why would some vote for either one or the other. Both are the correct answer; more options are always better.

Crappy story modes are not the result of taking resources from other areas; neither lack of options. Neither lack of modes are the result of making story modes

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They believe it's entirely pointless either they see it just another shorter version to imply the narrative aspect of the game or another single player mode that isn't viable because were not on the arcades anymore and there are online multiple player options.

 

[ArjanN]

Honestly I'd probably prefer something thats a huge collection of various challenges: combo challenges, boss fights, fights with specific rules etc. Sort of along the lines of Mortal Kombat's Krypt.

 

[Host Samurai]

I love arcade modes because it allows me to test out every character vs the CPU to see who clicks with me. It's nice knowing their motivations and actual character.