- No local opponents (and most of the games I own have no or crappy net code)
- Most of my controllers suck for fighters and there seem to be no cheap fighter controller options that are any good
- Newer fighters are incorporating more complicated systems and tighter timing schemes, meaning it takes a lot more practice and time to get any good
OK, yeah, this is mostly whining, here. But I got to thinking about point 3. I understand that in the tournament community frame-perfect timing is great to have and those complicated systems make for great high-level play, but are there any basic fighters for the rest of us? One of the things I really love about Street Fighter II, II', and II' Turbo is that they're both complex and basic at the same time. You have a lot of moves and various move timings to learn and there are some basic combos. But there's no parrying/just defense, no dial-a-combos or magic combos, no massive juggling chains. I like Samurai Shodown (the first) for much the same reason. I put Virtua Fighter 2 also in this category, as long as you stick to certain characters. Even though I love the way the newer fighters are animated (for the most part) and I love the character designs, I feel like there's a little too much depth.
Are there any modern fighters that stick to this basic model? Nothing crazy, just solid fighting action with interesting characters, cool moves, and decent character balance?