Best 2D Fighter for a tournament?

[Technosis]

I'm thinking of something that would appeal to both the hardcore and casual gamer. People have mentioned Marvel vs Capcom 2 for the PS2 or something similar. Any ideas?

[G-Boobie]

I'd probably go with Street Fighter II since everyone has played it in one form or another.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Capcom Vs. SNK 2. Yet that's just one of my favorites to see.

[icest0rm]

ClayFighter

[diskoboy]

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

[Nukie]

I'll have to second capcom vs snk (any of them) and SF2.

[Hwj_Chim]

I know you are looking for a 2D fighter but you could try Super Smash Bros. As for pure 2D Go with Marvel vs Capcom 2 or Capcom vs. SNK 2. If you want to push your limits with your casual audience use Guilty Gear XX or the King of Fighters 2003.

[Richter Belmount]

Kasumi ninja for angus alone.

[Rob2600]

ClayFighter

Clayfighters

The thought of someone organizing a ClayFighter tournament is hilarious.

[Cinder6]

Well, if it was me doing the tournament, I'd want to see either:

King of Fighters '98
Samurai Shodown II or IV

But I think it's probably more realistic to have Super Street Fighter II Turbo (or Championship/whatever one of the good ones is).

[Juganawt]

if I was in the tournie I'd like to be playing a couple of these:

Capcom Vs SNK 2 EO (Xbox/PS2/GC)
Super Street Fighter II X Grand Master Challenge (Dreamcast)
Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike (Xbox/PS2)
Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper (Dreamcast)
King of Fighters Dream Match '99 (Dreamcast/PS2/PS1)
King of Fighters 2002 (Xbox/PS2)
Guilty Gear XX Reload (Xbox/PS2)

Only pick PS2 versions of 2D fighters if you're desperate, as they invariably have superior versions of the game on other systems

[ubersaurus]

It really needs to be said that SFA3 for dreamcast is NOT upper. It has the extra characters from Upper, but it's more a mix between A3 and Upper in terms of everything else. Actually it's the shittiest port of the game unless you count the GBA version.

If you're going to do A3, the Alpha Anthology is the way to go. But it's not a good game to get casual players in on since it's really, really complex.

I think DreamTR hit it on the head though. Most fighters are too complex for casual people to hop into tournaments. Something like smash bros, tekken, sf2, or sam sho 2 are gonna be the simplest ones and thus your best bet.

[Barbarianoutkast85]

My favorite fighters are Clayfighters, Capcom Vs. SNK 2, and Tekken Tag Team. I dont know how good they would be for a tournament, but they are my favorites.

[AMG]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo.

[Dingo]

If you want something that appeals to both audiences, here's my suggestions:

-Super Street Fighter II Turbo (A classic that everyone remembers playing)
-Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (I like it, but you get mixed feelings about it from some fighting game fans)
-Capcom vs. SNK 2 (This is what is usually played in tournaments though I prefer Capcom vs. SNK)
-Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Personally I really don't like this game, but others seem to love it)

And now for one of my personal favorites that also turns out to be a very balanced fighter:
-The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest

If you're trying to appeal to casual gamers as well, I would highly suggest staying away from the Guilty Gear games as they are too complex for their own good.

[retroman]

im a big fan of SNK Vs Capcom SVC CHAOS for the NeoGeo AES, But i also know u can get this game on the original Xbox.

[The 1 2 P]

I'd say any of the Guilty Gear series or Mortal Kombat 2. Well, it would work for the casual gamers. But Marvel vs Capcom 2 would work for the hardcore gamers.

[Ze_ro]

My vote goes for Street Fighter 2 Turbo.

I always found SF2T (NOT Super) to be the most well-honed of Capcom's games, while everything else just became more complicated and chaotic.

--Zero

[ubersaurus]

Depends. In terms of most widely appealing, Smash Bros Melee, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super SF2 Turbo, and to a lesser extent 3rd Strike are your best bets. There are some tourney worthy KOF games(98, 02, and XI come to mind), and Samurai Shodown 2 is a pretty good one as well, but they're just not as popular. Same with the Alpha games, and the guilty gear games.

Capcom vs SNK 2 takes for-fucking-ever to run a tournament for. I know this from experience. When each game can run about 7 minutes, with a 2 out of 3 games set up for the tourneys, it adds up. The game is pretty boring too in all honesty.

Of course, this is all 2d fighters. Tekken 5 is a pretty damn popular 3d fighter.

[Dreamcast]

Marvel vs. Capcom 2. (dreamcast)

Insane 4 player action is really fun.

Tekken tag tournament. (ps2)

Power stone 2 (dreamcast & PSP)

Thats all i can think of.