[DESIGN] Could good fighter game be made with only two buttons?

I'm posting here simply because we don't have a forum dedicated to game design here. I am not questioning NM's capabilities here and I bet one could make a fighter in it, but can it really be done?

Early fighters (Urban Champion, Yie Ar Kungfu) were very basic, they didn't have any special moves for the player characters. And while there were some attempts by the Chinese/Taiwanese gentlemen to port games like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter to NES (as an unauthorized port), they were in general pretty bad.

Does that mean that a fighter that's similar to SF2 or MK can't work with just two buttons or that no one had pulled out it yet?

Mortal Kombat for the Game Gear used two buttons and while it wasn't the greatest thing in the world, it was perfectly playable. So with enough work, I think the answer is definitely yes.

Edit: And I played the heck out of that game. So I have firsthand experience.

Of course you can fight with only 2 physical buttons
For example, "joy mech fight" (the best nes fighter game):

Maybe I'll create a forum just for design ideas. Good idea.

I certainly believe it's possible. You can look at Double Dragon II: The Revenge, which used the two-button scheme to great effect, and if you are making a 2D fighter that just uses X/Y and has no plane to move on like the aforementioned brawler, I would say it can be done. It's going to be a lot simpler than SFII, though, so you'll need some sort of gimmick to make it fresh and fun.

darkhog said:

Does that mean that a fighter that's similar to SF2 or MK can't work with just two buttons or that no one had pulled out it yet?

Click to expand...

Check out the Neo Geo Pocket Color fighters. They managed to pull off 2-button controls with SNK vs. Capcom, Samurai Showdown, King of Fighters, Last Blade, etc.
From what I remember, if you wanted to do a light attack, you'd tap the button (releasing the button in something like 2-3 frames), whereas a Heavy Attack would be more of a hold (4+ frames). I don't remember the actual frame numbers, but it was based on tap and holds. You'd still pull off quarter-circles, half-circles, etc. on the d-pad, but I think charge characters didn't need to actually hold a direction for 2 seconds, i.e. Sonic Boom inputs. You just needed to tap <--, -->, and hit a punch button.

Additionally, the new Nintendo Switch game Pocket Rumble uses only 2 buttons with similar to the NGPC fighters, and has a direct influence from them.

So yes, a good "deep" fighting game can be made with only 2 buttons.

I second checking out the Neo Geo Pocket Color fighters.

https://youtu.be/4X6nBDRudao?t=34s

Thanks for all the feedback! I plan to do a fighter game somewhere down the line (when the tool will be more realized) and these tips makes me think I can pull off the idea I have for it. I'll certainly check the games you've recommended.