Posting my first topic on here. Your top 15 arcadey and grounded melee combat action games

Just joined a couple of days ago and I thought it would be a good idea to explore everyone's taste in action games and vice versa.

You don't need to list 15 but however much you can will be good lol.

Arcade combat:


1. DMC1
2. Ninja Gaiden Black
3. Ninja Gaiden II
4. DMC5
5. DMC4 SE
6. God Hand
7. DMC3 SE
9. Bayonetta 1
8. Bayonetta 2
10. Astral Chain
11. NG3:RE
12. Metal Gear Rising
13. God of War 2
14. God of War 3
15. DmC


Honourable mentions: Chaos Legion, Bayonetta 3, Darksiders 1, Darksiders 2, X-men: Wolverine's Revenge, Marlo Briggs, Nanobreaker, Samurai Jack, Castlevania LOS2, Nightshade, Star Wars TFU 1 and 2.


Grounded:


1. God of War: Ragnarok
2. Onimusha 2
3. Way of the Samurai 2
4. Ghost of Tsushima
5. Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams
6. Genma Onimusha
7. Onimusha 3
8. Way of Samurai 1
9. Yakuza Ishin
10. Nioh 2
11. Rygar (ps2)
12. LOTR: Return of the King
13. Nioh
14. Darksiders 3
15. Sekiro


Honourable mentions: Sifu, GOW 2018, LOTR: Two Towers, Demon's Souls, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Can you clarify what you mean by 'grounded'?

Birdman wrote:Can you clarify what you mean by 'grounded'?

Most of your attacks are grounded and most of your enemies remain grounded when attacking you. Medium paced rather than fast paced, lack of a double jump...bare minimum juggling mechanincs or lack of juggling mechanics.

Weird definition. Like character action.

What is 'arcade combat'?

Do they need to have all of those points or is one enough to make them grounded?

What is the line between medium paced and fast paced?

I'll just list some of my favs.

Knack 2
Lollipop Chainsaw
Chaos Legion
Dragon Quest Heroes
MGR
DMC3SE
Transformers Devastation
OZ

Birdman wrote:Weird definition. Like character action.

What is 'arcade combat'?

Do they need to have all of those points or is one enough to make them grounded?

What is the line between medium paced and fast paced?

I'll just list some of my favs.

Knack 2
Lollipop Chainsaw
Chaos Legion
Dragon Quest Heroes
MGR
DMC3SE
Transformers Devastation
OZ

Arcade would include:

Fast paced combat
Long combo strings
Juggling
Air combat
Enemy step
Double jump, off the wall jumping, enemy step, acrobatic dodging etc.

You can get a jist if what I mean by looking at the games listed.

EDIT: btw nice list. Not played lollipop chainsaw, any good? And what is OZ?

Chaos Legion has a double jump. I wouldn't call the combat slow. Not sure how you're defining speed so I'm not entirely sure what medium is.

I'm not sure about those definitions or arcade either. Sounds more like personal preference. I don't think Nano Breaker would count as arcade then.

>LC any good.

Yes.

>OZ

Over Zenith. Also known as The Sword Of Etheria.

Great list man!  But, I am realizing how many melee action games I have not played over the years haha.  I don't have enough for two separate lists haha!  I'll just make one list then:

Ninja Gaiden 2
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Ninja Gaiden Black
Ghost of Tsushima
Metal Gear Rising
Nioh 2
Nioh
Sekiro
Shinobi (PS2)
Onimusha 2
Genma Onimusha
Strider (2014)
Oboro Muramasa/Muramasa Rebirth
Ninja Blade
Jedi Fallen Order
Warframe

Honorable mention: Zelda games like BOTW, Way of the Samurai games, Hades, Dead Cells, Killer is Dead

Notably absent from my list I know are DMC and GOW games.....just could never get into them surprisingly.  Same with Soulsborne games...

Hicho9 wrote:Great list man!  But, I am realizing how many melee action games I have not played over the years haha.  I don't have enough for two separate lists haha!  I'll just make one list then:

Ninja Gaiden 2
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Ninja Gaiden Black
Ghost of Tsushima
Metal Gear Rising
Nioh 2
Nioh
Sekiro
Shinobi (PS2)
Onimusha 2
Genma Onimusha
Strider (2014)
Oboro Muramasa/Muramasa Rebirth
Ninja Blade
Jedi Fallen Order
Warframe

Honorable mention: Zelda games like BOTW, Way of the Samurai games, Hades, Dead Cells, Killer is Dead

Notably absent from my list I know are DMC and GOW games.....just could never get into them surprisingly.  Same with Soulsborne games...

Nice, very nice actually. NG3 RE over NGB might come off as a tad bit controversial for some but I can see why you may have that opinion.

"Notably absent from my list I know are DMC and GOW games.....just could never get into them surprisingly.  Same with Soulsborne games"

All good bro, you don't have to like what everyone else likes.

RayyanHayabusa wrote:

Nice, very nice actually. NG3 RE over NGB might come off as a tad bit controversial for some but I can see why you may have that opinion.

Haha, I know.....honestly NGB is definitely the better game. But, NG3RE is the one I enjoy playing the most due to the combat.

I'm glad that I don't have to list 15 because I am not good at it. I originally was going to make a list but it was really hard to do. I'll have to list these as well.

Metal Gear Rising
Ninja Gaiden 2
Fist Of The North Star: Lost Paradise
Devil May Cry
God of War 3R
Devil May Cry 5
Devil May Cry 3SE
Ninja Gaiden 04(I don't have Black)
Star Wars The Force Unleashed
Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2

Even listing this is hard. I think it just feels like I am ranking these games regardless. I have played more games than I have listed though. Games like Onimusha 2 and Chaos Legion I can't really list because I did not have enough time to play them.

I'm adding Okami. Can't believe I forgot.

>what is 'grounded'

I remember hearing this term used with games that are realistic. Once or twice referring to games where you can't jump.

Not once have I ever picked up a game and thought 'I could really go for something grounded'.

Making lists like this is interesting because it makes me realize how few games I’ve played enough to comfortably put on a favorites lists. But I’ll give it a shot:

Arcade:

Zone of the Enders 2
God Hand
God of War 2
Kingdom Hearts 2
DMC1
DMC3
Shinobi
Astral Chain
Viewtiful Joe

Grounded:

Bloodborne
Dark Souls
Demon’s Souls
Genma Onimusha
Yakuza 0
Yakuza 3
...that’s all for now

I’m assuming shooters don’t count. If so I would put probably 6 or 7 TPS there easily. The new Dooms would also go under arcade. Some games I really like I haven’t played enough(NG2 and 3 and Okami, for example).

Infinity_Divide wrote:Making lists like this is interesting because it makes me realize how few games I’ve played enough to comfortably put on a favorites lists. But I’ll give it a shot:

Arcade:

Zone of the Enders 2
God Hand
God of War 2
Kingdom Hearts 2
DMC1
DMC3
Shinobi
Astral Chain
Viewtiful Joe

Grounded:

Bloodborne
Dark Souls
Demon’s Souls
Genma Onimusha
Yakuza 0
Yakuza 3
...that’s all for now

I’m assuming shooters don’t count. If so I would put probably 6 or 7 TPS there easily. The new Dooms would also go under arcade. Some games I really like I haven’t played enough(NG2 and 3 and Okami, for example).

Good ass list right there. Totally forgot about VIEWTIFUL JOE! Daaymmmn what a throwback. Good old school Capcom right there. VJ1 and VJ2 both legendary.

You defo need to play NGII and 3 RE. I don't recommend you play NG3 vanilla tbh. Never got into okami... playing as a wolf on all fours not my cup of tea. Upright animal's like ratchet and fox is where I draw the line lol

I am currently compiling a FPS and TPS list so everyone get ready lol this'll be interesting.

>playing as a wolf on all fours not my cup of tea. Upright animal's like ratchet and fox is where I draw the line lol

That was a complaint I heard way back on release. Haven't heard it for years. I remember people feeling off about playing as an animal. No connection to the character or something. But I still find it a weird complaint. Still, you should give it try. It's a bit on the easy side outside of a challenge run but the mechanics are fantastic.

First time I've seen this type of distinction haha. I'll just note my favourites, though I doubt they'd be a surprise.

In random order since I feel they all have their unique qualities. I'll of course forget one big one but eh, that's the nature of things haha.

Zone of the Enders 2
God Hand
God of War 1
DMC1
DMC3
Shinobi
Astral Chain
Demon's Souls
Metal Gear Rising
Vanquish
Ninja Gaiden Black
Ninja Gaiden II
Ninja Gaiden Razor's Edge
Bayonetta 2 (suck it B1 fans, I like what I like)
Viewtiful Joe
Genma Onimusha
Prince of Persia Warrior Within (come on guys I'm the first to mention this one )
Chaos Legion (there's a gun to my head)
Yakuza Zero
Killer is Dead
Resident Evil 4 (it counts damnit)


I'd wanted to add Doom 1, Max Payne 3 and Doom 3 into the mix but then it'd be too much shooter for my taste for such a list. Shoutouts to more on the nose titles like Death Stranding and MGS2. Also shoutout to Sigma 2 for getting me into the genre. Little shoutout to Death by Degrees for being the most unique terrible good special weird action-game I've ever played. It's constantly on my mind for how weird it was.

Screw it, I’m adding all of my other favorites, even if they don’t fit the descriptions:

MGS2
MGS3
RE4
RE5
RE6
Vanquish
The Evil Within
Dead Space 2
Doom
Doom 2016
Doom Eternal
Bulletstorm

>bayo 2 over 1
I may actually agree with this.

>warrior within
Could never get into it. I’ll try again one day.

>Bayonetta 2 (suck it B1 fans, I like what I like)

There are definitely cool things in both. I'd rather B1 at the end of the day, but got no issue with anyone choosing B2 over it.

>Chaos Legion (there's a gun to my head)

Hahaha no there isn't good one Roy hahaha *switches safety off*

>Death by Degrees

Didn't I introduce you to that?

I'm not going to expend the energy to rank or organize anything, but I might as well list some of my favorite combat oriented games (in no particular order):

Bayonetta 1
DMC 4
DMC 3
DMC 5
Ninja Gaiden (pick your poison really)
F.E.A.R 1 (and extraction point dlc)
Hollow Knight
Earth Defense Force games
Shinobi (ps2)
Blood
Doom classics
Max Payne 1
Duke Nukem 3d
RE 4 and 5
Metal Slug
Robotron
Streets of Rage games
Armored Core games
Vanquish
Bloodborne
Serious Sam TSE
Unreal Tournament classic(the LAN party memories)
SWAT 4
Quake III
Quake 1

And probably more I can't think of at the moment. There are a lot games I want to play but haven't played enough of (or at all) to really put on this list. Such as:
GodHand, Okami, GoW games (really liked 1), Wonderful 101, Bayo 2, Astral Chain and more I guess I don't know... Fun list!

Top arcadey combat:

King's Field 1, 2, and 3
Eternal Ring
Shadow Tower


Top Grounded:

Shadow Tower Abyss
King's Field 4


Best worst combat:

EverGrace

Just gonna rattle off a few of my favourite combat-oriented games. No real order.

Any Ninja Gaiden game barring Base 3 and Yaiba
Nioh
Max Payne 3
Bloodborne
God of War 2/3
Arkham Knight
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

>Bulletstorm

That's a fun as fuck game. Made by the creators of Painkiller, if I recall. Only real complaint about the game was switching separate modes: On PC, it's middle-mouse to switch modes, and left-click to shoot. But why couldn't've middle mouse just be secondary fire? Either way, I oughtta replay it sometime.

>Chaos Legion

At this point, it's just a running joke that Roy never plays Chaos Legion. And it's gonna stay that way.

>Bayo 2

You've gone so far into hipster territory, that you've proceeded to go from the hipster opinion of liking Bayonetta 1 over 2 into looping back into liking Bayonetta 2 over Bayonetta 1. That's some top-tier reverse hipster stuff, if I've ever read it.

Royta/Raeng wrote:First time I've seen this type of distinction haha. I'll just note my favourites, though I doubt they'd be a surprise.

In random order since I feel they all have their unique qualities. I'll of course forget one big one but eh, that's the nature of things haha.

Zone of the Enders 2
God Hand
God of War 1
DMC1
DMC3
Shinobi
Astral Chain
Demon's Souls
Metal Gear Rising
Vanquish
Ninja Gaiden Black
Ninja Gaiden II
Ninja Gaiden Razor's Edge
Bayonetta 2 (suck it B1 fans, I like what I like)
Viewtiful Joe
Genma Onimusha
Prince of Persia Warrior Within (come on guys I'm the first to mention this one )
Chaos Legion (there's a gun to my head)
Yakuza Zero
Killer is Dead
Resident Evil 4 (it counts damnit)


I'd wanted to add Doom 1, Max Payne 3 and Doom 3 into the mix but then it'd be too much shooter for my taste for such a list. Shoutouts to more on the nose titles like Death Stranding and MGS2. Also shoutout to Sigma 2 for getting me into the genre. Little shoutout to Death by Degrees for being the most unique terrible good special weird action-game I've ever played. It's constantly on my mind for how weird it was.

I need to play death by degrees, looks like a great terrible ps2 game lol

Funnily enough, I've never played Bayonetta 2 hence why there's no mention of it on my list. Any reasons why most people choose bayo 1 over 2? And why do some prefer bayo 2?

Check the Bayonetta 2 topic here. I asked the same question not long ago.

>armored core and EDF
Never got into either of these. Any entries in particular you recommend?

>hedfone’s list
If laughter was the response you wanted, you have succeeded.

>bulletstorm
Wonderful game, just wish it was a smidge harder(VH is quite tame) and would’ve liked a couple more unique alt fires. But by and large, the weapons, environmental stuff, arenas, enemies, pacing, etc are all just so damn fun. Absolute joy to play.

> EDF and Armored Core
 For EDF I'd recommend the latest entry (EDF 5) as the progression allows for easier swapping between classes. In previous titles, upon completing missions all the rewards would go to the class you completed the mission as. Which meant that if say you played as Wingdiver for 20 hours and then decided to give a different class a try, you'd basically have to start at square one again with the lowest level equipment. In 5 upon completing missions, it will divide about 20% of rewards to the classes you're not playing as. It gives a nice boost to all the classes so you don't have to start again on an easier setting just to try out a different playstyle.
I wouldn't recommend the spin-offs (Insect Armageddon, Iron Rain) as I feel a large amount of the appeal to EDF is how few fucks the devs give about throwing as much of the worst shit possible at the player all at once (game performance be damned) and the Spin-offs just never come close to the chaos and mayhem of the mainline entry's.
Just keep in mind that the games are very grind heavy, and I honestly wouldn't recommend playing them very seriously. If you do give one a try; buy it on sale (EDF 5 is on steam I believe) and maybe only play a few missions at a time once you get into the harder settings. Co-op is also fun.

For Armored Core it depends on what you want. If you want more fast-paced action then anything post AC4 (ps3, 360) will probably work, but I'd recommend AC: For Answer (I honestly haven't played V or Verdict day so I can't say on those). But if you want something a bit more grounded and leaning a tad towards simulation, then I'd say AC3 and AC: Silent Line are the best (PS2).

> Bayo2
Bayonetta 1 has better combat, Bayonetta 2 has a lot less annoying non-gameplay parts and more vibriant stages, artstyle and more diverse weapons. I think as a 'whole game' Bayo2 blows 1 out of the water, but that B1 is superior if you really want to master the combat.

First off, a "top 15" is wild. What a quirky number! Defying the norm, I like it.

Secondly, I'm not sure I could actually name 15 for both "arcade" and "grounded", but I'll name a few for each (I don't really like settling on "top 5s" or tier lists or whatever because my opinions will change with every playthrough of a game):

Arcade:
DMC1/3/5
Doom Eternal
Bayonetta 2
Vanquish
Metal Gear Rising
Astral Chain

Absolutely loads of games I could put in this one, to be honest. Plenty I still need to try out or replay, too, as there might be recency bias. These ones are more my style. I'm happy throwing shooters in here, too. My personal definition of "action" is pretty loose.

Grounded:
Urban Reign
Yakuza 0

Struggling to think of many I've played that fall in to this category. I'm not a Souls guy, and I guess these would be the main contenders for "grounded" action for most people. There are a bunch of action games I've played where the combat is based around street fighting but these two are the standouts for me, off the top of my head.

Royta/Raeng wrote:> Bayo2
Bayonetta 1 has better combat, Bayonetta 2 has a lot less annoying non-gameplay parts and more vibriant stages, artstyle and more diverse weapons. I think as a 'whole game' Bayo2 blows 1 out of the water, but that B1 is superior if you really want to master the combat.

Thanks I need to check out Bayo 2 defo

>Urban Reign
How could I forget this one. Such an under appreciated gem.

>not a Souls guy
I feel like I’m the only one around here who is, heh.

> Bayonetta 2

Works really well on Cemu.

> Souls

Hey, count me in as well! I mean, Bloodborne was my first real introduction to action games, ignoring my hacked Ninja Gaiden DS playthrough when I was 8 years old.

> Souls
Souls was also my introduction into action games (unless Shadow of the Colossus counts). I still return to Bloodborne or Demon's souls once or twice a year.

> souls guy
Prior to part 3 I was too, really love the originals. But I do feel the series needs to try more new things and ditch some of the things that make it 'Souls'. I have a biggest distaste of its influence than the games itself. Dark Souls 1 is a master piece.

> Urban Reign
It does warm my heart a little when someone has positive things to say about it, I must admit.

> Infinity, the lone Soulsman
There are definitely others on here that share your appreciation for them, don't worry! I think we have more fans than non-believers.

Dark souls got nothing on King's Field 4.
Mostly joking but the general atmosphere and music in KF is way better. It isn't all that choir boss bombast bullshit.

>choir bombast bullshit
Yeah, this was really overdone in DS3 especially. I have a hard time telling a lot of the songs apart at first.

I'm still trying to get into Dark Souls. I only have the second one. To those who played it, how was King's Field: The Ancient City?

> King's Field: The Ancient City

Fantastic title. Secrets, atmosphere, and exploration are god tier. Quite crazy that it is an open world first person ps2 game. I would put it in my top 10 games of all time depending on my mood.
Combat is not great, but not bad really. It controls much better on emulator as you can put camera movement on right stick. If you play on a proper ps2, the camera is moved left and right with l1/r1.

King's Field games have a lot more fuck you traps than dark souls. In ancient city there is a death trap 4 feet from the start, if you fall in it you are back to the main menu lol.
You can always backtrack and save or hit up shops, it isn't too punishing as long as you find secerts and stay geared up. A bit like Diablo like that.

Arcade Combat games

1) Sin and Punishment Star Successor
2) Bayonetta 2
3) Gradius V
4) Ninja Gaiden 2
5) Devil May Cry 3
6) Astral Chain
7) Metal Gear Rising Revengance
Devil May Cry 5
9) P.N. 03
10) Nier Automata
11) Bayonetta
12) GodHand
13) DarkStalkers 3
14) Ikaruga
15) Devil May Cry 4

>sin and punishment 2
Nice to see this get so much recognition around here. Phenomenal game.

>Gradius V
I actually just got this on the PS3 store a few days ago but I haven’t tried it yet. Looking forward to it.

You will totally have to tell me what you think about Gradius V. I love it personally but I know very little people who play Gradius V, (heck I know little amount of people who like many action games)

You guys all have great taste.
I always forget something when I make a list but I'll try. In no particular order:

1) Ninja Gaiden Black
2) Ninja Giaden 2
3) Kingdom Hearts FM
4) Kingdom Hearts 2 FM
5) Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
6) Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
7) God Of War 1
8 ) Metal Gear Solid 3
9) Dark Souls 1 (even if I never saw it as an action game, but as a 3D dungeon crawler)
10) Nioh 2
11) Devil May Cry 1
12) Devil May Cry 3
13) God Hand
14) Doom Eternal
15) Resident Evil 4

Arcade combat:
1 Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram (1on1 game so doesn't really count. But a personal favorite & heavy 3D action game parallels)
2 Vanquish
3 Ninja Gaiden 2
4 Sin and Punishment 2 / 1
5 God Hand
6 Ninja Gaiden Black
7 Shinobi PS2
8 Earth Defence Force 5
9 The Ninja Warriors Once Again
10 Bayonetta
11 Zone of the Enders 2
12 Metal Gear Rising / NieR Automata
13 DMC1 / 3 / 5
14 Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin
15 Armored Core: For Answer / Daemon X Machina
Honourable mentions: P.N.03, Viewtiful Joe, The Wonderful 101, God of War 2 (far too long since I played this though...), Guardian Heroes

Grounded(?) combat & miscellaneous:
1 Ninja Five-O
2 Alien Soldier
3 Armored Core: Verdict Day / 5th & 3rd gen
4 Dark Souls
5 Metal Slug 1-3
6 Assault Android Cactus+
7 Metal Gear Solid V / Death Stranding
8 Nioh 2
9 Rabi-Ribi
10 Ys: Oath in Felghana / CrossCode / Ys 1&2&4(PCE)
11 Dead Space 2
12 Resident Evil 4 / 5
13 La-Mulana 2
14 Psi Knuckle
15 Cave Story (original ver)
Honourable mentions: Freedom Planet, NiGHTS, Ninja Spirit, Perfect Dark, Yakuza 0, Elevator Action Returns, Strider 2, Copy Kitty

Avoiding scrolling shooters here as those would be another can of worms. Same with arcade belt scrollers / 2D beat'em'ups though I haven't played them much. TNWOA counts as one of the latter.

Was tempted to add Okami as I loved it when it released. But I always thought the game is so trivially easy it fails to draw out the combat system to the player. So the things that made me enjoy it are non-action related.

I need to get around to finishing Bloodborne one of these days :X perpetually confused why the game isn't getting a rerelease for higher fps/specs with such good assets and reputation. I remember hearing a lot of good rep on both early and later Kings Field games in other places too, gotta give them a shot someday.

You could mess with these kind lists for ages and I'm def forgetting some games but gonna drop it here..