Vs. Modes in Non-Fighting Games

I was eagerly waiting for this one 😄! Love this concept so much (also thank you for the shoutout 🙇‍♂) I think a huge part of why it's so enjoyable it's because these modes feel like actual rewards you earn by beating the game, while at the same time surpassing or subverting your expectations based on the original genre of the game you were playing already. Another thing I like is that, most of the time, they feel like a dev toybox of sorts, like in Shadow Tower for example. They could've just made a gallery mode and called it a day, but nope, devs went the extra mile adding a Vs mode reusing the assets they already had. I absolutely adore it when games do this kind of stuff, it always feels like a treat. And speaking of treats, every time one of your videos drops I know I'm in for one. Keep up the amazing job 🙌

I remember the SNES Turtles in Time had a VS mode that was unique because it had a blocking animation that ONLY existed in the VS mode

In the Sega Genesis version of "Captain America and the Avengers", they had a "Vs Mode" of sorts.

Zone of Enders had a semi hidden versus mode as well.

I remember loving Advanced Adventure as a kid and GRINDING vs CPU in One On One to learn the best combo routes for every character after a Guard Break. I thought I had mastered the game since I could use any character to beat any CPU at a handicap or beat Survival with anybody. Then last year I saw a small channel that nonchalantly showcased tech I never found and Infinites that Tien and Gohan had. Completely threw my understanding for a loop. Also, congrats on 2nd at Super DBZ at EVO, that Chi-Chi player was off the charts.

The Super Punch Out vs mode discovery is frickin’ crazy. I can’t believe after all this time, it was just discovered. Sounds awesome, too. Would have loved to have played this mode way back when I was a kid with friends.

“Growing up”, “as a child”. How many games did you play when you were young all I remember was playing Pokémon on repeat on my game boy color

I'm here because I saw Lum in the thumbnail... Now I wanna play that Urusei Yatsura game.

For the NES, Track & field II comes to mind. The taekwondo stage has controls like a fighting game. Then there's the hockey game Blades of Steel were you spend more time fighting one-on-one than playing hockey. And most of the Kunio sports games like Nintendo World Cup are more about winning by killing the opponents rather than scoring goals.

The SNES Power Rangers beat em up game had a password system, and there were codes you could put in that allowed megazord battles to be a vs mode. Very nostalgic~

The PS2 section was the most nostalgic thing i've seen in a while. I remember gushing about Grievous being good to my friends that didn't like him and it feels good to have confirmation that he's top tier lol Urban Reign was a staple when friends came over and i LOVED Beat Down, specially the aesthetic VS modes like this are such a great way to give a bit more character and a connection to smaller characters and make for some pretty good times, weird how these modes fell off with the rise of online play where they could actually foster a community

I really miss versus modes in games. They really were a treat to have when you had a friend over and just wanted to have fun. I get that nowadays they don't because they want to focus all their resources on the actual game (or on advertising), but sometimes the best joys in games are the simple minigames one can enjoy with a friend

Star Ocean 3 (aka Till the End of Time) had a 2P VS mode. You had to earn the characters, and the alt costumes, by playing the 50 hour RPG. Hell, you had to earn the mode itself. And each character had 3 variations that changed the techs they had, Short Range AND Long Range attacks are different depending on the variation. But because not every variation has 2 Short Moves and 2 Long Moves, it's not as loaded as it could be. Limited moves aside, there are, in fact, some variations that have an exclusive skill that lets you charge the Fury meter, the in-game action system. If your Fury is at 100%, and you're neutral, it gives you a shield that can block weak attacks. Yo, you want to play some unbelievably obscure VS poverty inside a JRPG? Star Ocean having a Versus Mode is the Lost City of the entire subject.

It’s crazy how many games have these modes and I’ve never seen them most of the time.

Wow, good looking out showing off The Adventure of Little Ralph. I had never heard of that one, and it looks 100% up my alley.

Glad you covered Star Wars ep3. I remember having tons of fun with that game and felt the vs. mode was better than it had any right to be.

With the mention of Shadow Tower, I'd also have liked to see some Guardian Heroes mentions. I know it's already almost a fighting game, with the linear planes, but like in ST, the VS mode lets you play as literally everyone--including the helpless villagers who run away from the burning village! I spent a ton of time as a kid just setting up CPU matches with the lowest-tier NPCs and enemies, and watching them duke it out with all one or two of their moves! It's pretty funny!

the crazy part is the original gameboy port of double dragon also had the VS mode! it's gotta be one of the most poverty fighting games imaginable but it was pretty fun to play just for the novelty of having to use the link cable. and i'm super glad you touched on the enter the matrix one!! i was playing that versus mode not too long ago, it's bad but it gets by on having the car-vs-car and janitor vs sewing lady matchups. it might be the only game i can think of where picking the stage picks the characters for you. another great one is the warriors movie tie-in game, it had crazy 5 vs 5 and 9 vs 9 modes and weird stage mechanics. there's a stage with a live band playing the backing track and you can throw stuff at them and they'll get pissed off and beat you up, they just enter the fight like regular players and smack you with their instruments. it's mental!!!

The Warriors on Ps2's Rumble mode was insanely fun. I was surprised to not see it on the list.

When you brought up the thought about hidden 2 player modes, it reminded me that for Sonic Adventure DX on the GameCube, you could plug a controller into the second player port and the other controller would control Tails. For Sonic’s scenario anyway.