Fighting games

[Kosheh]

GUILTY GEAR, AN UNDERGROUND FIGHTER? AHAHA WHAT
STREET FIGHTER III IS SO INDIE

I can't believe all you fighterfags missed the only one worth mentioning: Akatsuki Blitzkampf. It's a dojin game (japanese equivalent of indie, lol) I'll leave it up to the other posters to post pictures, but Blitzkampf's gameplay is unique while still keeping in vein with older fighters in terms of mechanics - but it generally plays like a mix of KoF and Street Fighter III. my favorite part's the fact that it's based in like a alternate-reality 1930's as the characters all hold a WWII vibe to them. One of the midbosses is a Panzer tank with a face ;_;
There's an update for it that adds online play and character palette customization!

To be honest I'd really like to start up our little fighter-circle again with Blitzkampf ;_;

Also I'm seconding parts of Kojjiro's post - I actually own BigBangBeat (like, I actually purchased the game as opposed to torrenting it like every other nerd on the internet). Unfortunately it's kinda...broken for a fighting game. Air combos are a disaster and EVERYTHING can be airblocked. :|
They're actually working on a sequel (a demo came out about 9 months ago) that introduces a few new characters, graphic revamps and online play. Oh god yes. But for what it is, BigBangBeat's pretty decent; just don't try to get too serious with it as it hasn't really garnered a huge community :/

Also: Melty Blood Act Cadenza kicks a lot of ass. I don't think it's very software-demanding and the graphics a bit of an eyesore, but this has a nice little community. It plays like a mix of SFIII and Marvel VS Capcom...without tagging. Which by all means is OK, tag mechanics just make a game more confusing.


Also, in terms of emulation magic, besides matrimelee you gotta try out Rage of the Dragons. Oh god I love this game -- it's a Playmore fighter (so it's developed by SNK) and sort of a spiritual sequel to Double Dragon; however the character sprites strongly resemble Capcom's. It's...varied, lol and has a lanky martial arts master with an afro and sunglasses. This alone makes it very playable.
Also do pick up Rival Schools; also one of my favorite games. Vampire Savior's pretty good too but really doesn't bring much to the table - seriously. EX Moves in SF3 got their start here but other than that...no, nothing really major.
Also PLEASE play Mark of the Wolves, oh god that game is sex

if you're not huge into fighters though and more Smash-inclined you'll probably like the Touhou fighters - I recommend getting Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, then installing the Hisoutensoku expansion so all the characters are available. it's like Smash Bros. if everyone flew around and spammed projectiles. Also a card system. Instead of random item drops, the weather changes inflicting status changes on the playfield.

If you're feeling really hardcore and have a computer manly enough to run NAOMI games

Spoiler

MAKARON

I'd also check out The Rumble Fish (2 is preferred but impossible to find, 1 is fine) Akatsuki Blitzkampf Auf Ausche, Project Justice (Rival Schools but I swear they named it that because it does the RS series TRUE JUSTICE) and
lol

Marvel VS Capcom 2.

but yeah hope I'm of help, too :V


EDIT: Oh, forgot two more dojin fighters you want to check out:
One is Vanguard Princess, featuring an all-female cast and some of the most beautiful graphics you'll ever see in a fighting game. Rumor is that the game is the product of a former artist working at Capcom. I don't remember if this game actually has online play, but I think you might? might like it.

The other...well, many people say it's got great mechanics, but I wouldn't touch it...if I weren't truly inclined to play it. MONSTER is a dojin fighting game whose design team was headed by ShoK (psuedonym of the person responsible for the character concept/design of Darkstalkers' Jon Talbain) with some truly great mechanics...however, all of the ingame characters are furries (seriously, not sonic characters, not animals - honestly, furries) and the spritework is horrendous...but considering the spritework the characters are surprisingly well-animated. it's worth checking out if you're....
curious :3c

All the dojin fighters I've mentioned run on Windows XP and aren't very demanding on your computer. :3c