For all the advancements that have been made in gaming, one element that remains in place is the character-select screen. Talk to someone who played games years ago--whether it was Super Mario Bros. 2, Street Fighter II, or any number of games--and you'll likely see them reminisce about the time spent on those screens agonizing over their character choice.
While they're most commonly associated with fighting games, that genre is hardly the only to be home to them, as evidenced by games like Mario 2 to Team Fortress 2 to countless MMOs. And although perhaps not as prominent as they once were, character-select screens are still present in many games today.
Now Playing: The Evolution Of The Character Select Screen
In the video above, we've put together a nostalgia-inducing run through a number of the most memorable such screens. You should get a sense for how they've changed over the years, from the basics of the aforementioned Mario to more modern examples, like Overwatch and Injustice 2.
What character-select screens do you remember most fondly? Let us know in the comments below!
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Chris Pereira is GameSpot's editorial manager. He's been writing about games for a very long time and is very old. Please don't be loud. He likes Twin Peaks, The X-Files (before it was bad), I Think You Should Leave, Remedy games, and serial commas.
