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M.U.G.E.N is a graphics engine and game creation software suite that has spawned a number of classic 2D fighting games like Paws of Fury and Street Fighter. If you're in the age group to have regularly played this type of 2D sideview fighting game in your youth, you probably played several games that were built with this software.

The M.U.G.E.N software is going through a resurgence of popularity in the midst of the modern video game market. The software has finally become fairly standard in terms of what the average user can handle with enough determination, and the classic cartoon-based graphics produce an incredible level of nostalgia even when creating and playing an entirely new game.

Of course, using a graphics engine to design a brand new video game isn't an inherently easy task. You need to have a firm grasp of the DOS programming language, or at least be willing to learn it as you go. The M.U.G.E.N engine includes a single predesigned game named after the engine itself, but the game is really more of a demo than a full game worth any real effort or attention.

The 2D DOS-based graphic design engine known as M.U.G.E.N was initially made public in 1999. With the right knowledge and a little creativity, anyone can design stages, game obstacles and objects, and playable characters. To create these digital effects, the software uses text files that it interprets as visual game elements coupled with compilations of sounds and graphic content.

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If you want to add custom sound effects, the software is capable of dealing with a number of audio file types, and it offers MIDI support for expanded sound effect potential.

This powerful piece of software recently became free for the full version. For many years before that, the engine was in Release Candidate. However, the switch to a totally free piece of software didn't come with any major improvements beyond the change to the software license that allows the M.U.G.E.N core code to be included in game bundles as long as those bundles remain free. The rest of the update was only repairs to certain minor faults and bugs.

Even though the game engine is set up to develop 2D fighting games, it can be configured to develop other game varieties like platform games and side-scrolling shooters. Anyone who misses the days of classic arcade games can take advantage of M.U.G.E.N to create their own homage to that golden age of video games. All it takes is the willingness to learn some relatively simple coding.

In the most recent version of the engine, M.U.G.E.N saw a number of useful changes. An issue with invalid WAV files associated with SND files once caused the software to crash, but now a simple warning is logged and the software continues working. You can now customize the F1 info box text for the title screen through system.def, and an audio glitch that caused certain sounds to play incorrectly has been repaired.

Pros

• Create Custom Cartoon-Style Arcade Games
• One Included Demo Game

Cons

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• Requires Functional DOS Knowledge