Top 10 Fightings Games of All Time!

Top 10 Fighting Games of All Time

Brace yourself for a knockout. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we are counting down our picks for the top ten fighting games of all time.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the most popular and impactful video games that fit into the fighting genre. Obviously because so many fighting game franchises have soooo many sequels and rereleases, we’re sticking to one game per franchise.

#10: “Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown” (2012)

While it may only be available as a downloadable title, this seemingly last entry in the age-old series stands as the most complete package players are ever going to get thanks to its additional content such as new costumes, characters and stages. In terms of a love letter to the godfather of fighting games that would go on to inspire the likes of Tekken and Dead or Alive, it certainly has plenty of merit. For long-time fans who just can’t get enough of facing off against Dural, you won’t be disappointed.

#9: “BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger” (2008)

For those who like their battles with an anime edge, look no further. Kick-starting the series that wholly embraces the 2D fighting style while sprucing up with an in-depth and investing narrative, this game truly was the trigger that sent Ragna and the others flying into the gaming spotlight. With a relatively small yet dynamic roster of characters, beautifully animated combat sequences and plenty of replayability with its online, arcade and story modes, you won’t be able to put the controller down. At least until you’ve seen each and every Astral Heat. Also, we just didn’t have it in us to not include Taokaka.

#8: “Killer Instinct” (1994)

While the series has recently been given the polish and reboot that it so desperately needed, there’s no denying that its initial entry was most certainly its finest hour. Stepping away from some of the classic fighting game conventions that had been seen in other genre heavyweights, it implemented mechanics like double health bars, automatic combos, combo breakers and oh so famousultra combos. As you can guess, combat as a result got pretty intense. The game also isn’t afraid to go crazy with its character designs. After all, where else can you find a cyborg facing off against a velociraptor, werewolf and skeleton.

#7: “The King of Fighters XIII” (2010)

Ash Crimson’s story comes to an end, and with it comes one of the best entries in this juggernaut of a franchise. This is largely due to it streamlining much of the motifs present in its predecessor and in its placeapplying refined versions of some of the series’ more popular features. Sure, its story mode is nigh impossible to follow unless you’re veteran of the lore, but that doesn’t take away from its beautiful visual style and vastly improved controls. Fans will most certainly get a kick of letting loose with so many crazy, colourful combos, not to mention another chance to check out Mai’s magnificent set of…um…techniques.

#6: “Soulcalibur II” (2002)

Why battle with your fists when you can cleave your enemies in two with a giant, freaking sword! The undisputed champions of weapon-based fighting games, this sequel not only gave us slick combat with haunting characters and amazing stages, but also had a treasure trove of extra content. One that stands above the rest is Weapon Master, a miniature narrative that sets players on a journey to seek out the fabled blade known as Soul Edge, with the added bonus unlock new weapons for their chosen character along the way. Oh, and Xbox and Gamecube owners totally got to play as Spawn and Link respectively. Lucky.

#5: “Super Smash Bros. Melee” (2001)

And Nintendo hits it out of the park, though what would you expect if you toss the likes of their most iconic characters into one game with goal of slugging it out. From Mario, to Link, to Pikachu to Samus and a huge roster of others, there was never a bigger excuse to get a Gamecube than this title. Not only was the fighting fluid and highly addictive, there was plenty on offer in both single and multiplayer. The latter was the best kind of crazy with its four-player free for all fight-fests, but the former also gave us Adventure Mode aka that one time we had to fight Giga Bowser!

#4: “Tekken 3” (1997)

The series may still be going strong but no one can deny that the turning point for this series came when Jin and his fellow newcomers took over. With far superior graphics, a huge boost to the character roster, as well as much greater depth given to the actual fighting, especially in terms of movement. This set the standard for all Tekken games that followed, and remains one of the most successful games under the banner of the original Playstation. We’ll just forget that Tekken Ball was ever a thing.

#3: “Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes” (2000)

In case that repetitive title music didn’t clue you in, this game will indeed take you for a ride. Despite the recent sequels trying to capture what made this entry so accessible, nothing has quite managed to live up to it. Especially the experience of unleashing the fury of your favourite three character tag team and lighting up the entire screen with Hyper Combos in glorious 2D. With its massive roster containing everyone from Spidey to Ryu and every A-C list character in-between along with its iconic art style, this was undoubtedly Marvel and Capcom’s biggest bout.

#2: “Mortal Kombat” (2011)

Now this is how you relaunch a franchise! Quite literally taking everything back to the beginning, this reimagining not only brought with it the classic characters we all know and love, but surrounded them with an immense amount of bloody and brilliant content. The fatalities and newly introduced X-Ray moves redefining stylistic violence, it had an online mode that had the whole world battling against each other, as well as a narrative that (gasp) was actually well-written, investing and proved that western fighting games could have good stories? Mortal Kombat II may have raised the bar, but this one shot it into the stratosphere (xref)

Before we reveal our number one pick, here are a few honourable mentions.

“Guilty Gear X2” (2002)

“Dead or Alive 2” (1999)

#1: “Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting” (1992)

You all knew this was coming, though considering how many iterations and sequels there have been of this classic series over the years, it was a hard choice to nail down one defining title. In the end it was Hyper Fighting in the Arcades (or “Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting” as it was released on home consoles) that took the mantle for increasing the game’s speed, and showcasing most well balanced roster of characters that made the series a household name. Even all these years later Street Fighter 2 is considered the definitive fighting game experience, thanks in no small part in helping defining the genre as whole.