10 Most UNFAIR Fighting Game Characters

10 Most Unfair Fighting Game Characters

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at the most unfairly broken playable characters in fighting game history.

Sentinel

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

In “Marvel vs. Capcom 2,” there are four characters widely considered by competitive players as God Tier: Cable, Magneto, Storm, and Sentinel. And of the group, we’re giving the spot to Sentinel due to its ability to hit like a truck and withstand one as well. Sentinel moves quicker than you might think of a gigantic robot. Several of its attacks are unblockable, which is naturally hard to tell in the moment. And its Specials take up most of the screen’s space, making them harder to deal with than most others. We suppose Sentinel’s power should match its intimidating stature. But in the right hands, this level of offense and defense can be overwhelming.

Kratos“PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale” (2012)

Extremely powerful and nigh unkillable in his own series, Kratos alone made this game unbalanced. His speed made him tricky to nail down, he could fill his power meter really quickly, and, most importantly, had an auto-aim grab into a shoulder charge. Although a well-timed block could leave him open, a good Kratos player would know that, and just place it within a combo. Needless to say, he was incredibly user friendly, and if you played online, you ran into him a lot. Developer SuperBot Entertainment did try to nerf him, giving his auto-aim grab slightly less range. But it didn’t make much difference, and he could still build up his super meter ungodly quickly.

Omega Rugal

“The King of Fighters ‘98” (1998)

Unsurprisingly, when a former final boss becomes a playable character, they tend to be pretty broken, even if their power is scaled back. The big bad of the 1994 original, Rugal Bernstein was first made playable in “The King of Fighters ‘98.” He received some significant cuts to how unfair he was. However, in the console versions, there was a very simple code that unlocked his stronger form, Omega Rugal. And Holy. Hell. While not as unforgiving as in his boss form, his power levels are still insane. It makes every one of his attacks that much more terrifying, especially his signature, Genocide Cutter.

Leroy Smith

“Tekken 7” (2015)

Added through DLC in 2019, it’s safe to say the devs went a little overboard with Leroy. He came with extremely easy combos to pull off, given they only took minor button inputs. He had a fast recovery time. And except for projectiles or throws, he could parry just about anything. All of this made him another character that was very user friendly, which means you either partook in easily beating others to a pulp, or you struggled to fend off the many Leroys online. Thankfully, Bandai Namco did eventually release patches solely intended for nerfing him. But it was bad for a bit there.

Pet Shop

“Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage For the Future” (2000)

The second entry in our Capcom trilogy goes to this flying menace who, unsurprisingly, is banned in tournaments. One of several new characters added in an updated version of the game, Pet Shop instantly broke it. Given his speed, his small hit box, and his ability to fly, he’s naturally a hard character to land a hit on. More problematic is, once again, an ease to rack up combos, and some unblockable moves. The worst of them is an attack that summons giant icicles from above, while Pet Shop can hit low at the same moment. And you can’t block both of them.

Eyedol

“Killer Instinct” (1994)

We’ve got a few more playable bosses to go, and the two-headed, demonic titan, Eyedol, definitely deserves to be included. It was a pain to face him at the end of an arcade run, and downright unfair when the player opposite you knew the code to play as him, which was also included in the console version. He makes great use of those heavy hooves and that giant club, plus can fire a deadly triple fireball. Once again, the playable boss is powered down; he doesn’t have the ability to heal, though, that’s been replaced by the ability to power up special moves. So, he’s still a major chore to deal with.

Akuma

“Super Street Fighter II Turbo” (1994)

Akuma’s debut is regarded as one of the hardest secret bosses in fighting game history. So, seeing as how you can play as him in the same game through a cheat code, he naturally feels pretty overpowered. Of course, a little less so than as a boss; he has one air Hadouken instead of two, for example. But that doesn’t matter much when he’s still faster and stronger than everyone else. His super move deals extreme damage and his phase ability, letting him dodge attacks or pop up behind you, can be maddening. And this was only the start of playable Akuma surpassing the power levels of the rest of the roster.

Ivan Ooze

“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition” (1995)

Our final playable boss is a bit of a deep cut, but is arguably the most overpowered. We’ve talked about playable bosses whose power was scaled back, but they didn’t do that with Ivan Ooze. Everything the boss can do, the player can do. He can block your projectiles, while having his own that can home in on you. He can break out of combos. And, in case you haven’t noticed, he can fly. Unless your opponent makes the mistake of flying too low, Ivan can keep as much distance as he wants between you while deleting your health bar in a matter of seconds.

Meta Knight

“Super Smash Bros. Brawl” (2008)

Since “Super Smash Bros.” was never intended to be competitive, it’s had a few balancing issues over the years. Shout out to Bayonetta during the Wii U and 3DS era, who got plenty of accusations of being broken. But the most memorable moment of a character being profoundly unbalanced is Meta Knight in “Brawl.” His speed and mobility were on an unholy level, able to pepper anyone with damage and raise those percentages alarmingly quickly. He could teleport, either to close in or avoid an attack. This all made it so he could easily edge guard any unlucky soul trying to make it back from death. It also made it so he was banned across tournaments.

Yoda

“Soulcalibur IV” (2008)

2008 really was the year of short little bastards, hopping around the arena as we tried desperately to hit them. Although he could also be purchased as DLC, Yoda came with the Xbox 360 version of “Soulcalibur IV,” while PS3 players got Darth Vader. And Yoda was an absolute nightmare to contend with. He was clearly designed with a height advantage in mind; you had to work extra hard, prioritizing low attacks in order to hit him. Meanwhile, he could easily Jedi-flip all over the place, slicing you to pieces with grace. On the other hand, playing as him made most encounters a breeze.

Know of any other unfair fighting game characters? Share your thoughts in the comments, and we’ll see you next time!