935
rate

Top 10 Best Fighting Games Of All Time

December 07, 2008 in Top List comments 51

A comprehensive list of the top 10 fighting games, by Blend Games writer Rich Knight. It covers classics like Street Fighter II, as well as niche titles like Bushido Blade.

Let the ire begin. I don’t care what ANYBODY has to say, Killer Instinct is awesome. Let me count the many ways I love this game. Obviously, there’s the combo system, which doesn’t just border on being ridiculous. But there’s so much more to it than just the combos.
vortis via cinemablend.com »
Favourite this article Add source
| More
Report!
News story attached to:
Latest comment:
Most recently commented on by on Dec 12, 2008

Comments

Register as a member to subscribe comments.
  • 6
    RabidChinaGirl Dec 8, 08
    OH THANK GOD, a Top 10 list! I thought GG was going to go 24 hours without one of these babies.

    I was wrong. Thank you, cinemablend.com! I didn't want today to be known as a Sunday without Top 10 lists...
    quote chautemoc
    i need at least one every day or i just give up reading gaming sites altogether... all this analysis and actual news and progressive opinion, *bleep* off with it
    ...
  • 0
    Storm Dec 8, 08
    ^

    But anyways, decent list, although some of my favorite fighters aren't mentioned, like BAT, but still, fair list.

    MvC deserves the top spot...play that game on a weekly basis.
  • 1
    Linkerd101 Dec 8, 08
    What..The...*bleep*....
    The Super Smash Bros Series....
    IT MAY NOT BE A TRADITIONAL FIGHTER, BUT IT'S STILL A FIGHTER!
    a great fighter.....:'(
    • 2
      Koloth Dec 8, 08
      No, it is an average fighter. Fun but not genre defining.

      The list is pretty dead on. Every one pushed the genre forward in one way or another.
    • 0
      AznLiquid Dec 8, 08
      SSB is a great series, but contributes nothing to the genre, at least not as much as the games mentioned.

      Where is SF3? =(
      • 0
        fffangold Dec 8, 08
        Smash is more original than most fighters, and on top of that is a great game. Besides which, it manages the simplest control scheme I've ever seen in a fighter while maintaining depth to the game. With those elements together, I'd say it brings a lot to the genre.

        Whether or not it needs to be on the top 10 list of fighters is a harder call, though I'd personally say it belongs.
        • 1
          iLLmatic Dec 8, 08
          Putting Smash Bros on the top 10 list of best fighters ever is disrespectful to any fighting game veteran. The only reason it's more "original" than other fighters is because it's not a fighting game. Depth? I almost spit out my lunch.
        • 0
          fffangold Dec 8, 08
          iLLmatic, just because it doesn't use health bars and has a lot more jumping around doesn't mean it isn't a fighting game. It just doesn't follow many of the genre's conventions.

          As for depth, yes. No, the depth doesn't come from memorizing difficult inputs or obscure combos. It comes from knowing when to effectively use the moves your character has. And if you play the game for a bit, you'll see there is indeed a great deal of strategy involved.

          How would putting Smash on the list be disrespectful to fighting game veterans? Even if you think the game is awful, do you really think someone who enjoys games is going to be offended to see a game they dislike on the list? And if so, who's problem is that in the first place?
        • 0
          Final Blade Dec 8, 08
          Cause its not a fighter. Fighting games are 2D 3D side scroller based. And yes, if that was on the list I be disrespected. While I love SSB, its not, at all, a fighter game and its an insult to the genre and its veteran fans.
        • 3
          Capn Droid Dec 9, 08
          Just because it has innovation doesn't mean it isn't a fighter game, Final Blade. Tell me, then. What genre would it fall under?
        • 0
          Final Blade Dec 9, 08
          It's not a traditional fighter Capn, and personally I wouldn't call it a fighting game. I'm not going to say which Genre I consider it in cause it's irrelevant to my response. If iLLmatic or anyone else wants to state why it's not a fighting game they can, I said my point. I personally can't be bothered to debate this with you Capn.
        • 0
          Capn Droid Dec 10, 08
          Just because it isn't a traditional fighter doesn't mean that it isn't a fighter. It's just not a fighter that's also traditional.

          Whatever genre SSB is classified as is apparently very relevant, seeing as it's apparently "not a fighter", but there is really no other genre to place it in, except maybe a platformer.
        • 0
          Final Blade Dec 10, 08
          I think you missed my statement:
          quote
          I'm not going to say which Genre I consider it in cause it's irrelevant to my response.
        • 2
          Capn Droid Dec 11, 08
          But it is relevant. What genre could you possibly think that a game that presents nothing but characters battling be under, if it isn't a fighter? It makes no *bleep*ing sense.
        • 2
          Big A2 Dec 11, 08
          Well, I suppose Mario Kart isn't a racing game because it's not traditional.
          And EarthBound isn't an RPG because it's also not traditional.
          And Super Mario Galaxy isn't a platformer, because it's not traditional.

          Just because a game is different, doesn't mean it doesn't have a genre.
        • 1
          fffangold Dec 11, 08
          Final Blade, I'm going to second Capn Droid here. His question is highly relevant, and I'm curious as well. What genre would you place Super Smash Bros. in.

          My understanding is that a fighting game is a game in which players or a combination of players and AI characters fight with each other in an arena, with the goal of knocking out or killing them. This is usually one on one, but in more recent games, is also sometimes up to four players in various combinations.

          In addition to this, all characters have a variety of different attacks they can use, and always have access to these, with the possible exception of a subset of super moves, which can generally be accessed over a period of time once they have charged.

          Smash clearly fits this definition, as do any other fighting games I can think of off the top of my head. If you disagree, please tell us your definition so we know where you're coming from.
      • 0
        Linkerd101 Dec 9, 08
        I said that, its just a different form of a figting game, and proper management of multiplayer, which most of these games on this list are based off of.
        Its kinda like how First person shooters based off of third IN SOME CASES< DIDREGARDING HOUSE OF THE DEAD and other arcade games.
    • 0
      Big A2 Dec 8, 08
      SSB is more of a platformer with fighting elements.

      Also, sometimes it fells like SSB is a Kirby game with more charatcers, especialy Kirby Super Star.
      • 0
        Capn Droid Dec 9, 08
        That's a great description, Big A2.
        • 0
          Big A2 Dec 11, 08
          That's the problem with you, I can never tell when your being sarcastic.
        • 0
          Capn Droid Dec 12, 08
          Don't worry; I'm serious here.
      • 0
        fffangold Dec 12, 08
        If you're talking about Brawl, then you could make an argument for calling it a platformer if you focus on Subspace Emissary. The other modes are still a fighting game though, with platformer elements.

        If you want to make this argument for Melee and it's adventure mode, be my guest to try, but that was clearly secondary to the fighting game.

        There is no argument I can see for calling the original a platformer.
  • 0
    Roy Dec 8, 08
    Mortal Kombat was one of my favorites on Sega Genesis. That is because it is made by Hal Laboratories, the same company that made Kirby games.
    • 0
      Ameer Dec 8, 08
      Mortal Kombat was developed by Midway.
    • 0
      Big A2 Dec 8, 08
      What? You think Mortal Kombat was made by HAL? The same company who makes games like KIRBY and ADVENTURES OF LOLO? To top on that, HAL is a Nintendo second party company, so they could never make Genesis games.
  • 0
    pooOBKp Dec 8, 08
    I loved the Marvel vs. Capcom series . Spiderman, Venom, Servbot forever!!!!
  • 0
    The Omega Dec 8, 08
    Decent list, though the article spelled SoulCalibur differently than Namco did.
    • 0
      Ameer Dec 8, 08
      Who needs to proofread?  
  • 0
    Revenger of Wastelan Dec 8, 08
    I don't like this list because i don't like 2D fighters such as Marvel VS. Capcom.

    Anyway, for me the real list is :
    8. Tekken 1
    7. Virtua Fighter 5
    6. Tekken 2
    5. Tekken Tag Tournament
    4. Tekken 4
    3. Virtua Fighter 4
    2. Tekken 5
    1. Tekken 3

    I know it's a top 8 list, and that it's only based on Tekken and VF but sorry, those are just the best fighting games ever...
    • 2
      Ameer Dec 8, 08
      Yet you completely shun 2D fighters like Street Fighter, which are some of the most technical and most important to the proliferation of the brawler genre?

      Oh, and you don't have Virtua Fighter high enough. There isn't a single fighting game out there that can match the sophistication and balance between characters and movesets like in Virtua Fighter.
    • 1
      iLLmatic Dec 8, 08
      Damn, dude, just say you like Tekken and Virtua Fighter. What a flaky list. We wouldn't have 3D if 2D never existed. To ignore masterpieces like King of Fighters, Darkstalkers, Guilty Gear, Samurai Showdown, Marvel vs Capcom, and the holy grail, Street Fighter, which laid the foundation for current fighters, is asinine.

      Anyway, that top 10 list is trash. Primal Rage, joke. Dead or Alive, joke. Killer Instinct #3?, joke. And where is Street Fighter 3 or Alpha 3?
      • 0
        Lucssj Dec 8, 08
        Well, the link to the source doesnt work here, great. Well, Killer Instinct may be a more or less MK clone, but it sure has some cool combo's.
      • 0
        Final Blade Dec 8, 08
        You know, I know most people won't agree with me, but I personally found Street Fighter Alpha 3 to be more enjoyable and fluid than Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition. Don't get me wrong, that game was awesome, I just loved the characters used in SFA3 with the whole world tour customization and getting your player powerful. I had so much fun doing that for all the characters, especially Akuma and Shin Akuma. I played that game more often then Street Fighter 2.

        Oh and SF3 is also up there with SFA3.

        MvC2 I have to agree with another one of my top top favorites. I'm going to put MvC2 and SFA3 tied at number 1 for me. It was just something about both that it made it the best, and since I can't fathom having one higher then the other, going to leave it tied.

        @Revenger of Wastelan - eww, I know Tekken and VF is awesome games, but damn that list is worse then this one(well not so much here, but you get what I'm saying).
        • 0
          Revenger of Wastelan Dec 8, 08
          Well it was pretty much based on me being pissed off about this list. Made me forgot about the awesome MK series... but really it's not that i don't appreciate them, i did play them but never enjoyed them as much as i did with either VF or Tekken.
        • 0
          Storm Dec 9, 08
          Plus SFA3 had the sweet supers and such. The problem with SF3 is the lack of major characters...they took out just about everyone from the previous games, leaving in only Ryu, Ken, and in the third version, Chun-Li.
        • 0
          Final Blade Dec 10, 08
          That's true Storm, but I figured that's obvious.

          Oh I'm disappointed the Street Fighter Anniversary collection game didn't have the world tour in it for SFA3.
  • 0
    Zerpent Dec 8, 08
    I will not acknowledge a list that completely forgets Guilty Gear. No fighter is even half as good as GG. Unlike most fighters where the characters are fairly similar to each other (Tekken for example) GG's characters are all very unique, yet the fighting is incredibly balanced. And GG should be on that list simply for turning thousands of men gay. Bridget <3. xD
    • 0
      RabidChinaGirl Dec 9, 08
      The characters and general aesthetic of the GG games is interesting, but it's certainly not a balanced game. As for gameplay, it's just a flashy 2D fighter. Didn't move mountains.
  • 0
    Lucssj Dec 8, 08
    Well, at least now the link works, and i agree with most of the list. Good thing they included Soul Calibur(Dreamcast). My personal top 5 fighting games(cant think of 10 right now):

    1. Street fighter 2: Turbo edition(SNES)
    2. Soul calibur(Dreamcast)
    3. Tekken 3(PSone)
    4. Virtua Fighter 2(PC)
    5. Guilty Gear X2 Reload(PC)
    • 0
      iLLmatic Dec 8, 08
      Why would you say the SNES version
      • 1
        Lucssj Dec 9, 08
        Because thats the only version i played lol. Why els?
        • 0
          iLLmatic Dec 10, 08
          Man..what are you doing commenting on the best fighters ever, when the only Street Fighter II you played was on Super Nintendo..
        • 0
          fffangold Dec 10, 08
          iLLmatic, not everyone gets access to the arcade versions of games. Some people don't even have a local arcade (we've recently lost ours where I live because they were losing money due to high rent bills). Even if there is a local arcade, they may not have every game you might hope to play. Given that, it's perfectly reasonable that one might play on a console instead. Besides which, playing on a console over a long time is much cheaper than pumping a machine full of quarters.
      • 0
        Lucssj Dec 10, 08
        Ilmatic, i played all versions of Street fighter, including Street Fighter1 on MAME(only 1) and even Street fighter The movie. Your probably confuzed, and thats really surprising. I played the SF's on the Dreamcast, PS2, SNES, and a few in the arcades wen i was 11(awsome memoryes). I'm a SF fan, always ben one, and always will. And out of all, i prefer Turbo Edition, but in the end i love them all.
        • 0
          iLLmatic Dec 10, 08
          confused about what? You said the only version of Street Fighter II Turbo you played was on SNES
      • 0
        Lucssj Dec 11, 08
        quote
        confused about what? You said the only version of Street Fighter II Turbo you played was on SNES
        And you responded with this:

        quote
        Man..what are you doing commenting on the best fighters ever, when the only Street Fighter II you played was on Super Nintendo..
        There are about a dozen or more sf2 games out there, iLLmatic...
  • 0
    The Primagen Dec 8, 08
    Thank god they included Killer Instinct, I was ready to complain about how it was overlooked!

    Tusk = Barbarian Ownage
  • 0
    Subzer0 Dec 10, 08
    Decent list. MK2 was the shit back in the 90's. Same goes to SFII, Bushido Blade and Tekken 3.
  • 0
    King X2 Dec 11, 08
    I've only played Tekken at an arcade, and I thought it was alright. I was wondering about SSB not being on there.
    • 0
      Linkerd101 Dec 12, 08
      Yes, KingX2, ive been trying to get to these MS humping thickheads about that, but this shit is biased, so *bleep* it.

      Im going beack to where I can talk about PS3, 360 and Wii in peace.
      Neoseeker.
      (dunn-dunn-duuuuunnnnn)

This news story is archived and is closed to comments now.