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The Greatest Fighting Games of All Time

One of the most popular genres in videogaming, fighting games have been one of those genres that people will clamor for, whether it be solo, online, or in the arcades. Anyone from any skill level can sit down and enjoy a fighting game, whether they be a casual player or a tournament pro.

The fighting game genre is host to some remarkable games that have become timless classics and have even spawned entire franchises and spinoffs that are still being played today. So without further ado let's take a step back in time and look at some of the truly great fighting games of yesterday as well as some of the more memorable ones of modern day.

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BIoodmask - contributor
Published: 550 days 19 hours ago | Article | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Gaming

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pharmd - 550 days 19 hours ago

1 - talk about nostalgia

CLASSIC isnt even the word to describe, these are the games that helped forge my passion for gaming, i still remember the days of waiting in line at the arcade for MK and SF, oh the quarters spent... i forgot how many timeless classics there really were until reading the list!!!!

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veteran420 - 550 days 19 hours ago

1.1 -

MK II FTW!!!!

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BIoodmask - 550 days 19 hours ago

1.2 - Mortal Kombat 2

is best of MK franchise IMO. Second best is Ultimate MK3. I did not like auto-combo sytem in MK3 but run button was a nice addition. Classic MK is all about air juggles and creating your own combos IMO.

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pharmd - 550 days 18 hours ago

1.3 -

i honestly gotta say MK I simply because it was the beginning, without that foundation to build on the others would have been nothing, but that game set the pace for one of the best fighting series of all time.... i mean, cmon, the pit that was unheard of at the time

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kewlkat007 - 550 days 17 hours ago

1.4 - Yeah your right about that one, talk about nostalgia

Was I the only one that played "BATTLE ARENA TOSHINDEN"? on the PSX, I love "Mondo" from that game and his Stage music....haha

They also forgot "Art of Fighting".

Very good list..tho I still play all these games on my MAME Machine here and there..

KI, MKII, and Street Fighter, Fatal Fury have always been my favorites.

Some would say MKII was a great Port, well I would too but don't forget "Mortal Kombat Trilogy" was hawt..it had all the classic characters(N64)

Tekken, Virtual Fighter, Soul Caliber introduced the 3-D fighters.
I would say TEKKEN TAG TOURNY was the best of the series.

Now they all are making a Come-Back...

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deeznuts - 550 days 10 hours ago

1.5 -

GOAT is SFII Championship Edition.

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DC RID3R - 550 days 19 hours ago

2 - Excellent article...............

almost like a blast from the past! I'd love to see classics like SNK vs Capcom 2, Mark of the Wolves, Art Of Fighting 3 etc...hit XBLA VC or PSN

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SmokingMonkey - 550 days 18 hours ago

2.1 - XD

Who is the master?

LOL i love the name BRUCE LEEROY, smoeone should make that their PSN name. good ol' fashioned passive american racism. nothin beats that.

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kewlkat007 - 550 days 17 hours ago

2.2 - SmokingMonkey - That's SHO'NUFF!! THe Baddest MOFO Lowdown Around this Town..

SHO'NUFF!!

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BIoodmask - 550 days 19 hours ago

3 - This is good list

All these games are timeless classics. I have always been a big fan of the Street Fighter series and the spinoffs. MK 1&2, Killer Instinct 1&2, and Samurai Shodown will always be great.

Capcom and SNK are great producers for fighting titles. Two of my favorites. I can't wait for Killer Instinct 3.

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Polluted - 550 days 16 hours ago

3.1 -

It's a good list, but come on...no Primal Rage?

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SmokingMonkey - 550 days 18 hours ago

4 - i hope 2-d fighters make a comeback

Street fighter alpha 3 was my favorite
Samurai Shodown is phenominal
but guilty gear has taken 2d fighters to its next gen phase

BLAZBLUE giggidy

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Ri0tSquad - 550 days 18 hours ago

5 - UMK3 on XBLA

I have been playing that game on 360 since it was released. It's the best arcade perfect port of the game on a console. I would even go as far to say that I have playing UMK3 more then any 360 game I own. Easily better then the arcade version itself. It's my favorite game out of the entire Mortal Kombat series & and my favorite fighting game period. I enjoyed Mortal Kombat 2 as well. The fatalities were much better then UMK3's. Lol, I could only beat the game with Shang Tsung, Baraka, or Kitana. The A.I. was super cheap in MK2. UMK3's A.I. was a lot easier but competitive playing (online or local) is what made it so much fun and better then MK2 IMO.

I agree with that whole entire list. Seeing them brings back memories. It's really sad that the only 2D fighter I'm looking forward to is Street Figther II HD Remix.

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belal - 550 days 18 hours ago

6 - tekken is

the best fighting series of all time, sutch good story of each character and good gameplay too :D

second os MK 2 followed by STREET fighter series :D

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BIoodmask - 550 days 18 hours ago

6.1 - There is no way Tekken series

is better than Street Fighter, MK, or KI series. You are entitled to your opinion. But those three franchises are legends of fighting game genre. Guity Gear and Samurai Shodown are also phenomenal fighting games.

3D is good but 2D will always be king for fighting games IMO.

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PoSTedUP - 550 days 18 hours ago

6.2 -

i agree with both of you. (dont ask)

mortal kombat is the golden eye007 of fighting games.

BUT tekken is a more well thought out fighting game. (not because of the graphics but the story as well)

i love them both but i would have to go with tekken.

BUT i also love the fatality's/ brutality's etc. in MK

they both have their differences and their both great games.

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Marceles - 550 days 17 hours ago

6.3 -

I definitely agree that nothing can touch SF or the MK series. I can definitely say KI and Tekken were great new additions to the fighting genre after SF, MK, and Virtua Fighter. It was pretty tough to compete with those games at the time and those 2 series have held their own with the best.

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kewlkat007 - 550 days 17 hours ago

6.4 - I think nothing touches Sreet Fighter

in many eyes it was that Arcade Port that brought the fighting Genre to consoles.

SF was the pioneer when you look at "Super Street Fighter:Turbo Edition" on the SNES...those were the days.

Event hough the Movie sucked...but it made it to Hollywood, not many games do that. Besides the Anime.

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socomnick - 550 days 8 hours ago

6.5 -

tekken is trash m8. Its just a button smasher with garbage characters. Street fighter 2 is the king of all fighting games. followed by mk and killer instinct.

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resistance100 - 550 days 18 hours ago

7 -

Tekken is by far my favuorite fighting series, heres hoping Tekken 6 comes out this year

Edit - I get 2 disagree's for saying that i like Tekken the most and wanting 6 to come out this year. lol

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Still_Breathing - 548 days 23 hours ago

7.1 - It's ridiculous

how people disagree with you for no reason.
BTW, I'll probably get disagrees for this.

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soul899er - 550 days 18 hours ago

8 -

Rival Schools for Dreamcast and PS1 was my all time favorite fighter back in my day xD

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Kigmal - 550 days 12 hours ago

8.1 -

oh man i remember that game, my fav character was that soccer player who kicks the ball and damages you with it

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theusedfake - 550 days 18 hours ago

9 - I've got a soft spot for

eternal champions on the genesis

while not the greatest fighter, it was definitely one
of the funnest games I've played.

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DanB91 - 550 days 18 hours ago

10 - UMK3 the best

That's all that needs to be said.

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cmrbe - 550 days 17 hours ago

11 - SF

was the first for me.

KI was the best in the SNES era though IMO.

Tekken though is still the best for me ATM. KI would have kicked ass if it made a PS transition though and would have proably been better than Tekeen if it did.

Other notable inclusion is DOA2. I just love how fast and easy it was to use the fighting schemes. The counter system was implemented much better than most other fighters than had them. The graphics were pretty good for its time as well.

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zypher - 550 days 17 hours ago

12 - What? No Tobal or Bushido's Blade?

still, it's a pretty good list, as well as a refreshing trip down memory lane. i too remember those days spending 10s' of dollars worth of quarters trying to perfect Ken in Street Fighter 2. i even remember when i first learn how to hadoken (it was at a Six Flags theme park back in 1992). my all-time favorite would probably be between Marvel vs. Capcom and Soul Calibur though, but i can appreciate every game mentioned here...well, except for DOA.

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cmrbe - 550 days 17 hours ago

12.1 - Bushido

was good but one hit kill was kinda too realistic.

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Testo - 550 days 13 hours ago

12.2 - Bushido FTW!

I cant see the site for whatever reason but knowing that there is no Bushido Blade is kind of an upset.

I loved the 1 hit kills or the capability to disable ones arms or legs for the remainder of the battle.

I wonder if I can find that game anywhere.

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MK_Red - 550 days 17 hours ago

13 -

Perfect list. Love the KI pic. Fulgore vs Cinder = My faves from KI.

MK2 and MK3 FTW! "MK"_Red here! (Ultimate MK fanboy :D )

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cmrbe - 550 days 17 hours ago

13.1 - Yeah

Cinder is the man. I was just hooked on cinder when i first played KI. Of all the characters in KI only the boxer i didn't like. Its sad really it didn't make a PS transition because if it did it would have been better than Tekken IMO. I know Nin owners Rare but dam it would have been great if KI made a PS transition.

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MK_Red - 550 days 16 hours ago

13.2 -

Well, hopefully now that the Rare is free from clutches of evil Nin (Who forced them to tone down KI2 to get the T rating), they can make the ultimate M rated and badass Killer Instinct 3.

Also, yeah. Cinder RULES! (In KI though, I'm still the MK fanboy)

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iamtehpwn - 550 days 17 hours ago

14 - MELLLLEEEEEEEEEE

Seriously. Smash bros. Ftw.

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Charlie2688 - 550 days 17 hours ago

15 -

It was a great list my only thing with it was some odd choices when it came to selecting the specific game from the franchise some were the spot on that became legendary others were the classic "other choice" of the "other" side of the fans...not bad but I guess it kind of clashes with me cuz I am from the contrary side of the fans I mentioned before XD

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Peow - 550 days 16 hours ago

16 -

MKII, Killer Instict II, Soul Calibur and Power Stone on the DC. Best fighters ever.

And SSB is pretty good too :P

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Skerj - 550 days 16 hours ago

17 -

OMFG someone put Project Justice on a fighting game list, that gets points for whoever. That game is still my favorite 3d fighter until Tatsunoko vs Capcom.

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XxRoosterxX - 550 days 16 hours ago

18 -

Tekken 3 = Best fighting game of all time

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19 whateva | 550 days 16 hours ago - deleted by mod -

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kazuma - 550 days 15 hours ago

20 -

LOL dead or alive 4

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Dark General - 550 days 15 hours ago

21 - Great list

I agree with all the picks. Though the screenshot you used for SF3: 3rd strike is a screencap from ken's stage in SF3: 2nd Impact. And yes i've played every iteration and own every iteration of SF3.

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Skerj - 550 days 15 hours ago

21.1 -

Likewise, my phone has all SF3 saga music as ringtones too. Oh and the parry sound effect for text messages.

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Dark General - 550 days 14 hours ago

21.2 - Freaking awesome

I love the music from SF3, Elena's stage music is the best though in my opinion "Beats in my head". Bubbles my good sir for being so awesome.

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22 sumfood4u | 550 days 13 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show

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ngg12345 - 550 days 10 hours ago

23 - Pretty average list

Missing alot of games, tekken tag team should be mentioned. And why did DOA4 was mentioned. It was always a weak Tekken clone. But then again this is a xbox fan site, have to mention doa4. Didn't see fighting viper, powerstone, pit fighter, or super smash brothers?

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MP42409 - 550 days 9 hours ago

24 -

hey what about war gods for n64 the first fighting game i ever played!

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WengYong - 550 days 8 hours ago

25 - Hhhhmmmm.........

I spent alot of time playing fighting games, and I enjoy a good technical fighter. I thought Street Fighter was better than MK, disagree if you like. I never got into MK until Trilogy. When I saw Marvel Vs Capcom I didn't agree. It wasnt as good as X-Men Vs Street Fighter, but thats my opinion. IMO X-Men is way better.

Tekken 3 wasnt the best version of Tekken. DR is the best version and deserves a mention. Tekken is my favorite and what its done to fighting games is revolutionary. Disagree all you want, buts its because of Tekken that fighters are the way they are now, which isn't bad. Soul Calibur Owns, but it will always be Tekken. I didnt see anyone playing Soul Calibur in Arcades, but Tekken always had people playing. My Top 10 are:

1) Tekken DR (Arcade)
2) Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PSX)
3) X-Men Vs Street Fighter (Arcade)
4) Soul Calibur (DC)
5) Street Fighter 2 New Challengers Turbo (Arcade)
6) Sword Of The Samurai (PS2)
7) Mortal Kombat Trilogy (PSX)
8) King Of Fighters '95 (Arcade)
9) Tekken Tag (Arcade)
10) Mortal Kombat

Im sure to get some hate. Whats everyone elses 10 ??

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Still_Breathing - 548 days 22 hours ago

25.1 - Agree

The Tekken franchise is my favourite.
But I like Tekken Tag more than DR, but I didn't play DR in the arcades.
My favourites in no particular order, because I can't decide;
- Tekken Tag
- Mortal Kombat 3
- Street Fighter 2 Turbo
- Dark Stalkers
- Tekken DR
- Virtua Fighter 2
- Killer Instinct
- X-Men vs Street Fighter
- Soul Calibur

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Atomic - 550 days 12 hours ago

0.1 -

all fighting games that feature scanned real life models are complete garbage with awful rigid animation and garish , gaudy aesthetics.
so subsequently ,Mortal Kombat and Killer instinct should be disqualified from the list.
Street fighter II(at the time) and third strike are the finest fighting games with beautiful animations and drawing style.

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Surfman - 550 days 17 hours ago

1 -

SFII is the one i played the most, i had much fun on my Snes years ago.

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RAM MAGNUMS - 550 days 17 hours ago

2 - tekken has outlived them all to be the best!

then fight night
street fighter
virtua fighter
toshinden
ultimate mortal kombat!

My top is tekken, fight night, streetfighter & ultimate mk
the rest aren't as deep or skillful to me.
I can't forget eternal champions with lancer & trident.
lancer fought praying mantis style!
samurai showdown was one of the best too!
but there was another sega genesis fighter that I can't remember that had a barbarian and he would dismember & killed player 2!
if anybody knows what I'm talking about help me out with name & link.
back then gamepro went crazy for it. Its combos with weapons were great & you could lose the weapon too.
it was very innovative blocking system.
please remember bushido blade as well!!!

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PS3ALLDAY122 - 550 days 13 hours ago

3 -

tekken all the way

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