20 Badass Fighting Games

Once a staple of the local arcades, restaurants, and convenience stores, the fighting game was the king of the quarter gobblers. Now, with the arcades dying a slow death, the genre has been in a decline for years. Looking for a new home, they turned to the home market. While they cannot match the feel of an arcade, it forces the major players to look for new ways to draw players.

20. Toribash

Toribash is the only turn based fighter to make the list. What makes Toribash so great? It is how different it is from all the others. Taking a new spin on things, you move the individual limbs and muscles of the fighter instead of the fighter as a whole unit. While most players will end up flopping on the ground for the first few rounds, once understood the game is remarkably deep.
 

19. Virtua Fighter

Virtua Fighter changed how the world saw fighters. While the graphics look crude by today's standards, it was on the bleeding edge in 1993. While its controls were far simpler than other fighters of its day, it allowed a greater range of players to enjoy this game.

18. Def Jam: Fight for NY

The squeal to Def Jam: Vendetta, Fight for NY took what made its predecessor great and improved upon it by revamping the fighting engine, allowing for environmental weapons. It not only fought well, but had a deep storyline with many twists and turns before the thrilling conclusion, bolstered by an all-star cast of rap and hip hop stars, all of whom gave outstanding performances.


17. M.U.G.E.N.

Mugen is a bit strange to try to explain. It isn't exactly a full fletched fighter, but is the framework for a fighter. Allowing users of this free program to create characters, stages, and entire rule sets Mugen holds a world record for containing the most customizable roster for a fighting game, with characters from Homer Simpson, to Sub-Zero available for download. The only thing that detracts from it is some of the work isn't as high quality as you may be used to.


16. Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves


Ending the series with a bang, Fatal Fury came to a show stopping end with Mark of the Wolves. Taking arcades by storm in 1999, and soon there after to home consoles. The fatal Fury series was known for its style, and Mark of Wolves was the high point of the entire series.


15. Capcom vs. SNK2: Mark of the Millennium


Bringing together elemental of Steer Fighter and Fatal Fury, Capcom vs. SNK2 took in more than its share of quarters in its day. Featuring 1 on 1 and 3 on 3 fights, and a roster of over forty fighters to choose from, it was always exciting to see where a bout would end.


14. Guilty Gear XX


Most infamous for being the first appearance of Bridget, a very feminine man dressed up as a woman, had many gamers questioning their sexuality. Guilty Gear XX improved on the success of the previous game by adding more characters, improving fighting mechanics, new moves.


13. WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain

The strongest part of SmackDown is the character creation tools, in which you can literally create any fighter you wish with a customized move set. Wrestling isn't high art, by any means. With that in mind, the fifth installment of SmackDown is a decent fighter if you can stomach some of the over the top story lines and flamboyant characters.


12. Super Smash Bros. Brawl


Finally making an appearance on the Wii in 2008, after a two year wait, Brawl attempted to add on to Melee's success by shoveling on new content. But, it suffers from a content overload, keeping it lower on this list than it otherwise would have been. While adding many great features, it is what was taken away that prevents it from being a truly great fighter. A general dumbing down of the gameplay being the chief sin. While still a good game, it isn't anything like it could have been.


11. Street Fighter IV

Recently released upon the world, Street Fighter IV attempts to recapture the glory days of the Street Fighter 2 Era with marginal success. Moving away from past installments, Street Fighter IV offers fully rendered 3D models fighting on a 2D plane instead of the sprites that were the hallmark of the series. This coupled with the fact that move lists were greatly simplified keeps this game out of the top ten. However, it still is fun on its own, it just doesn't hold up when compared to others of the series.


10. X-Men vs. Street Fighter

Hitting the arcades in 1996, X-Men vs. Street Fighter bursts onto the top ten for its take on Street Fighter and bringing one of the most famous teams in comic books. It offers excellent graphics, and effects as well as music. However, where it falters is that it isn't as deep as others in the Street Fighter Series. That leaves it on the tail end of the top ten.


9. Street Fighter III: Third Strike

The Street Fighter series loves revamping their game play while keeping the same number. While not as guilty of it as other installments of the series, Street Fighter III: Third Strike gets the nod for its coming home to the consoles. While it simplified gameplay, it allowed for a more strategic take on the fight without crippling it like the next installment of the series.


8. Virtua Fighter 5

The latest full installment of the amazing Virtua Fighter Series, offers a graphical overhaul that pushes current gen hardware to its limit. With deep enough gameplay to players to spend days, if not weeks, mastering a character, Virtua Fighter 5 is a solid addition to a legendary series.


7. Marvel vs. Capcom 2

With a massive roster of 56 all-stars, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is a geek's dream come true. What keeps it from rising even higher on the list is even though there are so many characters to choose from many of them are very similar. While you could pick three to play on your team, it is possible to pick fighters that were similar enough to be a nearly a single fighter. Even with this flaw, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is a memorable game, and must be experienced.


6. Power Stone

Power Stone is one of those games that may have snuck in under the radar of most gamers. Featuring intense four-on-four action, it drew in gamers that normally forsook fighting games. It showed that a fighter doesn't have to be bloody to be good.


5. Tekken 3

Seeking to better its precursors, Tekken 3 sat a new benchmark for the series, with an explosion of the roster from previous titles, and each fighter having a large selection of moves to choose from. It was hard to not find a character that didn't suit your playstyle.


4. Super Smash Bros. Melee

The most popular game on the Gamecube, Super Smash Bros, offers the high light of sweet Nintendo icon on icon violence. Each character is lovingly recreated in Melee, with signature moves from their games. With a ton of unlockable content for the player to earn, and modes to play though, it is the high point in the series.


3. Super Street Fighter II Turbo

No list would be complete without some installment of Street Fighter 2. With more enough versions to completely fill the top five on its own, Street Fighter II Turbo is my pick for this installment of the series. On the fastest setting, it was far faster than any of the other installments of Street Fighter 2, giving a whole new meaning to twitch gameplay. There was always a crowd around a Street Fighter machine, and for good reason. No arcade was complete without one.


2. Mortal Kombat II

Mortal Kombat changed the face of not only fighting games but, gaming in general. It was the game that mothers feared that their children were playing, and the game children were flocking to. When Mortal Kombat II came out, parents called for control while kids fell in love all over again with the bloody, ultra-violent game. Expanding the original roster, MK2 offered five new fighters with a new sub-zero, and several hidden fighters to unlock. The home ports were also presented mostly intact, with only minor alterations. Something that the original didn't get away with.  


1. Soul Calibur

Choosing a top honor for the list can be tough, in truth the top four games all have right to be named number one. But, the top honor has to go to Soul Calibur. The second installment of the Soul series, Soul Calibur, offered weapon based combat that had not seen before. Fast paced, and fun, it was greatly improved upon when ported to the Dreamcast for its launch in 1999. Improving on the already impressive graphics, expanded game play, and new costumes to just name a few, the home port is an example of how a video game should be when coming home.