10 Fighting Games that Shaped Modern Gaming

There’s something very primitive about fighting games. I mean, the concept is a visceral one to begin with that takes its cues from real-life fighting styles and takes them to an extreme. It’s very Thunderdome in that two people enter, one person leaves. Only in this case, the person leaving is whoever lost the match. It is by far one of the most competitive gaming genres out there.

And it’s basically been that way since fighting video games were invented. Although the complexity and details have evolved over the decades, fighting games are still at their core about someone putting themselves to the test. That could be through fighting friends in person and online or by taking on an arcade mode on extra hard difficulty.

Over the years, there have been a number of games that have shaped the fighting game landscape in ways you may not have noticed, while others have always been in the spotlight. These are just some of the best games to have helped mold our modern fighting game experiences.

10 Karate Champ

Sweep the Leg

In the mid-'80s, no one was fighting in the streets yet. In fact, 1v1 fighting games weren’t really even a genre yet. All that changed when Karate Champ came around. Arcade players used a dual-joystick setup to attack and defend against their opponents' moves. It was pretty primitive, but for the time it was a new kind of game and introduced fighters to the world along with the idea of having various attack moves.

While its gameplay mechanics may seem rudimentary by today’s standards, none of the intricate fighter titles we enjoy today would exist without Karate Champ being a first-generation fighter. Be sure to bow your head and show it some respect.

9 Skullgirls

An Indie Darling

There’s a lot to appreciate about Skullgirls. Not only does it have some amazing anime-inspired art, it’s also one of the most dynamic fighting games out there. While many fighting games make you stick with one playable character or set teams of two to three, Skullgirls lets you pick how big you want your team to be and adjusts their skills and health accordingly. It’s not something you really see outside of this particular game, and it requires everything to have amazing character balance.

Skullgirls is also worth noting because, unlike every other title on this list, it’s an indie-developed game that made a name for itself just because of how good it is. If you’re a big fan of fighting games, and you’ve never checked out Skullgirls, be sure to rectify that.

8 Killer Instinct

Unlimited Combos

Killer Instinct is an interesting beast. It came to life as Nintendo’s first entry into the realm of arcade fighting games via the developers at Rare. The newer version is an online fighter that lives on Microsoft’s Xbox. To say it’s been a daunting road for KI would be an understatement, but it still stands out as a major player for having one of the most insanely open-ended combo systems of any game ever. You could literally air juggle in a combo forever if you knew what you were doing.

I also appreciate how tongue-in-cheek a lot of the characters are, with many of them feeling like direct jabs at other titles’ characters. I mean, there’s no way you can tell me Glacius isn’t a distant cousin of Sub Zero or that TJ Combo and Balrog don’t go to the same gym.

7 Virtua Fighter

The 3rd Dimension

While I’m not much for the original game’s polygonal character designs, there are a number of other things I appreciate about Virtua Fighter. The biggest thing being that the game is responsible for bringing fighting games into 3D environments. Being able to parry left and right and not block or jump out of an attack added so many variables to a fight.

It was also a major leap forward in fighting game physics, adding realistic moves and physics that had a more natural response. While it may not get as much credit as some of the other fighter franchises on this list, Virtua Fighter is still a classic that literally added a whole new dimension to fighting games.

6 Tekken

Out on a Limb

Another 3D fighter on this list, Tekken and its many iterations is by far one of the top fighting franchises out there today. There’s just a certain fluidity to the way attacks and combos play out in this game. Unlike many fighters out there that rely on strength-themed button attacks, Tekken maps out buttons for each arm and leg, making it one of the more unique setups out there. It also benefits from having varying styles of combat for each of its characters. There aren’t a lot of games out there where you can have a Sumo go up against a giant robot, but you can have that matchup in Tekken.

Tekken has always stood out to me as a fighting game that has something for everyone. It really shows how you can get creative and not every fighter in a game’s roster has to play in a similar manner. Definitely check it out if you want to become king of the iron fist tournament.

5 Street Fighter 6

Leveling the Playing Field

Out of all the major fighting game series out there, I feel like Street Fighter has been willing to take risks and try new things more than any other series. Just look at the contrast between SF 2 and 3. Now, it’s taking yet another bold step towards modernizing fighters with Street Fighter 6. The game allows players to select between a more classic button setup or opt for a more introductory setting that allows for one-button combos and special attacks.

While top skill players will always have an advantage over new challengers, you have to give props to Capcom for trying to level the playing field. It’s a sincere attempt at bringing in new blood to a gaming community that has had too large of a learning curve for far too long. Although I do think some of their character arc choices are a bit odd to say the least...

4 Super Smash Bros.

The First Party Fighter

There’s a veritable laundry list of how Super Smash Bros. has changed the fighting game world. For starters, its style of multiplayer free-for-all combat was one of a kind when it first launched. There just weren’t any other games out there that let Mario punch Pikachu in the face while Star Fox and Captain Falcon traded blows.

The items and interactive environments just elevated everything to a whole new level as well. Since its launch, it’s helped to usher in a sub-genre of fighting games known as “Smash-Clones” that take the game’s core formula and wraps it in a different style. However, none of those clones can hold a candle to Smash’s roster of Nintendo and special guest characters.

3 Mortal Kombat

Bloody Fun

If Street Fighter is the PG-13 action movie, then Mortal Kombat is the R-rated gore fest that you needed your older sibling to sneak you into the theater to see. Whether you’re talking about the game's many brutal fatalities or uppercutting your opponent into a pit full of spikes, MK took the visceral nature of fighting to graphic, gory extremes. It’s the game that’s most responsible for creating the ESRB and putting age restrictions on purchases.

However, Mortal Kombat would’ve been nothing more than a novelty if it didn’t have a solid combat system underneath it all. Sure, you could try to win by tripping and uppercutting your enemy over and over, but that really only worked against noobs. Today, MK is one of the reigning champions of the FGC.

The PB&J of Fighters

Long before Marvel vs Capcom 2 hit the scene, Capcom had already made a name for itself as a major fighting game publisher. The first MvC title, as well as X-Men vs Street Fighter, had already made waves, but hadn’t hit the bullseye in the same way that MvC 2 did. Besides having a massive roster made up of your favorite X-Men, Avengers, Street Fighters, Darkstalkers, and beyond, it also introduced the 3v3 team fighter to players everywhere.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 was also very kind to make all the hyper moves the same across all characters. MvC 2 is considered one of the greatest fighting games of all time, not only for its amazing and varied selection of characters but for its approachable gameplay mechanics.

1 Street Fighter 2

It's All in the Moves

If Street Fighter 2 never existed, we don’t end up with the amazing catalog of fighting games available today. Period. This is the game that put fighters on the map and made us all learn how to do a hadouken. That’s still the first move I try in just about every fighting game I play. You’ve got to understand, the idea of moves that required skill and finesse to pull off properly just wasn’t something you saw all the time back in the day. It was like being in a secret club of gamers in the know if you could pull something beyond Chun-Li’s button-mashing lightning kick move.

Street Fighter 2 launched at just the right time during the arcade era and became a phenomenon. Players were lining up to plunk their quarters in even if that meant only getting their butts kicked for two rounds by the computer or another human being.