The 20 Best Fighting Games: 1989 to 2009
- May 27, 2009 12:33 PM PST
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GamePro celebrates twenty years of fighting games in our latest feature! See which games earned their way into the list, with plenty of nostalgic titles and new challengers bringing their fists and fireballs to this destructive countdown. Toasty!
Since the dawn of the arcade, gamers have continually gone head-to-head in video games, eager to prove who could mash buttons among the best. Now, entire tournaments are built around fighting games both new and old, while some titles manage to test our reflexes and hand-to-eye coordination with both gorgeous pixel graphics and slick 3D environments. From hip-hop brawlers to free-for-all melees, these titles are the most important fighting games to hit the industry in the last 20 years.
Man, WWF No Mercy takes us back. Remember when Kurt Angle had hair?
#20: WWF No Mercy, 2000 [N64]
In the glory days of the WWF, everyone knew the Rock's stage music by heart and Mankind was still considered the craziest wrestler in the ring. WWF No Mercy's incredible arcade gameplay brought everyone's favorite wrestlers together in some of the best matches to hit a home console, achieving a perfect mix of action and grappling techniques. With the create-a-wrestler mode, detailed storylines and extra content, WWF fans could play this game inside-and-out for years and never get tired of squared circle.
It may not look like much now, but Virtua Fighter's graphics looked like space technology back in 1993 (which was appropriate, since the game lacked gravity).
19: Virtua Fighter, 1993 [ARC]
Virtua Fighter was a landmark title in several ways. Before this game, polygon graphics were as common as moon landings and flying cars. When it hit arcades (and the Sega Saturn in 1994), gamers around the world were amazed at the revolutionary graphics and the realistic fighting system. By today's standards, Virtua Fighter may look hilariously blocky, but the combat is just as crisp as it ever was. Anytime people talk about 3D fighting games, remember that this one was the title that started the trend.
It was the end of an era, but the Fatal Fury series went out with style.
18. Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves, 2001 [DC]
By 1999, the Fatal Fury series had long since lost much of its spotlight to the more famous and memorable King of Fighters series. However, there was one last title that would retire Fatal Fury in style -- Mark of The Wolves. This game's incredibly deep gameplay was almost upstaged by mind-blowing 2D pixel animation that was fluid, colorful and above all else, undeniably flashy. When Mark of the Wolves eventually hit the Dreamcast in 2001, SNK fans had a permanent title that would forever secure Fatal Fury's status as one of the best classic fighting game series in history.
Wouldn't life be so much better if rappers used karate instead of guns to settle their beefs?
17: Def Jam: Fight For NY, 2004 [GC, XB, PS2]
Sporting a roster that included the likes of DMX and Ludacris, Def Jam Vendetta surprised the entire gaming industry with a complex fighting system that took advantage of environmental weapons and customizable abilities. Def Jam: Fight For NY took its predecessor's gameplay and pumped up the volume with an incredibly well written story, along with new fighting mechanics that made use of styles like kickboxing and martial arts. The production values in Fight For NY were second to none, either, with each rap icon giving a stellar performance marked by realistic voice work.
Another innovation from Here Comes The Pain: Bra & Panties Matches.
16: WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, 2005 [PS2]
With every new WWE Smackdown game, the wrestling systems either take one step forward or two steps backward. Here Comes the Pain was the standout title in the series, achieving an almost perfect mix of speedy gameplay and technical movesets. Arguably, the best feature of this game was the main Season Mode, which introduced multi-year storylines that would change depending on which belts you retained in your career.
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- May 27 2009 at 12:09:25:PM PST
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Smackdown Bring the Pain, probably and arguably the 2nd best wrestling game made behind No Mercy.
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Here Comes the Pain outranks No Mercy? I call shenanigans. Other than that, a great list.
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Great list, and I probably really couldn't agree more!!! Maybe a game here or there. But I thought you really nailed the best 2. I knew number 1 had to be a Street Fighter of sort, and I knew number 2 had to be Soul Calibur. Love those games. Still to this day, both of those games rock. A lot of Dreamcast games here, and still to this day, that system is a lot of fun for me. Some of my best childhood memories come from playing fighting games. Another great list and topic Gamepro! Keep putting stuff out like this, and I will always be here gobbling them up!
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WOAH WOAH HEY HAY HAY WHAT ABOUT MUGEN!!?!!!??!? GOOGLE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ITS A REAL GAME ISTNT IT!?!?!?!??!??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The Def Jams are awesome, well the ones that were on Xbox and PS2. The one on the current system can't even be mentioned in the same sentence cause it's so bad compared to the first 2.
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