The 20 BEST Fighting Games of All Time
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00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 best fighting
00:08games of all time.
00:17For this list, we're going over the absolute best fighting games to ever exist.
00:20Have you played any of these titles?
00:22Which ones had you and your friends going another round or five?
00:25Share with us in the comments below.
00:27Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:32the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:36War of the Monsters
00:45As kids, we long dreamed of having our own kaiju-sized fights against friends.
00:49Arcade games like Rampage gave us a taste of that, but when it comes to monsters fighting
00:53each other, War of the Monsters was everything we had been wanting.
01:04Up to four players can duke it out while leveling builds and avoiding environmental hazards.
01:09The best part was the diverse selection of monsters to choose, from giant eyeballs to
01:12robots to mutant animals and insects.
01:15Needless to say, if there was a monster fight you wanted to see, bug versus bot or sweet
01:19tooth versus a giant ape, War of the Monsters delivered hours of fun.
01:31Def Jam Battle for New York
01:40You want a fighting game with some attitude?
01:42While the first Def Jam game was a brutal and badass gem of a brawler, its sequel, Battle
01:46for New York, was so much better.
01:48Just like with the first game, Battle for New York was packed with a roster of 67 fighters
01:52featuring some of our favorite rappers and hip-hop artists.
02:02Like Busta Rhymes, Flava Flav, Carmen Electra, Ice-T, and even Snoop Dogg.
02:06Come on, it just ain't a party without the dog, right?
02:08Of course, with all these music artists came a sick selection of songs to jam to while
02:12we deck our friends across their faces.
02:14We just wish GameCube players weren't missing so much of the awesome soundtrack.
02:22Power Stone 2
02:30The original Power Stone featured a new formula for fighting games, one that saw two characters
02:34tossing items at each other and collecting power-ups to finish each other off.
02:38Power Stone 2 simplified things by removing the combo system, but offered up another feature
02:43to make up for this removal.
02:52In addition to a handful of new playable characters, as well as most of the original cast being
02:57present, it was now possible for up to four players to participate in the mayhem, making
03:01fights much more chaotic.
03:03For Dreamcast owners, this was definitely a game to bring to parties.
03:13Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
03:21The original Persona 4 Arena was a surprisingly good spin-off for the Shin Megami Tensai series,
03:26boasting tight controls, an intricate narrative across its 13-character roster, and a combat
03:31system that perfectly translates Persona's style and concept.
03:35So why does the sequel, Ultimax, make it on here instead?
03:44Well for starters, it features more characters with unique playstyles and moves.
03:49On top of that, it is much more balanced than its predecessor, and the story perfectly closes
03:53the story arc of Persona 4.
03:55And this goes without mentioning the fantastic art and animation of co-developer Arc System
03:59Works, who you might see a couple more times on this list.
04:08Darkstalkers The Night Warriors
04:18For a time, Capcom was one of the giants of the fighting game genre, particularly in the
04:2290s.
04:23In addition to the full realization of one particular franchise, Capcom created another
04:272D fighter that featured more of a horrific yet goofy aesthetic.
04:34The first Darkstalkers featured a small yet humble roster of weird fighters, like Morrigan
04:39Endsland, Felicia, Lord Raptor, and um, Sasquatch?
04:43And you gotta witness these beasts brawl it out on some vibrant settings.
04:46While it isn't as deep as later Darkstalkers titles would become, this one was a great
04:50way to introduce new players to the world of fighting games.
04:58The King of Fighters XIII Ash Crimson's story comes to an end, and
05:09with it comes one of the best entries in this juggernaut of a franchise.
05:13This is largely due to its streamlining of much of the motifs present in its predecessor,
05:18and in its place applying refined versions of some of the series' more popular features.
05:27Sure, its story mode is practically impossible to follow unless you're a veteran of the
05:33lore, but that doesn't take away from its beautiful visual style and vastly improved
05:38controls.
05:39Fans will most certainly get a kick out of letting loose with so many crazy, colorful
05:42combos.
05:43Not to mention another chance to check out Mai's magnificent set of, um, well, we'll
05:47call them techniques.
05:55Injustice 2 After the successful reboot of another legendary
06:05fighting game franchise, NetherRealm Studios was tasked with creating a DC fighting game.
06:10While Injustice Gods Among Us saw monumental success in 2013, its 2017 sequel managed to
06:15improve upon the formula while delivering an excellent narrative and borrowing cues
06:20from NetherRealm's flagship franchise, who we'll get onto more soon.
06:29As for the roster, well, now you can see Batman and Superman take on the likes of even more
06:33heroes and villains, like Gorilla Grodd, Starfire, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
06:38Plus, the inclusion of premiere skins allowed even more characters to be added without the
06:42extra work of having to rebalance the game.
06:50Project Justice Poor Rival Schools has long been neglected,
06:59but Akira's inclusion as one of the final DLC characters for Street Fighter V has helped
07:04open some folks' eyes.
07:06Whereas the original Rival Schools was more of a traditional fighter with some small tag
07:10assist elements, the sequel, Project Justice, went a bit more crazy with it.
07:21New mechanics like the party up and team up abilities made fights a bit more based on
07:25meter management, while creating a visual spectacle of brutal attacks.
07:29As for the story mode, events could alter depending on the outcome of certain fights.
07:33In other words, losing a fight did not necessarily mean a loss in progress.
07:37Crossing our fingers for Project Justice, or Rival Schools in general, to be revived.
07:45Samurai Shodown Of the SNK games, Samurai Shodown, as a franchise,
07:58has withstood the test of time thanks to how different it is than most fighting games.
08:02The 2019 revival showcased its calling card perfectly.
08:05This wasn't a game that wanted you to build up crazy combos.
08:08It's a fighting game about patience, acting more defensive as you study your opponent's
08:16movements.
08:22With even light attacks dealing significant damage, there isn't much room for error
08:26here.
08:27Find your openings to disarm your adversary, and then finish them quickly.
08:30Needless to say, Samurai Shodown perfectly replicates those classic samurai duels we've
08:35seen across TV and movies, while offering a complex and risky combat system.
08:44Tekken 3 The series may still be going strong, but
08:54no one can deny that the turning point for this series came when Jin and his fellow newcomers
08:59took over.
09:07With far superior graphics, a huge boost to the character roster, as well as much greater
09:11depth given to the actual fighting, especially in terms of movement.
09:15This set the standard for all Tekken games that followed, and remains one of the most
09:19successful games under the banner of the original PlayStation.
09:22We'll just forget that Tekken Ball was ever a thing.
09:31BlazBlue Central Fiction It was honestly really hard to choose which
09:42BlazBlue game to put on this list.
09:44Our original Top 10 featured Calamity Trigger, but later entries like Chrono Phantasm Extend
09:49and Cross Tag Battle had their own wealth of fun.
09:52However, there's something about Central Fiction that keeps us coming back.
09:55The roster of 36 fighters featured a ton of familiar and new faces, each just as fun to
10:00play as the rest of the cast.
10:09Plus there's that insanely expansive story mode that rivals even fighting games with
10:13bigger budgets.
10:14It's also the BlazBlue title that has seen extensive support unlike the rest of the series,
10:19seeing a switchboard in 2019 and planning to implement rollback netcode for the Steam
10:23version in 2022.
10:31Dead or Alive 5 Last Round Even though we would see two other versions
10:42before this one, Last Round was, and still is, known to be the superior rendition in
10:47the franchise, save for the Xbox 360 exclusive Dead or Alive 4.
10:51Last Round was the ultimate revival Dead or Alive had been needing, adding in four characters
10:55to the roster, expanding upon the cosmetic customization, and improving the visuals by
11:00upping the ante, the resolution to HD, and bringing the framerate to 60 frames per second.
11:12It also featured the same level of action, humor, and sexiness that Dead or Alive has
11:15been known for.
11:17With the sixth main game being such a disappointment, one can see why folks have flocked back to
11:21Last Round.
11:27Mortal Kombat 2011 Now this is how you relaunch a franchise.
11:36Quite literally taking everything back to the beginning, this reimagining not only brought
11:40with it the classic characters we all know and love, but surrounded them with an immense
11:44amount of bloody and brilliant content.
11:52With fatalities and newly introduced x-ray moves that redefined stylistic violence, it
11:57had an online mode that had the whole world battling against each other, as well as a
12:01narrative that, gasp, was actually well written, and proved that western fighting games could
12:06have good stories.
12:07I know, right?
12:08Mortal Kombat 2 may have raised the bar, but this one shot it into the stratosphere.
12:18Soul Calibur 6 Look, Soul Calibur 2 will always have a special
12:28place in our hearts, for its visuals, controls, and inclusion of weird guest characters.
12:33However, Soul Calibur 6 managed to blow everything out of the water.
12:37In addition to strange guest characters like Geralt of Rivia, 2B, and Samurai Shodown's
12:42Heiomaru, Soul Calibur 6 featured an insanely deep character customization, allowing players
12:46to create almost entirely new characters, or weird renditions of pre-existing ones.
12:59And if the regular Soul Calibur story mode wasn't enough single-player content for
13:03you, the Libra of Soul campaign offered dozens of hours while centering the story around
13:07your custom character.
13:09With fantastic controls, a meaty roster, and spectacular visuals to boot, Soul Calibur
13:146 is the definitive experience in the franchise.
13:23Killer Instinct 2013 The revival of Killer Instinct was not an
13:33easy road, but the final result made it one of the best fighting games ever made.
13:37We'll have a soft spot for the original 1994 title, but the 2013 rendition was practically
13:42a pioneer.
13:43Killer Instinct provided the same level of hyperactive action fans knew it for, while
13:48also incorporating tools and tutorials that helped ease new players into the game, regardless
13:53of when they jumped in.
14:00Shadow attacks gave players new and sick ways to end combos, or string them longer.
14:05Simplified ultras ended fights in musical and climactic ways, as did ultimates, and
14:09the music from Mick Gordon shined spectacularly.
14:12If you love fighting games, you absolutely need to play Killer Instinct.
14:23Skullgirls There are several fighting games in the indie
14:32marketplace vying for our time and money, and a lot of them are really great.
14:36When it comes to Skullgirls, though, there hasn't been anything like it.
14:46On top of borrowing and evolving ideas from tag team fighters that came before it, Skullgirls
14:50has been the indie fighting game that has only seen more success as the years go by,
14:54and rightfully so.
14:56The online netcode is some of the best on the market, the addition of new characters
14:59expands on new ways to play while offering unique mechanics, and the hand-drawn animation
15:04and art style make it one of the most beautiful fighting games you can get.
15:15Dragon Ball Fighters Look, Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was fantastic when
15:24it came to fan service, but in terms of hardcore fighting, there just hasn't been a Dragon
15:29Ball game with as much love and care put into it as Dragon Ball Fighters.
15:39Once again, Arc System Works manages to deliver with exceptional animation and visuals, replicating
15:44the look and feel of the anime.
15:45Fighters also featured a unique combat system where pulling off combos rewarded you with
15:49the legendary Dragon Balls, eventually allowing you to summon Shenron himself.
15:53Couple this combat system with a hearty helping of post-launch support with DLC characters,
15:58and you've got a Dragon Ball game that every fan needs in their library.
16:07Street Fighter II The World Warrior
16:18The Street Fighter franchise has seen a wealth of great games like Third Strike and the Alpha
16:22series.
16:23Even Street Fighter V managed to bring in fans, albeit after some drastic improvements
16:27were made to its story, content, and quality of life.
16:29However, fighting games just wouldn't be where they are today if it weren't for Street
16:33Fighter II.
16:41Unlike the slow and clunky original Street Fighter, the second game was faster and more
16:45visually impressive, while allowing players to string attacks together.
16:48It set the scene for competitive gaming as well, with some organizations still holding
16:52tournaments of this game to this very day.
16:55For Street Fighter II, age has only strengthened it.
17:02Marvel vs. Capcom 2 New Age of Heroes
17:11In case that repetitive title music didn't clue you in, this game will indeed take you
17:14for a ride.
17:15Despite the recent sequels trying to capture what made this entry so accessible, nothing
17:19has quite managed to live up to it, especially the experience of unleashing the fury of your
17:24favorite three-character tag team and lighting up the entire screen with hyper combos in
17:28glorious 2D.
17:34With its massive roster containing everyone from Spidey to Ryu, and every A to C-list
17:39character in between, along with its iconic art style, this was undoubtedly Marvel and
17:43Capcom's biggest bout.
17:51Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
18:01We know everyone has their favorite Smash game.
18:03Speedy players will stick to melee, while subspace emissary fans are still going back
18:07to brawl.
18:08Retro fans are going to play 64 every once in a while, as Smash 4 fans explore the different
18:13ideas that game holds.
18:14Ultimate, on the other hand, you can't ignore how massive this game has become.
18:26Between the extensive selection of stages, the roster of 89 playable fighters, the unique
18:30take on classic mode ladders, the customizable game modes, and how spirits throw in more
18:35characters from various IPs.
18:37Smash Ultimate isn't just a fantastic fighter, it's a celebration of video games as a whole,
18:42And even though the DLC is done, we'll be playing it until our switches break.