The 10 Best Fighting Games, Ranked

This list is gonna get BRUTAL. Every fighting game in existence is gonna be duking it out in a battle royale where only the ten strongest games will come out on top. It’s gonna be a slugfest, slaughter, but by the end we will have our fighting game champion.

10. Injustice 2

Whoever thought of Injustice deserves a raise. All of DC’s strongest heroes and villains beating the snot out of each other for supremacy? Sign me up. Take control your favorite DC character: Batman, the Joker, Superman, Wonder Woman, Darkseid etc. and kick the tar out of your least favorite DC character. It’s that simple. While the game in didn’t reinvent the genre (it’s basically a reskinned Mortal Kombat) it wins big points for telling a compelling story with tight combat controls and ridiculously over the top special moves. I get to wind up a punch by circumnavigating the globe before throwing it at some sucker? Sign me up.

9. Bushido Blade

While most fighting games are blow for blow button mashing slugfests, Bushido Blade is a sophisticated exception. The game is essentially a sword fighting simulator, where characters wield katanas against one another with deadly precision. It’s a game where even the slightest mistake can cost you the match, and your life. It’s a refreshing departure from the familiar trappings of the genre. Bushido Blade is a game of skill, one that inspired other sword-fighting games like Hellish Quart in years to come.

8. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Marvel and Capcom discovered that their characters went together like peanut butter and chocolate. Upon first consideration, it would never work. In reality? It’s delicious. Marvel vs Capcom 3 is a Kingdom Hearts level franchise mashup that somehow made for a beautiful fighting game. The best part? The sheer NUMBER of fighters in the series. We’re approaching Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sized roster here. The game’s fluid and friendly combo system was easily learned by novices and exploited by masters. Hardcore gamers could entertain themselves for hours trapping foes in nigh-infinite combo hell. Now that’s good old fashioned fun.

7. Dragon Ball FighterZ

A fighting game where you can FLY!? Sign me up! While the Dragon Ball series has seen its fair share of titles come and go, Fighter Z manages to stand strong. With gorgeous visuals and fluid controls, Fighter Z is easily the best of the DBZ games. But its real draw? The characters. Playing as Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo just feels good. Every battle feels like creating your very own Dragon Ball Z episode! It’s a game that manages to simultaneously thrill and tug at your nostalgic little heartstrings. Makes you feel like a kid watching the series after school once again. Priceless.

6. Tekken 8

Tekken itself is like a wise old martial arts martial arts master. It just seems to ripen with age. The landmark fighting series reached new heights with its seventh entry, arguably the best in the punch. Bunch. You know what I mean. New and familiar characters return for an all out battle of moves and countermoves! Rage Arts, Power Crushes, Screw hits, there are literally hundreds of skills to master in this stunning game.

5. Guilty Gear Xrd  

How is it pronounced? Guilty Gear Zerd? Kserd? Don’t know. Doesn’t matter. The Guilty Gear series is not for the fighting game faint of heart. It has an extensive combat system replete with spells, combos, and move cancels that take hours of practice to master. Getting good at this game is almost as intensive as getting good at a real martial art, but when you finally reach that point, oh man is it fun. Guilty Gear XRD is a fighting game for hardcore fans of the genre.

4. Soul Calibur VI

The Soul Calibur series combined a dark fantasy story with a solid cast of characters and tight controls. What is the story? I’ve played these games and I still don’t remember. Something about an evil mind controlling sword? It ain’t about the story. It’s ABOUT the fact that I can move in EIGHT directions instead of two! Forwards! Backwards! Left! Right! Diagonal combos of those! During the era this game was released, that was unheard of. Most fighting games only let you move forwards and backwards. This innovation, along with the weapons based combat system, made Soul Calibur the stuff of legends, and Soul Caliber VI is the most sophisticated version of the game so far.

3. Street Fighter 6

Street Fighter is synonymous with the phrase “fighting game”. It’s practically the dictionary definition. Aside from being one of the oldest fighting game franchises, it’s also one of the most if not the most technically challenging fighting games around. It’s a fighter’s fighter game. Try to button mash your way through this game and your defeat will be swift and bitter. Like real combat sports, Street Fighter 6 is just as much about strategy as it is about strength. You can’t just play hard, you gotta play smart if you intend to join the Street Fighter big leagues.

2. Mortal Kombat 1

The Mortal Kombat franchise made a name for itself the way that many warriors do: through sheer brutality. This game is a blood drenched gore fest where characters behead, disembowel, and eviscerate each other in countless ways, and Mortal Kombat 1 is the pinnacle of the series. Top notch modern graphics combine with its tried and true combo-based control system to make Mortal Kombat 1 one of the all time greats. And with the endless quotable catchphrase “Finish him” Mortal Kombat has solidified itself as more than just a franchise, but a meme.

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Brothers is revered by casual and competitive gamers alike. Casually, it’s the best party favor you can bring besides snacks and booze, responsible for legendary rivalries, sweet victories, crushing defeats. Competitively, it’s the most popular fighting game played by professionals, and the game of choice for the pros? Super Smash Bros. Melee. Melee’s mechanics are easily to learn, but take years of practice to fully master. Wavedashing. Chain throwing. The art of edge guarding. Melee is a marital art in its own right, a sophisticated discipline, the ultimate test of fighting game skill.