The 15 Greatest Fighting Games of All Time, Ranked

15.

Injustice 2

Released: May 2017

Platforms: Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

Metacritic: 87 (Critics), 7.9 (Users)

What if the folks behind Mortal Kombat created a fighting game based on the DCU? The premise sold itself, although it took a while for game director Ed Boon and his developers to fully bring it to fruition.

It began with 2008's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, a divisive game that was technically part of the Mortal Kombat series. The first DC-only game was 2013’s Injustice: Gods Among Us. The game established a dark, parallel universe in which Superman breaks bad, driven to evil by the death of Lois Lane and the annihilation of Metropolis.

Injustice 2 tightened the gameplay of its predecessor while improving customization via the game's upgradeable Gear System. The environmental interactions were fantastically over-the-top, creating an illusion of three-dimensional depth despite being a two-dimensional experience.

The final playable roster was 38, which included Hellboy, two Mortal Kombat characters, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Cowabunga.

14.

Power Stone 2

Released: April 2000

Platforms: Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation Portable

Metacritic: 87 (Critics), 8.4 (Users)

Think Super Smash Bros.-style chaos, but in a three-dimensional, interactive environment, and you get Power Stone 2.

This is not the sort of game that allowed for thought-out, predetermined strategy; you couldn't even block, only dodge. This was sink-or-swim gameplay—quite literally in the first level, where you fought on top of two submarines. Survival came first; you needed to make sure you wouldn't die before killing someone else.

Amidst this mayhem, you could start attacking your opponent immediately. Or, you could search the stage for Power Stones. Three of them would power you up and let you inflict maximum damage across a wide area. You had to race and you had to fight, and you had to judge which to do and when lest your efforts end in defeat.

Unless you had a Dreamcast two decades ago, you may not have gotten to play this one. But take our word for it: Power Stone 2 ruled.

13.

Guilty Gear Strive

Released: June 2021

Platforms: Arcade, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Metacritic: 87 (Critics), 7.8 (Users)

Developer Arc System Works struck gold with this, the seventh installment in the core franchise. Guilty Gear Strive has 32 playable characters, and it looks and plays like a hand-drawn anime.

If this is your first exposure to the series, you might want to read up on the lore, since this is a culmination of all the exposition that came before it. But even without knowing who’s who and what’s going on, it's easy to appreciate the gameplay, which is a more accessible version of the complex, cancel-reliant strategy that defined Guilty Gear.

The franchise’s Roman Cancels remain a unique signature, allowing you to recover from punishable moves at the cost of your meter. And the soundtrack—a pulsing, driving, heavy metal marathon—is a shot of adrenaline to the heart. Everything in Strive, from the visuals to the gameplay to the sounds, really gets the blood pumping hard and fast!

12.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Released: January 2018

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Metacritic: 87 (Critics), 8.0 (Users)

The inheritor of Marvel vs. Capcom's legacy, Dragon Ball FighterZ pits three characters against three characters, and the combinations are seemingly endless thanks to a playable roster of 44 characters. That includes the debut of Android 21, a brand new character created by the late visionary Akira Toriyama, who passed away in March 2024.

Then there's the gameplay. In 2023, Street Fighter 6 made waves with its "Modern Controls." You still had the option of classic “quarter-circle-forward” inputs, but you could also simplify it to throw a Hadouken at the press of a button. Combos, once dependent on frame-sensitive input, could now be mashed out with a few buttons.

Dragon Ball FighterZ—with its single-input auto-combos and special moves—had already figured out, years earlier, to not let complicated inputs get in the way of strategy. In hindsight, this game was ahead of its time. And what was criticized in some circles as oversimplified in 2018 seems positively modern by today's metrics.

11.

Soulcalibur II

Released: July 2002

Platforms: Arcade, GameCube, PlayStation 2/3, Xbox 360

Metacritic: 93 (Critics), 8.5 (Users)

Typically, weapons are accessories in fighting games—you can grab one in the heat of combat, but it never lasts that long. In Street Fighter, even Cody can lose his knife and Vega can lose his claw. In WWE 2K, a folding chair only lasts for a few hits before it breaks.

However, Soulcalibur prioritized its weapons as its core mechanic, and Soulcalibur II was the first entry to fully realize the ambition of its concept.

So many players came for the visuals and stayed for the strategy. We all started off playing as Ivy Valentine, because…well, look at her. But Soulcalibur II is so much more than its sex appeal. Its controls are butter smooth, and every character feels unique, distinctive, and lethal.

10.

Fight Night Champion

Released: March 2011

Platforms: iOS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Metacritic: 86 (Critics), 7.5 (Users)

To date, Fight Night Champion is the last licensed boxing game that EA Sports developed before shifting entirely over to UFC and mixed martial arts. Dark and grimmer than its predecessors, Fight Night Champion highlighted blood, bruises, and swollen hematomas; this was boxing at its most depraved and violent. There was even a well-written story mode, in which your character went to prison and fought bare-knuckle brawls. It was as brutal as it sounds.

The gameplay was faster-paced and more accessible. In prior Fight Night games, you delivered hooks, uppercuts, and haymakers by rolling the joystick in circular motions. Fight Night Champion simplified things, making every punch executable with a simple flick of the right stick.

The roster was stacked and included luminaries like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and Manny Pacquiao. Any boxer that wasn't licensed—Floyd Mayweather, we're looking at you—could be easily added in via the game's boxer creator.

9.

Mortal Kombat II

Released: November 1993

Platforms: 32X, Amiga, Arcade, Game Boy, Game Gear, MS-DOS, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Metacritic: 72 (Critics), 7.7 (Users)

The first Mortal Kombat was not a very good game from a gameplay standpoint. It is iconic due to its visuals—its blood, its Fatalities, its use of digitized sprites based on real-life actors—but that’s about it.

Mortal Kombat II improved upon everything its predecessor did, and it is the reason that Mortal Kombat is more than a '90s footnote. Its gameplay was faster and more responsive. Its playable roster was larger and deeper. And each fighter—in addition to Babalities, Friendships, and stage-specific kills—had two Fatalities instead of one, making the franchise even more brutal than it was before.

Whereas the first game was a souped-up homage to Enter the Dragon, Mortal Kombat II expanded the lore to include the Outworld and its emperor, Shao Kahn. Fan favorites like Kitana, Mileena, Kung Lao, and Baraka debuted in this game. They continue to be in fighting games to this day, referenced across hip-hop and popular culture while continuously showing up at the doorsteps of myriad houses to karate kick some sweet treats into a candy bag during Halloween.

8.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo

Released: February 1994

Platforms: 3DO, Amiga, Amiga CD32, Arcade, DOS, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation, Sega Saturn

Metacritic: 88 (Critics), 7.3 (Users)

There were many versions of Street Fighter II back in the day, to the point that it became a running joke. But the fully realized, best version of the game is absolutely Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which had 16 playable fighters: the eight original World Warriors, the four boss characters (Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison), and the four New Challengers (Cammy, Dee Jay, Fei Long, and T. Hawk).

It also added mechanical flourishes: the addition of air combos and super combos, as well as the inclusion of a hidden boss, Akuma. That this game is still popular and still played, over three decades since its debut, is a testament to its brilliance. It set the bar high—extremely high—for all the fighting games that followed in its footsteps.

7.

Killer Instinct

Released: November 2013

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Metacritic: 73 (Critics), 6.4 (Users)

Back in the '90s, Killer Instinct was known for its outlandish visuals, its focus on combos, and its combo breakers. It took close to two decades to get a proper sequel to the original two games, and when it did arrive in 2013, it came piecemeal—only six characters to start. But three seasons later and we not only have a total of 29 playable characters, but also more stages and songs to fully complete the package.

And the gameplay, which was solid from the start, continued to shine. There were the signature combos and combo breakers, but now there were also counter breakers—the breakers to the breakers that added an extra, advanced level of strategy. It never gets old hearing “C-C-C-Combo Breaker,” despite you laying the ass-whooping.

6.

Street Fighter 6

Released: June 2023

Platforms: Arcade, PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Metacritic: 92 (Critics), 7.5 (Users)

One of the best qualities of Street Fighter 6 is that for the first time in over two decades, it moves the main storyline forward. Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V were both midquels that, canonically speaking, took place between Street Fighter II and Street Fighter III. Street Fighter 6, however, shows us how Chun Li has been raising her adopted daughter Li-Fen, how Ryu has adjusted to life as a celebrity, and how Guile has raised his teenage daughter Amy.

There's a story mode that allows your avatar to explore Metro City and travel the world in search of Legendary Masters to train under and learn from. And the playable roster is a perfect mixture of new and old faces. There are the eight original World Warriors from 1991, but there's also Marisa, a massive Pankratiast, and Manon, a judo ballerina.

But storyline aside, this game is incredible. The Street Fighter franchise has always been the fighting game genre's gold standard. And this installment, with its emphasis on Drive Impact and Drive Rushes, adds speed and aggression to what is already a high-stakes proposition.

5.

Mortal Kombat 9

Released: April 2011

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360

Metacritic: 86 (Critics), 8.4 (Users)

Beginning with Mortal Kombat 4, the once-thriving MK franchise took a turn into 3D fighting. This era produced one incredible Mortal Kombat game: 2002's Deadly Alliance. But by the time of 2006's Armageddon, the formula had completely run its course.

In 2011, though, the developers rebooted the original timeline and released Mortal Kombat 9, which returned to the 2D format of the original trilogy. It cultivated fluid, flexible gameplay by mapping each attack button to a different limb, and it innovated the X-Ray moves, which showed flesh ripping and bones breaking during cinematic, mid-fight cutscenes.

It also had a fully voiced, cinematic story mode, which alternated between cheesy and serious in all the right places. By taking the best moments from the original trilogy and reimagining them with HD graphics, MK9 captured ‘90s nostalgia while fixing its eye on the future.

4.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Released: November 2001

Platforms: GameCube

Metacritic: 92 (Critics), 9.2 (Users)

Super Smash Bros. is a fighting game institution these days. But it all started with Melee—the second installment in the franchise—which also introduced wavedashing and L-canceling to competitive gaming. Both techniques exploited the game's engine to do things it was never designed to do, and they created a clear distinction between casual players and their competitive counterparts.

Today, Smash is more deliberate; even its chaos has a sheen of modern professionalism glazed over it. But Melee was the Wild West, and it challenged players' skill ceilings. Think quickly. Act quickly. Ask questions later.

3.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2

Released: March 2000

Platforms: Arcade, Dreamcast, iOS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360

Metacritic: 82 (Critics), 8.7 (Users)

A game as broken as Marvel vs. Capcom 2 could only exist in 2000; were it made today, the fan outcry would be deafening. Can you imagine that in 2025, Cable's triple Hyper Viper Beam would be an accepted high-level strategy? Of course not. It would be patched out within days, assuming that it even survived the beta testing.

But over two decades ago—before "always online" gaming became the norm—what we got in the box was what we got. And so, we dealt with all sorts of stupidity, from Magneto's infinite to Juggernaut's power-up glitch to Sentinel being…well, Sentinel. And because we responded to bullsh*t with bullsh*t, it created its own sort of balance, and we learned to love it. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was a troll's paradise, and a winking reminder to not take any of this stuff too seriously.

2.

Def Jam: Fight for NY

Released: September 2004

Platforms: GameCube, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox

Metacritic: 83 (Critics), 8.9 (Users)

Def Jam: Fight for NY is the people's choice for greatest fighting game ever made. There are prettier fighting games. There are deeper, more balanced fighting games. There are fighting games that better reward the time and practice that you put into them.

But how many of those fighting games were this much fun? How many of those fighting games have this many nostalgic memories attached to them? Remember the Blazin’ moves? The environmental attacks? The Henry Rollins training facility? This is a game you can still hear when you think back on it. "I'mma rip your tongue out! And lick my ass with it!" That’s a really suss quote, but it sticks with you because Redman says it just before kicking your teeth in with his Tims.

How many times do we have to beg for a remaster or a rerelease before we manifest one into reality? It probably comes down to rights and licensing, which is a damn shame. Everyone should have the experience of getting killed by Fat Joe in a steel cage.

Seriously, though, to hell with that boss fight. Freakin' Pedigree. Dude was way, way too strong. Him and Snoop Dogg’s Crow—both sucked!

1.

Tekken 8

Released: January 2024

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Metacritic: 90 (Critics), 7.6 (Users)

What does it look like when a franchise adapts to modern sensibilities? It looks like Tekken 8.

Veteran Tekken players will find that their institutional knowledge of the game—their accumulated experience with okizeme setups (the state of attacking a downed character), block punishes, and low parrying—is still viable. But any legacy series needs fresh blood to keep it thriving. And Tekken 8's new gameplay mechanics—its Heat system and its Recoverable Health—mean you cannot “turtle” and wait for your opponent to make a mistake. You have to be aggressive.

Combine that with gorgeous graphics, a massive roster, and expanded training options (for years, Tekken was hostile to beginners), and you're left with one of the greatest fighting games of all time in a genre filled with numerous, worthy contenders.