Fighting games as we know them have been around for well over 30 years now with hundreds upon hundreds of titles hitting the market over that history, but only a small percentage of them have stood the test of time as true greats and classics.
But that can raise the question of what could be considered the best fighting games of all time where we stand now in 2024? Well, some brave souls recently spent hours arguing and debating trying to put together the answer.
Top fighting game streamer and content creator Maximilian Dood alongside YoVideogames members Kenny “Unrooolie” and Steve “Infinite_SGE” recently sat down, stood up and stormed around in their attempt to rank the top 10 fighters of all time.
Before getting into their picks, the crew lays out some rules to clear up that platform fighters like Super Smash Bros., arena fighters like Dragon Ball Budokai Tenkaichi and other sub-genres can be included in the list though that doesn’t mean they’ll end up there.
And then the big poster board is busted out that will soon become a mess of great games as they add, debate and cross out potential picks.
Kenny kicks things off with a more unexpected pick of the original Virtua Fighter followed by Max hitting a more usual contender with Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
There are many greats brought up and fought for but eventually crossed off the list including Tekken 5, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Guilty Gear Xrd, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Soul Calibur 2, The King of Fighters 13, Mortal Kombat 2, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves among others.
Street Fighter 6 was also in contention but ended up taken out too, but one interesting exclusion you may notice is Street Fighter 4.
Before the final list could be compiled the trio had to pick between one last matchup with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Mortal Kombat X, and Marvel got the nod in the end for its gameplay freedom and continued competitive support plus more rationale.
A compelling argument being made here from both sides…
ft. @maximilian_ @INFINITE_SGE @unrooolie pic.twitter.com/tNKbsJDnaF— Brunty (@Brunty023) November 29, 2024
Let’s look at some of their ranks for the top 10 now.
10. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Even if you’re not so much a fan of Smash as a “fighting game,” it’s almost impossible to ignore the massive impact Ultimate’s had not only for the genre, but gaming in general.
Smash Ultimate became a dream game to many with inclusions once thought impossible like Kingdom Hearts’ Sora and Banjo-Kazooie, and of course it became the best selling fighting game ever to date with over 35 million copies in the wild.
Plus we ended up getting Ryu, Ken, Kazuya Mishima and Terry Bogard all in the same game together.
9. Capcom vs. SNK 2: After some more contention, one of the other craziest crossovers the genre has ever seen gets its spot.
The icon was one of the last big sendoffs to the end of the arcade era as the fighting game community started transitioning more towards what it became in the more modern sense while remaining as a busted and beloved title.
8. Killer Instinct (2013): This one took way more debate for the guys to decide, but Killer Instinct is still the most underrated gem of all the finalists — and the fact it made the cut shows how much of an impact the game had.
Killer Instinct pioneered so many of the features and structures that have become staples of modern fighting games years before the competition, and its multilayered gameplay is still something that players come back to after more than a decade.
7. Mortal Kombat (2011): This game revitalized and revolutionized Mortal Kombat for a new era that brought a bunch of people into the franchise as well as old fans back for a total package of a title.
The cinematic story, wealth of content and introduction of guest fighters would become a staple of Mortal Kombat moving forward, and many would argue NetherRealm Studios never really managed to top their debut outing from top to bottom.
6. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3: We talked a bit about it above already, but Marvel 3 basically reignited the scene for hyper fighters in a similar way to Street Fighter 4 while also paving the way for future titles like Dragon Ball FighterZ.
The fact that UMvC3 still has a consistently strong competitive scene and growing mod support despite not being officially supported since the rerelease and lacking rollback netcode shows this game remains something special.
We’re not going to spoil the rest of the top 5 right here, so watch the video where much of the entertainment is to be had from the debates and positing games against each other.
And this is all of course coming from their own personal opinions and experiences, so you may well not agree with all of the trio’s picks — and even they aren’t in full agreement on the inclusions and placements on an individual level.
You also probably won’t see the number one pick coming unless you watched the stream as it happened.
This was also the stream where Kai Cenat randomly dropped in and donated a bunch of money to the guys for their dedication and enthusiasm.
You can check out the full video below as well as their final picks with the breakdown of the top 10 itself starting around the 1:47:20 mark.
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