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[Cast-Iron]

1) Street Fighter 3 Third Strike
Best Fighting Game Ever. The Parry system, super arts, the still unbeatable ultra smooth animation...everything in this game is absolute perfection.

2) The King of Fighters 98.

Forget KOF 2K2, that utter korean shit Mugen disguised as a Kof, KOF 98 is the pinnacle of the series, and the greatest dreammatch ever. The DC & PS2 ports were ok, but the original MVS version still reigns as the best.

3) The Last Blade 2.

I had to choose a Weapon based fighting game, and instead Soul Calibur 2/3 (which are great) Last Blade 2 is my favorite. One of the greatest SNK titles ever made (and the "latest"), this Rurouni Kenshin inspired versus has an amazing Battle system (with 3 modes available) and gorgeus graphics. Not to mention the 20 meter samurai monster Musashi...

4) TEKKEN 5
Im not too fond of 3D fighters, but i have to admit that Tekken 5 is a masterpiece by its own merit. A loooot of game modes, the 3 first tekkens included, well balanced roster and graphics that even today still amazes me.

5) Fighting Eyes.
An absolute legend of the Fighting Games. High speed battles, bursting adrenaline, an incredible soundtrack (Guilty Gear X´s soundtrack sounds like Resident Evil´s basement theme compared to this) and 3D graphics REAL AS HELL.

The Fight is in your Eyes, too!

 

[petran79]

Had no idea about Fighting Eyes, but I prefer Dancing Eyes

 

[Terareflection]

I guess my philosophy going into this would be an essential fighting game developers vote rather than games itself. Since each company has their own distinct style of development. So it's worth the time to look into as many as you can...or want to.

1. Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution (or Sega AM2 stuff) - Sega AM2 games are generally lauded as balanced and deep, but also sadly difficult. That could not be farther from truth, as it has a very easy 3 button control, and a deep tutorial to help complete newbies get started. I list VF 4 Evo because it's probably the first fighter to feature a decent tutorial.

2. The King of Fighters XIII (or SNK stuff, there's a lot) - Okay, I will admit that KOF isn't an easy game to pick up and play, especially XIII with its emphasis on long combos. But one the greatest things about the game is that it does reward numerous playstyles, you can apply a defensive SF mindset while learning the KOF stuff and still get wins online. This is due to the unique mechanics KOF has to help establish offense or maintain defense.

3. Tekken 5 Dark Ressurrection ( or Namco stuff) - It's Tekken, what I can say? It's always a heavy hitter among the fighting game scenes. I choose DR in particular because it employs the right kind of balance to fighting game IMO. Everybody's cheap, but not too cheap. Helps keeps things fun for different players and spectators alike.

4. Street Fighter 4 (or Capcom stuff) -This game made the FGC what it is today. It's probably not the essential game to play, per say. But it an essential game to know.

5. Guilty Gear X2 Accent Core ( or Arc System Works stuff) - They do the anime fighters. I actually choose this in particular because it has the same balance philosophy that Tekken DR has, I think. And it has the best cast. <3 Baiken. Guilty Gear in general is pretty hard to play at a decent level due to vast amounts of mechanics that need practice. But there are easier games from them to look at.

Honorable Mentions:

1. Soul Calibur 2
2. Skullgirls
3. Melty Blood: Actress Again: Current Code
4. Mortal Kombat X

 

[Playsage]

Work In Progress

TOP 5

1 - Tekken 5: Dark Ressurection (Arcade, PSP, PS3)

(explanation)


2 - Soul Calibur II (Arcade, PS2, Xbox, NGC, PS3, Xbox 360)

(explanation)


3 - Tekken 3 (Arcade, PSX, PS2)

(explanation)


4 - Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Arcade, PSX, PS2, SNES, Saturn)

(explanation)


5 - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future (Arcade, PSX, Dreamcast)

(explanation)




Honorable Mentions:

- Street Fighter V

- Tekken Tag Tournament 2

- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

- Soul Calibur V

- Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

 

[Nestunt]

1) Super Street Fighter II Turbo - Not only is one of the kings of fighting games, it also is a great game to learn the mechanics of this particular genre

2) Mortal Kombat 9 - A perfect reboot of a franchise with all the bells and whistles MK has been known for years.

3) Tekken 3 - One of the most fun fighting games ever created. Even if you are a scrub like me.

4) Bushido Blade - The most realistic.

5) Soulblade - Not as realistic as Bushido Blade but with the fun factor of Tekken.

 

[BlizzKrut]

I've only got into fighting games for over a year but I think I've played some I would classify as good/very good.

1) Street Fighter III: Third Strike (3S)

It's just an incredible game, it plays really well, has an interesting cast, a very good soundtrack and parries (AKA hype).

Soundtrack Example (SFIII:3S)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSzPbO9DFcg

2) Street Fighter V (SFV)

While it's a game with many flaws, it's my first "real" fighting game and I love it, gameplay-wise it's fun and quite balanced, I have almost 300 hours put into it, and I don't regret one bit, it's a game I play almost everyday and I hope to keep doing so for the next couple of years, I believe it can still be a quality product one day, it will be hard to become one, but I believe it's possible. Great OST too!

Soundtrack Example (SFV)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeE0GFs7gWs

3) Guilty Gear Xrd (GGXrd)

Beautiful visuals, crazy gameplay, hype music, that's how I can describe GGXrd, it's just one gem of a game, a packed game that just gives you the sense of everything a fighting game should be, it's not higher just because my love for SF trumps it, but it's a very good game, for sure one every FG fan should have.

Soundtrack Example (GGXrd)

https://soundcloud.com/guiltygearxrdsoundtrack/sets/guilty-gear-xrd-sign-ost (ArcSys takes down YT videos so in that link you got the whole soundtrack)

 

[Fraeon]

Breakers Revenge

It's Street Fighter Alpha 2. Except more broken. And more fun.

Soundtrack: Sho's Theme

Super Street Fighter II Turbo

The quintessential Street Fighter.

Soundtrack: You know what this is

Capcom vs SNK 2

A game with a top tier Blanka can't be bad.

Soundtrack: This is tuna with bacon

BCV - Battle Construction Vehicles

Arroooooo!

Soundtrack: The background stuff is mostly ambience.

Cyberbots

Capcom, where's my sequel?

Soundtrack: Super 8 theme

--


Honorable mentions

Ultra Street Fighter IV - It's the most varied version of SF4.

 

[notworksafe]

1) Street Fighter 3 Third Strike
Best Fighting Game Ever. The Parry system, super arts, the still unbeatable ultra smooth animation...everything in this game is absolute perfection.

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

 

[stn]

1. Super Street Fighter II Turbo & HDR
2. Street Fighter X Tekken
3. Mortal Kombat X
4. Street Fighter V
5. Ultra Street Fighter IV

Honorable Mentions:
-Street Fighter Alpha 1-3
-Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike
-Fatal Fury Special
-Real Bout Fatal Fury 2
-King Of Fighters 13
-Neo Geo Battle Colliseum
-Tekken 5 & 6
-Injustice: Gods Among Us
-Mortal Kombat 9
-Killer Instinct (remake)
-Killer Instinct 1 & 2 (retro)
-Soul Calibur 2

I pretty much love all fighting games.

 

[FACE]

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

Oh my.

 

[Professor Beef]

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

:LOL :LOL :LOL

 

[ViewtifulJC]

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

 

[MegamanXZero]

1. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
2. Super Street Fighter II X Grand Master Challenge
3. Capcom VS. SNK 2
4. Street Fighter Alpha 3
5. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 / Tekken 7: FR

Honorable Mentions:
- Marvel VS. Capcom 2
- Dead Or Alive 5
- Mortal Kombat X

 

[irfaanator]

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

sounds about right

 

[RockTurtle]

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

breh

 

[mbpm1]

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

wait...what

 

[Evilisk]

Uhh, you do realize what kind of picture this is, right?

 

[Shadoken]

I know a lot of people like 3S and its a great game. But many of them just seem to like it to be part of the "Cool kids" . Given how many ppl praise it you would think its the most played SF game outside of the current one , but every time i go and sign up for 3S tourneys there is like 10 ppl or something.

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

Rofl.. That has to be some kind of trolling.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Rofl.. That has to be some kind of trolling.

NWS doesn't keep it a secret that he thinks that the majority of SF III fans are phonies.

 

[ShinMaruku]

NWS doesn't keep it a secret that he thinks that the majority of SF III fans are phonies.

There is something to that. I don't think most of the folks who say it praise either played it or like it.

 

[SiegfriedFM]

1) Street Fighter III: Third Strike - This shouldn't really need an explanation.

2) Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown - The gameplay is still unmatched. I try others like Tekken 7 and DoA5:LR and they feel like Kensei in comparison. Just so tight, swift and precise.

3) Soul Calibur - While SC5 improves on most of it, there's still a very good argument to be had for the complete package. Fantastic cast of characters, great design, fantastic gameplay, tons of nice extras. SC2 added nothing of worth to me, and while CaS was a great thing, it kind of devalued the actual characters.

4) Garou: Mark of the Wolves - SNK at their very, very best, which is no small achievement-

5) King of Fighters '98 - Still completely amazing and a ridiculously solid fighter.

Honorable Mentions

1) Jojo's Bizarre Adventure - Too crazy to be the actual top 5, but extremely fun. I actually bring it out more often than many of the above.

2) Real Bout Fatal Fury Special - Aside from Garou, the best Fatal Fury has ever been, and most of the cast are at their best here. Kim, Billy, Yamazaki, Mai...

3) Street Fighter V - Already a very, very good fighter and likely to improve further. Definitely doesn't deserve the hate it's been getting.

4) Samurai Shodown II - The oldest fighter I still play regularly. None of the sequels actually improved on it.

5) Power Instinct: Matrimelee - I don't expect to see this get too many mentions. It's just a very solid fighter with sort of Garou-like gameplay but turned up to a wacky degree. The characters are all fun, but the main attraction is the levels and the music. Holy crap, the music.


Unranked honourable mentions:
1) Capcom vs SNK 2
2) Street Fighter Alpha 3
3) Soul Calibur V
4) King of Fighters XIII
5) Ultra Street Fighter IV
6) Last Blade 2 (a casualty of there being too damn many fantastic fighters by SNK)
7) Marvel vs Capcom 2
8) Darkstalkers 3
9) Arcana Heart 3
10) Guilty Gear X2

 

[Evilisk]

5) Power Instinct: Matrimelee - I don't expect to see this get too many mentions. It's just a very solid fighter with sort of Garou-like gameplay but turned up to a wacky degree. The characters are all fun, but the main attraction is the levels and the music. Holy crap, the music.

I can agree that the music is damn good. And it's all vocal tracks too, surprisingly (and I usually hate listening to vocals). The Rage of the Dragon characters are also a neat extra.

Personally though, I find the Stress Meter mechanic to be super annoying and disruptive during matches. Also, Sissy is a jerk

 

[LincolnTunnel]

I'll probably add in some better reasoning later, but I think top 5 for me would be...

1) Street Fighter V- I love fighting games, but it's been a while since a game just clicked for me like this has.

2) Garou: Mark of the Wolves- SNK at it's very best. I love KoF, but none of them are as good as this.

3) Street Fighter Alpha 3- Yeah, it's broken and unbalanced, but this is the one my brother and I played growing up. Also, Cody.

4) Virtua Fighter 5- It's a great game and my preferred 3D fighter. They should really make a new one.

5) Bloody Roar: Primal Fury- I don't have amazing taste in fighting games.

Honorable Mentions:

Red Earth- Its a real shame it never got ported to any consoles, because it's a beautiful game. Only having four playable characters probably didn't do it any favors...

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom- A real gem that was hamstrung by being a Wii exclusive.

Rakuga Kids- A beautiful N64 fighter that sadly never made it to the US.

Primal Rage- Not good, but one of the most memorable of the post MK hyper violent fighting games.

Arm Joe- This game is absolutely terrible, unbalanced, buggy, and one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played.

 

[LeMaximilian]

Oh look, another 3rd Strike thread!

 

[Chinbo37]

1) Street Fighter III: Third Strike - Just pure fun along with 2D graphical bliss. The game I played the most with friends. Great gameplay, along with silky smooth animation.

2) Ultra SF IV - It took a while for me to get into it but it ended up being one of my favorite fighting games. All the updates and new characters helped in that respect.

3) Soul Calibur 2 - Graphically at the top during its release. Home versions were amazing but I also put in plenty of time at the arcades.

4) Street Fighter Alpha 2 - Some new systems, played different than traditional street fighter. Great new characters.

5) Tekken Tag 2 - Classic Tekken action to the next level.




Honorable Mentions

1) Injustice Gods Among Us - Not the perfect game but super fun.
2) Mortal Kombat 2 - Perfected what we loved about part 1.

 

[lucebuce12]

1) Bloody Roar 2(Arcade,Playstation 1) [1999]​

Soundtrack example: Theme of Shina, the Leopard.


An incredibly underrated fighting game made by Hudson Soft. It's a 3D fighting game that came out in 1999, the year of awesome fighting games. It came out for arcades and the Playstation 1. It has some of the most sublime combat I've ever seen in fighting games and it honestly holds up to this day. A quick rundown, it's a fighter with one punch button, one kick button, one "beast" button and one block button. There are also throws and throw techs.

The beast button? What is that? Well, every single character turns into an animal in this game. You have Yugo, a boxer character who turns into a wolf. You have Long, a chinese warrior who can turn into a Tiger. Shina, a mercenary who turns into a fucking LEOPARD and others. Every character has a "beast meter" that fills up when you take damage, inflict damage and throw. Once the beast meter is yellow, you can activate beast mode which gives you new moves, new combos and normals.

The gameplay is fast paced and combos are a legit threat in this game but you still have ways to counter it by blocking in the air, turning into a beast in the air as sort of a reversal. Honestly, it's one of the best fighting games I've ever played and it has a ton of personality. The next games in the series really deviated from the "regular people that turn into beasts thing" and went full on anime with it.

An example of some of the awesome combos in this game. When you finish story mode/arcade mode without using a continue, the ending credits have combo videos of all characters that end with a beast drive or their super attacks. For using a continue, you get a ending credits video that uses normal combo videos for all the characters but they're still so hype.

If it seems like I'm really gushing over the game, that's cause I freaking love this series and it pains me physically that it's in the hands of a company as inept as Konami.

2)Street Fighter V​

There's very little I can say that other great posters haven't already said about this fantastic game. Truly one of the best looking and best made fighting games I've played. The mechanics just feel so "honest" and it's gonna be a juggernaut for years to come and will help grow the fighting game community in general IMO.

3) Def Jam: Fight for NY​

I was having an internal debate on whether to add this on the list or not but the OP made it seem like it's fairly lenient with what's considered a fighting game so why not.


Honourable Mentions:

1) Mahvel vs Capcom 2
2) Tekken 3
3) Ultra Street Fighter IV

 

[SatoAilDarko]

I can agree that the music is damn good. And it's all vocal tracks too, surprisingly (and I usually hate listening to vocals). The Rage of the Dragon characters are also a neat extra.

Personally though, I find the Stress Meter mechanic to be super annoying and disruptive during matches. Also, Sissy is a jerk

Need to get the Japanese PS2 port. That version is missing the Rage of Dragon characters but adds two characters from earlier in the series.

I love the Japanese vocals in the soundtrack. I wish the that the original release of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Cross Generation of Heroes had more vocal in its character themes as opposed to almost all instrumentals.

 

[Evilisk]

Need to get the Japanese PS2 port. That version is missing the Rage of Dragon characters but adds two characters from earlier in the series.

I did not know this was a thing

I just looked it up and the port does indeed bring back Angela. That's awesome, I was bummed out about Angela not being in Matrimelee. The port/update also gets rid of that jerk Sissy (though I really would have liked not having Kinta return)

I'm going to have to look into this some more

 

[sechsterangriff]

I'm far from being a huge fan of fighting games but I have to mention two games just because of how much fun I had with these.

Soul Calibur - This is the fighting game that has always stayed with me and the one I regularly return to. My Dreamcast is still hooked up because of this game (and Project Justice but that's not "essential").

Virtua Fighter 4 Vanilla/Evolution - Quest mode was so much fun. The fake arcade/tournament fights and rankings really added to the experience.


Also a note about how these two games are off-line and LOADED with content.

 

[D.Lo]

1) Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike

Still by far the best Street Fighter and it saddens me we got stuck with ugly Dimps 3D games after it.

2) Street Fighter Zero 2
The pinnacle of the golden age.

3) King of Fighters 98
The other pinnacle of the golden age

4) Virtua Fighter 2
Mindblowing at the time.

5) Capcom vs SNK 2
I actually prefer the semi broken CVS, because it was just such a dream come true at release. CVS2 was just a year later and much more of a game.

Honourable mentions:

Street Fighter II Champion Edition/Turbo- Never liked the Super games. Turbo was the pinnacle of the original game changer.

Tekken 3 - the best 3D fighter ever

Dead of Alive 2

Real Bour Fatal Fury Special

King of Fighters 97, 2000, 2001 - 97 is actually my favourite over 98, but I know 98 is the better games. 2000/2001 are my other favourites.

King of Fighters XIII - THIS is how you do HD fighting. You don't need that ugly 3D shit.

Samurai Shodown IV

Marvel vs Street Fighter (and Xmen vs Street Fighter)

Last Blade II

 

[TheTylerRob]

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

Bruh this entire thread is so neogaf it's got me rollin. I thought this dude was trying to troll.

 

[A Pretty Panda]

1) Street Fighter 3 Third Strike
Best Fighting Game Ever. The Parry system, super arts, the still unbeatable ultra smooth animation...everything in this game is absolute perfection.

This post is a perfect example of most 3S fans on the internet imo

Can these posts disqualify all 3S votes from the thread?

 

[SquirrelSoup]

1) Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - So many great characters and such a good package overall. Tekken is also the fighting game i enjoy the most, and even though i dislike the tag mechanics a lot this is still the best Tekken on the whole.

2) Soul Calibur 5 - Lots of changes compared to older games in the series, making it play a bit closer to Tekken. So i enjoyed it a lot.

3) Blazblue Chronophantasma - Blazblue is ASW's best series and CP just plays and looks great.

4) Arcana Heart 3 Love Max - Tons of characters that with the arcana system can all be played in many different ways, and yet it's still relatively balanced. It's so fun trying out a new combination and seeing what you can make of it.

5) Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator - It's the graphics. I mean everything else is also good, the characters are nice, the gameplay is fast and fluid and deep, it has tons of modes and the online is rather polished. But the incredible graphics and animations push it over the edge and make it a game one has to check out.

Honorable mentions:
1) Persona 4 Arena Ultimax - Best transition from an RPG to a fighting game ever. A real solid offering in general too.

2) King of Fighters XIII - Too much focus on long combos and the online was shit, but otherwise a great game with its own unique flavor.

 

[Tizoc]

NWS doesn't keep it a secret that he thinks that the majority of SF III fans are phonies.

That's oddly how I view most of the posters in the GAF FGC thread @_@

 

[mbpm1]

That's oddly how I view most of the posters in the GAF FGC thread @_@

You're both right.

 

[Jacethemindtaker]

1) Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PSX)

The psx version is probably my most played game of all time due to how tight I found the gameplay and the ridiculous world tour/rpg mode. Ken could truly and finally become his final form, one shotting everying.

2) KOF 96

The rest of this list could be SNK games as far as I'm concerned, but I'll limit it to my favourite KOF game and the first one I played. Great sprites and different enough from SF and MK at the time that it blew my mind...also that music...Arashi No Saxophone...

3) Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code (pc)

My love for Tsukihime knows no bounds, and this was a great extension. Easy to play, hard to master, and with the added moon phases it gained a great deal of depth.

4) Tekken 6 BR (PSP)

My first Tekken game, despite being around when the first game was released in 94 and being aware of it. To this day I still prefer 2d fighting games, but something about this game - and how well it plays on the PSP - just clicks with me. Handheld fighting at its greatest.

5) Blazeblue Continuum shift extend (vita)

Fantastic music, characters, fun (but daft story), engaging mechanics, ice cars, Hazama...it's single player content puts everything but MK to shame, and I still prefer it.

Game that should be mentioned outside of honourable mentions but forgot to add it:
Psychic Force 2012

A completely unique (bar the X/1999 game that used the same engine and gameplay) fighting game - set in the air, in a cube. The need to remake this series, it deserves more.

Honorable mentions:
Guilty Gear X2 Midnight Carnival
SF Third Strike
Killer Instinct (2013)
Capcom vs SNK 2
Mortal Kombat 2
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Last Blade 2
War of the Monsters
Godzilla Save the Earth

 

[Secret Character]

1. Super Street Fighter II: Turbo

I've been very outspoken for my love of this game. This, to me, is the greatest fighting game of all time. It is brutal, fast and relies almost completely on fundamentals to win. You don't need to worry about complicated systems, lengthy combos, or really elaborate set-ups in order to be victorious. It might be a cliche choice for the top, but there's a reason the game still has a rather large competitive scene.

2. Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution

(heh)
Sega's second release of VF4 is really a triumph to 3-D fighting games. You're talking about a game that has meticulous balancing, the best tutorial of any fighting game period, and so much to do that you could never get tired of it. I've known people who aren't fighting game fans that have played this game because it's that damn good. It's a shame that we don't have any current gen VF to play, or that VF6 might be a fleeting dream, but everybody who enjoys the fighting genre should do themselves a favor and play this.
(Note: the screenshot is from bonus materials in the game. The actual game is super good looking!)

3. The King of Fighters 98

KOF 98 is where SNK was really in their prime. Everything about 98 is a true testament to the glorious SNK of old (before the Playmore takeover.) This game has some incredibly tight gameplay and a wicked cast. The game was revamped into KOF 98 Ultimate match and added more characters and made some (really minor) balance tweaks and is much easier to get a hold of than classic 98. Both games are good, but I personally prefer the original because of the way it handles meters.

4. Samurai Shodown II

1994 was a pretty crazy year for arcades. You had places that were just getting Super Turbo, MKII, the first KoF, and then this monster comes out close to the end of the year. Sam Sho II took what was great about the first game and improved upon it tenfold. They added new characters that fit with the theme of the game and put in a lot of new mechanics, but the game never felt any less brutal. Hits are hard and slow down the screen and if you whiffed a big attack, you'll get punished for it in a big way. Later games changed the mechanics wildly, so this is really the last game in the series to maintain the true life-or-death style gameplay before moving to a more traditional combo based system.

5. Vampire Savior

So much has already been said about VS in this thread already, but it bears repeating. This is also a game that has a very healthy competitive scene, and for good reason. It's deep like the ocean and is blindingly fast. The cast is fantastic, and who can forget Fetus of God.

Honorable Mention:
- Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection - This might as well be called hop kick, the game, but it's the last pure Tekken game without the Bound mechanic. It also has some of the best stages in the series and a great cast.
- Skullgirls - It's like MvC2, but balanced. The art style is a major turn-off for many, but the game is so good that you should just play it.
- Soul Calibur 3: Arcade Edition - This comes up a lot in discussion. The PS2 version is garbage compared to what they did to the arcade release. If you can find a way to play this one, do it. It's like a tighter SC2 with better characters.
- Street Fighter x Tekken - Yes, this game has controversy. Yes, this game has a large roster locked behind DLC. Yes, gems are garbage. The game, though, after the huge update, is one of the best fighting games of last gen. It's way better than Street Fighter IV.
- Bushido Blade - I love it for many of the same reasons I love Sam Sho II. The atmosphere and (lack of) music makes for a gorgeous and tense game. Unlocking the hidden character is rough, though. lol

 

[Kaji AF16]

1) The King of Fighters ´98 - The absolute peak of a series that produced a 4-year streak (´96-´99, IMHO) of undisputably great fighting games. Ample roster full of diverse, interesting, iconic characters. Complex yet accessible mechanics. Top-tier 2D graphics. Very good music. Being a "Dream-Match" gave it some licences that allowed it to shatter some roster limitations. Its final boss, the ultimate version of the infamous Rugal, is also legendary because of taking your skills to the limit.

2) Mortal Kombat II - Comparatively basic in its mechanics even when compared to some if its contemporaries, MKII was more of a sociological phenomenon than it was an masterful fighting game. It somehow delivered on surpassing its predecessor´s gargantuan impact on the western culture of the early nineties and still stands out as the most serious and technically proficient entry in the eventually bittersweet MK saga.

3) The Last Blade - Aesthetically exquisite, even among the often beautiful catalogue from SNK´s golden years. Relatively simple but very gratifying combat mechanics. Beautiful music, great sound design, top-notch intros. A love letter to anime, full of good taste and a dynamic atmosphere that could change in seconds: from a very calm level intro to a brutal, bloody sword battle, without losing sophistication.
Finally, two of the most memorable, incredibly fun, well-designed and fair final bosses: the ferocious Musashi and the transforming, phoenix-inspired Kagami.

4) Killer Instinct (2013) - In theory, it had every element against it. A launch title for an ill-received console, not developed by its creators, sent to the front in a wild bet to revive a franchise that did have its heyday in the mid-nineties but switfly descended into popular obscurity. Against the odds, we got the strongest fighting game of the Eight Generation, with a surprisingly revamped, almost "Microsoft-Dream Team" roster and the most just and rewarding battle system in existence. The best player almost always wins given the balanced interaction between combos, combo breaking, countering and other very well implemented mechanics.
In an unexpected twist of fate, it steadily evolved not only to become the best Killer Instinct ever, but it also clearly outclassed the successors of the series that were born or bloomed during its same era: the mythical Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Today, Killer Instinct is the fighting game with the most interesting future.

5) Street Fighter II - The spark that transformed it all. Its influence will probably never be surpassed.


Honorable mentions
-Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3: A well crafted, extremely fun to play DBZ simulator. Great graphics, incredible roster (almost every worthy character from the base material). Gave me lots of Kame-Hame-Ha clashing, planet exploding, Super-Saiyajin transforming moments. It is a clear standout when I remember my old PS2 catalogue, which included several other gems.
Never really understood why the Budokai series was more popular than Budokai Tenkaichi...

-Mortal Kombat X: After the excellent MK9, another step in the right direction. The new characters aren´t as memorable as their predecessors, but the graphics and mechanics have been tuned almost to perfection.

-Garou, Mark of the Wolves: My Top 5 has already enough SNK games, but I would also like to acknowledge this masterpiece. A blast to play. Great characters, all of whom were coherent and interesting additions into the expansive SNK universe. The Terry Bogard - Rock Howard dynamic was supreme.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

Can I put all my votes on Evil Zone? Yeah, it's not that good of a game objectively, but it's basically Anime Cliche: Let's Fighting: The Game!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HznxJVvMo_k

 

[tav7623]

1. Mortal Kombat XL - I've been a long time fan of the Mortal Kombat series (I started with MK 2 for the Sega Genesis) and with MK 9 they were able to bring the series back to life. Though despite how awesome MK 9 was MK XL managed to not only improve on it, it managed to do something I've long since longed for (something that also started with the inclusion of Freddy Krueger in MK 9) and that was the inclusion of some of modern horror cinema's biggest badasses (Jason, Leatherface, Alien, & Predator)

2. Tekken Tag Tournament - I have a lot of nostalgia for this game as it was pretty my the first PS2 game I ever got and it cranked up everything I loved about Tekken 3 up to eleven. I remember spending hours upon hours playing this game and the Tekken Bowling Mini game which is kinda weird to find in a fighting game, but I still remember it being awesome trying to sting together strikes.

3. Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PS1) - When it comes to the Street Fighter series I tend to have a love/hate relationship with it. For example, I really hated playing Street Fighter 2 (not Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, which I thought was ok, I'm talking vanilla/OG Street Fighter 2) and it turned me away from the series for about 5 years until I came across SFA 3 for the PS1. I remember renting this game to see if they had changed things since SF 2 and was surprised at how much had been improved. I enjoyed this game some much I ended up buying it about a week later and ended up spending hours playing the World Tour mode (as Fei Long) while jamming to Kid Rock's Devil Without a Cause on my portable CD player.

4. Killer Instinct (2013) - Prior to Killer Instinct 2013 I hadn't really played any of the previous games in the series despite being generally aware that it was a thing (I'd come across the first 2 games practically every time I'd step foot in a place that had a decent sized arcade), but I decided to give this game a go since I had just gotten an Xbox One and it was "Free to Play" so I figured I'd give it a go and was really surprised that I came away really liking it. I eventually ended up picking up the season 1 combo breaker disc as well as Ultra Editions for seasons 2 & 3.(both of which I was really thrilled with) and can't wait to see what they do with the game next.

5. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Honorable Mentions

Tekken 5 - After Tekken 4 I thought that the Tekken series was gonna start it's inevitable downward spiral, but this game imo while not as good at TTT gave me hope that they'd (Namco Bandai) be able to stop that from happing.....then they released Tekken 6.

Skullgirls

Street Fighter 3: Third Strike Online Edition

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Ultra Street Fighter IV

 

[wastedyears]

1. Capcom Vs SNK 2 My favorite fighting game ever, nothing else is even close.

2. Street Fighter Alpha 3

3. Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition

4. Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution

5. Ultra Street Fighter IV



Honorable mentions, in no particular order:

Soul Calibur 2

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Street Fighter Alpha 2

Tekken 3

Virtua Fighter 5

 

[NEO0MJ]

That's oddly how I view most of the posters in the GAF FGC thread @_@

So what you're saying is that there's...Frauds Among Us?

Added another game to my top 5. Last one's going to be difficult...

 

[entremet]

1. USFIV - Yeah option select hell, but this game still is too good. SFV is a great followup and looks to be better

2. Marvel Super Heroes - Still the best Marvel game. Luckily it was ported to the HD twins. Great port too!

3. Street Fighter Alpha 2 - Sublime and great presentation.

Dishonorable mention:

Third Strike. Great art and music, but boring to watch and play. Parries were a disaster. Threw the franchise into obscurity. Horrible balance. Don't get the love. And yes, I was there when this was in the arcades and everyone ignored it. LMAO.

 

[Neoleo2143]

1. Super Street Fighter 2: Turbo

The definitive Fighting game in my opinion. The core is so strong and the variety is just good enough to produce spectacularly addicting play. The "1 more fight" syndrome is strong with this one. Even for casual play, it's not half bad and the art for the most part holds up well with a slew of classic tunes.

2. Marvel vs Capcom 2

The definitive Busted Fighting game. The amount of creative potential with this game is absurd and is absolutely hilarious. Many strong memories with this game.

3. Garou: Mark of the Wolves

SNK at their absolute prime. The game is brutal, exciting and gorgeous.

4. The Last Blade 2

Another SNK Classic that stands as one of the great weapon fighters with a somber atmosphere that still is close to unmatched in the genre.

5. Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator

While imperfect, this game stands as the strongest of the modern Fighters in my opinion only barely edging out the next entry due to the incredible aesthetic. It's hard not to get pumped while playing this technically demanding fighter.

6. Killer Instinct

What a revival, one of the greatest revivals ever. The Score alone is the stuff of legends. Add in an absolutely wacky and creative cast with mechanics and mindgames from top to bottom and you have a thoroughly well built fighter.

 

[Bass260]

1. Super Smash Bros Melee ;
2. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike ;
3. Super Smash Bros for Wii U ;
4. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ;
5. Soul Calibur II ;

 

[shaowebb]

1. Arcana Heart 3 Love Max!!!!!
   
   
   
   
   Game gets criminally ignored because of its overkill levels of Waifu/anime-ness. However it has probably the deepest and most intensive sandbox customizable fighting meta ever.
   
   In this game you can:
   • choose from a roster filled with characters with unique meters and abilities. From a character with a bar just for zoning moves that are OP to a character who can can pose to gain stocks she can spend for cancels on her moves for combo goodness, to Jojo stands, to someone who can place and redirect the trajectory of thrown knives on the screen, to someone with hazama like chain antics, its an extremely varied roster.
   • Choose from an equal number of Arcana which GIVE ANY CHARACTER IN THE GAME AN ENTIRE CHARACTER'S WORTH OF SPECIALS, SUPERS, ULTRAS, PASSIVE ABILITIES, AND DIFFERENT XFACTORLIKE COMEBACK GIMMICKS
   • Homing dashes and steerable homing dash bursts cancels. In other words, you can move super far in the sky and can rocket around in this game like DBZ or Hyper Light Drifter or Furi or some shit. Its insane how mobile you are and how many combos you can create using this. Footsies of the gods.
   • Clash moves and breakers. This plus the cancels and other stuff means quite often you'll see rapid fire slugfest scrambles where someone is beaten down, they breaker, they try to retaliate, the moves clash with another move and they slug it out some more. SUPER LEVELS OF IN YOUR FACE SCRAMBLES AND SETUPS.
   • Honestly, if you're into it, it has a TON of story stuff. You choose who you fight next and you can replay any characters story over and over and keep getting different dialogue and scenarios based on who you fought.
   
   
2. Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code
   
   
   
   30+ characters. But wait...each character has 3 styles variations like MKX did...except in MBAACC these variations are FAR MORE THAN JUST SPECIALS. You essentially have 90+ movesets to use in the game and its insanely fast. Marvel vs Capcom levels of fast and insanely good. Just peep a tournament sometime to see how crazy it is.
   
   The meta is incredible too, with max mode, heat, blood heat and a ton of other stuff that nets you all kinds of crazy new options during a fight depending on which style you chose to play as. Game is ridiculously deep and huge. What do these tools do? Think Marvel 3 xfactor. Increased damage, defense, healing red health, but also wallbounce stuff reduced ex costs and lots and lots of new combo options. Its as big a difference as the HD gauge in KOF 13 in how it impacts your combo options. Many are born again in Max Mode.
   
3. Tatsunoko vs Capcom Ultimate All Stars
   
   
   
   
   This game is so ridiculously good. 2v2 tag fighter starring capcom and tatsunoko cast. Gatchaman, Cashern, Yatterman, Polimar, Karas, Tekkaman and more vs many Capcom cast that are so niche they rarely get seen like Roll, Saki, Kaijin no Soki, Alex, and Batsu.
   
   The roster is just by god amazing. It has assists, and a great mechanic called baroque where you can sacrifice your red health for a cancel and buffed damage based on how much red health you had. Thing is this state ends the moment you drop the combo so if you drop the soap you killed your health. It was super fair in that aspect. It is also a game with no wave dashing (unless you use some ridiculous unintended thing no one ever managed to do in sets) and is an airdash fighter. You don't die in single combos in this game and it is one of the most footsie oriented vs fighters capcom has done. It is by FAR my favorite vs title they've made. Plus since so much of its cast hadn't been used before in a fighter or were making their first appearance in a fighting game almost the entire roster's movesets seemed fresh and new. From Kaijin no Soki trying to abuse armor to get to his final form where the more he attacks the more orbs appear to heal him, get hyper meter or fill a new soul gauge to perform a final move that is devastating whilst enjoying permanent super armor vs normals and specials, to Roll utilizing projectile reflection and buffstates it was crazy out there.
   
4. King of Fighters 13
   
   
   
   
   One of the best and most balanced rosters I've ever played. In this game you got hops, super hops, jumps, super jumps and dodge rolls along with guard canceling. What does this mean? It means footsies son. Loooooooots of footsies. If someone jumps in Kof you dont just know where they will land. They could short hop instant overhead you point blank during pressure as K', they could super jump right over you and cross you up, they could guard cancel your pressure into an attack. Shit is real in this game. Plus once they get the meter for HD gauge they can use that bar as it drains to cancel specials into specials resulting in crazy ass marvel style Zero combo shenanigans. Game is a 3 man team gauntlet style meaning you gotta choose to burn meter now and starve your next guy or save it and struggle. Health and meter carry over so managing bar is super deep. Say hello to one of the best games in the KOF series.
   
5. Nitroplus Blasterz Heroines Infinite Duel
   
   
   
   
   This title is nuts. You can use bursts in neutral, during offense or as a breaker. Not using burst as a breaker nets you big bonuses so breakers are scarce in the game. YOU CAN USE TWO ASSISTS AT THE SAME TIME IN THIS GAME. Also you have air dashes, rolls, short hops, and an insanely powerful universal block called Shield Guarding as well as moves that clash. This leads to many point blank pressure strings canceled out into someone taking a swing at their assailant only to clash and an all out clash shield DBZ slugfest ensues. Game is super fast, has crazy combo enriching special states and is mixup heavy as hell.
   
   Plus the moveset is NUTS! Super Sonico is in it and attacks with summoned friends and cats. This means as she jumps in on you that you can be hit LOW by a cat that was walking on the ground or hit from behind by a summoned friend into a full on wallsplat state. Just absolute insane stuff in this game. Its a vs game starring Nitroplus visual novel cast with guests from Fate Stay Night, Senran Kagura, and even Arcana Heart.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

1. Koihime Enbu
2. Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax Ignition
3. Blaz Blue (entire series)
4. Guilty Gear (entire series)
5. Vampire Savior

 

[Kuksune]

1. Dead or alive 5 last round

2. Guilty gear xrd revelator

3. Virtua fighter 5 final showdown

4. Skullgirls 2nd encore

5. King of fighters XIII

Honorable mentions:

1. Blazblue

2. The last blade 2

 

[SatoAilDarko]

I love fighting games but I'm more of a casual player so my list reflects that.

1) Super Smash Brothers for Wii U

2) Power Stone 2

3) Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition

4) The Last Blade 2

5) Real Bout Fatal Fury 2


Honorable Mentions

1) Castlevania Judgment

2) Jojo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle






Unranked Honorable Mentions

 

[Mista Koo]

1-3 are in no particular order:

1) Soulcalibur V - In its fifth iteration, Soulcalibur gameplay was perfected. The eight way movement is smoother than ever, the super and EX moves fit in naturally, and even the character creation mode is one of the most robust in the industry. Sure some of the fighting styles are missing due to the game being rushed and some people don't like the new cast, but the core gameplay makes up for that.

Sleepless -An Untamed Beast- (Soulcalibur V)

2) Rival Schools - Everything in this game oozes style and personality. Every character design stands out. At its core the game plays like a simpler Street Fighter with super jumps and side stepping. However one simple mechanic gives it much more personality: teams. You pick two characters for every match that you can switch between rounds. The second character allows you to perform a cinematic team up attack that is unique to each character.

On the Rooftop of Taiyo High School (Rival Schools)

3) Soulcalibur II - I couldn't choose between this and Soulcalibur V since I played them during different times. However Soulcalibur II stands out with its cast of characters, and the new additions to the roster add interesting styles with different weapons. Also the game has a plethora of great single player content that Soulcalibur V, and most fighting games for that matter, lack.

Confrontation (Soulcalibur II)

4) Jump Ultimate Stars - On its surface this game does what Smash does, a crossover fighter with simple controls, and it's great at that for having an amazing cast of manga and anime characters to choose from. However what makes the game unique is the panels or koma system. Instead of selecting a character, you create a manga page using different types of character panels: playable characters (4+ squares, the characters you will play as), assist characters (2-3 squares, striker characters than can jump in for one attack), and support characters (1 square, passive stat changes or mechanic gains such as air dashing). Before your fights you will be making one of these decks to use on the touch screen during the game.

Constant Wild Dance (Jump Ultimate Stars)

5) Tekken 3 - This is a fighting game that did a time skip and replaced some of its characters, including the main character, and it's much better for it. It had a mechanically solid core game, a few interesting side modes, and great CG endings for each character. Most importantly it was brave enough to refresh its cast with new ones, most of whom ended up being a permenant stable and include some of the most popular characters in the franchise.

Eddy Gordo (Tekken 3)

Honorable Mentions

1) Guilty Gear Xrd - The most technically and visually impressive fighter out there. Everything in the game is very stylized and every character looks and plays differently. It also has amazing in depth tutorials. Had I played this more I would've moved it to my top 5.
2) Street Fighter V - Despite its lack of content, this is the best Street Fighter for a casual player like me. For once Ryu and Ken don't looks the same! Had I played this more I would've moved it to my top 5.
3) Bushido Blade - A fighter that doesn't do health meters and has decapitation attacks and lethal blows. While it could use more polish to its core systems it is novel enough that it deserves a spot here.
4) Divekick - A two button fighter that strips down the mechanics of fighting games down to the mind games. Too bad the characters and presentation rely too much on inside jokes making it not welcoming nor attractive to mainstream audience or anyone who isn't in on the joke or doesn't think it's funny.
5) Super Smash Bros Wii U - A celebration of Nintendo and gaming legacy and icons. Not my favorite mechanically as a fighter, but it's very polished and mechanically original and full of fan service that it deserves this spot.

6) Mortal Kombat X - I am not a fan of the series, but MKX was a great leap from the previous game. It's visually and artistically the best has every looked. Picking different variations for each character is a great idea too.
7) Killer Instinct - Can't say much, but this is a really fun game that I didn't expect much from since I wasn't very familiar with the series. Oh and its particle effects are so over the top its amazing.
8) Soulcalibur III - Didn't want to give points to three Soulcaliburs, but this one introduced customization and character creations. It also had an interesting side campaign starring and focusing on custom characters, with their own original fighting styles that aren't available for the regular cast.
9) Nidhogg - This is an amazing one on one fencing game that requires defeating your opponent to push forward to one end of the map. If I didn't foolishly hesitate to call it a fighting game it would've been in my top 5.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

1) Guilty Gear XX - Coolest music, art and character designs

Writhe in Pain

2) Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge - I miss Darkstalkers. Fun characters, always preferred it over SF by leagues.

Lord Raptor

3) Soul Blade - I always preferred it over Soul Calibur for some reason... it's probably the music.

Bravely Folk Song (GOAT fighting game theme IMO)

4) Darkstalkers 3: Vampire Savior - Like Night Warriors, but with new characters? Okay, sure. I don't care for most of the new additions (seriously, fuck off bee girl and little red riding hood, ugh) but Jedah's cool, at least.

5) Super Street Fighter II Turbo - Classic, deserves a spot.