The game that created the genre and the arcade boom around it. Eight distinct characters with unique move sets turned the arcade into a competitive arena and made head-to-head play the point.
2
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (1999)
The final, most refined entry on Capcom's CPS-3 hardware. The parry system rewarded nerve and precision like nothing before it, and the game still anchors tournaments decades later.
3
Garou: Mark of the Wolves (1999)
SNK's masterpiece and the finest game on Neo Geo hardware — beautifully animated, mechanically elegant, and built around the risk-reward Just Defend system.
4
Virtua Fighter 2 (1994)
Sega's Model 2 board rendering texture-mapped, motion-captured fighters at 57.5 frames per second. It proved 3D fighting could be as technical and precise as 2D.
5
Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994)
The competitive community's long-preferred version of the game that started it all, adding super combos and the speed that Rainbow Edition had inadvertently proved players wanted.
6
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (2000)
Chaotic, unbalanced, and beloved for it. Three-on-three tag battles with a roster of 56 characters produced a game whose depths players are still plumbing.
7
The King of Fighters '98 (1998)
SNK's annual crossover tournament at its most balanced and refined — a three-on-three team fighter widely regarded as the high point of the series.
8
Samurai Shodown II (1994)
Weapon-based combat with brutal damage and enormous, deliberate spacing. Slower and more tense than its contemporaries, and all the better for it.
9
Darkstalkers 3 (1997)
Capcom's monster-themed fighter, with animation of a fluidity that raised the industry standard and a cast whose personality has kept the series revered.
10
Tekken 3 (1997)
The PlayStation's definitive fighter — fast, accessible, and deep, with a home conversion so good it made the arcade original almost redundant.