The Fighting Game scene could probably be considered one of the earliest Esports scenes to have recorded VHS footage in shaking cameras, with the legendary EVO moments popping up in videos about top Esports moments of all time.
Yet, fighting games as a genre is very much limited in the mainstream when it comes to discussing what games are good because a lot of the games in this genre get shafted for fan favorites.
In the list below we will take a look at some of the most underrated fighting games that should get a new release.
Fighting games that deserve a remake
10) Marvel vs Capcom
In recent times, the tag fighting game genre has been seeing a resurgence with a number of games being developed for this sub-genre. But the Marvel vs Capcom series will always be the undisputed king of tag fighters.
The series started with Capcom and Marvel collaborating for an X-Men fighting game, which released back in the early 90s. The last iteration of the franchise, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, wasn’t received so well but it still survives thanks to an amazing community update.
The franchise is so popular that even actors like Michael B. Jordan have talked about wanting a new game in the Marvel vs Capcom series. This is one series that will definitely break the internet if it makes a comeback.
9) Killer Instinct
Killker Instinct is a fighting game franchise that found its life in the arcades and eventually as a console game on the Nintendo hardware system. Interestingly, the last iteration of the game found itself on an Xbox hardware.
The franchise is considered as one of the best fighting games ever developed in the Western shores, and is lauded for its innovations of game mechanics such as the combo breaker system and dynamic audio.
The last game was also revolutionary for pretty much laying the foundations for how the future of live service fighting games should look like with seasonal character releases and a playable version fo the game with a rotating roster.
Killer Instinct is one of the few games that everyone would love to see come back but nobody knows when that is going to happen.
8) Soulcalibur
There aren’t too many fighting games in the 3D fighting game sub-genre right now other than Tekken. This is because most of them tend to be way too different from each other, especially the Soulcalibur series that was the only 3D fighting game that involved sword fights.
Soulcalibur is a unique series as unlike hand to hand combat fighting games like Tekken and Dead or Alive, this franchise had to make its own systems and mechanics because of the style of game it was.
Unfortunately, the last released Soulcalibur game marked the end of the franchise for now, with the main producer leaving Bandai Namco the company now completely focuses on Tekken’s development.
It would be nice to see the franchise come back in future as this is one of the very beloved franchises.
7) Capcom vs SNK
Capcom is well known for their crossover fighting games, spanning across well known Intellectual Properties, such as Marvel vs Capcom and Street Fighter x Tekken. One of the most celebrated crossovers that the company ever had the pleasure to work on was the Capcom vs SNK series, especially the second game.
The Fighting Game genre got well established with the relase of Capcom’s Street Fighter II in the 90s. Their closest rival being SNK’s Fatal Fury IP, which had the same DNA as Street Fighter because it was developed by some of the same people who worked on the first Street Fighter.
As characters from both Fatal Fury and Street Fighter are once again crossing over between their respective games, relationship between the companies have been reignited. Fans are now eagerly waiting for the inevitable announcement of a new Capcom vs SNK.
6) Power Stone
Power Stone is not a traditional type of fighting like the rest of titles on this list. It was its own unique kind of fighting game that created a sub-genre of 3D fighting games such as LASTFIGHT, Combat Core, and the very popular Shrek Super Slam game.
Developed by Capcom in an era when they were churning out loads of arcade titles, Power Stone dropped for the Dreamcast Home console and instantly become a classic with huge fan following. A sequel to the game was released just a year later, which allowed up to four players to face off each other in one ring.
With the resurgence of the title in Capcom’s new Fighting Collection 2, fan demands for a new entry in the series has been reignited.
5) Rival Schools/ Project Justice
Developed by Capcom, from the mind of Hideaki Itsuno, Rival Schools was an interesting fighting game with a high school setting.
What made the game unique was that even though it had movement in 3D space, It had more elements from 2D fighting games like air combos, air-to-air, projectiles, and even tag team combat like Marvel vs Capcom games.
Rivals schools never got a sequel post-Dreamcast and arcade-era. Hideaki Itsuno expressed his wish to make a new Rival School if given the chance which made a lot of the fans very happy.
4) Blazblue
Blazblue is one of the pillar franchises of Arc System Works along with the Guilty Gear series, having a huge fan following.
The game is well known for being one of the most execution-heavy titles in the ‘anime’ fighting game sub-genre. The series has gained enough popularity to have its own spinoff video games, including a 2D Metroidvania game.
Unfortunately, the creator of the franchise Mori Toshimichi left Arc System Works in 2023 to form his own company, leaving the future of the series in limbo as fans call it.
While the series is not practically as dead as the other games in this list, a new sequel in the franchise from a new director is yet to be announced.
3) Dead or Alive
3D fighting game landscape has been facing drought with most of the franchises being dormant. Presently Tekken is the only reigning franchise in this subgenre with no competitors in sight. But once upon a time Koei Tecmo’s Dead or Alive poised as a worthy challenger to the game.
Rivalry between both franchise was so generational that it extended to their creators, Tomonobu Itagaki and Katsuhiro Harada, as well. Unfortunately the release of Dead or Alive 6 was marred with controversies, and ultimately led to the IP getting shelved, with Koei Tecmo focusing on fan-service heavy spin off games.
The Dead or Alive franchise still to this day has a dedicated fanbase of players who constantly compete in home grown tournament circuits, with hope that one day the franchise will make a comeback, to challenge the reigning champ once again.
2) Darkstalkers
The face of Darkstalkers franchise is familiar to many in the video game community. The succubus Morrigan Aensland is a fan favourite but people barely know or have played the game she comes from.
Darkstalkers is considered by many as one of the most influential and experimental titles from early Capcom. It introduced a lot of fighting game mechanics that went on to become a genre staple, like push blocking, special mode activation, and chain combos.
Unfortunately, the Darkstalkers franchise has not gotten a sequel in years. Fans of this series still keep out hope that one day Capcom will make a new one.
1) Bloody Roar
Originally named Beastorizer, this is probably the most underrated title in this whole list. Bloody Roar is sadly the least probable title on this list to get a new installment any day soon in the near future.
The game was a unique 3D fighting game where characters could transform into anthropomorphic beasts mid-fight which would give them access to new movesets.
In the present day, this game is still very popular among the retro game/fighting game community and fans keep wishing that one day they will get a remaster or a new installment.
