Fighting games are full of lore and history, including many classic character rivalries that are still ongoing to this day. These rivalries are sustained by all sorts of ꦯmotives; some rivals seek friendly competition, while other🌊s seek dominance or revenge. And others might even be console rivalries that are more about warring fandoms than the specific characters themselves.
There are many fighters out there with a sco𒁃re to settle, but for this list, we’ll consider a rivalry to be an interpersonal conflict that, however central, wouldn’t count as an overt hero vs. villain narཧrative. So here are our picks for our favorite sparring partners, whose struggles drive the stories, hearts, and even humor of their respective series.
10 Terry And Andy Bogard – Fa𒈔tal Fury, King of Fighters 🍨
Terry Bogard and his younger brother Andy made their debut more than thirty years ago in the original 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Fatal Fury. These days Terry is a bit of a mascot for SNK and clearly the more recognizable character, although Andy has been in almost as many games as a mainstay of both Fatal Fury and the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:King of Fighters series.
While they enjoy a friendly rivalry, this one is pretty low-stakes, all things conside🎃red. While both are skilled martial artists, Terry is canonically the stronger fighter. Andy shows some jealousy about this, but it doesn’t stop them from frequently working together against SNK’s famous villains like Geese Howard and Rugal Bernstein.
9 ꦉ Dan And The Rest Of The Cast – ܫStreet Fighter
When SNK debuted the Art of Fighting series, its protagonist Ryo bore a suspicious similarity to a certain other popular gi-wearing, projectile-shooting martial artist. Capcom took notice, so they created Dan, a parody of Ryo that was int🐈entionally a bumbling joke character.
But don’t tell Dan that. Proud and overconfident, but endearingly so, Dan is convinced his unique Saikyo-Ryu fighting style can outmatch anyone. While he is technically most committed to taking down Sagat, who killed his father, he regularly tries to prove himself to Ken, Chun-Li, and other 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Street Fighter cast members, whose responses range from 🧜annoyance to 𓆉amusement.
8 Mario And Sonic – Super Smash Bros. 🦩
While Nintendo and Sega are frequent collaborators now, the two were fierce rivals during the console wars of the 90s. And while that contention faded in the subsequent decade, it was still a surprise to see Sonic announced for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2007 as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:one of the series&෴rsqu🃏o; first guest characters.
While Mario and Sonic seem to get along just fine in person, pitting them against each othe൩r in Smash Bros. still feels like the culmination of so many schoolyard debates over whether Sega can really do “what Nintendo🃏n’t.” Mario and Sonic continue to face off in Olympic sports games, too, but their clashes in Smash still feel like the ultimate fulfillment of a fantasy match-up.
7 𝓰 Ragna The Bloodedge And Jin Kisaragi – BlazBlue
While Ragna and Jin are brothers, they are constantly at odds throughout BlazBlue’s long and complex story. Ragna is a wanted criminal and Jin, a prominent military official, is in constant pursuit of him -- along ꦇwith wanting to kill him due to the influence of his ice sword Yukiane🌱sa.
Over the course of the series, as Jin gains more control over himself and his sword, their relationship evolves to the point where Jin can put aside these murderous impulses. But they're not the Bogard brothers, and Jin’s drive to exterminate Ragna is generally one of the more unhinged vendettas in fighting games.
6 Ky Kiske And Sol Badguy – Gu🤪ilty Gear
Ky and Sol are a classic good cop/bad cop duo. Early in the series, gruff bounty hunter Sol joins the young swordsman Ky and his army during their war against the titular magic entities called Gears. Ky, noble and just, has the word “HOPE” on his belt buckle; the more independent and cynical Sol has the word “FREE” on his (168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Guilty Gear is not one for subtlety).
Despite their differences, they have established a close bond over time and regard each other with respect. They have dueled on several occasions, and while Sol seems to be the more powerful of the two, he remains convinced Ky🧔 is holding back on him.
5 Sub-Zero And Scorpion – 🌊Mortal Kombat 🐼
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mortal Kombat’s two most famous ninjas have been fighting (and sometimes successfully killing) each other since 1992. It’s a key part of MK lore and even fi🐷gures prominently in one of the Mortal Kombat film adaptations.
The combatants’ history gets complicated, especially since there are multiple timelines and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:more than one man has assumed the mantle of Sub-Zero. The two have also formed an alliance since working out some misunderstandings from their early days. We guess no matter how deep your clan feuds run, if ꧒you started your careers with the same palette-swapped ninja sprite, you can always fin🍷d common ground.
4 Ryu And Sagat 🦋– ♎Street Fighter
Ryu’s first confrontation with Sagat is a key part of Street Fighter lore. Sagat received his signature scar from Ryu’s Shoryuken during this fateful battle and sought revenge throughoutℱ the series.
Eventually, Sagat realizes that he cannot be driꦦven by hate and vengeance toward Ryu, and he begins to see Ryu as more of a riva🎉l than an enemy. At one point, he even refers to Ryu as an “old friend.” While he began as a villain, it’s been rewarding to watch Sagat evolve into a more honorable man, and we hope to see his storied rivalry with Ryu continue in Street Fighter 6.
3 Kyo Kus꧒anagi And Iori Yagami – King Of Fighters 🌠
Kyo and Iori’s very long-running rivalry is inspired by the Japanese Yamata no Orochi legend. Both are descendants of fami🐻lies that sealed away the powerful Orochi being long ago, but later events saw their respective clans become enemies. Iori carries this historic grudge with him into the modern day.
The two are natural foils of each other; Kyo is slick and charismatic, while Iori is a serious and often menacing figure. Iori has been increas𝔍ingly willing to work alongside Kyo, however, so while this rivalr♔y may never be truly extinguished, it has lost the bloodlust it once had.
2 Kazuya And Heihachi Mishima – Tekken 🐼
A big part of the expansive Tekken storyline is Kazuya’s quest for revenge against his father, He✅ihachi, who tossed him off a cliff when he was five. This (understandably!) drives a wedge between them, and Kazuya enters the first King of the Iron Fist tournament to get his revenge.
What follows is decades of Mishima family drama, dueling organizations and corporate entities, and more people getting thrown off of high things. It’s one of the longest ongoing stories told in all of video game culture, and at its core, burns 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:this iconic father-son rivalry.
1 ꦿ Ryu And Ken🔯 – Street Fighter
Ryu and Ken had to be first; they basically invented the♔ concept of fighting game rivalries in the original Street Fighter. They even played so similarly (or even identically) during their first games together that there was genuine debate over꧂ who was the better character.
B🔯ut it’s not just the length of their rivalry that makes it so significant, ♛but how they have both grown as characters because of it. Watching their moves and playstyles evolve and differentiate over time feels like watching them develop as people—two friends with a shared history who will always be united by their experiences together, even as life takes them down separate paths.
It’s one of the best rivalries in video games and one of the best friendships, remind﷽ing us that everyone needs a Ken to their Ryu to help bring out the best in them.