Perhaps more than any other genre, fighting games are dominated by franchises. Putting aside the occasional anime 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:arena fighter, it is the genre's classic IPs that always dominate the headlines. This primarily comes down to the competitive market, as certain licenses are fixtures in the eSports scene ꦑand it is difficult for new properties📖 to make a dent.
While certain fighting franchises continue to produce, at least, one substantial release per generation, other influential licenses have fallen to the wayside over the years. Hopefully, some of these dead series will one day enjoy 🌃a resurgence in relevance; until then, here are the five influential fighting franchises that are still going strong, along with five that have died out.
10 🃏 Going Strong: Street Fighter 🀅
Through a number of properties, Capcom helped shape the fighting genre. Out of all of Capcom's IPs, none were quite as influential as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Street Fighter, a series that debuted in 1987 and would go on to set the standard for 2D fighters. 1991's Street Fighter II is arguably the most important fighting game to ever be released. It not only established many of the conventions that would come to define one-on-one fighting games, but Street Fighter II's commercial suc🍌cess proved the genre could be lucrative.
Street Fighter V might have launched in a rather disap🔯pointing state, but the franchise continues to be a central fixture of compe♔titions and popular among casual players.
9 💜 Died Out: Darkstalkers
Naturally, Capcom tends to focus on the cash cow that is Street Fighter; however, the publisher also produced another great fighting series in Darkstalkers. Released in 1994, Darkstalkers took Street Fighter and added a welcome dose of complexity, introducing mechanics like chain combos and guard cancels that are nowadays consid💯ered essential for basically any fighting game.
Darkstalkers prioritized mobility above everything else, ensuring the player always felt in complete control of a fighter's movement. While the latter entries in the series were not as groundbreaking, Darkstalkers remained consistently good throughout most of its run. Unfortunately, 2013's Darkstalkers Resurrection was the last sequel to be released.
8 ♌ Going Strong: Mortal Kombat
Covered by guts and shrouded in controversy, Mortal Kombat was the fighting franchise during the mid-'90s. Midway Games' series popularized digitized spirits and launched a thousand imitators who seemed to be under the assumption that grotesque violence was the only thing offered by Mortal Kombat.
Obviously, that was never the case, and Mortal Kombat has only gotten better since rebooting itself in 2011. Nowadays, Mortal Kombat 11 boasts one of the most co🌼mplete combat systems in the genre.
7 𒆙 Died Out: Fatal Fury
Although somewhat survived through The King of Fighters series, Fatal Fury has not spawned an official entry since 1999's fantastic Garou: Mark of the Wolves. SNK is a publisher that holds a lot of sway in the fighting genre, and Fatal Fury is the company's greatest achievement.
Along with offering quite a challenge even in single-player mode, Fatal Fury's later entries perfected the art of dodging by employing a har🅷d-to-master but rewarding multi-plane system.
6 ﷽ 💯 Going Strong: Tekken
When it comes to 3D fighters, Tekken is king. Although not the first property to consider adding an extra dimension, Tekken legitimized 3D fighters in a world dominated by Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. The series is also amazingly popular, with Tekken 3 and 5 holding special place📖🍨s in the hearts of PlayStation owners.
Depending on the entry, Tekken tends to fluctuate between hot and cold, although there is still more than enough interest in the franchise to guarantee that the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mishima family is not going away anytime soon.
5 Died Ou🦩t: Vi♛rtua Fighter
For whatever reason, it has been 14 years since Sega last produced a proper Virtua Fighter entry. Predating Tekken by approximately a year, 1993's Virtua Fighter was considered the first 3D fighting game, albeit the extra dimension primarily affected the presentation and not the gameplay. Along with introducing Ring Outs, Virtua Fighter also features a timing-based comba🙈tဣ system that manages to be both accessible and challenging.
Along with being fantastic, most of the Virtua Fighter entries were ahead of the curve when it came to polygon 3D fighters, even if the series never quite gained the same level of fame as Tekken or .
4 Going Strong: SoulCalibur ♎
The definitive weapon-based fighting game series, SoulCalibur started out as 1995's Soul Edge before making the switch to its more recognizable name in 1998. Due to each fighter having their own weapon that complements their combat style, SoulCalibur has arguably the most varied roster in the genre.
SoulCalibur probably peaked with its second entry; that said, ꦗall of the main games are solid fighters in their own right.
3 D𒉰ied Out: Battle Arena Toshinden 💟
Recognized for conceiving the sidestep move that would become a crucial feature of 3D fighters, Battle Arena Toshinden was a weapons-based fighter that was quite well-received when it debuted in 1995. While it lacked the depth of competitive fighters, Battle Arena Toshinden was flashy and♐ innovative enoug💮h to leave a positive impression.
The sequels never quite managed to reach the same heights as the original Battle Arena Toshinden, with the final main entry (Toshinden 4) not even making it to the U.S.
2 Going Strong: Super Smash Bros. ♌
Nintendo's celebration of everything gaming (but mostly Nintendo) has become a bigger deal than many of the franchises represented by its roster. Despite being released less than a month prior to the end of the year, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was the fifth . It is sꦓafe to say that Nintendo's franchise is doing f♏ine.
Super Smash Bros. is a mainstay ꧅of both the casual and competitive scenes,✅ and that is not going to change unless Nintendo grows an aversion for money.
1 ♉ Died Out: SNK Vs. Capcom (& Capcom Vs. SNK)
In terms of gameplay, SNK vs. Capcom (or the vastly superior Capcom vs SNK) primarily took elements from the publisher's core franchises like The King of Fighters and Street Fighter. With the exception of perhaps Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000's ratio system that determined whichꦐ characters could be included in a team, this franchise was never particularly groundbreaking or innovative.
However, SNK vs. Capcom feels like a byproduct of an era when publishers were more willing to take risks with their properties. Nowadays, crossovers tend to be limited to mobile games and the occasional guest character, Super Smash Bros. notwithstanding.