The PS2 is still the best selling home console of all time. That is prettꦚy miraculous considering two decades have passed since its original release. This is all to say the system’s library is vast across many different genres, with fighting games being no excep🍌tion.
The games listed are in order of their scores, from the bottom to the top with a few caveats. To keep things more diverse, there are no duplicate entries in a single series, but they will be mentioned in every entry. For example, if Street Fighter were on this list, the entry would also make note of the othe🍸r games that didn’t m📖ake the cut but came close.
Here are the best PS2 fighting games, according to Metacrit✱ic.
10 Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (7ꦺ8)
This series started all the way back on the PC Engine in Japan with 1989's Fire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag. Most games in the series are exclusive to that country. In fact, the first main game localized in the West was 2001's Fire Pro Wrestling for the Game Boy Advance.
A sequel to that title released a year later on the same handheld, followed by a brief delay before the West once again was treated to 2007’s Fire Pro Wrestling Returns. What makes t👍his series special is the over-the-top and goofy mechaniꦦcs that set it apart from the WWE games.
9 ꧅ War of the Monsters (80) 🐎
A PlayStation , War of the Monsters is sort of like a mashup of Rampage and Super Smash Bros. Players can choose one of many popular B-movie type monsters, including a giant bug and robot, and start wreaking ha𝔉voc on the city.
Points are accrued by causing destruction and damaging opponents. War of the Monsters is certainly not the deepest fighting game, but it fits the mold enough for this article. It's one of the few on here that is also widely available to purchase🍸, as it is available on the PS4 as a PS2 Classic ဣfor just $10.
8 Mortal Kombat: Deception (81) 🐓
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance almost made this list with a 79 on Metacritic. Deception had a lot of unique elements at the time like its semi 3D environments. On toꦑp of that, each fighter had three different fighting styles, giving the somewhat smaller roster more life as one fighter could be played in three ways.
It also introduced Konquest, a story mode set up like an adventure RPG. There was a lot to this game and even with the Chess mode, Deception mostly hit its marks.
7 ඣ Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 (81) 🎉
This technic🔯ally hit the Dreamcast first, but as both dates were only months apart, it’s g💃oing to get counted on here.
While this crossover with SNK never managed to peak as high as other crossover fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom, it is still widely regarded as one of the best fighters on an🦹y generation of consoles. The care given to each property is second to none, with each company being equally represented.
6 🤡 Def Jam: Fight for NY (83)
The first game, Def Jam Vendetta, got an 80 on Metacritic, therefore both that and this are about on par in terms of quality. Another odd wrestling game, Fight for NY mixed contempor🍰ary and old s🌊chool hip-hop artists with wrestling.
Strange? Absolutely. However, the Def Jam games became instant classics thanks to sound mechanics, an excellent so♉undtrack comprised of licensed music, and an actual story that, while goofy,💙 was solid. It’s no wonder fan outcry for a sequel has been so loud the past few years.
5 🌄 WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain (85)
There were actually a lot of WWE games this article skipped over that were in the top twenty. WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 got an 84, WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth got an 82, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw got an 80, and so on.
Point is the official WWE games used to be widely regarded as excellent fighting games in this generation, even if the same cannot be said for the franchise's post-PS2 releases. The best games are still on th♔is console and one can’t go wrong with any of them.
4 Guilty Gear X2 (87) ꧙
Guilty Gear was like the bullet-hell shooter of fighting games when it first hit the scene. That is to say, compared to others like Street Fighter, Guilty Gear's combo sღystems were chaotic, hard to master, but oh so fun to learn.
This sequel improved on the original in every way by refining the mechanics on top of adding more zany cha⛄racters for players to perfect. Among Arc System Works’ fighting games, this is still easy to pick up for hardcore players.
3 Tekken 5 (88) 🦩
Tekken Tag Tournament, a launch game for the PS2, just missed out on this list with an 83. Tekken 5 soars above that, reaching peaks that hadn't been seen since Tekken 3 on PS1.
In many ways, Tekken 5 went back to basics after the license floundered with spinoffs and gameplay tweaks done to Tekken 4 that most fans didn’t seem to enjoy. By doubling down on its core systems, Namco managed to win back the favor of it𓆉s dwindling community.
2 SoulCalibur II (92) 🦄 💦
First of all, SoulCalibur III did not make this list with an 86. As for its predecessor, no matter the platform played on, SoulCalibur II was a big deal for the fighting game community. Each version got an 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:exclusive character. The Ga𒊎meCube version, which got one point higher than both P🗹S2 and Xbox, received Link as a playable character.
PlayStation fans got Heihachi from Tekken, eಌven though he doesn't use a weapon. Finally, Xbox players got to play as Spawn. These guest characters were cool, but the weaponized fighting combat within was also fully realized.
1 ♑ Virtua Fighter 4 (94)
Virtua Fighter 4 winning this list is sort of indicative of this era. The series used to stand toe to toe with Street Fighter, but past the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation, the series all but vanished, except for Virtua Fighter 5 being inside the Yakuza games as arcade attractions.
Sad reminders of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:forgotten franchises aside, to know how great this series used to be, look no further than Virtua Fighter 4.