10 Best Fighting Games, According To Metacritic

With huge franchises like Super Smash Bros., Tekken, and Street Fighter, the fighting game genre has plenty of competition when it comes to the best titles. With many high-quality games out there and more seemingly on the way, now is the perfect time to get into fighting games for those who haven’t yet.

For the best games to play for new fans and fighting game veterans alike, Metacritic makes it easy to see which titles have received universal acclaim for their next-level combat. In a genre packed with quality, these games still manage to stand above the rest.

10 Super Smash Bros. Melee (GameCube) – 92

The second installment of Nintendo’s crossover fighting series brings together some of the company’s biggest characters along with others across the world of gaming in a reliably over-the-top fighting experience. Like the other titles in the series, the game makes use of tight, intuitive controls and percentage damage counters rather than health bars.

Whilst Melee advanced the combat compared to the original Super Smash Bros. with new defensive techniques, it isn’t the best in the series for all-out fun and the roster of 25 playable characters seems a little lacking now. Nevertheless, Melee‘s very high user score of 9.1 on Metacritic indicates just how popular this title is with players.

9 Super Street Fighter IV (PlayStation 3) – 92

A massive expansion for the fourth Street Fighter game that became a huge game in its own right, Super Street Fighter IV is all the action fans have come to expect from one of Capcom’s greatest fighting game franchises with a ton more content to enjoy. Street Fighter already had an incredibly recognizable character lineup, but Super Street Fighter IV‘s addition of 8 entirely new characters only makes it better.

The game also includes new intros and endings in Arcade mode for the returning characters, meaning fans of Street Fighter‘s iconic characters won’t be disappointed either. Adding so much more content to an already well-liked game proved to be a smart move and is reflected in the title being one of the most acclaimed Street Fighters on Metacritic.

8 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) – 93

With a huge roster of nearly 90 playable characters from a bunch of different franchises, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brings the ridiculous, fast-paced combat of the series to the Nintendo Switch in style. Rated the second-best Switch game of 2018 according to Metacritic, it’s fair to say that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was a success, and it remains one of the most-talked-about fighting games.

With combat as tight and intuitive as ever and graphics that bring every character to life, even those from games with wildly differing styles like Steve from the Minecraft series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lives up to its name. Though Sora became the final new character added to the game last year, there is still plenty of reason to play the newest Super Smash Bros. game.

7 SoulCalibur II (GameCube) – 93

Set four years after the first SoulCalibur, SoulCalibur 2 developed the series with better graphics and combat than ever before as well as an expanded lineup of fighters. The plot, which centers on characters attempting to track down the missing pieces of the Soul Edge to either destroy it or reform it for their own use, is engaging but the gameplay is what really sells SoulCalibur 2.

Fluid gameplay and intuitive controls are a given, but the sophisticated weapons system helps take SoulCalibur 2 to the next level and the weapons-based combat helps set the title apart from other series. Interestingly, different ports of the game include a unique playable character and the inclusion of Link from the Zelda games helps make the GameCube the best way to play SoulCalibur 2.

6 Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PlayStation) – 93

Like many early Street Fighter games, Street Fighter Alpha 3 started life as an arcade game before being stripped back somewhat for its port to the PlayStation. Despite this, the last Street Fighter Alpha game manages to feel like a comprehensive fighting game on the console, bringing the depth and intensity of combat the Alpha series was famous for to players at home.

There are also still a huge amount of combos, special moves, extra game modes, and even hidden characters for fighting game fans to get into, making for the classic, addictive thrill that fighting games are best at. The best Street Fighter game on the platform, Street Fighter Alpha also manages to be one of the best fighting game experiences of all time.

5 Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) – 93

One of the best-selling games on the Nintendo Wii and with good reason, Super Smash Bros. Brawl remains the best game in the Super Smash Bros. franchise, according to Metacritic’s review aggregator. Though it can’t match its successor Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for character lineup or polish, it wins back points through sheer fun with incredibly addictive gameplay.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl, like other titles in the franchise, can seem deceptively simple, especially with its unique lineup of iconic but often cartoony characters. However, as fans of Super Smash Bros. know well, there is a depth to the combat that keeps things interesting even so many years after the game’s release.

4 Virtua Fighter 4 (Playstation 2) – 94

Many consider the early 2000s a golden generation for fighting games, and Virtua Fighter 4 was a big part of that. With only 2 new characters compared to the series’ previous outing, the game’s focus is almost entirely on slick, simple-yet-sophisticated gameplay that can keep any fighting game fan playing for hours.

A player can easily begin to enjoy the game just by mastering the basic controls, but there are intense combos and more to be learned as the player progresses and there is almost no limit to how far a dedicated player can improve. The ability to “train” an in-game AI with the player’s own move set is also an interesting feature well-worth checking out the game for.

3 Street Fighter IV (PlayStation 3) – 94

The best way to experience the Street Fighter series to date, Street Fighter IV is simply an amazing fighting game with great visuals and a whole lot more. With 25 characters including all the favorites as well as some popular newcomers, Street Fighter IV found a rare balance between pleasing old fans of the series and appealing to new players.

The game is relatively well-balanced and feels good to play, and there is a variety of game modes that keeps it on par with other modern fighters. Street Fighter IV‘s high average critic rating of 94 compared to other fighting games from the same era reflects the game’s ability to win over players to the fighting game experience, and the combat is also polished enough to still hold up well.

2 Tekken 3 (PlayStation) – 96

Simply one of the best fighting games in a golden generation, Tekken 3 doesn’t have many rivals when it comes to movesets and combos, and the gameplay is absurdly fluid for 1998 when it was released for the PlayStation. Tekken 3 stood far ahead of its competitors and is widely considered the best fighting game on the console, as well as the best PS1 game of 1998, according to Metacritic.

Tekken 3‘s variety of gameplay and game modes are also surprisingly comprehensive for the time and set the standard for fighting games ever since. There is plenty of reason for the game’s universal acclaim and it remains well worth revisiting despite its age.

1 SoulCalibur (Dreamcast) – 98

Initially released in arcades as the second game in the series, SoulCalibur‘s excellent port to the Dreamcast remains the best fighting game of all time, according to Metacritic’s rankings. With a roster of nearly 20 characters each with unique weapons-based move sets, the 3D fighting game established the SoulCalibur series as a true rival to other big hitters like Street Fighter and Tekken.

With advanced graphics and a level of polish that is surprising for such an early example of a 3D fighting game, SoulCalibur won over critics and fans alike with this port that didn’t lose much from the arcade edition. SoulCalibur remains the best game on the Dreamcast as well as the best fighting game of all time on Metacritic.