#30. – Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
In one of their strangest moves Capcom decided they weren’t happy with just Street Fighter II, Marvel, and the vs series. They wanted another fighting game franchise, but this time around they went with a cartoon horror theme. For many this motif was a turn-off but I actually loved it. Darkstalkers uses the 32-bit Street Fighter engine, and plays very similar to their other fighters. The character sprites are absolutely huge and chock full of detailed frames of animation. It’s really a sight to behold. Darkstalkers isn’t completely unoriginal and does bring a few things to the table that really change how it’s played. You have air blocking, can walk while crouching, and different varieties of super moves. It’s a cool game and plays just different enough from Street Fighter II for me to recommend it to fighting genre enthusiasts.
#29. – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
This is a fighting game based on a storied anime and manga series. I can’t personally tell you how good those are because they’re a bit too stylized and crazy for me, but I do plan to watch/read them in the future. If this fighting game is any indication I’m in for a real treat. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a fighter of the best variety. It’s easy to write off as a Street Fighter II clone because it plays in a similar fashion with some tweaks and new features. For example, characters can perform super moves based on the filling of a meter at the top of the screen. I really like the fact that it fills as you both dish out and take damage. Besides that it’s your typical fast and furious, but highly stylized fighting game.
#28. – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
Unfortunately this one dropped long after I had stopped being a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A friend of mine rented it on a whim during the height of Street Fighter II fandom, and we were shocked at just how good it was. It pays a lot like the aforementioned fighting game but with a lot of bells and whistles. The roster of characters is a bit disappointing with many mainstays curiously missing. There’s no Casey Jones for example. At least you have all four turtles. This game contains fantastic colorful visuals and one of the best soundtracks ever. Konami served fans of the franchise well in this regard. Special moves are generally projectiles and dashing attacks, but you also have super moves which were relatively new at the time. Even for a non-fan of the franchise I still consider this one of the best 2D fighting games.
#27. – Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams
It sure seems like Capcom was doing everything in their power to not move on to the third numbered installment in the franchise. Street Fighter Alpha was basically the next generation Street Fighter release for 32-bit hardware. It features significantly better graphics and effects (animation and backgrounds in particular get a huge upgrade). Also new were three levels of super moves. Street Fighter Alpha was also the first big roster update the franchise had experienced in quite some time. The mainstays like Ryu, Ken, and Chun Li all returned but Guile was replaced by Charlie. A few faces from Final Fight were introduced to the franchise as well, and this also was the introduction of the villain Akuma. Street Fighter Alpha was the biggest step forward for the franchise up to this point, and is easily one of the best 2D fighting games of all time.
#26. – Samurai Shodown
This was one of SNK’s biggest hits in the arcade. It never quite reached the same height of popularity as Street Fighter II or Fatal Fury, but it did turn some heads. What was unique at the time was the setting of feudal Japan, and it focused on weapons based combat. This alters gameplay in a few ways. First of all combat is more based on quick strikes and fast movement rather than intricate combination attacks. You had to worry more about range than chaining together your attacks. Samurai Shodown was also bloodier than most fighters, but it didn’t come off as sleazy like in Mortal Kombat or Primal Rage. There are a few different reasons why I consider this one of the best 2D fighting games. First of all the setting was unique, and the gameplay actually tried something a bit different for the time.
#25. – Real Bout Fatal Fury
Real Bout was to Fatal Fury what Alpha was to Street Fighter. I see the two compared often and it’s a pretty accurate representation to be honest. Real Bout Fatal Fury implements many of the new features introduced in part 3, but ups the ante in several ways. First of all the graphics look absolutely amazing. This game almost looks like an entire generational leap from the last title with insane amounts of detail in the backgrounds. The combat system has been refined but now you only have three attack buttons. The super move system has been overhauled now allowing you to use three levels of this ultimate strike. Everything just feels faster this time around, and the basic Fatal Fury gameplay benefits heavily from this. I also love the character roster. Real Bout is easily one of the best 2D fighting games of all time.
#24. – World Heroes II
If there’s one problem I had with the first World Heroes it was that it lacked polish. Some of the characters (and their respective graphics) felt like placeholders because they were so uninspired. This time around the theme of time travel and gathering history’s strongest warriors feels more fully realized. Also new to the formula is projectile reflecting which still feels unique even to this day. The roster has been significantly improved with most of the old faces returning and six brand new combatants introduced. I especially like the viking Erick, and Captain Kidd the pirate (whose stage is one of my absolute favorites across the entire genre). To be perfectly honest you can skip the original World Heroes and move straight to the sequel. I even like the vanilla version more than Jet.
#23. – Street Fighter Alpha 2
This is where Capcom got serious with the franchise during the 32-bit era in my opinion. The only real problem I had with Street Fighter Alpha was how many of the definitive characters were missing from the roster. Part 2 brings back Dhalsim and Zangief who should never have been excluded in the first place. Other new faces include Rolento from Final Fight, and Sakura who has since become a franchise mainstay. Capcom also rebalanced some of the characters and their special moves and all of these changes were for the better. The biggest alteration to gameplay however comes from the new Custom Combo system. This allows you to charge a meter and unleash havoc by pressing two attack buttons at once allowing you to chain together various punches and kicks. These reasons are why Street Fighter Alpha 2 is one of the best 2D fighting games of all time.
#22. – The Last Blade
Even late into the 90s SNK was still pumping out original games for the Neo Geo hardware. The Last Blade was a curious effort because it was a weapons based fighter set in feudal Japan. Sound familiar? This was seen as a spiritual successor to Samurai Shodown but has some major differences in gameplay to set it apart. You can select between two different fighting styles, and make use of a new ‘deflect’ system. This allows you to press in the direction of a foe during their attack to push back and leave them open for attack. Gameplay is rock solid, and it’s not hard to see why this is one of the best 2D fighting games of all time. The graphics are also among the best you’ll find in any game of its kind. It’s incredibly artistic with amazing hand drawn backgrounds and characters that animate incredibly fluidly.
#21. – The King of Fighters ’96
I have a love/hate relationship with the King of Fighters franchise. On one hand I absolutely love that it’s a megamix of sorts of characters from SNK’s most popular franchises. The major drawback is that it’s based on a tag team set up that I don’t think works particularly well in this case. A few refinements round out the package thus making this one of the best 2D fighting games of all time. You now have ‘bridge’ moves, dashes, etc. These make gameplay more complex and ups the learning curve, but beginners can still button mash with relative success here. One of the highlights is the fact that the character roster includes 27 characters! For a 2D fighting game that’s absolutely insane. While I am not a fan of all installments in the King of Fighters franchise, the 96 version has some of the most balanced gameplay within it.
