Summary
While thefighting gamegenre didn’t begin in the 1990s, it sometimes feels like it did. After all, many of the biggest fighting series began in the ’90s, such as Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and more. Plus, before the decade, you’d see only a handful of fighters released in any given year.
By the mid-90s, though, fighters were releasing all of the time, as you couldn’t go a couple of months without seeing a new entry into the genre. As a result, the competition for the greatest fighting game in any given year started to get really competitive. Here is the best effort each of those years had to offer.
10WWF WrestleMania Challenge
1990
The fighting game genre was still very much in its infancy in 1990. As such, there weren’t a lot of fighters that came out that year. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find three of them. However, a wrestling title called WWF WrestleMania Challenge was released in 1990.
It won’t go down as the greatest pro wrestling game ever, but it is a decent game for its time. The roster contains the biggest names in WWE (known as WWF at the time) from that period, and the game provides some fluid grappling.
The increased popularity of fighting games in the ’90s is largely down to Street Fighter 2. After all, it was one of the few fighters to come out in ‘91, and releases started to become far more frequent in the years following its release.
So, it’s one of the most important fighting games ever. For some, it’s also still considered one of the best due to its flashy and fluid fighting mechanics. Plus, it has an iconic roster of fighters.
In 1992, the fighting game genre really started to take off. Many fighters were released during those 366 days (it was a leap year), especially compared to the two previous years. Among the bunch was the first game in the iconic Mortal Kombat series.
The title helped establish several things that would go on to become staples of the series, such as the gruesome finishing moves called fatalities. These helped MK gain a reputation for being a gorier and more violent series than other fighters. Also, while it doesn’t havethe largest roster of fighters ever, it includes several characters that would become Mortal Kombat favorites.
In 1993, fighting game fans were treated to several big sequels. Yet, what caught the eye the most was an original game by the name of Virtua Fighter. It stood out among its peers due to its use of fully 3D polygon graphics, which wasn’t standard for an arcade fighter at the time.
Along with the revolutionary visuals, the game has an in-depth fighting system that allows you to pull off realistic-looking techniques - at least, they looked real at the time.
It didn’t take long after the first game for the second Virtua Fighter to be released. After all, Virtua Fighter 2 landed in Japanese arcades in 1994, which was just a year after the first. Despite this, the developers still managed to make some significant upgrades for the sequel. One of the biggest was in the visuals.
Like the first game, it offered 3D graphics, but the fights look a lot more real in this one. Plus, the fighting feels a lot smoother and more satisfying. This is why it deserves the reputation of being 1994’s best fighting game.
Severalwonderful fighting games were released in 1995, but few could match the might of Tekken 2. The narrative is one area in which the game excels compared to its peers. At this point in time, story wasn’t a huge priority for fighting game developers.
Yet, the tales told in Tekken tended to be compelling, which was the case for Tekken 2. In it, the protagonist and antagonist of the first game switch places, meaning Heihachi Mishima is the main character, and he’s trying to take down his son Kazuya. Along with a good narrative, the game offers a great roster of fighters, cool combos, and a memorable soundtrack.
1996
In 1996, another famous fighting series was born. This one is called Dead Or Alive. It’s a series that has always differed from others because of how provocative it is.
The original game wasn’t quite as titillating as some later entries, but several of the women in the game certainly have some interesting body types, which are accentuated by the jiggle physics on show. That said, it’s still a serious fighting game. Battles play out at a brisk pace, and there is a cool countering mechanic, which puts it above other 1996 fighters.
For some fans, Tekken 3 remains the best in the series all these years later. This is because, at the time of release, it was seen as an almost perfect Tekken game. It takes the core of what made Tekken 2 so great and builds upon it.
The result is a very polished fighting game with a great roster of characters and a solid soundtrack. On top of that, it was very visually impressive upon release, even if those visuals haven’t aged well since.
2The King of Fighters ‘98: The Slugfest
1998
The King of Fighters ‘98 has a perfect title, as it really was the king of fighting games in 1998. The reason it had the year in the title is because these games were released yearly at the time, just as sports titles are today.
It means there had already been four games in the series prior to ‘98. The 1998 game was a sort of dream match simulator that allowed you to pit major characters from all the previous games against one another. Therefore, it had one of the most impressive rosters seen in any fighting game.
Tekken Tag Tournament serves as agreat spin-off seriesfor the main Tekken games. That said, it isn’t a complete departure from the other main instalments.
In fact, the original Tekken Tag Tournament isn’t too dissimilar to Tekken 3 from a fighting mechanic standpoint, except for the fact it includes two-on-two team battles. Adding extra fighters to the experience does give it a different feel and arguably makes it a better multiplayer game than its predecessors.
