The Top 7… Best fighting game characters

The cream of the K.O.-ing crop

Words: Lucas Sullivan on September 10, 2012

Back to Article

57 comments

View as:
Newest first
Oldest first

AlbVega - September 10, 2012 1:39 p.m.

See, the reason I dislike gamesradar's Fighting Games articles it is because they're written by people who had been playing fighting games for only like, three or five years. No serious Samurai Shodown player would consider NAKORURU the pinnacle of character design in that series, and Mortal Kombat? Seriously? And not to mention the fact that Dizzt was a much more popular and belover character in GG than Sol. Christ, either you hire some people who actually knows something about fighting games, or just stop writing articles about them.
- Reply
- Report
Ljrepresent - September 10, 2012 2:11 p.m.

who are your picks?
- Reply
- Report
Godzillarex - September 10, 2012 2:34 p.m.

Riptor! I was so sad when he wasn't included in the sequel to Killer Instinct, and am now even sadder that he wasn't on this list :(
- Reply
- Report
BladedFalcon - September 10, 2012 2:41 p.m.

I think you meant Dizzy. And sorry, just because it's it's your opinion doesn't make it true. Also, a majority of vote of a community doesn't make it the truth either, just FYI.
- Reply
- Report
RedHarlow - September 10, 2012 2:48 p.m.

Guile, if just for the theme song
- Reply
- Report
J-Fid - September 10, 2012 3:50 p.m.

Yes.
- Reply
- Report
ViolentLee - September 10, 2012 3:56 p.m.

Wow, lumping both Tekken and Soulcalibur into 1 entry? To me, there is nothing that Yoshimitsu has over Voldo (the Hell Guardian) aside from at-bats. Voldo is a way snappy dresser, is just as unique gameplay-wise, and his weapons are cooler. Maybe you guys just aren't progressive enough to give props to an S&M freak. For shame! (I kid) Honestly, my personal favorite fighting game characters are E. Honda (SF), Kasumi (DOA) and Maxi (Soulcal).
- Reply
- Report
J-Fid - September 10, 2012 3:58 p.m.

I don't think Pokemon is truly a fighting game, it's more of an RPG. And Pikachu isn't even that good of a fighter. Give me Garchomp please.
- Reply
- Report
taokaka - September 10, 2012 4:07 p.m.

bet you can't guess who I think should also be on this list............ that's right taokaka. As the strongest of the kaka clan she sets out to become a bounty hunter and capture ragna the bloodedge for the huge bounty on his head, there's only one problem she's a total idiot. She soon manages to find herself begging for food within minutes and eventually bumps into ragna who she pesters into buying her lunch. She also gives the other characters names like with Litch she calls her booby lady and enjoys playing with her boobs. Her fighting style is fast and frantic, she dashes about the screen with her unique ability to to triple dash in air and uses a wide of projectiles that put shouryukens to shame. Her projectiles consist of her throwing items like apples, bowling balls and pillows at the enemy. Unfortunately she isn't really a top tier character due to her attacks being very weak. Some BB fans will probably argue that trollzama is better but taokaka is easily my choice from BB.
- Reply
- Report
JMarsella09 - September 10, 2012 4:19 p.m.

Dan Hibiki. Why? Because he's Dan Hibiki. After all what is Dan Hibiki, the man, the hero, the legend. Dan Hibiki, Street Fighter or Streetest fighter?
- Reply
- Report
bamit11 - September 10, 2012 4:35 p.m.

How the hell is Scorpion only #7? He is the coolest fighting game character ever. He should have at least in the top 3 because I knew Ryu would win. P.S. Nightmare is way cooler than Yoshimitsu.
- Reply
- Report
MattK - September 10, 2012 4:55 p.m.

Go home and be a Guile fan!
- Reply
- Report
LordZarlon - September 10, 2012 5:01 p.m.

Thanks for mentioning a Fatal Fury character. That series gets ignored too much. I would like to mention Heihachi Mishima. Only the coolest bad guy ever!
- Reply
- Report
einhazard - September 10, 2012 5:18 p.m.

Through this whole article, I kept thinking 'What, no love for Fulgore?', so thanks for the little pic of him at the end. Killer Instinct was awesome, and people forget that too often.
- Reply
- Report
einhazard - September 10, 2012 5:19 p.m.

SHIT YEAH DAN HIBIKI
- Reply
- Report
Elemental - September 10, 2012 5:47 p.m.

Glad my fave character made the list. I have been a Yoshimitsu fan since Tekken 1. Shame that he got stripped of most of his best attacks in Soul Calibur 5. I always look forward to seeing how Yoshi will look in with each new appearance. Unfortunately becoming a Yoshi cosplayer would get very expensive!
- Reply
- Report
shawksta - September 10, 2012 5:53 p.m.

Great list, although you made it a bit confusing where it was initially thought you meant most unique and creative fighters but rather this is more on history and first impressions of said original games. Either way, great list, glad to see Killer Instinct on the last page.
- Reply
- Report
Nap1400 - September 10, 2012 6:24 p.m.

He meant Smash Bros. Though to be honest that isn't much of a true fighter either. And it's a crossover game, so there's that.
- Reply
- Report
CH3BURASHKA - September 10, 2012 6:36 p.m.

Many a time I've thought, "What, no [insert noun here]?!" and eagerly page through the last entries to confirm that they didn't put in [noun] in their list. As I savour the future ecstasy that I will get from posting an all-caps entry regarding their absent-mindedness in relation to the [noun] I so happened to be thinking of, I notice they put [noun]'s picture in that last panel. I imagine that it is somewhat of a godsend for them, based on the many times the crew has complained about commenters pointing out what they "forgot". Ironically enough, they totally forgot about Fulgo- oh... nevermind. Seriously though, basic fighting-game-mechanics aside, Killer Instinct has some bitchin' characters, both in and out of context. They're inherently cool (fire dudes, ice dudes, Native American dudes... with tomahawks!), and they have decent backgrounds for a fighting game (Jago is just a ninja man... who belongs to some ancient monk tiger clan to... something or other). Also, chicks that transform into neon tigers. Yeah.
- Reply
- Report
J-Fid - September 10, 2012 7:29 p.m.

And that was going to be my next argument if Smash Bros. was mentioned.
- Reply
- Report
Violinhero - September 10, 2012 8:20 p.m.

What, no Smash Bros? If you went that route, I might have just stuck with the original... But if you did, I would definitely choose Link as the best character. He is balanced and just fits in perfectly with the whole theme of the game and represents Nintendo well. But for runners up...I'd be inclined to say Fox or DK.
- Reply
- Report