The fighting game genre of video games involves combat between multiple characters, often one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining attacks together into "combos". Characters generally engage hand-to-hand combat, often with martial arts, but some may include weaponry. Battles are usually set in a fixed-size arena along a two-dimensional plane, where characters navigate the plane horizontally by walking or dashing, and vertically by jumping. Some games allow limited movement in 3D space, such as Tekken, while some are set in fully three-dimensional environments without restricting characters' movement, such as Power Stone and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm; these are sometimes referred to as "3D arena" fighting games.
Killer Instinct is a 2.5D fighting game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo. It was originally released for arcades by Midway in October 1994, and ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Game Boy the following year. The game's plot involves an all-powerful corporation organizing a fighting tournament. The story was adapted in a limited comic book series published under the short-lived Acclaim Comics imprint.
Street Fighter III: New Generation is a 1997 fighting game in Capcom's Street Fighter series, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game. The game, which was designed as a direct sequel to Street Fighter II (1991), initially discarded every previous character except for Ryu and Ken, introducing an all-new roster led by Alex. Likewise, a new antagonist named Gill took over M. Bison's role from the previous games as the new boss character.
Mortal Kombat 4 is the fourth main installment in the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games developed by Midway Games. Released to arcades in 1997, Mortal Kombat 4 is the first title from the series, and one of the first made by Midway overall, to use 3D computer graphics. It is also the last game of the series to have an arcade release. It was later ported to the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PC, and Game Boy Color the following year, as well as an updated version titled Mortal Kombat Gold released exclusively for the Dreamcast.
Street Fighter Alpha 2, known as Street Fighter Zero 2 in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1996 fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is a remake of the previous year's Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams and features a number of improvements, such as new attacks, stages, endings, and gameplay features. It was ported to the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Super Nintendo home consoles globally in 1996, and later a Windows port. It was followed by Street Fighter Alpha 3 in 1998.
Mortal Kombat 3 is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games. It is the third main installment in the Mortal Kombat franchise and a sequel to 1993's Mortal Kombat II. As in the previous games, it has a cast of characters that players choose from and guide through a series of battles against other opponents. The game avoids the tournament storyline of its predecessors, as various warriors instead fight against the returning Shao Kahn, who has resurrected his bride Sindel and started an invasion of Earthrealm.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series, developed and released by Midway to arcades in 1995. It is a standalone update of 1995's earlier Mortal Kombat 3 with an altered gameplay system, additional characters like the returning favorites Reptile, Kitana, Jade and Scorpion who were missing from Mortal Kombat 3, and some new features.
War Gods is a 3D fighting video game originally released to arcades by Midway Games in 1996. Ports for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Windows were released in 1997. In the game, players control one of ten fighters who have been given great power by a mysterious ore that crashed-landed on Earth from outer space. The object of the game is to defeat all the other fighters to become the most powerful warrior on the planet.
Black Orchid is a player character in the Killer Instinct fighting game series created by Rare. Introduced in the original Killer Instinct in 1994, Orchid is featured as a playable character in all three installments. A mysterious spy and fighter, she is the female protagonist of the series, along with her younger brother Jago, and is one of the most popular Killer Instinct characters, though her sexualized portrayal in the games has also been subject to criticism.
Street Fighter EX2 is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics co-produced by Capcom and Arika and originally released in 1998 as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN-2 hardware. It is the sequel to the original Street Fighter EX, and the second spin-off game of the Street Fighter series. An updated version of the game titled Street Fighter EX2 Plus was released in 1999 in arcades as well and subsequently ported to the PlayStation the same year. Its sequel, Street Fighter EX3, was released in 2000.
Martial Masters is an arcade fighting game developed by International Game System (IGS) of Taiwan and originally released in 1999 on their PolyGame Master arcade board. The game was released in Japan in 2000 as Shin-Ī Ken (シンイーケン), and was brought over to the United States by Andamiro in 2001 as Martial Masters. The setting and characters draw inspiration from Hong Kong martial arts films. It was not ported to other platforms until 2023 when it was released as part of IGS Classic Arcade Collection on Nintendo Switch.
Killer Instinct is a series of fighting video games originally created by Rare and published by Midway, Nintendo, and Xbox Game Studios. The original Killer Instinct was released for arcades in 1994; the game was then released for the Super NES and Game Boy in 1995. Its sequel, Killer Instinct 2, was released for arcades in 1996; the game was then released as Killer Instinct Gold for the Nintendo 64.
Street Fighter: The Movie is a 1995 fighting game released as an arcade game. The game is based on the 1994 live-action Street Fighter film, itself based on the Street Fighter series of fighting games, and uses digitized images of the film's cast. The game was developed by Chicago-based Incredible Technologies and distributed to the arcades by Capcom. The game was widely panned by critics.
The Kung-Fu Master Jackie Chan is a 1995 fighting arcade game developed and published by Kaneko. It features the Hong Kong celebrity, Jackie Chan, who was also the producer of it, while it also features other actors from some of his films.
Capcom Fighting Jam, released in the US as Capcom Fighting Evolution, is a 2004 head-to-head fighting game from Capcom. It was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Namco System 246 hardware and ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game features characters from three different incarnations of the Street Fighter series, as well as characters from the Darkstalkers series and the CPS III arcade game Red Earth, with each character employing the fighting system from the game which they represent.
Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, also released as Pocket Fighter, is a 1997 fighting video game produced by Capcom for the CPS II arcade system. The game uses the same super deformed character designs previously used in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, a puzzle game by Capcom. It was ported in 1998 to the PlayStation, which retained the Pocket Fighter title for its North American and PAL releases, and then the Sega Saturn and WonderSwan, both in Japan only.
Killer Instinct is a fighting game, the third in the Killer Instinct series, originally developed by Double Helix Games, followed by Iron Galaxy, under supervision of Ken Lobb and Rare, and published by Microsoft Studios, released as a free-to-play launch game for the Xbox One in 2013. The game is a reboot of the series, though some plot elements from Killer Instinct and Killer Instinct 2 have been retained. Development of the game involves individuals with histories in fighting games on both the developmental and competitive sides. It received positive reviews for its mechanics and engine, but was criticized for its initial lack of content. A second season of downloadable content was released between 2014 and 2015. A third season, along with a port of the game for Windows 10, was released in 2016.
Killer Instinct Gold is a fighting game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is based on the arcade game Killer Instinct 2. Players control characters who fight on a 2D plane set against a 3D background. Players press buttons to punch and kick their opponent in chains of successive hits, known as combos. Large combo successions lead to stronger attacks and brutal, stylistic finisher moves underscored by an announcer. Characters—including a gargoyle, a ninja, and a femme fatale—fight in settings such as a jungle and a spaceship. Killer Instinct Gold includes the arcade release's characters, combos, and 3D, pre-rendered environments, but excludes its full-motion video sequences and some voice-overs due to restrictions of the cartridge media format. The Gold release adds a training mode, camera views, and improved audiovisuals.
Captain Commando is a 1991 beat 'em up game originally developed and published by Capcom as an arcade video game, and later ported to several other platforms. It was the seventeenth game produced for the company's CP System hardware. The game stars the titular superhero who was originally conceived as a fictional spokesman used by Capcom USA in the company's console games during the late 1980s. The game was included in Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle compilation title, which was released digitally for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows on September 18, 2018.
