This was a solid year for fighting games. Less anime only games and more overall variety. Of course we hit a year of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter releasing in the same year so there wasn’t much competition. Fighting games have scaled back quite a bit over the years and the genre doesn’t seem as popular as it used to be. I would like to see more original IPs pop up or old favorites make a come back. Only time will tell.

Mortal Kombat 1

Well there’s no competition here. While Street Fighter 6 is the best the series has ever been it had a small roster, weak new characters, and an awful adventure mode. These are things Mortal Kombat was criticized for years ago and grew out of. There are no new characters in Mortal Kombat 1 but we get new favorites that haven’t been around in years. The adventure mode is also pretty lame in this one, but we get a solid core fighter and that’s something Mortal Kombat hasn’t focused on in years. Less extra content sucks, but let’s hope it means a bright future.

Runner-Ups

Street Fighter 6

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Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl 2

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Pocket Bravery