The fighting genre is filled with fan-favorite games, many of which have become giant series for their developers. However, some of the games that don’t get quite as much attention are still worth playing. These hidden gems might have a fascinating gimmick or striking look, but the fact of the matter is that they deserve to be remembered as the quality fighting games they are. The games listed below aren’t the only forgotten fighters that you can still hop into today, but they are a great starting point for anyone wanting to dive deeper into the genre.
Here are six forgotten fighting games that still hold up.
6) Saturday Night Slam Masters
Image courtesy of Capcom
Capcom’s Slam Masters is a mix of a wrestling game and a fighter. It has that classic look of a Capcom fighting game, while using a moveset that feels more at home with the wrestling crowd. That includes plenty of grabs and even finishing moves that would feel at home in a WWE game.
However, the thing Slam Masters really has going for it is its character designs. Tetsuo Hara, best known for Fist of the North Star, created all of the characters, which makes for an iconic cover. Once you get into Slam Masters, that diverse roster is filled with memorable characters, most of which have direct connections to Street Fighter. Fans got two sequels, but it never quite caught on as it should have.
5) Primal Rage
Image courtesy of Atari
In the ’90s, it doesn’t get much more hype than a fighting game that lets you duke it out as dinosaurs. This mash-up of Jurassic Park and Mortal Kombat struck that perfect ’90s vibe. This is a game that couldn’t happen in another decade. It’s so of the era that it’s not too surprising you don’t hear about these days.
That said, Primal Rage almost became a series. Atari had toys, comics, and even a tie-in novel, hoping to capitalize on the game’s look. It was a major success, and the team was set up to make a sequel in 1997. Unfortunately, it never happened. The best we got was a novelization of what would have happened in the story. You can play the test version of Primal Rage 2 via emulation, but keep in mind that it’s an unfinished game.
4) Bloody Roar
Between 1997 and 2003, there were five Bloody Roar games. That’s an impressive run for a series that hasn’t had another game since. For the most part, it plays like a traditional fighter. You can punch, kick, block, and grapple. The difference comes from the final move in every character’s repertoire, the beast button.
See, pressing that button lets you transform into your character’s beast form. Everyone has a unique animal they can become, giving them a more powerful version of their normal moveset. It’s a neat mechanic that the team isn’t afraid to play around with. Sure, some characters turn into traditionally tough characters like a tiger or gorilla, but you also have moles and rabbits. Maybe someday Konami (who owns the rights after Hudson Soft closed) will give us Bloody Roar 5.
3) Rival Schools: United by Fate
Rival Schools is a 3D fighter from Capcom, but this game focuses on tag team battles. It takes quite a few cues from the Marvel vs. Capcom series, while taking the action into the third dimension. You play as a duo of fighters and go up against other characters from various schools.
The fights are still one-on-one affairs, but your ally can come in for a Team Up attack once you build enough meter. It can feel like a bit of a button masher, but the strong cast makes it worth playing through the story mode. We got a few sequels, but haven’t seen a new entry since 2001. With director Hideaki Itsuno leaving Capcom in 2024, it seems unlikely that it’ll ever make a comeback.
2) Power Stone
Image courtesy of Capcom
Speaking of Itsuno, the legendary developer partnered with Tatsuya Nakae to direct Power Stone for Capcom in 1999. The 3D fighter lets you pick up items from around the arena, including three Power Stones, which upgrade your character if you’re able to collect all three.
It was quickly followed by a sequel, Power Stone 2, which added the ability for four players to play at once. In many ways, Power Stone 2 feels like the developers were trying to make a 3D version of Smash Bros. It wasn’t quite as successful, and Capcom hasn’t gone back to the series since, outside of including it in a few collections over the years.
1) Darkstalkers
Starting with The Night Warriors, Capcom’s Darkstalkers is one of the studio’s wildest casts of characters. From Demetri, the daywalking vampire, to Morrigan, the succubus who loves to have a good time, you don’t get much more diverse than this lineup.
Toss in a few gameplay innovations, including air blocking and chain combos, and you have a fan-favorite offshoot of the Street Fighter 2 style of fighting games. Capcom ended the series in 1997, but the studio has continued to bring it back with remasters and collections. It’d be nice to see it come back in a major way, but Capcom hasn’t given fans much hope.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!