Image via Complex Original
Fighting games are all the rage again thanks to the folks at Capcom. Ever since gamers got blessed with another Street Fighter, there’s been a welcome bombardment of quality beat ‘em up’s released for consoles. From franchise revivals to brand new IP’s, the fighting game genre has come back strong with quality material.
Complex thinks it time for a celebration, Rick James-style. Fighting games have some of gaming’s most iconic personalities. We’ve grown to love ‘em (cause we can’t lose with ‘em) or hate ‘em (cause we can’t beat ‘em).
Here’s our take on 50 of the greatest fighting game characters.
50. B. Jenet
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Pirates are inherently awesome. Female pirates, though? Extra brownie points! Our girl Jenet is nasty with the kicks and oh so graceful when she goes airborne.
49. Tiffany
Rival Schools: United By Fate, Project Justice
She's capable of pulling off an awesome cheerleader sequence and also fully equipped to punch your ass into next week. Most dangerous foreign exchange student ever.
48. Hayato
Star Gladiator, Plasma Sword, Marvel vs. Capcom 2
We'd imagine this bounty hunter would lay Luke Skywalker down in battle. That Plasma Sword killed several scrubs for us. Gotta love 'Yato's red kicks, too.
47. Grace
Fighting Vipers
You won't see too many sisters mastering the art of in-line skating. And you probably won't see one who can kick you through a steel cage and look so pretty doing it. Grace is mighty graceful.
46. Doctrine Dark
Street Fighter EX
Mr. Double D here is a trained mercenary. Standing across the stage from him is not our idea of fun. Mines, wrist blades and trip wires were all a part of this dude's arsenal. Explosive.
45. Tizoc
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
"THE GRIFFON MASK" HIMSELF! One of the most underrated wrestlers in fighting games right here. Tizoc is a hero to the lil' ones. His bravery and penchant for doling our clotheslines are probably the reasons why.
44. Falcon
Power Stone
No, we're not talking about the space racer known for his famous punch. We're talking about Capcom's jet flyin', boxing great Falcon. When he got all three Power Stones, rocket Armageddon followed soon after.
43. Hakumen
BlazBlue
This swordsman is known as the one of the great six heroes for good reason. Catch him in his counter stance and be prepared to get laced with kick combos and a massive blade to the face.
42. Faust
Guilty Gear
And now things just got weird. This super tall surgeon is a beast on the battlefield. His scalpel and use of explosive surprises are not to be taken lightly. We got a good chuckle out of hitting our opponents with an open door.
41. Cervantes
Soul Blade/SoulCalibur
Another pirate and this time, he's undead and angry. Cervantes goes into battle with a dope pair of blades that got us plenty of wins. Keep a close eye on that pistol shank of his, too.
40. Jin Saotome
Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness, Marvel vs. Capcom
You gotta appreciate a guy who yells after every attack. Jin is filled with plenty of angst and burning flames. TYPHOON!
39. Lee Chaolan
Tekken
Heihachi's adopted son and the man that invented "swagged out martial arts." We took great pleasure in destroying our opponents' knees with Lee's low kicking combo. Respect the unicorn, son. C'mon!
38. Cody
Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter 4
A fallen hero becomes a kickass crook when being the good guy gets boring. A shining example of this is our man Cody. Who else you know can manage to fight with handcuffs on the whole time?
37. Voldo
Soul Edge/Blade, SoulCalibur
Now this S&M freak creeped us out one time too many. But you can't deny how much of a standout this guy and his choice of weapons are. The Edge-esque ground humping and Goldust breathing will give anyone nightmares...
36. I-No
Guilty Gear X2
She fought with an electric guitar. Her cleavage was godlike. She cut you with a guitar extension cord. She got half naked when she won. 'Nuff said.
35. Dudley
Street Fighter 3, Super Street Fighter 4
Boxers aren't the most respectable bunch out there. So it's a refreshing sight to see when one with such class as Dudley comes along to fight in the streets. Awesome theme song, by the way. "You have no dignity."
34. Sol Badguy
Guilty Gear
Look at that last name. Says it all right there, doesn't it? We'll say a few more things about him. Sol's truly a rebel who goes against the grain and lays down folks with "DAT FIYA!" His weapon nets him more cool points. TYRANT RAVE!
33. Kim Kaphwan
Fatal Fury, King of Fighters
Chuckle all you want at that last name. Kim will break your funny bone into thousands of little pieces with his fancy footwork. And what will he say he did it for? Justice.
32. Raiden
Mortal Kombat
The OG Thunder God and Earthrealm's ultimate protector. Raiden makes good use of his electric proficiency in the kombat arena. It's a shame he had to fry Lui-Kang at the end of that MK reboot. Listen to Raiden... or else.
31. Juri
Super Street Fighter 4
The Juri equation is simply taekwondo + extra perverted creepiness + dat eye = Purple Swag Madness! This chick stands apart from the SF pack (in a good way, mind you). Her Ultra move makes our spine tingle. It turns us on too for some reason.
30. Sagat
Street Fighter
This insanely tall Muay Thai champion is revered and respected. He doesn't have eye pupils plus he sports a nasty scar on his chest from his fight with Ryu. It's not a wise idea to bring that last part up in front of him.
29. Zangief,
Street Fighter
Russian wrestling at its finest right here! When you're forced to play someone who picked this Russian behemoth, staying far away is your prime tactic. We reckon those scars on dude's body came from his "playtime" with bears.
28. Jin Kazama
Tekken
Man, this dude has been through hell and back. Jin has lost his mama, gotten betrayed by his father and grandfather and has been struggling with the Devil Gene since forever. But heÕs managed to master two fighting styles, own a company and defeat a few demons during all this drama. JinÕs Tekken 4 hoodie was bawse, by the way.
27. Kilik
SoulCalibur
Don't front, you pissed off your buddies when you picked this guy. Stay at a distance and use that Kali-Yuga staff to play a nice game of keep away. Kilik's mastery of the rod martial arts is unmatched.
26. Cammy
Street Fighter
When we first laid eyes on Cammy, we sat in amazement. How on earth could ANYONE fit into the get-up that this chick was wearing? Leave it to the imagination. Anyone remember her assassination scene in that Street Fighter 2 animated film? Damn!
25. Maxi
Street Fighter
Maxi aka "Elvis with Nunchucks" was another one of our main picks in the original Soul Calibur. It seemed like he'd break into a never-ending combo with just one button press. Block all you want...you'll catch a 'chuck to the face eventually.
24. Heihachi
Tekken
"The King of the Iron Fist Tournament" son! This old dude is the total opposite of some helpless senior citizen. He still looks jacked and he beats on his son and grandkid every chance he gets. Plus, he has no shame in rocking some sumo draws in public. *shudders*
23. Mai Shiranui
Fatal Fury, King of Fighters
Baby girl ninja right here is mostly known for having the most ridiculous pair of baby feeders in gaming history. She still moves faster than the wind and puts up a good fight with those things. Mai's a trooper, ain't she?
22. Baby Bonnie Hood
Darkstalkers 3, Marvel vs. Capcom 2
We knew there was something hiding in that basket of hers but DAMN! B.B. Hood is Capcom's super violent take on Little Red Riding Hood. This sweet gal packs a butcher knife, Uzi gun, vagina mines and a blanket that unveils a bunch of gun toting woodsmen.
21. Ivy
SoulCalibur
This purple haired vixen also gets the title of "Fighting Game Character with the Coolest Weapon Ever." Her detachable chain link sword is still a chore to defend against. We've always wondered how those "buddies" of hers keep from popping out of that tiny bra.
20. Ken Masters
Street Fighter
Ken happens to be the cooler, cockier version of all the shoto fighters in SF. He may have the same moves as his boy Ryu, but Ken puts a lil' more funk on his specials with added flames. When we think "EVO Moment", we immediately remember this guy.
19. King
Art of Fighting, King of Fighters
We've never come across a female bouncer before. Judging by how much this lady kicks ass, we're quite sure we never want to run into one either. King keeps the bar safe with her myriad of Muay Thai maneuvers.
18. Mitsurugi
Soul Edge/Blade, SoulCalibur
Now this samurai might be aging quickly these days, but he's still not the type of guy you wanna cross swords with. Mitsurugi makes perfect use of his katana at every chance. 'Rugi is the only person who'd gladly bring a knife to a gun fight.
17. Eddy Gordo
Tekken
You either think this dancing brawler is the greatest thing to happen to Tekken or you think he's the cheesiest character in the entire series. We're on both sides of the fence with Sir Gordo. His Capoeira arts are incredible to watch. Him and Tiger sure look identical.
16. Johnny Cage
Mortal Kombat
When the original MK dropped, every gamer laid witness to the greatest move in fighting games at the time. Johnny Cage and his split-legged nut punch are legendary. This dude embodies Hollywood's overpaid jerk persona perfectly.
15. Sakura
Street Fighter Alpha
Japanese school girls usually elicit images of Hentai material. Not our girl Sakura, though. She brawls with the best of 'em. Dan trains her, but we think it should be the other way around.
14. Nightmare
SoulCalibur
When Siegfried got a hold of Soul Edge, he finally grew a set. He turned into Nightmare and the rest is history. This evil behemoth and his sword (WITH A FRIGGIN EYE!) runs roughshod over scrubs.
13. Morrigan
Darkstalkers
Are succubuses real? Morrigan makes us wanna believe so. Ol' bat lady here is super sexual but also super deadly. When she splits herself into two, you might as well give into her seductive beatdown.
King
Tekken
Wrestlers in fighting games are the shit, aren’t they? Case #5212: King. Ever since the first Tekken, he’s been applying sharpshooters and suplexes to the whole roster. Anybody who knew how to pull off King’s chain grabs ran the Tekken arcade cabinet.
11. Kyo Kusanagi
King of Fighters
Kyo's the cool guy who's able to burn his oppressors by wielding the power of fire. Wow that is cool. We never had to rely on his teammates because Kyo did all the hard work. Those elbow drops of his were mad vicious, son.
10. Terry Bogard
Fatal Fury, King of Fighters
OK! You should have instantly thought of this raging wolf as soon as you read that. Terry Bogard wanders the streets in search of a good scrap 24/7. Buster WolfÕs were handed out daily by our mans Terry.
9. Chun- Li
Street Fighter
We introduce you to the first lady of fighting games. Chun-Li and her infamous thighs are instantly recognizable. She's a trusted police investigator who's known for kicking any criminal's face in. Running up on her while she's in the shower is a definite no-no.
8. Marshall Law
Tekken
Out of all the fighting game Bruce Lee copycats, Marshall Law has to be the best one. Law's screams, somersault kicks and lean physique evoke memories of Hollywood's favorite "Dragon." We think Fei Long wouldn't stand a chance against Law.
7. Guile
Street Fighter
America's own Guile. Mr. USA himself protects our great nation with Sonic Booms and Somersault Kicks. Not only is Guile known for his awesome USA flag tat, but he's known knowing his way around a comb. Mission Complete.
6. Kazuya
Tekken
This tortured soul has gotten more badass as time wore on. His scars are the stuff of legend and his hairdo could possibly impale a lesser foe. Kazuya hates his pops for good reason and we love seeing them butt heads. This dude's case of Red Eye is nothing to mess with.
5. Sub-Zero
Mortal Kombat
Ninjas are at the forefront of being amazing combatants. Ninjas who are able to freeze their opponents and rip out their spine go a long way in our book. Sub Zero created moments of shock and awe when gamers first laid eyes on him.
4. Scorpion
Mortal Kombat
Here's another ninja who's a badass x10. Everyone knows what ol' fire head is known for "GETOVER HERE!" Once that spear made contact, Scorpion uppercutted that ass to Kingdom Come. If you weren't lucky to get all the way there, you'd meet a bed of spikes on the way down.
3. M. Bison
Street Fighter
We reckon it would be pretty sweet to have Psycho Power for a day. Too bad this evil overlord probably wouldn't let us near his supply. M. Bison is the boss of all bosses. Any dude with no eye pupils and a long ass cape should not to be trusted.
2. Ryu
Street Fighter
Ryu is the one fighting game character who's been imitated the most. If you're gonna make a carbon copy, why not copy the best? This elite shoto fighter always keeps a Hadouken in the chamber. His white Gi outfit and red headband is known and loved by many.
1. Akuma
Street Fighter
Anybody that can lay out M. Bison with ease gets the number one spot in everything. Akuma a.k.a. "The Raging Demon" can dish out an incredible amount of pain. He's become a demon whose only purpose is to defeat the strongest fighters in the world. Akuma remains untouched. SHOOSH!