The Fighting Game scene could probably be considered one of the earliest Esports scenes to have recorded VHS footage in shaking cameras, with the legendary EVO moments popping up in videos about top Esports moments of all time.
Yet, fighting games as a genre is very much limited in the mainstream when it comes to discussing what games are good because a lot of the games in this genre get shafted for fan favorites.
In the list below we will take a look at some of the most underrated fighting games that should get a new release.
Fighting games that deserve a remake
5) Rival Schools/ Project Justice
Developed by Capcom, from the mind of Hideaki Itsuno, Rival Schools was an interesting fighting game with a high school setting.
What made the game unique was that even though it had movement in 3D space, It had more elements from 2D fighting games like air combos, air-to-air, projectiles, and even tag team combat like Marvel vs Capcom games.
Rivals schools never got a sequel post-Dreamcast and arcade-era. Hideaki Itsuno expressed his wish to make a new Rival School if given the chance which made a lot of the fans very happy.
4) Blazblue
Blazblue is one of the pillar franchises of Arc System Works along with the Guilty Gear series, having a huge fan following.
The game is well known for being one of the most execution-heavy titles in the ‘anime’ fighting game sub-genre. The series has gained enough popularity to have its own spinoff video games, including a 2D Metroidvania game.
Unfortunately, the creator of the franchise Mori Toshimichi left Arc System Works in 2023 to form his own company, leaving the future of the series in limbo as fans call it.
While the series is not practically as dead as the other games in this list, a new sequel in the franchise from a new director is yet to be announced.
3) Virtua Fighter
This title is not just one of the most important franchises on this list but also in the history of fighting games.
It predated Tekken in defining the 3D fighting game sub-genre and also gave Street Fighter II a fair challenge in pulling interested fans back in the day. Virtua Fighter came from the mind of Yu Suzuki. It was unique for using only three buttons and yet being a technically deep fighter when it came to combos and mechanics.
The Director of Tekken recently chimed in with the fans to express his wish for a new Virtua Fighter, which would be a competition for the current Tekken title.
2) Darkstalkers
The face of Darkstalkers franchise is familiar to many in the video game community. The succubus Morrigan Aensland is a fan favourite but people barely know or have played the game she comes from.
Darkstalkers is considered by many as one of the most influential and experimental titles from early Capcom. It introduced a lot of fighting game mechanics that went on to become a genre staple, like push blocking, special mode activation, and chain combos.
Unfortunately, the Darkstalkers franchise has not gotten a sequel in years. Fans of this series still keep out hope that one day Capcom will make a new one.
1) Bloody Roar
Originally named Beastorizer, this is probably the most underrated title in this whole list. Bloody Roar is sadly the least probable title on this list to get a new installment any day soon in the near future.
The game was a unique 3D fighting game where characters could transform into anthropomorphic beasts mid-fight which would give them access to new movesets.
In the present day, this game is still very popular among the retro game/fighting game community and fans keep wishing that one day they will get a remaster or a new installment.
