Shack Chat: What is your favorite fighting game?

EVO 2024 is kicking off this weekend, with some of the top players in the world descending on Las Vegas to flaunt their skills. Considering that many of the staff here at Shacknews are not only fans of fighting games but actually incredibly good at them, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to talk about some of our favorite fighting games of all time.

Question: What is your favorite fighting game?

Capcom Vs. SNK 2 Mark of the Millennium - TJ Denzer, Senior News Editor

Capcom Vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium felt like the end-all-be-all of fighting games to me in a way that nothing had ever done leading up to it and nothing has ever quite accomplished since. It’s a masterpiece of not only most of the best fighters from Capcom and SNK, but the mechanics from their games as well.

It’s true, the Groove system may have been the real star of the show. You could choose any one of them, each with their own pros and cons. Samurai Shodown’s Rage system? Street Fighter Alpha’s ISMs? A regular ol’ three level super system? All of it and more was here.

And then there are the secret bosses. Omega Rugal and Shin Akuma were monsters, and it took so much effort to get to them! But once you did, you were in for the fight of your life. I love this game. I love everything about it and every day that we have all this buddy buddy goodness between Capcom and SNK without CvS3 being announced is just another small sigh in the grand scheme of things. I sure do want it.

Street Fighter II Turbo Hyper Fighting- Asif Khan, CEOEICEIEIOBlanka Main

While I could have picked a Smash game like Melee or even the 64 version, I had to consider which game I actually had the most fun playing over my nearly four decades as a fighting game player, and I ended up at Street Fighter 2. Nothing can compare to the hype around the game in arcades as well as when the game was released on SNES. Hyper Fighting is the best version of SF2, so I will pick that version. The game was also featured in the early rounds of the Shacknews World Championship at E3 2018, a gauntlet-style tournament that tested players in a variety of video game genres.

Fighters Destiny - Sam Chandler, Fight Milk Connoisseur

As a child of the 90s, I’ve got a lot of fond memories playing my Nintendo 64 console growing up. While most of my time was spent in Super Mario 64 and GoldenEye, there was a period of time where I’d dive into Fighters Destiny and try my best to get through the campaign and various challenges.

Instead of a simple deplete-the-health-bar victory condition, Fighters Destiny utilized a point system whereby defeating your opponent in a certain style resulted in a different value being awarded. It meant you could claw back from defeat if you could accrue the necessary points.

But outside of the unique win conditions, it also featured some iconic characters. I was always a big fan of Boro, with their flipping style, as well as Pierre, a clown who fought in an almost drunk-like manner. It even had some great hidden characters you could unlock if you were good enough to tackle the various challenge modes on offer.

Injustice 2 - Donovan Erskine, Aquamain

Injustice 2 is the closest I’ve come to seriously competing in a fighter. I played it obsessively day and night. I’d squeeze in matches between classes. I was watching videos on YouTube to learn combos. I’d spar with my best friend for hours on end. Green Arrow and Aquaman were my go-to characters. God, I long for Injustice 3. As much as I love Mortal Kombat, it pains me that we’ve gotten multiple MK games since the last Injustice.

Mortal Kombat 2 - Steve Tyminski, Chuck that hat!

I feel like I go one of two directions every time the question of favorite fighting game comes up around here. I can say either Mortal Kombat 2 or Darkstalkers. I really love both of those games so this time, I’m going with Mortal Kombat 2. I think I said Darkstalkers last time but it doesn’t matter, these two games are interchangeable for me. People probably think I’m just a Nintendo guy but I love Mortal Kombat 2. This is the game that started my love for Kung Lao. I was a little older when Mortal Kombat 2 came out compared to the first one and my parents let me play it. Mortal Kombat 2 is one of the first games that I learned the special moves to play with, you guessed it, Kung Lao.

Those are our favorite fighting games ever. Now, let’s hear from you! Go ahead and pop your favorite fighting game in the Chatty thread below. Check out our Shack Chat page to see what other topics we’ve discussed in the past.

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.