The arcades used to be the place to go to for great video games. But once consoles began to narrow the gap between their tech specs, their days were numbered. But they gained about 10 years' worth of time on their clock thanks to fighting games. Their arcade releases often outdid their console ports, and they produced a community of fans who would soon develop the tournament scene into the powerhouse it is today.
It was also where companies would send out promising titles for location tests to see how well players reacted to them. Then the biggest earners, and even some cult classics, would make it to consoles likeTekken,Street Fighter,Mortal Kombat, etc. But there were a fewfighting games that never reached consoles, but still found love within the community.
8Martial Masters
Cult Classic Kung-Fu Caper Reaches Consoles 25 Years After Release
Some previously arcade-only titles have since made it to modern consoles via compilations, likeRed Earth/Warzardin theCapcom Fighting Collection. But there’s a lesser-known compilation of arcade classics that deserves attention as, outside emulators or Fightcade, it’s the only way to playMartial Mastersat home.
It’s the only fighting game in theIGS Classic Arcade Collection, with graphics and animations that rivalStreet Fighter 3: Third Strike. Gameplaywise, it’s closer toKing of Fighterswith its counter-attacks and knockdowns but has a style all its own. The game replicates classic kung fu movies likeDrunken MasterandOnce Upon a Time in Chinawith aplomb. It’s not the most balanced game around, but will give any player who tries it out a wild thrill ride.
7Chaos Breaker
Former KOF Developers Produce Inspired Fantasy Battler
Eolith is best known as the Korean company that producedKing of Fighters 2001and2002after SNK went bankrupt. It seemed like they’d be the classic fighter’s new home until their own fortunes took a downturn. The revived SNK bought back the IP, and Eolith became defunct in 2005. But before they met their end, they made the fantasy RPG/fighting game hybridChaos Breaker(akaDark Awake).
Players made a 3-person team, each representingdifferent fantasy races(humans, dwarves, orcs, etc), to dethrone the King Who Has No Name. On top of the usual specials and supers, players can collect items to boost their stats or regain health, like new weapons, potions, etc. It did get a home release, with online support and all, but it was a Japan-only digital release for the PS3. Since its digital store is living on borrowed time, it won’t be long untilChaos Breakerends up back in the pits of emulation.
6Kaiser Knuckle & Dan-Ku-Ga
Location Test Causes Taito to Pull Out of Genre Right as They Strike Gold
It takes setting up a Japanese PS3 account and loading it with some yen to playChaos Breaker. But that would still be cheaper than gettingKaiser Knuckleinto the home. Its only official home release was on the Taito Egret II Mini, a mini-console that costs $200 without additional accessories. It’s got 39 other in-built games, likeBubble BobbleandElevator ActionReturns, but it’s a big ask for Taito newbies.
Kaiser Knuckle, akaGlobal Champion, was a serviceableStreet Fighter 2clone, with unique features like destructible environments and a damage-boosting Crush meter. The real hidden gem on the mini-console is its unreleased sequel,Dan-Ku-Ga, which sped the game up, added neat aerial juggle mechanics, and a training mode. It’s hard to understand why it didn’t get released, as many fighting fans fell in love with it when it was leaked online. Maybe it was just too ahead of its time.
5Asura Blade & Asura Buster
Underrated Weapon Fighters Fall Foul of Changing Trends
Taito took a shot at the fighting game boom, only to pull out right as they had a potential winner inDan-Ku-Ga. Fuuki ended up going through something similar when they madeAsura Blade: Sword of Dynasty, except they managed to release its sequel,Asura Buster: Eternal Warriors, two years later in 2000. By then, arcades were being lowered into the grave, and the genre was about to enter its so-called dark age. So, it’s little wonder Fuuki gave up on the series after that.
It’s a shame, as both games are fun weapon-based games withDarkstalkers-meets-Fatal Fury-style gameplay, and aSoulCalibur-like plot as its post-apocalyptic warriors seek the titular sword.Asura Busteris the stronger of the two games, as it introduces new mechanics like Boost Mode (eschew EX moves in favor of one big power-up), and the Last Stand, where beaten fighters get an extra 10 seconds to defeat their opponent without taking damage.
4Dragoon Might
Fantasy Fighter Falls Short of Becoming a Franchise
Konami could’ve been a bigger name in fighting games. Their early fighting gameYie Ar Kung Fuwas much more fun to play than Capcom’s bigger but stiffer upstartStreet Fighter. But once the genre got rolling withStreet Fighter 2onward, Konami never really managed to hop on for the ride. Not even withDragoon Might, a neat arcade fighter that was full of personality and style. It took inspiration from their beat ‘em ups, as players could sacrifice a little health to pull off Bomber Moves or use SNK-style Final Attacks when their life was low.
That wasn’t the only bit of SNK influence, as players could choose between the standard single-player mode or aKOFtrio-based team mode and see the characters exchangeArt of Fighting 2-style intro taunts before rounds. Still, given it was released in 1995, right as 3D fighters likeVirtua Fighter 2were on the rise, perhaps Konami saw the writing on the wall and leftDragoon Mightas a one-off.
3Daemon Bride
A Match Made in Heaven or Hell
The early to mid-2000s are considered a dark age for fighting games as, after the death of arcades and before online play became a consistent alternative, there were few options for fighting game fans to get together and test each other. Even then, unless they were playing big-name franchises likeTekkenorSoulCalibur, they didn’t have a lot of new games to test out.
Unless they were in Japan, where its game centers received oddities likeDaemon Bride. Made by the same company behindArcana Heart, it was a moodier game withGuilty Gear-like controls, and a fewStreet Fighter Alpha-like techniques like Bride Counters for knocking down aggressive foes. It did get an update calledDaemon Bride: Additional Gain, but unlikeArcana Heart, neither reached consoles, let alone the West.
2Akatsuki Blitzkampf EN-Eins Perfektewelt Anastasis
A Title As Complicated As Its Emulation
Fighting game fans, or curiousBlazBlue/Persona/RWBY/Senran Kagurafans, might know theAkatsuki Blitzkampfseries for introducing the Blitztank toBlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. Fighting games have had all sorts of weird characters, but few have skull-headed tanks thundering back and forth across the stage. The series began on the PC, where many of its titles gained a few arcade cabinets in the 2000s.
But the EN-Eins games remain arcade-only unless players have the capacity to emulate the NESiCAxLIVE digital system. They’re great anime fighters, particularlyAkatsuki Blitzkampf EN-Eins Perfektewelt Anastasiswith its Perfektewelt power-up moves and extra air mobility. But without an easier way to access them, they’re for keen anime fighter fans only.
Hold on, wasn’tSoulCalibur 3already a console game? Yes, as anyone who suffered its memory card-wiping bug from Chronicles of the Sword mode may remember. It also brought back old favorites likeSoul Blade’s Hwang and Li Long and made Amy playable for the first time. They were made using the Character Creation mode and used its basic saber, nunchucks, and rapier move sets, but they were there.
What isn’t so well-known is that they were updated forSoulCalibur 3: Arcade Edition, where they got better models and more refined move sets. It even brought backSoulCalibur’s Inferno as a sub-boss, removed the console games' glitches, and had a special Legends mode where players could use their created characters from CotS mode to fight other created characters. If only there were aSoulCaliburcompilation releaseto let new players give it a go.
