Top 10 Best Designed Fighting Game Characters of All Time

We are taking a look into Okizeme's 10 best-designed fighting game characters of all time. These characters meet the expectations of gameplay and go further beyond and hold up in other types of games. These characters aren't necessarily broken (some absolutely are). Still, they are so distinctly different from the rest of the entire universe of fighting game characters that it makes them beloved by many.

10. Erron Black (Mortal Kombat X)

He's a fucking cowboy. What more can you say? It's tough to introduce western media into a hefty Japanese-influenced game style. Eren Black was a special roster edition to MK X that had a gruff solo gunslinger to his feel. He had great mix-ups, excellent damage output. He was an overall great pick into mastering MK X as he was basically a scrubstomper. From the traditional Mortal Kombat style of gods, humans, cyborgs, ninjas, and demons. Erron Black is a refreshing character design into the Mortal Kombat franchise.

9. Kirby (Super Smash Bros)

If you were to think of the most beginner-friendly character that can teach you how to stay alive, learn off-stage mechanics, and have a fun time, Kirby is the one to do it all. Kirby is well designed in teaching beginner players how to get better. He's very forgiving for anyone trying to pick up Smash. New players tend to gravitate toward Kirby because of his iconic status. When new players pick this character as their first pick during their first time playing Smash, you can tell that you have designed the character perfectly to fit that mold.

8. Fox/Falco (Melee)

The popularity of the Smash franchise can honestly owe it to Fox and Falco in Melee. They were powerful picks in the meta. They utilized every mechanic that Smash Bros offers but introduced a lot more. In platforms fighters, the style of play is already distinct from traditional versus fighters. Still, Fox/Falco were able to bridge very effectively. They singlehandedly introduced traditional fighting game strategies into Melee. For example:

• short hop lasers are just another variation of tiger-knee projectiles
• shine combos were an introductory way to understanding long combo structures
• they introduced heavy neutral gameplay that involved more movement than Smash was previously accustomed to.

They shaped the Smash meta forever, and they are probably the most well-designed characters Smash has ever introduced.

7. Mai Shiranui (King of Fighters)

One of the best female protagonists of all time, she is the embodiment of the Fatal Fury series. She has an iconic look that many would recognize. Her combo and the neutral game are very straightforward and generally the first pick for many getting introduced into the Fatal Fury series—one of our first intros into a successful ninja gal. Mai Shiranui is a staple to the KoF community and is generally more popular and loved than our favorite blonde and blue-eyed MC.

6. Jin Kazama (Tekken)

We take Jin Kazama for granted in the Tekken community. He is the main character of the Tekken series, and he gets outshined completely by the entire Tekken Roster. He even gets exceeded by himself, as Devil Jin is a more substantial variant of the titular character. However, Tekken has made its way into mainstream success mainly due to our title character being a forgiving intro character. His simple combo setups that can scale into high 50-damage combos make him an excellent pick for those learning the ropes. He has a straightforward game plan, and it's something everyone understands when they start playing Tekken. We have to thank our poster child for being one of the coolest designed MCs that shaped a genre for the Fighting Game Community.

5. Ryu

What more can you say about Ryu that everyone doesn't already know. He introduced the shoto character archetype, and he is the grandfather character / MC of all fighting games. He is the reason fighting games are so popular. Ryu introduced fighting games in a big way with his debut in 1992, and the fighting game world has never been the same since. Every gamer has attempted to do a Shoryuken at least once, and we all owe it to him. He is lower on this list because he gets outshined in every game he has ever been in. Even against his rival, Ken Masters, Ryu has never been in a situation where he has excelled beyond Ken.

4. Cell (Dragon Ball Fighterz)

Cell has the most iconic fighting game intro of all time.

He is the perfect character. Regarding Dragon Ball Fighterz, a team vs. fighter, Cell is designed to be the most point character of all the point characters in the game [1st slot characters]. He has impressive touch-of-death combos that look fantastic and are incredibly distinct from the rest of the cast. Not only did they take the most iconic Dragon Ball Z villain and made him fun to play, but they also created a character that felt like you were roleplaying the actual anime. Every move in his kit can be taken from the Anime/Manga, and he has one of the greatest designed super moves of all time.

3. Scorpion/Sub-Zero (MK II and MK III)

When you ask anyone about fighting game characters, Scorpion and Sub-Zero probably are the most iconic characters that many can recognize. They reinvented an older concept of shoto characters. Still, they gave them a plethora of moves that differentiated from the standard fireball. They have iconic and fantastic character designs that provide the Mortal Kombat franchise its unique style.

2. Yuzuriha (UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH)

Okay. This is a personal favorite, as Yuzuriha is probably one of my favorite fighting game characters of all time. But she offers so much to the roster. Infamous as the "Carpal Tunnel Character," Yuzuriha as a character is so distinctly different than any character I have ever played with her stance mechanic that forces the players to learn to Plink stances into intricate combo strings. She has excellent full-screen neutral options that can convert into the best combo structures in UNICLR. She has teleports that can cancel into other moves because of her stances. She has the most incredible edge combo setups behind Byakuya. At the end of the day, she is also the airheaded, big sister archetype of anime waifus that just works your way into your heart.

1. Magneto (Marvel vs Capcom 2)

Magneto from Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is the best-designed fighting game character of all time. The character was made with it all. He had a 1 frame low, infinites, incredible combo potential, the character can fly, he had tri-jumps, and the list can go on and on. Not only is Magneto one of the most prominent X-Men characters of all time. The character has shaped the meta on how versus fighters and 3-vs-3 fighters are designed. He had an incredibly high skill floor, but learning to play this character has taught diligence and a love for fighting games that no other character could.

Thanks for tuning in this week! We hope to see you next time!