The Best Fighting Games Only Available On The PS2

Home consoles were already threatening to overtake arcades in the late 1980s, as their score-attack gameplay and extra graphical and audio capabilities weren’t enough to handle longer, more expansive home console games. But they got an extra kick in the 1990s thanks to Capcom letting their Final Fight developers take a crack at making a sequel to 1987’s clunky brawler Street Fighter.

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Fighting games truly hit their stride in the 90s – so, here’s our list of the best title in the genre for every year of that decade.

By the time the 2000s rolled around, the arcades were doomed, and fighting games were on the wane. Unless players lived next to a big arcade, or had chipped consoles, they had to make do with a few big names like Tekken and SoulCalibur, and some unique cult classics. If players wanted to pan for fighting gold, the PS2 was the best sieve thanks to its exclusive fighting game releases.

10

Fist Of The North Star

Unbalanced But Insanely Fun Fighter Strikes Out On The PS2

• Developer: Arc System Works
• Platforms: Arcade, PS2
• Release: March 2007

The PS2 Fist of the North Star fighter appearing on this list might raise some eyebrows, as it’s gone down in history as a ‘kusoge.’ It’s essentially Guilty Gear X2 with characters from the classic anime, but without X2’s balancing. Granted, the GGX games aren’t the most balanced games in the world, but they pose a fair challenge when compared to FotNS’s basketball combos. Nonetheless, it does act as a neat precursor to ArcSys Works’ later anime fighter Dragon Ball FighterZ.

On top of some of its Fatal KOs resembling DBFZ’s Dramatic Finishes, the character Juda can call his minions in for assist attacks akin to DBFZ. He can’t tag out to them, but he can kill one if they get too unruly. The PS2 release is considered the best version of the game, as it was a touch less glitchy (i.e. it won’t melt the console’s motherboard like the arcade version did) and it came with extra modes and unlockable content.

9

Street Fighter EX3

Game Derided On Release Becomes A Cult Classic Decades Later

• Developer: Arika
• Platform: PS2
• Release: October 2000

Street Fighter EX3 was a PS2 launch title that fell short compared to the likes of Tekken Tag Tournament and Dead or Alive 2. For years, it was seen as Exhibit A in the case against Capcom’s premier fighter going 3D. Capcom seemed to agree, as their subsequent attempts to make a 3D SF-based fighter faltered until Street Fighter 4 became a success.

Even so, EX3 isn’t that bad of a game. It plays smoothly, and its 2-on-2 gameplay offers some unique tag supers on top of the usual mix of super cancels and guard breaks. It brought back fan favorite Sakura, and had a curious customizable character called Ace, who could learn new moves from the other characters (or other series entirely). EX3 isn’t perfect, but it’s good for offering a quirky break from the norm.

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Tekken 4

Tekken’s Black Sheep Gets Its Day In The Sun

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Tekken 4

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Released

September 23, 2002

Developer(s)

Namco

When asked if the older Tekken games would get a compilation release, series’ head director Katsuhiro Harada was reluctant about the idea, as he said old 3D fighters tend to age worse than their 2D counterparts. While Tekken 1 & 2 are stiff by today’s standards, people would love the chance to get Tekken 3, Tag Tournament 1, 5, etc., all in one place. While all those games got re-releases and revisions in one form or another, poor Tekken 4 was left behind.

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It’s seen as the black sheep of the series, as its gameplay, character designs, and story tweaks weren’t popular at the time, and it had fewer characters and modes than T3. However, it has since seen a resurgence, as it plays differently enough from the other games (e.g. it introduced wall-carrying and made it a centerpiece of its gameplay) to stand out on its own. Its PS2-exclusive Force Mode was unique too, and ahead of its time in offering a similar over-the-shoulder view that Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War would later make standard for their genres.

7

Street Fighter Alpha Anthology

Capcom’s Compilation Hides A Console-Exclusive Mode

• Developer: Capcom Production Studio 2
• Platform: PS2
• Release: June 2006

Even in the PS2 days, Capcom couldn’t let go of Street Fighter 2, and neither could players if sales are anything to go by. The Street Fighter 2 Anniversary Collection was a 2D hit that introduced the world to Hyper Street Fighter 2, where different incarnations of its roster could fight it out. However, it did reach other consoles like the Xbox and Gamecube, and it would get re-released via the Capcom Fighting Collection.

Street Fighter Alpha Anthology offered a similar game through Hyper Street Fighter Alpha. On top of letting players pick different versions of the Alpha cast, it offered different ISMs that made characters play like Darkstalkers, Street Fighter 3, and Marvel characters, with air chain combos, parries, and unique moves. It was a neat feature, limited only by its lack of modes (VS and Training only), and lack of releases, as it hasn’t been ported to another machine since Anthology‘s release.

6

Arcana Heart

Magical Moe Melee Fighter Gained New Life On The PS2

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Beyond the hilariously janky Sailor Moon S and Asuka 120% Limited Burning Fest, there aren’t many fighting games about magical girls. For fans of all things moe, the best they could get was the Arcana Heart series. Its last game, AC3, did make it onto the PS3 and Xbox 360, but its predecessor, AC2, stayed in Japanese arcades before receiving a mediocre port on Japanese PS2s.

The original Arcana Heart had better luck, as its PS2 conversion was an improvement. Players can switch between the characters’ Original and Full versions, akin to GGX Plus’ character modes. Depending on which version players chose, they could pull off different combos with different Arcanas, giving it that extra bit of depth that made it a cult classic for fighting game fans as well as the magical girl crowd.

5

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi

The Arena Fighter’s Debut Remains Trapped On Sony’s Black Box

Systems

Released

October 18, 2005

Developer(s)

Spike

Lately, the term “anime-based arena fighter” has become a four-letter word, as nearly every anime under the sun has had one, and they’re usually mediocre at best and terrible at worst. However, Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Zero avoided that bad press by being better than the average brawler with its big roster, and being a return to form, as it’s actually part of the old Budokai Tenkaichi series.

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It arguably reached its pinnacle with BT3, which still offers one of the largest rosters in fighting game history, but it all started with the first Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi. It set the template for its sequels, offering multiple forms of different characters, each with their own quirks that players had to use to their advantage to beat their opponents. If players want to give it a try, they’ll have to fire up the PS2 (or use an emulator).

4

SoulCalibur 3

A Tale Of Souls And Swords That Was Only Told Once

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Soulcalibur III

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Released

October 25, 2005

Developer(s)

Project Soul

SoulCalibur 2 is as famous for its multi-console release as it is for its gameplay, where its different platforms each featured a different guest character. However, it seems Spawn and Link weren’t enough to keep the series going on the Xbox and Gamecube, as SoulCalibur 3 became a PS2 exclusive. It did get an arcade release, but unlike its predecessors, it came after the console version, and was a very different beast to the OG SC3.

The PS2 game skipped guest characters in favor of a create-a-character mode, which would become a standard feature in the series up to SC6. They came in handy for its light RTS mode, Chronicles of the Sword, where players could make as many unique fighters as they liked to take over the land. However, it came with a nasty bug that could wipe out the memory card’s data if triggered. As such, players might’ve preferred to stick to its branching story mode, which reintroduced Soul Blade‘s QTE events, which could change the endings if pressed in time.

3

Guilty Gear X Plus

The Original Anime Fighter Gets Souped Up On The PS2

• Developer: Arc System Works
• Platform: PS2
• Release: November 2001

Some of the games on this list did have arcade cabinets, but they often lacked features, additional modes, or even entire characters, feeling more like early runs of their full console releases in comparison. A good example of this is Guilty Gear X, where its console-exclusive ‘Gear Mode’ gave characters additional moves, new supers, and in the case of Ky Kiske, a complete retooling with new animations that suggested he wasn’t all that he seemed.

However, PC and Dreamcast owners also had access to regular GGX. Only PS2 owners could play Guilty Gear X Plus. This time, it offered a branching story mode, a challenge mode, an ‘Extra’ mode that changed the characters’ moves alongside the returning ‘GG’ mode. It also brought back Guilty Gear 1‘s Kliff and Justice, complete with new sprites and moves. They were neat additions to the series, albeit ones that most players probably thought were introduced in its sequel.

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Guilty Gear X2 & XX Slash

How The Midnight Carnival Opened For Service On The PS2

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Guilty Gear X2

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Many of GGX Plus’ features would become standard for Guilty Gear X2, which had its branching story mode (offering three paths for each character this time), a mission and gallery mode, and the return of Kliff and Justice. It also brought back the Gold and Shadow variants of characters, which would use the Extra and GG moves; except for Ky, whose strange alternate form was given life as Robo-Ky. The original GGX2 was exclusive to arcades and the PS2, but its variants would see multiple home releases.

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Except for Guilty Gear XX Slash, that is, which was a PS2 exclusive. It’s essentially the last version of #Reload, but with some story and gameplay tweaks to accommodate new characters A.B.A (from Guilty Gear Isuka) and Holy Order Sol. The former caught on with her grim story and unique key-axe moves, while the latter became notorious for being a more complex and more OP version of the series’ protagonist, Sol-Badguy. Or at least he was in the Accent Core games. He was much more subdued in his debut game.

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Virtua Fighter 4 And Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary

• Developer: Sega AM-2
• Platforms: Arcade (VF4), PS2 (VF4, VF 10th Anniversary)
• Release: March 2002 (VF4), November 2003 (VF 10th Anniversary)

Guilty Gear X2 rivals Street Fighter 2 with its many variants, but they’re not the only games to be tweaked between re-releases. Virtua Fighter‘s entries essentially become entirely different games with each revision. For example, Virtua Fighter 4‘s PS2 release came with an AI training mode where players could teach a CPU character how to play and see how far it could take them in Kumite mode. Then Vanessa, the new MMA-based character, could switch between a grappling Defensive style and a Muay Thai-based Offensive style.

Neither character would return for the game’s Evolution update, which gave newcomer Brad Burns the Muay Thai style, and replaced Kumite Mode with the eSports-simulating Quest Mode instead. Special copies also came with Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary. It was basically VF4: Evo with VF1‘s blocky graphics (complete with new VF1-style models and animations for the new characters) and rules (no sidesteps, throw escapes, or bounce-based OTG combos). Unlike its parent game, which got a laggy PSN re-release, VF10th can only be played on the PS2.

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