Fighting games are well-known to video game fans as playgrounds for a wide variety of colorful characters to face off against one another, with all of them sporting unique gimmicks and abilities that stick in the minds of players and fans. But, some are simply more iconic than others.
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Within a given franchise, there are certain characters who stand out to fans. Any fan ofGuilty Gearcould no doubt name several characters from the franchise. But there are characters so iconic that even someone unfamiliar with the franchise would know them at a glance.
10Wolverine (Marvel Vs. Capcom)
He’s the best he is at what he does, but what he does usually involvesother kinds of video games– along with comics and movies. But, a character like Wolverine, with his melee claw powers and quick movements, makes for a natural addition to any fighting game roster.
Even if Wolverine weren’t one of the most iconic Marvel characters, he would no doubt be iconic simply from his status in various crossover fighters. His quick playstyle and signature claw moves mean that anyone aware of fighting games knows he occupies a space in the roster.
9Mileena (Mortal Kombat)
Many characters inMortal Kombatwere pallette swaps of one another in the earliest games, and Mileena and Kitana both debuted in the second game (possibly the best title in the whole series) as precisely that. But, Mileena became more iconic because of what lies beneath her mask: A savage, overly toothy jaw that seems perpetually filled with wicked humor.
The idea of an outwardly beautiful woman hiding a monstrous secret became a recurring element of other characters in the franchise, and Mileena herself continued to enjoy popularity exceeding that of Kitana (who in lore is actually the character Mileena is a copy of). To this day, she stands out as a combatant across the board.
8Kyo Kusanagi (King Of Fighters)
The long-runningKing of Fightersfranchise started life as a shared crossover between a variety of SNK fighting games, but it has developed into a series of its own that includesone of the best fighting games ever made. While the series has an ensemble cast full of different characters, Kyo Kusanagi is perhaps the most notable among them as a long-running franchise mainstay.
A cocky teenager with flame powers who has appeared in the series since the beginning, Kyo has been cloned multiple times and serves as a major link to the series' first major antagonistic arcs. Even though he is no longer the “main character” of the franchise, it’s hard not to think of him as one of the faces of the brand.
7Ivy Valentine (Soulcalibur)
More often than not, iconic characters in fighting games are easy to pick up and play. Ivy is not in that class. In every game, she is considered tricky to play, being a highly technical character best suited to skilled players. Yet she has risen to be seen as the most iconic character in the entire franchise.
Part of this is due to her obvious appearance drawing the gaze, but even past that she has a unique weapon and is a driven, goal-oriented character who marries well with the series storyline. She isn’t a friendly character for new players to pick up, but those who manage to master her abilities feel invested in both the character and the lore around her.
6Rugal Bernstein (King Of Fighters)
While most fighting games have noteworthy and memorable villains, it’s rare for the villain to become as memorable as the playable characters. Rugal Bernstein is not like most villains, however. His memorable status comes not just because of his lore but because he was built to simply be a horrible, miserable boss to fight.
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Fans of SNK’s fighting games have memories of games with insanely difficult bosses, often requiring some degree of luck to succeed, and the various incarnations of Rugal (and his frequent boss reappearance) make him the poster boy for exactly that. Even when he’s playable, Rugal is remembered as a boss.
5Sol Badguy (Guilty Gear)
Guilty Gear took a long time going from being an obscure but respected PlayStation fighting game to becoming a top-tier franchise andan excellent anime fighter. Fans of the series will no doubt cite the wide variety of colorful and unique characters it sports, but at this point you needn’t have any familiarity with the series as a whole to recognize Sol Badguy.
Not only is Sol arguably the “main character” of the roster, but he also serves as a sight of what makes the series unique, with a distinctly punk and rebellious edge to his design. A far cry from other fighting games in every respect, Sol remains the face of the franchise even as many of its other characters become more recognizable around the world.
4Chun-Li (Street Fighter)
In the original roster ofStreet Fighter 2, Chun-Li was unique as the sole woman among the combatants. This was hardly something that would last forever, and more women are introduced to the franchise as well as other fighting games regularly. Several of them are even on this list as iconic characters. But Chun-Li herself remains iconic.
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Between her kick-focused fighting style, her quick maneuvers, and her flashy outfit design, Chun-Li has retained her iconic status over the years of fighting game advancements. While she may no longer be the strongest woman in the world as she once boasted, she remains an iconic member of her genre.
3Kazuya Mishima (Tekken)
Even players who have never played aTekkengame recognize Kazuya Mishima at a glance. While his design is far more grounded than some other iconic characters, looking as if it would not be out of place on a real-world MMA fighter, his slick hairstyle, angular features, and characteristic scowl alone make him recognizable to almost anyone.
Kazuya also serves as the linchpin behind Tekken’s storyline, starting as protagonist before becoming an antagonist, as well as being an easy character to pick up and understand, even if he requires good knowledge to play effectively. Combine all of this and the heir to the Mishima zaibatsu is an iconic character in his own right, recognizable and well-known across franchises.
2Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat)
The original Mortal Kombat had two characters who were direct pallette swaps of one another, and yet both of them have gone on to be memorable and recognizable parts of the franchise. Of the two, however, Sub-Zero is arguably the more iconic, in no small part because he starred in his own spin-off game in 1997.
A Chinese ninja wielding ice powers, Sub-Zero as a name has been passed between two siblings, one of them more conniving and antagonistic, the other more clearly heroic and fighting for the safety of Earth. Despite this, the character’s moves (includinghis classic Fatality) and icy powers make him instantly recognizable, and even served as a central plot point for 2021’s film version of the story.
1Ryu (Street Fighter)
A black-haired man with a red headband in a white gi, Ryu’s design is so simple as to not simply be recognized but easily copied in countless games. His moveset has become not only familiar but similarly copied across countless other fighting games. And yet with that in mind, is there really any space to argue that he is not the most iconic fighting game character of all time?
Ryu is easily the archetype from which all fighting game characters are judged and evaluated, befitting his own desire to simply be a master of fighting in all possible contexts. Whether or not players can defeat his Dragon Punch, no one will soon forget him as a character.
