Ever since Street Fighter first started appearing in arcades back in the late 80s, Capcom have been proclaimed by many to be the kings of the fighting game genre, and although plenty of time has passed since their humble beginnings, they are still releasing new entries in this beloved genre at a very consistent pace even to this day. Because Capcom managed to nail the tight and highly focused core-gameplay of their fighting games very early on, this has allowed them to implement and insert numerous interesting mechanics, systems, and modes over the years in an attempt to build upon each game that came before.

While not all of these attempts were successful, thankfully, the majority of Capcom's fighting games have been very well received by both critics and hardcore fans of the genre, but which do many consider to be the greatest of them all? Here is a breakdown of some of the best fighting games Capcom has ever released, and why they have ended up becoming so beloved by fans of the genre.

7 Street Fighter 4

Metacritic User Score: 7.6

Once the arcade scene had started to die down with the emergence and immense popularity of home consoles, it looked as though fighting games would inevitably also be lost to time, that is, until Street Fighter 4 released in 2008. With a flashy new visual style, a large cast of characters, and a plethora of new moves and techniques for players to utilize in battle, Street Fighter 4 had everything it needed to revive interest in the fighting game genre all over again for a brand-new audience.

While the core 2D fighting gameplay hadn't been changed too much from its predecessors, one of the biggest new additions was the Focus Attack, a move that was difficult to pull off due to its long charge-up, but that could also stun the opponent if it landed, leaving them wide open for a combo. The game is also credited for bringing in some of the series' most beloved new characters, one prime example being Juri Han, a sadistic taekwondo practitioner who's merciless fighting style really helped her stand out from the rest of the cast.

6 Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike

Metacritic User Score: 7.6

When it comes to core gameplay, Third Strike is often credited as being one of the greatest fighting games out there, with there being so much combo potential that players are still figuring out new ones even to this day. Alongside solid gameplay, the game also has an incredibly unique hip-hop-inspired aesthetic that hadn't ever been seen before, adding an endless amount of charm to the game, especially through its infectious music tracks.

There was a lot of discussion upon Third Strike's release concerning the character roster, and more specifically, the otherworldly combatants who had been added to the game, like Q and Twelve. While not everyone was a fan of these more unorthodox characters who seemed a little too strange and weird, most fans would eventually fall in love with them, seeing them as a welcome addition to the already admittedly odd bunch of characters that had appeared in previous installments.

5 Capcom VS SNK 2

Metacritic User Score: 7.6

Capcom VS SNK2 grants players a staggering amount of freedom to take on their battles in any way they want, and because of this, it makes the game incredibly replayable and a ton of fun to jump into, even if just for a few quick matches. Players are able to choose up to three characters to bring onto their team, but this isn't always a smart idea since doing this will mean that every combatant is much weaker, as opposed to if the team consisted of only a single person.

This already adds an extra layer of strategy to the game compared to much of its competition, but the numerous different fighting styles which are known as "Grooves" also encourage players to put in the practice in order to fully master all the tools that they are able to utilize in battle. Pair this with a pretty substantial mixture of characters, and it results in an incredibly fun, though difficult to learn, experience that still looks amazing even to this day.

4 Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3

Metacritic User Score: 7.9

When the original Marvel VS Capcom 3 released in early 2011, its high-octane action and colorful visual aesthetic received a lot of praise from fans, but the game did admittedly have quite a few balancing issues with a handful of characters being very hard to beat, and even outright broken. Thankfully, this was all fixed in the Ultimate edition of the game, which also brought in several fan-favorites too, such as Rocket Raccoon and Vergil from Devil May Cry.

As anyone who has even watched a match of Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 will know very well, the game is incredibly fast-paced, with characters flying across the screen to initiate devastating combos that can be absolutely devastating because of how long they last. While this does give the game an extremely high skill ceiling, especially when trying to combine the abilities of all three team members, it's also one of the most satisfying fighting games to get good at, especially with how flashy and vibrant a lot of these attacks look in action. Although it definitely isn't the most accessible fighting game out there, there's no doubt that, at its core, Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 is still an excellent title with plenty of content to get stuck into.

3 Capcom VS SNK

Metacritic User Score: 8.1

On the surface, Capcom VS SNK may seem like an inferior version of its sequel since it's quite a bit more stripped back in terms of central mechanics, but this ultimately made the game much easier to pick up and play while still retaining that high skill ceiling that Capcom fighters would always be known for. The gameplay largely revolves around the Ratio system, which essentially refers to a character's overall strength. As players create a team, they will only be able to reach a maximum Ratio of four, meaning that while they could throw in four weaker characters who only cost one Ratio each, there's also the option to put in fewer, but much stronger characters instead.

It's a pretty simple system to understand and get used to, but when trying to make the perfect team of fighters who excel in all areas, it becomes much more challenging to choose who to select, and actually quite addicting to constantly mix and match characters to see who works best together. The game also features some visually stunning stages, many of which are far more detailed than any other fighters that were coming out at the time, and it also managed to still remain fairly balanced despite how experimental the Ratio system ended up being.

2 Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower

Metacritic User Score: 8.3

Capcom may not seem to be in too much of a hurry to return to Darkstalkers any time soon since they're pre-occupied with numerous other projects, but back when this series was still alive and kicking, it was proving itself to be a pretty formidable contender in the fighting game scene. With its gothic aesthetic and demonic cast of playable characters, Darkstalkers immediately stood out for being unique and different, and with The Chaos Tower, players were able to experience the first three games in one giant package. Because the game includes every single character who made an appearance in these previous installments, it means that there's a massive cast of characters for players to choose from.

Darkstalkers Chronicle's gameplay also manages to include plenty of character-specific gimmicks without making things too unbalanced. Additionally, this ensures that every single fighter feels entirely different from their counterparts, whether it's the skilled warrior Donovan who excels at trapping his enemies with shocking spirit attacks, or Victor who's all about melting his opponent's health bar with large AOE abilities, it's so much fun trying out each character to see what they're all about, before then putting in some practice to learn how to use them to their full potential.

1 Marvel VS Capcom 2

Metacritic User Score: 8.5

Although fighting game rosters were gradually becoming bigger over the years, Marvel VS Capcom 2 made quite the statement when it launched with a gigantic cast of 56 playable fighters, all of whom hailed from Capcom's most popular franchises, and from the Marvel comics. What also made the game much different from its competitors though was the assist system, which allowed two characters to jump in and perform a quick attack or ability in order to help out the main fighter during an intense bout. Considering that most of these attacks could lift the opponent for a mid-air combo, this was an easy but effective way to chain together attacks, without it ever feeling too overpowered in the process.

This was also one of the first fighting games that mixed traditional 2D character sprites with fully rendered 3D backgrounds, resulting in a timeless art style that perfectly captures the mid-point between arcades and modern consoles. The Hyper Combos, which are this game's version of a Super Move, are well known for how over the top and flashy they are, making it all so satisfying to finish off an opponent by using one. With its plethora of content, absurdly large character count, and hyper-focused and fun core gameplay, there's no wonder why Marvel VS Capcom 2 is so beloved by many fans of the fighting game genre.