Characters are the lifeblood of a fighting game. They are the means by which the players engross themselves in the game through their varying fighting styles and personalities as they clash in combat. From Mexican wrestlers to masked karatekas to flawed super soldiers, the guys you see in fighting games get wild.
Fighting game characters often shine in their own particular way. Some are made to look cool first and foremost, some are meant to be the most fun to play with and others are made to be extremely difficult to use, but incredible in the right hands. Over the years in the many many different fighting games I’ve played, I’ve identified some fighters that excel in certain ways that no other has ever matched. To recognize those standouts, I’ve made this list of awards to celebrate the best of the best in fighting game history, the Shonen Otaku Awards!
The only criteria I have for these awards is that they cannot be from fighting games based on a license.
Most Satisfying to Master
Leroy Smith
Tekken is already a pretty technical game, where each button corresponds with an arm and leg. It’s not too difficult once you memorize a character’s pre-made combos, but knowing when to use them in tandem with each other and how to counter your opponent’s attacks with your own based on what area they hit and what area yours hit, as well as how much windup and recovery time attacks have, is key.
Enter Leroy Smith, easily the most difficult character to use in Tekken’s history. His unique style mixes attacks from other fighters, meaning the player has to understand several different styles in one character, unlike Mokujin, who copies entire move sets. Leroy required a master’s touch to make him work and he’s such a big-brain character to play as that he’s rarely used in tournaments, but in the hands of a skilled player, he’s a force to be reckoned with, moreso than any other fighting game character in history.
Easiest to Use
Twelve
Street Fighter 3: Third Strike introduced the morphic bio weapon Twelve. Visually, Twelve has a lot of fun animations of transforming and contorting his body, but even better is that he’s a great character for beginners, an inverse to Leroy. With good range and damage from even basic attack hits and some easy combo potential, it’s not hard for even the newest Street Fighter players to win with him and it’s the reason why, also inversely to Leroy, he’s a top pick at tournaments. It’s fun to learn a character that has a steep learning curve, but it’s also good to have these characters that are easily accessible to bring new players in while at the same time allowing for top-level play from the best players. Twelve exemplifies that in fighting games.
Best-Looking
Kusaregedo
SNK is known for having good-looking character designs, so much so that when a more traditionally good-looking, less-exaggerated character like Crimson Viper or Remy shows up in Street Fighter, they’re noticeably said to be inspired by SNK. Guys like K’, Duo Lon and Kim Kaphwan along with girls like Leona, King and Charlotte are all good examples, but for me, no other character from any company is as good-looking as the sexy beast Kusaregedo.
Since this is an award based on appearance, there’s not much to say. You need only look at him. With his well-toned muscles and chiseled face, he is one attractive stud. In battle he fights with graceful, but practical moves to make him look even better. Surprisingly, despite the includion of guys like Ryo, Kyo and K', Kusaregedo never appeared in any of the Days of Memories dating sim games, a major missed opportunity.
Xanadu comes in a close second.
Longest Lasting Appeal
Mike
Few fighting game characters are as iconic as Mike. First appearing in the critically-acclaimed Street Fighter, the boxing ex-convict Mike has appeared in every Street Fighter game since his inception, making him the longest-lasting character in the franchise alongside its main character Ryu, putting Mike on the level of Terry Bogard in the number of games he’s in. With his unique, inspired style of boxing and flashy, in-your face appearance, it’s no wonder that Mike has retained his fame for over two decades and is still going strong as one of fighting game’s most famous figures.
Balrog sux.
Best Boss or Subboss
Sankuro Yorozu
SNK bosses are notoriously difficult and come in all shapes and sizes. SNK created fighting game legends like Rugal Bernstein, Geese Howard, Mizuki and Shinnosuke Kagami, but none can match the style and fun of Samurai Shodown 5’s Sankuro.
His fighting style is second to none, utilizing his friends to strike and hold the player at long distances so the player can’t get close and thus can’t get a hit in. While they whittle down the player’s health through this and an overhead attack that works at any range, Sankuro can pull out a snack out of an infinite supply and recover his health so that after the player gets their one hit in before being attacked back into submission from afar, their progress is rendered meaningless.
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| Oh this is so fun! |
When it looks like the player might eke out a victory, Sankuro can pull out a gun and shoot them dead because guns are to be expected in a Samurai Shodown game! All this makes Sankuro the most fun boss in fighting game history and not the most annoying as fuck one that makes me want to kill things!
Most original
K9999
With many fighting game characters, you can see inspiration from other sources. Some like Zangief or Fatal Fury’s Raiden are based on real life pro wrestlers and, as mentioned before, sometimes companies take a crack at how others do things. Mortal Kombat has been very open about how the original games were based on kung fu movies like Enter the Dragon. With K9999, there’s no comparison to make. Every single aspect of his design is wholly original, not taking any inspiration from anywhere and making him a character only SNK could come up with. From his biomorphic powers to his cape that he throws off before battle to his being voiced by Nozomu Sasaki, there’s really no other character like him in any media, making him one of the most notable standouts in fighting games.
Best National Representative
Rufus
In many fighting games, fighters come from around the world
to join in the fight and with so many different nationalities, there’s usually
at least one that expresses the culture of their country. You would think the
winner of this award would go to someone like Zangief (“Russian wrestling is
always number one!”) or Ramon (“Viva
He likes to eat, talk, watch movies and be the best, plus he’s intelligent, polite, courteous, modest and a gentleman to boot. Never before have I seen such a condensed personification of American culture than in this one person. He is a role model.
Best Overall
Hsu Hao
There are a lot of individual traits a character can be the best in, but the best character is the best in everything. Hsu Hao is the one that would take home every award if I allowed more than one character to win one, barring the best boss award by technicality.
He’s both easy to use and satisfying to master, utilizing Mongolian wrestling and his cybernetic implant on his heart to give himself boosts, meaning a player can go ham and win, but a good player can be in control of his power and consistently win.
He’s the best looking, with a good complexion and well-kept head of hair, worthy of the cover of any fashion magazine.
He has lasting appeal, having appeared in every Mortal Kombat since his debut save one (Deception), including 11, supposedly. Someone told me he’s in MK11, but I can’t figure out where in it for the life of me.
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| While he doesn't appear in the game proper, Hsu Hao is a major villain in the comic. Netherrealm loves him so much that they keep bringing him back. |
There are many fighting game characters, but there are none like Hsu Hao. With perfect 10s all across the board in every aspect of his design, Hsu Hao is the greatest fighting game character of all time!
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| Ooooh. What's in the bag, Erron? |
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