The Sega Dreamcast’s launch came around the same time as some of the most beloved fighting games ever made. While arcades were on the out, consoles were finally capable of bringing the arcade home. The Dreamcast was also the first console released for the sixth generation in 1999 when there was still love for the fighting game genre. Because of this, the Dreamcast has arguably some of the best fighting games ever released.
The Dreamcast was also not shy about having odd and obscure titles released for the system, a description that aptly describes fighting games. Without further ado, let’s look back at the system that housed some of the most iconic and legendary fighting games. But some releases stood out above the rest, here are the 10 best fighting games released for the Dreamcast.
10 The Last Blade 2
The Last Blade 2, like most fighting games, started off as an arcade game before being brought home to the Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD. Due to its popularity, The Last Blade 2 has been ported to the Playstation 2, Sega Dreamcast, and many modern consoles.
The Last Blade 2 is a 2D sprite-based weapons-based fighter where you play as various samurai and other Japanese swordsmen who battle it out with swords and other weapons. You can choose between three fighting styles that emphasize speed, power, or a mixture of both.
9 Soulcalibur
Soulcalibur was a launch game for the Sega Dreamcast and took advantage of the then-revolutionary built-in online capabilities of the console. Soulcalibur, though seemingly the first game in the series is actually the second with the first being Soul Edge which was released for the PlayStation and other consoles.
Soulcalibur is now a long-running franchise with the latest being Soulcalibur VI which was released in 2018. The series is known for including characters from other franchises to fight it out with the rest of the cast like Spawn, Link, and Darth Vader.
8 Project Justice
Project Justice is one of the very few 3D fighters created by Capcom. In Project Justice, you play as one of the many competing schools that joined a fighting competition to see which school will come out on top. It is a 3 on 3 fighter where you can throw your enemies in the air and juggle them while having other members of your team come in for combo attacks. You can also have your teammates come in briefly for an assist to help guard you or extend combos.
7 Guilty Gear X
Guilty Gear’s first entry in the series came out in 1998, since then it has spawned many sequels that span different consoles and generations. It was also turned into a manga as well as a drama CD. Similar to SNK and other Arc System Works fighting games, Guilty Gear X is a four-button fighter. Newly added to Guilty Gear X is Roman Cancel which allows you to cancel a move while still benefiting from its aftereffects as well as allowing follow up attacks. The series is still going strong to this day with a new entry in the series set to come out soon.
6 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a 2D fighter developed by Capcom based on the legendary anime and manga series, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. While it does control very similar to other Capcom fighters, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure adds guardian spirits that accompany just about every character in the game. The guardian spirits work somewhat like assist from Capcom’s versus series whereas they will temporarily come out and most of your specials are connected to them with most characters having a three bar special that will have the guardian spirit take over completely.
5 Power Stone 2
Power Stone 2 is a unique isometric brawler with controls that are similar to Capcom’s other fighters but in a 3D space. While there is plenty of depth to Power Stone 2, it is often seen as a party fighter like Super Smash Bros.
There are many colorful characters to choose from and a variety of stages to choose from, and also like Super Smash Bros., some stages have environmental hazards that will shake up the match. As with many of Capcom’s fighters from the 90’s and early 2000’s, Power Stone has been left behind with no sequels since the Dreamcast.
4 Capcom Vs. SNK 2
Though the name may have you assume that the game would have characters that span both SNK and Capcom’s vast catalog of characters, the roster of Capcom vs. SNK 2 sticks mainly to the Street Fighter and King of Fighters series.
Like many of Capcom’s other versus games, Capcom vs. SNK 2 is a two-on-two fighting game where you can choose to have gameplay similar to a Capcom fighter or to an SNK fighter. The game has seen a widespread release on multiple platforms, including the original Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo Gamecube, and more.
3 Garou: Mark Of The Wolves
Garou: Mark of the Wolves is part of the Fatal Fury series and is the final entry before SNK decided to focus entirely on The King of Fighters. While previous entries in the Fatal Frame series have you fighting on multiple planes, Garou: Mark of the Wolves combat takes place on a single plane like most traditional fighting games.
Many of the systems that were used in Garou: Mark of the Wolves were later used in the Capcom vs SNK games. Garou: Mark of the Wolves is considered one of the greatest fighting games of all time and is still heavily played in the fighting game community.
2 Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
With Street Fighter III, Capcom wanted to try something a little different so they created entirely new characters with only Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li making it over from previous titles. They also added a perry system that would allow you to parry an opponent’s move by pressing towards them at the right moment so you could counter-attack, something that would later be the center of the most famous moment in fighting game history: EVO Moment 37. Capcom is known for making multiple iterations of their Street Fighter games in order to fix bugs and better balance the cast and they did just that with Street Fighter III: Third Strike which was the third release of Street Fighter III and was arguably the best one yet.
1 Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age Of Heroes
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes pits the two legendary companies and their vast collection of characters against one another. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 has 56 characters in three-on-three fights with each character having three different assists for endless opportunities to create new and unique teams. While every character had their own supers when you filled your super bar completely, each character would come out and simultaneously do their specials together, creating a massive wave of colors and animations. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is still being played today and was set to be one of the main games at EVO 2020 until the event was canceled.
NEXT: 10 Best Launch Titles For The Sega Dreamcast, Ranked
