The Super Nintendo was known for having a large assort of games from a variety of different genres, as it was a third-party powerhouse. One genre that shined on the platform was fighting games.

While there were many attempts to make competent fighting games prior, the modern fighting game was born in the same generation as the Super Nintendo. Because of this, there were many great experimental games that not only provided fun gameplay but also pushed the genre forward. As a way of thanking the system that helped grow the modern fighting game into what it is today, here are the 10 best fighting games released on the Super Nintendo.

10 Sailor Moon S

There were very few anime series that were actually successful in the West back in the 90s. However, Pokémon and Sailor Moon were huge exceptions. While the Sailor Scouts were loved in the West, they were loved even more in their county of origin, with nine Japanese exclusive Super Nintendo games.

Sailor Moon S is a one on one fighter where you can play as one of the Sailor Scouts, all with different stats and individual special moves. The game is incredibly broken, with many mechanics being very unbalanced and even some cases of blocking being more harmful than actually taking an attack.

9 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition

In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition, rather than fighting as one of the Rangers, you fight as one of the Zords, their large mechs that tower most city buildings. You are only able to choose either the Thunder Megazord or the Mega Tigerzord in the Story Mode, and, throughout the rest of the game, you will fight with the rest of the Zords. Over the course of the game, you will also fight Ivan Ooze, the main antagonist of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie, who is incredibly broken.

8 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters

While many are aware of the Turtles beat ‘em up game for the Super Nintendo, many overlook the one on one fighter created for the system. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, you can fight as one of the four Turtles or one of their many foes from the comics rather than the television show like Shredder, Wingnut, and Chromedome.

The battles take place in familiar settings, and each character controls differently with their own specials. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters was also ported over the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Genesis, both somewhat different than the Super Nintendo port.

7 Street Fighter: Alpha 2

While the port of Street Fighter: Alpha 2 on the Super Nintendo is very limited and not as polished as its arcade counterpart, it is a miracle that Capcom even squeezed it onto a cartridge and for that, it earns some respect. Street Fighter: Alpha 2 takes place before Street Fighter II with many new characters, some of which were enemies or playable characters in the Final Fight series. The Street Fighter: Alpha games take on a much more anime-inspired art style which was later used in Capcom’s Marvel vs. Capcom series.

6 Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension

While there were many Dragon Ball Z fighting games on the Super Nintendo, many only pay attention to the Super Butoden trilogy and ignore the much more competent and visually appealing Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension. Hyper Dimension features a long story that goes through the majority of the Dragon Ball Z story, taking place from the Frieza saga, all the way up to the Buu saga.

Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension was released in 1996, long into the Super Nintendo’s lifecycle. Because of this, Hyper Dimension is a graphical showcase for the system with highly detailed animations for characters and background, and Frieza’s transformation pre-fight is especially impressive.

5 Justice League Task Force

Justice League Task Force was developed by Sunsoft and Blizzard, the same company that created World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch. Justice League Task Force can be thought of as a Super Nintendo version of Injustice as you can play as different members of the Justice League like Superman and Wonder Women, as well as villains like Dark Seid and Desparo.

Each battle takes place in different settings seen through the comic book series like Gotham City, Atlantis, and Metropolis. Also included is a story mode where you get a personalized intro based on the character you choose.

4 Gundam Wing Endless Duel

 

Gundam Wing Endless Duel takes many of the awesome mechs found in the anime and has them fight one-on-one. This SNES fighter is exclusive to Japan, and it’s one of the best 16-bit fighting games that rarely receives any attention. The game is filled with massive, colorful sprites that take up the majority of the screen, fast action, and very little slowdown.

As you battle your massive mechs in Gundam Wing Endless Duel, you feel as if you are actually battling in large robots thanks to the camera shaking and excellent sound design that is featured in the game.

3 Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct was developed by Rare and uses pre-rendered graphics, which were made popular by Donkey Kong Country, which was also developed by Rare. Killer Instinct focuses heavily on building large combos with outlandish characters. Rather than having the round end when one of the character’s health depletes, in Killer Instinct, the match briefly pauses, and the downed player rises back up where they fell, with the still-standing player not regenerating any health. There are also finishing moves that take inspiration from Mortal Kombat’s fatalities, as they are brutal to the point of being ridiculous.

2 Mortal Kombat 3

Mortal Kombat 3 is the entry in the series that brought many of the series staples that are still in the latest entries today. Kabal, Cyrax, Sektor, Nightwolf, and more all made their first appearance in Mortal Kombat 3. The game also added a run button that could be used to close the distance between you and your opponent so you can continue the onslaught of attacks.

Also added was chain combos that allow you to hit your opponent multiple times before they can attack again, something that is a staple of most fighting games today.

1 Street Fighter II

While the first game in the series laid the groundwork for the series, it wasn’t until Street Fighter II when the framework for all fighting games to be created afterward was created. Street Fighter II has incredibly tight gameplay, along with a large selection of characters that all control and feel vastly different.

Street Fighter II was followed up with many different iterations that improved upon the formula made in the first game. Even the most recent entry, Street Fighter V, is structured identically to Street Fighter II, but with a few added bells and whistles.

NEXT: 10 Of The Best Shoot Em’ Ups For The Super Nintendo, Ranked