Anime games aren’t just limited to tie-ins and JRPGs, fighting games have become crowded by the genre in recent years. The top anime fighting games elevate the entire genre of fighting games.
They can offer the esports-level competitive mechanics you’d expect along with a unique anime art style.
The Best Anime Fighting Games
While there are loads of titles that could make an anime fighting games list, there are some which stand above the crowd. These are the games which are the most fun, the best representations of anime games in general, or titles that have brought anime-style games to a huge esports audience. .
1. Guilty Gear Strive
Source: Arc System Works
Guilty Gear Strive is the latest of seven titles, but it’s had a long life as a competitive anime fighting game. It still features at huge competitive events and gets regular updates with new characters. If you’re looking for an anime fighting game that you can elevate to an esports level, this might be it. The skill cap is high. If you put the time in, it’s possible to really elevate gameplay here.
Guilty Gear has anime-styled characters and a world that brings the title alive even outside of the competitive play. It’s one of the best anime fighting games and is still getting new characters added regularly.
2. Dragon Ball FighterZ
© Arc System Works
FighterZ is a 2D fighter coming from one of the most popular and iconic anime franchises ever. The wide Dragon Ball FighterZ roster brings in loads of characters from across the world of this series. The graphics are also a fantastic match for the source material.
Any list of the best anime fighting games really has to acknowledge the huge fighting Shonen genre, and FighterZ is a perfect encapsulation of that in a video game.
3. Persona 4 Arena
Source: Arc System Works
Persona has become one of the biggest anime-style games in recent years, Arena is the anime fighting game equivalent of the title.
This is a fighter that lets you control a cast of characters from Personas and puts the attacks from the game into a real-time battle context. Visually, it’s a great match for the prettier overworld sections of the game. It still carries a lot of the charm of the original series too. Arena is one of the best anime fighting games, with a lot of appeal even if you’re not into the base franchise.
4. Skullgirls
© MARVELOUS!
Skullgirls is another of the best anime fighting games online and offline. This game has tight mechanics, it can be played to a ridiculously high level at major events like EVO. It’s also fun to pay at home though, with a great online experience and plenty of modes for you to practise as a single player. Skullgirls’ anime art style is a big part of its appeal and the title’s characters are some of the most creative.
5. Kill La Kill If
Source: Arc System Works
Kill La Kill If is an anime fighting game by the studio behind a lot of the top choices, Arc System Works. This one has a few unique twists though. Its cell-shaded graphics are styled to look like the anime style of the original Kill La Kill. This makes for a pretty impressive experience. The cell-shaded characters actually manage to resemble the older style of animation. Visually it’s one of the most striking anime fighting games. It’s definitely going to be a crowd-pleaser for fans of the original series.
Kill La Kill If even has a unique mechanic where taunts can actually help with damage, great news for anyone whose playstyle is largely dictated by trying to annoy the opponent.
Those are some picks on a best anime fighting games list. This is a genre which is always growing though, so keep an eye out for fighting game news of new releases and more DLC coming to quite a few of these that are still active.
Read next: Top 10 Fighting Games in 2023
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