fighting game this article is about competitive oneonone fighting video games for scrolling fighting games where players face off against many opponents see beat em up for other uses see fight disambiguation part of a series onaction games subgenres actionadventure game action roleplaying game open world stealth game survival game survival horror battle royale beat em up fighting game platform game platformadventure game metroidvania shooter game firstperson shooter thirdperson shooter hero shooter light gun shooter roleplaying shooter shoot em up tactical shooter rhythm game topics capture the flag cover system firstperson shooter engine free look quick time event wasd keys lists list of beat em ups list of fighting game companies list of fighting games list of firstperson shooters list of freeware firstperson shooters list of thirdperson shooters list of shoot em up game companies list of survival games list of gun games list of maze video games list of platform games vte look up appendixglossary of fighting game in wiktionary the free dictionary a fighting game is a video game genre based around interpersonal combat between a limited amount of characters in which they fight until they defeat their opponents or the timer expires the fight matches typically consist of several rounds and take place in an arena while each character has differing abilities but each is relatively viable to choose players must master techniques such as blocking counterattacking and chaining attacks together into combos starting in the early 1990s most fighting games allowed the player to execute special attacks by performing specific input combinations the fighting game genre is related to but distinct from beat em ups which involve large numbers of enemies against the human player the first game to feature fist fighting was heavyweight champ in 1976 but it was karate champ which popularized oneonone martial arts games in arcades in 1984 the following year yie ar kungfu featured antagonists with differing fighting styles while the way of the exploding fist further popularized the genre on home systems in 1987 street fighter introduced hidden special attacks in 1991 capcoms highly successful street fighter ii refined and popularized many of the conventions of the genre the fighting game subsequently became the preeminent genre for competitive video gaming in the early to mid1990s particularly in arcades this period spawned dozens of other popular fighting games including successful and long running franchises like street fighter mortal kombat tekken guilty gear the king of fighters virtua fighter marvel vs capcom killer instinct darkstalkers dead or alive and soulcalibur definition fighting games are a type of action game where two onscreen characters fight each other this genre is distinct from beat em ups another action genre involving combat where the player character must fight many weaker enemies at the same time game design although street fighter ii was not the first fighting game it popularized and established the gameplay conventions of the genre fighting games involve combat between pairs of fighters using highly exaggerated martial arts moves aside from moving around a restricted space fighting games limit the players actions to different offensive and defensive maneuvers players must learn which attacks and defenses are effective against each other often by trial and error special attacks an integral feature of fighting games includes the use of special attacks also called secret moves the players objective in a fighting game is to win a match by depleting their rivals health mortal kombat even allows the victor to perform a gruesome finishing maneuver called a fatality matches and rounds fighting game matches generally consist of several rounds typically best of three the player who wins the most rounds wins the match character selection in most fighting games players may select from a variety of characters who have unique fighting styles and special moves this became a strong convention for the genre with the release of street fighter ii and these character choices have led to deeper game strategy and replay value custom creation or createafighter is a feature of some fighting games which allows a player to customize the appearance and move set of their own character super fire pro wrestling x premium was the first game to include such a feature multiplayer modes fighting games may also offer a multiplayer mode in which players fight each other sometimes by letting a second player challenge the first at any moment during a single player match history late 1970s to early 1990s fighting games find their origin in boxing games but evolved towards battles between characters with fantastic abilities and complex special maneuvers both karate champ and yie ar kung fu later provided a template for capcoms street fighter in 1987 early 1990s the release of street fighter ii in 1991 is considered a revolutionary moment in the fighting game genre yoshiki okamotos team developed the most accurate joystick and button scanning routine in the genre thus far this allowed players to reliably execute multibutton special moves which had previously required an element of luck the graphics took advantage of capcoms cps arcade chipset with highly detailed characters and stages whereas previous games allowed players to combat a variety of computercontrolled fighters street fighter ii allowed players to play against each other the popularity of street fighter ii surprised the gaming industry as arcade owners bought more machines to keep up with demand snk released fatal fury a few months before street fighter ii chicagos midway games achieved unprecedented notoriety when they released mortal kombat in 1992 the game featured digital characters drawn from real actors numerous secrets virtua fighter is rendered in 3d but is typical of most fighting games in that most action takes place in a 2d plane of motion here one player ducks the others attack sega am2s first attempt in the genre was the 1993 arcade game burning rival the 1994 playstation launch title battle arena toshinden is credited for taking the genre into true 3d due to its introduction of the sidestep maneuver which ign described as one little move that changed the fighter forever late 1990s in the latter part of the 1990s the fighting game genre began to decline in popularity with specific franchises falling into difficulty electronic gaming monthly awarded the excess of fighting games the most appalling trend award of 1995 in retrospect multiple developers attribute the decline of the fighting genre to its increasing complexity and specialization this complexity shut out casual players and the market for fighting games became smaller and more specialized video game enthusiasts took an interest in fictional crossovers which feature characters from multiple franchises in a particular game early 2000s the early part of the decade saw the rise of major international fighting game tournaments such as tougeki super battle opera and evolution championship series and famous players such as daigo umehara in the new millennium fighting games became less popular and plentiful than in the mid1990s with multiplayer competition shifting towards other genres late 2000s to present visitors playing the crossover game street fighter x tekken at the e3 2011 street fighter iv the series first mainline title since street fighter iii 3rd strike in 1999 was released in early 2009 to critical acclaim numerous indie fighting games have also been crowdfunded on websites such as kickstarter and indiegogo the most notable success being skullgirls in 2012 list of fighting games vtevideo game genres listaction beat em up hack and slash fighting maze pacman clone platform shooter firstperson thirdperson light gun shoot em up tactical survival battle royale actionadventure grand theft auto clone immersive sim metroidvania stealth survival horror psychological horror adventure escape the room interactive fiction interactive movie visual novel mmo mmofps mmorpg mmorts mud roleplaying action roleplaying dungeon crawl roguelike tactical roleplaying simulation construction and management business city government life simulation dating sim digital pet god social simulation sports strategy 4x multiplayer online battle arena realtime strategy tower defense time management realtime tactics turnbased strategy turnbased tactics wargame vehicle simulation flight simulator amateur combat space racing kart racing sim racing submarine simulator train simulator vehicular combat other genres artillery breakout clone digital collectible card game eroge exergame incremental music rhythm nongame party programming puzzle sokoban tilematching related concepts aaa game advertising arcade game art game audio game casual game christian game crossover game educational game fmv gamification indie game multiplayer video game nonlinear gameplay open world nonviolent video game online game browser game multiplayer online game online gambling socialnetwork game pervasive game serious game toystolife twitch gameplay video game clone vtemartial arts list of styles history timeline hard and soft regional origin china europe india indonesia japan korea philippines unarmed techniques chokehold clinch footwork elbow strike headbutt hold kick knee strike joint lock punch sweep takedown throw weapons archery knife fighting melee weapons shooting stickfighting swordsmanship training kata practice weapon punching bag pushing hands randori sparring grappling brazilian jiujitsu judo jujutsu sambo sumo wrestling striking boxing capoeira karate kickboxing muay thai lethwei sanshou savate taekwondo vovinam internal aikido aikijutsu baguazhang tai chi xing yi quan full contact combat sports professional boxing professional kickboxing knockdown karate mixed martial arts pankration submission wrestling selfdefense combatives arnis bartitsu 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