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2024 was a great year for button mashers and seasoned whiff-punishers alike, we got a couple of new fighting games, a handful of re-releases with added spice, a sprinkling of shiny remasters, and an absolute ton of DLC. After a lot of deliberation, the fireball throwers and combo droppers at The Nerd Stash have compiled a list of the best fighting games that came out in 2024, as well as our GOTY. Without any further delay, here is a ranked list of the best fighting games that we got to annihilate noobs in his year.
5. MultiVersus
The only free-to-play fighting game on the list, the Warner Bros. all-stars Smash-like brawler has one of the strongest rosters in any game out there, fighting game or not. There is no place else where you can witness Marvin the Martian team up with Batman to take on Agent Smith and Velma. If you are jumping into 1v1 or 2v2 modes, you will have an absolute blast unlocking new characters as well as a growing list of costumes.
It does feel like it is a developing project, as more modes are being added as time goes on. Even if MultiVersus isn’t what you were hoping for at present, keeping it on your radar for the future is a great idea. During its first beta, the game had over a million concurrent players, and while that number has dropped by the time of its full release, there is still a lot of growth this hatchling has yet to show.
4. Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO
What constitutes a fighting game? That’s the question everyone has when it comes to Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO. The game isn’t a traditional fighting game in a 2D plane or one with 3D movement. Because it also has vertical movement and a much more involved third-person perspective. But since it is a one-on-one arena fighter, and we’ve all spent countless hours fighting opponents in games like Dragon Ball: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, this definitely qualifies as a fighting game.
Spike Chunsoft, the developer of Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO added every character possible in the unbelievably huge roster that consists of 182 fighters and a million possible scenarios fans can create. If you love blinding transformations accompanied by lung-rupturing screams, you won’t go wrong with Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO.
3. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Granblue Fantasy fans will be happy to see Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising on the list. The new version improves upon virtually every single problem the original release had, making it a complete package for any anime fighter fanatic. The decision to switch to rollback netcode alone has done wonders for the game’s online community, not to mention the plethora of new characters that are as unique as they come. I mean have you seen Cagliostro?
If you like anime fighters, and you are a fan of the Granblue Fantasy franchise, this is a no-brainer. Even if you haven’t played the game before, the newly added tutorials, improved training options, and character-specific guides in the game make learning the ropes easier than ever before.
2. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection – Arcade Classics
When your game, or collection of games in this case, is so good that people start throwing up the moment it is announced, you’re definitely on to something. The Marvel vs. Capcom series had been locked away on obsolete hardware for so long, and its revival wasn’t just unexpected, most believed it was just straight-up impossible.
Capcom shattered those gloomy predictions with the surprise reveal, and as for the collection itself, it was nothing short of perfect. Everything you can imagine for a good fighting game remaster is here. Rollback netcode, all the online modes, training, multiple visual filters, and much more.
With the new mod released for Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, and the revival of the best entry in the franchise, MvC2, fans are left wanting for only one thing now, a new entry that has all the heroes that Infinite didn’t.
1. Tekken 8
And finally, our list meets fate. This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, Bandai Namco knocked it out of the stratosphere with the eighth installment of its flagship fighter. Tekken 8 is one of those rare fighting games that does pretty much everything right, from the core system mechanics, to all the bells and whistles on top.
The amazing new replay takeover feature along with AI ghosts of actual players are original additions that are pushing the genre forward. Even Capcom ended up introducing similar features in Street Fighter 6 due to their popularity in Tekken 8. While its aggressive focus is concerning to some, these minor issues will be ironed out and this game will hopefully be remembered as one of the best entries in the genre-defining Tekken franchise.
