Fighting game
A genre of action games featuring one-on-one combat.
Fighting games are a genre of action video games centered on combat between characters, typically in one-on-one battles. They emphasize hand-to-hand combat, often incorporating martial arts, and feature mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining attacks into combos. The genre became preeminent in arcades during the early to mid-1990s, with Street Fighter II (1991) standardizing many conventions.
- introduced_health_meters
- Karate Champ (1984)
- introduced_special_attacks
- Karate Champ and Yie Ar Kung-Fu (1984)
Lore & Background
The fighting game genre originated with Heavyweight Champ (1976), the first video game to feature fist fighting, but Karate Champ (1984) established the one-on-one fighting game format in arcades and also introduced health meters. Later that year, Yie Ar Kung-Fu introduced various fighting styles and character-specific special moves, and The Way of the Exploding Fist (1985) popularized the genre on home systems. Capcom's Street Fighter (1987) further refined special attacks, but its sequel Street Fighter II (1991) refined and popularized many genre conventions, including combos, leading to a boom in the early to mid-1990s.
Reader's Guide
Fighting games are distinctly related to beat 'em ups, which pit one or more players against many computer-controlled enemies. During the 1980s and 1990s, publications used the terms 'fighting game' and 'beat 'em up' interchangeably, though critics later argued the two types became dichotomous as they evolved. Sports-based combat games such as boxing, MMA, and wrestling games are generally considered separate genres, belonging more to the sports game genre. Fighting games typically confine characters to a two-dimensional plane of motion, even in 3D graphics, though some games like Tekken and Dead or Alive allow limited 3D movement, and others like Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi are fully three-dimensional, sometimes called '3D arena' fighting games. Key gameplay elements include special attacks triggered by directional inputs and button presses, combos that chain attacks, countering, and strategies such as zoning (defensive play to keep opponents away) and rushdown (aggressive play to overwhelm opponents).
Did You Know?
- The first video game to feature fist fighting was Heavyweight Champ (1976).
- Karate Champ (1984) introduced health meters to the fighting game genre.
- Street Fighter II (1991) popularized combos, which chain several attacks together.
- Some fighting games set in fully three-dimensional environments are referred to as '3D arena' fighting games.
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