In the history of fighting games, one saying has been said more than most. That frequently stated phrase is that fighting games don't have good stories. The saddest thing is that many actually believe this without actually looking into the lore of their favorite fighting game series.
While at face value it may seem like this is true, if you take a bit of time to actually look into these series you'll find that underneath the simple structure you'll find that fighting games have some of the most fun, creative, and extensive lore in videogames. With this list, we'll be hoping to prove that to you.
10 STREET FIGHTER III
The story of Street Fighter is all around a great one filled with awesome themes around legacy and character growth. However, specifically Street Fighter III has the best story of the bunch. It's the first game to completely retool the series, replacing the old cast with an all-new group of fighters called the next generation.
This story follows multiple characters but at the forefront is Alex and his struggle against Gill and his organization called The Illuminati. Gill comes to Earth seemingly as its savior, but we soon find out that this is the exact opposite of his true intentions.
9 TEKKEN
The Tekken series has some of the best stories in fighting game history. Not only is it chock-full of some of the coolest and most creative characters in all the genre, but it has one of the most balls to the walls stories in fighters based around ancient god-like beings, mass-produced battle androids, a family bent on killing each other, and fighting bears.
Tekken is one of those series that always manages to top the crazy level of the last game's story. This is especially seen with the individual character stories. This is one of the series that really shows the end of the "wow" spectrum of fighting game stories.
8 INJUSTICE
Again and again, Netherealm Studios has proven that they've been the best in the business when it comes to creating fighting story modes. This studio is probably the only fighting game studio that produces fighting games that fans buy solely for the stories, and Injustice was the second series produced by them that followed this strength.
Injustice is a story that comic book fighting game fans have been loving both inside and outside of the games. This story of an alternate universe Superman running a regime versus a rebel team lead by Batman is one any comic fan can enjoy.
7 BLAZBLUE
If you're looking for a complex story in your fighting games and want to invest more time into understanding the story than learning the actual game then Blazblue is the series for you. The game even goes as far as implementing a full-length story mode in the form of a visual novel for those that are curious in each title produced.
Blazblue has one of those stories that fans of complicated anime will be familiar with. Featuring multiple timelines and different characters from different universes, if you want to work your brain this story is for you.
6 MORTAL KOMBAT (ORIGINAL)
The classic Mortal Kombat story that spanned from the original Mortal Kombat game all the way up to Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is one that followed the sweet and simple formula. Although some character stories in the series can be a bit ridiculous, namely the goofy stories that are featured in Mortal Kombat 4.
The story has a clear beginning and ending with Armageddon being the end of all things. You can tell they tried to end it with a big war when things were getting a bit too out of proportions.
5 GUILTY GEAR
The story of the Guilty Gear series is similar to Blazblue's as it's familiar territory for anime fans that love an expansive universe that can be a bit out there and complex. This game's story spans throughout the history of a world with alternate timelines caused by time travelers and full of wars called the Holy Wars.
It's another game series where you probably won't be able to understand it without jumping in and swimming through all the lore there is to find. The new Xrd series of games features full 3D anime stories so if you're interested check those out.
4 SOUL CALIBUR
Soul Calibur is one of the most popular series on this list, especially with more casual crowds. This isn't only due to the series being one of the earliest and most appealing 3D fighting games but also due to the difference in its lore compared to the rest of the fighting games that were on the market.
Placing itself in a more historical setting, Soul Calibur treads some familiar fighting game territory in a different way with different plot devices. The special guest characters add to this story as well.
3 MORTAL KOMBAT (REBOOT)
With the new generation reboot release of Mortal Kombat the series returned and this time with Netherealm Studios behind it. There was new life in Mortal Kombat bringing it back to its 2D fighting-game roots which breathed new life into the series. This new release, Mortal Kombat 9 also breathed new life into the story of this popular fighter.
This story starts with the late Raiden of the original game's timeline sending a message from Armageddon back to himself from Mortal Kombat 1. From there there are a whole lot of historical changes that shake everything we knew about MK, making lots of characters go through very different changes than we're familiar with.
2 KING OF FIGHTERS
The King of Fighters series is one of the fighting game series that boasts some of the best character designs in the genre. It also has some of the best storytelling as well. Anyone that is interested in the actual lore of fighting games that decides to hop into the King of Fighters universe will be pleasantly surprised to find a very cohesive story that's simple and easy to enjoy.
The story of this series can be a bit large due to it being a crossover series, but if you're interested in the main plot thankfully you'll only be following the title characters, Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami.
1 SUBSPACE EMISSARY
The story from Super Smash Brothers Brawl titled the Subspace Emissary is one of the best story modes actually inside the game. It's also probably the most loved and memorable part -besides a few character inclusions- in the game. Pardon the image, the cutscenes don't exactly scale well, despite the enjoyable gameplay.
This story takes characters from all over Nintendo history and a few from other game companies and throws them all into an expansive story against an original enemy created just for the game. Think of the MCU leading up to Avengers Endgame but with videogame characters. Even without words, this story is just as epic.