5 Fighting Game Franchises That Need A Revival

Now that Fatal Fury is finally coming back, let's look at other fighting game series that need to make a return. Some are recent highpoints, others are classics that need the 21st-century glow-up.

Author:
Norris Howard
Publish date:
Mar 20, 2024 12:18 PM EDT

With Fatal Fury/Garou coming back and rumblings of a Virtua Fighter revival as well, there's never been a better time to be a fighting game fan. But that doesn't mean that every series from the genre's heyday has seen a return. There's plenty of fighting games that could benefit from today's current fighting game trends and sensibilities. So here's a selection of games that would be great to play if they were rebooted.

5 Fighting Game Series That Need A Revival

Some have been recent favorites, others are classics that deserve a 21st century glow-up.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (2014)

One of the best crossover games of the 2010's — Atlus/Arc System Works

This 2013 Arc System Works follow-up to Persona 4 Arena was well received by anime-fighters across the world. Since then Atlus' Persona 5 has become a generationally defining RPG and Unicorn Overlord started turning heads as well. Throw in the yet to be released Metaphor: Re Fantazio and you've got a solid roster for a new Persona Arena game that could resolidify it as the premier crossover anime game in the FGC.

Fighting Vipers (1995)

A companion game to Virtua Fighter that never got it's due. — Sega/AM2

If Virtua Fighter is coming back then so should Fighting Vipers. The sister game to VF in many ways, Fighting Vipers took 80's anime and movie references and created characters out of them. For instance, the main character, Bahn is a direct callback to Jotaro Kujo from Jojo's Bizzare Adventure. FV should also resurface, even if it's for no other reason than to reboot Sega's underrated crossover game, Fighters Megamix.

Rival Schools/Project Justice (1997/2000)

Capcom's best attempt at a 3D fighting game. — Capcom

One of the most unique fighting games Capcom ever made, Rival Schools was one of the company's first forays into 3D. This team based game focused on, you guessed it, high school students duking it out while trying to solve a mystery. Gameplay wise, it there's still nothing like it in Capcom's current stable of games.
They're also clearly aware that fans want to see it's return with the inclusion of Akira, a central character in Rival Schools, to Street Fighter V.

Bushido Blade (1997)

For 1997 it was shockingly violent, but innovative. — SquareEnix/Sony

Pushing the boundaries of what can be considered a fighting game, Bushido Blade holds a special place in gamer's hearts. It was risky, innovative, wholly unique and still to this day an experience that's yet to be replicated.
This weapon based fighter from Squaresoft featured no health bars and the ability to one hit kill in some cases. You could cripple your opponent by slashing at their limbs forcing them to crawl or even lose the use of their weapon. While there is a sequel, Bushido Blade 2 (1998), it completely changed the mechanics and turned off fans of the series. Now even almost 30 years out, there hasn't been a game to replace the tension of Bushido Blade.

Darkstalkers (last game, 1997)

Arguably a running joke within the FGC, the Darkstalkers series is the sister game to Street Fighter that never got as much love. However, it's character and charm have persisted through the years and fans still clamor for its return. Morrigan, the main character of the series, has appeared in various crossover games like Marvel vs. Capcom and Capcom vs. SNK 2 but hasn't had her own new game in nearly three decades.
It's horror and myth-based designs remain some of the best in Capcom's roster and it's been a tragedy that we haven't seen a Darkstalkers game in so long.