The Playstation 4 is home to many fighting games, keeping the genre thriving. Furthermore, the console is home to a specific sub-section of the genre, the anime fighter. Anime fighters often get defined by two traits: an anime-inspired art style and flashy gameplay mechanics like chain combos, super jumps, air dashes, etc.
Anime fighters encompass a wide variety of titles. Some games stem from established IP, like Naruto or Dragon Ball. However, others are original IPs that define what an anime fighter can be. Of course, the PS4 has a wide variety of fighting games that aren't anime-themed either, but for now, we're giving this sub-genre some love by honoring Metacritic's best-reviewed titles!
Updated July 20, 2022, by Chris Sanfilippo: Anime fighters continue to leave their mark on the PS4, even as the PS5 era begins. One fascinating trend of note is anime fighters based on mobile games. For instance, Granblue Fantasy Versus and DNF Duel stem from mobile and web-browser RPGs. However, established anime fighting series, like Guilty Gear, are reinventing themselves with titles like the award-winning Guilty Gear Strive. All three games received a favorable critical response, allowing them to climb the ranks of Metacritic's best in the genre.
13 J-Stars Victory Vs+ 61/100
J-Stars Victory Vs+ (referred to as J-Stars from now on) is a game developed by Spike Chunsoft, a development company that's pretty well-known for creating plenty of anime-based video games, in addition to the fan-favorite Pokémon series, Mystery Dungeon.
While J-Stars received mixed-to-positive reviews, a lot of people enjoyed being able to play so many different Shonen Jump characters in one fighting game.
12 Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel - 70/100
Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel is a game by Nitroplus, a company famous for the various visual novels they've put out over the years, being the main format they favor.
Nitroplus decided to try their hand at making a fighting game, and whether the player is a fan of fighting games, visual novels, or completely new to either, they'll probably have a great time with the cult hit.
11 Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle - 76/100
Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle is a fan favorite in the Blazblue series and did a great job at intriguing new players who wouldn't have gotten into the franchise otherwise. The game is the only one in the series with tons of crossover characters from a few different anime franchises and other games.
BBTAG features characters from RWBY, Under Night In-Birth, Persona 4 Arena, Arcana Heart, Senren Kagura, Akatsuki Blitzkampf, and returning fan favorites from the series.
10 Granblue Fantasy Versus - 78/100
Granblue Fantasy Versus is a spin-off title of the popular Granblue Fantasy mobile RPG. As a result, its fighting system takes plenty of influence from the RPG genre. For example, skills activate with simplified inputs that recover after a fixed period. Furthermore, the game's super combos, deemed Skybound Arts, reflect the superpowered skills the cast of characters wield from the original Granblue Fantasy.
However, from a single-player perspective, GBVS's RPG Mode is what makes it unique. This mode plays like a side-scrolling beat-em-up game with RPG crafting and level progression. While its storyline serves as a sequel of sorts, RPG Mode helps players catch up to speed on the events of the original mobile game. This narrative-driven approach makes a refreshing experience for the fighting game genre.
9 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - 79/100
The Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm series is extremely well-loved, being perhaps one of the most critically acclaimed anime-based fighting franchises of all time, maybe just behind all of the bigger Dragon Ball Z games.
The series' fourth iteration features tons of characters from the Naruto and Naruto Shippuden universe, who engage in battles in 3D space, using their signature Jutsus and items featured in the show.
8 Blazblue: Chronophantasma Extend - 80/100
Blazblue: Chronophantasma Extend features two more new additions to the series, in addition to the seven in the base version of the game alone. It's the third game in the series, and it makes several changes to the mechanics.
Chronophantasma Extend also features a few new story modes for home console versions, such as the PS4 port. Unfortunately, critics cited how hard the story is to follow. But it's a classic in the series.
7 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 - 80/100
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 has the same formula as the sequel to the game on this list. However, its roster size trails behind Ultimate Ninja Storm 4's by more than twenty.
For those who are interested in the game but aren't particularly well-versed in the lore of the Naruto universe, there are a lot of recaps in the story mode, which is reason enough to play the game aside from the intense versus fighting.
6 DNF Duel - 80/100
DNF Duel, like GBVS, is a fighting game spin-off of a popular action-RPG series, Dungeon Fighter Online. In turn, DNF Duel's mechanics mirror GBVS's in particular regards. For instance, DNF Duel has simplified special move inputs that cooldown faster with technical inputs. In addition, this title ramps the difficulty curve with canceling mechanics that result in intricate combos.
Critics' main gripe with DNF Duel is its barebone story mode, which Gamespot, for instance, cited as "not much of a story." Still, while its single-player offerings are not the deepest, its depth of gameplay and robust netcode is a boon for the competitive scene.
5 Blazblue: Central Fiction - 84/100
Blazblue: Central Fiction is the fourth entry in the series and one of the better received in the franchise. The game also boasts a whopping 36 characters: plenty of mains for aspiring fighting game champions to master.
Central Fiction also has a story mode that lasts well over 40 hours for those who want a more immersive single-player experience rather than jumping into an online mode filled with dedicated players.
4 Guilty Gear Strive - 84/100
Guilty Gear Strive marked a new era for Arc System Works's flagship fighting series. One distinct change is the game's paired-down mechanics compared to its more complex predecessors. For instance, Gatling Combinations center on the Slash and Heavy Slash buttons instead of the traditional Punch>Kick>Slash>Heavy Slash>Dust pattern. More noticeably, Instant Kills, one of GG's distinct mechanics, are absent.
While making heavy revisions to a well-established series is sometimes a gamble, Strive's changes proved successful. Critics praised this entry's grounded mechanics, beautiful visuals, and stellar online play. Furthermore, Strive's PS5 port surpasses its PS4 peer with an 87 percent average on Metacritic.
3 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- 86/100
Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- is the first in a subsection within the already well-established Guilty Gear series. The game is a fast-paced fighter with an incredibly devoted fanbase that features in-depth mechanics and fast-paced combo-based fighting.
-Revelator- features 30 playable characters and is the 22nd entry in the ludicrously prolific Guilty Gear series. Several updates to the game have featured multiple tweaks to the formula.
2 Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2 - 86/100
Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2 is -Revelator-'s sequel, having come out as a standalone game. Like other fighting game peers, such as Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition, Rev 2 can get purchased as an individual title or an upgrade package to its predecessor.
Rev 2 adds two new characters and makes a few significant changes to the gameplay. Its refinement makes this title the must-play of the Xrd saga.
1 Dragon Ball Fighterz - 87/100
Perhaps one of the best fighting games of all time at this point, for veterans of the genre or newcomers, Dragon Ball Fighterz is a tremendous experience, harkening back to the Budokai Tenkaichi era of Dragon Ball fighting games. It's a 2D fighter that's intuitive enough to a beginner, but that doesn't mean that one can't quickly learn advanced special moves and combos, most easily done by playing through the phenomenal story mode.
Fighterz, with its frantic three-on-three tag battles, filled a gap for many underwhelmed players. Unfortunately, this gap refers to Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite: an unprecedented flop for the series that dropped three-on-three for a streamlined two-v-two system. Luckily, Fighterz revives the three-on-three tag fighter with a Super-Saiyan twist.