One of the industry's significant genres, fighting games, was one of the original arcade staples that continue to be popular today. The fighting genre has gone through several generations while still sticking to classic formulas and cutting-edge mechanics to keep it nostalgic, fresh, and engaging.

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Arguably, the golden era for fighters was the 2000s. Furthermore, some of the best, most legendary fighters launched on the PlayStation 2. Unfortunately, despite a game's great success and popularity, as time goes on, some titles become forgotten. Here are some of our favorite underrated fighters from the PlayStation 2.

Updated July 29, 2022, by Chris Sanfilippo: The Playstation 2 generation ushered in several highs and lows for the fighting game genre. On the one hand, classics like Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Capcom Vs. SNK 2, and Soul Calibur 2, were launched during this period. But on the other hand, the market suffered from oversaturation, mismanagement, and transitional periods for significant contributors to the genre, like SNK. Recently, Capcom Fighting Collection reminded us of one severely overlooked PS2 fighter, Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition. So we decided to revisit this underrated classic and several other titles we added to this list.

14 King Of Fighters: Maximum Impact

Two women duke it out in KOF

Starting with the titular entry, The King of Fighters has been one of the longest-lived fighting franchises in gaming. While the series' popularity dropped during SNK's transitional years, it has made a strong comeback.

The franchise's most overlooked and underrated entry came out in 2004. Unfortunately, maximum Impact received lackluster reviews since it launched around the same time as the acclaimed Mortal Kombat Deception. The English version was also poorly translated from its original Japanese.

13 Bloody Roar 3

Character selection in Bloody roar 3

This game had great mechanics, characters, and a potent fun factor. Unfortunately, this third entry suffered due to a rocky switch in focus to home consoles from arcade cabinet releases. The transition was less than ideal.

While still a blast, Bloody Roar 3 lacked some of the more stand-out features found in other console fighters at the time.

12 SNK Vs. Capcom SVC Chaos

Character selection in snk vs capcom

SNK Vs. Capcom SVC Chaos pitted each developer's gaming catalog characters against each other. In turn, SVC Chaos created some of the strangest and most unique matchups in fighter history.

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The game ran under the radar because of a North American licensing dispute regarding Sony. In turn, SNK Playmore only launched the PS2 version in Japan and the PAL region. While Americans could have played the game on Xbox, the PlayStation's mechanics were much smoother regarding this title.

11 UFC: Sudden Impact

A Match Up In UFC Sudden Impact

Today the UFC games are consistent and quality fighting hits. Unfortunately, this was not always the case. Beginning in the early 2000s, the first couple of titles had issues. While receiving less than stellar reviews, UFC: Sudden Impact made the series more popular and set the franchise in the right direction.

Again, the reviews aren't the best, but this title is a must-play for those yearning to experience the start of modern UFC gaming.

10 Guilty Gear Isuka

A fight in Guilty Gear Isuka

Upon its console release, Guilty Gear Isuka faced minor graphical issues that negatively affected the reviews during launch. However, players who overlooked this minor issue experienced a unique fighting game with refreshing mechanics and interesting design choices.

Guilty Gear had several acclaimed launches on PS2, including Guilty Gear X and several versions of Guilty Gear XX. However, Isuka was unique due to its 4-player fighting system, allowing players to switch planes.

9 The Last Blade & The Last Blade 2

A Match In The Last Blade

This game offered not one but two excellent games sold in one package. Critics praised both Last Blade entries for their unique gameplay dynamics, character selection options, special moves, and mesmerizing graphics.

Unfortunately, The Last Blade series never had the same brand recognition as its fellow SNK-sword-fighting peer, Samurai Shodown. Still, The Last Blade's legacy lives on. For instance, Last Blade 2's Hibiki Takane appeared as a guest character in the recent Samurai Shodown (2019).

8 NeoGeo Battle Coliseum

Marco shoots down Shishioh during a battle in a ruins filled forest in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum.

An SNK crossover fighting game that is not KOF seems redundant. However, NeoGeo Battle Coliseum expanded the realm of crossover possibilities by including characters from Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, The Last Blade, and more! Furthermore, NGBC had a unique tag-team battle format, mirroring games like Tekken Tag Tournament.

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NGBC likely suffered from the market saturation of fighting games during its launch. Furthermore, SNK Playmore was recovering from the fallout of the original SNK's acquisition, having just won back their IP in 2004, a year before NGBC's arcade launch.

7 Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition

Ryu hits T Hawk with a Hadouken during a battle in Mexico in Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition, a game in Capcom Fighting Collection.

Capcom commemorated Street Fighter's 15th anniversary with an exquisite new entry in its classic Street Fighter 2 series. Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition allowed players to make dream matches between every version of the game's roster, from World Warriors to Super Turbo. Furthermore, North American players could buy this unique title in a bundle with the acclaimed Street Fighter 3: Third Strike.

Unfortunately, Hyper Street Fighter 2 launched during a period when Capcom's fighting games, and fighting games as a genre, declined. The ill-fated Capcom Fighting Evolution launched soon after, dealing a significant blow to the Street Fighter franchise.

6 Fist Of The North Star

Fighting in Fist Of The North Star

Fist Of The North Star had great mechanics, a riveting story, excellent animation, and the IP of a popular manga. All of these factors should have made Fist Of The North Star more popular than it was during its launch. And the game was popular, just not in the United States.

Considering the game drew from one of Japan's most popular manga, Sega focused most of its marketing resources domestically. Nonetheless, this is still a great title to experience for Americans if they can get their hands on it.

5 Onimusha Blade Warriors

selection character in onimusha

Onimusha Blade Warriors was an excellent PlayStation 2 experience. Containing a large number of characters, with many guest characters, special abilities, and multi-level 2D battle arenas, this title has been called the PlayStation Super Smash Bros by many.

Of course, comparing Blade Warriors to one of Nintendo's most successful arena fighters is a highly subjective opinion. However, this game is a must-play for fans of classic fighters.

4 Rumble Roses

A plaid-skirted wrestler, Candy Cane, faces a J-Lo styled Aisha in a tense wrestling match in Rumble Roses.

Rumble Roses would appear tasteless and potentially sexist by today's standards (and it is). However, an incredible wrestling game lies underneath the façade of its extremely over-sexualized graphics, with mechanics to shame any WWE or Smackdown game.

Related: The Best Konami Games, Ranked (According To Metacritic)

Rumble Roses is a game worth revisiting for those who don't mind an excess of scantily clad women.

3 War Of The Monsters

A Giant Ant terrorizes a cityscape in War Of The Monsters.

War Of The Monsters is a unique entry on this list and probably one of the best. This arena brawler utilized cutting-edge gaming engines and graphics technology to create a 3D fighter presented as a chance for players to battle as giant monsters while destroying populated cities.

The game was quite popular during its time, though players criminally forgot it, especially considering that the graphics and gameplay have aged quite well.

2 Street Fighter EX3

Ryu hurls a Hadoken at Guile during a battle inside stone ruins in Street Fighter EX3.

Street Fighter EX3 was a launch title for the PS2, and the game made plenty of series advancements to reflect this jump. First, the game was launched exclusively on the PS2, skipping an arcade launch entirely. Second, the graphics were the best seen in the series up to this point, with smoother-looking character models. Finally, EX3 introduced exciting tag team matches and dramatic battles. Sounds promising, right?

Unfortunately, Street Fighter EX3 had an outperforming competitor, Tekken Tag Tournament. On various fronts, from visuals to gameplay, Tekken Tag surpassed EX3. And while Tekken Tag spawned a sequel in 2011, the EX series died with EX3.

1 Street Fighter 3: Third Strike

Street Fighter III Third Strike Hugo vs Twelve

Street Fighter 3 was a very divisive series in the Street Fighter franchise. Besides series mainstays, Ryu and Ken, the first edition, Street Fighter 3: New Generation, boasted an entirely new cast. Eventually, three more Capcom favorites, Street Fighter 2's Chun-li and Akuma, and Final Fight's Hugo, joined the roster by Third Strike's arcade launch. Still, this roster overhaul does not fully explain Third Strike's obscurity on the PS2.

Plenty of other factors overshadowed one of Capcom's strongest technical 2D fighters. First, Capcom oversaturated the PS2 market with several 2D fighting games, including Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 and Capcom Vs. SNK 2. Furthermore, the PS2 port of the title did not launch until 2004, five years since Third Strike's arcade launch. Unfortunately, Third Strike, which ran on Sega's NAOMI arcade board, was too advanced for the original Playstation, causing the delay.

NEXT: PlayStation Flops That Should Have Been Hits