Friday, March 29, 2024

Best fighting games for Android

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Bring the classic arcade action you remember to your phone with these great fighting games!

Fighting games have kind of fallen to the wayside on the latest consoles, and the less said about the state of arcades the better.

But for a long while, fighting games reigned supreme in the video game world, and were often the battleground where gamers showed off their skills in arcade tournaments or huddled around a TV with your best pals. Fortunately, the genre is still well-represented on mobile devices, with a great mix of ports and original titles to satisfy fans of fisticuffs.

Here’s hoping we see more ports of classic fighting titles but until then, enjoy these great fighters.

The King of Fighters ’97

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Hardcore fans of fighting games already know the name King of Fighters. It’s up there alongside Street Fighter as one of those revered arcade fighting games that has stood the test of time.

This is a fairly complete port of the game from the Neo Geo home arcade console which — most important of all for a ported fighting game — has support for Bluetooth controllers. You can choose from 34 different characters from the original game and create your dream team of fighters to take on either an AI opponent or a friend via local multiplayer.

There’s a good amount of customization available for the controls and again and the gameplay is exactly what you’d want from a ported fighting game. I really can’t recommend playing this game without a bluetooth controller, though, because the on-screen touch controls are just too challenging when you’re battling the tough AI.

Download: The King of Fighters ’97 ($2.99)

Mortal Kombat X

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Mortal Kombat X takes the gruesome action of the well-received console edition and scales it down and optimizes it for your Android phone. All your favorite Mortal Kombat characters are here, along with some new ones thrown into the mix. And if you love ultra-violence, you’ll love what this game has in store. To that point, this game is definitely not recommended for younger kids, as the mature rating would imply.

The game employs touch screen controls that don’t actually feel like they inhibit you at all from having full control over your characters. You predominately fight in 3 vs. 3 battles, so you can strategically tag in different fighters as needed. The graphics here are basically console-quality, but that comes at a price for your storage — this game takes up nearly 2GB of space. If you’re a huge fan of Mortal Kombat, I’m sure you’ll be able to make room on your phone for this glorious, gory game.

Download: Mortal Kombat X (Free w/IAPs)

Shadow Fight 2

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Shadow Fight 2 is an absolutely gorgeous game with fighting animations that are smooth as butter. The game gets its name from the art style — you only see the fighters as a shadowy silhouettes, battling in front of beautiful backdrops.

This game mixes elements from the RPG and fighting genres to deliver fantastic replayability. There are tournaments and a story mode to play through, which helps you to unlock new weapons, armor, and martial arts skills to help you take down your next opponent. The animations are just outstanding here, with a great amount of diversity and good hit detection so that you can counter your opponent in mid air and send them flying.

The game also plays wonderfully on the NVIDIA Shield TV, especially with a controller in your hand. Why there isn’t Bluetooth controller support for the mobile version is a damned shame.

[Download: Shadow Fight 2 (Free w/IAPs)

Injustice: Gods Among Us

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Injustice: Gods Among Us is an award-winning fighting game that puts you in control of the most powerful and exciting characters the DC Universe has to offer. We’re talking Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow and even villains such as the Joker.

The game uses touch screen controls which aren’t ideal, but work well enough here. You swipe and tap to attack and link combos together. If it sounds very similar to Mortal Kombat X, that’s because both games were developed by Warner Bros., so you basically get one great core game with different coats of paint to satisfy two different fan bases. We’re not saying that’s a bad thing at all, but considering the file sizes for both of these games, you’re probably best off picking your preferred franchise. If you’re a huge fan of comic book heroes, this game is for you!

[Download: Injustice: Gods Among Us (Free w/IAPs)

Real Boxing 2 ROCKY

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Whether you’re a fan of the Rocky franchise or just looking for a quality boxing game for your Android phone, Real Boxing 2 ROCKY pulls no punches, providing an in-depth career mode that lets you build up your custom-designed boxer through a career across multiple continents and against your favorite characters from Rocky.

The graphics are on point and the controls are quick to learn but take some time to master. The game takes it easy on you in the early goings while you’re learning the ropes, but as you progress through the different chapters, you’ll definitely need to use all the skills at your disposal to outwork your opponents in the ring. This game is free to play, with the in-game currency and ads for in-app purchases you’d expect, but the core gameplay is so good that it easily makes up for the annoyance.

Download: Real Boxing 2 ROCKY (Free w/IAPs)

What’s your favorite fighter?

Did we miss your favorite game on our list? Was it Soul Calibur? Because it’s been removed from the Google Play Store for some reason! I know, I was bummed out to see that too. Either way, let us know what you think of our picks, or what we may have missed, in the comments.

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