While the fighting game genre didn’t truly blow up until the 1990s with games like Street Fighter II and many others, it got its start a decade prior. Fighting games in the 1980s were very different from those that would follow, as they were only the beginning of what would become one of the most expansive and successful video game genres of all time. It took a lot of work to develop, adding new mechanics, creating new methods of interaction, and finding ways to make multiplayer competitive, but many games in the ‘80s did it. We ranked the top five best fighting games of the 1980s based on contemporary critics’ reviews upon release, how much fun they were to play, and their overall impact on the genre.
5) Kung-Fu Master
Kung-Fu Master is a 1984 beat-’em-up, which wouldn’t normally be included in a list featuring fighting games, but it’s here for a reason. The game features side-scrolling fighting action that leads to boss fights. The bosses have meters just like the player character, and instead of making your way through one mob after another, gameplay shifts to a one-on-one fighting match, where you need to drain the boss’ energy meter. You then proceed to the next floor, and it’s these boss battles that land Kung-Fu Master here. It was the game’s boss battles that significantly influenced the development of one-on-one fighting games.
4) Street Fighter
While Street Fighter II is one of the greatest video games ever made, its predecessor is far less well-known. Takashi Nishiyama developed it by basing a game on the boss battles from Kung-Fu Master, eschewing the side-scrolling beat-’em-up aspect of the game. This is how Street Fighter became an archetypal title in the fighting game genre, as it established many of the norms that would follow. Street Fighter’s success launched one of the biggest fighting game franchises in the world, and while it’s not as developed as its successor, it’s nonetheless a fantastic fighter from the ‘80s.
3) Renegade
Renegade is a 1986 game that falls more in line with the beat-’em-up genre than with the fighting genre. Since that genre was still in development in ‘86, it’s here because of several features that evolved into later fighting games. In it, the player controls a fighter who punches his way through four gangs to rescue his girlfriend. It incorporated combo attacks through a three-button scheme, allowing for a multitude of fighting options, and Renegade’s success spawned a franchise. It also helped solidify the beat-’em-up genre while simultaneously inspiring developers in the fighting game genre, making it an important game in both respects.
2) The Way of the Exploding Fist
The Way of the Exploding Fist is a 1985 game released on various home consoles, though it was initially made for the Commodore 64. Gameplay sees the player character progress through levels, with the background shifting to reflect his progress. In each area, he must fight a series of one-on-one karate matches while an aged expert oversees the combat in the background. The Way of the Exploding Fist did not feature a health or energy bar. Instead, it focused on properly executed moves, so any mistakes would result in a loss, much like how points are awarded in karate tournaments. It’s an important game that helped the genre develop through the decade.
1) YieAr Kung-Fu
Yie Ar Kung-Fu is the earliest game on this list, released in arcades in 1984. The game was heavily influenced by Karate Champ and was modeled after Bruce Lee’s films, which he shot in Hong Kong before moving to the United States. In it, the player controls a character who fights a series of enemies, helping to lay the groundwork for later games in the genre. It featured fast-paced fighting action, special moves, and other mechanics that became commonplace in the latter half of the decade. Yie Ar Kung-Fu is an important game in the fighting genre and the highest-rated by critics and players in the 1980s.
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