There are a lot of fighting games. Think there’s only 7 Tekken games because Tekken 7 is the latest one? It’s actually more like 14 altogether. 5 Virtua Fighter games? There are 4 different versions of Virtua Fighter 5 alone. Then there’s Street Fighter 2, which is probably the most updated, retweaked, and remade fighting game around.

Related: Street Fighter: Most Iconic Moments in the Series

Compilations became a popular feature during the 2000s, so some companies put their top fighting games together in various collections since then. Though many of them have left something to be desired. Luckily, there’s still some fighting game compilations out there that are worth players’ time.

6 Marvel Vs Capcom Origins

Fighting Game Compilations- MvC Origins

Iron Galaxy, the company behind the beloved PS3/360 port of Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, did the same for Marvel Super Heroes and the first Marvel Vs Capcom in this collection. Both games were upgraded to HD, given GGPO online modes, and various display options. Like their Third Strike port, it also offered challenges the player could complete to earn points and unlock extra content in the vault. Still, there was room for improvement.

Where was Marvel Super Heroes Vs Street Fighter? And Marvel Vs Capcom 2? X-Men: Children of the Atom and X-Men Vs Street Fighter weren’t included either, despite those games starting off Capcom's Marvel boom in the first place. Not that it matters too much. Sadly, the game was delisted 2 years after its release at the end of 2014 when Capcom’s Marvel license ran out. If they ever renegotiate with Marvel, remaking this compilation with every crossover would be a cash cow for both companies.

5 Dead or Alive Ultimate

Fighting Game Compilations- DOA Ultimate

Luckily, this Xbox classic can still be played on modern machines. It’s backwards compatible with the Xbox One and Series X/S. Though with the compilation being nearly 20 years old, its online mode isn’t too functional nowadays. Not unless it can connect to a private server. If it can, players can take each other on in the first two Dead or Alive games.

The first game was the Sega Saturn port, which creator Tomonobu Itagaki cited as the definitive edition of the game. It's hard to argue against him as, despite it lacking characters like Bass and Ayane, it's a very sturdy port. While its version of DOA2 was remade to feature DOA3’s upgrades like free movement, altered Hold commands, and more. It even had an extra character with DOA3’s Hitomi, alongside remixed music, and a new intro for fancy frills.

4 Tekken 5

Fighting Game Compilations- Tekken 5 Arcade History

Tekken 5 is the closest the series has had to a compilation thus far. Unless one counts Tekken Tag Tournament HD coming with a demo for Tekken Tag Tournament 2. On top of offering what was the latest Tekken game at the time, it came with the arcade versions of the first three Tekkens via the Arcade History Mode. Plus 3D shooter Starblade, and Devil Within, a third person beat ‘em up with Jin Kazama, for fun.

Related: Tekken: Characters Who Have Immortalized the Franchise

The arcade editions lack the extras their console equivalents had, like endings, certain characters, etc. However, they still played the same as they did in their golden years. This means Tekken 1 is still a very stiff experience, and Tekken 2 is a little better than that. But Tekken 3 is a fun, fast, and smooth time. For an extra treat, all of their hidden characters were unlocked by default. So, players could leap straight in and pick whoever they like.

3 Street Fighter Alpha Anthology

Fighting Game Compilations- Street Fighter Alpha Anthology

The Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection has all the key Street Fighter games up to Third Strike. But it was considered somewhat disappointing. Only 4 of the 12 games had online modes, and they suffered from input lag and other issues. It also used the arcade ROMs, which would’ve been fine, but some entries like Street Fighter Alpha 3 were arguably better on consoles due to its additional characters and modes.

By contrast, the PS2-exclusive Alpha Anthology had both the arcade and console versions of Alpha 3, alongside Alpha 2 Gold and Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix. It also featured Hyper Street Fighter Alpha, where players could play as different Alpha versions of characters. This mode also offered custom ISMs where characters could play with Darkstalkers or Marvel-style features. That is if they didn’t go to the Secret Options to customize their own play. Its only drawbacks were a lack of modern perks like save/load states and an online mode.

2 Capcom Fighting Collection

Fighting Game Compilations- Capcom Fighting Collection

Still, Digital Eclipse managed to bounce back from the 30th Anniversary Collection with the Capcom Fighting Collection. While it wasn’t as rich in features as the Alpha Anthology, it did come with a few bonuses. Hyper Street Fighter 2 let players test characters from different versions of SF2 against each other. The chibi brawler Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix finally reached modern machines alongside its puzzle-based predecessor Super Puzzle Fighter 2.

Cyberbots got its first console release in 20 years, while the RPG-fighter combo Red Earth got its first home release ever. Though what attracted people the most was that it had every Darkstalkers game, including Japan-only updates Vampire Hunter 2 and Vampire Savior 2. Every game had online modes too. It’s made fans wonder if Digital Eclipse will bring back other Capcom fighters like Power Stone or Rival Schools in another collection someday. Or give another company’s fighting games a shot.

1 Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection

Fighting Game Compilations- Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection

Some of SNK's compilations, like King of Fighters: Orochi Saga, left something to be desired. Its original PS2 release suffered from long load times, and its release on modern machines have input lag. The Samurai Shodown Anthology was also quite ho-hum. But unlike Orochi Saga, it didn’t get a PS4, Switch, Xbox One, etc., re-release. Instead, Digital Eclipse remade it with the Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection. It gathered together the first 5 Samurai Shodown games, including the 5th game’s Special update.

Each game was silky smooth with no input lag and could be played online. Die-hard fans also got a Museum Mode to check out classic concept art and music from the series. As a cherry on top, it came with a previously unreleased Perfect edition of Samurai Shodown 5. It was an unauthorized update made by SamSho 5’s director Kōji Takaya, and thus was shelved before it could be tested. So, Digital Eclipse dusted it off, completed its localization, and made it one of many reasons to buy this collection. Maybe they could do the same for Fatal Fury someday.

Both the Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection and Capcom Fighting Collection are available on the PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.

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