One of the most memorable elements of any fighting game is its cast of characters. Fighting games are jam-packed with countless iconic and memorable characters that have become ingrained in the minds of anyone who's picked up a controller. While characters are ideally created to be unique and distinct, there are outliers.
As far back as Street Fighter II, many fighting games have found ways to beef up the roster, creating characters out of previously existing assets from other members of the cast. We are, of course, talking about clone characters. The concept of clone characters has become synonymous with fighting games, and the vast majority of major fighting game franchises have included at least one across their respective series. So today we're going to talk about the greatest, strongest, and most memorable clones that the fighting game genre has produced.
10 Red Venom - Marvel Vs Capcom
The first entry of the Marvel Vs Capcom series included numerous blatant clone characters. These characters were originally each hidden outside the normal roster and required a specific sequence of inputs in order to be accessed. These alternate versions of characters would change their color schemes, moves, and other properties. One of these characters was Red Venom. While Red Venom's only visual distinction is a change in pallet, Red Venom's gameplay is what lands his spot on this list. Red Venom has an extremely low pool of HP, but makes up for it with blistering speeds and phenomenal combo potential.
9 Rasetsumaru - Samurai Shodown
Despite his shockingly similar appearance to the series protagonist, Haohmaru, Rasetsumaru is a demon of great power who is not directly related to his look alike.
Unlike numerous other early clone characters who are made up entirely of recycled assets, Rasetsumaru is composed of many original animations due to his more aggressive fighting style. Rasetsumaru is quite memorable due to the unhinged nature of his attacks, and how he can even resort to attacking himself in order to build up his power gauge.
8 Alex - Tekken
The inclusion of the character Roger in the Tekken series truly pushed the envelope of how far a roster of martial artists could go that already included a literal bear. It was originally in Tekken 2 however, in which the boxing kangaroo, Roger was introduced. Apparently seeking to outdo themselves, Namco also included a clone character of Roger, Alex, a dinosaur wearing boxing gloves who utilized the same fighting style as the aforementioned Roger.
7 Urien - Street Fighter II: Second Impact
While Urien has come into his own as his own character in games like Street Fighter V and Street Fighter III: Third Strike, it is important to remember the significance of his first appearance in Street Fighter III: Second Impact.
Originally, the first incarnation of Street Fighter III, Street Fighter III: New Generation, had included an overpowered and unplayable boss character, Gill. The introduction of Urien, Gill's brother, allowed to maintain the intimidating mystique of the antagonist Gill, while giving players a toned-down version of his moveset to use themselves in the form of Urien.
6 Chrom - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Though numerous "Echo Fighters" in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are little more than alternate costumes, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Awakening, Chrom, breaks the trend by containing numerous meaningful changes to his moveset. Chrom is an echo fighter of fellow Fire Emblem sword fighter, Roy. Roy utilizes a mechanic in which different parts of his sword deal differing amounts of damage based on the part of the sword that makes contact with an opponent. Chrom however, does not possess this mechanic, which allows for the character to be played quite differently. Additionally, Chrom also possesses an entirely different up B from Roy that is much more reminiscent of Ike's, which provides much different utility than that of his counterpart.
5 Akuma - Street Fighter
Despite being a clone of Ryu, Akuma has become one of the most iconic villains in the fighting game genre. First appearing as a secret boss, Akuma utilizes the same fighting techniques as Ryu, but dialed up to eleven.
His attacks deal insane amounts of damage, and unlike Ryu, he can hurl his Hadokens while airborne. Akuma has appeared in nearly every Street Fighter game since his creation, and is even a playable character in Tekken 7, serving as the guest character representative of the entire Street Fighter franchise.
4 Falco - Super Smash Bros. Melee
Though Super Smash Bro. Melee introduced plenty of new characters to the Super Smash Bros. series, more than doubling the size of the previous entry's roster, there were quite a few clone characters included. One of the most popular and well-received of these additions was the member of the Star Fox crew, Falco. Utilizing a similar fighting style to Fox, Falco also possesses enough significant changes to his counterpart's arsenal that countless players prefer Falco. Additionally, in the entries following Melee, Falco's moveset was updated greatly, providing him with even more distinctions that separate him from Fox.
3 Every Ninja - Mortal Kombat
Few fighting games characters are as iconic as the Mortal Kombat ninjas. Each appearing as recolored versions of the same base ninja, Scorpion, each ninja brought a very unique flavor and dynamic to the roster despite possessing similar appearances due to their distinct powers.
Following the original trilogy, each of the Mortal Kombat ninjas would become more and more distinct, due to gameplay changes, but more apparently, design overhauls, such as those seen in Reptile and Ermac.
2 Ken - Street Fighter
It is impossible to have a conversation about clone characters in fighting games without talking about the iconic Street Fighter mainstay, Ken. Though in Ken's earliest appearance, he was little more than a palette swap of Ryu. Despite this, due to his attitude and flair, Ken quickly became the favorite of many players. As the Street Fighter series progressed, Ken evolved alongside it, becoming more and more of his own individual. In modern titles like Street Fighter V, Ken prioritizes many of his own techniques, and utilizes a more aggressive style than that of Ryu.
1 Fukua - Skullgirls
A full-on parody of the concept of clone characters themselves, Fukua fully exemplifies every aspect (both positive and negative) of clone characters. Originally created as an April Fools' joke, Fukua is a blatant pallet swap of Skullgirls protagonist, Filia, Fukua's announcement itself was taking a jab at Capcom's announcement of their new Street Fighter character, Decapre. All of Fukua's animations are repurposed animations of Filia's, and even her name is a misspelling of Filia, adjusting every letter of her name after the F with the left adjacent key of the character's name on a keyboard.