Best Fighting Games on the PS1

Fighting Games are one of the things the PlayStation is genuinely for. The ones worth playing start with Tekken 3, Tekken 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3.

The PS1 and Fighting Games

The console that made 3D normal and made discs mandatory. Full soundtracks, voice acting and pre-rendered backdrops gave a generation of studios room to invent genres we still play.

This is one of its strengths. RPGs above all — Final Fantasy VII, Xenogears, Suikoden II, Vagrant Story — plus survival horror, which was effectively born here.

Filtering to fighting means you want a contest with a clear answer — you got it right or you did not. It is the right filter when what you liked was reading an opponent.

The Fighting Games Worth Playing

  1. 1. Tekken 3

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  2. 2. Tekken 2

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  3. 3. Street Fighter Alpha 3

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  4. 4. Bushido Blade

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

What Makes a Good Fighting Game

A skill ceiling you can actually see yourself climbing, and the shortest feedback loop in games.

A first few hours that can be discouraging alone. Fighting games are far better with someone at your level than against the internet.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best fighting game on the PS1?

Tekken 3 is the usual first answer, and there are 4 in the library we cover.

Was the PS1 good at fighting games?

Yes — it is one of the things the machine is known for, and there are 4 in the library we cover.

Are fighting games hard to get into?

Much less than they were. Modern control schemes, rollback netcode and real single-player modes have changed the on-ramp completely in the last few years.

What is the difference between a fighting game and a beat-em-up?

One opponent against one, or one against many. They share ancestry and almost nothing else — the picks below say which each one is.

How is this list put together?

From the games this site covers on the PlayStation, matched against hand-mapped gameplay categories rather than a storefront's genre tag. A page only exists where there are at least four, which is why some console and genre combinations have no page at all.

Fighting Games on Other Consoles

More From the PS1

Or browse the whole PlayStation library.