After seeing someone sneekily dump an emulated version of Street Fighter II Turbo onto the servers of the draconian office we were in, I couldn’t help but write and discuss our Top 10 Fighting Characters we believe are the very best to be created to date. It’s at this point before we continue that I would like to mention that at the time of writing this, we’ve not played too Tatsunoku Vs Capcom to any full length, nor have we touched upon the King of Fighters series with any real fine tooth comb, so if you feel that our choices are slightly lacking in these areas, well there is our excuse. Creating a memorable fighting character is a combination of it being a playable character, it’s special moves being epic and its animated pre-fight movies to have something eye-catching about them. Too many modern fighters fail to impress with new iconic characters, with the exception of Blaz Blue and a good example is most probably Tekken 6 whom managed to introduce one decent character out of the new ones released in the latest rosta update. So it will come as no surprise that many of our selections will be from games outside of this generation of console releases. Enjoy our countdown or we’ll rip out your heart with a crossbow!

10. Yoshimitsu (Tekken)

More makeovers than Ruby Wax

Yoshimitsu has some iconic moves including the ability to spin on his sword that burn a memory into the mind. First introduced into the 1994 Tekken it is worth mentioning that Yoshimitsu now looks a far cry away from how he looks in the above photo as to what he does in modern Tekken titles. Yoshimitsu had power, athletisism and grace and wasn’t a choice for noobs much like Nightmare in Soul Calibur. Speaking of Soul Calibur you’ll also see him playable in a variety of Soul Calibur games.

9. Dhalsim (Street Fighter)

Are you stretch armstrong in disguise?

 A man whom needs no introduction, Dhalsim was one of the of most favourite characters used by many in Street Fighter II, a character that not only exuded great design but one which had the ability to hit their opponents at great distance with both his feet and arms. Dhalsim has a fighting style similar to that of Kabaddi where his body can be stretched to inflict injury on his opponents and has devistating power moves such as the Yoga Flame which will take enemies down like a sack of spuds. A legend in character design, no question.

8. Blanka (Street Fighter)

He's green and he's ginger, it's Blanka!

 Blanka whom originally appeared in Street Fighter II was crafted by Akira Yasuda. Known for his fierce electric charge, Blanka is an iconic character still to this day. His green skin color in the games is attributed to his constant use of chlorophyll from plants to better blend in with the jungle environment, a color change that eventually became permanent. His coloring changed in later games, making him bright green with vivid orange hair as opposed to the yellowish green skin he had in Street Fighter II. Blanka’s style of fighting in the games is a self-taught fighting style, though the Street Fighter 2 game manual states his fighting style to be capoeira.

7. Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat)

Your as cold as ice!

 So cool he had two incarnations. Sub-Zero is known for his ability to freeze his enemies cold and upper cut them into smitherines. No matter which version of Mortal Kombat you ever come across you’ll never fail to be impressed with his finishing moves. Unfortunately in the movie Sub-Zero is killed by Liu Kang but hardly suprising when you find that he was played by a dreadful actor in Francois Petit. Sub-Zero featured in the Blood & Thunder series and a cameo in Malibu Comics, Battlewave. Perhaps more than anything it’s Sub-Zero’s ninja costume that makes him so iconic.

6. Glacius (Killer Instict Gold)

The shape-shifter, a RARE creation

Glacius is an alien who was captured by Ultratech and promised freedom if he wins the tournament. He gets his nickname from his body’s icy liquid composition and ability to shapeshift. He is one of the few characters that maintained his original name throughout early development of Killer Instinct. He uses three different No Mercy moves, one where he becomes a gel-like mass and absorbs the opponent (similar to the Blob), one in which he uses his finger as a syringe to inject the enemy with a substance that turns them to ice, and the last of which he turns into a pool of boiling water that the enemy drowns in.

5. Raiden (Mortal Kombat)

Iconic & full of electricity

 Raiden really needs no introduction. He is a Thunder God and can wield control of lightening at his very fingertips. Whether it be his iconic hat or his very Maoist attire this character has formed legendary status in the fighting arena. His ability of flight and teleportation are also two skills designed perfectly for the combat arena. An absolute legend that should be on anyones list.

4. Voldo (Soul Calibur)

Hey may look like the victim of a Serbian S&M session, but don't mess!

 He doesn’t have to say a word and he’s still cool. Voldo’s dexterity and flexibile body combined with his Freddie Crueger-esque claw hands is a real handful in the arena. His spinning whisk type move where he impales and spins his hand round is a real treat and is one of the most satisfying moves any fighting character could posses. Ground attacks are superb and if under constant bombardment against his opponent, Voldo can spring off his back and take the advantage.

3. Axl Low (Guilty Gear)

Chained sythes are muderously beautiful

If you ever wanted a character that exuded Metrosexuality it would have to be Axl Low. His chain sythes and general attire in the arena puts him in an unlikely third place in our list. There is just something about Axl Low that is just generally cool and is one of the stand out characters of the Guilty Gear series. Axl is a time traveller. He comes from the 20th century, over one hundred and fifty years before most of the Guilty Gear storyline.

2. Eddie Gordo (Tekken)

Break-dancing combat! Nice!

 Comboing with Eddie Gordo is one of the most satisfying feelings in the arena. Notably in Tekken 3 whereby Eddie stood out as the best character in the game bar none. Eddie mixes Capoeira with break-dance style moves and is arguably the best character to be added to an already established series. Eddie Gordo is Afro-Brazillian of origin. Can you first remember when you leg sweeped someone with him in Tekken 3? You cannot tell us it was one of the most satisfying experiences to date.

1. Faust (Guilty Gear)

Scalpel at the ready, it's getting 'Fausty' in here!

Faust is a character in the Guilty Gear fighting game series, making his first appearance in the first game, Guilty Gear as Dr. Baldhead before hiding his identity and becoming Dr. Faust from Guilty Gear X onwards. Faust’s extreme height and light weight give him a bizarre, tall, lanky physical appearance, and allows him to tower over every other character in the game (although he rarely does, due to his extremely low fighting stance). He wears a paper bag as a mask (with one eyehole), and wields a giant scalpel as a weapon, in addition to other unpredictable and bizarre moves. It’s his bizarre moves that without doubt make him the single best fighting character in any video game, whether it be disappearing and returning through walking through a doorway of standing on his scalpel, pulling it back and pinging it in someones face. Faust is the funniest character to play with and made the likes of Guilty Gear X a must purchase video game. Iconic, funny and possesing of one of the meanest weapons in the business, Faust is our true champion.

Do you disagree with our choices? Why not rant off in the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!