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What are the best fighting games for the Nintendo Switch?

10

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Considered

38

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Mar 21, 2021

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Updated

10 Games Considered

Best fighting games for the Nintendo Switch	Price	Genre	Platforms
-- Dragon Ball FighterZ	$59.99	Fighting	PC
-- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2	$49.99	Fighting	PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Windows
-- Super Smash Bros Ultimate	-	Action	-
-- BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle	$49.99	Fighting	PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows
-- Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collectiom	$39.99	Fighting	PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Windows

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Top Pro

Combat is easy to learn and difficult to master

The control scheme among combatants is universal enough to work well for players who are new to the fighting genre, while veterans have access to more specialized combos and timings to perfect with individual fighters. Beginners can get away with starting off with auto-combos by pressing the face buttons. Simple button mashing is serviceable for the easy parts of the story and arcade modes. Those looking to improve their play can practice in the tutorial with the combo challenges for every character. Mastering these manual combos takes dedication, but adept use of these moves will undoubtedly pay off for harder story battles and online play. See More

Top Con

Story mode is padded and repetitive

The three arcs in FighterZ's story mode feature campaigns from three different points of view: Goku and his allies, Frieza and the Ginyu Force, and the Androids and their struggles, but the story can be distilled down to the player "linking" with the fighters as well as battling endless numbers of clones. There are clever knocks on the fourth wall as the characters acknowledge the player who has taken control of their body via linking, and there are also plot reasons for this phenomenon, but the cutscenes waste a lot of time explaining this mechanic to every new fighter who joins the team. The third arc picks up as the cast learns more about Android 21, yet the slog to get to that point is a repetitive series of fights against the clones. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Characters work well together in combat and in cutscenes

The three-on-three battles have you play one character at a time, with the ability to switch in another team member with the press of a button, or bring one in to combo your special attack with their flashy meteor attack. Characters typically work well together for these Ultimate Z Change combos, and it's fun to discover which ones work best for you: if you can master the timing of Android 16's brute force close-range attacks, then you can have another character, like Android 18, come in with an overhead beam for even more damage. During the story, the banter between characters before battles are a fun way to see different fighters interact with one another. Watching Gotenks try to teach Nappa how to turn into a Super Saiyan as if it's the easiest thing in the world, or Vegeta and Piccolo grudgingly accepting their need to work together is entertaining in a way that makes the slog of the story mode tolerable. See More

Top Pro

Healthy roster of characters

With classic characters like Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Frieza, Captain Ginyu, Cell, and several more, as well as a new addition with Android 21, fans of the series will find at least a few of their favorites to play with. More powerful characters are unlockable through completing the story and arcade modes. The voice acting both in English and Japanese for every character are superb, sounding just like their anime versions. Players who aren't familiar with the Dragon Ball Z series are bound to find a few characters that they enjoy through gameplay alone, with each fighter boasting unique visuals with their special and ultimate attacks. See More

Top Pro

The game looks just like the anime

Character models are recreated faithfully from the show, their expressions and animations all unique and reminiscent of their hand-drawn anime versions. They also have their arsenal of super dashes that surrounds their fighter with their ki aura as they zip forward, the dragon rush that throws out several punches and kicks in speedy succession, as well as super attacks and meteor attacks that recreate each fighter's iconic moves from the show, like Goku's enormous Super Saiyan 3 Kamehameha blast and Vegeta's Final Flash attack. See More

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

Top Pro

The combat is definitely unique among fighting games

The fighting in Xenoverse 2 is different from most other fighting games. It relies less on cancelling animations and reaction times, and more on predicting the moves that your enemy is going to use on you in order to set yourself up for a strong combo. It also is unique in that you can prioritize short, medium, or long-range attacks and have them all be completely viable playstyles. See More

Top Con

The game can get laggy at times

Since it's an online fighter, lag can be a pretty severe handicap. However, there have been multiple patches that aimed at combating the lag problem, and the game is more stable than ever. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Incredible customization of characters

Nearly every detail of a character can be customized - height, weight, race, what types of attacks he uses and what power ups/transformations he has. This is probably the main draw to the game (other than the great combat), as building and perfecting your own custom character is incredibly satisfying. As you progress through the game, you'll unlock even more cosmetic looks as well as attacks you can use. It's one of the things that makes story mode as fun as it is. See More

Top Pro

Packed with both online and offline content

While the online multiplayer is the largest draw for many people, the amount of single player content is pretty staggering. See More

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

Top Con

The single-player story is mostly nonsense

If you want a good story, you may end up disappointed. The plot is a jumble of crazy storylines that hardly make any sense. It's serviceable enough for fans who enjoy the crossover and don't care about how well-written the story is. Fighting games aren't known for their great narratives anyway, and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is no exception. See More

Top Pro

Combat is easy to learn and difficult to master

The control scheme is universal enough from character to character to work well for players who are new to fighting games. As a beginner, you can get away with starting off with auto-combos by pressing the face buttons through simple button-mashing. Those looking to improve their play can practice in the tutorial with the combo challenges for every character, where you can practice some difficult and more specialized combos. Mastering these takes dedication, but it pays off for harder story battles and online play. See More

Specs

Top Con

Too much homogeneity with how each character plays

Due to the simplified fighting controls and combos, the characters can feel too similar at times. Combat is simple to pick up, sure, but a lot of the button inputs are the same across characters. There are some character-unique combos, as well as harder ones to pull off for veterans looking to up their game. For the most part, though, things can feel too samey, defeating the purpose of even trying out different characters in the first place. See More

Top Pro

Lots of fanservice with the crossover cast of characters

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle brings together characters from previous BlazBlue fighting games, as well as UnderNight In-Birth, RWBY, and Persona 4 Arena. For fans of any of these games, this is an awesome chance to see everyone together in the same universe, not only in combat, but in the story as well. The single-player narrative has a few nice nostalgic callbacks, like certain characters referencing things they enjoy or other people that they like or dislike in their original games. If you're not familiar with the cast, then don't worry--the references are more like flavor text to get to know everyone better. See More

Top Con

Unfairly locks out certain characters behind paid DLC

It's really annoying that the game doesn't give you access to every character after teasing them during story cutscenes. You would think that these would be freely unlockable fighters that you could get during the normal course of the game. Unfortunately, they're gated behind paid DLC, which just feels unfair. See More

Top Pro

Cool tagging mechanic adds a new layer to gameplay

The two-on-two battles have you play one character at a time, with the ability to switch in another team member with the press of a button. Characters typically work well together in any combination, and it's fun to discover which ones work best for you. If you're a fan of the crossover here, then pairing up characters from separate universes is pretty great, since you get to see how their fighting styles work with each other through tagging them in and out of battle. Even if you have no idea who these fighters are, just getting to play as each of them and experimenting with their different styles helps to keep things interesting. See More

Top Pro

Smooth online connection

Online matches run pretty well. You don't have to worry too much about excessive lag or downright unplayable multiplayer matches. As long as your connection on its own is decent enough, you should have a good experience. See More

Top Pro

Great anime aesthetic

Character models are recreated faithfully from the original games with their anime styles. Their expressions, animations, and fighting styles are all unique and look really good. It's a graphical aesthetic that will definitely age well as the game gets older over the years. See More

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collectiom

Top Pro

Online and local versus modes are available

There are a handful of games in the collection that allow you to play against others both online and locally. You can join a friend for a match through a local connection or online, or you can go online for matchmaking against someone else. This is a really neat feature that's a lot like playing against someone else in an actual coin arcade. See More

Top Con

Boring UI

The game's UI is not the most creative or pleasing to look at. It's just a standard dark background with the occasional character art, along with each game with its specific logo font on the selection screen. Even though the background art is a nice touch, there could have been some details or additions here and there to make things more unique. See More

Specs

Co-Op:2 Player Local / 2 Player Online

Top Pro

Old school 2D arcade fighting gameplay

The gameplay here is perfect for fans of the old school arcade Street Fighter games, or for new players who missed their chance to try them out before. You play in a 2D view, focused on getting in as many quick combos as you can, leading to cool-looking finishers that do tons of damage. While you can memorize combos and finishers by getting the muscle memory down, learning blocks and jumps is a matter of having great reflexes and predicting when your opponent's about to start landing combos on you. While the fighting looks simplistic because of the older graphics, there's a lot of nuance for you to master. See More

Top Con

Some online connection issues

There are a few issues when playing matches online. Depending on how poor your opponent's connection is, you may have to deal with lag. If their connection is decent, then you won't have to worry about it. It's pretty much hit-or-miss on whether your matches will be stable or not, since it's completely out of your control. See More

Top Pro

Options to change the display mode in a few cool ways

There are a couple of display options that you can play around with. One lets you view the game as if you're playing on an old CRT television from the 1980s, and another has a certain frame around the perimeter of your screen to make it look like you're playing on an arcade machine. These are both nice options that aim right at nostalgia, especially for veteran players of the series. See More

Top Con

Phoned-in remasters of the soundtracks

A number of the songs here are pretty uninspired. They're supposedly updated versions of the original arcade soundtracks, but they honestly could have been left alone. They sound generic and dull, and not at all like the iconic tracks from the original games that would get players pumped up as they played. The overall package of the 30th Anniversary Collection would have been better served if they had kept the soundtrack as they were. See More

Top Pro

Great collection of twelve classic titles in one package

You get a lot for your money with the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. The bundle includes twelve ports of the arcade games, dating back to the original Street Fighter from 1987. For the Street Fighter II titles, you get The World Warrior, Champion Edition, Turbo: Hyper Fighting, Super, and Super Turbo. There are also the Street Fighter Alpha games, including Alpha, Alpha 2, and Alpha 3. And finally, there are the Street Fighter III games: New Generation, 2nd Impact, and 3rd Strike. If you love the arcade games in the series, you're sure to find your favorites. See More

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition

Top Pro

Upscaled visuals plus all DLC content from the original

As an upgrade from the existing Hyrule Warriors, the Definitive Edition has an improved resolution and framerate, plus all the bonus content. Everything runs smoothly at 1080p and 60 FPS, with brighter colors for maps, characters, and enemies. All the DLC content is here from the start as well, meaning you get the whole package from the original Hyrule Warriors along with the added characters, maps, and more. If you didn't get the chance to play Hyrule Warriors on the Wii U or 3DS, this is a great time to jump in. See More

Top Con

Hardly any new content exclusive to this Definitive Edition

If you already played Hyrule Warriors on the Wii U or 3DS, there isn't much of a reason to pick up this new version. The upscaled visuals are nice, but there isn't much here compared to the existing game, especially if you shelled out money for all the DLC before. At most, characters like Zelda have new costumes from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which isn't much of an incentive by itself. So if you played the original and you're on the fence about buying this version, you might want to hold off for a price drop first. See More

Specs

Genre:Action, Adventure, Fighting, Hack-and-Slash

Co-Op:2 Player Local

Top Pro

Satisfying hack-and-slash combat against dense packs of enemies

Taking out huge packs of enemies in Hyrule Warriors is incredibly satisfying. Even though your foes outnumber you, you have powerful, flashy attacks to lift them in the air and take them down, dozens at a time. Slashing through everyone with spinning attacks with gigantic swords, for example, never gets old, especially while playing as one of your favorite characters from The Legend of Zelda games. Clearing out maps of all the enemies makes you feel powerful and gives you a great sense of accomplishment. See More

Top Con

Splitscreen for co-op makes it hard to see the map

The vertical split across the middle of the screen makes it hard to see what's going on during co-op play. Since there are tons of enemies on the screen at any one time, having that density packed into a smaller portion of your TV or handheld screen is inconvenient. You'll probably still have a great time with co-op, despite the setback. See More

Top Pro

You get to play as several characters from The Legend of Zelda series

Hyrule Warriors has a good roster of characters to play as, each of them from The Legend of Zelda games. Aside from the most well-known characters like Zelda and Link, fans of the series get to enjoy plenty of other familiar faces. You can play as Ganondorf, the main antagonist from the series, as well as other characters like Sheik, Princess Ruto, Yuga, Volga, and many more. Even if you're not a diehard fan of the series, you can still enjoy the sheer variety of characters and all their different fighting styles. See More

Top Pro

Two players can co-op the whole game together

You can team up with a friend to play all of the story content and more. The splitscreen co-op is local only, but you get to play the whole game together, making some of the more challenging missions more manageable. Playing co-op on docked mode through the TV is probably best, since the handheld is a bit too small to see everything clearly with the screen cut in half. See More

Pokkén Tournament DX

Top Con

I bet you can’t find a list of YouTubers half as long as the above playing the ACTION game Enter The Gungeon with action

A new Ferrum League. You did Practice. Here are the YouTubers playing the FIGHTING game Pokkén Tournament DX with action. Proxence, MasterOv Gaming, AbdallahSmash026, Rodriguezjr Gaming, MunchingOrange, TachyonXYZ, TheBattleProductions, Nintendo UK, The Almighty D, LineyDampzPlays, PixelSwitch, PKSparkxx DatHottneSS, ShiryuGL, SwimmingBird941, Billy wizz, Ibamimba’s Frontier, Growlzagra, IGN, kireev20000, nintendo.co.za, Kyle Hanson, Jason Hidalgo, Ollie Barder, Play Nintendo, My Nintendo, Martin Robinson, RC Willey, Phillip Martinez, Jon Hueber, Instant-Gaming, Riley Jones, Dean James, Red Bull, Tamoor Hussain, nintendo.co.uk, Play-Asia, Newsdesk, nintendo.pt, Dominic Leighton, AdventuresOfWellUmMe, Amazon, PLAYe, fireheart4560, Fnelopsuhar, Vignesh Rao, Gaming Dragons, Tina7123, Muve, store.nintendo, Serebii, Shawn Long, nintendo.nl, YStream, Benedict Beyrnas, Shopitree, Beam, godisageek I bet you can’t find a list of YouTubers half as long as the above playing the ACTION game Enter The Gungeon with action See More

Top Pro

Local and online multiplayer makes the game more fun

All the excitement and dynamic gameplay from single-player gets amped up while playing against a friend through co-op or against another player online. This is a ton of fun to play with someone sitting right beside you via splitscreen co-op for some friendly competition. Connecting online to face off against random players is great for challenging yourself and reaching that next level of expert play. With the ability to play on the go with the handheld dock, this is a pretty good game for co-op when you're away from home. See More

Specs

Co-Op:2 Player Local / 2-3 Player Online

Top Con

Bland voice acting

The voice acting in this game is pretty unremarkable. Everyone sounds so stilted and robotic, with no emotion whatsoever. If it grates on your nerves too much, there's an option to turn the voices off altogether. See More

Top Pro

Great for Pokémon fans

Pokkén Tournament DX is a fine game to pick up if you're into the Pokémon anime and video games. The range of available fighters spans across the many generations of different Pokémon, going all the way back to the original GameBoy games with long-time favorites like Pikachu and Charizard. This is perfect for fans of the series who maybe don't normally play fighting games, since you get the chance to try something new. See More

Top Con

Not many incentives to pick this up if you have the original

If you already own the Wii U version of Pokkén Tournament, then this DX port might not be worth another purchase. Sure, there are a few more characters, ranked online matches, 3v3 team battles, and quality of life improvements to the controls for local co-op, but this may not be enough for some players. For anyone on the fence about picking this up at full price, you can get away with waiting for a price drop without missing out on much. See More

Top Pro

Simple to pick up and play

It's really easy to learn how to play Pokkén Tournament DX. New players who aren't familiar with fighting games should be able to get the hang of the controls in no time. You don't have to memorize long strings of complex combos or anything like that; the basics are enough for you to get by without worrying. The tutorial is straight-forward as well, gradually teaching you the ropes without overwhelming you. This is a great game for anyone looking to get started with the fighting genre, or even for veterans who want to figure out the more high-level gameplay styles at their own pace. See More

Top Pro

The gameplay changes itself up in cool ways

Playing matches feels dynamic thanks to the ways the game constantly changes things up. There are two different "modes" during every battle: field mode where you play in a 3D view with full directional control of your Pokémon, and duel mode where you play in a traditional 2D view. Starting off in field mode lets you gauge your opponent's style to make out any patterns, while duel mode opens up more skills and combos for you to punish your foe. This constant switching between field mode and duel mode is a great way to make sure gameplay doesn't get stale, as you have to adjust your playstyle on the fly with each change. See More

BlazBlue: Central Fiction

Top Pro

It has an actual, meaningful story mode

Many fighting games completely phone the story mode in, but that's not the case here. BlazBlue: Central Fiction has a pretty deep story, and even goes as far as giving you nearly 30 minutes of cutscenes and clips from previous games so you can understand it fully. See More

Top Pro

Has comprehensive tutorials and training modes

BlazBlue: Central Fiction has a great resource in its tutorial and training modes. The tutorials are very in-depth and will teach you even the most intricate parts of the game, while the training modes will help you actually master those skills. Many games lack something of this depth, but BlazBlue has done a remarkable job on making the game playable for everyone. See More

Arms

Top Pro

A very unique take on the boxing genre

The arms stretch for long-range jabs and punches, meaning you can smack your opponent from across the arena. This adds a whole new depth to boxing and means you will be timing your dodges and ducks much differently than normal fighting games. Your arms also serve as weapons, and can be detached from your body and swapped around for different arms with various effects. You can charge them up for a variety of different attacks to stun, freeze, shoot, shock, push, and blast your opponent. If you're looking for a fighting game with a very unique premise, this will definitely fit the bill. See More

Top Con

Target locking tends to be buggy

Sometimes the game will switch your locked on target without input, and it can get frustrating to have the target of your carefully charged up attack change suddenly. See More

Top Pro

Great lobby system in Party Match

In Party Match, the game puts you into a lobby with 20 other players, and then randomly shuffles everyone into groups for randomized game modes such a V-ball and Hoops. Even the way it's set up is visually interesting, with different player avatars being shuffled and mixed into various circles. You can actually see the system working with your own two eyes, such as players health bars dropping and the timer around the circle counting down, which is a great touch to let you know how far along in progress other matches are. In the event there is ever an odd number of players, the lobby will adjust by placing all the players in free-for-alls against monstrous AI bosses until they can be placed in regular matches. Additionally, while you're waiting for to be placed into a match, you can warm up and test out your moves in a practice arena. See More

Top Con

Motion controls can be imperfect at times

If you opt to use the motion controls, there may be a little imprecision in your punches due to the way the punches curve and how you flick your wrists. The analog sticks will almost always be a bit more precise and responsive (although arguably not as fun to some players). See More

Top Pro

Clever multiplayer game modes spice up the action

Arms offers a few clever game modes to add to the brawl action that go above and beyond the typical fights and help to add some spice to the game. Modes are quick to play and easy to learn, so they are very accessible for players. In Skill Shot, you'll try to punch down popup targets as your opponent attempts to do the same. V-Ball is similar to volleyball, except the ball will explode if it hits the ground. Hoops involves you grabbing and dunking your opponent. Other modes include team fights and a multiplayer co-op brawl against a boss. See More

Top Con

Matchmaking is entirely random

There is no official ladder, so all matchmaking is completely random. See More

Top Pro

Interchangeable arms for more strategic play

Each fighter has interchangeable arms that act as weapons and provide a variety of different effects, such as freezing your opponent, stunning, or knocking them over, when charged up. Besides offering a plethora of different effects, arm weapons also allow you to play on the strengths or weaknesses of your fighter. If your fighter is on the slow side, for example, you can use an arm that freezes opponents to help close the gap better. If your fighter moves quick but hits weak, you could use a stun arm to get some extra hits in. While you can only use 2 arms at any time, you are allowed to choose 3 arms to take with you into the fight. Between rounds, you can swap arms from among your pool giving you an opportunity to switch up your strategy and counter your opponent. This offers some exciting potential for counterplay and it's really nice to be able to change your weapons after every round and try something new. See More

Top Con

Solo play can feel stale and grindy

Things can start to feel stale after a while in the single player grand prix mode. Doing the same few fights over and over against AI opponents loses it's appeal quickly. See More

Top Pro

Everyone can find a fighter they will enjoy

No matter what kind of fighting style you're looking for, the game has enough variety where everyone can find a fighter that they enjoy playing. Each of the 15 fighters has their own set of moves, custom interchangeable arms that act as weapons, and their own stat pool which consists of things like speed, jump height, and size. Based on these stats, the fighters will range from being able to zip quickly around the arena but not hitting with much force, to being slow moving brutes who hit very hard. Some special moves include hovering in midair, slowing down time, warping away from attacks, and healing. With each fighter having his or her own arsenal of moves, there's plenty to experiment and play around with, and a little bit of something for every play style. See More

GAROU: MARK OF THE WOLVES

CleverBorlung's Experience

No nostalgia here. Played it 1st time 2020. Simply perfect. Controls, characters, graphics, sound. Smooth as butter. It's a whole other level of fighter. See More

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