The 10 Most Missed Fighting Franchises

For several years, the fighting genre simply felt like it was getting by, devoid of any truly monumental releases. But thanks to the likes of Street Fighter IV, Mortal Kombat, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3, it truly seems like we're in the midst of an honest-to-goodness fighting revival – and assuming the publishers don't milk those prominent franchises too hard, it's one that will hopefully stick for some time. However, many well-regarded and even beloved series have fallen by the wayside in the past. Here's a look back at 10 long-dormant fighting franchises that once sparked our fist-to-face fervor – and hopefully will have a chance to once more someday.

Time hasn't been remarkably kind to the Battle Arena Toshinden franchise, but the release of the original game alongside the PSone in 1995 crystalized a moment in which the genre entered the 3D realm and blew the minds of gamers used to digitized sprites and side-scrolling planes. We'd love to see these characters and mechanics updated and honored with a fresh iteration; and if Mortal Kombat can become a worthwhile modern franchise, surely Toshinden has a chance.

Atari's Primal Rage arguably wasn't a very good fighter, but it sure was a popular one. Pitting prehistoric beasts and dinosaurs against each other in bloody battle, the simple side-scrolling fighter succeeded heartily in arcades and on consoles alike. Fuzzy nostalgia keeps this one in the minds of many mid-90s gamers, and while it's unclear who owns the rights at this point, a new entry would no doubt draw considerable attention.

Tobal is probably the least-known title on this list – at least in North America – but the name means a lot to hardcore fighting fans from the '90s. The first entry (Tobal No. 1) is best known for housing the demo for Final Fantasy VII, while the vastly improved sequel never saw release outside of Japan. Both offered technical 3D fighting experiences to PSone owners, and it's a shame this series never got the worldwide respect it deserved.

Though it never attained the same profile as Virtua Fighter, its sister series, Fighting Vipers earned a dedicated following for enhancing the VF formula with more urban, contemporary characters and additions like armor and caged-in levels. The series spawned entries on Saturn and Dreamcast (both of which hit arcades first), as well as notable spin-off Fighters Megamix, which mashed up its fighters with those from Virtua Fighter and myriad other Sega games.

Featuring a cast of feudal-style Japanese warriors (despite a modern setting), Bushido Blade offered a fighting experience like nothing we'd seen before: a decidedly realistic one in which a single, well-placed sword strike could end the match, leaving crimson stains in its wake. Both PSone entries were well received by critics and fans, but we haven't heard from the series since. The recent Deadliest Warrior games tread on similar ground, but with middling (and quite silly) results.

Though it was clearly Sega's attempt to cash in on Mortal Kombat's success, Eternal Champions earned its own sizeable fanbase with sharp Genesis and Sega CD entries that featured diverse characters and quite a bit of gore. But after shelving a planned Saturn version, the series was pretty much abandoned and hasn't been reissued since. Considering all the downloadable games and compilations they've shipped in recent years, why leave Eternal Champions to rot?

Capcom's Rival Schools franchise never really notched mainstream success, but if you need an idea of just how enduringly beloved these games are, just check the online auctions. Rival Schools: United by Fate on PSone and sequel Project Justice for Dreamcast both still command elevated prices, but the chances of a true revival seem exceedingly slim. Still, it's not a bad legacy for a game about brawling high school students.

Power Stone is another Capcom favorite that didn't quite attain the kind of widespread sales needed to keep it alive, but this arena-style fighter was a true gem. While the original defined the fundamentals, sequel Power Stone 2 really amplified the action with four-player battles and giant bosses. Both are available in the Power Stone Collection for PSP, which came out in 2006, but otherwise this series hasn't been properly dusted off in more than a decade.

Once upon a time, Rare's Killer Instinct was a huge franchise for Nintendo, spawning a pair of popular arcade entries, plus home versions for Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 that sold well despite being scaled-back ports. But as Rare's priorities (and owners) shifted in the years that followed, this attractive, combo-heavy fighting franchise was neglected, despite consistent fan requests for a new entry. It's now been 15 years since the last release.

Every time Capcom announces a new fighting game, the hardcore community gets whipped up about Darkstalkers' continual absence, and demands a modern iteration. The supernatural 2D franchise wasn't a big hit, but fervent fans have kept its name alive and seem unwilling to let it fade away. For its part, Capcom has been using several characters in other games; so if the fighting game revival continues on for a while, don't be shocked to see this one emerge from the depths of time.