Fighting games are often filled with a wide range of colorful and fearsome characters. Iconic fighting game mascots like Ryu from Street Fighter, Scorpion from Mortal Kombat, and Heihachi Mishima from Tekken have been dominating the genre for decades.
What isn't talked about enough are the sillier characters that grace the screen along with them. Dozens of fighting games have had fun with their rosters by including some more unorthodox fighters to choose. These characters may be a little goofy, but they still pack a large enough punch to hold their own alongside legendary warriors.
5 Voldo: Soul Calibur
The Soul Calibur series takes players back hundreds of years to put weapon-based fighters up against each other. Voldo is one of the few characters that has appeared in every entry in the series. He is a mute, making him rely on his other senses while he's only able to grunt or hiss. He often fights with two scissor-like blades on each hand. His costume is fit with tight leather, lots of spikes, and straps all over his body.
Voldo's ridiculous appearance isn't the only thing peculiar about him, as his fighting style is also quite unique. He contorts his body in unnatural ways, fights backwards, and even sometimes crawls on all fours. It's clear that the developers wanted to make a character that both amuses and disturbs. That being said, Voldo is still a deadly combatant that is sure to show up in the next Soul Calibur sequel.
4 Panda: Tekken
Making her debut in Tekken 3 as Ling Xiaoyu's bodyguard, Panda is indeed just a Panda, but she has intelligence almost on par with humans. Sharing the same moveset as Kuma (another bear in the franchise and also her boyfriend), Panda relies on big heavy strikes to take opponents down. Sometimes resorting to biting, Panda is definitely different from a lot of the fighters in Tekken.
Although she is often overlooked by competitive Tekken players, some have managed to find success with her due to how much damage she packs into her punches. Panda is a nice inclusion to the series by offering fans an animal to play as that's a little softer than the vicious Kuma.
3 Bo' Rai Cho: Mortal Kombat
Master of the Drunken Fist and right-hand man of the God Raiden, Bo' Rai Cho made his debut in the Mortal Kombat franchise in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. He is a large, jovial man who created his own fighting style where he battles while extremely drunk.
His overweight and drunken demeanor often make opponents believe he is pathetic, but Bo' Rai Cho is actually a master martial artist. By using his inebriated body to bounce, puke, or fart on his opponent, Bo' Rai Cho can be surprising deadly. It's clear Netherealm studios were inspired by The Drunken Master films from Jackie Chan and chose to make an even sillier style of character. Bo' Rai Cho returned to the franchise in Mortal Kombat X and proved he's just as odd as ever.
2 Phoenix Wright: Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
The Marvel Vs. Capcom franchise is iconic for putting legendary characters from the Marvel universe up against some of Capcom's most skilled video game characters. Seeing Iron Man fight Ryu is just one of the few matchups fans can expect from the series. In 2012, Capcom released a new and improved version of Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 where they introduced 12 new characters. One of these was Phoenix Wright from Capcom's Ace Attorney games.
Phoenix quickly became a fan favorite because of how strange his fighting style was. In the Ace Attorney games, Phoenix rarely shown getting into physical altercations with people. That's why Capcom had to get creative with how he is adapted into a fighting game. Some of his moves include slipping and accidentally kicking, sneezing, and throwing "evidence" at his opponent. It's doubtful Phoenix will ever return to the fighting genre, but fans are glad they got to witness it at least once.
1 Dan: Street Fighter
Possibly the most iconic "joke" character in fighting game history, Dan was created as a secret character in Street Fighter Alpha as a response to SNK featuring a character suspiciously similar to Ryu and Ken in their Art of Fighting game. Capcom made Dan to be a sort of cheap imitation of Ryu and Ken (what they believed SNK's new character was).
Dan is a self-taught martial artist, and while he has a lot of the same moves as Ryu and Ken, Dan's aren't nearly as epic. He is a generally good-hearted man, but often finds himself in comical situations due to his ego and arrogance. Dan quickly became a fan favorite because of his vibrant personality and witty remarks. He brings a meta level of humor that is needed in the Street Fighter franchise. Dan may not be able to take on Ryu and Ken, but has proven many times that he's more than just a cheap copy.