Highlights
- Square Enix has fewer fighting games but excels in RPGs, creating unique versus-type experiences like Foamstars.
- Tobal 2 and Ehrgeiz offer innovative gameplay with dungeon crawling elements and Final Fantasy character cameos.
- Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT lacks a story mode compared to Dissidia: 012, catering to different solo and multiplayer preferences.
Square Enix does not have a lot of fighting games under its belt compared to other Japanese companies within the same tier. Capcom, for example, has Street Fighter along with a lot of crossover fighters that include the Marvel vs Capcom franchise. Even Bandai Namco has some like Soulcalibur and Tekken which are still big.
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Square Enix’s bread and butter instead lies in RPGs. That’s not to say they haven’t made fighting games after the merger or before. They are just few and far between. If anything, they have more versus-type experiences like the newer shooter Foamstars, which has some fighting spirit built into the code. So, let’s take a look at what fighting games are available and if they are worth caring about now.
6 Tobal 2
A Fighting Game Crossed With A Dungeon Crawler
- Platform: PS1
- Release Date: April 25, 1997
- Developer: DreamFactory
The first Tobal title was one of the earliest fighting games on the PS1. It featured art from Akira Toriyama who many know as the creator of Dragon Ball. That’s what some fans remember most about Tobal No. 1 but there was another that helped it stand out from its limited competition. It had a dungeon crawler mode that turned it into a brawler.
Tobal 2 doubled down on this mode, making it even better. The game overall was an improvement between the fighting mechanics, graphics, and character roster. Sadly, it was never released officially in the West but of the two, this one is worth importing.
5 Ehrgeiz
Wrestling With Final Fantasy
- Platform: PS1
- Release Date: May 4, 1999 (NA)
- Developer: DreamFactory
Ehrgeiz started in arcades as a basic mashup between a fighting game and a wrestling game. It was a fine enough combo but what really helped its status grow was when it was ported to the PS1. This version included a big win for Final Fantasy fans because it had a lot of the characters from Final Fantasy 7 in it like Cloud and Tifa.
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Of those two, Tifa made the most sense since her fighting style was more like a brawler in Final Fantasy 7. Most original characters in Ehrgeiz didn’t have weapons, so it made Cloud stick out like a sore thumb comparatively. Awkward or not, it was cameos like these that stuck with players and they are just the tip of the iceberg. This was around the era when the ultimate cameo-focused fighter debuted, Super Smash Bros., on the N64.
4 Rakugaki Showtime
A Dodgeball Infused Fighter
- Platform: PS1
- Release Date: July 29, 1999
- Developer: Treasure
Rakugaki Showtime is sadly another title that was exclusive for Japan on the PS1. The great thing about it though is that players don’t have to know much Japanese to get around the menus. It was a mashup between a fighting game and a dodgeball game.
Players could choose their fighters and then get warped into matches against small rival teams. The goal was to cause damage using a ball and it was a brawler through and through. What makes it cool to this day is the crayon-inspired art style. There have been many great cel-shaded games over the years but there has never been anything quite like Rakugaki Showtime.
3 Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT
Square Enix’s Answer To Super Smash Bros.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT was released as a full game but it has since transitioned into a free-to-play model. It was docked in reviews for not having enough content compared to past iterations. A story mode was missing which is why some fans got into the series on PSP.
That’s part of the reason why it received lower review scores, which is unfortunate because the core game is great. It’s different than the previous two games as players could swap between three characters in battle, similar to the aforementioned Marvel Vs Capcom games. Every character looked great too from heroes like Squall from Final Fantasy 8 to villains like Kefka from Final Fantasy 6. If it were reviewed again based on the free-to-play model, it could have faired better.
2 Dissidia: 012 Final Fantasy
The Perfect Blend Of RPG And Fighter
Dissidia: 012 Final Fantasy is the second game in the series but it’s also the first game. It was kind of like a half-step into sequel territory that added new story content and characters like Lightning from Final Fantasy 13, as the previous game only featured heroes up to Final Fantasy 12. New content aside, players could enjoy the original game as well, making the previous iteration unnecessary.
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It may seem weird to include Dissidia: 012 Final Fantasy and Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT on the same list, but the two games couldn’t be any more different. To reiterate, Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT lacked a story whereas Dissidia: 012 Final Fantasy had a huge sprawling narrative and other typical RPG tropes like leveling up and equipment. Dissidia: 012 Final Fantasy is the fighting game for players that like going solo while Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT is the experience multiplayer fans should check out.
1 Bushido Blade 2
Samurais, Ninjas, And One-Hit Kills
As great as the Dissidia games are for Final Fantasy fans who love a good crossover, the best fighting game experience Squaresoft ever made was Bushido Blade 2. It was a PS1 game wherein players could choose a variety of characters from samurai to ninja as it was set in feudal Japan. Players could equip their heroes with weapons including swords and spears and then face off in 3D environments.
The game featured one-hit kills, which made matches more pulse-pounding especially between friends sitting on the couch together. There was even a story for all of the characters albeit light ones. It was ahead of its time as there are many clones like it today including Nidhogg and Divekick. Unfortunately, Square Enix has yet to make a third game or re-release both PS1 titles on a modern system.
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