I was watching a You Tube video on the subject (some sort of list on the best fighters), and it got me to thinking what my favorites are.

5. Street Fighter series - I spent many an hour on Street Fighter II (SNES) as a kid. With the series return to a Nintendo platform with Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, It's a great game to pop in for nostalgia, and I've even gained a few new favorites (too bad the online's ruined by people spamming touch combos). Favorite characters: Ryu, Sakura, Chun-Li, Akuma, Guile.

4. Tatsunoko vs Capcom - Even if only half the cast is recognizable to us in the west (initially), it's a solid fighter with an unprecedented amount of Japanese styled craziness, charm, & humor. Fun online, cool characters (seriously, Tekkaman Blade is awesome), and lots to unlock. Favorite characters: Ryu, Chun-Li, Morrigan, Tekkaman Blade, Batsu.

3. Soulcalibur series - I started with III on PS2, and have also played IV on 360. The series has a fun cast, great character creation mode, unique guests, and loads of artwork to unlock (especially III). The use of weapons is also pretty cool. Favorite characters: Kilik, Taki, Ivy, Nightmare, Xianghua.

Dead or Alive series - Started out with 4 on 360, and now take it on the go with Dimensions. Fun characters, fast & fluid gameplay, many different costumes to unlock (I'm over you, color pallet swaps), and crazy interactive arenas make the series uber addicting. Favorite characters: Kasumi, Ryu Hayabusa, Ayane, Jan Lee, Hitomi.

Super Smash Bros. series - not a traditional fighter, I know, but I just can't not list it. Easily the series that I've logged the most time into on N64, GCN, & Wii (regardless of genre). Being that this site is Nintendo Life, I hope I shouldn't have to explain what the series is about, lol Favorite characters: Link, Mario, Samus, Pit, Ike.

So, what are your favorites? BTW, the video I watched listed:
5. Soulcalibur
4. Street Fighter
3. Tekken
2. Super Smash Bros.
1. Mortal Kombat

-Smash Bros. Melee is the main one but I also loved the first 2 Soul Caliburs and the Tekken series when it was most relevent (I would say still relevent instead but its seemingly having a comeback lately).

I honestly have played almost no fighting games for this entire generation of consoles, which dissappoints me.

well this upcoming year il be going to EVO 2013 for
UMVC3- i LOVE this game and tatsunko vs capcom isn't that bad either i play this about ATLEAST an hour a day
Mortal Kombat- i know i won't get far in this one but i still enjoy the game and il already be at evo might aswell
Street fighter vs Tekken (with my older brother) at first i didn't enjoy this game but after a while i ended up getting very attached to it

im actually looking forward to Injustice tho

We already have a favorite fighting game thread.
http://www.nintendolife.com/forums/retro/favorite_fighter

Have I mentioned how much I like digging up old threads? It's like unearthing a time capsule. Nothing like it baby!

Updated my list from last time to reflect new games I've played.

1.Super Smash Bros.
2.Soul Calibur
3.Tekken
4.Mortal Kombat
5.Street Fighter

While fighting games are my favorite genre,i haven't played that many,but here is my top 5:

1.Tatsunoko vs. Capcom-There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the best,probably my favorite crossover,loved every character.
While i don't know half of the roster i think that helped me in enjoying the game,i get so tired of having the same characters over again in crossover games(kinda like Capcom vs. SNK 2 being more Street Fighter than Capcom >.>)

2.King of Fighters '98-The first KOF game that i played and definitely my favorite,had a lot of good times with this one,great cast of characters,even if Orochi is rather broken.

3.The Last Blade-This will probably change once i buy the 2nd game on VC,but so far this has been a great game,love it,the only disappointment i have with it is the lack of characters

4.Super Smash Bros.Brawl-I'm probably one of the few that enjoyed this one over melee,i don't really mind the fact that it's slower paced,the only thing i dislike is that Mewtwo got replaced by Lucario >.>

5.Killer Instinct-Say what you will about the game,but i had a lot of great memories playing this with my cousins and sisters back when i had it on SNES,would love to see this game and the N64 game on the Virtual Console,but that will never happen

I still have other series i haven't tried like Samurai Shodown,Tekken,Dead or Alive(besides a 360 demo i played awhile back),Virtua Fighter and many more,but so far the ones i listed are my favorites.

• Super Smash Bros. Melee
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• Soul Calibur II (GC version only)
• Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
• Killer Instinct
• Tekken 2
• Tekken 3
• Tekken 4
• Marvel vs. Capcom Origins
• Marvel vs. Capcom 2
• Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus

The only fighter I've ever really gotten into is Brawl, and thats more of a party fighter really. I want to get into Mortal Kombat 9 though, that's a good game for beginners so the Internet tells me.

1. Smash Bros Melee/Brawl
2. Dead or Alive 5
3. Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom

Since I only really have fun with fighting games when playing with friends, these are the ones I liked the most. Lost of depth, but simple enough to pick up and feel good at the game.

@Gamesake When it's a year old, it's safe to let it die.

I had no idea there was already a thread for this. If TBD wants to lock & redirect, that's fine. If not, even better

I was more generic with my last list (listing series as a whole), but for individual games:

5. Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition
4. Tatsunoko vs Capcom
3. Soulcalibur III
2. Dead or Alive 4
1. Super Smash Bros Brawl

I know the order isn't different, lol, but this time I listed my favorite of each series (it probably would be a little different if I were to include more than one game in a series, but I didn't want to do that).

No a REAL return to nintendo platforms would be Super street fighter 4: WII U EDITION!(Unfortunatly capcom won't give it to the wii u because of mediocre at best support!) That crappy 3ds version is inferior to the console version since mortal kombat on the gameboy so I skipped SSF4:3D & sticked with the super smash bros series because I will just be disappointed with that version!

I would have to say Soul Calibur 2 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
My favorite version of Soul Calibur 2 is the Xbox version because I rocked with Spawn. I still have the Gamecube verison, but I hate Link's moveset. Spawn was a heavy hitter and he did some good damage. Ultimate MK3 is my second fav because it's very nostalgiac and It wasn't as weak as the first 3 MK's.

Super Smash Bros Brawl,and Dead or Alive Dimensions.

1:SSB
2:TvC
3: DoAD
4:SSFIV
5:Soul Calibur II

High Five

It actually isn't inferior. It's just as good. I think even the online modes are the same. Only thing it lacks, IIRC, are achievements, and Street Fighter's Achievements are usually bullcrap, anyways. It's only inferior to the Arcade Edition, but that's a different game, technically.

I have played such a rediculously small range of fighting games, more of a puzzle game man myself. These are my favorites of all fighting games Ive ever played:
7. Super Smash Bros.
6. Tatsunoko vs Capcom
5. Super Street Fighter 4
4. Playstation All Stars Battle Royale
3. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition
2. Super Smash Bros. Melee
1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl

My top two:
•Smash Bros.
•Sonic the Fighters

Fighters' History Dynamite, Third Strike, and Hyper street fighter 2