Best games
Best Fighting games of 1999
The 9 best Fighting games released in 1999, ranked from 911 critic and player ratings.
The best Fighting game of 1999 is Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, with a critic score of 90/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Each game is ranked in one genre only, the one that defines it best, so the same title never tops two different genre charts.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 1999.
- 9 games are listed on this page, carrying 911 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 9
01
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is the second follow-up to Street Fighter III. The game increased the character roster by adding five new characters and also added further refinements to the previous game's play mechanics and rules. All the returning characters from the previous Street Fighter III games were given new stages, endings, and voice actors for certain characters, continuing the overall storyline from where the first two games left off.
90
/100
02
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. is a crossover fighting video game between several different Nintendo franchises, and the first installment in the Super Smash Bros. series. Players must defeat their opponents multiple times in a fighting frenzy of items and power-ups. Super Smash Bros. is a departure from the general genre of fighting games: instead of depleting an opponent's life bar, the players seek to knock opposing characters off a stage. Each player has a damage total, represented by a percentage, which rises as the damage is taken.
85
/100
03
Metal Slug X
Metal Slug X is upgraded version of Metal Slug 2 (Metal Slug 2: Super Vehicle-001/I), which was released in March 1999 for the Neo Geo MVS. It fixed slowdown problems from the original game, and increased the difficulty. Metal Slug X also introduced some new elements to the game system.
80
/100
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is the second follow-up to Street Fighter III. The game increased the character roster by adding five new characters and also added further refinements to the previous game's play mechanics and rules. All the returning characters from the previous Street Fighter III games were given new stages, endings, and voice actors for certain characters, continuing the overall storyline from where the first two games left off.
90
/100
02
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. is a crossover fighting video game between several different Nintendo franchises, and the first installment in the Super Smash Bros. series. Players must defeat their opponents multiple times in a fighting frenzy of items and power-ups. Super Smash Bros. is a departure from the general genre of fighting games: instead of depleting an opponent's life bar, the players seek to knock opposing characters off a stage. Each player has a damage total, represented by a percentage, which rises as the damage is taken.
85
/100
03
Metal Slug X
Metal Slug X is upgraded version of Metal Slug 2 (Metal Slug 2: Super Vehicle-001/I), which was released in March 1999 for the Neo Geo MVS. It fixed slowdown problems from the original game, and increased the difficulty. Metal Slug X also introduced some new elements to the game system.
80
/100
04
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
If you thought you'd seen the last of the incredible Garou: Mark of The Wolves series, you were sorely mistaken. Join classic brawlers and fresh finds (there are 11 new additions in all) for the fighting experience of the decade. The game's three unique modes of play include Offensive, Defensive, and Tactical, and there are plenty of Super Moves and Hidden Abilities to unlock. The realm of 2D fighting has rarely been this exciting, and it gets even more addicting when you play against a friend.
80
/100
05
Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense
The story of Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense centers on the international meddlings of an oil conglomerate from the future known as OMAR (Oil Monopoly Alliance Regime). After finding an electronic armband in a service station bathroom, former Vigilante Slick Clyde rose to be controlled by OMAR. Working up through the ranks of command he soon came to be the CEO of OMAR itself and made a complete monopoly on all oil trades with the sole exception of the United States. With the help of his student and hitman, Obake, he steals the technology to allow him to travel through time. Taking with him Obake and his cybernetic assassin, Dallas 13, he makes the jump back to the 1970s to cripple the United States and bring OMAR to total domination. Appearing in the 1970s, the three vehicles encounter Convoy, the former leader of the Vigilantes. Upon seeing him, the three cars open fire.
81
/100
06
Twisted Metal 4
Twisted Metal 4 is the fourth installment in the Twisted Metal series and the second and last installment to be developed by 989 Studios. The game's plot centers on Sweet Tooth, the long-time mascot of the titular Twisted Metal competition, overthrowing Calypso, the mysterious organizer of the competition, in a coup d'état. He then takes over the mantle of granting the winner of the competition a single wish, regardless of price, size or even reality.
78
/100
07
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle
"The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle" is the sixth game in The King of Fighters series by SNK. Unlike in previous games of the series, there are four characters per team instead of three, with the fourth serving as a "Striker", a fighter whose function is only to enter a match, attack the opponent and leave without replacing their teammates. In total, there are seven teams, each containing four characters, four Team Edit characters and a boss.
76
/100
08
Omikron: The Nomad Soul
Responding to the desperate pleas of a mysterious character from another dimension, your soul must enter the dark and futuristic city of Omikron. This is but the beginning of an epic adventure through an increasingly strange and dazzling parallel world. You must solve the ultimate mystery: why are you in Omikron and how can you get out? Think, fight, and interact with awe-inspiring environments to defeat the menacing demons that are trying to stop you. Experience the life in an alternate reality with everything it has to offer--including the secret musical performances by The Dreamers, a band of rebels led by the Omikronian incarnation of David Bowie. Omikron: The Nomad Soul is a futuristic 3d-action adventure like no other. Combining a deep game plot with adventure, exploration, action, combat and role-playing elements, the Omikron experience will captivate you from the moment you enter the strange and wonderful world beyond our own. Only using all of your combined skills will bring you deliverance from this exotic dimension. After Bowie's death in 2016, The Nomad Soul was made available at no cost for one week.
70
/100
09
Little Fighter 2
Little Fighter 2 is a popular Hong Kong freeware PC fighting game for Windows and is the sequel to the game Little Fighter (LF1). Little Fighter 2 was created by Marti Wong and Starsky Wong in 1999, and released in a long series of updates. The game supports up to 4 human players on one computer and a total of 8 characters using online play or computer-controlled opponents. Characters are controlled using the keyboard or a gamepad. All keys can be set via a configuration menu. The game has a commercially released sequel, Little Fighter Online. In 2009, in celebration of Little Fighter 2's tenth anniversary, version 2.0 was released. The update fixed minor bugs and added a gameplay recording feature, a new stage called 'Survival', a browser toolbar that is not mentioned in the installation process and obstructive ads being displayed while the game is being loaded. Version 2.0a was released in late 2009, with only a bug fix.
60
/100
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
If you thought you'd seen the last of the incredible Garou: Mark of The Wolves series, you were sorely mistaken. Join classic brawlers and fresh finds (there are 11 new additions in all) for the fighting experience of the decade. The game's three unique modes of play include Offensive, Defensive, and Tactical, and there are plenty of Super Moves and Hidden Abilities to unlock. The realm of 2D fighting has rarely been this exciting, and it gets even more addicting when you play against a friend.
80
/100
05
Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense
The story of Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense centers on the international meddlings of an oil conglomerate from the future known as OMAR (Oil Monopoly Alliance Regime). After finding an electronic armband in a service station bathroom, former Vigilante Slick Clyde rose to be controlled by OMAR. Working up through the ranks of command he soon came to be the CEO of OMAR itself and made a complete monopoly on all oil trades with the sole exception of the United States. With the help of his student and hitman, Obake, he steals the technology to allow him to travel through time. Taking with him Obake and his cybernetic assassin, Dallas 13, he makes the jump back to the 1970s to cripple the United States and bring OMAR to total domination. Appearing in the 1970s, the three vehicles encounter Convoy, the former leader of the Vigilantes. Upon seeing him, the three cars open fire.
81
/100
06
Twisted Metal 4
Twisted Metal 4 is the fourth installment in the Twisted Metal series and the second and last installment to be developed by 989 Studios. The game's plot centers on Sweet Tooth, the long-time mascot of the titular Twisted Metal competition, overthrowing Calypso, the mysterious organizer of the competition, in a coup d'état. He then takes over the mantle of granting the winner of the competition a single wish, regardless of price, size or even reality.
78
/100
07
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle
"The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle" is the sixth game in The King of Fighters series by SNK. Unlike in previous games of the series, there are four characters per team instead of three, with the fourth serving as a "Striker", a fighter whose function is only to enter a match, attack the opponent and leave without replacing their teammates. In total, there are seven teams, each containing four characters, four Team Edit characters and a boss.
76
/100
08
Omikron: The Nomad Soul
Responding to the desperate pleas of a mysterious character from another dimension, your soul must enter the dark and futuristic city of Omikron. This is but the beginning of an epic adventure through an increasingly strange and dazzling parallel world. You must solve the ultimate mystery: why are you in Omikron and how can you get out? Think, fight, and interact with awe-inspiring environments to defeat the menacing demons that are trying to stop you. Experience the life in an alternate reality with everything it has to offer--including the secret musical performances by The Dreamers, a band of rebels led by the Omikronian incarnation of David Bowie. Omikron: The Nomad Soul is a futuristic 3d-action adventure like no other. Combining a deep game plot with adventure, exploration, action, combat and role-playing elements, the Omikron experience will captivate you from the moment you enter the strange and wonderful world beyond our own. Only using all of your combined skills will bring you deliverance from this exotic dimension. After Bowie's death in 2016, The Nomad Soul was made available at no cost for one week.
70
/100
09
Little Fighter 2
Little Fighter 2 is a popular Hong Kong freeware PC fighting game for Windows and is the sequel to the game Little Fighter (LF1). Little Fighter 2 was created by Marti Wong and Starsky Wong in 1999, and released in a long series of updates. The game supports up to 4 human players on one computer and a total of 8 characters using online play or computer-controlled opponents. Characters are controlled using the keyboard or a gamepad. All keys can be set via a configuration menu. The game has a commercially released sequel, Little Fighter Online. In 2009, in celebration of Little Fighter 2's tenth anniversary, version 2.0 was released. The update fixed minor bugs and added a gameplay recording feature, a new stage called 'Survival', a browser toolbar that is not mentioned in the installation process and obstructive ads being displayed while the game is being loaded. Version 2.0a was released in late 2009, with only a bug fix.
60
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Fighting game of 1999?
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike currently tops the ranking with a score of 90/100 across 42 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.