Page "Fighting game" Paragraph 2

The first game to feature fist fighting was Heavyweight Champ in 1976, but it was Karate Champ and The Way of the Exploding Fist which popularized one-on-one martial arts games in 1984 and 1985 respectively.

Also in 1985, Yie Ar Kung-Fu featured antagonists with differing fighting styles, while 1987's Street Fighter introduced hidden special attacks.

In 1991, Capcom's highly successful Street Fighter II refined and popularized many of the conventions of the genre.

The fighting game subsequently became the preeminent genre for competitive video gaming in the early to mid-1990s, especially in arcades.

This period spawned numerous popular fighting games in addition to Street Fighter, including the successful and long running franchises Mortal Kombat and later Virtua Fighter and Tekken.