There was a time when action games were equated to unruly behavior and even violence. However, recently, evidence has come to light that these games enable players to enhance hand-eye motor coordination and multisensory temporal processing abilities. Action and fighting games are no longer relegated to home video gaming consoles but can also be played on the phone. You can easily team up with friends, play against a bot, or challenge people worldwide.

Best fighting games for Android and iOS users

Street Fighter IV Champion Edition

Anyone who plays fighting games will be familiar with Street Fighter. It’s a decades-old arcade-style video game where you engage in a series of brawls with your opponent.

Street Fighter IV Champion Edition has numerous characters for you to choose to fight solo or have online battles. The mobile version has a series of on-screen buttons that might overwhelm a novice. But it can be fun once you get adjusted. If you’re a solo player, you can choose from several modes, including training, survival, arcade, and challenge. There’s also a replay mode to record your moves or watch replays from other players to study their strategies. In multiplayer mode, you either team up and play to better your rank or start a friendly match by creating a room ID with your pals.

However, the drawback is that you cannot turn off the game’s rather odd background music. That said, the game remains a top pick for loyal fans who’ve played it for years.

Final Fighter

This fighting game has a unique storyline. It’s 2050, and a scientific experiment on humans has given birth to a new Hybrid superclass. The Hybrids have revolted against the human majority, bringing on global chaos. Thankfully, Soul Fighters—a squad of human elites—are fighting the Hybrids to save the world. The Soul Fighters in the game are the players that battle the Hybrids. Final Fighter is designed like a 3D arcade old-school fighting game. The characters bear many similarities to those from other franchises – for instance, Sgt. Kane looks like Jack-2 from Tekken, Kui looks like Sakura from Street Fighter, and so on. But the graphics are good, and the characters have some smooth moves. You get a virtual analog stick to move forward, backward, crouch and jump on the left. On the right, there are controls for heavy and light attacks. If played together, it can result in some powerful combos. 

Shadow Fight 3

Shadow Fight 3 was developed by Nekki in 2017 and has since garnered a loyal fan base. The game has fantastic graphics and cinematics. The sound and game mechanics are also sophisticated, which will catch your attention. It’s a standard fighting game with usual controls, so you can enjoy it even if you’re new to action gaming. There’s a legend that a hero will arrive one day to serve justice and end the fight for shadow energy among three clans: Legion, Dynasty, and Heralds. This person will have to learn three fighting styles (one of each clan), collect the best weapons, and bring down warriors. You can choose to be a black ninja, honorable knight, or undefeated samurai and battle with powerful bosses to move up the ladder.

Skullgirls
Developed by Lab Zero, Skullgirls offers smooth netplay and one of the best 2D graphics out there. It may have a small 14-character roster, but each character has unique strengths and a variety of combo techniques. From Cerebella’s habit of grappling to Parasoul’s steady moves, the game is pretty versatile. You can select a team of one to three Skullgirls and play with your friends. You can also customize assist attacks and add a few extra moves. Skullgirls is a superb fighting game for novices because the training mode teaches the basics of defense and attack. You also get to know each character’s special moves and how they fit together. Their artwork is inspired by classic American animation and Japanese anime. It supports online multiplayer so that you can play with people worldwide. 

Prizefighters
Prizefighters is a popular fighting game where players battle with their fists. Different buttons deliver face jabs while certain controls launch fast body jabs. Slower and more potent hits like uppercuts and hooks can be launched through long pressing the forward button. It’s a simple game where you start at the bottom of the ranking and work your way up through about 20 bot fighters. Although initial levels are easier, it gets intense as you play on. Stamina is key in Prizefighters. Each round is limited to about three minutes but can end earlier if your health bar gets empty. Winning matches can buy you in-game currency to purchase new gloves, clothes, or some crucial attributes like strength, stamina, speed, endurance, chin, and cut.