Summary
WithFatal Furycoming back from a26-year-long hiatus with City of the Wolves,it got us thinking of what other series need to return after a prolonged break, since the genre has seen a massive turnaround in recent years, pulling in many newcomers than ever before.
While not every game has been dormant for as long as Fatal Fury, they have been absent for a considerable amount of time, making the hope of seeing a new one seem dire at best. With the genre firing on all cylinders, there is no better time for them to return to the spotlight than now!
Despite technically receiving a Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam port in 2022,Persona 4 Arena Ultimaxwas actually released all the way back in 2013, meaning we haven’t had a brand-new Persona fighting game in roughly 12 years.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax isone of the best anime fighters out there,and it is a bit puzzling seeing how Persona 5 didn’t receive the same treatment, as they seemingly take every opportunity possible to release some spinoff for it. Maybe Persona 6 will be the one that gets it, giving us one extensive roster containing characters from Persona 3 through 6? We can only dream!
In a similar boat as Persona 4 Arena, Killer Instinct technically received a hefty update a couple of years ago, bringing in new balance changes, better matchmaking, and 4K textures. However, while these changes are appreciated, this title was released in 2013.
Just like Persona Arena, the last installment for Killer Instinct was about 12 years ago, and we are champing at the bit for a new entry.While there have been murmuringsof a new entry being worked on here and there, we won’t be satisfied until it is officially announced!
Darkstalkers is one of the many long-forgotten Capcom fighters from the 90s, which recently received a little resurgence thanks to theCapcom Fighting Collectionin 2022. However, while having a modern port of it is nice, we haven’t had anything new in the series since Darkstalkers 3 (Vampire Savior) in 1997.
Its 28-year hiatus makes it a much longer wait than Fatal Fury’s return to the spotlight, which is wild to think about. Given Capcom’s current hot streak, we believe that if they ever revisit this series, they’d crush it. No questions asked. But the likelihood of them doing so isn’t looking too great!
A bit of a controversial pick for the next one, as Arcana Heart isn’t too well known and often ignored thanks to its heavy leanings into fan-service and cutesy characters. However, in terms of its gameplay, nothing is quite like it, as it can be challenging to learn.
Like Killer Instinct, it also received a pretty substantial patch that rebalanced characters and added new content with Arcana Heart 3: Love Max. However, the game still initially launched in 2011, 14 years ago, and we’d love to see a new entry that dials some of its disliked aspects back to make it more approachable!
4Soul Calibur
Soul Calibur is an interesting series,as it’s one of those titles that can come back in the next few years or disappear for another decade, and it would still oddly make sense. While its seven-year hiatus isn’t remotely close to the others on this list, it still seems pretty long, making us crave a new one, especially with Virtua Fighter receiving a new entry.
But, all things considered,Soul Calibur 6had decent launch sales and was considered a success by Bandai Namco, which is generally a good sign. Its last story expansion also ended with a fascinating cliffhanger, so we hope we see Soul Calibur 7 sooner rather than later!
WHERE TO PLAY
BlazBlue is one of the best anime fighters out there, and has some of the most interesting and fun-to-play characters in its massive roster, making it a shame we haven’t received a new entry in nearly a decade. Though thankfully, Central Fiction on Steam received a rollback netcode update recently, making its online gameplay more manageable at the very least.
Arc System Works Blue Team handles this series, which means their latest release was Grandblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. So, who knows what their next title is? It can be a new BlazBlue, Persona Arena, or something entirely new!
This one may hurt the most, asDead or Alive 6was a pretty remarkable 3D fighter with deep systems and mechanics, excellent characters, and steady post-launch support in terms of characters and outfits. Unfortunately, even with its free-to-play version, it was more or less a flop.
Though this doesn’t necessarily mean the series is dead, it makes it far less likely to make a return anytime soon, and its six-year absence proves that point. While there were some vague hints that it may return sooner than we think, we’re not holding our breaths until it sees the light of day!
Lastly, of course, is Marvel vs. Capcom, one of the most beloved fighting game series of all time, which saw its last release in 2017 with Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. While eight years may not seem all that long compared to the other entries on this list, the copyright hurdles and nightmares make this nearly impossible to happen again.
However, the optimist in us wants to believe that the newly releasedMarvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classicsis a way to gauge public interest, andwe may actually see a new entry in this phenomenal series againin the near future. It’s essentially in Disney’s hands at this point!
