The last few decades of fighting games were torn between the rivalry of these two – Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat. The fighting game genre had its ups and downs, but those two always delivered outstanding fighting games for the whole family to enjoy. Well, if it was a +18 family in most cases.

A discussion on the best fighting series is in the air. Although we had our fair share of Guilty Gears and Tekkens, we still do not have a clear answer as to which one of the big two will sit on the throne alone.

Will it be one of the many great Street Fighter games? Or maybe Mortal Kombat, in general, is a groundbreaking fighting-style madness with ripping out spines and getting over there.

Well, in this clash, we will talk in-depth about all the fantastic memories these two brought throughout the years and finally settle on which one is better. Let’s dive in!

Although there were some legendary titles before these two, the new era of fighting games started with their famous rivalry. How did all of this happen? Well, let’s start with a little bit of history!

Round 1 – History

It goes back 30 years from when Street Fighter II: The World Warrior came out. It totally changed the landscape of fighting games. Since its release, those games have flourished, spawning dozens of copies worldwide. 

Every avid gamer has checked out at least one of them and was not disappointed with the outcome.

Why it all started with Street Fighter II? Well, for a couple of reasons. For starters, it was a perfect fighting game for that time. It had a lot of colorful characters, amazing graphics, thought-out movement, and a fighting system, and just overall – it was hovering above all the other basic titles.

After that, it was a flood of fighting games! And…lots and lots of crap. Unfortunately, you can’t just come up with a game out of nowhere and hope it will be good. Well, unless you are Midway Games, of course.

MORTAL KOMBAT!

1992 redefined the whole concept one more time. Mortal Kombat came up with a revolutionary idea at the time. They decided to use real actors and render their faces onto the characters. That way, all the brutality in the game felt that much worse.

And, of course, lots and lots of violence. Mortal Kombat was one of those games that started the “harmful gaming” conversation and “should our kids be playing that.” Also – how to pull out someone’s spine with their head on top. You know, gaming stuff.

It was a big hit that put the franchise on the map, right next to the famous Street Fighter II, which got multiple reeditions and add-ons.

Rivalry

Throughout the years, both games were at one point “the best” of them both. Mortal Kombat was going to be more and more brutal, while Street Fighter was focusing on the fighting/characters aspect of gameplay. 

They introduced secret characters and mocked each other with some small detail in the game. For example, in the Mortal Kombat II high score, the default initials on the high score list were RYU, the main character from Street Fighter.

Verdict

This round has no clear winner, and both had more than one hit. Even though both franchises had the upper hand at one point, we cannot tell which is better from gaming history. It’s a draw! 

Round 2 – Graphics

As we’ve stated before, both games revolutionized fighting games regarding graphics. Street Fighter created its aesthetic with many colorful images, amazing background action, and a fantastic yet brutal world.

Mortal Kombat, on the other hand, started with something genuinely inspirational that would later be the cradle of modern graphic design but then changed into pretty much a “good-at-the-time” kind of graphics. It’s not terrible; it just felt uninspired, except maybe for the detail mutilation visuals.

Street Fighter world feels like it’s something of its own, and nothing else feels like Street Fighter. That is why we give this one to Street Fighter. For the creativity! Mortal Kombat series – you need to keep up!

Round 3 – Animations

Now that we’ve gone over the graphics, it feels like time to get over some animation. And that is not that obvious. Both games are trying to outshine each other, and they often hit and miss in that regard. But while hitting and missing is something that most games suffer from, we must take a look at which one of those is more consistent.

Street Fighter always looked amazing when it came to movements. Those punches felt like they are taken from comic books.  Maybe it’s because of the graphics, but they always felt like they carried a lot of weight.

Mortal Kombat, unfortunately, did not have the same amount of success in that regard. It may look incredible nowadays, that’s true, but the early installments were not optimistic, that’s for sure. Although the punches were all right, and the overall games were great, they sometimes looked stiff and not that powerful. They felt a little flat. Point for Street Fighter once again. Will it be the best fighting game franchise ever? We’ll see.

Round 3 – Characters

Oh yes, something that cannot be overlooked – the fighters! And that is one tough cookie to crack. You would think that it’s a pretty straightforward answer but believe us – it is not! Those are one of the most notable characters in gaming history, so it was never going to be easy to decide between them.

Street Fighter has one of the most memorable characters in the fighting franchise! Ryu and Ken’s rivalry is on par with the brotherly competition between the Mishima brothers from Tekken. You also have your scary Akuma, Hindu Dhalsim with stretchy limbs, Chun-Li with her monstrous thighs, and Mr. Bison always one step ahead of you!

On the other hand, though, you have a long list of iconic characters. The list goes on: Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Raiden. Those are not just the characters from the game. They honestly feel like “almost” real-life people at this point. You can guess who Scorpion would vote for and what is Raiden’s favorite meal!

And frankly, those Mortal Kombat characters feel much more thought-through than those from Street Fighter. They have some depth to them. Like Liu Kang, who was a zombie Liu Kang at some point but also – a dragon? While it may be confusing, it is still entertaining. Point for Mortal Kombat! (Also, Shang Tsung is a pretty scary dude, and we would rather not mess with him).

Round 4 - Sound

MORTAL KOMBAT! So yeah, you see where this is going. Mortal Kombat's sound design is legendary. You probably do it in a deeper voice when you read those two words while thinking of an iconic dragon symbol.

Also, phrases like “get over here” are just classics that went into everyday use. Well, at least in some places. The punching, slashing, stabbing, and blood squirting everywhere, it all sometimes feels even too realistic for comfort. But it’s still a great game, nevertheless. 

Street Fighter has a lot of cool sound effects, and character themes are also pretty good, but they are just not on par with what Mortal Kombat brings to the table.

Points for the bloodier one.

Round 5 - Single Player

So, now that we have all of that gathered, let’s talk a little about the gameplay itself. First, let’s all agree that both franchises excel in that department. There is no need to fight about it. What we should discuss, though, is that between those two games, only one has a “real” history of the single-player experience.

Cut scenes, snarky comments between fights, profound lore on how the characters interact with each other, tower system that revolutionized the single-player experience, opponents that were only available to fight in the single-player mode – that is Mortal Kombat for you, isn’t it?

Street Fighter is, well, Street Fighter. You go onto the street and fight. That’s it. There is a story there somewhere, of course, but it feels like they added it only to add it. In Mortal Kombat, the gaming is immersed within the story, not just an addition.

So this one has to go to Mortal Kombat. 

Round 6 - Controls

This one is tricky as it goes down to what makes both of those games. Controls. And it’s one of the trickier rounds on our list.

Street Fighter feels natural. All the hadoukens and punches feel easy to do and pretty straightforward to get around. If you would play just a little bit, you will quickly start to get the hang of it.

On the other side of this story is Mortal Kombat, where nothing feels effortless, and everything is a struggle. Controls are stiff, and combos are complex, but are they satisfying? Getting the right combination to perform a mid-air grab of someone into a fireball, into the hook, into the acid breath is something you just can’t overlook. 

So, in this case, let’s just drop it and call it a draw, shall we?

Round 7 - Special Moves

Speaking of controls – let’s talk about special moves! And there is plenty to talk about. As we mentioned, Street Fighter has pretty specific and easy-to-put-out activities that you can learn in a matter of seconds and master in years. That is why so many people choose this game for tournaments. Every Street Fighter game felt just about the same on how to control the characters, but in a good way, though.

Mortal Kombat, on the other hand, is something completely different. Each character has a detailed list of moves you can never memorize and will always try and fail to put out. But those moves are excellent in every shape and form. They are big, amazingly animated, brutal, and gore, with some addition to using the terrain to murder your opponent better. Just crazy stuff all around! Also – nothing feels quite as good as performing a well-hard-to-do fatality combined of 20 buttons after an extraordinarily annoying opponent.

Point for Mortal Kombat.

Round 7 - Balance

So this is it, the final round. Who will win, and who will lose? It’s all down to the balance. And what a balanced game those are!

Well, not really. But we’ll get to that. By balance, do any of the characters have an unfair advantage over the others, and how big is it? Because if you have a fighting game where you can only pretty much use like three guys to fight each other, and the rest of them just sit around waiting to be beaten – it’s not a fun game to play if we’re being honest. So, how are our two rival teams doing in that department?

Let’s start with Street Fighter. Are those guys balanced? Yes, they are. You can win with every one of the characters by using any other character. There are no favorites; there are no better or worse. They just are.

Mortal Kombat, on the other hand, that’s a different story. There are imbalances in the tower mode when some characters become completely unbeatable for no apparent reason. Also – some are just sooo above the rest. It’s ridiculous. And yes, we still hold a grudge against Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat II.

Point to the Street Fighter!

Verdict

And the winner is – Mortal Kombat! Although, the correct answer is probably – we, the gamers. The rivalry between those two is extraordinary. Other fighting games and fighting game franchises can only dream of being as iconic as these two.

Even though we are a bit biased because of all the finishing moves and stuff, we still love and appreciate both games. Whether you prefer one over the other is a personal preference. Both of them will bring you great pleasure. If you want something more straightforward and fun, you should go for Street Kombat. It’s a great game, and it has a lot of heart to it.

If you want something more raw and crazy, you would surely be interested in Mortal Kombat. And if you like fighting games, you will check them out.

We hope you like our article, and we invite you to check out more of our gaming/software/office-related materials. We hope you had fun and we will see you at the next one!