Believe it or not, most of the biggest fighting game franchises have branched out. For example, Marvel vs. Capcom is like a spin-off of Street Fighter. However, this article will not focus on pure fighting game spin-offs. Instead, we aim to look at ten games that spun off into other genres.

The most natural transition is from fighting game to beat-em-up. After all, fighting games naturally evolved from arcade belt-scrollers, so why shouldn’t they try to go back to their roots? It’s a good idea, but the execution usually leaves something desired. There are, of course, other genres touched on, including sports, RPGs, card games, and more!

Updated July 28, 2022, by Chris Sanfilippo: Capcom Fighting Collection launched this year, reviving one of the best fighting game spin-offs (that isn’t a fighting game) of all time, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo. In honor of Puzzle Fighter’s return to a new console generation, we added this title and two other surprising KOF spin-offs to our list.

13 Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball

The thing that everyone took notice of when Dead or Alive launched in arcades was its detailed physics. No other fighting game moved the way this did at the time, especially regarding women.

So naturally, the developers thought it would be a good idea to showcase their modeling prowess with a girls-only beach volleyball game. Yes, it may be a bit risqué, but these volleyball games play well despite that fact.

12 Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero

Unlike many of these entries, Mortal Kombat tried several times to make a decent beat-em-up. The first attempt was Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero on PS1, which played like a flash game at best.

Next, Midway upped its game with Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, which starred Jax in a top-down 3D brawler, also on PS1. It had more of a vision, but it was still blurry. Finally, the last spin-off played significantly well, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monkson PS2. So much so that it’s crazy there hasn’t been a Shaolin Monks 2.

11 Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight

There is a difference between the North American and Japanese versions of this game. In Japan, the main character, Kevin, was unrelated to the Street Fighter series. To piggyback Street Fighter 2’s success, the English division of Capcom changed the name to Ken, implying this is a future version of Ken Masters.

Regardless, the game is a disaster and somehow manages to be even more frustrating than the Ninja Gaiden trilogy. Yeah, it’s that brutal. For a better time, try Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, an equally weird, Tetris-like spin-off, except good.

10 Soul Calibur Legends

Soul Calibur Legends was, like many Wii games, waggle-intensive. Players couldn’t button mash their way through this Dynasty Warriors clone. They instead had to flail around like maniacs.

Without the hindrance of motion controls, this game could have been decent. For instance, the story is compelling enough and looks suitable for the platform. Too bad it didn’t get ported over to any other consoles.

9 Death By Degrees

Death by Degrees stars Nina Williams from Tekken. This spin-off almost feels like an answer to Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, except with a focus on one woman.

It makes sense that Nina would have her own game, as she is an assassin. However, it wasn’t just a straight-up brawler in the traditional control sense. Instead of buttons, players used analog sticks to input combos. It was interesting, to say the least, but did Nina have to lose clothing when she was damaged?

8 Virtua Quest

At first glance, Kingdom Hearts seemed like an impossible dream. How can Final Fantasy and Disney be combined for anything remotely good? Well, look where we are now.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for another attempt at a crossover RPG: Virtua Quest. Set in the Virtua Fighter world, a kid gets sucked into a virtual world with gameplay similar to Kingdom Hearts. It is cute, but Virtua Quest doesn’t quite go the distance.

7 The King of Fighters: Kyo

The King Of Fighters: Kyo is a visual novel with very light RPG elements. Apart from tons of text dumps, battles get presented like classic fighting games, except players don’t input commands naturally.

Punches and kicks get chosen like a turn-based RPG. But, putting it kindly, the blend of the two genres is strange and disorienting. Maybe if the text were in English - yes, this was Japanese language only on PS1 - it would have more widespread appeal.

6 The Rhythm Of Fighters

SNK spawned several spin-offs from the King Of Fighters series. Several of these titles launched exclusively on mobile devices. The Rhythm Of Fighters is one of them. ROF combined rhythm game mechanics into a fighting system mirroring the KOF design.

The Rhythm Of Fighters received praise for its unique rhythm-fighting hybrid gameplay. Furthermore, DLC included fan-favorite tracks from Fatal Fury Special and Metal Slug. But unfortunately, since the game started as a paid title, its initial launch suffered from a high-cost point of entry. Criticism of this price point and its DLC prices encouraged the change to a free-to-play format.

5 The King Of Fighters: Sky Stage

If you thought a KOF rhythm game was out there, wait until you hear about KOF: Sky Stage. This title brought fan-favorite SNK fighters into the realm of vertical shoot-em-ups like Space Invaders and the 194X series.

Sky Stage’s story is pretty convoluted. After Orochi traps fighters in a dimensional prison, Chizuru Kagura grants the ability of flight to KOF mainstays like Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, and Mai Shiranui. These flying heroes fight demons in the sky to rescue their friends. As odd as this idea seems, players enjoyed it enough to spawn a sequel, Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting on PSP.

4 Guilty Gear Judgment

Guilty Gear Judgment is the most straight-up arcade-like beat-em-up on this list. It’s 2D, side-scrolling, and features many characters from the flagship series.

This concept is what these spin-offs should be, and as an idea, this is a great example. However, like most of these, Arc System Works executed guilty Gear Judgment poorly. It didn’t help that it was a PSP exclusive, limiting its appeal.

3 Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden

Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden (phew) is a turn-based RPG from the Samurai Showdown series. As a special note, it’s called Samurai Spirits in Japan.

Based on the name alone, one can deduce this never came to the West. It was exclusive to Japan for both the PS1 and Sega Saturn. Players can choose a character to play in little vignettes like the fighting game from which it stems.

2 SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS

There have been numerous SNK vs. Capcom games in true fighting game fashion. SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS, as the name suggests, is not a fighting game but a card-based RPG. Believe it or not, Card Fighters DS is the third one in the series.

The original Card Fighters Clash was successful enough to warrant three games, which is puzzling to some. Card games are a niche video game genre for many. However, if you’re a Capcom and SNK fan that enjoys strategy games, the Card Fighters Clash series is worth trying. Luckily, you can download the first Card Fighters’ Clash from Steam or the Nintendo e-shop.

1 Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo

Several fighting game spin-offs on this list introduced intriguing ideas with poor execution. However, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo is the most successful fighting game spin-off that is not a fighting game. This gem pit characters from Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and even Cyberbots in fierce falling-block puzzle battles!

Puzzle Fighter is a spin-off that also spawned spin-offs and sequels. For instance, a fighting game using a similar chibi art style, Pocket Fighter, launched a year later. Ten years after, an HD remake of Puzzle Fighter launched on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Finally, Capcom launched a short-lived sequel for mobile platforms in 2017. Players curious to try the game for themselves can play it through the Capcom Fighting Collection.

NEXT: Fighting Games That Are Beginner Friendly