10 Best Fighting Games on Nintendo Switch (2026)

Guns cast aside, fighting games focus on hand-to-hand combat. A few special characters might include gunplay, even swordplay, with some fancy options like nunchucks and chainsaws. But ultimately, it’s bare knuckles and high martial arts kicks until the opponent’s health bar runs out.

No need to have a friend with you, as the computer-controlled characters can be just as punishing. But it’s ultimately way more fun when you’re keeping score over multiple rounds. 

Right, so where’s the best place to start? We reckon you’ll have a blast with the best fighting games on Nintendo Switch below.

What is a Fighting Game?

A fighting game pits the player against another character controlled by another player or the computer. You master quick reflexes and reaction speeds against the opponent, using a combination of attack and defense combos to drain the opponent’s meter.

Best Fighting Games on Nintendo Switch

Learning how to play the best fighting games on Nintendo Switch is easy-peasy. It’s mastering the combos and special abilities that humbles you, but ultimately a blast.

10. Streets of Rage 4

Once you’re past learning the mechanics of Streets of Rage 4, you’ll be having fun pulling off slick punches and combos in no time. It’s quite a challenging system to master, with different enemy patterns that need memorizing and special moves to take advantage of. 

However, you can take it easy at first, training in easy mode. The best part is that the story mode has an uphill climb that you can assess your progress on, with a nicely paced path to the credits.

9. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy

You might have a relatively easier time on Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy. The combos are fewer than most of the best fighting games on Nintendo Switch. Every character will have four combos or so, whose button combinations you can easily remember during fights. 

But the boss fights and special challenges will test your patience. Plus, it generally gets tougher the further you get into the story, with substitutions and evasions taking a minute to come naturally to newcomers.

8. Brawlhalla

Brawlhalla is its own breed of fighting games because of its merge with platforming, and how you can take advantage of the level design during battles. You can shove enemies off the ledge, for instance, not to mention the many tactical offense, defense, and traversal tricks you can employ.

Say, finding a safe spot to catch your breath. Or jumping off platforms to deliberately escape enemies, only to sneak up on them. You need to master the level design, just as much as the fighting mechanics themselves, to win.

7. Under Night In-Birth II Sys: Celes

For an anime-styled fighting game on Nintendo Switch, you can consider Under Night In-Birth II Sys: Celes. While you can get away with button-mashing, multiplayer fights are intense against more experienced players. It’s incredibly fast-paced to the rhythm of some electrifying rock bangers.

6. Dragon Ball FighterZ

Sure enough, the inputs of Dragon Ball FighterZ are as easy as summation. Plus, you even get auto-combos that make your work a lot easier. But once you start to move around the characters to build the strongest team, and have to manage their complex combos and frenetic speed, it gets a little trickier to master.

5. Skullgirls 2nd Encore

Every one of the 15 playable characters in Skullgirls 2nd Encore has a story. And these are fully voiced and told in a stylish 1920s visual novel art style, with a dark but engaging effect. It’s fun coming up with teams. Plus, you definitely need strategic play to optimize the best moves.

4. Mortal Kombat 11

You know it, Mortal Kombat 11 is a resident on the best fighting games on Nintendo Switch list. It’s the kind of fighting game that you can pick up and play, even with visiting friends who have no clue about where to start. 

It does take more than button-mashing to beat enemies, especially AI that can get pretty aggressive even on easy mode. Unfortunately, the characters aren’t balanced, but that also means you’ll surely find favorites.

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection proves that the hidden treasure of ’90s retro games still exists. It compiles a whopping 13 classic TMNT games in one package, an impressive achievement on its own, complete with new quality of life features like button mapping and multiplayer, both online and local.

Graphically, it might not blow your mind, especially when you’re not a sucker for nostalgia. But most of the games included in the package are inherently fun, with some offering a fair amount of challenge against bosses.

2. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Not all the best fighting games on Nintendo Switch go in-depth with their mechanics. But you’ll find those in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate pretty thorough. It considers precise movement, the ability to cover several meters, and perfect parries. 

You can exploit directional dodges for faster movement, grab enemies to bypass blocks, or make a quick comeback immediately after a shield. It’s a build-up of tiny little tips and tricks you learn over time that eventually culminate in stacking the most KOs and becoming unstoppable at a pro level.

1. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is also impressive for compiling 12 Street Fighter games in one package. These are arcade classics that might otherwise be tough to find on consoles.

Funny enough, the games still maintain their original arcade versions, and as you can imagine, you’ll sweat it out before a solid win. Even without a coin slot, it is still pretty aggressive, with frustrating moments when the AI outright cheats.

Yet, you just can’t replace the joy of arcade gaming. That peak tension when you’re edging to the close of victory. If you can get past some lag issues, you should enjoy the online play option, as well as the walk down memory lane in the impressively detailed museum of the past 30 years of Street Fighter.