Everybody's Making a '90s Fighting Game, but Where Are the Original Characters?

By: Knux456 | November 10th, 2026 | Tuesday 2:30AM EST

The '90s arcade fighting scene is making an unexpected comeback, and this time, independent developers are bringing some familiar faces into the ring. But while everybody's celebrating the nostalgia, I have one question: Where's the originality?

Growing up in the '90s, fighting games were a big deal. Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, and The King of Fighters weren't just games. They were experiences. You learned the characters, mastered their moves, argued over who was the best, and occasionally accused your friends of cheating when they beat you with the same move twelve times in a row.

Good times, now, decades later, I'm watching independent developers recreate that energy with characters straight out of the television shows and hip-hop culture we grew up on.

I won't lie. Some of these projects look pretty damn good.

But the more of them I see, the more I wonder whether we're witnessing a creative revival or just another way to cash in on nostalgia.

From the Living Room to the Fighting Arena

One of the projects that initially caught my attention was Martin: No Filter Fighters, created by developer Trey2k23. If you grew up watching Martin, you already understand why this concept caught fire. Putting Martin, Sheneneh, Dragonfly Jones, Jerome, and the rest of that dysfunctional crew into an arcade fighter is ridiculous in exactly the right way.

Dragonfly Jones throwing hands? Come on, man. 😂

What started as a fan-made concept has expanded into a much larger project, with additional fighters, unique moves, multiple stages, and different gameplay modes.

That's what deserves recognition. Somebody actually put in the work to turn a funny idea into something people can play.

Then there's Boondocks Brawl, another fan-made fighting game bringing characters like Huey, Riley, and Granddad into the arena. The show's combination of martial arts, exaggerated action, and outrageous personalities makes it a natural fit for a fighting game.

Add Rap Fighter from Smear Frame Studios, featuring hip-hop-inspired fighters and flashy arcade combat, and suddenly there's a noticeable pattern.

Different creators. Different inspirations. Similar approaches to attracting an audience.

They're bringing familiar culture into a genre that many of us grew up loving.

I understand the appeal.

Nostalgia Gets You Through the Door. What Keeps You Playing?

Here's where my skepticism comes in. When you see a fighting game featuring Martin Lawrence's characters, you're already interested before you've seen how the game actually plays. You recognize the faces. You know the jokes. You remember the episodes. Half the entertainment comes from imagining these personalities fighting each other.

Suppose that same developer released the exact same game with a completely original roster. Same animation. Same mechanics. Same stages. Same amount of work. Would the internet give it the same attention? That's the question I keep coming back to. I'm not suggesting these developers lack talent. The fact that they're building playable games independently tells me they have the creativity and determination to produce something worthwhile.

What I'm questioning is whether the audience is responding to the game itself or the familiarity of its characters. There's a difference between a game being interesting because of what it does and a game being interesting because of who's in it. The real test comes after the novelty wears off.

Are the controls responsive? Is the combat balanced? Do the characters feel different? Is there enough depth to make somebody want another match?

Recognizing Sheneneh might make me download a game, but it won't necessarily make me play it six months later.

Remember When Fighting Games Introduced Us to Characters?

Something else I've been thinking about is how the biggest fighting franchises developed their identities. Nobody knew who Scorpion or Sub-Zero was before Mortal Kombat. Ryu and Chun-Li weren't household names before Street Fighter established them. Those characters became recognizable because players connected with the games. They had distinct appearances, personalities, abilities, and fighting styles. Over time, they became cultural icons.

That's what I would love to see more independent developers attempt. Create a fighter inspired by the attitude of '90s sitcoms without borrowing an actual sitcom character. Develop a roster influenced by hip-hop culture without needing recognizable rappers. Build something that captures the energy of The Boondocks while introducing an entirely new world. You can celebrate the culture without having to recreate its existing characters.

Before somebody misunderstands me, originality doesn't mean inventing a genre nobody has ever seen before. Every game takes inspiration from something.

It's what you do with that inspiration that matters.

There's Also the Ownership Problem

Here's another issue that deserves some attention. When you're creating a game around characters owned by television networks, entertainment companies, or recording artists, you're building something on intellectual property that isn't yours. Even when the game is completely free.

A fan project being noncommercial doesn't automatically protect it from copyright or trademark complaints. The owners of those characters may have the right to challenge how their properties are being used. That doesn't mean every fan game is destined for a takedown. But the possibility is real, and it can become a serious problem when a developer has invested months or years into a project.

Imagine spending all that time designing animations, programming mechanics, creating stages, and building a community, only to discover that you can't freely publish or commercially expand the finished product. That's a tough position for any developer.

With original characters, you have the opportunity to build something you actually own. Something that could grow into sequels, merchandise, new stories, and perhaps an entire franchise. Of course, original development brings its own challenges. Getting people interested in unfamiliar characters isn't easy, but that's also where the opportunity lies.

I Want These Developers to Win

I think that's the part people might misunderstand about my argument. I'm not rooting against these games. I'm impressed that independent creators are taking ideas that major studios probably wouldn't touch and making them playable. That's the kind of creativity gaming needs. Fan projects have always been part of gaming culture. Sometimes they're a celebration of something people love. Other times they're an opportunity for developers to practice, experiment, and build an audience.

There's value in all of that, but when I see what these creators are capable of producing, I can't help wondering what they could accomplish if they put that same energy into characters and worlds of their own. The mechanics are already being developed. The artistic talent is there. The ambition is obvious. I'd love to see that creativity produce the next memorable fighting-game character instead of another familiar face from a television screen.

Maybe that original character won't attract millions of views overnight, people won't recognize them immediately. Every legendary gaming character started as somebody nobody knew. The real accomplishment isn't just making us remember characters we already love. It's creating new ones we'll remember twenty years from now.

The Gamerhood's Final Word

The resurgence of these arcade-style fan games is exciting. It's proof that the passion for classic fighting games hasn't disappeared, and that smaller developers can still capture people's attention without a massive studio behind them. Martin: No Filter Fighters, Boondocks Brawl, and Rap Fighter each show how much creative potential exists outside mainstream development.

Hey I'm here for it. I just don't want originality to get lost in the excitement of seeing our childhood favorites throw punches. Nostalgia like this can introduce an audience to your game. Originality can give that game an identity of its own. If these developers are already talented enough to bring somebody else's characters to life, imagine what happens when they create characters the rest of the world hasn't met yet.

Now I want to hear from The Gamerhood.

Would you be just as interested in these fighting games if they featured completely original characters? Or is seeing familiar faces from your favorite shows and hip-hop culture the whole reason you're excited?

Drop your thoughts in the comments or join the conversation in our Discord.

Keep On Gaming!

— Knux456 | TheGamerhood