When Street Fighter II arrived in the arcades in 1991, it dragged the fighting game genre into the mainstream. It would soon be followed by the bloody & violent Mortal Kombat, and the tag team-based combat of the King of Fighters series. Coins were spent in arcades all across the world, as players fought against each to prove that they are the best at fighting games.

After a slump in interest during the 32 bit generation, the fighting game genre bounced back into popularity with the advent of online console gaming, and the increased importance of competitive gaming events. Tournaments that run Super Smash Bros. events are a big deal now, with a lot of money on the line. As with all competitive games, players will look for any sort of advantage to win. The way they do this in fighting games is simple... not all characters are created equal.

We are here today to separate the Ryus from the Rugels, the balanced from the overpowered. Every fighting game has its equivalent to Oddjob from Goldeneye 007, and we're going to single all of them out. From the leader of the X-Men, to Kirby's masked rival, here are the 15 Most Unfairly Overpowered Fighting Game Characters.

15. Cyclops - X-Men Vs. Street Fighter

When X-Men vs. Street Fighter was released in 1996, fans were awestruck by the concept of mixing Marvel Comic's most popular superhero team with the cast of the greatest fighting game of all time. It also had the gameplay to back it up, even if the single player was incredibly difficult (it was built for you to keep putting coins in, after all).

The game's character roster has eight X-Men characters (both heroes and villains), and nine Street Fighter characters. One of the X-Men spots went to Cyclops, despite there being a massive pool of characters to choose from. While Cyclops is an important character in the comics, he isn't really fighting game material. His power involves shooting beams of energy from his eyes, but he is otherwise a normal dude.

The issue of having ranged attacks in a 2D fighting game has come up in many games over the years. One of the most notorious examples of this is in Marvel vs Capcom 2, where you can plays as Cable, Iron Man or War Machine, and just fill the screen with projectiles. Not only does Cyclops have an easy to perform ranged attack that is both powerful and easy to spam, he also possesses an infinite air combo.

14. Eddie - Guilty Gear XX# Reload

The Guilty Gear series started in 1998, long after the initial fighting game boom had died down. The series is known for its incredible sprite art, character design and tight gameplay. While it does not have the name recognition of a Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, the series has spawned its own competitive scene of fans who love its retro arcade style.

One of the characters that appears in the series is Eddie, a man who gave up his eyesight for the ability to control shadows. He is named after Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie the Head. Due to his shadow manipulation powers, Eddie fights by literally making shadows rise up and attack his opponents. He can shroud himself in shadow matter, and become a gargoyle like monster.

Despite the series being known for its technical balance, Eddie is regarded by fans as being unfairly powerful in Guilty Gear XX# Reload. His damage output, combined with the large number of his attacks that are unblockable, make him almost impossible to stop once he goes on the offensive.

13. Pikachu - Super Smash Bros.

The Super Smash Bros. series was not considered a competitive fighting game until the release of the 2nd title, Super Smash Bros. Melee. The original Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64 was considered to be more of a casual party game. The established rules used by players (not using items, playing on Final Destination) weren't laid down yet, and the game rarely sees play at competitive video game tournaments today (whereas Melee is still as popular as ever).

Despite not being as well-regarded as its sequels, Super Smash Bros. is still seen at casual events where Nintendo 64 games are played. As such, fans have created a tier list of characters, and sitting at the top is the popular yellow rat himself - the Pokémon Pikachu.

Super Smash Bros. is generally meant to be a party game that uses four players, this means that Pikachu's advantages as a character generally get ignored in the chaos of a multiplayer battle. When it's one-on-one, however, his strengths become obvious. He is the fastest character in the game, coupled with high attack power, a selection of projectile attacks, and his Quick Attack ability granting brief invincibility, allowed easy escape from enemy attacks.

12. Armor Ralf - KOF: Maximum Impact 2

It's rare that a character is so powerful that he needs to be taken out of a game entirely. This was the case with Armor Ralf in KOF: Maximum Impact 2, as he was purposely designed to break the game's balance.

SNK is a video game & hardware developer that is known for its various fighting game series. Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and King of Fighters are their best known franchises. The King of Fighters series has long been a staple of fighting game tournaments, and has officially crossed over with Capcom on several occasions. The SNK games have always been accused of ripping off Street Fighter, so much so that the joke character of Dan Hibiki (who first appeared in Street Fighter Alpha) is a direct parody of Robert Garcia and Ryo Sakazaki from the Art of Fighting games.

One of the recurring characters in King of Fighters is Ralf Jones, who originally appeared in the shooting game Ikari Warriors and the Metal Slug series. Ralf has always been a popular character, but the alternate version of him introduced in KOF: Maximum Impact 2 quickly turned fans sour. Armor Ralf was designed specifically to be overpowered. While he lacks the ability to block, he is completely immune to throws. Due to his overpowering strength, high defence, and the fact that even his taunts do damage - a fan outcry resulted. He was removed from the games updated rerelease, KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation A. 

11. Phoenix & Dark Phoenix - Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

The Marvel vs. Capcom series isn't exactly known for it's balance, nor for having a characters' in-game strength be related to their strength from the source material. In no other game would a character like Phoenix Wright last five seconds against the Hulk. Relative strength is not something that comes into play when choosing characters for this series, otherwise we would never have seen an appearance of the Dark Phoenix from X-Men - a character with the power to destroy reality itself.

In Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (and it's updated rerelease, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3), Jean Grey from the X-Men makes an appearance as a playable character. Unlike her regular appearance, where she is a mutant with the powers of telepathy and telekinesis, this version of Jean Grey has been possessed by the Phoenix Force - the guardian spirit of the universe. She is one of the most powerful, and feared, beings in all of Marvel comics.

As a fighting game character, the Phoenix might initially seem weak. While she has lower health and defence than most characters, she has the ability to heal herself with her "Healing Field" Hyper Combo. Once her Hyper Combo bar is full, and her lifebar runs out, Phoenix turns into the Dark Phoenix. She gets a whole new health bar (that slowly drains), and her attacks become much stronger. When in Dark Phoenix form, she becomes one of the most fearsome characters in the game.

10. Bob - Tekken 6

When you see a fat guy in a fighting game, they are usually Sumo wrestlers or bikers. They are usually slow and powerful fighters that generally don't see much competitive play. The one big exception to this is Bob from Tekken 6, a character known for his high speed and agility.

According to his backstory, Bob was a fighting champion that won battles with his unbeatable speed. He lacked the strength to back it up, however, and decided to bulk up. He ended up putting on a lot of weight, and his opponents no longer took him seriously. He only entered the Iron Fist Tournament in order to earn some respect, and show that he is still a swift fighter.

Despite his big size, Bob is one of the fastest Tekken characters, whose mastery of Freestyle Karate allows him to quickly chain combos together. Unlike most other fast characters, Bob also has the strength to back it up. He is a character of pure offensive, with his only weakness being his large size giving opponents an easier time hitting him.

9. Kat & Dusty - PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale

Is it any surprise that the best character is PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale is a DLC one that you have to pay for?

Kat is the main character from Gravity Rush, a PlayStation Vita/PlayStation 4 title based around manipulating gravity. Dusty is her feline sidekick. The two were released as DLC characters for PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale on February 12th, 2013. They took their place among some of the most recognizable characters in gaming, like PaRappa the Rapper and Sweet Tooth.

The reason that Kat & Dusty are so powerful is due to their omni-directional air movement. As expected, Kat's moveset revolves around gravity. Along with her high speed, many of Kat's attacks send her up into the air afterwards, meaning that the opponent cannot counterattack. Her jumping dash also allows her to move from one side of the arena to the other in a flash. She is the queen of stick & move - damaging the opponent and being gone before they knew what hit them.

8. Fox McCloud - Super Smash Bros. Melee

When Super Smash Bros. Melee was released on the GameCube in 2001, it changed the series from a fanservice filled party game, to a highly technical fighting game, that is still played heavily to this day. Melee has been a staple of fighting game tournaments since its release, and only those who are willing to learn the technical intricacies of the game need apply.

While Fox McCloud (of Star Fox fame) was a powerful character in the original Super Smash Bros., his appearance in Melee rocketed him to the top of the tier list. His speed, coupled with an amazing array of attacks, make him the most feared characters in the series. While he is often considered the hardest character to master, many players have won tournaments and prize money using a well-played Fox.

Watching a high-level Melee match will reveal just how fast the game moves. A large part of the technical aspect of the game revolves around precise button presses that allow you to cancel out of moves or extend their invincibility frames. As Fox is a naturally fast character with a range of swift attacks (both close and ranged), he is the character who can best take advantage of the quick pace of gameplay.

7. Pet Shop - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a long running manga series that has been in publication since 1987. The series follows the of a family across different generations, whose first and last names begin with the letters "Jo". The first story arc was set in Victorian England, and followed Jonathan Joestar, whilst the second was set in America during World War II, and followed Joseph Joestar, and so on.

The series received a popular fighting game that was based on the third major story arc, "Stardust Crusaders", that followed Jotaro Joestar in contemporary (for the eighties) Japan. Stardust Crusaders is often regarded as the best story arc of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and is credited with bringing mainstream popularity to the series. One of the reasons that Stardust Crusaders became so popular was due to its introduction of "Stands", that are powerful magic spirits that can be called upon by their .

In the fighting game Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future, the most powerful character is Pet Shop (named after the British band, the Pet Shop Boys). Pet Shop is a falcon, that is empowered by his Stand based off of the god, Horus, that grants ice based abilities. The reason Pet Shop is so powerful is because of his small size (making him difficult to hit), coupled with his array of ranged attacks. It is very easy for Pet Shop players to just spam the opponent with ice attacks, and it is possible to pull off an infinite combo.

6. Gill - Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact

Between the genre-defining release of Street Fighter II and the series reviving Street Fighter IV, there existed several other games based around Street Fighter III. If you ignore the 3D Street Fighter games (which most fans do), Street Fighter III: New Generation is the true successor to Street Fighter II. It was a highly technical game, and a welcome addition to the franchise.

The final boss of Street Fighter III: New Generation was Gill, a man who looks like Fabio if he became a 3D-themed superhero. The red & blue sides of his body aren't just for show either, they reflect his ability to control both fire and ice. He was first playable in the home console port of Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact. 

Along with being a fighting skills, Gill is considered the most overpowered character in Street Fighter III for another reason - his super art "Resurrection". If Gill is defeated while his Super Combo meter is full, he will be brought back to life. His health will slowly fill, giving the opponent a chance to stop the move before he heals a whole health bar, but the invincibility frames at the start of the move will guarantee some of his health will come back.