4 Worst Fighting Game DLC Characters That Weren’t Worth The Extra Price

There are plenty of Fighting Games with lackluster DLC, with extra characters not always living up to the hype of a title’s roster expanding. Any DLC fighter is usually a way for a game’s developer to get experimental with their title’s mechanics and systems, creating something unique that helps keep audiences interested. Yet, there are some characters that actively harm the reputation of a fighting game due to being weak, strange, or downright odd, to the point where their presence marks the beginning of the end of a title’s life cycle.

Nowadays, fighting games tend to release waves of DLC characters in seasonal content packages, with titles like Street Fighter 6 and Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls have yearly passes with multiple new fighters each. In the past, other games in the genre introduced their DLC far faster, sometimes before the main product even launched to the disappointment of fans. Some DLC characters can also lack substance compared to fighters who were clearly designed to excite players, representing something that gets labeled as bland and forgotten fast.

4. On-Disc Fighters – Street Fighter x Tekken

Street Fighter x Tekken was a game steeped in controversies, from its gameplay systems to how it represented the worst of Capcom’s business practices at the time. The biggest flaw of this game may have been visually seen through the bad box art Mega Man, one of the worst guest characters in any fighting game. However, Mega Man was a free DLC fighter, but players had to pay for around 12 more through downloadable content that never should have been locked behind a pay wall. Also known as the “on-disc DLC” problem, Street Fighter x Tekken charged $20 for fighters who should’ve been in the main game.

These 12 DLC characters were pre-loaded onto the retail disc for Street Fighter x Tekken for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions of the game, meaning they were already on the roster. However, Capcom locked these fighters behind the retail disc spaces only, meaning that core content for the game was put behind a pay wall from the moment it launched. Some of these fighters included fan-favorites from both sides of Street Fighter and Tekken, including figures like:

• Blanka
• Cody
• Dudley
• Elena
• Guy
• Sakura
• Alisa Bosconovitch
• Bryan Fury
• Christie Monteiro
• Jack
• Lars Alexandersson
• Lei Wulong

Players who bought the game digitally wouldn’t be able to access any of these characters, at least not until Capcom offered them for a $20 bundle after extreme backlash. This DLC was almost paid premium content for a specific audience Street Fighter x Tekken, but these characters were never worth an additional price when they weren’t anything special compared to the rest of the cast. In truth, these were characters who should’ve been in the game by default, instead of special DLC fighters who would enhance the game in some way. For that reason, players having to pay for essentially the “true” roster of the game made this DLC practice never seen again in fighting games.

3. Anre – Granblue Fantasy Versus

Granblue Fantasy Versus has been receiving DLC characters for quite a long time, even after the game rebranded to Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising back in 2023. The game has largely been praised for its integration of DLC, adding fan-favorite characters from the popular gacha title the fighting game is based on. Some guests like 2B from Nier: Automata have also been good choices, but the game hasn’t always nailed its DLC additions, especially when it was in its early stages. The best example of this comes from Anre, a DLC fighter who came to the original Granblue Fantasy Versus in 2021.

Anre was one of the least popular characters in the gacha series, despite their status as a powerful character in the game’s lore and unique mustached design. Wielding a spear, Anre came into the game when players were defending it the most during a rough time in its life cycle, making players more optimistic about how the character could become interesting through innovative gameplay. However, this wasn’t the case, as Anre was heavily criticized for being not only super weak in Granblue Fantasy Versus, but also uninspired through a gameplay perspective.

Anre’s attacks were a mixture of simple spear stabs and predictable movements, possessing none of the “wow” factor of some other characters in the game. Compared to the flashy techniques and satisfying abilities of various fighters in Granblue Fantasy Versus, Anre felt watered down. Anre only had a simple parry system through his unique attack input, but over reliance on that skill made the character appear too generic and lacking a deeper play style. To this day, people believe a better person from the gacha game’s extensive list of beloved characters would have been worth paying for as DLC over Anre.

2. Master Roshi – Dragon Ball FighterZ

There have been plenty of DLC characters for Dragon Ball FighterZ that players have taken issue with over the game’s life cycle, with fighters like GT Goku and Android 21 (Lab Coat) being totally overpowered when released. Yet, every player downloaded those characters to get a leg up in the game’s meta, turning one of the easier fighting games to start into a constant battle against familiar characters. While Android 21 (Lab Coat) is certainly a contender for the worst DLC fighter in that game, Master Roshi is arguably a poorer choice for how insignificant he is in the roster.

Master Roshi is the only character in Dragon Ball FighterZ who doesn’t have access to the same tools as everyone else, such as a traditional Super Dash or hovering flight mechanics. Instead, Master Roshi is an extremely technical specialist whose power is often dwarfed by other DLC fighters like SS4 Blue Vegito or Gogeta. Although dedicated players can bring out Roshi’s full potential, he is often seen as a niche or joke pick in battles rather than an opponent for players to take seriously. In many cases, you could download all the other DLC for Dragon Ball FighterZ and never notice you don’t have Roshi, since he is barely used.

1. The Terminator – Mortal Kombat 11

By far one of the worst DLC characters whose high price wasn’t worth paying was The Terminator for Mortal Kombat 11, as they felt like a false promise. Announced as the first guest character for the fighting game, The Terminator was meant to be a big deal, representing a long line of stellar DLC guests from Mortal Kombat‘s history. While the Alien and Predator highlighted Mortal Kombat X, The Terminator was an action/horror character who was set to fit right into the world of the series dominated by blood and gore. That being said, The Terminator was a shell of their futuristic robotic self when added to the game.

For starters, The Terminator’s moves were stiff, clunky, and very uninspired compared to the over-the-top nature of past guest fighters. The character barely used anything other than its basic shotgun, with more interesting moves locked behind limited variations. Some of The Terminator’s most unique skills were banned completely online, such as its ability to burn away its flesh and become the horrifying T-800 robot from the first movie. Even when The Terminator was able to do this more often in future Mortal Kombat 11 updates, their best visual moves functioned poorly in gameplay, leading to an unsatisfying fighting game character.

The Terminator also sounded strange, with its voice actor doing a subpar Arnold Schwarzenegger impression that added to the character’s uncanny depiction. To developer NetherRealm Studios’ credit, future guest characters in MK11 like Robocop and Rambo were done much better, but The Terminator was still missing plenty of parts. Mortal Kombat 1 would rectify this mistake further with an exciting and accurate integration of the T-1000 Terminator, but the first attempt still makes for one of the most underwhelming DLC characters in a fighting game to date.

Who is your least favorite fighting game DLC character? Let us know in the comments below!