Outside of fighting and sports games, martial arts rarely serve as the foundation for combat, especially in RPGs. Some standout action titles like Sleeping Dogs, Sifu, or Lost Judgment offer spectacular and deep skill-based combat systems built around kung fu-style battles, but more often than not, martial arts remain just an optional layer or an underutilized way to fight in a game that still mostly relies on weapons, spells, and other classic gaming pillars.

That said, the relatively narrow niche of martial arts-focused RPGs still features some must-play titles that balance spectacular hand-to-hand combat with a satisfying RPG experience and lots to do outside of fighting. For today’s selection, the clear focus is on games where martial arts are pretty much your main arsenal, so it’s all about mastering spectacular moves and enjoying smooth animations.

Given our main criteria, I exclude RPGs where hand-to-hand martial arts are only a minor layer (like in wuxia games), as well as martial arts-focused RPGs with tactical or turn-based combat that doesn’t really fulfill the promise of dynamic, spectacularly animated fights.

At first, I almost included Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth here, but it didn’t seem right. Sure, Kiryu’s Dragon of Dojima job with three distinct fighting styles is exactly that, but it’s just one job in a game with far too many different combat styles to call it martial arts-focused overall. Other Ryu Ga Gotoku games like Yakuza 0 and Lost Judgment (with its neat Crane, Tiger, and Snake styles) are definitely stronger for the martial arts angle, but calling them RPGs, unlike the later series entries, is a huge stretch.

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