WAKU WAKU 7 CHARACTERS

Waku Waku 7 is SUNSOFT's wildly stylized 1996 fighting game for the Neo Geo MVS arcade board, and it's one of the most distinctive 2D brawlers SNK ever helped publish. Big cartoon sprites, exaggerated animation, and chunky special moves give it the energy of a Saturday morning cartoon stuffed into a hardcore six-button fighter.

The seven-character roster ranges from a giant robot named Bonus-kun to a sword-swinging schoolgirl, and the goal is to gather all seven Waku Waku Balls to summon a wish-granting deity. Air-blocking, dash-cancels, and screen-filling super moves give combo players plenty to dig into. Saturn and Wii Virtual Console ports made it more accessible later, but it's still a cult favorite in the SNK arcade catalog and a personality-packed alternative to the era's grimmer fighters.