The Rumble Fish 2 originally released in 2005, but how does this latest edition hold up? J.J. explains that even twenty years later this is still terrific arcade fighting.
I never played The Rumble Fish nor its sequel before getting this code. I’m a huge fighting game guy and it’s not like I skipped it for any particular reason, I just never got around to it. I have now jumped into the sequel game and can say that it is in fact really good fighting with some unique twists on classic fighter mechanics.
The game is really freeform with its combo system, and uses a guage system for both offense and defense to unleash combos. The game really, genuinely feels solid as hell and I can say earnestly that this is a truly overlooked fighter that deserves its chance to shine. And as I wrap things up a little bit here I think I need to mention that the animation in this is so very cool. The limbs are animated individually, giving the game a style we don’t see in the industry. It looks like a high quality Flash project in a complimentary way.
The Rumble Fish 2 holds up really well, and with some new additions (Team Battle, Crossplay, Rollback Netcode and lobbies) this is a 20 year old game that feels like it was made for today’s fighting fans.
This review is based on a Switch 2 eShop code sent to SideQuesting by the publisher. Images and video courtesy publisher. This video first appeared on The SideQuest for January 30, 2026.
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