Let’s be honest: fighting games are, by their very nature, built on the foundation of physical violence. It’s hard to escape the brutality when the entire goal is to beat your opponent into submission. While tournament-style matches might be considered 'sporting,' plenty of these games revolve around life-or-death struggles where the loser doesn't just lose a round—they flatline. Violence is rarely a hallmark of kindness, but in the heat of a duel, one can usually justify even the most gruesome techniques as a matter of survival.

However, there are those rare, chilling instances that make you stop and think, 'Do these characters even have a shred of humanity left?' We are talking about techniques so wicked they involve grinding up innocent bystanders, using loyal allies as literal meat shields, or treating one's own existence as a disposable commodity. Watching these moments unfold is enough to make any decent person’s skin crawl. Here are the fighting game characters who have ditched their conscience, showing neither blood nor tears.

The GHA (Great Heat Attack) for Funny Valentine in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R is titled 'Filthy Acts Done Dirt Cheap.' On paper, it’s a tactical maneuver: you expend your HH gauge, lose access to all techniques, and toss away your 'corpse parts'—but in exchange, you recover all your health. If you are near the time limit and playing it safe, this can be a sneaky way to win via a health-percentage victory.

The mechanics, however, are utterly grotesque. You take your battered body, hop over to a parallel dimension, drag in a fresh version of yourself who is perfectly fine, and overwrite their memories and Stand with your own to keep the fight going. The original body is left to rot on the floor, dying in isolation. Of course, that original body was likely just another version of yourself dragged from yet another timeline. Treating 'yourself' like a printer ink cartridge that needs swapping is quite the disturbing spectacle. I suppose if the participants are satisfied, who are we to judge?

Working at the Wright Anything Agency is an extreme sport. Maya Fey is technically a spirit medium, but as the de facto deputy head of the office, she handles all the grunt work, which inevitably leads to her being framed, arrested, kidnapped, held hostage, or threatened with death. While these occurrences in the main series are just unfortunate side effects of solving cases, the abuse she endures in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is nothing short of criminal.

In this game, Phoenix Wright spends the entire round rummaging through the floor looking for evidence. Meanwhile, it’s mostly Maya Fey who takes the heat, shielding him from devastating bombardments by cosmic-level threats like Hulk, Akuma, Spider-Man, Iron Man, or Dante. She’s the one jumping out, trembling as she deploys spirit barriers to deflect world-ending attacks, sliding under enemy fire, and reluctantly throwing out 'pats' to defend her employer. Meanwhile, our deadbeat boss(?) Phoenix Wright strolls around in the background. Seeing her get flattened by a planet-destroying attack from Galactus, only to be summoned back with a single button press, is truly heart-wrenching.

Omni-Man, the Viltrumite who has viewed humanity as mere ants since his comic book debut, brings his sociopathic cruelty to Mortal Kombat 1 in full force. His Fatality, where he drags the opponent into a subway station, is a masterclass in moral bankruptcy. Forcing the opponent onto the tracks as a train barrels toward them—tearing the opponent to shreds in the process—is standard fare for Mortal Kombat, I suppose.

But what about the dozens of innocent commuters on that train? These bystanders have nothing to do with the conflict, yet they meet a horrific end on their way home. Using dozens of innocent lives as collateral damage just to finish off one opponent is beyond cruel. The juxtaposition of Omni-Man’s cold, indifferent expression with the screams of the passengers is enough to unsettle even the most hardened player. These are perhaps the most unjustly victimized casualties in gaming history.

Rosalina is the beloved mascot of the cosmos, the gentle 'mother' to the chirpy, smiling baby stars known as Luma. But the moment she steps onto the battlefield, that maternal instinct is effectively put on ice. Using her unique 'Luma Shot' ability, she kicks these small, harmless creatures into the heart of the fray. Worse, whenever a powerful Smash attack or grab comes her way, she uses the Luma as a literal meat shield to soak up the damage.

Despite this, the Luma trusts Rosalina completely, only to be met with constant 'child abuse.' When they are blasted off-screen, screaming as they vanish, a fresh Luma is simply 'reloaded' after a short cooldown. Players commit these acts without a shred of remorse, all while Rosalina maintains that serene, maternal smile.

Dragon Ball has plenty of tear-jerking moments, but the self-sacrifice of Chiaotzu during the Saiyan Saga remains iconic. Despite working hard to prepare for the Saiyan invasion, Chiaotzu lacked the raw talent to make a significant impact. To save Tien Shinhan from peril, Chiaotzu snuck up on Nappa and detonated in a massive suicide attack. Given that Chiaotzu had already been revived by the Dragon Balls once, this was a permanent goodbye. The teary-eyed 'Goodbye, Tien...' remains a classic, heartbreaking scene.

However, this scene was twisted into something horrific in the fighting game Dragon Ball FighterZ. Here, Tien Shinhan can use 'Goodbye, Tien...' as an ultimate move. Chiaotzu pops out of nowhere to self-destruct along with the opponent. The game forces the player—driven by the thirst for victory—to replicate this noble sacrifice on command. Watching a friend used as a disposable bomb just to squeeze out some extra damage numbers makes me want to ask the developers: 'Do you have no heart?!'