20 More Cult Classics Trapped On Old Consoles

19. Def Jam: Fight For New York

Standing out as one of the most confident and unlikely fusions of hip-hop culture and fighting game design, it’s baffling that we haven’t seen a port of Def Jam: Fight for New York to modern consoles. 

Many people bring this one up when thinking about older fighting games, and it’s not hard to see why. The combination of street fighting and everyone’s favourite hip hop icons, such as Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, Ludacris and Sean Paul, is a tantalising prospect that stands the test of time. While the uniqueness of its premise certainly contributes to its cult classic status, it would be considered a gimmick if the gameplay didn’t also hold up, but thankfully this isn’t the case. 

The combat experience is excellent, and the story mode lets players carve their own path through the New York Underground, with overall a nice sense of progression to the gameplay. While the game released on Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox hardware in 2004, sadly it’s impossible to play this one on modern consoles without emulation. Here’s hoping a remaster or even a port makes its way to current generation hardware at some point in the near future.