-Soul Calibur II
Elegant, beginner friendly control scheme, high damage per hit, and parry mechanic makes every round a tense, deadly dance at all skill levels. Plus, weapon master mode is a really fun use of the game mechanics by letting you change your weapon stats and forcing you to adapt to different conditions.
-Guilty Gear Strive
Stylish, heavy metal inspired anime action with bombastic characters, Arc System's signature 3D-imitating-anime animation techniques, and combat that is both technically satisfying and accessible.
-Street Fighter VI
A true evolution of IV with the Drive system encouraging dynamic offense. Smooth animations, familiar controls, and hip hop inspired art direction stay true to Street Fighter's roots while letting this game stand on it's own. The single player mode is also a blast, letting you mix and match techniques you learn from other characters and even pit avatars against each other online. The biggest drawback is the smallish roster of characters.
-Blazblue: Central Fiction
Over the top anime action embodied in fighting game form, with rediculous combos, blazing fast pace, a story mode with branching visual novel scenes between fights, and absolutely stunning hand drawn HD sprites and animations. Wish they would have brought back the dub voices for this one.
-Def Jam: Fight for NY
Hip hop style and surprisingly deep hand to hand and wrestling mechanics. Quite silly, yet oddly tactical as no move is truly safe from being reversed and punished.
-Street Fighter Alpha 3
I know it's unbalanced. I don't give a shit. The animations are gorgeous, the roster is varied especially with isms factored in, and the combo potential is fucking hilarious.
-Honorable Mention: M.U.G.E.N
You can make your own 2D fighter with this engine, either from scratch or by dropping in assets made by others. Drop in some files, change some words in some text files, and PRESTO Ronald McDonald can now punch Akuma in the nuts!