League of Legends: The Ultimate Fight – Project L Has A Predecessor?

The Soul Fighter Summer Event in League of Legends is right around the corner and many fans hope to find out more about the Project L fighting game currently in development by Riot Games. But did you know there was a League of Legends fighting game before that?

Soul fighter champs header
The Soul Fighter Event isn't the first time League of Legends ventured into the world of fighting games! | © Riot Games

Not long until we can finally witness what this year's League of Legends summer event has to offer! The Soul Fighters and the tournament they are competing in will be the main theme, so it's going to be all about fighting!

Many of us hope that we will get some more info on Project L, a League of Legends fighting game that is currently in development. After all, Riot already revealed we are going to get an in-client fighting game where we can have fun and let off some steam. So fresh news about Project L shouldn't be too far-fetched, right? Well, did you know that Project L isn't even the first League of Legends fighting game?

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The LoL Fighting Game No One Has Heard Of

Of course the headline is a bit of a reach, but if you have actually heard of this game before, you probably know a lot about League of Legends, Riot Games – and Tencent. Riot Games is owned by Tencent, which is a massive Chinese technology and entertainment holding company. As they're based in China, they have a lot of interest in promoting products licensed by Riot Games in China.

One of these products is a game called "League of Legends: The Ultimate Fight". According to online sources, it was released in 2015 and published by M&D. The only platform it was released on was the Monon Color, a Chinese handheld gaming console similar in shape and size to a Game Boy Advance.

Soul Fighter Arena
"League of Legends: The Ultimate Fight" doesn't look as beautiful as this, but it's still quite a curiosity for LoL fans! | © Riot Games

The well-known League of Legends YouTuber and leaker BigBadBear has released a video in which we can see about eight minutes of gameplay. The footage was originally released on David "mamehaze" Haywood's YouTube channel. The game features twelve League of Legends champions, and the first impression is that it looks like a typical, multi-round fighting game.

Given that the game was designed in a nostalgic 16-bit style, many of the featured champions do look a bit different than we're used to. Still, everyone who's played half a dozen rounds of League will recognize the first two opponents featured in BigBadBears showcase – Ezreal and Garen!

The two exchange a few words before their fight, and I'd love to know what they talk about. It's all in Chinese characters! Is there perhaps a conflict between the two because of Ezreal's feelings for Garen's sister Lux? Who knows!

In terms of gameplay, the champs that are shown to have the same characteristics as in League of Legends. Garen spins around with his sword in both hands, while Ezreal shoots bolts of light and Annie summons her teddy bear Tibbers to help her out.

To be honest – it does look a bit rough around the edges, but if this is what we can expect for the in-client game during the Soul Fighter event, I would be intrigued! Aaand I wanna play Project L even more now! What about you?

Lasse Lindner

Lasse is one of EarlyGame's leading experts on League of Legends, covering the game for this website as well as Riftfeed. Playing LoL since 2015, he covers everything from patch notes to esports news for both the English and German sites....