beat 'em ups

[pragmatic insanester]

as in, final fight and streets of rage, NOT street fighter or tekken (-wishes more people understood the term-).

[Johnny_Rock]

I enjoy them in the arcades but im not a fan of the console versions.

[Push Upstairs]

I believe Streets of Rage 2 is the high water mark for the genre.


But thats because when i look for games of this type i always compare them to SOR2

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Heh. I'm actually sort of glad you decided to make a post like this seeing as I'm actually started to look more into the genre having recently acquired copies of Double Dragon II for the PC Engine and Kunio Tachi No Banka. Maybe I'll see some games posted that are worth checking out.

Anywho, to the point. yeah, I enjoy kicking the crap out of goons every now and again in a good beat 'em up game.

[Xexyz]

I enjoy them, but the problem with the genre seems to be that the games were pretty hit or miss. Theyw ere either good, or bad. No real middle ground. Also, the Good/Bad ratio seems to be 50/50, at least from what I've experienced so far. Many of the good ones stayed arcade only.

For every good Streets of Rage, there was a terrible Rival Turf.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I beleive I fall in the "I only play the good ones" section. Not my cup of tea, but some of them are damn fun to play.

[Poofta!]

i love them, not my favorite genre but i really do enjoy those 2d BEUs. i suck real bad at them though, ive never beaten one without cheating... much like schmups.


sega genesis had A LOT of really great BEUs. the SOR series, Seperation Anxiety, Maximum Carnage, Two Crude dudes (hehe that game kicked ass), battletoads, and a handful of others that dont come to mind atm.

[Octane06]

I find beat 'em ups quite fun, though for me they're not the best genre of gaming. I find them to be quite repetative sometimes. However, repetativeness of something fun isn't that bad. I wished that I had played more in the arcades when I was younger and these games more popular. The only beat 'em ups I've played in arcades is The Simpsons and Die Hard Arcade, both of which I greatly enjoyed (though Simpsons seemed quite easy).

[Hammy]

i don't enjoy them 2 player, but i do solo. it's annoying playing doubles on them as the other player usually mucks about and attacks you and it turns into a 1v1 fight anyway.

[pragmatic insanester]

need me to pm you my very outdated (kind of got depressed compiling it) list 'o beus?

btw, i got Gourmet Sentai Barayarou today. -ejacs-

[jajaja]

I voted "my favorite genre!" altho its not my all time favorite , but one of them :) I really like beat em' up games, espesaly with 2 player, but there isnt much that can beat an old Sierra/Lucas Arts adventure game.

[Lothars]

I enjoy them they are really fun games especially final fight and double dragon and the such.

[attilathehun]

Streets Of Rage I-III, Final Fight, Mutation Nation, Die Hard The Arcade, Guardian Heroes, Three Dirty Dwarves, robo army, top hunter, dungeons and dragons collection, golden axe and ninja combat.

[pragmatic insanester]

i'm sure there are quite a few inaccuracies and omissions:

amiga

double dragon
golden axe
sword of honour

cd-i

mutant rampage: bodyslam

tg-16

ane-san (cd)
china warrior
double dragon 2 (cd)
riot zone (cd)
vigilante

pc-fx

kishin doji zenki: vajura fight

n64

batman beyond: return of the joker
fighting force 64

lynx

batman returns
dirty larry: renegade cop
double dragon

gp32

all for princess: deadline
dungeon & guarder

nes

double dragon
double dragon 2: the revenge
double dragon 3
ikari warriors 3: the rescue
kung fu
kung fu 2 (spartan x 2 / famicom only release)
mighty final fight
p.o.w.
renegade
river city ransom
rollergames
target: renegade
teenage mutant ninja turtles 2: the arcade game
teenage mutant ninja turtles 3: the manhattan project
toxic crusaders

gamegear

double dragon
dragon
chicago syndicate
streets of rage
streets of rage 2
surf ninjas

gameboy

blade

c64

axe of rage
bad street brawler
barbarian 2: the dungeon of drax
big trouble in little china
bop'n rumble
chambers of shaolin
chuck norris
double dragon (89)
double dragon (91)
double dragon 2: the revenge
double dragon 3: the rosetta stones
dragon ninja
dynamite dux
fallen angel
fighting warrior
final fight
the guardian angel
hammerfist
hercules: slayer of the damned
international ninja rabbits
jail war
kendo warrior
knuckle busters
kung fu master
last battle
legend of the amazon women
lone wolf - the mirror of death
ninja
the ninja warriors
operation ironhawk
red heat
renegade
renegade 3: the final chapter
shanghai warriors
shao-lin's road
the simpsons
skull and crossbones
street hassle
street warriors
subway vigilante
sword of honour
target renegade
teenage mutant hero turtles
thunder force
time fighter
vilgilante
way of the tiger

neo-geo

burning fight
crossed swords
eightman
legend of success joe
mutant nation
ninja combat
robo army
sengoku
sengoku 2
sengoku 3

snes

alien vs. predator
batman returns
batman forever
captain america and the avengers
captain commando
cliffhanger
combatribes
cutthroat island
brawl brothers
death and return of superman
final fight
final fight 2
final fight 3 (tough)
final fight guy
the king of dragons
knights of the round
last action hero
legend
the ninja warriors
the peacekeepers
pirates of dark water
rival turf
the shadow (unreleased)
sonic blast man
sonic blast man 2
spiderman/venom maximum carnage
spiderman/venom separation anxiety
stone protectors
super double dragon
teenage mutant ninja turtles: turtles in time
wild c.a.t.s.

super famicom

battle zeque den
cb chara wars
cosmo police galivan 2 - arrow of justice
edono kiba
ghost chaser
golden fighter
the great battle 3
gourmet squadron barayarou
iron commando
kamen rider
koryo no mimi
last fighter twin
return of double dragon
rushing beat
rushing beat ran
rushing beat syura
sailor moon
sailor moon r
sengoku densyo
shodai nekketsu kouha kunio-kun
u.f.o. kamen yakisoban
undercover cops

genesis

alien storm
batman returns
batman forever
death and return of superman
dj boy
double dragon
double dragon 2 (import)
double dragon 3
golden axe
golden axe 2
growl
last action hero
mazin saga: mutant fighter
mighty morphin power rangers: the movie
mystic warriors
the punisher
spiderman/venom maximum carnage
spiderman/venom separation anxiety
splatter house 2
splatterhouse 3
streets of rage
streets of rage 2
streets of rage 3
teenage mutant ninja turtles: the hyperstone heist
toxic crusaders

megadrive

bare knuckle
bare knuckle 2
bare knuckle 3
bishojo sensi sailor moon
hokuto no ken
golden axe 3

master system

alien storm
battletoads in battlemaniacs
black belt
double dragon
dynamite dux
golden axe
micheal jackson's moonwalker
my hero
renegade
streets of rage
streets of rage 2
vigilante

saturn

batman forever
crows: the battle action
die hard arcade
dungeons & dragons collection
guardian heroes
nekketsu oyako
tenchi wo kurau 2
three dirty dwarves

playstation

batman forever
captain commando
crisis beat
fighting force
gear fighter denshi
gekido: urban fighters
hokuto no ken: seiki matsukyu seishi densetsu
jackie chan: stuntmaster
mortal kombat: special forces
nekketsu oyako
panzer bandit
perfect weapon
pulirula
ridegear guybrave (one of them?)
tenchi wo kurau 2
zeiram zone

dreamcast

berserk: gut's rage
dynamite cop
soul fighter
zombie's revenge

ps2

beat down: fists of vengeance
the bouncer
charlie's angels
death by degrees
final fight: streetwise
hidden invasion
hokuto no ken (sega ages)
minority report
project altered beast
red star (cancelled?)
rise to honor
teenage mutant ninja turtles
teenage mutant ninja turtles: battle nexus
urban reign
viewtiful joe
viewtiful joe 2

gba

advance guardian heroes
asterix & obelix: bash 'em all!
double dragon advance
final fight one
gekido advance: kintaro's revenge
jackie chan adventures: legend of darkhand
the incredibles
mucha lucha
ripping friends
river city ransom advance
super duper sumos
x-men: reign of apocalypse

arcade

64th street
aaargh
alien vs. predator
arabian fight
arabian magic
armored warriors
asterix
avengers
b. rap boys
bad dudes vs. dragonninja
batman
battle circuit
battletoads
blade master
brute force
bucky o'hare
burning fight
cadilllacs and dinosaurs
captain america and the avengers
captain commando
captain silver
charlie ninja
chrono soldier
the combatribes
crime city
crime fighters
crossed swords
crude buster
d. d. crew
dadandarn
demolish fist
desert assault
die hard arcade
double dragon
double dragon 2
double dragon 3
downtown
dungeon magic
dungeons &dragons: shadow of mystara
dungeons & dragons: tower of doom
dynamite cop
dynamite dux
dynasty wars
eight man
final fight
funky jet
gang wars
gaiapolis
golden axe
golden axe: the revenge of death adder
growl
guardian
guardians of the hood
hachoo!
hook
ikari 3: the rescue
iron horse
jailbreak
karate blazers
kazan
kengo
knights of the round
knights of valour
knights of valour: super heroes
knights of valour 2
knuckle bash
knuckle joe
kung fu
kuri kinton
kyros
the legend of silk road
legend of success joe
legionnare
the lord king
mazin saga
metamorphic drive
micheal jackson's moonwalker
mirai ninja
mister viking
mobile suit gundam: ex revue
mobile suit gundam: final shooting
mobile suit gundam wing
mug smashers
mutant nation
night slashers
ninja baseball batman
ninja clowns
ninja combat
ninja gaiden
the ninja kids
ninja princess
ninja warriors
outlaws of the lost dynasty
p.o.w. prisoners of war
powerpuff girls
the punisher
rastan saga
rastan saga 2
rastan saga 3
the real ghostbusters
renegade
riding fight
riot city
robocop 2
tough turf
s.p.y. project y
samurai-fighter shingen
sengoku
sengoku 2
sengoku 3
silent dragon
the simpsons: arcade
skull & crossbones
slash out
sly spy
sonic blast man
sonic blast man 2
spark man
spiderman
spikeout
splatter house
streets of rage
superman
suprise attack
teenage mutant ninja turtles
teenage mutant ninja turtles: turtles in time
thunderjaws
trio the punch - never forget me
undercover cops
van dyke fantasy
vendetta
vilgilante
violent storm
vs. trojan
warriors of fate
wild west c.o.w. boys of moo mesa
wild fang
wolf fang
zero team
zombie revenge

xbox

spikeout battle street
superman: man of steel

nintendo ds

naruto: saikyou ninja daikesshuu 3

pc

electronic popple
the rage

[jajaja]

Those beat em' up game mentioned for Neo Geo, those arent all for AES are they?

[pragmatic insanester]

not sure, neo geo isn't my forte.

[dreamcaster]

As a general rule, I'm relatively indifferent towards 'beat 'em ups', however I really do love Golden Axe and Streets of Rage II.

[Richter Belmount]

teenage mutant ninja turtles 2 , 3 and 4 :D

[kedawa]

I play the good ones, but the rest are tedious.
When I was a kid, I could one-credit Golden Axe, and I loved SOR and SOR2.

I actually prefer the Bad Dudes style of beat 'em up though, even though it's a largely underdeveloped genre.
Ninja Warriors and its SNES sequel are two of my favourites.

[Dji]

I love them dearly, although I do prefer platformers/run 'n gun/action games most of the time. My favorites are Double Dragon II (NES), Batman Returns (SNES), Double Dragon Advance (GBA) and Return of Double Dragon (SFC... questionable changes were made to it, resulting in the somewhat inferior but still great Super Double Dragon), but I like most of them. It's a shame that so many great arcade ones were never ported to any console. I remember playing mostly beat 'em ups in arcades when I was younger. Now, MAME is my friend. If there is one good thing about emulation, it's that it preserves arcade games which would be pretty much lost forever otherwise. And yes, I do know about PCBs. In fact I have my own arcade cab (MVS), with Mutation Nation among other games... fun times indeed. Now I need to fix the cab, but if I can get it working again I'm looking forward to snatching up Sengoku 3, which also rules.

[TurboGenesis]

I like a good ol' beat em up. Its just that I have to be in a "mood" to play them. My personal favorites be River City Ransom and Guardian Heroes. I also have this preference for the first Streets of Rage. That soundtrack is just awesome and gets you going! That boss music is madness too!

[jajaja]

not sure, neo geo isn't my forte.

Ok, i did alittle research and it seems that most of them did came out for AES :) Good news, but some are expencive (big suprise, its neo geo hehe ;))
Great list tho. Might be getting some more beat em' up for GBA.

[Ed Oscuro]

If you include games like Ninjawarriors Again, it's one of my favorite genres. Undercover Cops, Final Fight, Streets of Rage, Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja...great stuff.

[Fighter17]

Streets of Rage is the best beat 'em up series ever made!


They are really fun with 2 players. ;)

[Ackman]

Great list prag! :D

So what about recent indy beat em up games like Zombie Smashers XX or Age of the beast.

There are a crapload of BOR mods I haven't really tried any of them are any of them any good?

http://borrevolution.vg-network.com/about.html

BOR was alright but I think it is the starting block for something really great Seniles teams new game : Age of the Beast is looking pretty damn hot.


Teaser Trailer

http://www.senileteam.com/forum_read.php?thread=33

[Damon Plus]

River City Ransom is my favourite game and SOR2 was in my top 25 not too long ago. That says it all.

[Zubiac666]

NOTHING(exept Arcade machines) beats the SNES in beat'em ups.
NO,not even the genesis with SoR 1,2,3.

Snes has by far the best collection of beat'em ups of any console:
Super Double Dragon(yeah the sprites may be small and there are slowdowns BUT the lots of awesome moves you can performe and the sound make up for the cons)
Final Fight 2 (2 player mode, overall great beat'em up)
Final Fight 3 (the god under the beat'em ups.HUGE sprites,no slowdowns,many moves and and and....the best ever created IMO)
Legend (sprites which are shoesize "NEOGEO",incredible graphics and sound. best hack'n slash for SNES)
Undercover Cops (almost 1:1 port from the arcade.One of the best easily)
Combatribes (again nearly 1:1 port with unique garphicstyle,LOTS of moves to do and great 2 player mode)
Iron Commando (uses LEGEND's graphic-engine and you see it!Guns,grenades,knives etc etc to grap plus kick ass 2 player mode! This is what punisher for genesis should have been.)
Knights of the round (great port of the arcade game;2nd best snes hack'n slash)
Sonic Blastman (one player only but really ridiculous moves to do.Lots of fun)
Sonic Blastman 2 (this time with 2 player mode....yay)
Battle Zeque Den (jap only beat'em up)
Brawl Brothers (sequel to the aweful Rival Turf and this time it is very good)
Last Fighter Twin(jap only with cute anime-graphics)
Batman Returns (absolutly the best for lonely gamers: Sadly 1player only.Throw your opponents through windows. Oh and I remember just one arcade game which has huger sprites than the batman returns ones: Arabian Magic)
Turtles 4 - Turtles in Time (even better than the arcade)
Rushing Beat (great "classic" beat'em up with 2 player mode)
Stone Protectors (totaly overseen and underrated beat'em up....a must "check-it-out")
Shin Nekketsu Kouha-Kunio tachi no banka (just think of "river City Ransom" for SNES)
....
...
..
.
:smash:

[pragmatic insanester]

man. i need to find Iron Commando. i ALMOST won it on ebay the only time i saw it. i stupidly assumed that nobody knew what it was, so i only had a max bid of like $40. -sigh-

[50s Brawler]

Rather than start a new thread I actually used the "Search" function and found this poll/thread. Only one way for me to vote really, and that is that "it's my favorite genre!" For me River City Ransom, Bare Knuckle II, Final Fight, Double Dragon, Crime Fighters, Crime Fighters 2: Vendetta, Rushing Beat, Ane-San (Sister) and Crude Buster are my all time faves. Don't mean to upset anyone Bumping such an old thread, but like I said... I didn't see the point in starting a new thread covering the same material and/or question.

Beat 'em Ups for life! :guitar:

[goemon]

Gourmet Squadron Barayarou is probably my favorite. I love that robot chef that cooks your food between levels. I'm working on an animated avatar of him to replace my salaryman. DI~~~NNER TIME!

[Arasoi]

I love beat em ups! Especially obscure ones, like Night Slashers, and Denjin Makai 2.

Does Metamoquesters count? Great game.

[Iron Draggon]

the original Final Fight is the greatest BEU of all time, IMO... I lovingly refer to it as "Butch Man Attacks the Whole City"... it's one of the gayest video games of all time too... it's literally overflowing with gay innuendo, if you're gay enough to catch it all... especially the part where you're cruising all the tea rooms in the park... I mean the part where all the guys come at you from out of the restrooms... God is that part ever gay... those guys are practically sucking each other's dicks in the background, and most people who play it are completely oblivious to what that scene is really suggesting... it's hilarious

[theshizzle3000]

They are very fun in the sense of multiplayer games.