Best Beat Em Up Games Nes

ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase nosotros may earn a committee. Acquire more

Best beat 'em up games: 20 greatest side-scrolling classics

Wanna fight about information technology?

There have been many unforgettable beat 'em up experiences over the twelvemonth, treating players to the opportunity to slam and smack their way through hordes of villains - or ruin a perfectly good friendship.

In gild to prove our appreciation for the genre, we've decided to put together a listing of our favourites beneath. If we didn't include yours... wanna fight about it?

Best beat 'em ups

one. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Fourth dimension

During the 1990s, Konami were the masters of creating arcade games based on Idiot box shows, developing a number of incredible titles from a bunch of well-known properties.

Perhaps the most famous of these was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time, inspired past the popular animated TV show past Murakami-Wolf-Swenson.

Packed with crawly boss fights and spectacular music, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time saw Konami primary the beat 'em up formula. If only they still fabricated practiced Turtles games...

2. Streets Of Rage ii

Explosives, knives, and katana – these are all weapons that made readily available to the player in Streets of Rage ii, as they walk along cleansing the metropolis of criminals.

A vastly superior title to its predecessor, the game expands upon the ideas of the original by adding two new characters (Max and Skate), also as powerful, special attacks.

With its detailed stages and addictive, action-orientated gameplay, Streets of Rage two is rightfully considered one of the all-time video games ever made, being celebrated pretty much anyone who'due south picked upwards a controller. Find it, play it, love it.

Streets of Rage 4 did an admirable job of recapturing the brilliance of this game, so seek that one out too.

three. Golden Axe

Designed by some of the same staff that worked on the incredible Altered Fauna, Gold Axe is a Conan the Barbarian-way game that pits players confronting an evil spirit known every bit the Death Adder. Don't pretend you're not a massive fan.

Unique features include the ability to mount steeds, known every bit Bizarrians, and cast magic attacks to clear the screen of enemies. These fantastic additions aid to provide some splendid variety beyond just bones hack and slashing.

four. The Simpsons Arcade

Another TV-based title from Konami, The Simpsons Arcade surprised players with its quality when information technology first arrived in arcades.

Post-obit pretty much aforementioned the formula as the programmer'due south other beat 'em ups, it'due south a magnificent brawler, which lovingly recreates Springfield and its residents for its players to appreciate.

Whether you're a fan of the TV show or just looking to dish out some cartoon violence, The Simpsons Arcade doesn't disappoint.

5. Final Fight

Originally envisioned as the sequel to Capcom's Street Fighter, Terminal Fight is the quintessential trounce 'em upward for the Super Nintendo, boasting tons of activeness and mayhem.

In the game, you control either Haggar or Cody as they travel through several distinct environments, clearing the screen of enemies. How you dispose of these foes is entirely up to you, with a variety of moves and weaponry at your disposal: you lot tin ability flop enemies with Haggar, perform devastating roundhouse kicks with Cody, or attack thugs with atomic number 82 pipes and other objects.

Often fun and sometimes unforgivingly difficult, Final Fight stands out every bit one of the all-time games the beat 'em upwards genre has to offer.

6. Double Dragon 2: The Revenge

When talking about the all-time Double Dragon game, the conversation usually turns to the first two on the Nintendo Amusement System.

With non a lot between them in terms of quality, it was incredibly difficult to choose which one would characteristic on this listing, simply we've ultimately settled on the sequel. This is because it reintroduced the multiplayer choice that was missing from the NES port of the original Double Dragon.

Though information technology may exist dated in some areas, Double Dragon ii: The Revenge still makes for an amusing two-player game.

7. God Hand

There are few games every bit divisive as God Hand. Released back in 2006, the action title had a polarising issue on critics, with some declaring it the best game of the year while others dismissed it entirely.

Clover Studio's final game before its dissolution in 2007, God Hand demands an inclusion on this list for its advanced combat system, bizarre tone, and adaptable difficulty level. Information technology also has one of the best video game covers ever printed. They don't brand them similar this any more.

eight. Viewtiful Joe

Viewtiful Joe came out at a fourth dimension when the side scrolling beat 'em up was considered a relic of the past, briefly giving the genre a new charter of life.

Adult by Capcom, Viewtiful Joe tells the story of the titular hero Joe, who must travel into the fictional Movieland to defeat the Jadow (the game's bosses) and rescue his girlfriend Silvia.

Playing as Joe, you'll have to get a master of VFX (Viewtiful Effects), which are special abilities that manipulate the activeness on screen. These allow y'all to irksome downward and speed up events, to let you tackle different enemies and dodge projectiles.

Colourful and artistic, Viewtiful Joe is an undisputed archetype. Just play it already.

9. Altered Beast

If you happened to ain a Sega Mega Drive growing upwards, Altered Animate being likely took pride of identify in your collection, aslope other classics like Sonic The Hedgehog and Disney's Aladdin.

Taking control of a centurion raised from the expressionless, yous punch and kick your mode through hordes of foes, collecting orbs and other item drops. These allow you to transform into mythical beasts, and grant y'all satisfying new abilities to modify the style and pacing of the game.

On the surface, Altered Beast may announced to exist just another side scrolling beat 'em up, but dig a fiddling deeper and you'll find plenty of ingenious ideas worth celebrating.

10. The Warriors

Combat can make or break a beat 'em up. Simplify it as well much and the audience volition get bored. Overcomplicate information technology and yous chance the player getting confused. The Warriors video game, based on the 1979 movie of the same name, sits comfortably in the middle of these two extremes.

It's like shooting fish in a barrel to pick up and has loads of multifariousness, with cool weapons, a deep grappling system and a rage-meter spicing upwards its combat.

These elements conspire to create an overall experience that - if you pardon the pun - packs a punch. Probably the best game-of-the-moving picture ever made.

xi. Guardian Heroes

The Sega Saturn isn't a console that comes up in conversation much - primarily considering of the system'south curt lifespan and its troubled launch.

Nosotros withal take a soft spot for it though, and there are numerous Saturn games that deserve our attending. Guardian Heroes is one championship to fit this description. It'due south super fast, action-packed, and admittedly gorgeous to look at. Just look at information technology. Gorgeous, correct?

Known as River City Bribe in the States, Street Gangs is a title for the Nintendo Entertainment Organization that inserts classic roleplaying elements (such every bit levelling and towns) into the brutal beat 'em up genre.

In the game, food acts as a way of levelling upward your character, while books teach yous make new moves to perform. Both of these can be purchased in the towns spread throughout the map, and increase your overall effectiveness in boxing.

Available now on the Nintendo eShop, Street Gangs holds up remarkably well, in spite of its historic period.

thirteen. Battletoads Arcade

Crude and consistently trigger-happy, Rare'south Battletoads Arcade bombed desperately when information technology was initially released, failing to capitalize on the success of its console predecessor.

However, information technology's since adult somewhat of a cult following, forcing many to reassess their views on the game.

Featuring detailed animations, counterbalanced design, and gorgeous retro graphics, Battletoads Arcade is an underappreciated gem of a game. You tin can now pick it up as part of the Rare Replay collection on Xbox One.

14. Renegade

Released a year prior to the original Double Dragon, Renegade is responsible for transforming the beat 'em up, adding to the mix four-directional command and more resilient opponents.

It may be a slow and monotonous experience for modern players, but its importance cannot be understated. This guarantees information technology a spot on this list.

15. Castle Crashers

A contemporary throwback to archetype side scrolling crush 'em ups, Castle Crashers will exist familiar to anyone who has ever played Golden Axe or Guardian Heroes.

Equally in those earlier games, players advance from left to right, hacking and slashing their style through enemy hordes. This earns them more than experience and helps them to gain levels to unlock new combination attacks.

Designed past The Behemoth, Castle Crashers is one of the more than visually hitting games on this listing, as it contains the magnificent artwork of Dan Paladin.

Adjusted from Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels of the aforementioned name, Scott Pilgrim vs. The Globe: The Game is another case of a game paying homage to earlier beat 'em up titles.

Lively and incredibly faithful to its source, it's a game that we were very excited most when it was re-released for PS4, Xbox, PC and the Nintendo Switch back in January 2021

17. God Of War

God Of War is a game where yous can literally rip people in half with your bare hands, also as mutilate mythical beasts. Awesome, right?

While the new games are also a hoot, it's worth digging out the old panel and tracking this downwards on eBay to get yourself acquainted with Kratos.

18. Madworld

Y'all'd really be hard pressed to notice a game as fierce equally Madworld. Trust us, nosotros've looked

A heavily stylised and excessively gory game, it follows a chainsaw-wielding character named Jack who's competing in a cruel game show that pits fighters and civilians confronting each other for sport.

It may be cartoonish and silly, only we love information technology.

19. Devil May Cry

Let's be honest - yous expected Devil May Cry to make an appearance somewhere on this list.

Super stylish and stunning, this hack and slash crush 'em upwardly was a true game changer, prompting several sequels, a reboot, and a spiritual successor in the class of Bayonetta. What started out equally a Resident Evil sequel, and was then hastily rewritten, became one of the most influential titles of the PlayStation ii era.

twenty. Dead Rising

Practise you ever want to annihilate masses of undead with everyday consumer items? If you answered yes, then Expressionless Ascent was designed specifically with you lot in mind. Yous weirdo.

Giving y'all an array of devastating and often stupid weapons, the game puts you in the shoes of the photojournalist Frank West, who must battle through a mall that'south overrun with zombies.

Deliriously fun, it ranks amidst Capcom'due south most outrageous and enjoyable titles.

The best retro games of all time.

Latest

Related Reviews and Shortlists

Source: https://www.shortlist.com/lists/best-beat-em-up-games-403098