A little while ago we put up a list of our favorite shooters in Hamster video game archive lined up. There are hundreds of games available thanks to weekly releases, so it can be a bit difficult to find the best if you’re a little late. Shooters were, of course, a mainstay in the heyday of video games, but in the mid-’80s another popular genre emerged: beat-em-ups. Quarrel. Belt reels. Lots of names, but the important thing is that it involves one or more people defeating an army of real opponents as they travel through various locales. There are many of them in the Arcade Archive, but these are the ones we like the most.
Traitor ($7.99)
Let’s start by paying tribute to the grandfathers of the genre. By adding some depth to the proceedings, betray essentially added one of the last major ingredients the beat-em-up genre needed. It was born Kunio-kun/City by the River and Double Dragon Franchising. And despite being an early example of a brawler, it’s still a lot of fun to play. Enemies are merciless and you don’t have much room to maneuver, but your extensive list of moves is no joke either. Bringing enemies sailing off the edge of a subway platform or into the water never gets old.
Double Dragon ($7.99)
And here’s the final big piece of the beat-em-up puzzle: simultaneous multiplayer. Double Dragon is an icon of the genre, and for good reason. It takes you on an impressive journey through streets, construction sites, forests and wild enemy hideouts, throwing all sorts of bizarre enemies at you along the way. You can go it alone or bring a friend, but be prepared for some serious slowing down if you go the second route. Still, it’s worth seeing what happens if Billy and Jimmy take down the final boss together. I really like the feel of the basic punches in this game, and the way the shots land in general.
64th Street ($7.99)
A little ahead, we have an attempt from Jaleco that doesn’t do much to hide its inspiration. Almost, 64 street follow the pattern established by Capcom’s The last battle. It has an interesting 1940s vibe, and the setting that makes up the climax is definitely worth a look. But the real fun in this game comes from its main gameplay: you can throw enemies in the background. Sometimes it damages or breaks objects or walls, exposing objects. Sometimes it sends enemies sailing into the water. Bosses are insanely cheap, but the game turns out to be a blast anyway.
Sengoku 3 ($7.99)
Released in 2001, Warring States 3 was one of SNK’s later NEOGEO releases. This could well be the pinnacle of the genre on SNK’s unique console, which offers a nice selection of characters, excellent graphics, some fun stages to go through, and wild boss battles. wild. This game emphasizes building combinations, which is not something you usually see in arcade games of this genre. You can also pick up a variety of throwables and use them to defeat your enemies. Although it loses the previous unique character conversion mechanism Warring States game, it is still the best game in the series.
Crime Fighter ($7.99)
Konami has created some of the most popular, popular arcade fighting games that have ever existed. Unfortunately, most of them have licenses attached so video game archive slightly more limited options. However, if you want to know where Konami really started rolling on his particular brand of beat-em-up, here it is. Crime Fighter. It has many features of later Konami brawls such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons, but in a more prototypical form. A tough, but worth playing.
Revenge ($7.99)
A few years later, Konami followed Crime Fighter with revenge. It’s only a short period of time, but it’s huge for this genre and revenge show it. Choose from representatives of Mike Tyson, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T and Jean-Claude Van Damme and set out to defeat the Dead End gang. This game makes a bold choice to eliminate the usual jumps that force you to think differently about crowd control. In return, you are given a series of surprisingly brutal moves to destroy your enemies. Up to four players can also participate in this game.
Team Zero ($7.99)
Most of the games on this list come from familiar names like Technos, Konami, SNK, and Tecmo. Unless you’re particularly versed in video game history, you’ve probably never heard of Seibu Kaihatsu. It is largely known for assault series of vertical shooters, but it spawns several other games that don’t seem to get as much attention. team no is its entry into the brawler genre and is another that has four-player support. The game is very receptive and very entertaining, and this is one of the more colorful and silly games on this list.
Mutant Country ($7.99)
mutant country is my guilty pleasure. It doesn’t look like it’s doing anything particularly fancy with its gameplay, though its awesome super move types aren’t too bad. Mechanically, it does what you’d expect and nothing more. But it really fits into its theme, with some wild enemy designs that sometimes make a splash mid-battle and really cool bosses. It looks really good for a NEOGEO game, and the soundtrack has some fun as well. This is another really fun trip to take with a friend, but cracking mutant heads alone is also a good time.
Ninja Gaiden ($7.99)
In three games named Gaiden ninja, this is probably the least successful and least remembered. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. It’s actually pretty good, although the feel is a bit different from most other beat-em-ups. You have a series of moves befitting a ninja, and your journey through a look at American pop culture is fun and exciting. Dress up as a ninja and learn a story about Ryu Hayabusa that you probably didn’t know.
POW: Prisoners of War ($7.99)
Before NEOGEO, SNK mainly made war games. It was a popular thing in the 1980s, and SNK made as much bread from it as Capcom did. The greatest success is running and vertical gun like Warrior Ikari, TNK., and guerrilla war, but there was a side-scrolling beat-em-up that got through a bit. You play as a prisoner who solves the problem on his own and not only rushes out, but actually defeats the entire enemy operation. Another early example of the genre, but also a great one. Bring a friend for maximum carnage.
And that’s a lot, friends. I hope this list helps you find some new games to play and if you have any video game archive beat-em-up you would recommend comment below. After all, we are all looking for more great content to add to our libraries. Thanks again for reading!
