Your Favourite Side Scrolling Beat 'em -up?

Doesn't matter what the system, what people thought of it, or how popular or even how unknown it is, just post whatever side-scrolling beat'em-up that you like, stating why you like it.

My submission:

Alien vs Predator (Arcade)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTHS2TIISUE

I've been on a bit of a AVP bender as of late, and this is without doubt one of my fave games of the crossover franchise. It's just a shame the likelihood of this seeing a release anytime soon is unlikely. Still, great game and one of Capcom's best arcade titles.

I haven't played it, but I'm already annoyed by the seemingly mandatory inclusion of a Japanese schoolgirl, IN AN AVP GAME.

Anyway, I think my pick would be SoR 2.
On the Arcade it would be GA: RoDA.

Side-scrolling beat 'em ups generally refers to side-scrolling beat 'em ups -- that is, games like The Ninja Warriors, Vigilante, Bad Dudes, etc. What you're talking about are either all beat 'em ups, or isometric beat 'em ups... which are certainly the better kind, but because of the isometric 3d view, it's not strictly side-scrolling.

Anyway, those side-view beat 'em ups are usually not very good. I guess The Ninja Warriors for SNES might be the "best" one I've played, if that's saying much. My favorite isometric beat 'em up, though? That's tough... it's probably either Golden Axe, TMNT (the first arcade game), or TMNT: Turtles in Time (arcade and/or SNES). There are plenty more really good ones of course, including TMNT III (NES), Golden Axe II, Streets of Rage 2, maybe the second and third Final Fight games (I prefer them to the first one), etc, but my favorite is probably one of those first three.

TMNT Arcade. It set the standard for 4 player arcade beat em ups.

AVP is good but it loses points with me because it came out when the arcade beat em up genre was dying out and I got sick of fighting aliens and wanted more variety. I mean by the time AVP came out I was pretty much done going to the arcades for whatever reasons.

Golden Axe II and Streets of Rage II are my usual answers. I'll go out on a limb today and say The Death and Return of Superman on the Genesis. What it lacks in enemy design, it gains in dynamicity of gameplay. It's also one of the few Superman games, 16-bit or otherwise, where you're actually playing a "superman".

Streets of Rage II for me, but Final Fight is right up there with it. River City Ransom is also quite amazing.

Beat-Em-Ups is one of those really well-flushed out genres. Plenty of great games in the genre across all systems.

I can't pick a favorite. Sorry. (or not)

Man, this is gonna be tough. I'll just go ahead and mention my favorites:

Final Fight 1 and 3, Captain Commando, The Punisher, TMNT Hyperstone Heist, Streets of Rage 2, The Ninja Kids, River City Ransom (both the NES original and RCR EX) and, if it counts, Dynamite Deka/Die Hard Arcade. Possibly a few more but I can't remember any right now.

Streets of Rage Remake, quickly followed by SoR II and it's various hacks, then Final Fight CD.

I absolutely love the genre, and I enjoy playing the bad ones just as much as the good ones. If I have to pick a favorite, I think it's a tie between Final Fight CD and River City Ransom for NES. Final Fight CD just epitomizes all the best things about the genre, and I'm partial to that version in particular because of the awesome sound and cheesy voice acting. The overall presentation is just perfect.

I like River City because of the additional elements which add more strategy to the game like powering up with the correct books and replenishing health with burgers, etc. While I loved the Turtles games, Dbl Dragon and Battletoads for the NES, River City was way ahead of those games due to the deeper gameplay.

Man, I forgot about the TMNT series! Hyperstone Heist, Turtles in Time, the original arcade game...

There are just too many good beat-em-ups!

Your.....


Anyway, it's definitely Bare Knuckle III, followed by the SoR Remake.

SoR 3; I know I'm in the minority on this one. SoR 1 and 2 are great games, but 3 is my favorite of the series and the SoR series is my favorite beat'em up series by a long mile.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

Side-scrolling beat 'em ups generally refers to side-scrolling beat 'em ups -- that is, games like The Ninja Warriors, Vigilante, Bad Dudes, etc. What you're talking about are either all beat 'em ups, or isometric beat 'em ups... which are certainly the better kind, but because of the isometric 3d view, it's not strictly side-scrolling.

Anyway, those side-view beat 'em ups are usually not very good. I guess The Ninja Warriors for SNES might be the "best" one I've played, if that's saying much. My favorite isometric beat 'em up, though? That's tough... it's probably either Golden Axe, TMNT (the first arcade game), or TMNT: Turtles in Time (arcade and/or SNES). There are plenty more really good ones of course, including TMNT III (NES), Golden Axe II, Streets of Rage 2, maybe the second and third Final Fight games (I prefer them to the first one), etc, but my favorite is probably one of those first three.

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Side Scrolling view with Z-axis moving is still side scrolling view. Isometric view is totally different: Sonic 3D Blast, Captain Quazar, Super Mario RPG, Project Overkill...


To pick just one favorite is really difficult.
I'll choose just my favorite of the last days, since I've been playing it with a friend...
Not the best one by any stretch of imagination but still very fun in 2p mode and underrated IMO:

I'll second Captain Commando, Final Fight, and throw in some Ninja Kids if it's considered a BEU. Double Dragon Advance was pretty spiffy too.

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Originally Posted by sketch

SoR 3; I know I'm in the minority on this one. SoR 1 and 2 are great games, but 3 is my favorite of the series and the SoR series is my favorite beat'em up series by a long mile.

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I think I'm starting to sound like a broken record but have you tried Bare Knuckle III (the original Japanese version of SOR3) ?

I forgot one, Taito's Runark/Growl, nothing like beating the crap out of animal poachers. A beat em up with an ecological message, plus the arcade version throws a ton of enemies at you at once.

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Originally Posted by Christuserloeser

I think I'm starting to sound like a broken record but have you tried Bare Knuckle III (the original Japanese version of SOR3) ?

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If he has a flashcart or not fussy about emulation he can always try the translated rom. http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...-3-Translation

My favorite is ΤΜΝΤ4 - Turtles in time on SNES. I like this version more than the arcade because of the better, tighter controls, the extra levels and the music quality.

three dirty dwarves and guardian heroes. also I love original golden axe for nostalgia reasons, although I love all golden axe games



three dirty dwarves. whever friends come over we put in the saturn multipad and play this beast _O_

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Originally Posted by Pulstar

Your.....

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Yes, I know. :D

Another smashing game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKi8-vW8WYc

Spikeout Final Edition and Spikeout Battle Street.

Attachment 5081

Well there's the obvious choice, Streets of Rage 2, but the ones I think I got the most enjoyment from were Splatterhouse 2, and probably one of the Battletoads games (not the SNES one, that sucked).

Comix Zone was also pretty cool.

Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (japanese version of RCR) for Famicom and Final Fight the arcade version
http://www.jap-sai.com/Games/Nekkets...n_Art_01_a.jpg
Love these guys

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Originally Posted by Bloodreign

I'll second Captain Commando, Final Fight, and throw in some Ninja Kids if it's considered a BEU. Double Dragon Advance was pretty spiffy too.

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Oh yeah, I totally forgot about DD Advance. The best Double Dragon ever made, no joke.

easiest choice in my life, bare knuckle 2.

Just one, impossible.

Double Dragon
Golden Axe
Final Fight
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Streets of Rage
Super Double Dragon
Streets or Rage 2
Guardian Heroes
Double Dragon Advance

Abobo's Big Adventure.

Guardian Heroes is my all-time favorite!

Runner-ups:

Comix Zone
Fighting Force (aka Streets of Rage 4)
Final Fight CD
Golden Axe
Streets of Rage

Golden Axe 2 Revenge of Death Adder kills everything else out there IMHO.
Behold! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd9PUSOds_U


Honorable mentions;
Streets of Rage 2
Sengoku 3
Final Fight CD/Arcade

I may be the minority in naming this game as a personal favorite, but Nekketsu Oyako for the Saturn is a fun little beat 'em up to go through every once in a while. It has more special moves, an upgraded CDA soundtrack (though I do like the PS version's PCM music a little more) and better graphics (they don't slowdown as much) when compared to the PS version. You can't go wrong with either verison, though.

Saturn


Playstation

Have to be honest (and boring) and say SOR 2 (also 1, 3). I have played all of them numerous times over the years, 2 the most. But I will give pretty much any scrolling beat-em-up a try, because there's always fun to be had playing them (especially with co-op) no matter how tacky they are :)

When it comes to side scrolling beating parties I think of this...

capcom: button mash party
konami: button mashing with a bit of strategy
irem: batman baseball is fun but pretty difficult
sega: WTF SOMEONE ACTUALLY GOT IT RIGHT. It's like a beat'em'up where you actually get to use your brain, strategize, and don't just hulk smash the attack button.

And out of all the sega beat'em'ups sor2 just outshines. SOR2 is just immersive, you feel like you have great control over what's going on. There's so much to learn in sor2 which keeps it from getting old. And I love the huge range of difficulty levels so someone can progress. When I die or lose in sor2 I feel like I deserved it and I always feel like there's something I could have done to improve. Where a lot of other beat'em'ups I feel like all I can do is just jump and hulk smash the attack button and maybe do one or two special attacks that suck all my health away.

Oh yeah....and then there's the music....

I always thought that Konami beat-'em-ups were more of the button mashing kind. The Capcom ones have some depth (compared to Konami's, anyway)

Streets of Rage 2 (Undisputed Champion)
Final Fight CD (Intercontinental Champion)
AVP Arcade (A home port might have given this a higher score, I don't like unlimited continues nor do I like setting a "credits" goal)
TMNT III Manhattan Project (The best TMNT beat em up. Hyperstone Heist shouldn't be on anyone's lost TiT smokes it)
Final Fight 3 (Guy and Hagger are awesome but there is a lot of things I don't like)
Streets of Rage 1 (Remarkable considering the release date and cartridge size)
Golden Axe 3 (Easily the most underrated beat em up. I think GA 1/2 are good, but 3 is no doubt the best)
The Punisher (Pure carnage I love it)

Tons more... I am a junkie and proud of being a "mindless" gamer. Even if the stereotype couldn't be farther from the truth in most cases.

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Originally Posted by M4R14NO94

I always thought that Konami beat-'em-ups were more of the button mashing kind. The Capcom ones have some depth (compared to Konami's, anyway)

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I agree with this

am I the only person who appreciates tmnt 2: the arcade game on the nes/famicom?

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Originally Posted by Drakon

am I the only person who appreciates tmnt 2: the arcade game on the nes/famicom?

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I like the new levels they added but its lacking the combos and moves that the arcade version had. For example, I think the arcade version had like 3 different jump kick attacks and NES port reduces it to 1.

Final Fight (Sega cd)
Streets of Rage 1 & 3
Rival Turf (Nostalgia reasons)
Dynamite cop

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Originally Posted by DarkDragon

I like the new levels they added but its lacking the combos and moves that the arcade version had. For example, I think the arcade version had like 3 different jump kick attacks and NES port reduces it to 1.

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How did the jump attack work in the arcade? Could you control which one you did? Controlling which jump attack you do in turtles in time for the snes is a royal pain. Then again controlling most of the moves in that game is a pain...