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I'm trying to think of good side-scrolling action games that feature combat with mostly short range weapons or attacks, but I keep drawing blanks.
By that I mean games more in the mold of Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden than say, The Adventure of Link. Straight action games as opposed to action RPGs.
Any 8-bit or 16-bit platform. Well known or obscure.
Suggestions?
Bad Dudes, Two Crude Dudes, all of the Shinobi games (except the PCE version), Last Battle (Fist of the North Star), Black Belt (Fist of the North Star) and Ninja Spirit are pretty much all I can think of off hand. Tons of NES platformers have short range attacks though.
Strider immediately comes to mind.
Shadow of the Beast, Altered Beast, Chakan
I thought about Shinobi, but then I watched an arcade longplay and it was nothing but the player jumping around, throwing shuriken. It was a borderline shooter.Quote:
Originally Posted by sheath
Forgot about Strider, thanks!
Alright, I'll give this a try. Non-beat 'em up, side scrolling melee action, U.S. releases only. Will also note when there was an arcade cabinet too, as well as what the attacks are, but only the default, not powerups or getting into specific range.
ActRaiser duology (SNES) (sword)
Aladdin (Genesis) (sword)
Alex Kidd series (Master System, Genesis, arcade, PC[Genesis port]) (punch, sword in Shinobi World)
Blades of Vengeance (Genesis) (sword, axe, magic)
Bonk series (TurboGrafx-16, Turbo CD, NES, Game Boy, SNES, arcade) (headbutt)
Chakan: The Forever Man (Genesis, Game Gear) (sword)
Chiki Chiki Boys (Genesis, Turbo CD, arcade as Mega Twins) (sword)
Decap Attack (Genesis) (stomach face)
Earnest Evans (Genesis, Sega CD) (whip)
Flintstones games by Taito (NES, Genesis, SNES, Game Boy) (club)
Hammerin' Harry: Ghost Building Company (Game Boy) (mallet)
Inspector Gadget: Operation Madkactus (Game Boy Color) (hat mallet, slaps)
Kabuki Quantum Fighter(or it's fan translation, The Circle of Heaven and Hell) (NES) (hair whipping)
Kenseiden (Master System) (sword)
Kick Master (NES) (kicking)
Kid Niki: Radical Ninja (NES, arcade) (spinning sword)
Legendary Axe duology (TurboGrafx-16) (axe, sword)
Lord of the Sword (Master System) (sword, can switch to bow)
Monster Party (NES) (baseball bat)
Musya (SNES) (spear)
Ninja Spirit (TurboGrafx-16, arcade) (sword)
Pirates of Dark Water (Genesis) (blades)
Psycho Fox (Master System) (punch)
Rastan series (Master System, Game Gear, Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, arcade) (sword)
Run Saber (SNES) (sword)
Rocket Knight Adventures (Genesis) (sword)
Shadow of the Ninja (NES) (sword)
Shatterhand (NES) (punching)
Sky Blazer (SNES) (martial arts)
Sparkster (Genesis/SNES) (sword)
Strider (Genesis) (sword)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES, Game Boy trilogy) (swords, sais, nunchuks, staff)
Tiger Road (TurboGrafx-16, arcade) (axe)
X-Kaliber 2097 (SNES)
Valis series (Genesis, NES, SNES, especially Turbo CD) (sword)
Vampire: Master of Darkness (Game Gear) (dagger)
That long play is somebody who doesn't appreciate the nuances of Shinobi's gameplay, or was just trying for a fast playthrough. The real game is all in close combat without getting hit, the Master System game even push this up a bit with the power ups.Quote:
Originally Posted by djcouchycouch
Hmmm, no mention of Jewel Master. The fire ring can be used to enable a close-range flame punch.
Magic Sword on the SNES :D
Haven't seen X-Men 2 (Genesis) mentioned yet.
The Mega Man Zero series, as well as X4 and X5, are good for this. I'm not a fan of the regular Mega Man games at all but I like these.
Ninja Five-O has both shuriken and a sword, but the focus is on the sword as the shuriken are very weak.
Not sure if "grabby" platformers like Ristar and Astal would count, but why not.
And if we're including fists, Rayman...
The fact that Hagane hasn't been mentioned yet disappoints me greatly.
I'll also second Rocket Knight Adventures, it's more an action game than a platformer (unlike either sequel).
Hagane was a rental store exclusive in the U.S., so it's not really something that comes to mind often.
Plenty of games that weren't even released in the U.S. come to mind often. As far as SNES action games go Hagane is top 10 material.Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightrider
In terms of price tag, it sure is. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Kamahl
Haha, touché.Quote:
Originally Posted by j_factor