Great Beat'em up from the past

Ok, with the announcement of a new TMNT game I thought i'd look back and see what other beat'em ups I could find. We all remember Alien vs Predator and Lt. Kurosawa(sp) but does anybody remember this game??

The console versions of the game didn't even come close to the greatness of this game. The different types of levels and moves are great. Each toad is has their own personality and details. It'd be nice to see this game on the cube or eggsbawks for some three player action but the odds of this happening are probably pretty slim. oh well, just another reason why I need to get my box modded..

The arcade versions are always better than the console ports, because the arcade had better hardware, especially in the NES, SNES, and Genesis days.

omfg. I remember that being at my arcade over half a decade back. It only stayed there for 4 weeks though. Man, 2-4 player beat em ups were made for Saturday Nights at the arcade back then.

I wish the Nickel City near my house got X-men.

Aaahhh HAH! Yes, beat em ups... Next to 2d fighters its most definitely my genre of choice. A few old favorites spring to mind:

Golden Axe, Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder, Dungeon Magic, Final Fight, Sengoku 2, X-Men: The Arcade Game, Knights of the Round, Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom & Mystara, The Simpsons, etc...

And oh yes, Battletoads... very nice. When they team up with Double Dragon, watch the fuck out!

Battletoads arcade version is cool, the only problem is the poor color pallete.

I miss that Battle Circuit didn't make his way to Brazil... I played and love all CPS1&2 beat'em ups at the arcades, they were pretty popular here. I don't understand why the brazilian Capcom's branch didn't brought it here. We even got Slipstream!

I only discovered that game through t3h r0mz.

omg capcom's warriors of fate has got to be the longest 2d beat em up of its prime.

A pizza shop around the corner from my place has a converted X-Men cab. Pretty cool stuff.
I used to spend loads of quarters on The Simpsons and Aliens vs. Predator. Beat `em Ups are one of my favourite genres.

I know it's not an arcade game, but I really, really miss Streets of Rage.
Guess I gotta hook up my Genesis now!

What? Beat em' up's? Did someone say Beat em' up's? my friend, you have no Idea how much I love eat em' Up's! I just love saying it:BEAT EM' UP'S! Those games are the whole reason I got into arcade-game collecting for. One day I said: I need to play TMNT and Ninja Gaiden again! So, got myself a Sigma, TMNT and Ninja Gaiden, and transported myself back to 1989, and man, did I have a shit eating grin on my face!

Ninja Gaiden started my path towards the Beat em up obsession. The path was paved by masterworks like Final Fight, the Bare Knuckle series, Vendetta, Violent Storm, and the list goes on. Great games that do only one thing, but do those things to perfection

So, this brings me to what might be the finest arcade Beat em' Up I have ever played. I first saw it in an arcade auction, suprised because I never ran into it back when it came out. I saw it, and had to have it. That game my friends, is:

Metamorphic Force

(Say it loud)

Like TMNT meets Altered Beast, you could transform into the animal who's soul is rewakened inside you, and kick major ass. The control? Flawless. The graphics and animation? Smooth and beautiful. The music? Energetic. Fun? Oh yes my firends. It is indeed fun. Perfect? Indeed.

Perfect you say? Are there perfect Beat em' up's? Yes my friends, and here they are:


(No particular order)

Final Fight

Violent Storm

Metamorphic Force

TMNT: Tutles in time, SNES (the home version is actually better)

Bare Knuckle 2

Mighty final Fight


I have to give special Mention to the original TMNT for the arcade though: While it may not be perfect, it has a special place in my heart, and I love it dearly. So, for me, it is perfect .

spikeout final edition is by far the best beat em up ive ever played and coming to xbox very soon to boot. dont be fooled by the 3d its super deep (crazy combos and boss fighting skills like the grapple stun glitch) and 4 player is about as much fun as four player anything gets with a bit of teamwork.

Turtles in Time is one of my favorite beat'em ups of all time. I think this gameis the pinnacle of the Turtles Beat'em ups. The other TMNT games just cant stand up against the might of Turtles in Time.

My all-time favorites (no particular order):

TMNT arcade game
Captain Commando
Final Fight
Knights of the Round
Die Hard Arcade
D&D Tower of Doom

You wanna talk beat 'em ups?

Double Dragon 1&2,Combatribes,P.O.W,DJ Boy,Tecmo Knights,The Punisher,Crime Fighters,Vendetta,Two Crude,etc,etc.

I can go on for days..

Does anyone remember Growl? That game was awesome!

some of my faves that most rarely ever talk about:

IKARI III: The Rescue
Crime Fighters II {AKA: "Vendetta"}
Vigilante
Crude Buster {AKA: "Two Crude Dudes"}
Combatribes
P.O.W.
Violent Storm
Arabian Fight {Rare SEGA arcade brawler}

MERCENARY X99

Metamorphic Force was a tad expensive at approx $110, expect it to go for more if you find one

Two months of hunting until I found someone having the pcb for sale. The music could be remade by a modern scandinavian power-metal band

The action itself gets my approval, transformed gameplay is great. Someone called it Altered Beast on steroids and that's a fitting description



Another rare favourite I have is Night Slashers by Data East, really doesnt feel like a 1992 game with excellent graphics animation detail gameplay and everything, several times playing through it the feeling of playing the last level appeared, but all was good.

Wont be emulated for ages as well, so I can gloat freely! )))

Aside from some titles already mentioned, one of my favorite beat-em ups has to be Gaia Crusaders, Noise Factory's first game.

beelzebubble said:

spikeout final edition is by far the best beat em up ive ever played and coming to xbox very soon to boot. dont be fooled by the 3d its super deep (crazy combos and boss fighting skills like the grapple stun glitch) and 4 player is about as much fun as four player anything gets with a bit of teamwork.

Click to expand...

One of the three beat'em ups Sega released that year, if i'm correct.

Dynamite Cop was average at best, Zombie Revenge touched heights of pure sweetness, even if the choppy controls and some awkard gameplay choices prevented it to become the classic it deserved to be.

Spikeout stands in the middle, probably. Great graphics, good controls, the modified VF engine proved to be versatile enough.
What i disliked was the boring gameplay: almost no weapons, enemies looking (and behaving) all the same, huge levels filled with nothing but enemies, no furniture, no interaction with the environment, no partcular events to trigger. And let's not forget the game was LONG.

The thing that could have made the difference might have been the hardcore multiplayer feature: according to the magazines of the time (CVG, to name one - it was quite good back then) the game could support up to 16 players 16.
But all of this potential falled flat as almost no arcade sported more than two cabinets - too expensive, too risky.

Back to gameplay: don't know about the 'Final Version' (differences?), the original didn't seem that deep to me - but i admit i didn't played it enough to give a fair review.
For sure bosses required ad-hoc strategies, they were a bunch of total bastards.

My fave scrolling beat'em up ever? A tie between River City Ransom and TMNT, probably...

B.I.GPSYCHE said:

You wanna talk beat 'em ups?

Double Dragon 1&2,Combatribes,P.O.W,DJ Boy,Tecmo Knights,The Punisher,Crime Fighters,Vendetta,Two Crude,etc,etc.

I can go on for days..

Does anyone remember Growl? That game was awesome!

Click to expand...

HOW I could forgot the Double Dragons? the first ones that put me in this vice...

MrLonghair said:

Metamorphic Force was a tad expensive at approx $110, expect it to go for more if you find one

Two months of hunting until I found someone having the pcb for sale. The music could be remade by a modern scandinavian power-metal band

The action itself gets my approval, transformed gameplay is great. Someone called it Altered Beast on steroids and that's a fitting description



Another rare favourite I have is Night Slashers by Data East, really doesnt feel like a 1992 game with excellent graphics animation detail gameplay and everything, several times playing through it the feeling of playing the last level appeared, but all was good.

Wont be emulated for ages as well, so I can gloat freely! )))

Click to expand...

Oh don't worry man! The second I saw Metamorphic Force, it was mine! I paid $120 for it, and I feel like I robbed the fellow!

Verbatum said:

Oh don't worry man! The second I saw Metamorphic Force, it was mine! I paid $120 for it, and I feel like I robbed the fellow!

Click to expand...

Remember the last arcade auction? Some guy got that very good Metamorphic Force cab, a poor Operation Wolf cab and a good Pole Position cab for $60.

I would've nabbed that, if I had the means to transport it.

I hope we see something like that again this year.

Anyway, yes, brawlers...you've got to love them.

RCR
Streets of Rage 2
Golden Axe 2
Captain America and the Avengers
D&D Shadows Over Mystara

...are some of my personal favs.

Verbatum said:

Oh don't worry man! The second I saw Metamorphic Force, it was mine! I paid $120 for it, and I feel like I robbed the fellow!

Click to expand...

Kickass!


Further about arcade beat em ups, I'm planning to get a Sega Megatech/play kit in the future.. I mean I do have an md/gen setup and all.

Real streets of rage action. Wouldnt say no to playing SoR2 on a good upright cab with a nice screen, even though that could mean having to hack up cart and bios.. a heck I'll just md2jamma the whole thing over the summer

Just got Combatribes today. Lot's of charm there. Back to Battletoads: I never had the chance to play it in the arcade.

We never had Battletoads in my area.

We did have some great stuff tho, multiplayer you cant beat a good scrapper:

Vendetta

Guardians of the Hood

Final Fight (obviously)

Burning Fight (love it

Violent Storm (gotta be gretest music)

Turtles

Simpsons

Riot city (GREAT Sega scaling gfx)

Xmen 4 player

Fun

I love beat'em ups and my all time favorite is without a doubt Konami's X-Men. I love the other Konami side scrollers such as the Simpsons and both TMNT's. Final Fight and Double Dragon are also some of my favs.

As for Battletoads, I wasn't aware that it was ever an arcade game until I saw it on MAME. I own the PCB of it and I got it for only $20 BIN on eBay!

I used to play Golden Axe alot at the 7-11 accross the street from my apartment.

The mall in my home town had an arcade and they had the gigantic 6 player X-men cab and right behind it was the big four player Simpsons.

Man good times.

Oh, Streets of Rage 3 is also one of my favorites, and Super Double Dragon.