Best Lesser-Known Beat-'em-Ups

[NeoZeedeater]

There's nothing really wrong with Renegade per se. I would just rather play many other street fighting beat 'em ups that came after it and refined the formula.

[George]

This is one that I always thought was pretty well-known, but maybe you haven't played it. Knights of the Round. There was also a SNES version.

[GohanX]

Not exactly obscure, but what are your thoughts on Final Fight 3? It showed up on Wii u vc today, I've never played it.

[jyoung]

This is one that I always thought was pretty well-known, but maybe you haven't played it. Knights of the Round. There was also a SNES version.

The arcade version is on Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2, and it rocks. The only bad things I can say about it are that the SNES version has a way better soundtrack, and they really should have put the block command on it's own button considering how vital blocking and counter attacking are to beating the later stages of the game.

Not exactly obscure, but what are your thoughts on Final Fight 3? It showed up on Wii u vc today, I've never played it.

The branching paths and secret areas in levels were cool. And the gameplay was fine. But it's just so damn easy, and the limitation of only three bad guys on the screen at once just kills the game's replayability. The AI, for some reason, is way dumber than it was in Final Fight 2, which was a much tougher game to finish.

I pull out my SNES cart of FF3 maybe once every couple of years, run through it in 30 minutes on the hardest difficulty, then put it back on the shelf and wonder why people are paying so much money for it these days.

[Low]

Gekido Advance starts off slow but is a solid brawler.



I'm not big on Tokyo Beat Down DS but the game has fans:




Alien Vs Predator SNES isn't in the ballpark of Capcom's arcade version but as a kid I still played it for the mutant alien bosses and Predator weapons.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

Mzo needs to quit being such a nerd, and just break out the PS2 Capcom and Taito compilations.
And the Data East one for the wii.
Close enough is good enough.

[Jeremy]

Not exactly obscure, but what are your thoughts on Final Fight 3? It showed up on Wii u vc today, I've never played it.

I just sold my SNES copy for $50, and it's a pretty good beat-em-up. It's way faster-paced than FF 1, but the enemies aren't anywhere near as memorable. I like the branching paths and super moves. If it's $10 on VC, it's worth buying. Just be sure to properly set the CPU helper to not hurt you or else you'll want to kill him within seconds.

[kedawa]

I still enjoy playing Bad Dudes now and again.
It's always surprised me how it never got a sequel or a decent console port.
I had the Amiga version, which was pretty faithful to the arcade game, although the single-button control could be really limiting at times.

[jyoung]

Just be sure to properly set the CPU helper to not hurt you or else you'll want to kill him within seconds.

I find the game is pretty much unplayable with the AI helper by your side.

The slow down it causes is just unbearable.

I still enjoy playing Bad Dudes now and again.
It's always surprised me how it never got a sequel or a decent console port.

Wasn't Two Crude Dudes the unofficial sequel? I had the Genesis version of that and it was a decent port.

[gameoverDude]

Maourenjishi (Mystical Fighter on Genesis) is one I just thought of. EGMs reviews truly spat all over it, but I bet $50 against the Crew on this one and came out a winner. This is the only beat-em-up featuring Kabukis as the heroes, naturally set in a medieval Japanese environment- with samurai, ninjas, sumos, and demons called Gaki ("hungry ghosts") to take down enroute to a battle with the Darkside Kabuki Master.


A Golden Axe style magic system is used here, but there are no characters to choose from. Sometimes you'll find a jitte or a throwing fan. Beside just grabbing and throwing an enemy away like Final Fight, you can swing him around to knock over other enemies but this can be hell on your health bar. Also, they can be slammed into the ground with a cool "BONNG!" sound. There are a few hidden bonus areas, one being where you catch water drops to regain some health. Like Ninja Gaiden, the fighting system is simplistic- no Streets of Rage 2 combos- but that doesn't detract from the overall fun.

JFTR, director Kuniharu Hosoda also worked on the PCE Double Dragon II. I'm glad that US publisher Dreamworks left this one untampered with and preserved the Japanese theme. The only difference is the title screen.