Beat 'Em Up General

[Anonymous No.1516496]

Let's discuss this genre of games that has mostly been relegated to the retro era.

What are some of your favorites? Any overlooked gems? I know for a while they were one of the more common arcade game genres, and the SNES had a ton too (some of which were ports of the aforementioned arcade game).

I'm starting the thread with one of the more beloved games in the genre, Streets of Rage 2, but feel free to go more obscure.

[Anonymous No.1516502]

devil may cry
god of war
batman arkham (city, asylum, the new one)

all of them beat em ups (or slash and hacks, same crap with weapons)

your point?

[Anonymous No.1516510]

>>1516502
I would add Yakuza since it really does have old school style beat em up sections.

[Anonymous No.1516568]

Some of my favorites are TMNT III and IV, SOR series, Final Fight, Vendetta, The Simpsons Arcade, Captain Commando, Alien VS Predator, Kunio-kun series (River City Ramsom), Knights of the Round Table, Cadillac and Dinosaurs, X-Men Arcade... to be honest, most of the Capcom and Konami beat em ups from the 90s are fucking awesome.

As for a hidden gem, try Pu-Li-Ru-La.

The genre is indeed kind of dead, some games tried to get the same feel of the 2D beat 'em ups into 3D, like Fighting Force,or Dynamite Deka, but the genre never could shine as much as it did back in the 2D times.
Games like Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden or Bayonetta kind of maintain the same concepts (crowd management, etc), but they're not quite the same, you can no longer play co-op in those games, they're strictly 1-player games. I'm intrigued about the upcoming 2-player mode of Bayonetta 2 though.

Yakuza is a good example of a modern game that maintains the old school beat 'em up spirit in the fight sections, there's also games like MadWorld or Anarchy Reigns which also share a lot in comon with old beat em ups (beating up deadly punks on the streets, etc).

Anarchy Reigns also has jetpack-wearing enemies that fly around and are as annoying as the Jetpack enemies from Streets of Rage

[Anonymous No.1516597]

>>1516502
You decided to focus on one line of the OP, when the purpose is to just discuss these games in general.

[Anonymous No.1516652]

Bare Knuckle 3 is so good.
Everyone hates Streets of Rage 3 because the difficulty is super-busted, but BK3 is reasonable.
On the other hand, since SOR:R exists, you could just play that (and man, being able to play the SOR2 course with SOR3/BK3 controls is ideal, although the modified hit properties and AI are a bit jarring to me).

Dynamite Deka/Die Hard Arcade is fantastic. The one-life default setting seems kind of harsh, though.
But man, this is how you do a beat-em up in 3D: don't change a damn thing. It's a bit floaty, but the weapons are fun and it's a quite satisfying romp.
also, this is the first game I ever played that had QTEs

I really like Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, but it's got a handful of things that bug me.

The more I play Konami's beat-em-ups, the less I like them. Opposite for Capcom's -- they're really tight.

>>1516568
Pu-Li-Ru-La is great fun. I really need to get better at it though. I've got it for the Saturn, bought it on a lark.

and hell, it's got a boss that tries to stab you with a horn by its crotch

[Anonymous No.1516748]

>>1516496
Streets of Rage 2 and TMNT Turtles in Time. Two amazing games for their era. I'm glad I got to enjoy games such as these in their prime.

[Anonymous No.1516840]

Streets of rage 2 is easily one of the best beat 'em ups out there. Knights of the Round is my second favorite, just for the music and overall presentation.

Plus it's Knights beating the hell out of eachother set to rockin music. What's not to like?

[Anonymous No.1517152]

I had never heard of it before the Mike Matei review, but Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara looks pretty amazing, one of the better arcade beat-'em-ups. Anyone here played it?

[Anonymous No.1517238]

>>1516496
modern ARPGs are nothing more than refurbished beat em ups, the genre is far from relegated to retro.

[Anonymous No.1517246]

I liked Sengoku 3

[Anonymous No.1517273]

I had a lot of fun playing Fighting Force on Playstation with a friend.

So much good memories like destroying the fighter jet in the airbase, taking the gun and shooting some bad guys.

[Anonymous No.1517302]

>>1517152
it's basically culmination of every Capcom beat em up, it's a great game. There are emulated ports with netplay and stuff on PS3, 360, Wii U and Steam as "Chronicles of Mystara".

[Anonymous No.1517369]

SoR2 is one of my all time favorites, BUT, there is this one game... one I played in the mid or late 90s in my cousin's place that I just... It's fucking Guardian Heroes, I never own it, just play it that time and never forgot that shit. Still pissed that the psn doesn't have it, I probably need to ask my cousin if he still have the saturn and those games he had.
>>1516652
One of the things I never liked on SoR3 was the soundtrack, except for the Fuze and boss theme.

[Anonymous No.1517373]

>>1516502
The Double Dragon-style of beat-'em-ups are called belt-scrollers. Devil May Cry and the like are 3D beat-'em-ups.

[Anonymous No.1517480]

There were so many games I enjoyed in this genre. I'll cite only the games people didn't mention yet.

SNES:
Batman Returns - pretty faithful to the movie
The death and return of superman - weakest superman I've ever seen, about 8 punches needed to take down a regular punk, but you could destroy a lot of stuff.
Spiderman and Venom: Maximum Carnage - many special attacks with his web

Brawl Brothers and Peace Keepers are average games from Jaleco I enjoyed in the past.

All the games above were for SNES

Honorable mention goes to God Hand, it really captured the essence of retro beat'em ups and added mechanics that I approve.

[Anonymous No.1517503]

The Adventures of Batman and Robin for the Genesis is my personal favorite beat 'em up.

It has sidescrolling action, some shmup stuff, 3d integrated sometimes (very well), kickass music, great bosses, and is awesome co-op. And it has a fair amount of difficulty. In my eyes it is an essential of the genre, and of Batman games in general.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjQDGZMH2PE

[Anonymous No.1517518]

There was this one arcade game that I used to love as a kid, been trying to find out it's name ever since.

It was a beat 'em up sure enough, with (most likely) 3d graphics, it used a pretty big variety of weapons that you could pick up, including brooms, deodorants, deodorants + lighters that made little flamethrowers etc., many of them throwable.

Final boss and main antagonist was this skinny grandpa and the final fight took place in an office kind of setting, with a bunch of drawers (?) pulling out at random, hitting you.

Any anon recognises that? Finding out the title of this game would make my day so much.

[Anonymous No.1517594]

Thread theme:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTHX8UD6KDI

[Anonymous No.1517617]

>>1517518
Die Hard Arcade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NrrxyAxArg

[Anonymous No.1517624]

>Nintendo, you so edgy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsiPaVVm27I

[Anonymous No.1517626]

>>1517503
>not bat em' up

[Anonymous No.1517678]

>>1517617
I'm not the guy you're responding to but I'm impressed you found what he was talking about so quickly.

[Anonymous No.1517694]

So which arcade belt-scrollers had you guys 1CCed? Renegade, Double Dragon 1 and 2, Golden Axe and Growl are pretty easy. Final Fight is pretty tough though.

[Anonymous No.1517702]

>>1517694
You say that like you have a choice with Renegade. You have to 1cc it to beat it period.

That's actually why I like the game. It's really balanced more like a console game than anything.

[Anonymous No.1517736]

>>1517702
>You say that like you have a choice with Renegade. You have to 1cc it to beat it period.
How about beating it without dying then? The final stage has a very strict time limit.

[Anonymous No.1517739]

>>1517736
Now the gloves are off!

The final stage usually does me in at least once, and not by time limit. Those dudes with the knives are nasty.

[Anonymous No.1517806]

>>1517369
There's alternatives, you know? It emulates pretty well on SSF, there's the XBLA and hopefully Treasure will port it to PC now that we've seen Ikaruga and will likely be seeing Radiant as well, fingers crossed.

But yeah, if SoR2 is the pic of the beat em up thread, Guardian Heroes has to be the second post.

Also, Gambo is god-tier.

[Anonymous No.1517857]

>>1517617

thanks a gazillion, you did make my day sir

[Anonymous No.1518451]

>>1517678
Anytime I hear "3d beat 'em up" and lots of weapons", DHA/Dynamite Cops comes to mind, so that narrowed it to two, and I just youtubed to remember what the final bosses were.

[Anonymous No.1518484]

Da best

[Anonymous No.1518493]

>>1518484
How was the remake? Still better to play the original?

[Anonymous No.1518496]

>>1518493
Yes

[Anonymous No.1518508]

Recently played through Final Fight with a Japanese Player via a netplay.
Dude was busting out Haggar tech I'd NEVER seen before. I could barely keep up even with liberal use of Cody's infinite.

[Anonymous No.1518550]

>>1517273

yes!

loved fighting force, especially the way you could chose which route to take after each level. Gave the game more replayability for sure.

[Anonymous No.1518729]

Cyborg Justice for the MD/Genesis

An often overlooked side scrolling beat'em up where you can rip robots apart to change your characters leg and arm types. The controls were kind of funky but once you got the hang of it holyshit was it fun.

[Anonymous No.1518880]

Did anyone else play Pirates of Dark Water?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsYSG0UxQUA

[Anonymous No.1518908]

>>1518880
My college roommate had that. One afternoon we just sat down and played the whole thing start to finish. Great times! Wish I had a copy of my own.

[Anonymous No.1519090]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46tcGQqeMOM

Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun Bangai Rantou Hen

This japanese Game Boy game was later introduced in the US as Double Dragon 2, with the Double Dragon graphics and music of course...

[Anonymous No.1519107]

>>1519090
Uppercut Everyone: The Game. For some reason, I like the Double Dragon version more than the Kunio one.

[Anonymous No.1523010]

>>1517806
sauce for pic? GRIS says nothing of worth

[Anonymous No.1523171]

>>1523010
>Being in a beat-'em-up thread.
>Not recognizing Guardian Heroes.

[Anonymous No.1523726]

[Anonymous No.1525669]

For the newer generation trying out these old gems..

Before you go into these kind of games, learn all the moves. Try to find out what made each game so good. It'll make the whole experience so much better. For example, the reason people like Simpsons Arcade is because of the attention in detail in level design, and the team moves. If you're playing that game single player, then you are pretty much getting not even half the experience for it. If you're playing Streets of Rage 2, at the very least, learn how to get out of throws or land upright when you do get thrown. Learn the combos for Capcom or Tecmo beat em ups. Stuff like that.

I watched a dude play these game(particularly Cadillac 'n Dinosaur). The dude didn't even know how to correctly use Ammo item ground, and he blamed the game on his own stupidity. That's one example of how not to play a beat em up.

[Anonymous No.1525732]

>>1516502

Those are called character action games now.

[Anonymous No.1525742]

One of the very best games on the SNES and possibly one of the best beat 'em ups ever made.

Gets overlooked a lot since it was a one-player sidescroller rather than a one-to-two player DD-ish game.

[Anonymous No.1525780]

I always thought Return of Double Dragon for SNES was criminally underrated. One of my favourite SNES games of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6202bopXdI

[Anonymous No.1525843]

>>1525732
Only autistic hipsters use the term "character action game."

[Anonymous No.1525868]

>>1525843
>using buzzwords to complain about buzzwords

[Anonymous No.1525897]

>>1525843

Well, ya gotta settle on calling it something. It's just a fundamentally different kinda game and it needs it's own term to describe it.

[Anonymous No.1525930]

Double Dragon Neon > Double Dragon 2: The Revenge > Double Dragon (NES) > Double Dragon 3

I have not played any of the other Double Dragons.

[Anonymous No.1526006]

Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder. Why this game is an arcade exclusive and was never ported to a console is beyond me.

[Anonymous No.1526027]

>>1525930
Advance > Neon
Neon has an ugly art style, tacky ironic humor and too much emphasis on grinding.

[Anonymous No.1526249]

>>1526027

I agree on the grinding part, but.

>Ugly art style
>Tacky ironic humor

Couldn't disagree more. Those are two of the best parts of the game.

[Anonymous No.1526261]

>>1526006
SEGA

[Anonymous No.1526325]

>>1517678

You asked about a beat'em up with lots of weapons and mentioned the word "random"

Dynamite Deka is fucking RANDOM. And beyond amazing.

Never got to play the first one too much, since no Saturn.

[Anonymous No.1526329]

>>1517694

I'm not sure Double Dragon 2 is feasible in 1 credit.

IIRC some bosses were really cheap and would kill you regardless of what you did.

I remember not liking this game solely based on those "now is the moment you die" situations.

Even in MAME it bothered me.

[Anonymous No.1526356]

>>1526329
>I'm not sure Double Dragon 2 is feasible in 1 credit.
It is on the default settings, just very hard (I'm talking about the official defaults here, since the MAME ones are different). The final stage has a strict time limit, so you have to get there without losing a single life before reaching Willy.

[Anonymous No.1526362]

>>1526325
Dynamite Deka is actually the sequel to Die Hard Arcade, release in the US as "Dynamite Cops".

Die Hard Arcade is Dynamite Deka in Japan.

[Anonymous No.1526365]

>>1526249
>>1526027


I hope you do realize that the "ugly art style" and "tacky humor" are done "ironically", right? Wayforward only seems to do things "ironically".

>it's ironic that patricia wagon is curvaceous despite being as detailed as a stickman
>it's ironic that our Adventure Time game has Nintendo music and ironically plays like Zelda 2
>it's ironic that our games are all style over substance

[Anonymous No.1526396]

>>1526365
>Wayforward only seems to do things "ironically".
So they're a bunch of hipsters then? No wonder WayForward fans are all pretentious dimwits. Oh well. At least Contra 4 had nice pixel art.

[Anonymous No.1526420]

>>1526396
The moment you throw around the word "hipster" and pretentious" over something being purposely ironic, you lump yourself with the other idiots who throw that around without understanding what the terminology actually means.

You remind me of the people who hate the movie "Airplane!" because it's silly and can't be taken seriously. YOU DON'T GET IT

[Anonymous No.1526427]

>>1526420
>You remind me of the people who hate the movie "Airplane!" because it's silly and can't be taken seriously.
False equivalence. Airplane! wasn't pretending to be a sequel to a classic thriller.

[Anonymous No.1526428]

>>1526427
It's was a direct satire of Airport '77, you dumbass.

DDN was satirizing the DD series. It's directly equatable.

[Anonymous No.1526431]

>>1526427
I bet you don't "count" Evil Dead 2.

[Anonymous No.1526478]

>>1526428
>It's was a direct satire of Airport '77, you dumbass.
The point went over your head, genius.
>DDN was satirizing the DD series. It's directly equatable.
Doesn't change the fact that it's a mediocre brawler designed around grinding. And even when viewed strictly as a satire, the humor isn't even that clever. Mostly it's just the designers referencing shit from the 1980s in a mocking self-aware tone.
>Our bad guy looks and talks just like Skeletor.
>Look! Williams yells "gymnastics" every time he does a cartwheel, just like in that movie.
>BIMMY!
>Marian got saved by the POWER OF LOVE™!

>>1526431
The first Evil Dead did a good job of making fun of itself though.

[Anonymous No.1526495]

>>1526478
>Doesn't change the fact that it's a mediocre brawler designed around grinding

That wasn't the argument. It's the fact it's satirizing the DD series. You can wander off-topic all you want, but you have absolutely failed to prove that as wrong.

Your debate a shit.

[Anonymous No.1526509]

>>1526495
This was what you wrote in your original post.
>>1526420
>You remind me of the people who hate the movie "Airplane!" because it's silly and can't be taken seriously. YOU DON'T GET IT
You implied that I disliked Neon for being a satire of the Double Dragon series period, when in reality I just didn't think the satire was that funny and the combat itself (as in the "gameplay") isn't that hot either, even when compared to the previous Double Dragon games (which are admittedly pretty primitive beat-'em-ups by today standards) .

[Anonymous No.1526518]

>>1526509
No, I called you out for not recognizing it as a satire of DDN

> tacky ironic humor
This is what satire does. It's one thing to not like the game, but to shit on it because it's doing what it's meant to do is another.

Like I said, complaining about Airplane! because it doesn't take itself seriously.

[Anonymous No.1526545]

>>1526518
>Like I said, complaining about Airplane! because it doesn't take itself seriously.
It's more like you're defending Batman & Robin for being a bad movie because it's supposed to be campy. Just because Schumacher intended to make a Batman satire doesn't mean it's any less of a bad movie.

[Anonymous No.1526552]

>>1526545
I'm not defending anything, retard. I'm acknowledging the fact that the game was made to be a certain way.

I understand that movies like Epic Movie and The Starving Games are meant to be slapstick. That's doesn't mean I'm defending them as good films. Stop fabricating shit I didn't say.

Good lord

[Anonymous No.1527175]

>>1526365

None of those things are ironic though.

[Anonymous No.1527195]

I can't say I'm experienced enough with the genre to say it's any kind of great example, but for whatever reason I absolutely loved King of Dragons growing up. I had the SNES port but also played a bunch of it arcade emulated.

I'm not sure why I liked it so much, when I never got into Golden Axe or other fantasy beat-'em-ups like Legend. I think one of the main things is I really like is the variety in level settings and how there are a bunch of bosses.

[Anonymous No.1527197]

>>1526325
>>1518550
>>1517518
>>1517273
I've played Fighting Force and Die Hard Arcade, and I like how they have a good amount of weapons and environmental stuff. Are there any other beat 'em ups out there like this? I know this sort of thing has been incorporated into some modern 3D games but I'm looking for classics.

[script writer kibe No.1527272]

>>1516502
There's a very large difference between "hack 'n slash" and "beat-em-ups" much in the same way with "standard fair shmups" and "bullet hell shooters"

>>1516652
Really love the art design for PuLiRuLa as well

>>1527195
King Of Dragons is great, though I find the arcade version a bit unforgiving. I kind of consider the ports of it and Knights Of The Round good alternatives to Golden Axe if you own an SNES

[Anonymous No.1527324]

Warriors of Fate? Yes, please. 5 chars, some with weapons, also, horses, and a nice setting.

[Anonymous No.1527356]

>>1526006
I just beat this the other night, but don't remember that skull
Must have been down a different path

I almost shed a tear at the end when the little dwarf on the giant's shoulders actually jumps and sacrifices himself to make sure the final boss is dead.
It was so subtle, but he died.

[Anonymous No.1527364]

>>1527356
That's actually Gaoh's magic attack. That big thing comes down and stone breaths everyone.

Best thing is that if they're regular troops, you see a mini cutscene where they get petrified. Same for the fire magic attack that burns them.

[Anonymous No.1527365]

>>1527364
yeah the melting faces is what I used.
Pretty good animation

[Anonymous No.1527531]

>>1526552
>All this mad

[Anonymous No.1527804]

>>1526006
>Why this game is an arcade exclusive and was never ported to a console is beyond me.
Don't get me started on Planet Harrier.

[Anonymous No.1527828]

>>1526006
Not uncommon. Until a few months ago, D&D was arcade only except for a Japan only Saturn release.

I enjoyed Revenge more than D&D though, so I feel your pain.

[Anonymous No.1527832]

>>1527828
As for the reason, I guess timing. When the game came out, no console could run it, but when the Saturn came out it was already a few years old and you know Sega.

[Anonymous No.1527850]

>>1526545
Your logic is on-par with branding Pirates of the Caribbean a romance and saying it's shit because of too many swordfights.

[script writer kibe No.1528101]

>>1526006
I recall hearing that some aspects of Revenge Of Death Adder were included Sega Ages/Sega Classics Collection remake of the original game, but I can't be sure

[Anonymous No.1528327]

>>1527850
>>1526552
>Samefag.

[Anonymous No.1528459]

>>1527828

D&D was a nice surprise. When X-men arcade and Simpsons arcade got released as well it definitely filled a couple of holes. There's still tons of great arcade games out there waiting for some kind of release. In the meantime there's always MAME. Sometimes I wish video games could be like the music industry. Where a reissued/remastered album is almost always readily available.

[Anonymous No.1528465]

>>1528327
lol nope

I only posted here
>>1526552

[Anonymous No.1529497]

>>1527324
I really like the grappling in that game. So many options on how you can handle your enemies, and your friends too.

[Anonymous No.1531074]

>>1525742
This game is fantastic as fuck.
>throw shit everywhere
>you're invincible while throwing shit

but it's a platforming beat em up like asterix and oblisk(I'm not really sure of spelling), it's a bit different from side scrolling beat em up.

>>1523726
Great game but only with 4+ people.

I'm not gonna post the link to avoid getting banned, but if you guys like let's play, look up Best Friends Play. Those guys play beat em ups, not the best players but they do know about their games.

[Anonymous No.1531274]

I really LOVE this game. Its feelings when you kill this aliens is so good!

[Anonymous No.1531339]

>>1531274
please stop trolling with those filters. awesome game though

[Anonymous No.1531349]

>>1531274
>Beat-'em-up
>You shoot enemies instead of punching them

[Anonymous No.1531354]

>>1531349
not him but it's golden axe with aliens pretty much. It plays way more like a beat em up than a run n gun for sure.

[Anonymous No.1531381]

>>1531354
That's probably why the Japanese call this genre "belt-scrollers."

[Anonymous No.1531828]

I played River City Ransom a few times on an emulator.

Is it worth getting on console/completing?

[Anonymous No.1531996]

>>1516568

You can co-op in DMC3.

[Anonymous No.1532078]

>>1531381
In this game your "guns" can't shoot. You can only hit enemy, that stands exactly behind you. So, for gameplay, it is just sword.

[Anonymous No.1532083]

>>1531828
Do you feel like playing the game some more? Possibly to completion? Do you prefer playing on a TV or on the computer? Do you enjoy owning physical copies of media entertainment?

[Anonymous No.1532315]

>>1532083
well, to be honest, I'd rather play on tv/console to completion and I love physical copies.

but, the convenience-immediacy of downloading on computer trumps all that, if I could be playing in the next 48 hours.

then again, pic related

[Anonymous No.1532316]

>>1531996
For the rest of us: The Doppelganger style can be used by two players, with player 2 controlling the doppelganger. This also works with the two-on-one boss fight in the second-last mission since teaming up with Vergil works identically to Doppelganger.

[Anonymous No.1532336]

Is Golden Axe the most frustrating, rage inducing beat em up ever, or what? The way the faggot enemies are programmed to circle around you and attack from both sides make me angry.

Anyway, my favorite beat em up is King of Dragons. Because I'm good at it and can beat the SNES version. But I like all of the fantasy beat em ups. D&D, Golden Axe, etc.

[Anonymous No.1532364]

>>1532336
>Is Golden Axe the most frustrating, rage inducing beat em up ever, or what?
Nope. It's one of the easiest belt-scrollers to 1CC, at least the arcade version.

[Anonymous No.1532369]

>>1532364
Maybe I'm just no good at it though. It feels like playing a game where every single enemy is that one really annoying enemy you hate from any given beat em up.

I still like it because its basically a good Conan game, though.

[Anonymous No.1532420]

>>1532369
the skeletons in the first game fuck those bitches can put up a fight.

[Anonymous No.1532437]

>>1532369
>>1532420
I always thought Gillus' back attack (attack and jump at the same time) was pretty effective.

[Anonymous No.1532734]

>>1532336
All the Golden Axes are pretty much the same. Cheap enemies, bad odds, shifting move priorities... Even in the latest (this one) >>1526006 which everybody loves for some reason (probably because it's one of the prettiest), you have to "exploit" your way across pretty much the whole game or hit continue every 2 minutes.

[Anonymous No.1532949]

>>1532734
>you have to "exploit" your way across pretty much the whole game or hit continue every 2 minutes

Pretty sure all beat 'em ups are like that, man.

[Anonymous No.1532967]

>>1532336
golden axe is like an entry level beat em up. Its one of the easiest series

The way you make it so that enemies dont circle around you is to play aggressivily and use crowd control. "dont get surrounded" is the absolute most basic rule in beat em ups.

[Anonymous No.1532979]

>>1532949
by exploit do you mean 'use throws and jump attacks a bunch?' pretty much any beat em up can be cleared without taking damage.

Its just a matter of using the right crowd control mechanics for the right situation.

[Anonymous No.1532992]

You can tell the quality of a beat-em-up by how interesting the techniques in the TAS are.

None of them even come CLOSE to the quality of the current world record for Streets of Rage 2. Can you imagine a 2D beat-em-up with that much sheer depth?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtRY6U3koh8

[Anonymous No.1532995]

>>1532949
Streets of Rage 2 isn't like that. That probably factors into why people like it so much.

>>1532979
My issue is having to do crowd control when facing enemies that bee-line to you and you don't have the repertoire for it. Like not having enough horizontal/vertical range, having bad reverse moves, having inadequate or hard to pull off "specials" (moves that hit front and back), having less mobility than enemies, having slower attacks, having shifty priorities. Golden Axe pretty much checks every item on this list. It's acceptable in the first game, not so acceptable in the 4th. Watching someone 1cc them (what you'd think would be the ideal way to play it), it looks ridiculous.

[Anonymous No.1533004]

>>1532992
Come on, that's an exercise in curiosity, nothing more.

[Anonymous No.1533234]

Just threw in a couple of Golden Axe games and well, they aren't that *hard*, but they are definitely rage-inducing. I was getting pissed off as hell even though I got to the final level/boss in each of them.

Speaking of golden axe, what's with the Sega CD version? The voices are different, enemies don't scream, they go "ow". And the music, while better than the Genesis version, still sounds like FM. Is it a redbook version of the arcade's music?

Played 1 on the Sega CD, 2 on the Genesis, 3 on the PSP. I don't like the PSP d-pad, but the game looks damn good on the small screen.

[Anonymous No.1533269]

>>1533234
>Speaking of golden axe, what's with the Sega CD version? The voices are different, enemies don't scream, they go "ow".
I think they got changed since the original arcade and Genesis used soundbytes from movies.
http://youtu.be/pZ6C69ZvW-w
>And the music, while better than the Genesis version, still sounds like FM. Is it a redbook version of the arcade's music?
Pretty much.

[Anonymous No.1533314]

>>1532992
>using tool-assisted speed runs as an example to show quality

wut

[Anonymous No.1533371]

>>1532995
if there was an easy to pull off move that hit both the back and front of enemies you would never fucking die. Your 'get enemies off me' move is your suicide attack. It costs health but its cheaper than taking a hit.

You have plenty of reach in golden axe. You have a dash attack, a jump attack, and running jump attack. Thats 3 different gap closers that are all good for different situations.

You are probably playing wrong and trying to spam your long combos when you arn't safe, than you let the enemies surround you. In arcade beat em ups you absolutly have to know when the correct time to use each ability is. Long combos and big jump attacks are good for when you have safe openings. Quick, safe grapples and dash attacks are good for when you are under pressure. Suicide attacks are for when you screw up. You also need to master move priority. Some of your abilities have priority over and 'beat' other enemies abilities. For instance in cadilacs and dinoasuars the characters dash attack has priority over the enemies own dash attacks.

Arcade beat em ups are not not DMC where you can just mash out combos without carrying about the enemies positioning. They are games about technique and reaction time.


Arcade games are DESIGNED to be fucking hard. They arn't for everyone. Golden axe is an entry level beat em up and is one of the easiest ones to 1 credit in the genre. I can consistantly get to the 4th level on 1 credit and I havn't practicated it very much. If the game is too hard for you maybe you should play some console beat em ups. They tend to be much slower and more forgiving. I'd recommend sonic blastman 2, bare knuckle, and batman returns.

Theres games of different difficulties for different players. For someone like you maybe arcade games are too hard. For other people console beat em ups are too easy. You shouldnt qq about a game being too difficult for you to handle. Theres games for players of all skill levels.

[Anonymous No.1533381]

>>1525780
What's criminal is how rushed/unfinished it was. If they just had another month or two it seems like the game could've been fleshed out a ton more. Still one of my favorite beat 'em ups due to the complex mechanics and general DD aesthetic.

[Anonymous No.1533438]

Another thing that comes to mind is how great the genesis pad is. I was having huge fucking problems in D&D playing that shit with a 360 pad. Running, and even doing the damn haduken button combo to charge attack is hard. When I start playing these Golden Axe games, with an actual good pad, I'm flying across the screen with flying kicks and able to run whenever I want.

[Anonymous No.1533476]

>>1533371
>if there was an easy to pull off move that hit both the back and front of enemies you would never fucking die.
That's bullcrap. Blaze has an attack like that that isn't a special and it's the worst one in the game. Attacking front and back and ease of use has nothing to do with you dying, only if you're invulnerable when you pull it off and you know it.

>You have plenty of reach in golden axe. You have a dash attack...
That's not what I'm talking about and you know it. I'm talking how your standard attack has less vertical and horizontal reach than your enemies. Besides, they too have those attacks you mention.

>You are probably playing wrong
And you had to go there. Someone mentions something cheap about an old game and he's suddenly playing it wrong. That's a great attitude to have. Somehow all games are suddenly brilliant and everyone who disagrees is playing it wrong. Sod off.

>Arcade games are DESIGNED to be fucking hard. They arn't for everyone.
Oh gee wiz, thank you mister. I wouldn't have realized that if you hadn't told me. And that's exactly because of that design that they end up being cheap. Which is what >>1532336 is alluding to and what I agreed to in the first place. This isn't about difficulty, it's about a game's willingness to give you the tools to resolve the problems they set you without doing it in a manner which is cheap or exploitative. Like walking mobs to their doom because they don't know they can't fly in Golden Axe. Like going forward only enough so that the enemy can't flank you and you can pummel a single enemy against a wall while the other waits like a moron in GA. Like timing your running jump attack to hit exactly when they're getting up because otherwise it never hits in GA. Like using an animal as bait in GA. Like advancing slowly so enemies spawn one at a time in GA. Do you know what exploitative means in a gaming concept? That is it. Not a lot of people find it entertaining.

[Anonymous No.1533557]

>>1533476
If you are really having so much trouble with golden axe that it's frustrating you should probably just stop playing and pick something else up. No one cares if you can't handle difficult games. Just play whatever entertains you. Theres no need to bash games that are too difficult for you. Golden axe is a fucking entry level arcade game. Theres shit way harder than it.

I'm just trying to give you advise on how to play the game and succeed at it. Golden axe isn't really a difficult beat em up and all you need to be able to get far in 1 credit is a mastery of basic mechanics. Theres advanced techniques that you mentioned enemy but those arn't required to beat the game. They are just tricks for advanced players. Golden axe is one of the easiest arcade beat em ups ever, theres stuff way more demanding.


Arcade games arn't the type of thing where you play them casually for a few days and learn how to 1 credit game. They absolutly destroy you if you don't master their mechanics and have lightning quick reaction time and they are going to make even the most basic enemies deadly. Its not for everyone.

You figured out that you can't handle the games so make peace with them and go play something else.

No one gives a shit if you suck at the game, just don't blame the game. It clearly wasn't made for someone of your skill level. Not every game on the planet needs to be tailor made to your specific needs. Theres games for absolute begginers and games for grand masters and everything inbetween.

What you are doing is basically walking into a gym filled with hardcore body builders and than complaining that all the weights are too heavy and need to be nerfed.

[Anonymous No.1533560]

>>1533438
For beat 'em ups I love how the Genesis pad has big meaty buttons. It's not as good as hammering on an arcade stick but it comes close and beats the hell out of the little SNES chicklets for sure. Again, as far as beat 'em ups are concerned.

[Anonymous No.1533572]

>>1533560
I really need to look into a better pad for my PC. I play D&D over the interwebs with some friends of mine, and it would be so much more fun if I could actually control my character well.

[Anonymous No.1533581]

I would like to bring up something that bothered me ever since I played Final Fight at an arcade in a smoke-filled bowling alley as a young-un. What the fuck kind of city do you live in where shit like this happens? A gang (With many hundreds of members) apparently runs your city, and you, a stoic martial-artist, WILL STAND FOR IT NO LONGER! So, you walk down the street, waterfront, through the sewers, whatever, and the gang sends wave after wave of mouth-breathing, sleeveless-vest and bandanna wearing thug at you, day after day, level after level. Hundreds of people beaten bloody and left in the streets. It makes no fucking sense, why is this a sound strategy for either side? Just go fight the fucking boss immediately. You have a car, drive to his hideout.

[Anonymous No.1533586]

>>1533581
>you have a car, drive to his hideout

Because if you get in your car, this will happen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wbwa9qPU-Q

[Anonymous No.1533587]

>>1533581
Because at the start of the game they don't know who the gang leader is. Presumably they find clues inbetween the levels that lead them to the next area. No one would guess that the wheelchair bound bussiness man is behind the entire plot. Use your imagination.

The police are corrupt and part of the game (edie e)

As for the martial arts thing. Its because of japanese culture. In japan guns are illegal for civilian use, getting hold of them is nearly impssible. You can't even find them on the black market easily because japan is a fucking island so everything that enters the country is easily monitored. Even the criminals in japan have trouble getting ahold of em

The mayor is an ex pro wrestler, guy is trained in ninitsu, and cody is his sparring buddy.

[Anonymous No.1533596]

>>1533587
So, were I to go to Japan, I would see brawls in which one or two guys are thumping hundreds of baddies for the good of the city?

[Anonymous No.1533618]

>>1533587
>Because at the start of the game they don't know who the gang leader is.

What about Streets of Rage? Where they tell you who the guy is in the credit roll. Where you have a car that even shows up. Where you have a bazooka and a gatling gun with friend or foe AND homing technology. Where none of the enemies have any weapons except for the big guy, unless you count a guy who uses claws and some fat bloke who spits fire. At least in Golden Axe you had to go find a bloody eagle to fly you to the place.

But then I guess proper procedure was never any good fun.

[Anonymous No.1533630]

>>1533618
Oh wait, there's that guy with the frisbee and the lady with the whip. Very dangerous except, you know, BAZOOKA.

[Anonymous No.1533673]

>>1533587
>In japan guns are illegal for civilian use

Completely untrue. Stop using anime as a reference for real life fact.

[Anonymous No.1533686]

Sengoku 3 was already mentioned so guardians/denjin makai 2. You get a fighting game style combo system and a recharging special meter like streets of rage 3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn3xLSz_YpY

[script writer kibe No.1534403]

>>1533234
>Speaking of golden axe, what's with the Sega CD version?

IDK, the entire Sega Classics Arcade Collection is a very stranger bird that just doesn't make any sense at all. Some games have CD quality audio, others don't. Some have CD quality voice samples, others don't

[Anonymous No.1534445]

>>1527175
he was ironically describing unironic things ironically
gosh you're so thick

[Anonymous No.1534576]

>>1534403
Only Golden Axe had CD-quality audio and it was just redbook samples of the arcade version's FM music.

[Anonymous No.1534930]

>>1533557
And you keep up the "you can't play" façade. It's farcical. No one here asked for your advice or your diatribes on arcade games. No one here asked for your crap unified theory on video games. All that's been going on is discussion of a /vr/ as is supposed to with praise as well as criticism until you went full fanboy and decided to reply with a load of butthurt bullshit and vaguely homoerotic metaphors. Just because someone criticised a game you like. Grow up.

[Anonymous No.1534940]

>>1534930
Maybe you should just accept the fact that not all games are tailor made for you.

[Anonymous No.1534945]

Alright, I just beat Golden Axe on my Sega CD. And yes, I was raging, even though it is easy than say, Final Fight (much easier). Enemies in Final Fight aren't programmed to gang rape you from either end.

I think I'm gonna try Guardian Heroes next. Never played it before. I had played Golden Axe back in the 90s, but I never had a Genesis until recently.

[Anonymous No.1534948]

>>1534940
Maybe you should try learning to read.

[Anonymous No.1535149]

>>1525742
Lol at the names.
>Ninja
>Female Ninja

Kamaitachi isn't exactly original but still better than the other 2.

[Anonymous No.1535243]

>>1535149
They had generic games because the original arcade version only had two playable character. Kamaitachi was made up for the SNES version.

[Anonymous No.1535286]

>>1534930
Well you obviously CAN'T play golden axe. You keep complaining that the game kicks your ass.

Not everyone is good at every game. Theres games for all skill levels of players and thats a good thing. It would be a shame if the good players didn't have any game to challenge them and it would be bad for the industry if there were no entry level games.

You need to understand that arcade games ARE usually not easy.

Theres nothing wrong with critisizing a game but you all you will do is embarass yourself if you try to critisize a game you can't even play properly. Can you imagine hearing 'critism' of an fps from someone who can't even shoot a standing target? Or the opinion of a street fighter player who only knows how to mash buttons? Or the opinon of a bullet hell shmup from someone who can't go more than 10 seconds without dying or bombing? Or the opinion of a mario player who can't even beat the first fucking level? All you would hear is 'the game is too hard, my character sucks, I need more hit points, enemies are too fast, everything is cheap'

Some games are more difficult to get into than others, some demand more from the player. Not every game is going designed just for you. Thats why I suggested games for you I was trying to give you something fun thats closer to your level.

I'm not a fanboy of golden axe, I don't particularly like or dislike it. It's not the best beat em up but its hardly a trainwreck. Its a pretty fun game if you know how play it well (probably not as fun if you dont)

What I am trying to tell you is very simple. If you keep getting your ass-kicked by a game and arn't having fun doing it you should probably stop playing the game. You shouldn't rage if you suck at a game, its not a personal attack on you, it just means the game isn't right for you. If you can't understand a game than you can't judge it well either.

[Anonymous No.1535651]

>>1535286
>Well you obviously CAN'T play golden axe.
This idiocy again.
>You keep complaining that the game kicks your ass.
Learn to read.
>wankwankwankarcadeswankwankwankdifficultwankwankwankwankcan'tplaywankwankwanknotdesignedforyouwankwankwank
Are you really going to keep posting this masturbatory trash whilst not bothering to read? So that you don't post lies like implying I called it a train wreck or that I can't understand it or that you're not a fanboy or even retarded assumptions that I can't play or that I'm raging or that all this stupid shit isn't a thinly veiled personal attack? And all of this because I pointed out a couple of things I think are wrong with it? Again, grow up.

[Anonymous No.1535678]

>>1535651

[Anonymous No.1536034]

>>1525742
IMO the best soundtrack on the system, too. I fucking love me some Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, and this is his best work of them all.

And man, how fucking radical is Kamaitachi? Just look at him.

[Anonymous No.1536379]

I've played a hell of a lot, here are some of my favourites:

Armoured Warriors - You rip off the pieces of enemy robots and stick them to yourself, you can also combine with teammates in certain segments ala power rangers.

Cadash - Beat em up\platformer - Features rpg-ish concepts. If you're going to play this I recommend the multiplayer version, it's way more fun with a friend.

Battle Circuit - You can level up and choose what skills to unlock, also has a nice design and memorable bosses.

Guardians\Denjin Makai II - Has a good selection of characters and a lot of different attacks.

PuLiRuLa - Only because of how fucking weird this is, it's also easy so playing on a single credit is possible.

Naturally there are tons of other amazing ones that are worth mentioning but it's possible to overlook these.

[Anonymous No.1536413]

Crime Fighters is one of my favourites that consider one of the hardest motherfuckers ever. That bitch swallowed shitloads of coins. Extremely frustrating and fun at the same time. They don't make em like that anymore

[Anonymous No.1537924]

>>1516568
I agree
3d beat em ups just dont have the intenesity of the 2d ones (at least the old arcade titles)

Having a block/dodge button that to do kills so much of the tension and makes the games way too easy. The whole crowd control game and need to constantly reposition and be aware of the placment of enemies is gone from the 3d tittles. Just mash the attack button and press dodge when the enemy telegraphs an attack.

The 3d variant of the genre is about doing flashy combos so the enemies are turned into punching bags that don't fight back. The enemies in bayonneta and dmc feel so lifeless and unthreatening.

[Anonymous No.1538578]

>>1537924
>The 3d variant of the genre is about doing flashy combos

Only the shitty games.

[Anonymous No.1538583]

>>1537924
3D beat em ups don't have multiplayer too.

[Anonymous No.1538614]

My favorite is Turtles in Time on SNES.

[Anonymous No.1538646]

I just beat Undercover Cops, and damn it's a great game.

Be sure to play the japanese version though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxgR4bY8-Dg

[Anonymous No.1538658]

>>1538646

I love the art style in that game but your characters barely have special moves, and while the weapon system in that game is great there are only 2 or 3 weapons and they're not too numerative.

If the game had a larger weapon selection I think I would replay it a lot more than I do, but as it stands I only bust it out on occasion.

[Anonymous No.1538669]

>>1517624
>implying it came only out on the snes

[Anonymous No.1538675]

Are there any beat 'em ups for the SNES that allows for more than two player co-op through a multitap? Would be great fun.

[Anonymous No.1538930]

>>1538675
Nope. The only SNES belt-scroller that allowed more than two players was Rushing Beat Syura/Peace Keepers and that was only for the Versus Mode. I don't think the SNES had enough RAM to allow for a 3-5P beat-'em-up, when it barely could handle 2P beat-'em-ups (the SNES Final Fights could only have three enemies on-screen).

[Anonymous No.1538963]

>>1538930

What about the Power Rangers beat em up, that's 4 player, isn't it?

[Anonymous No.1538984]

>>1538963
The original MMPR on the SNES was 1P only. MMPR: The Movie was 2P.

[Anonymous No.1539005]

>>1538578
which ones arn't shitty

the only 3d beat em ups I can think of that actuall emphasis technique are shinobi, ninja gaiden, and the first onimusha.

it doesn't take anything other than learning to time the dodge/block button for dmc, bayonnetta, god of war, and all the tecmo koe games