Brawler/Beat 'Em Up Discussion

[Anonymous No.2766920]

With brawlers suffering the same fate as a lot of other once popular genres these days, what do you think were some missed opportunities for the genre during the height it reached in the arcade/SNES/MegaDrive days?

What sort of settings do you think were missed opportunities? We've had plenty of street gang games and a decent amount of classical medieval settings with a D&D styled party fighting through monsters. If you wouldn't have wanted a new setting, what good twists could have been applied to those?

Gameplay mechanics? We had simple combos for the most part with the odd special attacks here and there like magic spells or the much loved Streets of Rage police support.

I made a thread a few months back asking for good retro brawler suggestions and got an absolute load of responses and I've played through a good dozen of them now. I'm mainly curious to find out what /vr/ thinks were missed opportunities and not necessarily just a sequel to another popular game.

Personally, I'd have liked to have seen a slightly more comedic style brawler in terms of style and theme. The mechanics could stick largely to the formula, but perhaps add a larger number of combos and upgrades.

[Anonymous No.2766927]

I wish there was more stuff like the Ninja Boy series. With the RPG elements and the weird feudal Japanese setting.

[Anonymous No.2766941]

>>2766927

I've never played it, what are the RPG elements? I did a quick Google and from the screenshots it appears to have a JRPG world map and a money/levelling system. I quite like that idea, how much does it expand on it?

The feudal Japan setting is great. Now that I think about it, Goemon did the feudal setting with comedy elements very well. Shounen Ninja Sasuke was great too, visually beautiful.

[Anonymous No.2766954]

>>2766941
You end up fighting bosses in a classic turn-based JRPG style. Disappointing to me tbh. I like a well made boss fight, especially if it tests your skill. The turn-based bosses feel weird, but they do give the game some charm.

[Anonymous No.2766963]

>>2766954

I can't see how that would work out so well. The idea of a brawler and a turn based game seem to conflict quite strongly.

[Anonymous No.2767061]

Making more in the series that did well in the arcades (TMNT, X-Men, Simpsons)

[Anonymous No.2767067]

>>2767061
+Asterix by Konami and please, port it.

[Anonymous No.2767080]

Not retro, but if you want a wacky, tongue in the cheek beat'em up go play god hand on the ps2.
For fun simple old school controls and mechanics blending with modern and varied objectives go play the warriors, also on ps2.
For once I would like to see a parody of konami or capcom beat'em ups in the same style of how parodius spoofs gradius and salamander.
One thing that could been great back in the day but no one really explored (aside from splatterhouse) was a game where you play in a horror setting.

[Anonymous No.2767202]

>>2767080

I think that part of the issue of the horror setting is that if you can competently beat up the enemies, it's hard to make it scary. The setting is still cool though so even if it isn't scary, horror theme can work well.

[Anonymous No.2769691]

>>2766920
>what do you think were some missed opportunities for the genre during the height it reached in the arcade/SNES/MegaDrive days?

Fist of the North Star. It's amazing that there's only like one beat em up based on it and it's total shit.

[Anonymous No.2769695]

Branching paths inside of a level could have been a game changer. Just seemed like such a gimme idea.

Also, why was there never a home port of the Simpsons arcade game outside of years down the road? Seemed like such a good idea

[Anonymous No.2769698]

>>2767080
Try Night Slashers.

[Anonymous No.2769705]

>>2767202
Horror doesn't necessarily have to mean scary. Personally I think it'd be cool to have some beat em up where you're playing as someone tasked with quarantining zombie infested areas.

[Anonymous No.2770521]

>what do you think were some missed opportunities for the genre during the height it reached in the arcade/SNES/MegaDrive days?
Technos should've made a true Double Dragon sequel to the Neo-Geo instead of that Street Fighter clone based on the movie.

[Anonymous No.2770751]

>>2770521
You shut your mouth, that Street Fighter clone is AMAZING.

[Anonymous No.2770757]

>>2770521
Funnily enough it plays more like Power Instinct.

[Anonymous No.2770828]

Uh... since this thread is a bit slow, I'll post a Guardians tier list for whoever may be interested... it's from a Japanese page.

http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~B_orchid/aaa.html

お勧めキャラ
ギルリアン バランスが取れているのが魅力
スカルビュレ 手榴弾を取れば敵なし
刃零 投げやC技が強い
朧 天明 4、7面ボスの良い攻略が見つかれば、もっと評価が上がる
タルクス A+Cが弱くラスボスが厳しい
P・ベルヴァ 弱いわけでは無いが全体的にいまいち売りが無い
黒騎士 6ヒットで敵を倒すのは難しく、敵を倒しきれない
ゼル・ディア 防御力が無いが遠距離戦に徹すれば結構強い
ちなみに1coinクリアした順番
刃零
スカルビュレ
朧 天明
タルクス
P・ベルヴァ
ギルリアン
ゼル・ディア
黒騎士

Translation:

Recommended Characters:
1) Girulian
2) Skullbyule
3) Jinrei
4) Rou
5) Tulks
6) P. Belva
7) Kurokishi
8) Zeldia

Ease in 1cc:
1) Jinrei
2) Skullbyule
3) Rou
4) Tulks
5) P. Belva
6) Girulian
7) Zeldia
8) Kurokishi


Personal thoughts:
Skullbyule and Girulian are just much stronger than everyone else. Practically god mode.
Jinrei is also top fucking tier but not quite as powerful as the above two.
Personally, Rou & Tulks & P. Belva are pretty close in my book.
Zeldia is clearly weaker than everyone mentioned above.
Kurokishi is most definitely the worst character in the game.

Also, characters have different amounts of health. This is from personal testing. Highest to lowest.
1) P. Belva
2) Girulian & Rou & Skullbyule & Tulks
3) Jinrei & Kurokishi
4) Zeldia

[Anonymous No.2770842]

>>2770828
Interesting, i will try Girulian.
To me the easiest to 1cc and the most powerful is Skullbyule, just spam his down+up attack (spikes) all the time.

[Anonymous No.2770860]

>>2770842
Yeah, Skullbyule is disgustingly powerful. Fun to use when you just want to destroy everything in your path.

[Anonymous No.2770953]

I would like to see Streets of Rage + Souls games hybrid (Souls of Rage?). You know:
>multiple branching interconnected paths leading to different areas all part of a cohesive "world"
>vendors, interesting NPCs
>upgrade weapons and armor, stats, etc
>each character would become like its own class
>stamina bar
Etc. Sounds fucking awesome in my mind.

[Anonymous No.2770985]

>>2770842
Just no-missed with Girulian, the tier list was right he's' great, not very poweful but great footsies, speed and evading mechanics.

I just love the controls in this game, despite having a massive moveset the controls are very responsive. Few beat 'em ups do this right.

>>2770953
There are tons of modern beat 'em ups with RPG elements.

[Anonymous No.2771064]

I tried playing Golden Axe again, it's so clumsy to play.

[Anonymous No.2771070]

>>2766941
The Ninja Boy games are just JRPGs with beat 'em up battles. Not especially well done ones either, but the concept is great.

[Anonymous No.2771075]

>>2766920
4 Players on home consoles. Could have sold millions of multi-taps.

[Anonymous No.2771079]

>>2771064
Personally I've always thought of Diablo-like games being pretty close to what the natural next step for Golden Axe would have been, had it ever taken that step into next-generation hardware.

[Anonymous No.2771082]

>>2771079
You don't know about Beast Rider?

[Anonymous No.2771084]

>>2766920
Actually making an effort to develop LEVELS/WORLDS and not just BACKGROUNDS. It was all the interactive scenery and all the places you could go that made River City Ransom so fun.

[Anonymous No.2771085]

>>2771064
Revenge of Death Adder is great though.

[Anonymous No.2771093]

>>2770751
I would've liked it a lot more if it was based more on the older AC and NES games instead of the movie.
>>2770757
Never played much of the Power Instinct series. Does that series have that same "no punch/kick buttons" system from Double Dragon '95?

[Anonymous No.2771101]

>>2771075
Pretty much impossible on SNES. On Genesis pretty sure SoR1 could handle 3 players co-op.

[Anonymous No.2773812]

Any good brawlers with mechas out there?

[Anonymous No.2773883]

>>2773812
Powered Gear is the only one that comes to mind.

[Anonymous No.2773884]

>>2766920
>With brawlers suffering the same fate as a lot of other once popular genres these days
>Starting a thread with bitching
Better settle in for another shit thread.

[Anonymous No.2773895]

Being born a 5th-gen fag (but my favourite gen is probably 4th gen all together) I have a hard time for many brawlers. I don't really see the fun in just walking along and punching stuff, at least when playing them alone, usually the move set is very limited and gives me little chance to vary myself to make it more interesting when compared to fighting games.

This being said, I kind of wish I liked brawlers more. They certainly are popular and there's a lot of them.

Please recommend me a brawler to change my mind /vr/. Either a cream of the crop or one that is a bit different than the usual will do.

[Anonymous No.2773906]

>>2773895
Guardians/Denjin Makai 2 will definitely be your thing.

Also, as general tip for brawlers and arcade game, don't credit-feed.

[Anonymous No.2773921]

>>2773895
Try to beat them using 1 credit (that means no continues).

[Anonymous No.2773927]

>>2773906
That does look interesting. Will check out.

[Anonymous No.2773982]

>>2773812
Would Cyborg Justice count?

[Anonymous No.2774223]

>>2773982
Not really. That game isn't that good imho pham.

[Anonymous No.2775498]

I grew up with Streets of Rage and lately I've been discovering and playing other beat em ups. Specifically arcade beat em ups actually, which seem to be way more in-your-face.

Pic related is one of the dope ones I've tried so far, Battle Circuit

[Anonymous No.2775545]

>>2775498
Battle Circuit is pretty fun, but it's a bit too easy. Every character (except Silver) has easy ways of breaking the game (i.e. reducing challenge to a minimum). still a fun game though. one of the easiest 1cc arcade games out there.

[Anonymous No.2775597]

>>2775545
It's still quite punishing, 2 lives and only one extend at the shop. Which char is the most overpowered, I'm guessing it's the plant. What's the deal with the true last boss, by the way?

[Anonymous No.2775605]

>>2775597
To fight the True Last Boss: You need to use only 1 credit, earn 3,200,000 points, and you have to get 1,000 coins or 6
upgrades.

[Anonymous No.2775608]

>>2767080
>>2773812
We need more mecha, robots, monsters and even kaijuu beat'em ups.

I had fun with Edo no Kiba.

[Anonymous No.2775613]

>>2775597
It's not very punishing. 2 lives is 1 too many imo.

First of all, you can extend your lifebar twice. Plenty of healing items everywhere.

As for which char is the most OP. Yellow beast by far.

She has an infinite that she can do right from the start using the chipmunk move. it's easy as hell, and works on 98% of the enemies and bosses in the game. For the true final boss she has another infinite using her uppercut move. her infinite does tons of damage too so it's not like you're ticking off life. She's also the best money maker in the game by far. She has literally no weaknesses. She even has more health than Silver, which makes no sense.

Green is great too. all you need is his uppercut and wiggle throw (left/right+throw, then wiggle left then right) you don't need anything else except the black oil move for the true final boss (I don't remember the names of the moves because it's been about 8 years since i've played this). Heal when you need to and you have an easy 1cc. He was my first 1cc actually.

Pink is also excellent. Probably better than Green. His upgraded uppercut attack is ridiculous. Also, do the float, then the repeated kicks. That's all you need really.

Blue is solid but not overpowered.. until you get his fullscreen megacrash. Then you can just megacrash bosses into a living death while munching on food.

Silver is the weakest by far. Yeah, he has an infinite, but it's unreliable.

Anyway, the biggest obstacle to 1cc the game is the 2nd boss because you might lose 1 life to her. but know her patterns and knock her out and the rest of the game should be a piece of cake because by that time you will have a) a longer lifebar, b) better moves.

[Anonymous No.2775618]

No ploblem

[Anonymous No.2775648]

>>2775613
Not the anon you responded to, but I guess I'm just used to simple home console beat em ups cause I am getting pimp-walked over in Battle Circuit. I'm still gonna learn it though.

[Anonymous No.2775656]

>>2775648
The thing about console beat'em ups is that

1) the default difficulty is usually too easy. so you want to raise it up to make the game more exciting

2) too many bonus lives and stuff.

For example, if you were to play Streets of Rage 2 on Hardest difficulty, and limit yourself to 2 lives and no more than that. Then that right there is much harder than a bunch of arcade beat'em ups.

[Anonymous No.2775657]

>>2769698
How 2 git gud at this? I get absolutely annihilated on stage 3. Enemy attacks seem to come out of nowhere and easily catch me off guard. The dropkick zombies especially drove me nuts.

[Anonymous No.2775662]

>>2771101
Ancient were once considering to put a 3P mode in Streets of Rage 2.

[Anonymous No.2775671]

>>2775613
Great stuff.
>using the chipmunk move.
You mean the Charge A Button ground projectile thing?

[Anonymous No.2775686]

[Anonymous No.2775694]

>>2775671
Yep. That's the one.

It's kinda hard to describe but it's easy to do. THe timing isn't all that strict either.

Basically, you want to hit grounded enemies with that move, then hit them again while they're on the ground but in the other direction, then do it again in the other direction.

1) hold the A button to get the chipmunk charged

2) walk forward to make a bit of distance between you and the chipmunk

3) release A to hit an enemy, immediately hold A again, turn around and walk

4) release A to hit the enemy again while he's on the ground. immediately hold A again. turn around and walk

and keep repeating. You don't have to dash. walking is fine.

It's really really easy to do, and requires very little practice. In comparison, Silver's infinite where he hits grounded enemies with his aerial buzzsaw move is hard and not worth the trouble. Some other semi-infinites are stuff like repeated a,a,a,for+a with green and silver.

[Anonymous No.2775753]

Is there a beat 'em up with a survival mode like Final Fight CD?

[Anonymous No.2775940]

>>2775662
As much as i love the idea, it's just too much for a Genesis. Was SoR3 developed by Ancient anyway or just Sega?

[Anonymous No.2776262]

What do you guys think of this? Its "inspired" by Streets of Rage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xlF1kA1jPA

[Anonymous No.2776267]

>>2776262
Looks alright. Sprites don't look as nicely animated as double dragon neon.

[Anonymous No.2777349]

>>2776262
Looks mediocre, it's going to be freeware, RIGHT?

[Anonymous No.2777387]

>>2776262
the music is all wrong

[Anonymous No.2778915]

>>2766920
Ranged combat could've worked well with the simple 3d gameplay of beatemups. I remember The Shadow on the SNES and Punisher on arcades tried to add gunplay sections.

[Anonymous No.2778971]

>>2778915
King of Dragons from Capcom has a few characters that have only ranged attacks.

[Anonymous No.2779007]

>>2770953
wasn't that pretty much that one version of river city ransom for some Japanese pc?

[Anonymous No.2779026]

>>2777349

Every software is a freeware on the internet

[Anonymous No.2779551]

>>2766920
>With brawlers suffering the same fate as a lot of other once popular genres these days
I wouldn't call improvement and evolution "suffering". 90's arcade brawlers and SoR are pretty dope though.

[Anonymous No.2779750]

>>2777777

[Anonymous No.2779757]

>>2779551
>improvement
In which way? hack 'n slashes play nothing like beat 'em ups to begin with.