Streets of Rage 2

Streets of Rage 2

Developer: Ancient    Publisher: Sega    Release: 12/15/92    Genre: Beat ’em up Growing up I was a card carrying Nintendo fanboy. It was not hard as the Master System was no competition for the NES. But the Genesis changed all that. With...
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Battletoads & Double Dragon

Battletoads & Double Dragon

Developer: Rare    Publisher: Tradewest    Release: 12/93   Genre: Beat em up Battletoads & Double Dragon is the crossover that no one asked for. I am sure many would have preferred the Ninja Turtles but that was not happening for obvious...
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The Pirates of Dark Water

The Pirates of Dark Water

Developer: Sunsoft    Publisher: Sunsoft    Release: 05/94   Genre: Beat ’em up Alongside shooters the side scrolling beat ‘em up was the hot genre of the 90s. But by the middle of the decade I must admit the brawler was getting...
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Ghost Chaser Densei

Ghost Chaser Densei

Developer: Winky Soft     Publisher: Banpresto   Release: 09/23/94   Genre: Beat ’em up Final Fight lit a spark that reinvigorated the beat em up with many clones following. It was an exciting time as many titles were pushing the envelope...
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Sonic Blast Man II

Sonic Blast Man II

Developer: ITL Co.    Publisher: Taito    Release: 11/94   Genre: Beat em up Sonic Blast Man is an underrated brawler in the SNES library. Since it was impossible to convert the gimmicky arcade to the home Taito instead crafted an...
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Double Dragon 3: the Arcade Game

Double Dragon 3: the Arcade Game

Developer: East Technology    Publisher: Flying Edge    Released: 1992   Genre: Beat em up Hm. Double Dragon 3. Let’s get this out of the way right now; Double Dragon 3 is one of the worst beat ‘em ups of...
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Spartan X 2

Spartan X 2

Developer: Tamtex    Publisher: Irem    Released: September 27, 1991    Genre: Action Kung-Fu was one of my first NES games. I’m pretty sure I am not alone in that either. As an early adopter it was slim pickings for...
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The Bouncer

The Bouncer

Developer: Dream Factory    Publisher: Squaresoft     Released: March 6, 2001     Genre: Beat ’em up The PS One completely dominated the market during the 32-bit era thanks to the cheap costs of CDs and great third party support. No third party...
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Growl

Growl

Developer: Taito     Publisher: Taito     Released: 1991     Genre: Brawler I like a good beat ’em up. Yes, the genre became over saturated like shooters in the 90s but I will always make time for a good one. Because there were...
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Ikari III: the Rescue

Ikari III: the Rescue

Developer: SNK     Publisher: SNK     Released: 1990    Genre: Action The Ikari Warriors series in the arcade were pretty good games overall. Unfortunately they were absolutely dreadful on the NES, especially the first game. Somehow despite that fact...
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