Melfand Stories
The Super Famicom library never ceases to amaze me. Even now, decades after its last release, I am still discovering plenty of hidden gems in its lineup. While the SNES has a solid lineup of side scrolling beat em ups...
Tag: brawler
Rollergames
Developer: Konami Publisher: Ultra Released: September 1990 Released: Action Konami picked up some very obscure and strange licenses toward the end of their NES run. Bucky O’Hare might have been an obscure comic book and cartoon but...
Brawl Brothers
In spite of how generic it was I still kind of liked Rival Turf. It was as blatant a Final Fight clone as possible but it still had charm. I don’t like it enough to recommend it to anyone, mind...
Renny Blaster
It’s not easy being a fan of a failing system. By 1993 I knew it was over for the Turbo Grafx-16 even in spite of the Turbo Duo’s release. But some small part of me was still rooting for the...
Riot Zone
Next to shooters and platformers no other genre was as oversaturated in the 90s as the side-scrolling beat em up. Once Final Fight ignited the genre every developer was off to the races copying Capcom’s formula. But where shooters had...
The Ninja Warriors
Original home beat ‘em ups usually fell into one of two categories. Those that adhered to the Final Fight/Double Dragon mold, which is the majority. And those that tried something different. Games like Melfand Stories and Splatterhouse may not have...
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV – Turtles in Time
Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Released: August 15, 1992 Genre: Beat ’em up I can easily say that Turtles in Time is one of the games I have spent the most time with. Honestly the amount of hours I’ve spent...
Batman Returns
With the astronomical costs of video game development these days you don’t see many licensed titles anymore. But back in the day publishers ran their entire business around tie-ins. When done properly you got some of the best games of...
Vigilante
Irem’s Kung-Fu had a tremendous impact on me growing up. The NES port available at the system’s launch taught me a lot about game design without me realizing it. The way it paced its enemy encounters, their combinations and placement,...
Undercover Cops
Developer: Varie Publisher: Irem Released: March 3, 1995 Genre: Beat ’em up Platform: Super Famicom If you were to explore nearly any publisher’s back catalog you’ll find plenty of hidden classics that have gone...