I grew up with the beat 'em up genre. Loved games like Turtles in Time, Streets of Rage, and Golden Axe. Saw a few titles here that I might have to track down for my collection! Great video!
One omission that I think is particularly noteworthy is mighty final fight for the NES. It's NES game made after a super Nintendo version and went its own way with art and gameplay. At the time it was a really big deal for those of us who only had a NES.
Fantastic video bud. Feels incredible that I've been playing these games since they pretty much started and being there to play through there evolutions has been an absolute treat. I miss this old Japan. Constantly creative, pushing boundaries, whilst also creating truly fantastic games. Great video, thanks for the upload and trip down memory lane.
I like how the genre evolved into games like bayonetta, ninja gaiden and devil may cry. And there are some modern takes on the 2D games as well like casttle crashers, scott pilgrim game, fight n rage, Dragons Crown and river city girls
You are right, the genre has certainly inspired both modern games and modern retro indie titles... There are some amazing beat em ups out there nowadays! 🤓👍
I'm personally more a fan of Capcom brawlers as well ^^ There's just some crunchiness in the gameplay that Konami games usually didn't have. Both are awesome of course, but Capcom's gameplays usually seemed more refined. Then there's Sega and their Streets of Rage 2, which is my favorite beat'em up of all, and arguably second best. Best, of course... is Aliens vs. Predator :D
My top 10 favorite beat 'em ups 10. Streets of Rage 2 9. Final Fight 3 8. The Hyperstone Heist 7. Turtles in Time 6. Bare Knuckle III 5. The Takeover 4. River City Girls 3. Shredder's Revenge 2. Fight'N Rage 1. Streets of Rage 4
It's fun to think that castlevania is a part of the branch of evolution from kung fu (on the family branch of bad dudes and crude buster, with trojan and even rushn attack/green barret)
Im glad that you liked the video, and in answer to your Streets of Rage question, I was concentrating more on the arcade releases, as there are far too many games to cover on all formats.... With Streets of Rage predominantly being a console game, albeit that there were the Mega-Tech cabinets, but they were simply a Genesis inside a box with a selectable games lists... I do however give SoR2 a mention in the clip on console and computer games.
Excellent video mate :) This is probably my fave genre along side JRPGs and Point'n'clicks. I honestly didn't know about that first one on C64 so well done :D I did at one point plan to play at least one version of every side scrolling beatemup but I don't know if I'll ever be able to! That attack of the phantom game isn't even mentioned on the wiki page for the genre en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_%27em_up The only other fact that I know, and might be interesting to throw in, is that side scrolling beatmups are called 'belt scrollers/belt action' in Japan. I got the BIG box version of the capcom beamup collection from Japan (as I say, called the belt action collection) for PS4.
Yeah, not many will know of 'Attack of the Phantom Karate Devils', it's a pretty bad game, but deserves a mention, not just be forgotten!! 🤪 And for me it counts as an important step, I think it's easy to see the comparisons between it and later beat em ups!!
Marvellous vid, I do like a good beat--em-up. Loved Target: Renegade on the Speccy, and Cadillacs & Dinosaurs on the arcade. Shame about the '76 boxing game....
You can't beat a good beat-em up! Yeah, lost games, especially when their the first of their kind are upsetting... This is why we should all be grateful of emulation and the ton of good stuff it has preserved beyond original hardware, also the missing/prototypes it has unearthed which would otherwise have remained unplayed, it's just a shame that some of the earlier games missed the boat!
I'm was aware of that, but I didn't want to mention them twice. As I said, I was naming a few notable games on computer and consoles and I believe that they both had a bigger impact on the Genesis than they did in the arcades, although admittedly Golden Axe was a pretty awesome machine in the arcades!
That is true, but far as licences go, Capcom had a few too... The Punisher, Dungeons & Dragons, Alien Vs Predator, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs. And I love some of both, but I just find the Capcom games to be a better quality IMO!
I've always found it weird how Konami's art direction was so good on consoles yet so hit or miss with their arcade offerings compared to Capcom. Capcom seemed to have the opposite problem, great arcade offerings with mediocre home conversions.
You're not wrong, Heavyweight Champ it is a versus fighter for sure, but I do explain that both single screen and multi screen fighting games came before the side scrolling beat-em up! The tree branches off in two directions, fighters and beat-em ups, but both of them started with the first fighting game 'Heavyweight Champ' by Sega in 1976.
That's cool, I get it! Beat-em ups and vs fighters are completely different, but I'm not lumping them together, so much as accepting that they both share the same origins, just different off-shoots of video game evolution.
Yeah lost games almost make me cry TBH! It's a shame that there isn't even a rom out there somewhere, because I think this is the one area where emulation has a place, to preserve otherwise extinct games!
X-Men is in there at 15:54 , It was a pretty cool game in it's time, particularly the 6 player cabinet, which to my knowledge was the first and only 6 player arcade game ever made and absolutely huge... They only made 600 of them, the regular, common version was either a 4 or 2 player cabinet.
That is Burning Fight for the Neo Geo, not a bad game, it just kinda feels like a bit of a Capcom beat'em up clone to play, very similar to Final Fight in a lot of ways!
@@RetroSpexx-yt Thank you for your answer, yes, I had seen that game in an arcade in a shopping center, but I couldn't remember the name, from what I saw it is a good game, it felt very fluid and with better animation. The Final Fight was colder in its playability.
Turtles In Time is the best and Streets of Rage (any in the series) is the worst. People who think SOR 2 is the best are obviously pathetic Sega fanboys holding onto the past.
Turtles, Xmen and Simpson's I played religiously at the arcade!
I grew up with the beat 'em up genre. Loved games like Turtles in Time, Streets of Rage, and Golden Axe. Saw a few titles here that I might have to track down for my collection! Great video!
One omission that I think is particularly noteworthy is mighty final fight for the NES. It's NES game made after a super Nintendo version and went its own way with art and gameplay. At the time it was a really big deal for those of us who only had a NES.
Fantastic video bud. Feels incredible that I've been playing these games since they pretty much started and being there to play through there evolutions has been an absolute treat. I miss this old Japan. Constantly creative, pushing boundaries, whilst also creating truly fantastic games. Great video, thanks for the upload and trip down memory lane.
A pleasure.... I love a good beat 'em up too! 🤓👍
I like how the genre evolved into games like bayonetta, ninja gaiden and devil may cry.
And there are some modern takes on the 2D games as well like casttle crashers, scott pilgrim game, fight n rage, Dragons Crown and river city girls
You are right, the genre has certainly inspired both modern games and modern retro indie titles...
There are some amazing beat em ups out there nowadays! 🤓👍
Castlevania for nes is also an evolution of kung fu and trojan
Awesome. Beat Em Up's are the best genre of games.
I'm personally more a fan of Capcom brawlers as well ^^ There's just some crunchiness in the gameplay that Konami games usually didn't have. Both are awesome of course, but Capcom's gameplays usually seemed more refined. Then there's Sega and their Streets of Rage 2, which is my favorite beat'em up of all, and arguably second best. Best, of course... is Aliens vs. Predator :D
My top 10 favorite beat 'em ups
10. Streets of Rage 2
9. Final Fight 3
8. The Hyperstone Heist
7. Turtles in Time
6. Bare Knuckle III
5. The Takeover
4. River City Girls
3. Shredder's Revenge
2. Fight'N Rage
1. Streets of Rage 4
It's fun to think that castlevania is a part of the branch of evolution from kung fu (on the family branch of bad dudes and crude buster, with trojan and even rushn attack/green barret)
Hi, i think "Night Slashers" from 1994 worth a mention.
I have that game on Switch
Maximum Carnage was an awesome console beat ‘em up.
Great vid but what about Streets of Rage? Did I miss you mention this? Definitely considered one of the greatest
Im glad that you liked the video, and in answer to your Streets of Rage question, I was concentrating more on the arcade releases, as there are far too many games to cover on all formats....
With Streets of Rage predominantly being a console game, albeit that there were the Mega-Tech cabinets, but they were simply a Genesis inside a box with a selectable games lists...
I do however give SoR2 a mention in the clip on console and computer games.
@@RetroSpexx-yt ah I maybe missed that (damn multi-tasking).
Excellent video mate :) This is probably my fave genre along side JRPGs and Point'n'clicks.
I honestly didn't know about that first one on C64 so well done :D I did at one point plan to play at least one version of every side scrolling beatemup but I don't know if I'll ever be able to!
That attack of the phantom game isn't even mentioned on the wiki page for the genre en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_%27em_up
The only other fact that I know, and might be interesting to throw in, is that side scrolling beatmups are called 'belt scrollers/belt action' in Japan. I got the BIG box version of the capcom beamup collection from Japan (as I say, called the belt action collection) for PS4.
Yeah, not many will know of 'Attack of the Phantom Karate Devils', it's a pretty bad game, but deserves a mention, not just be forgotten!! 🤪
And for me it counts as an important step, I think it's easy to see the comparisons between it and later beat em ups!!
Marvellous vid, I do like a good beat--em-up. Loved Target: Renegade on the Speccy, and Cadillacs & Dinosaurs on the arcade. Shame about the '76 boxing game....
You can't beat a good beat-em up!
Yeah, lost games, especially when their the first of their kind are upsetting...
This is why we should all be grateful of emulation and the ton of good stuff it has preserved beyond original hardware, also the missing/prototypes it has unearthed which would otherwise have remained unplayed, it's just a shame that some of the earlier games missed the boat!
Very good! Love your videos
Thank you kindly, I'm glad you liked it!
Can you do a history of the sidescrolling run and gun game genre video?
Oi.....Double Dragon 123 NES, Heavenly creation! Stay brawlerz!
Golden axe and streets of rage were also realesaed in the arcades
I'm was aware of that, but I didn't want to mention them twice.
As I said, I was naming a few notable games on computer and consoles and I believe that they both had a bigger impact on the Genesis than they did in the arcades, although admittedly Golden Axe was a pretty awesome machine in the arcades!
Konami sure have alot of license show beat em up games
But Capcom has alot of iconic beat up
That is true, but far as licences go, Capcom had a few too...
The Punisher, Dungeons & Dragons, Alien Vs Predator, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs.
And I love some of both, but I just find the Capcom games to be a better quality IMO!
I've always found it weird how Konami's art direction was so good on consoles yet so hit or miss with their arcade offerings compared to Capcom. Capcom seemed to have the opposite problem, great arcade offerings with mediocre home conversions.
Great video man!
1:38 this game has more in common with Street Fighter than Streets of Rage.
You're not wrong, Heavyweight Champ it is a versus fighter for sure, but I do explain that both single screen and multi screen fighting games came before the side scrolling beat-em up!
The tree branches off in two directions, fighters and beat-em ups, but both of them started with the first fighting game 'Heavyweight Champ' by Sega in 1976.
@@RetroSpexx-yt I guess I'm just sensitvie about people lumping 1 on 1 fighters with beat-em-ups.
That's cool, I get it!
Beat-em ups and vs fighters are completely different, but I'm not lumping them together, so much as accepting that they both share the same origins, just different off-shoots of video game evolution.
Good run down of games, shame about that SEGA boxing game lost with time, I would of liked to see that in action, great video.
Yeah lost games almost make me cry TBH!
It's a shame that there isn't even a rom out there somewhere, because I think this is the one area where emulation has a place, to preserve otherwise extinct games!
Thanks!
LETS GO!!!!!!!!!
Great round up. Wow I did not realize some of these had better sequels. What happened to Konami’s X-Men? 😁
X-Men is in there at 15:54 , It was a pretty cool game in it's time, particularly the 6 player cabinet, which to my knowledge was the first and only 6 player arcade game ever made and absolutely huge...
They only made 600 of them, the regular, common version was either a 4 or 2 player cabinet.
Excellent video, could you tell me which game is at 11:00?
That is Burning Fight for the Neo Geo, not a bad game, it just kinda feels like a bit of a Capcom beat'em up clone to play, very similar to Final Fight in a lot of ways!
@@RetroSpexx-yt Thank you for your answer, yes, I had seen that game in an arcade in a shopping center, but I couldn't remember the name, from what I saw it is a good game, it felt very fluid and with better animation. The Final Fight was colder in its playability.
I think Capcom has a slight edge compared to Konami.
I would agree in terms of game play, a little more polish lets say....
But TMNT is the only exception for me, I simply love that game!
Yes but I love both. They truly made memorable games. 😍
Why not upload the pack incl art?
DOUBLE DRAGON 3
Turtles In Time is the best and Streets of Rage (any in the series) is the worst. People who think SOR 2 is the best are obviously pathetic Sega fanboys holding onto the past.
I appreciate SOR for what it is but Final Fight is better for me as it’s clearly an arcade game vs a console game.