Undiscovered beat 'em ups? Racketboy review

[Nando]

Fun list and learned about a few games I hadn't played.

http://www.racketboy.com/retro/the-best-undiscovered-beat-em-ups

[SuperDeadite]

No Legionaire?  Probably cause it's not emulated lol.

[SignOfZeta]

I have to admit, that list kind of schooled me. There are quite a few things on there I never knew about. If it never hit consoles and didn't have a US arcade release, there is a good chance I missed it.

Examples: Asura Blade (a fighter) and Osman (a Strider clone) which I only learned about in the last few years.

[Nando]

No mention of Gladiator: Road of Sword by IGS. If you haven't looked at titles from this company you should. Not the BEST of games but well worth checking out, if you can.

[RegalSin]

Any moron can go through their Mamelon and pick out the Beat em ups.
Speaking of which I no longer have my Mamelon. Oh forsaken me, no Mamelon. I played most of those already and some in the arcades.

[Necromancer]

No Riot City?!?  Bah!

[nodtveidt]

Some of the arcade ones aren't exactly rare... Golden Axe: TRODA, Aliens Vs Predator, Vendetta, and Shadow Over Mystara were pretty well-known back in the day. Sonic Blast Man, Captain Commando, and Cadillacs & Dinosaurs are sort of uncommon. Violent Storm was kind of rare because Vendetta didn't do so hot, and the Spider-Man brawler wasn't too widespread. A couple of the others I'd never heard of, such as Gaia Crusaders and Growl.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I recall playing Captain Commando alot BITD.  I can't remember if there was ever a port, maybe for SNES?  Growl sounds familiar, I think there was a Genesis port of it?

[TheClash603]

My favorite genre when I was a kid and definitely still one of my favorites now.  The list had a handful of games I never played, now I am excited to check them out.

It always boggled my mind that these games didn't come out on home systems.  There are a few that may have been too advanced for 16-bit hardware, but would've sold well enough to justify a port a few years later when the PSX/Saturn came out.

[nodtveidt]

Just tried Battle Circuit in MAME... pretty damn interesting game.

[bartre]

I recall playing Captain Commando alot BITD.  I can't remember if there was ever a port, maybe for SNES?  Growl sounds familiar, I think there was a Genesis port of it?

yup, snes port, used to have it, sadly, my cart died

[kazekirifx]

I own quite a few of those arcade boards - basically all the 4-player ones. I have a thing for collecting 4-player beat-em-ups so that I can play them with my 3 brothers, and with friends at parties.

Growl has to be a personal favorite for me. I love how unashamedly brutal it is (while your heroes are supposedly out to 'save the animals'). The weapons are awesome, and the regular punch attack is inhumanly fast. The number of bad guys that can appear on screen is so many that the game glitches constantly - I love that! The visual glitches make the game even more intense... thinking 'This board might crash any moment now!' (Only actually got the game stuck once.) If only this game were longer, it would be perfect.

A game that DEFINITELY should have been on this list but wasn't is Karate Blazers by Video System (Aero Fighters on Neo Geo, etc.). Another awesome and unique beat-em-up. Guess there are places where you can play it for free in flash these days. That kinda sucks. Get the board, and wire for 4 players!

[Emerald Rocker]

On the subject of Growl, here's a review I wrote for Growl.  It's one of those games that seems like it will be AWESOME for the first five minutes, but...

I do have to admit that the number of enemies onscreen is absolutely nuts.

[kazekirifx]

On the subject of Growl, here's a review I wrote for Growl.  It's one of those games that seems like it will be AWESOME for the first five minutes, but...

I do have to admit that the number of enemies onscreen is absolutely nuts.

What? Why are there always people who shit on this awesome game? Take it from someone who owns the arcade board and takes it out regularly for parties: this game IS AWESOME. Have you even tried it with 4 players? Personally, I never get tired of beating the crap out of the hoards of enemies. It has that satisfying feel and sound when you hit them. The only problem is that it's too short. I always feel like I could go for 4 or 5 more stages when the end comes around.

I can see how maybe it might get tedious with only 1 or 2 players. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever even played it with less than 4, or maybe 3, players. Everyone at the gaming party has a blast when I take the Growl board out. Don't think I've ever witnessed anyone not enjoy it in person...

EDIT: Sorry. You are a bad person for writing that review. You are a part of the problem, spreading negative propaganda about great old arcade games.

[Emerald Rocker]

I know, I'm evil

In a party atmosphere, it probably would be pretty cool.  I mean, there are just so many enemies and so many weapons all over the place.  And let's be honest, things that I complained about (like "balance" and "variety") don't matter much in a four-player game.  I can also see how Growl neophytes would be amused by all the weird stuff that happens -- watching their faces would be priceless!

EDIT: But I have to know -- what is the fire cavern stage like with four players?