Oh My Car! A Thread for Beat-em-Ups

[liquid]

Anybody know of any 3D beat em ups that are worth going back to and have been either ported to PC/modern consoles or are cheap enough to pick up on eBay? I remember liking Die Hard Arcade and Fighting Force, but haven't really played either one since the Nineties.

God, I wish AvP, The Punisher, and Die Hard Arcade would get modern ports.

 

[Sarge]

1) Which is the richest/deepest beat em up you've played? I'm not talking philosophically but more about being able to do a lot within the game.

While I'm sure there are deeper beat-'em-up experiences out there (the aforementioned D&D games definitely fit), I still think from a mechanical perspective that Technos' output is my favorite balance between complexity and fun. Double Dragon II on NES is one of my all-time favorites (I even think the platforming is fine now!), and of course River City Ransom provides lots of RPG-lite depth to the proceedings and still feels fantastic to play.

2) What is the most fun as an experience?

I'm not sure this has a single answer. While I tend to not like games modeled on Final Fight as much, I'm absolutely willing to say Streets of Rage 2 sits at the pinnacle of that style. I also love Double Dragon Advance for expanding on the arcade-style games. It's an absolute joy to play through.

3) What, for better or worse, is the most experimental beat em up you've played?

I've probably played more odd stuff, but Crimson Tears just popped into mind, a sort of rogue-lite brawler hybrid. Oh, wait, speaking of hybrids, how about Hybrid Heaven? Now that's what you call experimental. Kind of a beat-'em-up RPG thing that is really hard to describe without playing it.

4) I remember a LOT of the games I played in the early 90s were licensed. What IP would make an awesome licensed game?

Even though they got one SNES game, I think Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.s could have had a much better outing. I actually read through the entire series recently, and it starts kinda meh, gets a lot better, and then when they started rebooting it they went way too edgelord for my tastes.

I could also see another Avengers game doing gangbusters now.

5) What out of print licensed game would you be happy to buy? There's a specific one that comes to my mind but I feel like there are a few.

They already did Ninja Warriors, but another that popped into mind is Technos' Shadow Force.

Shadow Force – Hardcore Gaming 101

www.hardcoregaming101.net

Yeah, not licensed, but that's mainly because I can't really think of much that I have to have for licensed games. TMNT III is probably a good one, though.

6) What genre or genre elements would you like to see mashed up with the beat em up?

I mean, I'm all for well-done RPG stuff, but you know what would be cooler? Zelda-style shenanigans. Puzzle-solving dungeons. Tools to navigate areas and find upgrades. It's part of the reason I like games like Beyond Oasis or Dragon View so much. And actually, yes, Octo mentioned Guacamelee, and those games do a fantastic job of integrating exploratory platforming in with the brawling.

 

[SilentSnake]

I've been trying to beat Streets of Rage for a bit now, and I keep game overing on the elevator stage. Some of those bosses I have no idea how to get through without burning a whole bunch of lives.

 

[Sarge]

I've been trying to beat Streets of Rage for a bit now, and I keep game overing on the elevator stage. Some of those bosses I have no idea how to get through without burning a whole bunch of lives.

A lot of them are more vulnerable to grabs/suplexes. Especially the claw boss, if you approach him correctly, you can get a grab in, and it's pretty safe. It's the twin sisters that always get me, but I learned a trick for them recently - use the back attack as they approach you while you're in the corner. Cheap, but it works, and will save you a lot of heartache in that last level when you have to refight them without the benefit of your police car special.

 

[Phantoon]

Also, I believe one always goes for throws and the other jump attacks. Knowing that means you know which one is safe to grab.

 

[ShakeWell]

Anybody know of any 3D beat em ups that are worth going back to and have been either ported to PC/modern consoles or are cheap enough to pick up on eBay? I remember liking Die Hard Arcade and Fighting Force, but haven't really played either one since the Nineties.

God, I wish AvP, The Punisher, and Die Hard Arcade would get modern ports.

Die Hard Arcade holds up, but the US version is not a cheap pickup, unfortunately. Fighting Force is, but hasn't aged super well. Jackie Chan Stuntmaster is, as I said upthread, but is also now pretty expensive ($50 complete). I like both Zombie Revenge and Dynamite Cop on the Dreamcast, though I feel like there's a lot of hate out there for the former, especially.

 

[Sarge]

Also, I believe one always goes for throws and the other jump attacks. Knowing that means you know which one is safe to grab.

Yes, and they alternate. You can tell which one is going for what move by the way they walk.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Also, I believe one always goes for throws and the other jump attacks. Knowing that means you know which one is safe to grab.

But which one always lies and which one always tells the truth?

 

[Phantoon]

Ask one if the other one is going to jump kick

 

[fanboymaster]

Die Hard Arcade holds up, but the US version is not a cheap pickup, unfortunately. Fighting Force is, but hasn't aged super well. Jackie Chan Stuntmaster is, as I said upthread, but is also now pretty expensive ($50 complete). I like both Zombie Revenge and Dynamite Cop on the Dreamcast, though I feel like there's a lot of hate out there for the former, especially.

Worth noting if you still have a PS3 lying around DHA without the license is available as a PS2 classic on JP PSN in Sega Ages Dynanite Deka

 

[Nich]

SUPER PUNCH PATROL is coming on Sept. 17th. I loved Horberg's last game (Mechstermination Force), so I'm IN.

Oh yeah, Gunman Clive and Mechstermination Force were good times, I'm up for anything he--

play as police chief Anders Punch, who decides to take desperate measures to combat the crime and violence dominating the streets

I'm up for anything else he makes!

 

[Octopus Prime]

Yeah, umm... they're based out of Sweden so... I can forgive them not following the News in America but...

Maybe... maybe rethink some bits of that'un, eh, guys?

 

[WildcatJF]

Oh ooooof

 

[ShakeWell]

Worth noting if you still have a PS3 lying around DHA without the license is available as a PS2 classic on JP PSN in Sega Ages Dynanite Deka

True! It's also the best version, but I guess I still kinda think of the PS3 as a "modern console"?

 

[Phantoon]

I might be premature, but if it's not in the shops anymore, and is over 10 years old, I'd class it as retro

 

[Sarge]

That's our cutoff over at HRG, ten years.

 

[ShakeWell]

My personal definition of "retro" has changed to be "two or more generations removed," so it's not retro QUITE yet.

 

[Sarge]

That's fair, too. It probably doesn't help that the PS3/PS4/PS5 are going to have seven-year gaps between them, though.

 

[Vega]

1) Which is the richest/deepest beat em up you've played? I'm not talking philosophically but more about being able to do a lot within the game.
2) What is the most fun as an experience?
3) What, for better or worse, is the most experimental beat em up you've played?
4) I remember a LOT of the games I played in the early 90s were licensed. What IP would make an awesome licensed game?
5) What out of print licensed game would you be happy to buy? There's a specific one that comes to my mind but I feel like there are a few.
6) What genre or genre elements would you like to see mashed up with the beat em up?

1. I'm in the middle of a River City Girls run, so maybe that? I'll have to complete it to see if it has more stuff in total than Guardian Heroes, which I've played exhaustively.
2. X-Men arcade game because I played it at an arcade that was crowded enough that it pretty often got six players.
3. River City Ransom for mixing in a lot of RPG elements.
4. Has Avengers been done? Not a franchise I care for but it would probably sell.
5. Simpsons or Scott Pilgrim
6. This wouldn't appeal to me personally, but maybe a free-to-play brawler would be popular with people who haven't tried the genre before?

I especially wish brawlers had remained popular for the rest of the 90s so they would've made use of all the graphical techniques that came along like digitized graphics, pre-rendered graphics and real-time polygons.

Yeah, umm... they're based out of Sweden so... I can forgive them not following the News in America but...

Maybe... maybe rethink some bits of that'un, eh, guys?

It's kind of hard to make a brawler that isn't implicitly pro-police because you're basically just beating up everyone the police would've locked up if they'd been more fast or thorough. Either that or you're playing as a public menace who the police are after. As an American, I'd settle for brawlers being relocated to other countries so the pro-policing message isn't specifically in favor of American police.

 

[Mogri]

There are plenty of brawlers where you beat up corrupt cops.

 

[Phantoon]

Streets of Rage 4 for one

 

[ShakeWell]

4. Has Avengers been done? Not a franchise I care for but it would probably sell.

It has! And it's good!

 

[Riot.EXE]

It has! And it's good!

Funny thing about CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE AVENGERS...That game was the first time I had ever seen the character, Vision...so imagine my confusion when I later saw him with colors.

 

[Kishi]

Same here. It's always funny when a licensed game ends up capturing a specific point in time like that. Dazzler being playable in X-Men would be another one.

 

[Octopus Prime]

I feel like most of Dazzlers popularity comes from that game, to this very day.

Any popularity thrown towards her is warranted, of course.

 

[WildcatJF]

Same here. It's always funny when a licensed game ends up capturing a specific point in time like that. Dazzler being playable in X-Men would be another one.

I feel like most of Dazzlers popularity comes from that game, to this very day.

Any popularity thrown towards her is warranted, of course.

Yeah, I am a fan of 90s X-Men arcade game Dazzler for sure haha. It's why I bought her action figure that looks just like her outfit in that game!

 

[ghosttaster]

I might be premature, but if it's not in the shops anymore, and is over 10 years old, I'd class it as retro

IMO someone should coin a new term for this Copper Age of games

 

[YangusKhan]

Funny thing about CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE AVENGERS...That game was the first time I had ever seen the character, Vision...so imagine my confusion when I later saw him with colors.

I still remember the pizza place down the street from my house growing up that had this cabinet. It had to have been my very first exposure to The Avengers as a concept, let alone all of the characters.

Same here. It's always funny when a licensed game ends up capturing a specific point in time like that. Dazzler being playable in X-Men would be another one.

I was always way confused who Dazzler was and why she wasn't in the 90s cartoon.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I was always way confused who Dazzler was and why she wasn't in the 90s cartoon.

But she was in the 1989 cartoon. That game was actually kind of based on the TV pilot (titled Pryde of the X-Men) for an X-Men cartoon that was never picked up.

If you want to see an Australian Wolverine (because Australia was super popular at the time), then this is your show.

 

[Riot.EXE]

But she was in the 1989 cartoon. That game was actually kind of based on the TV pilot (titled Pryde of the X-Men) for an X-Men cartoon that was never picked up.

Yup, The playable characters were pretty much the lineup that was in the pilot, and the stages could pretty much be considered the unaired episodes. Funny how that worked.