Best brawlers ever

Tek7

Tek7

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Staff member
Sometimes, you just get in the mood to load up a game, mash some buttons, and beat up pixels. At those times, it's good to have a classic brawler (a.k.a. beat 'em up) at the ready.

Here's a short list of some of my favorite brawlers:
  • Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)
  • River City Ransom (NES)
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Arcade/SNES)
  • Double Dragon III (NES)
And then I have a few favorites that don't fall into the brawler category, but are still a blast to play and for similar reasons. Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2) comes to mind.

So I'd like to hear some opinions from the rest of you. What are your favorite beat 'em up games?

Feel free to name any beat 'em up game on any system from any year.
 
Hescominsoon said:
i have the whole streets of rage series and they all rock..:)
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Agreed, though SoR2 is still the best.

It surprises me that the DS, with its humongous library of titles, doesn't have even one awesome brawler (unless I'm forgetting or haven't learned about one). Tokyo Beat Down is pretty good, but not what I would consider great.
 
Tek7 said:
Agreed, though SoR2 is still the best.
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Well, I prefer SoR3, since it has 2 secret characters; The Kangroo and Shiva (Yes, he's playable. :cool:).

Other than that:

- Final Fight 3 (SNES)
- X-Men (Arcade version)
- Alien Vs Predator (Arcade version)
- Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (SNES)
- Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety (Sega Genesis)
- Dynamite Cop (Sega Dreamcast)


I remember when my family went to Australia, we found a Arcade place and there was Alien Vs Predator. My sister and I played it through the entire game and apparently, it gave us "Free Credits". :D
 
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Spider-Man: Maximum Carnange
X-Men and Spider-Man: Arcades Revenge
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (Turtles in Time? Really Tek?)
Battletoads
 
tjguitarz said:
SSB, SSBM, or SSBB. Though I have to say, I opt for a shooter if I need to unload some steam.
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I had level-based (not versus) beat 'em up games like Streets of Rage 2 in mind, but Super Smash Bros. Brawl can be fun now and then. Too bad it lags like mad online.

Keero said:
Castle Crashers, go!
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If I had a Xbox 360, I would undoubtedly own Castle Crashers. Of course, that would just make me that much madder when the RROD struck. :p

Corpfox said:
Well, I prefer SoR3, since it has 2 secret characters; The Kangroo and Shiva (Yes, he's playable. :cool:).
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SoR3 was a big disappointment for me. The gameplay and controls just didn't feel as tight as SoR2. They also took away Max, replaced him with some cyborg old guy, and removed Blaze's infinite combo trick.

Corpfox said:
Other than that:

- Final Fight 3 (SNES)
- X-Men (Arcade version)
- Alien Vs Predator (Arcade version)
- Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (SNES)
- Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety (Sega Genesis)
- Dynamite Cop (Sega Dreamcast)
- The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
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A great list. I thought of the X-Men arcade game before I started my post, then forgot to add it.

[toj.cc]phantom;355418 said:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (Turtles in Time? Really Tek?)
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Yes, really. I listed the SNES title because it's the game I played more often, but added the /Arcade in parentheses because the SNES title is based on the arcade game, just with less shiny graphics and an extra level. I knew what I was doing. :p
[toj.cc]phantom;355418 said:
Battletoads
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I guess I should have specified that I'm looking for games where it's actually possible for a human being to get past the third level.
 
Tek7 said:
Sometimes, you just get in the mood to load up a game, mash some buttons, and beat up pixels. At those times, it's good to have a classic brawler (a.k.a. beat 'em up) at the ready.

Here's a short list of some of my favorite brawlers:
  • Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)
    [*]River City Ransom (NES)
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Arcade/SNES)
  • Double Dragon III (NES)
And then I have a few favorites that don't fall into the brawler category, but are still a blast to play and for similar reasons. Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2) comes to mind.

So I'd like to hear some opinions from the rest of you. What are your favorite beat 'em up games?

Feel free to name any beat 'em up game on any system from any year.
Click to expand...

You get cool points for actually mentioning River City Ransom Tek ^^. I've been expecting a sequel for 20 years o_O. Given it took nearly that long for Bionic Commando I still think there may be one (lets just hope it's actually decent).
 
[toj.cc]phantom;355492 said:
You mean you've never finished it? :eek:
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It's been a long, long time, but I think I actually cleared level 3 after the umpteenth try. Unfortunately, I don't think I ever beat the game (there are still 5 more stages left after the ridiculous challenge that is level 3) without aid of a Game Genie.
 
Tek7 said:
It's been a long, long time, but I think I actually cleared level 3 after the umpteenth try. Unfortunately, I don't think I ever beat the game (there are still 5 more stages left after the ridiculous challenge that is level 3) without aid of a Game Genie.
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Good ol' game genie
 
- The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
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I noticed that doesn't count as a "brawler" as its a Action/Adventure.

[toj.cc]phantom;355492 said:
You mean you've never finished it? :eek:
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I haven't beaten X-Men (Arcade) because I ran out of quarters.
Plus, I was in there for over 2 hours.

And Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, I was stuck on the Hover "Brain" level.
 
Tek7 said:
It's been a long, long time, but I think I actually cleared level 3 after the umpteenth try. Unfortunately, I don't think I ever beat the game (there are still 5 more stages left after the ridiculous challenge that is level 3) without aid of a Game Genie.
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Game Genie o_O! Oh noes Tek is a haxzor! Say it's not so Tek! T_T :p

I didn't beat it when I rented it either Tek.
 
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If my memory serves me they do classify Battletoads as one the most difficult games to beat back on the old systems.
 
Whon said:
If my memory serves me they do classify Battletoads as one the most difficult games to beat back on the old systems.
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Some lists have listed it as the hardest game ever.

EDIT: Getting back to brawlers that aren't Battletoads, Viewtiful Joe for the Gamecube looks like fun.
 
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