Best Beat 'em Up

Street Fighter II Turbo, released in 1992, is the third arcade iteration of the popular fighting game franchise developed by Capcom. It served as an enhancement kit for Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and featured a faster pace alongside new special moves for select characters. The title refined...

Widely considered the pinnacle of the franchise, Yakuza 0 takes players back to late 1980s Japan. It follows the parallel lives of Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima as they rise through the ranks of the yakuza underworld. The game excels in its dual-protagonist narrative, offering two distinct perspectiv...

Batman: Arkham City is an action-adventure game set in a contained city within Gotham. Bruce Wayne, as Batman, is imprisoned within Arkham City and investigates a plot led by Warden Hugo Strange. The game draws from established Batman comic book narratives and features a sprawling urban environment.

Soulcalibur II is a 3D fighting game developed by Namco in 2000. It’s notable for its expansive crossover story blending Japanese mythology, samurai warriors, and fantasy characters like Ajax and Cassandra. The game offers complex sword combat mechanics and strategic depth appealing to players inter...

Mega Man 2 is a classic action platformer released by Capcom in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The game’s innovative level design and memorable boss battles established key elements of the Mega Man series. It remains popular with gamers who enjoy challenging gameplay, precise cont...

Tekken 3, released in 1997, is the third game in the Tekken series and utilized Namco System 12 hardware. The title’s narrative unfolds nineteen years after its predecessor, introducing new characters like Jin Kazama and Ling Xiaoyu alongside a sidestepping mechanic for all playable fighters. A Play...

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time" is a classic arcade beat 'em up game developed and published by Konami in 1991. Players control the four Ninja Turtles across various historical and futuristic levels, fighting the villain Shredder and his Foot Clan. The game is notable for its pioneer...

Garou: Mark of the Wolves is a 1999 fighting game developed by SNK, following events ten years after Real Bout Fatal Fury. The game centers on Terry Bogard and Rock Howard’s participation in the Maximum Mayhem tournament, introducing fourteen new characters. It utilizes unique mechanics including T....

Hi-Fi Rush is an action game where the player controls Chai, a man whose cybernetic enhancements allow rhythmic combat. Following experimental surgery by Vandelay Technologies, he pursues those responsible for his transformation while utilizing music to fight. He forms alliances to confront corporat...

Alien vs. Predator is a 1994 arcade beat 'em up game developed and published by Capcom. Players can choose among four playable characters, including two human cyborgs and two Predators, as they fight through waves of Xenomorphs. The game is noted for its detailed sprite animation and cooperative gam...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time is a 1991 beat 'em up developed by Konami for arcades and based on the 1987 animated series. It followed the original TMNT arcade game and was initially released in Europe as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Turtles in Time. A Super Nintendo port, titled Tee...

Streets of Rage 2 is a 1992 beat 'em up for the Sega Genesis. It continues the story featuring Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding alongside three new playable characters: Max Thunder, Eddie "Skate" Hunter, and the return of Adam Hunter’s younger brother. The game expands upon the original Streets of Rage...

Fight'N Rage is an indie beat 'em up game developed by Uruguayan developer Sebastián Barbatron (Sebagamez) and released in 2017. The game draws heavy inspiration from 1990s arcade beat 'em ups such as Streets of Rage and Final Fight, featuring hand-drawn pixel-art sprites. It supports cooperative pl...

Mortal Kombat II is a 1993 fighting game released by Midway for arcades. It was subsequently adapted for numerous home computer and console platforms through development by Probe Software and Sculptured Software. The game’s distribution was handled by Acclaim Entertainment, spanning systems like the...

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara is a 2013 Capcom compilation containing the arcade games Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom and Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara. Both are side-scrolling beat 'em ups set in the Mystara campaign world, combining cooperative combat with character classe...

Streets of Rage 4 is a beat 'em up game continuing the Streets of Rage trilogy, initially created for the Sega Genesis in the 1990s. The title launched across multiple platforms including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows in 2020, with an expansion, Mr. X Nightmare, released later that yea...

Sonic Mania is a platformer that revitalized the classic Sonic franchise in 2017. Developed by multiple studios and published by Sega, it offers a fast-paced return to the series’ roots on the Genesis style. The game features iconic characters like Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles facing off against Docto...

Street Fighter Alpha 2 is a 1996 fighting game developed by Capcom, serving as a direct sequel to Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams. The title expanded upon the original with new content including attacks, stages, and gameplay mechanics. It was released on multiple home consoles following its i...

Tekken 5, released in 2004, is the fifth installment in the Tekken series. The game’s narrative follows Jin Kazama confronting new threats following Jinpachi Mishima's control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, alongside a storyline involving G Corporation enemies. A collector’s edition included arcade versio...

The King of Fighters XIII is a 2010 fighting game developed by SNK. Set after The King of Fighters XI, it features a tournament organized by Those From the Distance Land seeking to unleash the demon Orochi. This installment concludes Ash Crimson’s storyline and represents the thirteenth entry in the...

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal. The title follows Ezio Auditore da Firenze as he rebuilds the assassin order in Italy after his exile. It was initially released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows, with a remastered collection later a...

DuckTales is a 1989 platform game adapted from the Disney animated television series. Developed by Capcom, it follows Scrooge McDuck’s worldwide quest for treasure, often competing with Flintheart Glomgold. The game was initially released on the Nintendo Entertainment System and later ported to the...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is a 2022 video game compilation developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Konami. It bundles thirteen classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games originally released across arcades, the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, Sega Gen...

Astro Boy: Omega Factor is a beat 'em up video game drawing upon the works of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy franchise. Developed by Treasure and Hitmaker, the game incorporates elements from across Tezuka’s various stories and characters. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in Japan, North America,...

This title redefined the franchise by moving to a turn-based RPG system. It follows Ichiban Kasuga, an underdog fighting against the odds in Yokohama. The game excels in its deep progression systems, allowing players to build diverse builds and strategies. While it lacks the real-time brawler feel o...

Super Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, initially released in 1994 and later ported to various platforms including the GameCube, Wii Virtual Console, New Nintendo 3DS, and Super NES Classic Edition. The game features Little Mac competing against a series...

Lost Judgment is an action-adventure game where private detective Takayuki Yagami investigates crimes in Kamurochō and Isezaki. The narrative centers on Ehara’s involvement with multiple murders and accusations of sexual harassment. It features expanded combat options including aikido and, optionall...

Ninja Gaiden is a 1988 hack-and-slash platform game created by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was initially released in Japan in December 1988, with North American distribution following in March 1989 and European release in August 1991. The title has since been ported to various pl...

Yakuza 2 is a 2006 action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2, serving as the second title in the Yakuza series. It follows on from the first installment and was initially released in Japan on December 7, 2006, with wider international releases in subsequent years. The game’s narrative expands upon...