Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups

STAGE 5 STAGE 6

SPRINGFIELD BUTTE DREAMLAND
Your fight leads you to the mountains, where you’ll tangle This stage takes place inside the Simpsons’ heads while
with bigfoot monsters and lumberjacks armed with tree they’re knocked out. It’s a trippy place full of their favourite
trunks. The stage boss is a bear that swipes at you and things, such as killer doughnuts and flying versions of Lisa’s
rolls around the screen like crazy. Once he’s defeated, the saxophone. At the end you’ll face a giant bowling bowl that
Simpsons fall off a waterfall and are knocked unconscious. cries when you hit it. Defeat it to wake up.

STAGE 7 STAGE 8

CHANNEL 6 SPRINGFIELD NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
You’re back in the waking world and it seems Smithers has It’s the final battle! This is a short stage that begins with a
taken Maggie to the Channel 6 TV studio. The battle takes boss battle against Smithers. He runs about quickly while
you to the set of a ninja movie, where you’ll fight assassins throwing bombs, so be sure to keep moving. The final fight
who throw ninja stars before taking on a giant spear- against Mr. Burns is a tough one as he takes you on in a
wielding shogun warrior. hulking mech suit.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Video System Co. 1991 ARC

KARATE BLAZERS The whole kidnapped lady trope was getting Gil’s cartwheel special is utterly ludicrous, which
stale, even in the early ‘90s. also makes it bloody brilliant.

The foundation of any great side-scrolling Each of the playable character sprites
beat-‘em-up is a weighty and satisfying looks tiny on screen, while their floaty combat
combat system, along with chunky sound lacks any real audio or visual weight. Battles
effects to really make you feel every blow. If a constantly descend into button-mashing
developer can’t get those basics right, you’re scraps as you try to line yourself up with
probably going to get bored after spamming thugs while juggling the constantly swarming
punches and kicks for the hundredth time. enemies and your pitiful health bar, which
Karate Blazers has this problem, but it still quickly evaporates after just a few hits.
manages to feel weirdly engaging. If you hate cheap deaths, then this game
definitely isn’t for you.
It follows a quartet of ass-kicking karate
combatants called Glen, Mark, Akira and But despite all of this, Karate Blazers can still
Gil. They take to the streets to reclaim their be an oddly satisfying experience, thanks to
master’s stolen scrolls, which happen to contain its hilarious digitised voice samples, which
a powerful secret. Obviously, because this is a make enemy thugs cry out like wounded cows
‘90s brawler, there’s also a kidnapped lady who when defeated. The animation is also pretty
needs saving. Each of the heroes gets slick in places, with vibrant colours and some
introduced through a woefully-translated nice detail across both the environments
character bio. Mark the mercenary is described and character sprites. It also helps that the
as ‘the nomadic mercenary this’s the finishing soundtrack is absolutely rocking in parts.
blow’, while Gil is apparently ‘the mysterious Overall, Karate Blazers is janky as hell but it
fighter what’s justice to him’. Yikes! can still make you laugh if you’re willing to
put up with its nonsense. Unfortunately, it was
never ported to home consoles, so remains
something of a rare curio today.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Data East 1991 ARC, GEN, NSW, PS4, WIN, XB1

Wait for this chump to stop whipping, then hurl Your mid-section is vulnerable when lifting cars, TWO CRUDE DUDES
a rock at his face. so throw the vehicle quickly.

This absurd beat-‘em-up is as ‘90s as they It feels great to play, as both dudes are
come. It opens with a nuclear blast decimating monstrously powerful, capable of lifting
New York City before flash-forwarding 20 years boulders over their heads and hurling them
into a garish post-apocalyptic future in which at enemies. You can also rip parking meters
everyone is clad in bright denim and leather. out of the concrete sidewalk and batter your
With nowhere left to turn, America calls on two opponent with them, or dead-lift a car before
skilled mercenaries to defeat the ‘Big Valley’ using it as a projectile.
terrorist group responsible for the chaos.
While you’re powerful, you can also be
At its core, Two Crude Dudes plays almost decimated in seconds if you get sloppy. Like
identically to Data East’s 1988 brawler Bad most flat 2D brawlers, you can quickly be
Dudes vs. DragonNinja (p62), but with many overrun by enemies that rush you from both
expanded and improved elements. The whole sides, so the key to survival is to keep moving
thing has Mad Max and Escape From New York and be wary of spacing. There are also some
vibes, with destroyed streets and natural tough boss encounters that were surely
disasters giving the world a real sense of designed just to guzzle up coins in the arcade,
ruin. The fun of Two Crude Dudes is that its like a cyborg that throws its own head at you.
apocalyptic world is vibrant and colourful,
rather than grey and depressing. There’s also Hard-hitting, bonkers and with a brutal
the fact that the heroes are total dopes who difficulty curve, Two Crude Dudes is a fun
both look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but experience for all fans of the genre. It might
with a neon mohawk, while the enemies take time to get good at it, but it’s well
can get pretty weird. worth persevering with.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
SEGA 1991 ARC

SPIDER-MAN: The smooth animation and big comic sound Namor feels like an odd addition to the roster,
THE VIDEO GAME effects make the combat feel like a treat. but he’s actually really powerful.

This comic book tie-in uses SEGA’s System 32 Thankfully, the weighty combat is also superb,
hardware to bring Marvel’s flagship comic- due to each hero having a range of signature
book character to the arcade. Up to four moves that feel true to the character. Spidey
players can join forces to retrieve a stolen can blast enemies with long-range webbing,
artefact from the dastardly duo of Kingpin while the crafty thief Black Cat lashes out with
and Doctor Doom, while fighting other iconic her grapple whip. They’re joined by arrow-
villains like Venom and Green Goblin. The slinger Hawkeye and Namor the Sub-Mariner,
characters all look faithful to their comic who can zap opponents with blasts of lightning.
counterparts, and the fluid animation gives
them a slick, cartoony vibe that looked Interestingly, the game’s ace soundtrack shares
genuinely impressive in its day. songs with a SEGA run-‘n’-gun title called Quartet.
Particularly, there is a track called ‘FM Funk’ that
Spider-Man is an interesting game, as it uses plays on both the second stage of Spider-Man
sprite-scaling technology to switch between and the third level of Quartet. There has to be
side-scrolling beat-‘em-up sections that some sort of back-story to this somewhere.
put you close to the action and zoomed-out
platform stages. These sections give you Spider-Man is a triumph of design, with visual
a grand sense of scale and handle like a flair and chunky combat to make you feel like
neat blend of SEGA’s arcade hit Shinobi and you’re playing a comic book. The colourful
Capcom’s classic Strider. The diversity of cutscenes help the game feel at home in the
gameplay styles and enemy types helps keep Marvel universe, while the cackling villains are
the action varied throughout the whole game. perfectly over the top. It might be a little on
the easy side, but it’s still great fun.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
SNK 1991 ARC, NCD, NEO, NSW, PS4, WII, WIN, XB1

It’s not exactly a secret, but don’t get hit by You’ll even fight hordes of goons on top of a BURNING FIGHT
Molotov cocktails if you want to avoid damage. speeding Tokyo subway train.

Burning Fight is the side-scroller equivalent There’s no given reason for any of the violence,
of vanilla ice cream, but one of those tasty but the Japanese setting does feel genuinely
premium brands with the small vanilla pods authentic, with environments that recall the
through it. Overall, it’s fairly standard, sluggish bustling streets of real-life Osaka impressively
and has bland combat, but it also has tasty well. Interestingly, the Osaka city of Suita is
pixel art that lives up to SNK’s high standards. where Kawasaki founded SNK, which stands
for Shin Nihon Kikaku (’New Japan Project’).
Interestingly, the game was produced by
Eikichi Kawasaki, who was SNK’s original Beneath the setting and visuals, it’s unfortunate
founder back in 1973. He was also the driving that Burning Fight’s combat feels scrappy
force behind the massively popular Fatal Fury and unfocused, with attacks that largely feel
and Samurai Shodown franchises. Visually, this weightless. Each of the three characters has a
feels very much like an SNK title, with some very similar move-set, aside from their feeble
genuinely nice sprite-scaling effects to create two-button specials, which really don’t feel
the effect of 3D depth, such as enemies rushing special at all. The poor combat holds back the
at you from the background to join the fight. game, despite its qualities, such as its silly vibe,
its bosses and varied stages.
The plot isn’t exactly spelled out, but for
some reason you’re fighting a range of varied Although it’s more fun with another player,
enemies across Osaka, Japan. Along the way playing Burning Fight solo can start to feel a bit
you’ll face ruthless yakuza gang members, tedious after only the second level. It still can’t
waves of classic generic thugs, and a few take away from how gorgeous the visuals are,
pro-wrestler bosses who are clearly based on so you still might find something to love here.
Hulk Hogan and ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Konami 1991 ARC, SFC, SNES

TMNT IV: The Saturday morning cartoon vibe is strong Throwing enemies into the screen is fun, but it
TURTLES IN TIME and nostalgic with this one. leaves you vulnerable for a moment.

This is the second Ninja Turtles arcade The game opens as alien overlord Krang
game developed by Konami and remains steals the Statue of Liberty live on television,
its best-selling arcade release to date. as one does. Our heroes give chase and find
Confusingly, the second numbered game themselves thrust into a grand adventure
in the series was actually a NES port of the across New York City, the Technodrome and
1989 arcade original, while the third numbered through the fabric of time itself. Things start
game in the series was the NES-exclusive off familiarly enough, as you fight through
The Manhattan Project. Sadly, that great a construction site that’s been overrun with
third game was never released on European Foot Clan ninjas. Each time period comes
shores. Why bring this up? Well, this is where with different enemies and hazards specific
the series continuity gets a little muddled. to the era, which keeps the game fresh for
its whole run.
In 1992, Super Nintendo fans worldwide were
treated to an outstanding home version of Each turtle handles almost as he did in the
Turtles in Time that was, confusingly, numbered original Ninja Turtles arcade game but with a
as the fourth game in the series, despite being few new tricks at his disposal. Most notable
a home port of the second arcade release. is a special throw that lets you hurl your foes
It deserves its standalone number, though, directly into the screen, which works exactly as
as the game significantly expanded on the it did in Jaleco’s average 1988 brawler, Hachoo!
arcade version, with well-designed new stages, This move looks fantastic, thanks to some clever
challenging additional bosses and other fresh sprite-scaling techniques that make it appear
features. The media hype for this game was as if the enemy is getting bigger as they fly
also huge, with big double-page adverts in towards you, before being flattened against
magazines like Nintendo Power that kept fans the screen right before your eyes.
in anticipation of its release for months.

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Donnie’s lunging kick and staff give him the best Avoid the flying chain gun’s burst fire by not
attack range in the game. standing directly in line with it.

The SNES edition factored this trick into a Cool throw moves aside, the turtles attack with
tense boss battle during the Technodrome their signature weapons, a two-button special
stage. Throughout this fight you’re watching attack, and a variety of dashing and jumping
the action from inside the cockpit of a laser moves that change depending on your timing.
turret piloted by Shredder, and the only way to There’s even a special type of pizza you can
hurt him is to hurl Foot Clan ninjas towards the find as you play, which turns your chosen turtle
contraption’s glass windshield until it smashes. into a whirlwind of pain, as he spins around
It’s an ingenious mechanic that uses sprite the level while swiping with his weapon for
manipulation techniques in an innovative way. a few moments.
Konami was well known for its mastery over
sprite rotation in the ‘90s, thanks to its use of Although Turtles in Time is similar to the 1989
Mode 7 in such games as Super Castlevania IV original, it works, because Konami enhanced
and Contra III: The Alien Rebels. its formula just enough to keep things fresh.
The game was a critical and commercial
In the SNES edition, players are whisked juggernaut when both the home and arcade
away to a prehistoric age by Shredder after a versions launched, so the legions of Turtle fans
battle in the Technodrome, while in the arcade and critics definitely didn’t mind its familiar
release you’re just sort of warped back in time gameplay and ideas. Seek it out today for
at random during a sewer level. The time plot one heck of a nostalgia trip.
feels disjointed in the arcade release, so it’s
great that Konami reshuffled the story in
the home version.

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TUBULAR
TIME ZONES

Join us as we recap all the weird
and wonderful time zones our
heroes visit during their quest.
This list covers the arcade
edition only.

BIG APPLE/ALLEY-CAT BLUES: 1991 A.D. SEWERS: 1991 A.D.
The Turtles chase Krang across a construction site full Things kick into high gear as the Turtles ride jet-powered
of wrecking balls and Foot ninjas before fighting through surfboards through the slimy sewers, while dodging spiky
the streets below in stage two. The first two bosses are traps and savage alien creatures. Shredder appears as a
Baxter Stockman and Metal Head, who shouldn’t give hologram at the end and taunts you, before sending you
you too much trouble. back in time.

PREHISTORIC TURTLESAURUS: 25,000,000 B.C. SKULL AND CROSSBONES: 1530 A.D.
You’re definitely not in New York any more. The Turtles It’s an adventure on the seven seas, as the Turtles brawl on
have to find a way home by making their way through a a pirate galleon. The mutated tag-team of snapping turtle
dense prehistoric jungle full of danger. You’ll fight Foot Tokka and wolf Rahzar lie in wait at the ship’s bow, and
ninjas and rock soldiers, before squaring off against can give you a really tough time if you’re not prepared.
the gloopy glob that is Cement Man.

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BURY MY SHELL AT WOUNDED KNEE: 1885 A.D. NEON NIGHT RIDERS: 2020 A.D.
You’re in the Wild West now, on board a speeding train We’re in a ‘future’ 2020,  and it’s another high speed chase
under siege from invading highwaymen and Foot ninjas stage. The Turtles rocket across a futuristic neon highway
armed with flaming arrows. The cranky croc Leatherhead while battling with Foot clan thugs, before taking on Krang
is this stage’s boss, and he’ll go on the offensive with a and his powerful robotic suit. 
scuttling charge attack, knife throws and more.

STAR BASE: 2100 A.D. TECHNODROME: 1991 A.D.
Okay, so now it really is the future. This high-tech fortress It’s the final showdown against super Shredder, who you
hides many traps, and Krang is trying to prevent you may remember as the big baddie from the second Ninja
from returning home to 1991 – only this time he’s piloting Turtles movie. He hovers, shoots energy blasts and moves
a large flying craft that drops security bots to keep you quickly. Take him down to restore time and the Statue of
disorientated. Liberty back to their original states. Well done!

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CLASSIC MOMENT

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Turtles in Time – throwing the Foot
Throughout Turtles in Time, Konami used some
incredible sprite-scaling tech to play around
with the sense of depth. It all hits home during
an explosive fight with Shredder, as the only way
to beat his laser turret is to throw several Foot
Clan goons right into its windshield.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Capcom 1991 ARC, NSW, PS2, PS4, PSP, SNES, WIN, XB, XB1

KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND Make use of your weapon’s range to create Yes, you even have to fight a tiger. Keep moving
space between you and your enemies. to avoid its attacks.

Loosely based on the Knights of the Round slowest character of the trio, but also has the
Table mythology, this superb brawler from ability to dash. The differences might seem
Capcom expanded on the role-playing subtle, but they can make a real difference,
elements it first introduced in Dynasty Wars depending on your preferred play style.
(p96). The game opens with King Arthur
pulling his sword Excalibur from the stone Regardless of which knight you choose, the
and becoming the chosen warrior who will game gives you a nice sense of progression,
defeat the evil king Garibaldi. Together with thanks to its experience and levelling mechanics,
his comrades Lancelot and Perceval, Arthur which change your character’s appearance
must repel the villain’s army and save Britain and stats each time you gain a level. You’ll earn
from a dark era of war. experience points by defeating enemies in
battle or by picking up treasure scattered
Each of the knights has a standing sword throughout each of the eight stages. It’s pretty
combo and jump attack, as well as a unique neat to see your hero start off with basic
two-button special and moves that require leather armour and transform into a heavily-
directional inputs. For example, Arthur can pull armoured juggernaut over the course of the
off a spinning slash if you press forward and game. It’s a sense of reward you don’t get in
attack in the middle, or at the end, of a combo your average side-scroller.
string. It has a neat instant knockdown effect
that’s great for crowd control. Even when you’re at the lowest level, the
combat in Knights of the Round just feels really
Arthur is a good all-rounder for beginners, weighty and satisfying, thanks to some great
with a nice balance of power and speed, audio and visual feedback. There are some
while Lancelot is faster but weaker. Perceval meaty sound effects when your sword hits
is interesting, as he’s both the strongest and enemy armour, with the impact causing sparks

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These jesters are quick and random. Try to read Use jumping strikes to counter the long reach
their behaviour before rushing in. of Scorn’s axe.

that fly off your blade. This combination of Arlon’s jump attack emits shockwaves, so
effects makes you feel really powerful, as you retreat when you see him go airborne.
take down bandits, enemy knights and other
bad guys standing in your way. You can even over the next few years, thanks to the arrival of
ride on horseback in some sections, which Streets of Rage 2 (p184) and other outstanding
gives you a decent height advantage over titles, but with games like Knights of the Round,
your opponents. Capcom made a solid case that the arcade
was still king.
Gameplay aside, this is a seriously artistic
game, with animated foreground and
background details to help the world feel
populated and alive. Stage two is a great
example, as your hero ventures into a misty
forest where you can just make out soldiers
fighting each other through the tree line.
The team at Capcom added a lot of visual
cues that helped the world feel like it was
being torn apart by war. It’s a nice vibe that
gives the game a clear identity.

The visuals, animation and overall aesthetic
of Knights of the Round showed that in 1991,
arcade games still had the edge when it came
to raw technical power. The home console
market started to hit back at the arcades

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
SNK 1991 ARC, NCD, NEO, NSW, PS4, SCD, SNES, WII,
WIN, XB1

SENGOKU The intricate sprite art and visual design live up Position yourself slightly below these guys and
to the NEOGEO’s legacy. punch to cheap-out their big hit boxes.

Sometimes you play a retro game and wonder However, your base character’s fighting skills
why it doesn’t have a bigger following today. are actually pretty good. You start off with
That’s definitely the case with Sengoku, a dark simple melee and jumping strikes that are
and inventive side-scroller from the team effective at stun-locking enemies in place, but
at SNK. The plot is pretty epic, focusing on a they’re actually pretty weak. You can eventually
dead Japanese warlord who has come back upgrade your character by collecting coloured
to life to swear revenge on the human race orbs that float out of defeated enemies to give
for his murder. Using his connection to the you a broadsword, dual katana and even the
underworld, the tyrant unleashes hordes of ability to hurl huge fireballs from your fists.
undead samurai, demonic ninjas and other You’ll want to hold on to upgrades as long as
Sengoku-era warriors on the world, leaving you can, because some sections are utterly
a lone swordsman and his cowboy buddy as savage if you only have your basic moves.
the only ones able to stop him.
This is where the morphing skill comes in handy.
The heroes might look like average Joes, but By pressing the arcade cabinet’s third button,
they’re actually the distant relatives of the two you can bring up a form selection prompt,
original samurai who murdered the undead that lets you cycle through all your different
warlord years ago. Their special bloodline personas. The catch is that the game doesn’t
means that they can both use an ancient pause or give you invincibility while using the
transformation technique that lets them menu, so you have to either clear the screen of
morph into three different warrior forms at enemies or find space to use it without being
will. Knowing the right form to pick in each attacked. This really adds a nice degree of
situation will help you survive a lot longer, tension to fights, as you scramble to transform
giving Sengoku a great deal of replay value. into the warrior form you need.

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This showdown on the back of stampeding The attack hound is the hardest form to control,
horses is a real highlight. but it’s also nimble.

Perhaps most useful is the samurai, who lets All of this aside, Sengoku is gorgeous to look
rip with his lightning-fast katana swipes. He’s at and has a rich atmosphere that changes in
a superb pick for big packs of enemies or tone as your hero jumps between the modern
those with bladed weapons, due to his sword’s day and the creepy realm of the undead. The
lengthy reach. You can also change into a ninja various creature and stage designs are also
who closely resembles Joe Musashi from SEGA’s highly detailed and are suitably backed up by
Shinobi franchise. He has a nice evasive dodge a brilliant soundtrack.
flip that can get you clear of enemy attacks,
and he can even hurl a spread shot of ninja It’s baffling that the gaming press didn’t enjoy
stars to put ranged pressure on enemies. Sengoku when it hit the scene in 1991, as it’s one
of the most atmospheric and visually inventive
Lastly, you can turn into an armoured wolf that brawlers of the decade. It’s possible that the
can bite your opponent’s legs and leap through game’s dark, almost horror-like vibes and its
the air with a spin attack, a bit like Sonic the feudal Japanese stylings simply didn’t click with
Hedgehog. The form-swapping mechanic players, as it released at a time when gritty
effectively gives you four characters to pick urban fighting games were all the rage.
from at will during a playthrough, which is more
variety than most other 1991 brawlers gave you Also, while the arcade original is great fun, home
across their entire character roster. The versions on the Super Nintendo, Mega CD and
mechanic made a return in the stellar sequel, NEOGEO felt inferior, so this was probably a
Sengoku 2, but, rather confusingly, did not factor as well. Luckily, SNK has re-released the
return for 2001’s third instalment. arcade version of Sengoku on a host of modern
formats, so you don’t have to look too far to
play the game in all of its original glory.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Data East 1991 ARC, GB, GEN, GG, MD, SNES

CAPTAIN AMERICA Iron Man’s jumping blast is an easy way to take The flying sections are really easy and dull. Eat
AND THE AVENGERS down most standard thugs. your heart out, R-Type!

Long before Marvel’s Cinematic Universe has the same command list, with identical
brought the Avengers to the big screen, moves that deal the same amount of damage.
they were fighting bad guys in this mediocre
beat-‘em-up by Data East. Despite being a For example, you can use your two-button
bit naff by today’s standards, the game still special to make Iron Man fire a proton blast or
seems to have quite a big following among the make Captain America hurl his shield. While
side-scroller fan base, so it’s worth digging a each attack looks unique, they are actually just
little deeper to see what all the fuss is about. the exact same projectile attack re-skinned to
You never know, you might enjoy it too. make them seem different. To make matters
even worse, each character has the same voice
The plot brings together a few big names actor and spouts identical lines of dialogue
from Marvel comic book lore and focuses on throughout the game. It starts to really grate
a plot by the nefarious Red Skull to take over on your ears after the first stage.
the planet using an army of mind-controlled
villains, such as Juggernaut, Ultron and We’ll never know exactly why the characters
Crossbones, as well as some D-listers like weren’t given unique moves and individual
Living Laser. There are even cameos from dialogue, but it just feels like there was a flash
friendly heroes you can summon, including sale on cookie-cutters the day Data East made
Quicksilver, Namor and The Wasp. the decision. It’s a lazy choice that severely
limits the game’s replay value, and that’s really
The playable roster is made up of Iron Man, surprising, as it should have been easy for the
Captain America, Hawkeye and Vision, which development team to come up with a varied
suggests that Thor is off gallivanting about in range of melee combos and specials that
Asgard or something. It really doesn’t matter who tapped into each character’s unique skillset.
you pick though, because each of the heroes

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White Vision is a weird addition, but handles The tiny sprites suck, but give a good sense of
pretty much like the rest. scale in the Sentinel fight.

It might not have been so bad if the core melee SEGA’s superb Spider-Man: The Video Game
combat didn’t feel so weak and weightless; (p152) to see great examples of chunky sprites
each character’s standard attacks consist of that are full of detail and character.
naff punches that make you feel like anything
but a superhero. It feels flat when compared The only thing that really mixes up the
to other comic-inspired games like Konami’s gameplay is the flying sections, which handle
stellar Batman Returns tie-in (p238), which has just like a scrolling shoot-‘em-up, but even they
a screen-shaking, bone-crunching move-set start to feel repetitive after a while. Elsewhere,
that lets you utterly decimate bad guys. That you have some decent cutscenes that are
game had a real weight and responsiveness presented like pages from a comic book, and
that made you feel great, but despite its best the environmental design isn’t actually that
efforts, Data East just couldn’t capture that bad. It’s just a genuine shame that Captain
same vibe here. America and the Avengers drops the ball at
every other possible moment, because the
Another bizarre design choice is that all the licence had all the building blocks needed to
character sprites are tiny on screen, with the create something truly special.
knock-on effect of making the environments
feel massive and empty by comparison. The Instead, Captain America and the Avengers
zoomed-out perspective means that all the falls short of what a great scrolling beat-‘em-up
heroes and enemies lack any real definition, should be. It lacks the interesting combat, weighty
which makes them look really basic against feedback, chunky visuals and varied characters
the game’s otherwise passable graphics. that you’ll find across most games in the genre.
Again, you can look at other comic book games All that said, it does still have a following, so
like Capcom’s take on The Punisher (p250) or why not give it a try and judge for yourself?

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Konami 1991 FAM, NES

TMNT III: Keep moving on the surfing stage to run circles The boss sprites look great on the NES, and
THE MANHATTAN PROJECT around the Foot ninjas. they’re a tough challenge too!

This NES exclusive never saw a European impressive when you realise how many enemy
release, which is strange, as it’s actually a types are crammed into the cartridge, with
solid entry in the TMNT side-scroller series. many varieties of pesky Foot Clan soldiers to
The plot sees the Turtles chilling on a beach fight. You’ll also face a big roster of new and
in Florida when they learn that Shredder returning bosses, like the brash brutes Bebop
has stolen the entire island of Manhattan, and Rocksteady, Tokka and Rahzar, and, of
along with their friend, April O’Neil. The four course, the cackling alien nutcase, Krang.
brothers have to fight their way back from
Florida to New York City while fending off Weirdly, there are some big differences
waves of Foot Clan soldiers and other bad between the American and Japanese editions
guys from the Turtles universe. of the game. For example, the Japanese cart
lets you toggle friendly fire on or off, which
The combat is similar to that in the NES edition should help avoid lots of falling out between
of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade mates, and the game’s options are available
Game, which should make it instantly familiar right away. Amazingly, you have to enter the
to fans of the series. This time, however, each Konami Code just to access basic options in
of the brothers has a new special move and a the game’s North American version!
throw that can hurl enemies right across the
screen. Time it right and you can use the throw Colourful, responsive and immensely playable,
to bowl over packs of enemies in one go. The Manhattan Project more than lives up to
the legacy of Konami’s TMNT series. It’s well
Konami’s team did a great job in making the worth importing to Europe if you own an
game feel faithful to its arcade predecessors, American NES, multi-region console or
which is amazing when you remember it’s Japanese Famicom system.
running on 8-bit hardware. It’s even more

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Irem 1991 ARC

This flying section mixes up the gameplay nicely Arnold is the superior pick due to his spear’s BLADE MASTER
and looks fantastic. longer reach, which gives you far more space.

This dark fantasy hack-‘n’-slash brawler overpowered, though, and knocks down most
makes a play for Golden Axe’s crown but falls enemies instantly, making the game far too
pretty short. It follows two adventurers as they easy. Even some bosses can be killed by
fight mythical beasts and arcane mechanical repeating the jumping swipe over and over.
contraptions to save a kidnapped princess.
The setup is fairly standard, and it doesn’t While a few bosses might give you a tougher
help that both playable heroes just feel time, the majority of Blade Master’s stages
underwhelming, thanks to a total lack of lack any real challenge. This is down to some
combos or special attacks. crazy hit box design, whereby you can easily
connect with enemies from a safe distance. It
Roy is the swordsman, who is fast but has a gives Arnold a big advantage, due to his spear’s
short attack range, and Arnold is a slower reach, but even Roy’s short swords seem to defy
barbarian who wields a trident spear with huge physics, as they can strike enemies that aren’t
reach. Both characters lack any sort of combo even in line with you. This makes the combat
potential, as they can only hit enemies with a far less exciting than it should be.
single standing swipe, with the exception of
the one-two combo you use against shielded Amazingly, it’s still possible to recommend
enemies. This means that the combat pales playing Blade Master, even after all of these
when compared to brawlers that feature solid, issues. This is thanks to Irem’s superb pixel art
satisfying combo strings. and design direction, which pits you against
detailed, grotesque creatures, like a winged
There are no throws or two-button specials, manticore and huge, screen-filling knights.
but both characters do have a downward The rich environments, catchy soundtrack and
aerial attack that sends four fireballs bouncing hilarious enemy voice effects all make this a
across the screen. The move is totally flawed but worthwhile game experience.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
SEGA 1991 360, ARC, GEN, IOS, MAC, MD, NSW, PS3, PS4,
WII, WIN, XB1

GOLDEN AXE II The classic mid-stage campfire scene returns. This Bizzarian’s weird donkey kick has an odd
Hit the mages to get magic tomes. range you might need to practise using.

Even though Golden Axe II launched as a Mega that you can unleash by pressing attack and
Drive exclusive, it ended up being bigger and jump together, which can help you escape if
better than the arcade original in almost you get flanked on both sides. You can also
every way. While the game lacks the visual choose which direction to throw enemies in,
polish of arcade games from the era, SEGA enabling you to hurl them off cliffs or bowl
worked hard to push its 16-bit hardware and them into their friends.
replicate the arcade experience as accurately
as possible. The end result was impressive for There are even some new and subtle
its day, and helped Golden Axe become a differences between the fighters this time, such
household name among gamers. as Ax Battler’s sword having the longest reach,
which can be useful for keeping enemies at a
The plot follows the original game’s returning safe distance. Each warrior handles largely the
champions, Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius same, though, which makes Golden Axe II easy
Thunderhead, as they fight across a perilous to pick up and play if you’re familiar with the
fantasy land to defeat the evil Dark Guld, who original. Weirdly, the similar combat mechanics
has taken possession of the Golden Axe. Their don’t ever feel dull, as you’ll need to master and
violent journey takes them through ravaged mix up your full command list to defeat Dark
villages, ancient temples and fortified keeps Guld’s forces.
before reaching the difficult final showdown.
For example, clawed barbarians can counter
Each character has the same command list your jumping attacks with a ferocious slashing
of moves as before, with standard weapon combo, while standard mace-wielding grunts
combos, running strikes and jump attacks. will suddenly sprint towards you with a shoulder
All characters now come with a back attack tackle without much warning. All of these little

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The Duel is a survival mode that throws you Chicken Legs returns with a dual tail swipe that
against brutal waves of enemies. hits on both sides.

traits mean you have to always think tactically The bigger enemies have a long reach. Try
about how to approach each pack of enemies, running strikes to topple them.
instead of simply wading in while spamming
attacks. This applies most during boss battles, decent animation, it also sounded great and
which can completely evaporate your life bar played wonderfully too. The game would quickly
in a few hits if you’re careless. be overshadowed by juggernauts like Streets
of Rage 2 (p184) and Capcom’s blistering run of
Thankfully, there’s a revised magic system side-scrollers through the ‘90s, but for a brief
that can help you turn the tide during difficult period Golden Axe was king of the side-scrolling
battles. You can now choose how many magic beat-‘em-up genre.
vials you want to use, unlike the first game, in
which you had to use them all at once. This
means that you can use a few smaller spells
to help you get through a stage, while saving
some for your fight against the boss. All you
have to do is hold down the magic button to
charge your gauge and release it when ready.
It’s a simple but important change that gives
you far more options than before.

By 1991 standards, playing Golden Axe II felt like
you were experiencing an arcade game in the
home. Not only did it look fantastic, with chunky
character sprites, detailed backdrops and

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MAGIC MASTER

Golden Axe II’s expanded magic
system gives each character a new
range of spells. Here’s a look at the
spells and what they do …

AX BATTLER

He had explosive magic in the first Golden Axe, but now to resist using magic for a while, you can save up for Ax
Ax Battler comes equipped with powerful wind spells Battler’s ultimate spell, which summons a pair of colossal
that churn around the screen and cause big damage hurricanes that scroll horizontally across the screen. It’s
to all enemies. His weakest spell fires out a group of worth saving this one for boss fights, as it’ll take a big
small tornadoes that whip up a storm. If you manage chunk off their health in one go.

GILIUS THUNDERHEAD

Abandoning the ‘thunder’ part of this name, Gilius has The second variant is a little bland, as it’s the same as
dropped the lightning magic he used in the first game the first, only with larger boulders. His ultimate attack
and swapped it out for earth spells. His first attack sees is a little more impressive, as Gilius summons a swirl of
him slamming his axe into the ground, which calls forth giant boulders that circle around the screen and shake
a hail of small boulders that crushes everyone on screen. it violently with their earth-quaking power.

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TYRIS FLARE

As always, Tyris has the largest range of magic spells swarm of flaming bats that swoop across the screen and
at her disposal, with six levels to choose from. The home in on enemies. Tyris can also summon a flaming
Amazonian warrior has decided to stick with flame spells phoenix that torches the area, followed by her incredible
in this game, making them the most visually impressive ultimate attack, which sees her call upon a hulking
of the bunch. Her first spell is a doozy, which conjures a dragon that belches fire and decimates everyone nearby.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
KID Corp. 1991 GEN

MYSTICAL FIGHTER Repeatedly attack in both directions to keep Some of the creature design is really
flanking enemies at bay. intimidating, with detailed, chunky sprites.

Inspired by Japanese mythology, Mystical which attacks to use and to consider your
Fighter follows a pair of skilled Kabuki warriors spacing a lot more.
who have been banished to the underworld
by an evil lord. You and another player must As in Golden Axe (p86), you can even pick up
escape by fighting your way through hordes scrolls hidden in each stage and use them to
of undead samurai, skilled ninjas and savage unleash a screen-clearing attack. In this case,
demons. It’s a neat premise that has a dark you can summon a giant golden bell that
tone similar to that of games like SNK’s descends from the heavens. When rung, the
arcade brawler, Sengoku (p162), with great bell’s deafening blast destroys all the enemies
environment and creature design to flesh on screen. There are also hidden bonus rooms
out the setting. to discover that contain magic scrolls, weapons
and health items, which gives Mystical Fighter
Some players might find the game’s combat to a little more replay value.
be a little basic, but the variety of enemy types
forces you to apply your skills in different ways. KID Corp. never released Mystical Fighter in
For example, demonic imps leap at you while European markets, which is odd, as while it
swiping their claws, so you have to time it right pales when compared to the likes of Streets
to punch them out of the air. There are also of Rage (p122) or Final Fight (p70), it plays well
undead swordsmen who can stab you from enough that it’s worth seeking out. Luckily, you
a great distance, but they can be defeated don’t have to look too far to import a copy if
easily with a jump-kick or rolling slide tackle. you fancy trying it on original hardware.
Mystical Fighter starts to get interesting when
you have a mix of these enemy types on screen,
as it forces you to think more tactically about

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Konami 1991 ARC, NSW

Wait for this guy’s buzzsaw to get stuck in the Strike these weak points to trigger destructible VENDETTA
ground, then batter him. hazards for big damage.

Konami were on a hot streak in 1991, effortlessly to punch thrown knives clean out of the air
pumping out hit side-scrollers that took home if you time it dead on, slam enemies into
formats and arcades by storm. Vendetta is destructible backgrounds with spiked bats,
another fine addition to the developer’s back and throw a steel bucket onto your opponent’s
catalogue, sitting confidently alongside Final head to disorientate them.
Fight (p70) and Streets of Rage (p122).
There are lots of these techniques and tricks
The game was released as Crime Fighters 2 in to learn along the way, which helps give the
Japan, as it’s a direct sequel to the 1989 original. game plenty of replay value. Aside from these
It was renamed Vendetta for international quirks, each of the four playable heroes handles
markets, and all nods to the original were well, with basic punches and kicks, as well
glossed over. The plot of both versions focuses as two-button specials that don’t drain your
on a violent street war between the Dead End health (for a change!). The command list isn’t
Gang and a rival crew called the Cobras. huge but the combat just feels so satisfying
that the gameplay gets a pass.
Konami ensured that the game absolutely
nailed all the key fundamentals of the side- Vendetta didn’t do anything mind-blowing in
scrolling genre perfectly. It even threw in some 1991, but it was a great showcase of everything
extra little tricks, like being able to pin downed Konami had learned from its previous brawlers,
enemies to the ground and mash the kick all fine-tuned to deliver a satisfying experience.
button to dish out some extra hits. There are The music, by Castlevania: Symphony of the
even various interactive hazards you can use Night series composer Michiru Yamane, is also
to your advantage, such as scaffolding you can well worth listening to.
kick down to crush enemies. It’s also possible

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Taito 1991 ARC, PS1, PS2, SAT

PU·LI·RU·LA When it’s not being creepy, the sprite art is Walk around this ghoulish thing’s butt bounce
actually pretty awesome for 1991. then land a few strikes.

Hands-down, this is possibly the strangest progress. Just when you think your brain has
side-scrolling beat-‘em-up ever made, with adjusted to Pu·Li·Ru·La’s weirdness, it starts
a style that treads a thin line between being throwing digitised images of real humans into
adorably cute and nightmarishly ghoulish. the mix. Perhaps the weirdest moment is a
The waking fever dream that is Pu·Li·Ru·La section that sees you having to navigate past a
takes place in a colourful and happy place giant, pixelated photo of a woman’s head that
called Radishland, where reality and the lashes out at you with a huge cartoon tongue.
flow of time are kept in check by a magic key
(side note: there’s not a single radish or root But while Pu·Li·Ru·La looks unique and has plenty
vegetable in the whole game, so go figure). of weird and varied stuff to see, the gameplay
When the magic key suddenly goes missing, is incredibly basic and gets old mega fast. You
most of the citizens start transforming can only attack with single swipes of your staff,
into robots and bizarre creatures intent on rather than combo strings like you’d find in
causing chaos. Two kids called Zac and Mel most side-scrollers. It reduces the combat to a
are called upon to restore balance to their rhythmless, button mashing slog that requires
world, armed only with a pair of enchanted zero strategy or cognitive effort. Even your
staffs. Are you following this so far? You’re jumping strike and magic attacks (similar to
forgiven if you’re not. the ones found in Golden Axe, p86) don’t bring
much excitement, although the spells are weird
Developer Taito really doubled down on the and entertaining to see the first couple of times.
concept of reality going crazy with this one, as
it plonks you into a world full of garish pastel You can unleash your magic spells once you’ve
colours populated with a cast of strange, picked up enough potions, and they’ll either
twisted characters that only seem to get more result in a screen-clearing attack, like an
abstract and borderline disturbing as you animal stampede, or other weird attacks, such

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Most bosses can be beaten by repeatedly This magic key is the game’s MacGuffin, which is
attacking once then retreating. never really explained.

as conjuring a flirtatious purple monster that
fights alongside you for a while. Spells come
in handy when facing off against Pu·Li·Ru·La’s
bosses, which feel like the result of a seriously
unfortunate weekend spent on acid. Stage
two’s ice-cave level is defended by a weird
humanoid creature who has a huge nose,
pouting red lips that can kiss you to death,
and is wearing a cabaret girl outfit.

Later stages throw you up against a tengu-style This boss has planet Earth for a head, because
Japanese warrior who whips you with his hair, of course he does.
a bit like the final boss in SEGA’s Revenge of
Shinobi. He’s relatively normal when compared interest in side-scrollers should still play it,
to the desert stage’s snail boss, who has the just to witness the game’s weird nature for
head of a human boy and freaky eyeballs themselves. We’ll never know exactly what
that can extend and punch you. It’s all just so was going through the developers’ minds when
very random but gives the game a weird appeal they came up with the base concept, but the
that can’t be compared to any other games in end result is a flawed curiosity that’s worth
the genre. That alone makes it worth a quick try. blasting through just once.

Pu·Li·Ru·La has painfully basic combat and
can be beaten in just over 20 minutes, thanks
to some ludicrous enemy hit boxes that make
it far too easy. That said, everyone with an

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Taito 1991 ARC, GEN, MD, PS2, WIN, XB

GROWL

The bullwhip lets you attack enemies at range, It’s common to get swarmed by baddies if you’re
even if it is a little copyright-infringey. careless and don’t keep moving.

Evil poachers have stolen animals from a that are contextual, depending on where your
peaceful wildlife preserve, so it’s up to a squad target enemy is standing. You’ll also find a
of fighting park rangers to win them back. great range of hard-hitting weapons around
Known as Runark in Japan, Growl’s anti- each stage, such as powerful assault rifles,
animal cruelty theme is certainly unique in rocket launchers that make enemy bodies
the scrolling beat-‘em-up genre, and it was erupt violently upon impact and, of course,
released at a time when interest in animal the classic lead pipe.
rights was growing around the world.
While its combat can feel a little clumsy, Growl
In a neat twist, being kind to the game’s cast gets by on its unique animal protection theme,
of creatures provides a number of gameplay crazy weaponry, and a decent challenge that’ll
benefits, as they’ll sometimes fight alongside put your poacher-pulverising skills to the test.
you if you manage to save them from poachers. It’s also made far more enjoyable when played
Rescuing eagles is an especially good choice, with a friend or two. Thankfully, you can still
as they’ll swoop down from the sky and smack enjoy it today, thanks to a Mega Drive port. This
enemies square in the face, which is just lovely. home version gives names to all four playable
characters, these being Jack, Burn, Gen and
You’ll be thankful for the help of your animal Khan. Taito also included a censored version
pals, as the screen can quickly become overrun of Growl on its outstanding Taito Legends 2
with poachers armed with firearms, grenades, compilation pack on PlayStation 2 and Xbox,
bullwhips and more. It can sometimes get a bit with all the exploding bodies removed.
overwhelming, especially with a ton of bullets
whizzing all around. Growl’s heroes are no
slouches, though, and come with a decent
range of attacks and crowd-control specials

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Westone 1991 ARC

Westone really nailed the dingy, almost post- The enemies are varied and feel like they’ve RIOT CITY
apocalyptic vibe of Riot Island. come from the Mad Max universe.

Developed by Wonder Boy studio Westone, While it’s cut from the same cloth as Final
Riot City is SEGA’s surprisingly decent answer Fight, Riot City is still fun in its own right, with
to Capcom’s Final Fight series (p70, p258 & a weighty move-set that feels great as you
p296). The action takes place on Riot Island, tear through criminals, backed up by neat
a war zone of criminal activity that’s ruled by visuals and a stellar soundtrack by Monster
the notorious drug cartel known as ‘MID’. You World IV composer Jin Watanabe. Enemy types
play as a pair of narcotics agents, Paul and and attacks are also varied: thugs can slide
Bobby, who infiltrate the island by boat to try kick, rush you with a shoulder charge, and leap
and smash the cartel for good. The island through the air with a savage machete slash.
setup has a similar vibe to John Carpenter’s The stage bosses are also really fun, but do
iconic flick, Escape from New York, which is come with a coin-guzzling difficulty spike.
certainly no bad thing.
In short, Riot City deserves to be played by
It bears repeating that Riot City has many all beat-‘em-up fans, even if it’s not the most
similarities to Final Fight, with familiar readily-available brawler out there. You can
aesthetics and a similar brand of basic yet also try the PC Engine and TurboGrafx-CD
chunky combat. There’s also a world map that home port, which was actually treated as a
appears at the start of each stage, which is full remake and called Riot Zone. This version
almost identical in format to the one found is also known as Crest of Wolf in Japan. Try it
in Capcom’s classic. Despite all of these if you can track it down.
comparisons, Westone actually nailed Riot
City’s grimy urban atmosphere, with a plot that
takes you from rusting, rain-swept industrial
zones to decaying residential areas that were
clearly evacuated a long time ago.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
SNK 1991 ARC, GEN, MAC, NEO, MD, NSW, PS4, SFC, SNES,
WII, WIN, XB1

KING OF THE MONSTERS Quickly grab these orbs before your opponent Two-on-one battles are a true test of your skill.
does, to get more attack power. Try to keep moving!

The best side-scrolling beat-‘em-ups always Each stage takes place in a different Japanese
have satisfying combat that feels weighty and city, complete with landmarks that are just
gives you a real power trip. Developer SNK begging to be destroyed. In a feeble attempt
took that vibe and ramped it up to the max in to contain your rampage, the Japanese military
King of the Monsters: a hybrid fighting game has walled off a rectangular area of each city
that follows six hulking kaiju as they fight with electric borders, which give you a massive
to become ruler of Japan. It’s essentially jolt if you cross them. The closed-off format is
a Godzilla fan’s dream, with an inventive similar to those of other arena brawlers like
cast of colossal beasts and plenty of human Renegade (p34) and The Combatribes (p109),
cities to destroy along the way. and in a weird way the borders act a bit like the
ropes of a wrestling ring, as you can Irish-whip
Your goal for each stage is to fight a rival your foe into them so they get zapped.
monster until it’s weak enough to be pinned for
a three-count. The core combat mechanics are All of the monsters have a range of powerful
based on wrestling, so you can charge about melee strikes, wrestling moves and signature
like crazy and deck your opponent with a specials that can be used to weaken their foes.
running clothesline, or slam them through a Chip away at their health enough and it’ll make
cluster of skyscrapers with an earth-shattering them less likely to get back up when pinned.
atomic pile driver. All of these moves feel as The grappling mechanics are particularly
good as they should, thanks to the sheer scale chaotic, as you’ll have to mash buttons and
of the monsters and the huge collateral waggle the joystick like a maniac every time
damage caused by your brawl. another monster locks arms with you. If you
hammer the inputs fast enough, you’ll win the
clinch and get the option to counter-attack

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Getting a three-count can take ages, but it feels Human planes are small but they can still
amazing when it happens. disorientate and damage you.

with a devastating throw. This gets especially
hilarious and chaotic in two-player mode when
both of you are battering the buttons for dear
life, but when fighting the CPU the game can
be really harsh on you.

Thankfully, SNK designed a worthy character Geon’s flame breath is great for keeping your
roster for all of this chaos. The most obvious opponent at a safe distance.
nod to the kaiju genre is Geon, a 40-tonne
lizard who looks similar to Godzilla and can sight in arcades back in the day, so popular in
gore enemies with his savage running horn fact that it received decent but cut-down ports
stab. Meanwhile, Astro Guy is a giant costumed on the Mega Drive and Super Nintendo, as well
hero who looks like a close cousin of the popular as modern re-releases on a wide range of
tokusatsu hero Ultraman, complete with a platforms. Grab a few mates, stick it on your
bug-eyed helmet and the ability to shoot lasers. format of choice and get ready to have a blast.
Each monster feels unique and has its own
varied attacks, which help to give the game
huge replay value.

King of the Monsters sits on the edge of the
grey line between side-scrollers and other
forms of beat-‘em-up, but it deserves a nod
here for its similarities to Renegade and other
arena-based fighting games. It was a popular

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KAIJU COMBATANTS

Each King of the Monsters fighter has the same
command list inputs, but they each work a little

differently. Here’s a breakdown of their skills …

GEON WOO
Inspired by Godzilla, this horned lizard can latch This giant ape is based on King Kong but is far more
onto his opponent and bite them with his razor- ‘cheeky’, thanks to some butt-based attacks. If you
sharp teeth. He can also dash across the screen press A and C together, Woo leaps butt-first and
and leap headfirst to gore opponents with his bounces his opponent away. He also has a charged
massive horn, or charge up a powerful fireball fireball and a powerful bear-hug grapple.
and belch it at them from a distance.

BEETLE MANIA ASTRO GUY
This giant beetle can use its giant horn to scuttle He might be a giant humanoid, but Astro Guy is
along the ground and slam into enemies over just as strong as the rest of the playable creatures
a great distance. It’s better for getting close to on the roster. His dashing dropkick is great for
your opponent than Geon’s horn charge special. closing distance and he has a powerful laser blast
You can even hold A and B to charge up and fire that can be fired across the arena. His piledriver is
a horned projectile. absolutely brutal.

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POISON GHOST ROCKY
This creature is closer to a slime monster than True to the game’s wrestling influences, Rocky
a ghostly apparition. Poison Ghost has a special has a special charging clothesline that can topple
that lets it extend its arm across the screen enemies with ease. The giant stone golem can
and slap anyone in the way. You can also press also fire boulders at his target from a distance
A and C to execute a rapid sliding kick that and smash them with both a powerful back
bowls your target over. breaker slam and a crushing suplex.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
SEGA 1991 ARC

D.D. CREW Your attacks often miss, even when you’re lined The swooping cable car fight is a rare highlight
up to an enemy like this. in this otherwise tedious game.

While it boasts superb graphics, D.D. Crew and ‘90s synth stings that will either feel
is a love-hate kind of game. At first glance, nostalgic or annoying depending on your
it seems to get most of the fundamental preference. It might start to grate on your
ingredients of a great side-scroller wrong. ears a little after even just a few minutes.
The most glaring issue is your pathetic attack
range, which makes hitting enemies an D.D. Crew’s visuals are the only real compensation
absolute chore. Even when you manage to hit here, as they can look wonderful at times. One
enemies with a combo, they can just smack stage sees you fighting on top of a cable car
you right back through it, due to a lack of as it zips over the city. The background hurtles
enemy stun-locking. So even if you’re standing past, giving you a real sense of speed and
right in front of an opponent, there’s still no danger, which is pretty impressive to look at.
guarantee your attacks will land.
But when you boil the game down to its base
On top of all this, you can be killed by some combat, it feels strange to think that SEGA
enemies in about four or five hits, which gets could get so many elements of D.D. Crew
frustrating when you’re surrounded by goons wrong in the same period that it released gems
or facing a tricky boss. It doesn’t help that like Riot City (p177) and Golden Axe: Return of
you have a limited command list, with basic Death Adder (p183). Despite its shortcomings,
melee combos and no special moves, meaning the game has beaten the odds and gone on to
you have no real options for crowd control. have a cult fanbase of players who love it. So
why not give it a try and decide for yourself?
Just like the gameplay, the music is also
something of a love-hate affair. It’s a cheesy,
erratic soundtrack with random voice samples

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
SEGA 1992 ARC

Goah’s magic special looks absolutely ghoulish Both nimble and high-flying, Little Trix is a GOLDEN AXE: THE REVENGE
and makes you feel really powerful. great addition to the cast. OF DEATH ADDER

It’s criminal that this game isn’t more on the back of Goah the giant, and then we
widely known today. While SEGA dropped have Sternblade, who’s effectively a stand-in
the ball hard with 1993’s woeful Golden Axe III for Ax Battler. A four-player cabinet enabled all
(p234), it knocked it into orbit with the stunning the characters to be controlled simultaneously.
Revenge of Death Adder. Incredibly, it was
only released in the arcades and hasn’t yet Just like the originals, Revenge of Death Adder
had a home port, aside from an appearance features beasts you can ride, each with their
on SEGA’s niche Astro City Mini console. own signature attacks, such as a giant praying
mantis that spews fire. The magic system has
It’s a straight sequel to Golden Axe II also been given an upgrade and, thankfully, you
and boasts some of the finest sprites and don’t need to hit those pesky little goblins and
animation of 1992, with visuals that make thieves to top up your magic meter any more.
SEGA’s System 32 arcade board sing. It’s
packed full of neat ideas, like branching stage Each spell looks incredible, with sprite scaling
paths, destructible scenery and jaw-dropping and other effects making it feel like a big
sprite scaling techniques. It’s as fine a technical event. Sternblade’s flame attack engulfs the
showcase as you could imagine for the time. screen, then cuts to a close-up of an enemy
screaming and melting down to a skeleton.
SEGA even shook things up with a new cast of It’s quite savage.
characters, starting with the trident-wielding
Little Trix, who is the first fighter in the series to This game needs to be released on every
feature a healing spell. There’s also a female possible format right now. The visuals are
centaur called Dora, who kicks her hind legs gorgeous, the combat is slick and the variety
to deal large amounts of damage. Gilius of stages and enemies mean the game is
Thunderhead makes a return, this time riding never dull. Someone should start a petition!

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
SEGA / Ancient 1992 360, 3DS, AND, ARC, GEN, GG, IOS, MAC, MD,
NSW, PS3, PS4, SMS, WII, WIN, XB1

STREETS OF RAGE 2 Use a standing special to deal damage Max’s slide kick can instantly knock down
when Jack lunges at you. enemies to make space.

Arguably the greatest side-scrolling move-sets are. Aside from standard melee
beat-‘em-up of all time, Streets of Rage 2 is combos, you have two types of jumping kick,
a masterpiece of audio, visual and gameplay a downward aerial stun move, two or three
design that surpasses its predecessor in every throws depending on your character, a charged
way. It pushed SEGA’s Mega Drive hardware knock-down blow, a dashing move, a backwards
to the utmost limit with impressive sprites, attack and two different specials. You have all
gorgeous locations and one of the most iconic this on offer before you even consider the
video game soundtracks ever composed. game’s wide range of weapons.

Set a year after the first game, Streets of Rage 2 On top of this you have several subtle yet key
sees supercops Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding gameplay mechanics that the instruction
fighting to save their friend Adam from the manual doesn’t explain. Most notably, your
clutches of Mr. X and his criminal syndicate. standing neutral special has a few I-frames,
They’re joined by pro-wrestler Max Thunder and meaning a small window of invincibility you can
Adam’s younger brother Skate. Together, they use to your advantage. For example, if an enemy
hit the neon-lit streets and fight through eight throws a knife at you, simply tap special and
stages filled with savage street punks, martial it’ll safely pass right through you.
artists, kickboxers and even killer robots.
All of this gives you a level of depth that very
Streets of Rage 2’s greatest trick is the huge few side-scrollers have matched, and it offers
number of moves each character has. Keep in tonnes of strategic options to choose from for
mind that the Mega Drive’s standard controller different enemy types. For example, Donovans
only has three buttons, and you’ll start to will uppercut you out of a flying kick if you’re
appreciate just how mind-boggling the moving left or right in the air. But they’ll miss

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Donovans can’t uppercut you when doing a When he’s in line with you, Jet drops down
neutral jumping kick. Try it! before charging across the screen.

every time if you do a neutral flying kick on progressing directly through side-scroller levels.
the spot. You can even use a throw or standing Check out ‘Spin on the Bridge’, ‘Dreamer’ and
attack to avoid this. On harder difficulties, ‘Never Return Alive’, too. The icing on the cake
Signals will probably throw you if they make is Streets of Rage 2’s visuals, which confidently
contact, so you should try to avoid grappling rank among the best of the 16-bit generation.
them. These small but important enemy traits Ancient and its co-developers applied an
make Streets of Rage 2 a far more tactical incredible amount of detail to every animation,
game than it first appears. character sprite and backdrop to deliver a
genuine arcade experience. It all combines
Aside from having possibly the best combat perfectly to set a clear tone for each stage,
system in the genre, Streets of Rage 2 also from dangerous streets and seedy bars to
sounds incredible. The game’s soundtrack was spooky fairground attractions and moonlit
composed by the legendary Yuzo Koshiro and forest roads.
Motohiro Kawashima, using a blend of Koshiro’s
own programming language and old NEC Still, to this day, there are few side-scrolling
PC-8801 computer hardware. Their score beat-‘em-ups that come close to the level
perfectly captures the vibe of ‘90s techno of quality set by Streets of Rage 2. After a shaky
culture, with pounding beats, abrasive synth third entry and the many failed attempts to
and jazzy piano all meshing wonderfully to make a fourth game, it’s a miracle that we got
get the blood pumping. a Streets of Rage 4 at all. The fact it got made
shows just how loved and respected the series
In fact, the song that plays over the first stage has become over the decades.
is called ‘Go Straight’, giving this book its
name, as it perfectly captures the essence of

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CRUSH THE SYNDICATE!

The bosses in Streets of Rage 2 are some of the
most ruthless and complex in the side-scrolling
genre. Here are some tips to help you …

Below
Streets of Rage 2 opens with a
menacing image of tommy gun-
wielding kingpin, Mr. X. It’s a great
image that makes you want to
kick his butt twice as hard.

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JET
Stage two’s boss drops down right before he does a
rocket punch across the screen, so get ready with a flying
kick to hit him.

BARBON
This bartender can throw you, so remember to hold up
and jump to land safely. He can block, but takes chip
damage if you hit him.

R. BEAR
This boxer is the hardest boss to predict on higher
difficulties. Use standing specials if he grabs you or
to counter his jumping butt slam.

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SOUTHER AND STEALTH ABADEDE
It’s a double-team! Keep moving while focusing on Don’t try to combo Abadede or he’ll break out of it.
taking Souther out first and the jetpack-toting Try a quick throw or use your forward, forward special
Stealth will be knocked out instantly. when he charges at you.

ZAMZA PARTICLE AND MOLECULE
This clawed terror will spin-dash towards you, but These robots hop around, so watch the shadow
your forward, forward move or standing special can beneath them to see where they’ll land. Grab and
hit him right out of it. throw them quickly or they’ll shock you.

SHIVA AND MR. X
Use specials to break out of Shiva’s grab combo and
hit him with jump-kicks. Once he’s defeated, your
showdown with Mr. X will begin.

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TIPS OF RAGE!

Streets of Rage 2 is full of little quirks and tricks that can help
you progress from a decent fighter to an absolute legend.

DONAVAN’S UPPERCUT SPECIAL I-FRAMES THROW I-FRAMES
This guy uppercuts if you try to hit Every standing special move has If you’re about to get hit while
him with a sideways jump-kick. Jump ‘invincibility frames’, which means grabbing someone, just throw
on the spot and kick and he won’t you can’t be hit during them. Even to dodge using I-frames. You can
ever hit you. Jack’s throwing knives pass right dodge Jet’s rocket punch with this.
through you!

LAND SAFELY DOWNWARD STUN ELECTRA’S WHIP
If you get thrown by someone, You can stun enemies by holding This one is a shocker. If you see
hold up and jump on your control down and punch in the air, then Electra getting ready to whip you,
pad until you hit the ground to land immediately combo them or press just jump towards her to pass
on your feet every time. forward to grab them without fail. through it and hit her.

HAKUYO’S FIREBALL GRAB ESCAPE SECRET LIVES
This works exactly the same as If a biker grabs you, you’ll be There are three extra lives hidden in
Electra’s whip, except Hakuyo’s completely immobilised for a each playthrough. The first is at the
fireball isn’t as well telegraphed. moment. Keep hammering your start of stage one. Walk to the bottom
On higher difficulties he does it special button to break free and left corner and hit punch to grab it.
when directly in line with you. avoid their punch. The second is in the top left after the
truck fight and the third is directly
below Vehelits, the alien boss.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Technōs Japan 1992 SNES

SUPER DOUBLE DRAGON The counter-throw feels amazing and turns Flying kicks are the safest way to beat enemies,
enemies into human projectiles. but they’re so weak.

Modernising the Double Dragon franchise There is one standout feature that gives the
for the 16-bit era should have been easy, combat system a nice boost of fun, however.
but developer Technōs Japan didn’t quite hit You have a block button that, when timed
the mark with this one. While the detailed pixel correctly, doubles up as a counter grab. For
art, colourful backgrounds and slick animation example, if a goon lashes out with a punch, you
are nice to look at, the core gameplay feels can grab their arm and respond with either a
stuck halfway between the 8-bit and 16-bit flurry of punches or a shoulder throw that can
eras. It looks new, but feels a little worn bowl over any enemies standing in the way.
under the hood. Once the block timing clicks, you should have a
lot more fun as it makes you feel quite badass.
The combat is something of a let-down,
thanks to its sluggish pace. Everyone walks Ace counters aside, the quality of Super Double
slowly, attacks are dished out at a meandering Dragon is pretty inconsistent. Some aspects are
rate, and enemies have far too much health. even quite puzzling, such as the mad damage
You can spend ages repeatedly fly-kicking or output of some weapons. Get hit by an enemy’s
punching a standard grunt until they eventually katana and it’ll take just a few units off your
keel over, which is just as tedious as it sounds. health bar, but if you get slashed by a thrown
To make matters worse, the AI characters knife it can take half of your life away in one hit.
repeatedly flank you on both sides, meaning
that you have to hit left and right to keep Inconsistency is the game’s main problem: it’s
enemies at bay, which really feels like a chore. new, but old; fun when it wants to be, but drab
elsewhere. Overall, it’s a divisive release.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Almanic Corp 1992 SFC

The visuals feel pretty retro, but the animated There are plenty of varied and fun weapons to CB CHARA WARS
expressions give the game plenty of character. experiment with while fighting enemies.

This odd game is based on the characters CB Chara Wars plays similarly to the Technōs
of famed Japanese manga artist and writer, classic, River City Ransom (p92), complete with
Kiyoshi Nagai, also known by his pen name, ‘chibi’-style character sprites. The most obvious
Go Nagai. He’s the creator of many beloved comparison comes at the start of the story mode,
manga and anime characters, such as which throws you into a street full of shops that
Devilman and Mazinger Z, who starred in the sell food and power-ups. Unfortunately, unless
brilliant Mega Drive side-scroller, Mazin Saga: you can read Japanese you’ll have a hard time
Mutant Fighter (p232). This Super Famicom knowing what you’re buying and what the effects
brawler brought many of these characters are, so this is one to play with a walkthrough
together in a cute fashion for some twee guide. The combat feels fine, so give it a shot
fighting action. if you’re into Nagai’s works.

DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Tose 1992 NES

Once you lose the mop, expect all of those Mop projectiles make this battle far easier. TOXIC CRUSADERS
hearts to evaporate quickly. Just hit him then dodge up or down.

Based on The Toxic Crusaders cartoon Each stage starts with Toxie wielding his trusty
series by infamous B-movie studio Troma mop, which gives him great attack range. Take
Entertainment, this challenging brawler came one hit and he drops it, leaving him with a pitiful
late in the NES life cycle. The game stars short-range punch that makes fighting ranged
Toxie, a mutant vigilante who fights to protect enemies a brutal slog. If you manage to hold onto
the environment by defeating the evil alien the mop you can upgrade it with slime projectiles
overlord, Dr. Killemoff. The smog-loving bad and a boomerang effect to make the game far
guy has also kidnapped Toxie’s girlfriend easier. Although it has flaws and frustrating
Yvonne and his fellow Crusaders, leading to a unarmed combat, fans of the genre should try
gruelling battle across the city of Tromaville. Toxic Crusaders just to see how weird it is.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Irem 1992 ARC

HOOK

The first boss has a clear tell when he’s about to The dual Hook battle is no joke. Use your
swipe at you. specials if they swarm you.

Based on Steven Spielberg’s 1991 movie, this swinging his sword in a circular arc. Ace has
brawler from Irem shakes off the bad-licensed- the strangest special, which summons two
game curse to give you a fun experience that adult penguins and their babies, who rotate
lives up to the developer’s reputation. The plot around him causing damage to anyone nearby.
is the same as the movie’s, which sees an adult Pockets has a funny one, as he empties his
Peter Pan returning to Neverland to rescue his pockets of sweets and toys, which then fly
kids. After he’s set upon by Captain Hook’s pirate around like projectiles.
gang, Peter transforms into his younger self and
starts laying down the hurt on the bad guys. The combat is spot on, and Irem went big on
the graphics, environments and soundtrack.
Aside from Peter, you can play as other members Each character sprite is well-animated and
of the Lost Boys, including the hot-headed Rufio, the backgrounds are alive with colour and
the hammer-wielding trickster Ace, the pint- movement. There are even traps you can use to
sized Pockets and the hard-hitting Thudbutt. your advantage if you keep an eye out for clues,
They each have a completely different play style, such as crossbows that can be activated and
with various combos and jumping attacks that cargo that can be dropped by cutting ropes.
all work in different ways. For example, Thudbutt
can’t jump that high but his downwards dropkick It’s a bit sad that Hook doesn’t get discussed
is stronger than Rufio’s spinning kick, which in much today, as it deserves to be experienced
turn can hit enemies more easily. by fans of the side-scrolling genre. It’s
borderline criminal that the arcade game
Some characters also have special finishers if never got a home port, as it really is worth
you manage to complete their attack string, your attention.
such as Peter, who flies temporarily while

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Taito 1992 SNES

The ludicrous power of your charged special is Your standard punches can still utterly SONIC BLAST MAN
hilarious and never gets tiresome. decimate even the largest of enemies.

The Sonic Blast Man arcade cabinet is a true You can also charge up your attacks with the
sight to behold. To play it, you have to put on a left shoulder button, then use a ground pound,
pair of boxing gloves and hit the cabinet’s big unleashing 100 megatonnes of raw punching
red punch pad as hard as you can to defeat force that obliterates the screen, complete with
evil and save the planet. The game’s crazy comic book-style explosions. There are also
missions range from saving citizens from mid-stage bonus games that pay tribute to the
muggers to punching a hurtling asteroid to arcade original. Sonic Blast Man’s boxing glove
smithereens before it reaches and obliterates flies around the screen and you have to press
the Earth. It’s a neat and inventive spin on the attack at the right moment to hit a range of
punch bag machines you sometimes see in targets for points.
bars and other hang-out spots.
While the game’s levels might be overlong and
But when it came to the Super Nintendo home full of pretty basic enemies, Sonic Blast Man is
version, developer Taito found itself limited just a funny, weird, over-the-top fighter that
by the hardware’s lack of boxing peripherals. deserves to be played by all fans of the genre.
So instead, the studio decided to make a Bizarrely, the arcade version got a sequel called
side-scrolling beat-‘em-up that’s full of absurd Real Puncher that lets you impose your actual
moves, hilarious moments and abstract mugshot on enemies before punching the living
character designs. Living up to his arcade snot out of them.
game, Sonic Blast Man’s attacks are largely
savage punches, with moves that let him
whale on goons with a flurry of ludicrous
combos that send them flying about the
screen like rag dolls. The overblown action
is definitely a big part of the game’s appeal.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Capcom 1992 ARC, NSW, PS1, PS3, PSP, PSV, SAT, WIN, XB1

WARRIORS OF FATE Bosses have huge health bars, making each You can see how easily your horse can be
battle feel tense, frenetic and fun. swarmed by ground troops.

Warriors of Fate is a spiritual sequel to to expand your move list even further.
Capcom’s Dynasty Wars (p96) and is based Jumping on a steed gives you even more
on the Tenchi wo Kurau manga series, set in additional moves. You can use mounted
feudal China. The plot follows a warband of weapons like long-range spears to hold the
heroes as they fight to defend their home torrent of troops back at a safe distance, and
against invading military forces. While you can even make your horse let rip with a
Dynasty Wars placed the player as a soldier neat dashing strike. This move is really effective,
fighting on horseback at all times, Warriors of as your horse head-butts its way through
Fate feels closer to something like Final Fight whole packs of enemies at once. As with most
(p70), with a neat blend of on-foot and side-scrolling beat-‘em-up mounts, you can be
mounted combat to mix things up. knocked off your horse quite easily if you get
sloppy or simply spam attacks without any
Whether you’re standing or on the back of a real strategy. The key to holding on to your
mighty steed, the combat is absolutely superb, steed is to act with caution, watch your spacing
with plenty of heft and variety across each of the and only go in for attacks when it feels safe.
five varied characters. Each fighter feels unique,
thanks to their own melee combat style or Although Warriors of Fate doesn’t have the
signature weapon. Take the skilled archer Kadan, same light RPG progression system as Dynasty
for example, whose bow lets you hold back Wars, there’s enough going on that you won’t
enemies with rapid-fire ranged attacks. You can really miss it. There is an impressive range of
also let rip with classic two-button specials that enemies to face, while the rich and colourful
are great for dealing with crowd control when you environments are incredibly detailed. In the
get swarmed, and there’s a range of additional grand scheme of Capcom fighters, this is
weapons to pick up from chests in each stage easily up there with its very best brawlers.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Jaleco 1992 SFC, SNES, WII, WIIU

Use Flak’s slide kick to instantly knock down Oozie is more of a tank-style character and RIVAL TURF!
enemies and free up some space. looks like an M. Bison cosplayer.

Known as Rushing Beat in Japan, Rival Turf! is with no gameplay innovations beyond its
the first game in a trilogy of Super Nintendo normal standing and aerial attacks. You’ll likely
games, followed by Brawl Brothers (p196) find the feel and flow of the combat a little
and The Peace Keepers (p249). Weirdly, the strange to begin with, but in time you’ll figure
Western versions of each entry didn’t make out how to take down each enemy type
it clear that they were all connected, which effectively. The visuals are also pretty rough
is a shame as the series as a whole is pretty around the edges, with jaggy sprites and a
decent if you’re willing to give it a chance. few moments of simple animation that could
have used more frames.
The catch is that all three games have their
own weird quirks and flaws that – once you get One of the standout features of the entire
your head around them – are actually no longer Rushing Beat trilogy is its stellar soundtrack,
an issue. In fact, rising to the challenge of the which is definitely a highlight in Rival Turf!
trilogy’s weird hit boxes, odd design choices Arguably, the second game (Brawl Brothers,
and strange rules is actually part of the fun. p198) has the best ear candy of the bunch, but
Once you understand all these mechanics, they’re all full of great tracks. The soundtrack
you can actually feel yourself getting better is one superb element that shows – despite
at each game, which can be quite rewarding the series’ more ropey moments – that Jaleco
if you have the patience. made an honest-to-god effort to make the best
trilogy of brawlers it could. It’s an admirable
In the Western build of Rival Turf! you play as goal, and makes all three games worth a try.
the woefully named hero Jack Flack, who fights
alongside his pal, Oozie Nelson, to rescue his
girlfriend Heather. The combat is really basic,

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Jaleco 1992 NSW, SFC, SNES, WII, WIIU

BRAWL BROTHERS The branching boss battles help to give the You’ll need a guide the first time you tackle the
game a lot of replay value. US version’s sewer maze.

Brawl Brothers is the second game in Jaleco’s as intended. The maze stages are gone, there’s
Rushing Beat trilogy and is the spiritual sequel a new ending cutscene and the difficulty,
to Rival Turf (p195). This is a weird SNES while still challenging, is at least fair this time.
cartridge, as it has you play the localised If you’re going to play this game, then the
Western edition of the game by default, but Japanese build is definitely the one to go for.
it also contains a superior Japanese build
that can only be accessed by entering a So with all that in mind, how does Brawl
cheat code. Brothers handle? It might pale when compared
to fellow 1992 heavyweight Streets of Rage 2
It’s the only known SNES cartridge in existence (p184), but if you stick with this game and learn
to launch with this feature, but in a weird turn of its mechanics, you’ll unearth a genuinely fun
events, the decision actually saves this game brawler with lots of unique ideas to offer.
from being relegated to the trash heap. That’s
because the default North American and For example, the character select screen asks
European edition is poorly balanced, with an you to pick two characters from the roster of
unfair difficulty curve and an irritating sewer five, even when playing solo. The first pick is
maze in the first stage. It’s so easy to get lost in your playable character, the second is your
the network of identical tunnels that you can lose buddy in the story, and the other three become
all your lives before even meeting the first boss. bosses that you have to defeat and recruit
along the way. The order of the bosses also
Thankfully, someone at Jaleco decided to hide changes depending on your first two selections,
the Japanese edition on the cartridge and give which feels a little like the stage select option
players the original Brawl Brothers experience in Capcom’s Mega Man series.

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Lord J’s flying kick is almost useless, thanks to a Use throws to hurl your enemies into pits and
very weird hit box. electrified floor panels.

The characters feel largely the same, with
a few speed, defence and power variances,
but the core combat is solid and fast-paced.
Each enemy type has their own behaviour and
attacks to watch out for, which means you can’t
just mash standard combos to defeat everyone.
Jaleco also beefed up each character’s throw
attack by making the screen shake violently
each time you slam someone into the ground.
It’s a trick borrowed from Streets of Rage, but
it still makes you feel really powerful.

But as this is a tricky game, you’re eventually You can taunt your enemies. It looks cool, but
going to get handed a severe beatdown. Jaleco leaves you open to sneak attacks.
has you covered there as well, thanks to ‘Angry
Mode’ (or ‘Ikari Mode’ in the Japanese version). There’s not much to say about the Brawl
If you take too many hits in a row, your fighter Brothers plot, but you really won’t care, thanks to
begins to glow and gains a temporary strength its tight core combat, superb 16-bit visuals and
boost that lets you comically hurl enemies off excellent soundtrack. The decision to butcher
the screen like some kind of superhuman. It’s the Western build is still a mystery, but at least
a neat feature that levels the playing field the Japanese version is there for all to enjoy.
when fights get tough.

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DEVELOPER RELEASED PLAYABLE FORMATS
Konami 1992 ARC

BUCKY O’HARE Mix enemies and turrets with stage hazards, Blinky’s extendable punch is great for getting
and the action gets pretty hectic. out of a close-quarter jam.

Konami tried something fresh with this great soldiers and stage hazards such as automatic
adaptation of the Bucky O’Hare cartoon show. turrets, swooping attack ships and flame jets
Although it looks and controls like a side- that need great timing to pass safely. It’s not
scrolling beat-‘em-up, all of the characters exactly a bullet-hell-style experience but it
use long-range laser guns instead of melee will certainly keep you on your toes.
combos. The end result feels like a blend of
the developer’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Konami did a great job of keeping the shooter
arcade brawlers and their classic shooter gameplay interesting, with last-ditch melee
series, Contra. strikes that can only be used at close quarters
and two-button specials that help break up
The mash-up paid off, as Bucky O’Hare is a crowds. Even if you haven’t seen the cartoon
fun and explosive game that feels unique in the show, Bucky O’Hare’s arcade outing is a total
side-scrolling genre. The developers made it feel blast to play, just to experience the quirky
faithful to the cartoon show by using animated combination of shooter and fighting genres.
cutscenes, fluid animation and colourful
character sprites. It even features dialogue If you want even more Bucky O’Hare action,
from members of the show’s voice cast. the franchise also got a brilliant NES release.
This time it was a 2D platformer in a similar
Just like the show, the game is a planet- style to Capcom’s Mega Man series – complete
hopping adventure that follows intergalactic with the same savage difficulty level and
hero Bucky and his team of gunslinging rebels, beginner’s traps. Cartridges go for a pretty
Jenny, Dead-Eye Duck and Blinky, as they fight penny these days, though, so keep your eyes
to defeat the evil Toad Empire. Each frantic peeled for a bargain online.
stage throws you against screens of Toad

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