International Karate was released in 1986 by System 3 Software.
It was written by Archer MacLean and was one of the first beat ’em ups – ever – to actually feel like a decent game to play and not a ridiculous slug-fest.
Tag Archives: Fighting Game
Godzilla: Battle Legends, PC Engine
Hudson Soft developed Godzilla: Battle Legends on the PC Engine, for Japanese movie studio Toho in 1993. It is an energetic 2D beat ’em up with characters featured from the infamous series of monster films.
International Karate Plus, Atari ST
Programmed by Archer MacLean himself (the man behind the original Commodore 64 version), and published by System 3 in 1988, the Atari ST conversion of the classic International Karate Plus is pretty much flawless, and is also arguably the best beat ’em up on the entire system.
Nightshade, NES
NOT the infamous 1985 Ultimate game, but an obscure action/adventure classic from Aussie developer Beam Software, first released on the NES in 1992.
Ninja Golf, Atari 7800
A notch above “Monkey Tennis” in terms of great ideas, Ninja Golf was dreamt-up and released for the Atari 7800, way back in 1990.
Kung Food, Atari Lynx
This terrible scrolling beat ’em up was released for the Atari Lynx in 1992.
Kung Food features poorly-drawn, downright silly, food-related characters and enemies and takes place mostly inside a refridgerator.
Rise of the Robots, PC
Mirage‘s infamous 1994 beat ’em up, Rise of the Robots, was hyped massively before, during and after its initial release, but never managed to break free from criticism that it was nothing more than a steaming pile of donkey muck.
Ultra Vortek, Atari Jaguar
My goodness, Ultra Vortek must rate as one of the worst beat ’em ups of all time!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time, Super Nintendo
A fantastic 1992 conversion of the Turtles In Time arcade machine, courtesy of Konami. And a rollicking and colourful side-scrolling beat ’em up, for up to four players.
Continue reading Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time, Super Nintendo
Aliens vs. Predator, Arcade
This 1994 arcade game from Capcom is a ridiculously over-the-top beat ’em up in the style of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs – side-scrolling, all-action, with gigantic sprites jumping around all over the place.
The King of Grabs 