The original Art of Fighting 3 by SNK came out in arcades – and on the Neo Geo AES – in 1996.
Continue reading Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior, Neo Geo
The original Art of Fighting 3 by SNK came out in arcades – and on the Neo Geo AES – in 1996.
Continue reading Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior, Neo Geo
Andrew Spencer‘s International Soccer is a very early football game for the Commodore 64. And by “very early” I mean: 1983.
It stood out from other football games on the market at the time because it had a modicum of playability. You could at least take possession of the ball and have shots on target. You could at least kick the ball in the right direction…
The “EO” part of Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO means: “Easy Operation”. Basically, this is the same game as the classic arcade beat ’em up of 2001, but with controls better suited to a gamepad. So, rather than hitting buttons to perform special attacks, you can now move the right analogue stick in a certain direction to activate them instead.
Road Rash II (1992) is an excellent continuation of the Road Rash theme, this time with more variety (you can now kick, as well as punch and use weapons, such as bike chains), and simultaneous two-player, split-screen play.
Irem‘s Kung-Fu Master is a brilliant side-scrolling beat ’em up from the video game arcades of 1984. And it has lost little of its appeal over the years, because Kung-Fu Master is precise, violent and fun. Not to mention a huge challenge.
Or – to give the game its full title – Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.
First released in arcades in 2000 and ported to the Dreamcast that same year, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes really shows off the Dreamcast‘s amazing 2D (and 3D) graphics capabilities, with huge, detailed sprites jumping around the screen and incredible visual effects, amongst all the violence.
One of the biggest-selling games on the Super Nintendo, Street Fighter II Turbo (to use its informal name), is faster and more varied than its predecessor, and also allows play of any of the four previously ‘locked’ boss characters (Balrog, Vega, Sagat and M. Bison) from the outset.
Continue reading Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, Super Nintendo
Possibly the best – and most influential – beat ’em up ever made, Capcom‘s Street Fighter II: The World Warrior is the second game in the Street Fighter series and the first in a long line of variations, enhanced editions and clones of Street Fighter II.
Continue reading Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Arcade
Namco‘s brilliant arcade fighting game, The Outfoxies, is a precursor to the Super Smash Bros. series and mixes a kind of Charlie’s Angels type presentation style, with a spy-themed storyline.
Ron J. Fortier and Kelly Day‘s brilliant Bruce Lee shows that you can squeeze real character into tiny pixels if you try hard enough, what with it’s dozy sumo (The Green Yamo) and daft ninja chasing you down relentlessly, like idiots on the run. And punching and kicking them is not only hilarious, but also essential, if you are to keep them off your back.