Altered Beast is an influential Sega beat ’em up first released into arcades in 1988. In some respects it was the predecessor to Golden Axe and Alien Storm; both similar games, and both to come later from Sega.
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Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy, Neo Geo
Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy was first released on the Neo Geo by SNK in 1994. It is a side-scrolling arcade platform game, sometimes referred to as a “predecessor to Metal Slug“, and featuring two playable characters… Yes, you guessed it: Roddy and Cathy.
Samurai Shodown II, Neo Geo
SNK‘s Samurai Shodown II is a legendary fighting game for the Neo Geo, first released in arcades in 1994, then later for home consoles.
Waku Waku 7, Neo Geo
Sunsoft‘s Waku Waku 7 is one of the craziest, most colourful, and most over-the-top beat ’em ups I’ve ever played. It first appeared in arcades in 1996, was later released for the Neo Geo AES, and later also re-released for modern consoles. Such is its popularity.
The Last Ninja 3, Commodore 64
The Last Ninja 3 was released by System 3 in 1991 and it follows the same isometric/action template as the previous two games.
Again: there are refinements and differences that make The Last Ninja 3 a worthwhile game in its own right – in particular: the graphics, which are more detailed and colourful than seen previously.
The Last Ninja 2, Commodore 64
The sequel to the classic The Last Ninja was first released by System 3 in 1988 – one year after the original game.
It was designed by the same team as made the first game, except this time they had on board the highly-respected John Twiddy as writer/coder, and Matt Gray doing music.
Graphically, The Last Ninja 2 is arguably better than its predecessor, with more colour and variety in the environments, and some of the gameplay niggles from the first game have thankfully been addressed too. In particular: it is now easier to pick things up!
The Last Ninja, Commodore 64
First released in 1987, The Last Ninja is a classic isometric action adventure game originating on the Commodore 64, and later being converted to other systems.
It has to be said, though: the control system used in this game does leave a lot to be desired when playing it nowadays. Getting your ninja guy to do what you want him to do is tricky – even when you know what you’re doing…
Kung-Fu Master, Game Boy
Irem themselves developed and published this 1990 handheld, monochrome remake of the classic Kung-Fu Master, and it is not too bad, all things considered.
Kung-Fu Master, Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 conversion of the classic arcade game, Kung-Fu Master, is not too bad. It is certainly better than the awful Spectrum version.
Bruce Lee: Return of the Legend, Game Boy Advance
Created in 2003 by Vicarious Visions, Bruce Lee: Return of the Legend is an excellent side-scrolling beat ’em up that presents Bruce Lee in the role of a martial arts student fighting an evil crime syndicate in revenge for the murder of his master.
It’s an excellent game too – surprisingly so.
Continue reading Bruce Lee: Return of the Legend, Game Boy Advance
