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As someone who was born in the early 1980s, I was around when gaming really started to get serious.

I began actually playing video games in the late 1980’s (mostly at home on platforms like the Commodore 64 and Atari ST) and, for the first ten years or so of my gaming life, coin-operated arcade games were the pinnacle of the gaming industry.

My favourite genre was undoubtedly the side-scrolling beat ’em up. This type of game generally featured melee combat between the protagonist (human player) and an improbably large number of varied NPC enemies (mostly very weak flunkies).

Although this kind of gaming has now evolved to feature more open, three-dimensional environments, the traditional side-scrolling beat ’em ups take place in right-to-left scrolling, two-dimensional levels.

This side-scrolling beat ’em up dominated the industry and, in particular, the video game arcades of the 80s and 90s and were enjoyed by millions.

With that in mind, here are 10 great side-scrolling arcade beat ’em ups of the 80s and 90s…

10. P.O.W: Prisoners of War (1988)

P.O.W: Prisoners of War

Playing as ‘Snake’ or ‘Bart’, up to two players could play at once in this 1988 classic.

The aim of P.O.W: Prisoners of War was (as you would expect, judging by the title) to escape from the enemy’s prisoner of war camp, fighting your way through four stages, as hordes of opposition soldiers attempt to prevent you from doing so.

The game’s four stages were a P.O.W camp, a warehouse, a jungle and the enemy’s base of operations. Enemies you had to fight against included foot soldiers, commandos and green berets.

Controls were pretty basic and bog standard for this type of game – essentially you could walk, jump, punch, kick and headbutt, while machine guns and knives could be picked up to utilise against your foes.

My main memory of this game comes from playing it on a daily basis in a 7-Eleven convenience store whilst on holiday in Florida in 1993 – five years after its initial release. It was still comparatively decent when put up against the more recently released titles at the time.

9. Renegade (1986)

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Taking on the role of a streetwise vigilante whose girlfriend has been kidnapped, Renegade is undoubtedly one of the more influential early games in this particular genre.

Although it is indeed a side-scrolling beat ’em up, the playing area of each playing zone – separated in to four stages – was limited to the width of two screens and didn’t scroll continuously.

In the first three stages, the player would fight the enemies – namely street thugs both on foot and on motorcycles  and both male and female – until only three remained. At that point, the stage boss would appear. If the boss was killed before his/her underlings, said underlings would retreat.

The fourth and final stage sees the player fighting a wave of knife-wielding thugs who could kill with one hit, before entering a building on the far right of the screen for the final fight – against three more knife-wielding thugs and the mob-boss, who wielded a gun which could also kill with one hit.

After defeating the final boss, the player rescues his girlfriend and is rewarded with a kiss, before returning to stage one to replay the game on an increased difficulty level.

I recall playing this in a local arcade and proceeding to purchase the Commodore 64 version from a local toy store. The Commodore 64 version being, obviously, quite inferior.

8. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993)

cadillacsanddinosaurs

As far as gaming concepts go, this was certainly one of the more… imaginative (for ‘imaginative’ read ‘crazy’).

I actually only played this a couple of times upon its initial release, but I remember it being a lot of fun. It is only in the past few years, having played it on an arcade emulator, that I have become fully accustomed to it and it is still very enjoyable to play to this day.

Essentially, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs was based on the comic book series Xenozoic Tales by Mark Schultz – an alternative comic in which the Earth of the future has been ravaged by pollution and natural disasters. As a result, humans built vast underground cities in which they lived for approximately 600 years to escape the situation above ground. When they re-emerged, the humans found that the world had been reclaimed by previously extinct lifeforms – including dinosaurs.

Playing as either Jack Tenrec, Hannah Dundee, Mustapha Cairo or Mess O’Bradovich (each of whom had their own advantages and disadvantages), up to three players at a time took up the mission to defeat the thuggish hordes of Dr. Simon Fessenden – a mad scientist who wanted to populate the world with dinosaur-human hybrids.

Occasionally, the titular Cadillacs could be driven by the players during gameplay, whilst the titular dinosaurs were neutral NPCs who could potentially attack either the human players or their thuggish NPC opponents.

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs was a weird but brilliant game with vibrant graphics and crisp gameplay.

7. Captain Commando (1991)

captaincommando

Another vibrantly coloured futuristic game with crisp gameplay was Capcom’s wonderful Captain Commando. It’s another game that I only played a small number of times around the time of its initial release, but have recently revisited via an arcade emulator.

Set in 2026 in a future where criminal activity is rife, Captain Commando revolves around the titular character and his ‘Commando Team’ – a team of heroic misfits who have banded together to fight the crime that has gripped our planet (and indeed our galaxy).

The band of misfits include the Captain himself, Mack the Knife (a mummy-like alien being who uses sub-sonic knives), Ginzu the Ninja (a highly trained ninja who utilises a very sharp sword) and the very weird Baby Head (a super-genius baby who fights inside a mecha-suit that he designed himself.

Human players could play as all four characters at the same time in co-op mode on the arcade version, as they fought their way through nine stages of enemies to ultimately defeat ‘Scumocide’ – the diabolical genius who had genetically engineered his own army of super-criminals.

The final battle sees the human player(s) going up against Scumocide himself, in his laboratory – the hulking enemy floats around, firing balls of energy at the player(s).

Following the defeat of Scumocide, it is announced to the world that the villain has been defeated and the titular hero appears on screen to address the people. The government official who is making the announcement asks who the man on screen is and he simply replies…. “Captain Commando” (in a very monotone, 1990s computerised voice).

6. Kung-Fu Master (1984)

kungfumaster
This was the original side-scrolling beat ’em up and one that was past its best by the time I first played it – but it was a classic and highly enjoyable nonetheless.

The human player takes the role of Keiji Thomas – a simple man who wears a Keikogi training uniform and slippers. Keiji’s girlfriend, Sylvia, has been kidnapped by the man known only as ‘Mr. X’ and Thomas must fight through five side-scrolling floors full of martial artist enemies and, in the later levels, dragons, snakes and poisonous moths to rescue her.

Each level has a boss (who will laugh in a very annoying manner if they beat you) and must be completed within a specified time limit, otherwise the player is adjudged to have failed and it is game over. If a player wins, Keiji rescues his girlfriend and the game restarts on a higher level of difficulty.

Controls were pretty simple in this one; you could punch with one button, kick with another and jump and crouch with the joystick.

Kung-Fu Master was certainly not as good as the other entries in this list, but it was enjoyable enough and paved the way for the other games. For those reasons, it is undoubtedly a classic.

5. The Simpsons (1991)

simpsonsarcade

As The Simpsons rose to prominence and began to become popular around the world, merchandise in the form of toys, clothing, furniture, electronic media and confectionary (I could go on) were practically impossible to avoid.

Cue the release of a fantastically playable arcade beat ’em up.

The Simpsons Arcade Game revolved around a plot in which the Simpson family inadvertently stumble upon Waylon Smithers and two accomplices robbing a jewellers in Springfield. A diamond from the stolen haul ends up in Maggie Simpson’s mouth and, instead of just grabbing the diamond, Smithers takes Maggie. This results in Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa heading off to rescue Maggie from the possession of Smithers and Mr. Burns.

Up to four players could play this game at once. As Homer, the player would simply punch and kick. As Marge, the player would use a vacuum cleaner as a weapon. As Bart, the player would use a skateboard as a weapon. And, as Lisa, the player would use a skipping rope as a weapon.

The family had to battle through eight stages – set in different Springfield locations – against Mr. Burns’ employees and goons, until ultimately facing off against a bomb-throwing Smithers and Mr. Burns in a plutonium-powered armoured vehicle. Once defeated, Maggie would appear and the Simpsons could return to their family home.

The game featured a number of innovations, including the ability to execute double-team moves – the different combinations of characters would produce different attacks.

Overall this was a highly addictive enjoyable game that did The Simpsons franchise justice. I recall playing it extensively at the time of release and have played it many times more recently on arcade emulators.

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)

turtlesarcade

When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, as they were known in Europe) were the ‘in-thing’ amongst kids in the late 1980s and early 1990s, an arcade game was released that took the gaming world by storm.

With its pioneering 4-player simultaneous gameplay, this was co-op coin-op at its finest.

Having seen their mentor Splinter and friend April O’Neil kidnapped by their arch-enemy Shredder, the turtles had to  battle through five stages to save them – coming up against armies of foot soldiers and bosses that included Bebop, Rocksteady and Baxter Stockman – ultimately ending in the Technodrome where they must defeat Krang and Shredder.

The human player could play as Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo or Raphael (or any combination of the quartet) in their quest and the game was alot of fun. It was teaming with turtle-based humour and the sound, animation and gameplay were damn impressive – especially for the time it was released.

I remember playing this on the cross-Channel ferry to keep myself occupied on the way to a camping holiday in France. A true arcade classic.

3. Double Dragon (1987)

doubledragon

This 1987 side-scrolling beat ’em up is often the first one that gamers who were around in that era think of – and with good reason. Double Dragon is an absolute classic.

It also happens to be the first one I ever played in a local seaside amusement arcade.

Taking control of either of two twin brothers – Jimmy or Billy Lee – or indeed both simultaneously, the human player would fight their way through three different stages (a slum, a factory and a wooded area) in to the fourth and final stage – the main turf of the dreaded ‘Black Warriors’ gang – in order to rescue Maria, their common love interest.

Moves range from basic punches and kicks to hair-pulling and elbow strikes, whilst weapons could be acquired from enemy hands (baseball bats, knives, whips etc).

Upon completing the game in single player mode – by defeating the final boss – the game was over and the controlled character won the girl. Upon completing it in two player mode, the two players would then have to fight each other in order to decide which one of them won the girl’s affections.

2. Golden Axe (1989)

goldenaxe

Set in the fictional land of Yuria, Golden Axe tells the tale of how the evil ‘Death Adder’ has kidnapped the land’s King and his daughter and is holding them captive in his castle.

It is then down to the human player (or players, as there was a two player mode), playing as either the male warrior (Ax Battler), the female warrior (Tyris Flare) or the dwarf (Gilius Thunderhead), to battle through various stages – filled with warriors of varying kinds, including men armed with clubs and maces, skeletons and knights – to reach Death Adder’s castle and defeat him, rescuing the King and his daughter and obtaining the golden axe; a weapon which would imbue them with immortality.

Each of the playable characters had a reason to want Death Adder dead; The dwarf’s twin brother was killed by Death Adder, the male warrior’s Mother was killed by Death Adder and both of the female warrior’s parents were killed by Death Adder.

The game had a number of interesting aspects, including the ability to ride steeds (such as dinosaurs and dragons) and the ability to obtain little pots of magic from imps to use to launch mystical attacks on your opponents.

The arcade version of this game was fantastic, but the Sega Mega Drive version – which I owned and played the hell out of – came pretty close and also had a survival mode reminiscent of the format seen in the likes of Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat style fighting games.

Golden Axe is another genuine classic with great graphics and thrilling gameplay that will long be remembered.

1. Final Fight (1989)

finalfight1
Originally intended to be a sequel to the original Street Fighter game, Final Fight was undoubtedly the best side-scrolling beat ’em up in the arcades of the 80s and 90s. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that it is the ultimate side-scrolling beat ’em up.

Based in the fictional Metro City, the premise of Final Fight is that Mike Haggar (an ex-wrestler and current mayor of Metro City), Cody (a martial artist) and his friend Guy (a fellow martial artist) are on a mission to rescue Jessica from the ‘Mad Gear’ gang (Jessica is Mike Haggar’s daughter and Cody’s girlfriend).

The player(s) must take control of Haggar, Cody or Guy (or any two of them in co-op mode) in order to fight through six stages filled with Mad Gear’s most violent thugs. Utilising knives, metal pipes and swords (amongst other weapons) along the way, the player(s) must defeat the thugs and a boss at the end of each stage in order to rescue Jessica and bring order back to Metro City.

The graphics in Final Fight were second to none back in the day and the gameplay was absolutely unrivalled. I remember the villains being so massively varied; from fat men who would literally bowl you over, to seven-foot-tall wrestlers and from women with whips to generic punks. I also recall bonus rounds between levels which included smashing up a car as much as possible.

I vividly remember that my Mother worked in an office next to a leisure centre when I was younger and that there was a Final Fight arcade machine in the leisure centre. Whenever it was the school holidays, often I would have to accompany my Mother to work and the amount of money I blew on this game doesn’t bear thinking about!

A truly iconic game (I still occasionally play it on an arcade emulator to this very day!).

So, did this bring back any memories? What were your favourite coin-operated side-scrolling beat ’em ups back in the day? Please feel free to let us know in the comments below!


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28 comments
  1. How “great” are these games really though? I can’t speak for the rest, but I bought The Simpsons on PSN a while ago, and it’s one of the worst games I’ve ever played in my life. The gameplay is so awful. I can imagine it might have once been “fun” in an actual arcade environment to a group of four friends in the most mindless sense of the word “fun”, and basing it on The Simpsons probably helped, but it certainly doesn’t stand up as a great game today as many classic arcade games do.

    That said, I didn’t play a whole lot of the beat-em-up genre, although I do remember enjoying the Streets Of Rage series back in the day, although those never appeared in arcades.

  2. I’ve played mos of these games,mind they were really awesome. Streets of rage 3 was incredible.
    Kung fu master was excellent. Played double dragon hundreds of times. Golden axe was really cool.

    These games offered us countless hours of fun. But 99{54aa50b9c141fdc6877fe76dd9617d72386c166c2b8f2ba44b2c6137e789c1e0} of the gamers, most are kids, the only game they can ever play and like is cod, or any other game where they hold a gun.

    Back in the days, buying these games, going home and play them was like magical.
    I used to play street fighter on SNES or mega drive, and it was awesome. Played thousands of hours, and it was always fun. Today, I play a street fighter game, with billions colors and ultra hi resolution graphics, and 10 minutes later, I’m fed up. That magical touch is missing, today.
    Buying a new streets of rage, sonic, thunder force, ecco, etc mega drive game, going home, and hitting start, was like a Christmas gift.every game did make the same effect. Gaming was much more fun than today, for sure.

  3. This list clearly lacks the D&D duo. Do yourself a favor and go play them! I loved SoRage and GAxe back in the day, but D&D won me over quickly.

  4. Double Dragon will always be my favourite. Age 11, down the pub with my mate’s family, drinking Lilt and chucking 10 pence pieces into the slot. The good old days.

  5. Anyway. There was a game down the arcade I can’t remember the name of. Side scroller beat em up. Good graphics. Slightly more modern maybe. Scrolling beat em up. I think they were ninjas, but robots. You could play a red or a blue one (guess) and as you took damage you looked more and more like a robot. It was wicked but I didn’t play it much as it was expensive for my pocket money. Anyone know it? Ninjas, robotic ones, I think they set on fire and blew up if you died…

  6. Ah man!!!

    Well, you’re spot on with Final Fight. Although Double Dragon preceded it, as you say it was the polished article. A mate and I used to play it in the local arcade. It was 20p a go and we would rinse about £5 to take get to the samurai wielding guy in the ring. The game was (and is, I have the port on iPhone) brutal!

    I’ll never forget the most perfect version of the game (home version) was on the swag mega cd. It was absolutely perfect and the only time we completed it. Took absolute ages too!

    Golden axe was totally aces. You could get on the animals! Scary skeletons coming out the ground aka Sinbad stylee

  7. What about “Green Beret” which was on the Amstrad and Commodore? It was as most the games on these consoles, unbelievably difficult and when you completed it you just started over like nothing happened (same with Slap Fight).

  8. I’m glad Golden Axe is on here, but where’s Streets of Rage and Altered Beast? 😉

  9. Anybody remember an arcade where you were this cop in a robot suit? I remember you had to kill a tiger at one point.

  10. Any body remember a side scroller type fighting game. Had a guy in black pants,red bandana,and a white tank top. Picked up nunchucks every so often. Not bad dudes but had a stage were you fought on I beams.

  11. I used to love this Arcade game they had in one of the hockey rinks in my city. But i cant seem to find it anywhere, and i dont know the name of it.
    It was a side scroller beat em up, kinda resembling SoR. The only detail i can vividly remember is one of the specialattacks, where you grabbed one opponent, and kind of turned him into a guitar/electricity shaped as a guitar. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

  12. What arcade game am I thinking of?
    It was a sit down on seat with a poll style control. It moved opposite way to the direction you are aiming, almost like Afterburner but it was open air style. You are some kind of snake or dragon, and it’s not pov, you can see the snake/dragon infront of you. Was around at the Afterburner time. Wtf was it called?

  13. A bit off piste here,Mobutu I think you are referring to, Space Harrier.

    Anyone remember Dynamite Dux or DJ Boyz?

  14. Hello, I’m wondering about a game I played on an Arcade machine; I can’t remember the name but you played as 3/4 different people, one guy was named Leonardo or something and had black pants with flames on it, a guy named Undead or something who everyone would want to play as, a girl and maybe someone else. It was a side scroller and you would have to advance right, it had bosses, one was a giant spider made out of those weird doctors or something and you could pick up stuff from the ground so like a bat, gun, motorcycle or something else that could be picked up. If anyone knows what I’m taking about, please let me know, also, I think it was from the 1980’s or 1990’s when it was first released but I played it in the early 2000’s.

  15. Can anyone help with the 80s arcade game set on a moving train and a US soldier took on German soldiers … Armed with a bayonet and punches I think from memory.

  16. I m looking for a side scroll beat em
    up game I played a lot with my friend around 1990. I remeber having different special super powers (lightning, twisters, and the strongest was, like a face that appeared). it probably was sega master systems, but Im not sure. I would love to play that game again once. Anybody knows that game?

  17. Oz..I think the game you are talking about is green beret. it was a very tough game,and as you advanced you could get a flame thrower and a bazooka.

  18. Aliens Vs Predator by Capcom is the best arcade side scrolling beat ’em up for me. Massive characters, hugely varied with fantastic animation. But what really sets it apart is the shear amount of NPC enemies on screen at a single time is staggering. Captain America and the Avengers was also a lot of fun to play. As was Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker with its isometric levels. X-Men was an enjoyable blast with perhaps the best line up of a varied playable characters in a side scrolling beat em up. These are all games that I now play on emulators but being born in 1979 my fondest memories of the time are Bad Dudes and like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Personally I think that Streets of Rage 2 on the Sega Megadrive is one of the best there is.

  19. Anyone knows about that sidescrolling game from 80s where a bald fat guy could pick up bottles and stab them into enemies I guess he wears yellow shirt.
    Thanks

  20. THE Simpson’s that was released on psn was no where as good as the orinigal ( the arcade was awesome).

    So there is one that I played and I can’t remember the name of it but it was your typical fighter but every time you get hit you heart starts beating faster. You die when your heart gets pinched

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