Pac-Man

Now, the 3D Pac-Man games added some story here and there later on but I was never a big Pac-Man fan. Even when I played my first game in 1989, Pac-Man never got play and my cousins had the console version. I would play it years later when I had my own console and my dad picked it up from the video store.

It was a fun play through but it seemed endless and these stages were all same-y. This was the early 1990s and it was one of those ports from arcade to console with nothing extra added, so it wasn’t the most exciting experience but I had become invested.

I find that now, the game is more enjoyable if you can find a cabinet or an arcade. It was just one of those arcade games that didn’t equal the same fun at home.

Bomber Man

This is similar to Pac-Man in that there was no story here and the game seemed endless as a kid. The main difference is that I had a blast with Bomber Man and still enjoy a game of Bomber Man now. It eventually got a storyline via the Nintendo 64 games but I’ve forgotten it and it wasn’t expanded upon much.

What keeps Bomber Man from being one of my favorites and merely a game I can enjoy is that after a short period I’m good on the game for a long time. I mainly play solo and Bomber Man is donezo after two hours and back then, didn’t know too many people who wanted to slam in Bomber Man.

It’s a game that really benefits from online multiplayer because there is a fun factor and replay value to be had but on console that fun factor was fleeting in the 1990s.

F-Zero

I admit my indifference towards F-Zero comes from two places: I don’t care for racing games and there were racing games I found more fun and interesting. For those who don’t know, F-Zero is a sci-fi racing series that made its debut in 1990 on the Super Nintendo. There was a brief stretch where it was Ninty’s only racing offering among multiplatform racing titles.

Then Mario Kart came along. The two co-existed well for roughly a decade but during the Super Nintendo final years and the early years of the Nintendo 64, there was less F-Zero until there was sparse FZ. A major factor in this is the increased popularity of Mario Kart and addition of Diddy Kong Racing and something like Wave Race.

It might seem like 3D racing killed enthusiasm in F-Zero but FZ could’ve easily taken the 3D jump. Also, Nintendo’s turnaround on releases tends to be a little slower than other companies. They rarely have logjams where too many titles are in the works and nothing comes through but also some series just end up on ice for a long time.

Almost to the point that they become dated while similar series advance with new titles. In F-Zero’s case it sucks because the series actually had a story that could’ve only been expanded on in modern gaming. I will say that F-Zero 99 is a fun play but it wasn’t something that kept my attention or something I revisit.

Samurai Shodown

An odd entry because I dig SNK fighters over Capcom and I love Fatal Fury. King of Fighters is better as a series but I will jump in on a few rounds of Fatal Fury and bring some Terry Bogard action. Samurai Shodown is similar to the LG Soul series starting with Soul Edge when compared to Tekken in that it’s Fatal Fatal with swords.

Diehard fans will say it’s more than that but it’s pretty much FF in feudal Japan. That’s not why I’m indifference towards the game, it was actually my first arcade fighter (along with X-Men: Children of the Atom). Similar to F-Zero, there just got to a point where the games stopped coming out, other more exciting fighting games dropped and Samurai Shodown was a memory for years.

And that sucks because I find the character design and animation to be awesome. Then again, I always preferred SNK’s character art to Capcom’s until the Street Fighter Alpha-Night Warriors period. The backstory for the fighters were also done in a way that I would’ve played the game to see how some stories advanced but some titles weren’t released stateside until years after their release.

I’m working my way around to the 2019 reboot but there’s a lot of back catalog stuff to chop through. Who knows, it might pique my interest in returning to the older, later-released titles.

Let us know what gaming franchises that get love that you find meh for whatever reason.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

I’m talking about the tried and true beat ‘em up. They were big in the 1980s, we saw some fun ones in the early 1990s and by the end of the decade, things were leaning towards slash ‘em ups and shoot ‘em ups. I always enjoyed beat ‘em ups not because the gameplay was straightforward to the point of not requiring a tutorial, but they were a reflection of action films from that period.

Beat ‘Em Up Games Were Like Playing Through an Action Film

That should’ve been the main marketing point at the time, but you have to consider that not everyone was taking kids to go see Kickboxer or Under Siege. However, they would go to see Double Dragon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and even Surf Ninjas. You know, the fun, colorful action films. Those beat ‘em up games ran the gamut of being reflective of both kinds of action movies but the ones that were closer to those gritty one-against-many were the ones that rocked.

What was cool was having those games that were a mix of both. The LJN Spider-Man and the Sunsoft Batman games catered to a mainstream audience based off the FOX Kids Spidey and Batman cartoons from the same period while also being similar to beat ‘em ups like Rushing Beat, Final Fight, and Streets of Rage. Well, less so the Batman game. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t play like the others, but it wasn’t a colorful beat ‘em up like the TNMT titles.

Even the reasons why you and your buddy had to take to the streets were stock action movie reasons. Maybe someone’s girlfriend was kidnapped or a new gang is causing trouble and your crew are the only ones trusted to stop them. You honestly didn’t need much to throw fists with knife-wielding punks and chain-swinging thugs.

Thinking back, some action films also featured an ineffective police force that results in the player taking it to the streets. It’s like Death Wish with fists, you’re going full Sonny Chiba in The Street Fighter. One storyline I haven’t seen explored much in beat ‘em ups is the martial arts tournament.

That’s more of the realm of fighting games even though when the tournament falls apart and is shown to be a criminal or corporate front, things tend to escalate into a compound-wide brawl or shootout.

Beat ‘Em Ups Today Still Have That Spirit

Now beat ‘em ups still get made and many have that nostalgic vibe graphically. Some open-world games also allow you to navigate the world like its a beat ‘em up with story. I mean, I treat every Fallout game like it’s Fist of the North Star and raise unarmed: Power Fist or nothing, folks. However, the games that are made with being a beat ‘em up in mind take me back.

I’m big on games and television having better story than decades earlier. Stories are paced so that we get actual lore as opposed to the events of the game being the lore going forward. Or episodes having no effect on the rest of the season. You find out about all characters’ motivations and some of their background across multiple games in a series and even the villains have deeper motivations than being  just evil or greedy.

I appreciate that in some beat ‘em ups if they are reboots in nature. A sequel, remake, or revival? Eh, I could do without the whole story. For instance, 2022’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge doesn’t need too much story. It’s a game made for fans of beat ‘em ups but more so for fans of the Ninja Turtles games that made it to the Sega and Nintendo consoles while also holding down Showbiz Pizza and Chuck E. Cheese.

That said, I do appreciate the modern day features such as a skill tree and levels. It’s a good mix now. What were some of your favorite beat ‘em up games and which ones are you fan of that no one seems to remember?

Share with us in the comments!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.