Top Ten Properties That Need Sidescrolling Beat 'Em Ups

Beat ‘Em Up Month may be over but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have a little beat ‘em up related fun. It’s been awhile since my last Monday List so why not make one about beat ‘em ups? Or rather, properties that should be beat ‘em ups.

Some day...

It seemed common back in the days of the arcade that every franchise worth it’s salt had a beat ‘em up tie-in. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Batman, Sailor Moon, frickin’ Stone Protectors. Beat ‘Em Ups were the go-to quarter eating arcade game. Still, there’s quite a few franchises that never had a beat ‘em up tie-in or were simply released either before or after the beat ‘em up genre was prominent. So, I’m going to be looking at the ten franchises I think would make awesome beat ‘em ups.

To set a few guidelines here, the franchise can be anything from film, tv, comics, books, video games, anything. And when I say a beat ‘em up, I of course mean a 2D Sidescrolling beat ‘em up. Nothing against 3D beat ‘em ups but 2D is where it’s at. Some of these franchises may have had a 3D beat ‘em up before or at least something with beat ‘em up qualities but I don’t care, I’m including it anyway! Also, I’m leaving out Adamant Ditto because that would be the obvious number one. 

Let's Try That Again - X-Men

Beat 'Em Up Month comes to a close with one of the most well-remembered Beat 'Em Ups of all time; X-Men the Arcade Game. Famous for supporting up to six players, X-Men featured some of the most popular superheroes of all time (plus Dazzler) as they took on Pyro, Emma Frost and of course, Magneto. Matt, Don, Phil, Josh, viewer Charge77 and some random guy plow through the PSN rerelease of this one one dive kick at a time.



Yes, folks, unfortunately, Beat 'Em Up Month has drawn to close but boy oh boy was it fun while it lasted. We played a lot of great games like Final Fight 3, The Punisher, Knights of the Round and even some not-so-great games like WWF Betrayal. We love Beat 'Em Ups and we hope you've enjoyed watching us play through a bunch of them just for you. There's plenty more we want to do so who knows, maybe Beat 'Em Up Month will become a regular thing. But until then, enjoy our last entry with X-Men.

VGM of the Week #39

Me again! I decided to stick with the Playstation for a few more weeks, so here's one of my absolute favorite Playstation tracks. I recently played through Brave Fencer Musashi again, and the main theme is still every bit as kick-ass as I remember it.




Really, the whole soundtrack is pretty fantastic; even though my favorite track in the game happens to be one of the very first tracks you hear, don't assume that the soundtrack only gets worse as the game goes on. Really, I think all of Square's games from that era had terrific soundtracks, not just the ones graced by Nobuo Uematsu.

Brave Fencer Musashi is a quaint little game that's not nearly as impressive as Ocarina of Time or even Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, but it's not without its own charms. There's really a strong sense of adventure, and the bombastic, semi-orchestrated soundtrack counts for a large part of that. The main theme in particular really gets my adventurous spirit pumping and makes me want to assimilate some abilities and liberate some crests. And play with action figures!

Let's Try That Again - Captain Commando & Knights of the Round

So, I may or may not have forgot to post an update when I upload our Let's Try That Again of Captain Commando a few days ago. Oops! I also uploaded Knights of the Round today so I guess you get a double dosage if you didn't already watch Captain Commando when I first uploaded it.

Originally developed as an official mascot for Capcom, Captain Commando stars a team of super heroic super people/mummies/babies who are out to save the world from evil doers everywhere. Matt and Don take on this surprisingly short game but it's fun while it lasts. Get ready to pile drive Blanka, Shtrom Jr. and Scumocide as a baby in mech suit. This is Captain Commando, part of Beat 'Em Up Month.




Despite breezing through it in less than forty minutes, making it our second shortest LP, Captain Commando is a pretty fun game. The characters and locations are memorable, the attacks are fun and you can get sliced in two and bleed all over the place. That's just awesome. Though you do get to play as a baby in a mech so Mortal Kombat this ain't.

This one takes place in the middle-ages in the days of Camelot; Knights of the Round. While technically it would be a hack and slash, it's still basically a sidescrolling beat 'em up so we'll let it slide. There's plenty of ridiculous horse riding and jumping around in this one, as well as some pretty intense debates about salads. King Arthur and his knights didn't see Adamant Ditto coming. So enjoy this medieval take on Beat 'Em Up Month.



Though more a hack and slash than a beat 'em up (though honestly they're the same damn thing), Knights of the Round is a pretty awesome game. I had never played it before we recorded it so I was quite surprised to see how much fun it was. Sure, it might not be Golden Axe or even Capcom's own King of Dragons but the medieval setting and the level up setting made it a pretty fun ride while it lasted. Plus, the humor and discussions were pretty top notch in this one, if I do say so myself.

Go ahead and hit the jump for the first part to both of these Let's Try That Agains.

Things are looking up Adamant Ditto!

"Hey guys! Just wanted to let everyone know that a lot of things for Adamant Ditto will be changing visually. We've got big things planned so definitely look forward to some announcements!"

"Meanwhile, we hope you guys are enjoying Beat 'Em Up Month! I just uploaded Captain Commando. Our Let's Try That Again of Knights of the Round is coming soon!"

Be sure to get acquainted and familiarize yourself with the other posters on our blog!

"I didn't know trains were living beings..."

"Duuude, I got candy in the back of my van."

 

"It's boner confusion."

"Vroom-vroom..."

VGM of the Week #38

Well I finally get a chance to really give you guys a good one. Last time, I promised something cool. Anyhow, what with my recent revamping of a list, I thought I'd do a number from one of them, and since Trauma Center is one I harped on about the score, I thought I'd give you a taste of exactly what I meant. Enjoy.

Let's Try That Again - The Punisher

Beat 'Em Up Month continued as Ricky and Matt played through one of the most hardcore games we've ever played on the channel; The Punisher for the arcade. The Punisher and Nick Fury kick, shoot and blast their way through numerous thugs as they try to make their way to the Kingpin himself. There's plenty of explosions, stabbing, flamethrowers and lots, of lots of manliness. You're in for one hell of ride with this one.




Okay. This one went up a few days ago and I should have updated about it then but I forgot. Sorry about that. I'm a terrible, terrible person. Also, I've been busy. What with work and The Dark Knight Rises (which is awesome) and Steam's Summer Sale (Also awesome) and Minecraft (Which I've gotten lost in every time I played. The caves are mean.) But hey, here's an update about it now! This one is pretty damn funny, too. So watch it. Watch it twice. Then like every video twice.

Let's Try That Again - Mighty Final Fight

Beat 'Em Up Month marches on with the continuing adventures of Cody, Guy and Mike Haggar. Only this time they're quite a bit smaller than you remember them. Yes, Matt takes on the adorable NES version of the Final Fight series, Mighty Final Fight. Get ready to feel awkward about how cute you find Haggar and Andore as we plow through Metro City one last time in glorious 8-Bit.




How can you go wrong with a Chibi Mike Haggar? You can't! Beat 'Em Up Month continues as I plowed my way through Mighty Final Fight....slowly. Not only is the game pretty slow, it was lagging like crazy. It's not our strongest from Beat 'Em Up Month but I don't regret doing it at all. If only because of how cute everything is.

VGM of the Week #37

For this week's VGM of the Week, I originally wanted to do Cody's Theme from Super Street Fighter IV. But, Don just did Guile's Theme last week, which was also Street Fighter related and my last VGM of the Week pick was from another Capcom fighting game, so maybe I should give those a rest for a bit.

But I still wanted a VGM that could honor our on-going Beat 'Em Up Month event, so I turned to one of the best beat 'em up soundtracks: Turtles in Time. Not only is Turtles in Time one of the best of the genre, it has some of the best music in the genre as well. Every track, from beginning to end, is intense and just a pure joy to listen to but there's one in particular that will always stand out and likely not just to me, but anybody who's played the game.

Yes, of course I'm talking about Big Apple 3 AM. This track is just so good. Not only is it catchy and upbeat, but every time I hear it, I just want to pound some foot soldiers into the group or throw them towards anybody who's watching. It's just so satisfying. I also love how you can hear some of the original Ninja Turtle cartoon theme in there too. I always catch myself starting to sing the theme at around the 15 second mark but then it goes in a completely different direction and I just feel foolish. Either way, this is an awesome song from an awesome soundtrack and one of the best beat 'em ups of all time.

New Pokémon Sheet: Wigglytuff

Geez, it's been a while! Sorry, but If you've been following me on the Forums, I've been working on a Mario Project...which Randomly came about on the 4th of July (If it wasn't for that, I'd probably be half-way done with the next sheet...Maybe)

ANYWAY, Wigglytuff's done. As always, there's not much to say...I don't particularly like Wigglytuff, but I don't dislike it either...I always thought it was weird that Jigglypuff evolves into it...I can see the Resemblance, but they still feel a little too different to be related to me...Then again, Remoraid evolves into Octillery...Pokémon doesn't have to make sense...

Next up is a Pokémon who's name is a palindrome.

Let's Try That Again - WWF Betrayal

Beat 'Em Up Month continued with an obscure little wrestling based game on the Gameboy Color. WWF Betrayal allows you to take the role of one of your favorite wrestlers and do absolutely no wrestling whatsoever. Instead, you get to beat up fat referees, Luigis and Cheech Marin. Let's hope your roody-poo candy ass can handle it because Beat 'Em Up Month was in full force with this one.




Where do I even begin with this one? Basically, when we were discussing games we could play for Beat 'Em Up Month, Don brought up this weird wrestling beat 'em up game called WWF Betrayal for the Game Boy Color. Naturally, out of morbid curiosity, I checked it out and boy is it a treat. I managed to beat it in about a half hour and I figured it would be the perfect game to get a laugh out of real quickly for Beat 'Em Up Month. And what a laugh we got! Not only did the game offer up plenty to make fun of, Adamant Ditto's own wrestling guru, Phil, was there to help make it even funnier and try to put some sense into it. You're going to enjoy this one. Trust me.

Kyle's Favorite DS Games Revisit

As promised, I have returned with my revised list of Favorite games for the Nintendo DS. If you go back and watch my old list, there's only five and there's more than one person talking; it's pretty much a disaster. I decided to fix this since I was in a better position to fix it. So take a watch, I'll sure you'll agree 'n' stuff. Now who wants marshmallows?!

Let's Try That Again - Final Fight 3

Matt and Don return to finish what they started as they make their way through Metro City as Mike Haggar and the Mayor's Ninja, Guy, to stop the Skull Gross Gang. There's plenty of pile drivin', thug beatin'. and Super Meter wastin' to go around so get ready to turn the beat back with this SNES exclusive. Part of Beat 'Em Up Month.





Beat 'Em Up Month officially begins now! We decided to kick things off with the third entry in one our favorite franchises, Final Fight 3. Me and Don played through the first two so we figured it was only right to finish the fight. It's a pretty dang funny one too, if I do say so myself. So get your adrenaline pumping, it's Beat 'Em Up Month!

VGM of the Week #36

If you've been following anything I've been doing on the forums, you might know EVO's kind of a big deal for me right now. If you haven't, well you're a jerk and should post on our forums! The finals are going down later today and Street Fighter has always been their main game. Street Fighter's got the most international appeal and this year, the top 8 is pretty diverse when it comes to nationality. Among top 8, we have a player representing the US, BrokenTier's Kevin "Dieminion" Landon, who happens to play Guile. So I decided to dedicate this VGM of the Week to that guy. Here's the infamous and all American track that goes with anything from sandwiches to intercourse.

Best of luck to you, Dieminion!

NiGHTS Into Dreams… HD Coming This Fall

 

Earlier this week, Sega posted a very strange image on their Facebook page which many fans recognized was from the cult Saturn hit NiGHTS Into Dreams... Nobody had any idea what it meant but there were a few ideas floating through gamers heads.

Well, today those gamers were proven right as Sega has announced NiGHTS Into Dreams... HD will be coming this fall to the X-Box Live Arcade, PSN and PC. The game is set to feature improved HD graphics, online leaderboards, achievements, as well as the ability to play the Saturn version if you so choose. Now if only they'd announce that Christmas NiGHTS will also be included, that would be awesome.

It's great to see Sega continue to rerelease HD enhanced versions of their beloved IPs. First there was Jet Set Radio and now the cult hit NiGHTS. It gives gamers like me a chance to play them for the first time and gamers like our very own NiGHTS fangirl, Jess, the ability to play them for the hundredth time in glorious HD. It also gives hope for a return of the franchises but we'll take it one day at a time.

You can take a look at the announcement trailer below and a few screenshots over at Sega's blog. No official release date has been announced yet.

New Pokémon Sheets: Slowbro & Slowking

It's a Twofer! Which explains why it's been a while since I posted...

Anyway, Slowbro, and Slowking are personal Favorites of mine. Slowbro always has been, and they made him even cooler with Slowking. I always liked how they split, and I'm glad more Pokémon have splits like that (Excluding the ultimate Split Evolution, Eevee). I also like that they threw Shellder on there to evolve them. It's an awesome idea having 2 Pokémon fuse together to make a new evolution...Only you don't need a Shellder...At all...

next up is a Pink Pokémon who evolved from a Moon Stone

Seth Killian joins Sony's Santa Monica Studio

We previously mentioned on our blog that Seth Killian left Capcom and his position as the Community Manager and Special Combat Advisor. Since then, people wondered what was next for Seth Killian. Well, today Seth announced that he has joined Sony as the lead game designer for the external group at the Santa Monica Studio which means he will be involved with the development of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Seth explains in his PlayStation.Blog post:

"Fighting games are very close to my heart, and as someone that’s spent much of my life with traditional fighters, All-Stars has been a great opportunity to take a step back and rethink fighting fundamentals from the ground up. The entire team was put together from scratch to create this game, and they are loaded with fighting game superstars (including some impressive tournament credentials–I’m not even the first EVO finalist to join the team!) who love great combat just as much as I do."

Seth then goes and talks about PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

"All-Stars is also a total love-letter to Sony fans. From the characters, to their special moves, to the incredible level 3 supers, and the stages themselves, I’m not sure there’s ever been such a giant dose of fan-service in Sony history. Beyond great character designs or all the ingenious little ideas that make combat feel great, the real test of a great game to me is that “just *one* more game!” feeling. If it’s 3am and you have to work the next day, but you’ve still got the urge to play again, you know you’re doing something right. You only have to walk through SuperBot’s studio and see all the staff being scolded to stop playing their own game and get back to work to know that they’ve really got something special cooking."