Beat 'em Ups (Including Switch List)

[XtraSmiley]

Awesome post man!

I'm with you on Hook, very underrated IMO.

As for Sailor Moon, I thought the backgrounds were too static and the game came off as unfinished or rushed to release to me. I although though it grew boring quickly, but I never 1CC'd it, so I'm not as familiar with it as you are.

Which version of UCC did you play?

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Awesome post man!

I'm with you on Hook, very underrated IMO.

As for Sailor Moon, I thought the backgrounds were too static and the game came off as unfinished or rushed to release to me. I although though it grew boring quickly, but I never 1CC'd it, so I'm not as familiar with it as you are.

Which version of UCC did you play?

Sailor Moon is definitely pretty unpolished and unfinished lol. It has a lot of quality stuff in it, but I'm curious how much of that is deliberate design versus just lucky accidents. I think the art assets are fantastic though; the sprites rule and the backgrounds capture the 90s anime really well. I do think it's a very fun game but it definitely takes a particular mindset to get into; it wouldn't be my first recommendation in the genre.

I'm playing the original Japanese Undercover Cops. I know the US release is like an unfinished beta lacking moves and music unless you get the alpha renewal version or whatever which seems like an impressively bad mixup.

[Kino]

Sailor Moon's such a fascinating beat em up, within certain contexts. Late period release with a respectable amount of offensive & defensive options for the time, yet the meta hearkens back to the simplicity of Final Fight (albeit with a much more aggressive AI.) Also a rare example of a brawler with a halfway entertaining scoring system.

Painfully unfinished, as evidenced by all the unused art assets inside the data. Would've been interesting to see how it turned out, had they allowed the programmers time to fine-tune everything. Guess we should count our blessings it turned out as well as it did, considering Gazelle was clearly a front for Yakuza money laundering.

I'm playing the original Japanese Undercover Cops. I know the US release is like an unfinished beta

Technically it was completed, it was just an earlier build than the Japanese release. In short, Irem finished the initial version, gave some pre-release boards to the international distributor, Irem wisely decided to polish the game up further, distributor sells the earlier builds to American arcades anyway. Alpha Renewal was their way of correcting that mistake.

[Sumez]

Doesn't sound like my definition of completed

[velo]

Captain Commando - playing Sailor Moon inspired me to come back to this game and try it with the turn-around punch infinite. It actually really improves the game; CC has that same issue with enemies having too much health and the player not having good damage-dealing options (unlike Final Fight which smartly tunes its grabs, making them into a really satisfying way of crushing single targets once you have them isolated) - but the infinite basically replaces FF's grab, giving you a good way of flattening enemies as long as you've put yourself in a position to be able to stand still. So I'm enjoying this game a lot now. It has a bunch of unpleasant bosses still - Monster totally stinks - but to be honest I've come to think Shtrom Jr. is pretty fun outside of his divekick... I just got a run up to the stage 8 boss Doppel so I'm happy with my progress here.

I never got the hang of CC's infinite (or FF's). Which character are you using, and are you using turbo? That Shtrom divekick is what trips me up the worst when I try to use Baby.

[Sima Tuna]

Shitrom sucks and is a big part of why I never bothered to try 1ccing. The other part is Marbin spam.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Cleared Undercover Cops!

Good game, but it's probably my least favorite out of the Irem brawlers I've put real time into (compared to Ninja Baseball Bat Man and Hook). A lot of little things in it are off - like in Hook, your basic attack string is de-emphasized and is outright ineffective on many enemy types (even the standard Dooby grunts can walk out of your string from stage 2 and can punish you through it from either 3 or 4), but you don't have any especially interesting or satisfying moves to replace it, meaning that many lategame fights end with you just spamming jumping, dashing, or dash-jumping attacks. This is particularly awkward with the speedy, dodge-happy Brad enemies who largely can't even be grabbed and whose aggressive dash attacking forces you into simple and occasionally repetitive tactics whenever they come on screen.

The game leans into NB Bat Man's approach to encounter design where each stage kind of has its own themed gimmick, so you aren't just fighting the same stable of guys throughout, but doesn't do it as successfully - beyond some of the gimmick enemies being too thin for general combat, like stage 3's mole-people and stage 4's bikers, the central roster of enemies is too sparse; the final stage just falls on continuously using Brads and Makakus (the game's heavies, whose brutal anti-air seems specifically designed to complement Brads) over and over.

The bosses are generally good; they're varied and require unique tactics without feeling niche or like they have to be cheesed - the final boss is an exception though; he and the gauntlet of player-character clones right before him more or less can't be interacted with normally and call for awkward tactics.

Despite my criticism I think it's a solid game. The music and of course the art, from Akio, are fantastic, and though the action ends up being too thin compared to genre greats, it's still fun - its variety helps that a lot; keeping things from ever feeling like they're getting old or repetitive up until the somewhat misjudged final stage.

I never got the hang of CC's infinite (or FF's). Which character are you using, and are you using turbo? That Shtrom divekick is what trips me up the worst when I try to use Baby.

Shitrom sucks and is a big part of why I never bothered to try 1ccing. The other part is Marbin spam.

I'm rolling with Hoover still; the others (especially Jennety) do have an easier time with Shtrom but even with the infinite I don't think the game feels very good without Hoover's extra damage.

I've never used Final Fight's infinite but I think Captain Commando definitely calls for it; it would still be basically playable without it (again, unlike Sailor Moon) but definitely less fun. I don't really like using turbo in beat-em-ups and generally don't use it in this game... but actually I do pop it only for the double Shtrom boss fight in stage 6 because it seems to be the only way to make the fight even somewhat reliable. Outside of that I don't think it would really add anything and seems like it would make the infinite harder.

Shtrom feels like a poorly-judged boss (this seems par for the course for Captain Commando) but I've warmed up to him a tiny bit. I think there's an interesting positioning challenge there in dealing with and anticipating his strafe and zipping around the field to chase him down; it's just that that divekick of his sucks and dominates the fight. If he were toned down slightly - if the divekick came out more slowly and had less z-axis tracking, mainly - he'd probably be a great boss, if still a little strong for stage 2. As it is, I'd still rather deal with him than Monster.

The double Shtrom fight seems like it completely stinks though. I don't know if there's any actual way to handle that fight outside of using the safespot that doesn't even always work.

[Sima Tuna]

The thing about Shitrom that makes him so awful is you never fight him alone, and then Double Shitrom comes along to completely steal your lunch and kick you in the nuts.

I don't remember the japanese names, but I use the Mummy guy when I play. I need the range to fence with all those asshole enemies like Marbin who have dickish attacks. I don't use the infinite and I suppose I probably should. I don't use infinites in any beat em up. Partly because my execution sucks and partly because I don't really want to learn infinites.

Captain Commando has a great look to it and it gives you a lot of tools/moves pretty early in the legacy of beat em ups. But in terms of (early) beat em ups with a lot of moves, I think I prefer Golden Axe 3 to Captain Commando.

Battle Circuit seems to be Captain Commando: Improved Version, although I remember encountering a ton of gimmicky and weird shit in that game. And the last boss is complete BS.

I know for a fact that LordBBH has 1cc clears of Captain Commando, so you can always watch those. He has some strats for both Shitroms.

[samspot]

What do y’all think of River City Girls, DD Gaiden, etc? They are in a new humble bundle but i dont trust the average steam reviewer on this type of game. https://www.humblebundle.com/games/brutal-beat-em-ups

[Sima Tuna]

I haven't played either, but I have asked people who do play beat em ups extensively about those games.

River City Girls is made by Wayforward, and I happen to think they're a pretty overrated developer in general. I can't say if THIS game is good or not, but it looks really bad. Seems to me on the surface like another Scott Pilgrim situation, where the mainstream (who don't understand beat em ups) think a game is awesome, but people who play a lot of beat em ups think it's bogus.

Double Dragon Gaiden had a lot of press right up to release, and then immediately after release the reception cooled down significantly. Which I take to mean the sponsorship/preview deals expired and people are now sharing their mostly ambivalent opinions.

What I have on good authority from people who DO know beat em ups is that Double Dragon Gaiden is a lot closer to Devil's Dare 2 than a Double Dragon game. Movesets look very abbreviated compared to a classic DD game. I believe you only have one attack button, a jump and maybe a super modifier? Combos are built around tagging in and out your characters. When the game launched, it had a hilariously obnoxious hot dog award that would pop up a full-screen notification every time you killed 3 or more enemies at a time. So a good player would end up staring at hot dog reward messages the entire play session.

I would not buy River City Girls 1 or 2 personally. I have thought about picking up Double Dragon Gaiden, just to see how it is. I've heard the stage order you choose can make the game very obnoxious (or not,) as certain levels fill up with gimmick hazard sections the later you wait to take them. See, you choose your own level order and the order you select influences the length and difficulty of later levels.

[BurlyHeart]

What do y’all think of River City Girls, DD Gaiden, etc? They are in a new humble bundle but i dont trust the average steam reviewer on this type of game. https://www.humblebundle.com/games/brutal-beat-em-ups

River City Girls can be fun, but it is not an arcade experience. You level up and buy moves as you progress. Some people like this, some don't. I enjoyed my time with the game, and if it had an arcade mode I would've revisited it (but never have.)

Double Dragon Gaiden is fun, but it has some pacing issues (too slow) as well as a large difficulty spike at the end. Very long too. You can catch my 1CC here to get an idea of the aesthetics and gameplay, as well as some more thoughts in the description. https://youtu.be/9bi3YMI_VfY?si=X-3cAQdIdufftG-v Some people really hate the chibi style, but I think it is alright.

Battletoads I own but have never played. I've heard the beat em ups sections are kinda fun but very limited. It is mostly a variety of racing, platforming etc.

I have never played either Slaps & Beans games. I've heard they're okay for a laugh, but not technically great beat em ups.

[spmbx]

I went into river city girls expecting a more standard belt scroller experience. And well, that wasn't really it. It just didn't click with me and i think i played it maybe half an hour tops. It's probably not a bad game given the chance, and maybe i will in the future but for the time it was something i wasn't up for.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

The thing about Shitrom that makes him so awful is you never fight him alone, and then Double Shitrom comes along to completely steal your lunch and kick you in the nuts.

I don't remember the japanese names, but I use the Mummy guy when I play. I need the range to fence with all those asshole enemies like Marbin who have dickish attacks. I don't use the infinite and I suppose I probably should. I don't use infinites in any beat em up. Partly because my execution sucks and partly because I don't really want to learn infinites.

Captain Commando has a great look to it and it gives you a lot of tools/moves pretty early in the legacy of beat em ups. But in terms of (early) beat em ups with a lot of moves, I think I prefer Golden Axe 3 to Captain Commando.

Battle Circuit seems to be Captain Commando: Improved Version, although I remember encountering a ton of gimmicky and weird shit in that game. And the last boss is complete BS.

I know for a fact that LordBBH has 1cc clears of Captain Commando, so you can always watch those. He has some strats for both Shitroms.

Forgot that the characters have different names in the Japanese version lol; I mostly just remember their names by the voice clips Captain Commando calls out in MvC2.

Marbins are definitely annoying; one of the more problematic fat guy enemies in Capcom brawlers. The game does use them pretty sparingly, though, there's only like one or two each in stages 2, 3, and 6 (where they're priority targets you can dispatch fairly quickly with aggressive play) and then the big rush of them at the end of 8. I would say they aren't really run-defining enemies despite being problematic - Mummy's range does help with them, and Shtrom, but neither is an important and problematic enough situation to warrant giving up Baby's superior attack power, which will let you get rid of every enemy in the game twice as fast.

Not to defend Shtrom too heavily because I do think he's a pretty flawed boss, but at least you do spend almost all of his fight taking him on solo. His Marbin backup doesn't show up until he's nearly dead, and you fling yourself around the arena widely enough while heading Shtrom off, or at least chasing him down, that they don't really get the chance to catch up to you - they do occasionally get in the way, but most of the time they're a non-factor.

I usually check Murphagator's clears when I need references for brawler runs and had forgotten about LordBBH. His safespot for the double Shtrom fight does seem more reliable than the one I was using (his is further to the left) but I'm still not fully comfortable with the fight.

Battle Circuit is great for sure, I can vouch for that one. Its boss fights are kind of more pattern-based and less crowd control-focused than a lot of Capcom's brawlers and its last boss can be very different depending on the character (I think it's not too bad with Green but definitely pretty slow with Blue) but it's one of their best arcade entries for sure.

[samspot]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the humble bundle. Seems better to spend my time on one of the classics. I don’t have patience for grindy games right now.

[velo]

Shitrom sucks and is a big part of why I never bothered to try 1ccing. The other part is Marbin spam.

The double Shtrom fight seems like it completely stinks though. I don't know if there's any actual way to handle that fight outside of using the safespot that doesn't even always work.

Shtrom x 2 was the point where I decided the game was hopeless and I would never 1cc it ever... but I stuck it out and did it anyway, eventually.

It's the one point of the game where I don't know what the devs expected you to do. (As you know...) you can (sometimes) jab them to death right after they come through the door, or hang in the "safe" spots in the upper left/right and mindlessly jab away. I don't have a video at my fingertips, but I've seen a faux infinite where you stand on top of them and jab left twice, then right twice, etc, never finishing the combo but not whiffing the jabs either. It's also not totally impossible to hop in and mix it up the normal way, to an extent, as a last resort. Put all that together and maybe you can win more often than not. The silver lining is that you only have to kill one.

Battle Circuit seems to be Captain Commando: Improved Version, although I remember encountering a ton of gimmicky and weird shit in that game. And the last boss is complete BS.

I definitely see it in the character designs. Maybe some of BC's special moves descended from CC's weirder attacks like Cap's flamethrower. It's got some similarly weird bosses too.

Gameplay-wise, Captain Commando doesn't have as unique an identity compared to Capcom's other beatemups. The guns are better in AvP, Punisher etc; the horses in KotR and WoF are better than CC's useless mechs. The characters aren't that strongly differentiated. Imagine how different the game would feel if you could end chains with throws, like FF, WoF, etc. It's sort of interesting that you have two sets of jabs (standing and walking-forward)... wish that had caught on more but it's a bit subtle. Something about the feel of the game and the basic physics of the way attacks land just happens to sit right with me though.