Beat 'em Ups (Including Switch List)

[ExitPlanetDust]

Fight N Rage on ps5/4 for first time

13hrs one day totally addicted

Haha this is exactly why I still haven’t cracked open my copy. I know it’s going to consume me and pull me away from everything else.

[Marc]

The Night Slashers remake is kind of fun. Added screen edge juggling which does make it play very differently. Some dislike the visuals. But they seemed to think SOR4 looked OK..
Currently 4.50 on the UK store.

[miwa]

Fight N Rage on ps5/4 for first time

13hrs one day totally addicted

Haha this is exactly why I still haven’t cracked open my copy. I know it’s going to consume me and pull me away from everything else.

This happened to me too with FnR
For the majority of Beat em Ups I don't really care about, but if one manages to grab my attention, I'll play it non-stop.

I've recently gotten into "The Gladiator" as part of the IGS Classic Arcade Collection on Nintendo Switch.
It's a phenomenal game.
I think if it had been released by a company like Capcom, people might consider it as one of the all-time greats.
The game seems difficult to 1CC, since you don't regain your energy after a stage, food is rare (and disappears after a while) and there are no score extends (as far as I'm aware of).
Besides some small guides youtube playthroughs, there doesn't seem to be a lot of in-depth info about the game online.
Does anyone have more experience with this game?
When I select "The Gladiator" off the IGS C.A.C.'s main menu, the difficulty is set to 2/4 stars. Is this the default Arcade difficulty? I haven't touched the dip switch menu yet.
Also, I'm maining Chin, and I've seen videos of her doing her Attack followed by a small jump backwards to regain position. Does anyone know how to do this little hop?

[velo]

Rushing Beat X - Return of the Brawl Brothers trailer from TGS.

All the magic of the 16-bit era, updated with the power of the PlayStation 2!

It's honestly looking better than that first very rough sneak peak, and we can clearly see it's a belt scroller now.

The Night Slashers remake is kind of fun. Added screen edge juggling which does make it play very differently. Some dislike the visuals. But they seemed to think SOR4 looked OK..
Currently 4.50 on the UK store.

I just can't understand why they bothered with any of that. Even if it's good, I still want a decent faithful version of the original.

[Durandal]

Mind-opening approach to the HELL fight - I often get caught up fighting the mob head-on down the bottom, relying on dense crowd-clear chaos and iframes to stuff Belial whenever he throws out that irritating invincible spin. I daresay it's only just tractable due to playing on the lower difficulties, given the aggression boost.

And god, the ring-out timer scam and deceptively tight re-entry jump in Mikhail's fight. Nightmarish, and well handled. I'm curious, did you intentionally leave his sword intact for the stylish in-canon finish, or was it emergent from the chaos? I tend to chuck that shit ASAP to despawn it and rob him of the weapon advantage!

Sorry for the late reply, somehow I completely overlooked your post.

But yeah, I always like to leave the sword for a stylish finish, especially considering it's the only way of dizzying him

This is probably riskier to do in FE, since there Mikhail will start dropping his sword when below 75% HP instead of 50%, and doing grab side switches into jump throws off his mooks (your most reliable method of knocking down Mikhail and disarming him) is no longer invincible in FE, giving him more opportunities to pick it back up. At the same time him being briefly distracted to go pick up his sword does give you a slight breather, so perhaps its not all bad.

I would have liked to be more aggressive for the HELL fight but Belial's long-ass invincible uninterruptible scythe spin is one of the most aggravating attacks to have to deal with in a crowd or even just in a 1v1. Even Mikhail's spin isn't that long. No, too much of a liability to deal with head-on.

[Necronopticous]

My wife & I recently got the 2-Player 1LC on Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom on factory default difficulty (4). Took us about 2 months of practice. Great game!

Here's the VOD if you're curious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh4t1OjRn6E

[BIL]

Congrats! Always good to see authoritative co-op arcade runs, something of an overlooked format imo.

[Air Master Burst]

Rita Rewind is out and it broke my fucking heart.

It's absolutely gorgeous and clearly made by people with tons of love for the original source material. The Zord sections are pretty neat. Unfortunately, that's not why we're here.

It also plays like it was made by people whose only belt-scroller experience was a few runs of the OG Power Rangers games.

Obviously any rational person reading this knows to ignore silly Steam review complaints about walk speed, lack of a level-up system, and being too short. None of these are issues. I don't even mind the i-frame dodge roll, though it's certainly not my preference. Even the lack of remappable controls, while certainly a fucking amateur hour clown shoes look in this day and age, could be worked with if not for the true unforgivable sin here:

So, in order to grab dudes, you need to walk close to them and press the same button you use to make your regular attacks. This is exactly as fucking terrible as it sounds, especially because this is very much a crowd control game.

Do I even need to say more? Instant refund after the first boss. Patch it up and I'll grab it on sale, though.

[velo]

It also plays like it was made by people whose only belt-scroller experience was a few runs of the OG Power Rangers games.

Surely you don't have to play one of these outdated button mashers for more than five minutes to be able to design one?

There's been a huge crop of beltscrollers out this year but only Vengeance Hunters looks potentially decent.

[BloodHawk]

Looks like Rastan Saga III: Warrior Blade is this week's ACA release. I am surprised there hasn't been more posts about it since it released on Switch last week in the Taito Milestones 3 collection. I guess it's due to the combination of it not being on PS4 and Viper releasing around the same time.

I am finding it a blast to play though. As I mentioned in the Hamster thread earlier, the game gives you a good amount of tools to work with and your character speed and the number of enemies on screen meshes with the wider aspect ratio really well. Sprinting into unsuspecting enemies to grab them (if you're the warrior he will grab their skull one-handed) and immediately chucking them over a nearby cliff like a rag-doll gives off a satisfying Conan the Barbarian vibe. Although your throws don't knock over opponents, your attack reach and/or character speed make up for it in terms of crowd control ability.

The game has a good pace to it, and the action sequences in each stage's intro (fighting on a horse, or flying on the back of a dragon, etc.) are also a nice touch as well.

[Randorama]

My absolutely shameless plug-in is this one. I hope that everyone will enjoy this game's atmosphere and gameplay. It is a gem I discovered only after decades of neglect, so I can understand the lack of attention (and well, the main forum is about shmups ).

EDIT: very happy to discuss strategies and tricks, of course. This thread should be perfect for this aspect, pardon, facet.

[Squire Grooktook]

Games I've been playing lately:

Final Fight 3

I love the movespeed in this game. You walk fucking fast and so does half the enemy cast. It's like a typical beltscroller on turbo mode, feels great and hectic and hyper. Super system is real fun too.

Denjin Makai

This is the one I'm going hardest on right now. I really love the aesthetic, the setting, characters, the sense of style and atmosphere, and the huge well balanced movesets. The special moves and charging them is such a great concept, I'm surprised it's not in more brawlers. My only complaint is the blocking system, it's the one real massive flaw in the game as it makes it feel like regular attacks have a bajillion frames of input lag (they don't, there's just this huge buffer period to block by holding down the attack button).

Tecmo Knight / Wild Fang

Almost got the 1cc on this one, made it up to the final boss with a lucky dragon spawn on final kong. The only thing holding me back is I'm not sure how the fuck does the character switching / stars system work? You think it's "you can switch as long as you have stars", but it keeps failing and not working arbitrarily after a certain number of swaps, despite having a million stars in reserve. I've lost so many lives trying to switch only for it to just not work, and then only be able to switch once more on my next life or something.

Metamorphic Force

Never played this one, casually chipping away at it since it looks like an easy one that can be fully experienced in not too long. I like the concept of a draining energy meter for your super mode encouraging non stop aggression and pushing forward.

[Randorama]

Squire Grooktook:

You may find useful this squib on Metamorphic Force, if you have time and patience to read a longform article-like entry. You are probably playing the EU/US version, so you may also want to try the JP version if you want to land an easy 1-CC. The squib offers more details, of course.

[Squire Grooktook]

Haha, thanks. I'll keep that in mind if I feel like referencing a resource. So far I'm kinda just casually rolling through blind.

So far my roadblock at the moment is stage 3 boss. He *seems* easy to just walk up and hit or throw, but I swear sometimes it seems like he's immaterial and attacks/throws just get ignored. Not sure if his hitbox is weird or he has some sort of hyper-armor / invuln on his big overhead swing.

*Edit*

Ah, my mistake! I thought you meant a stage by stage guide and strategy guide style overview of the game! I read the full post, wonderful article, loved the story at the end! Very appreciated!

[Randorama]

SG:

No problem, for hints 'n tips we have some discussion in this thread, on pages 16-17 (I believe). I mention the discussion on the squib, but it is easy to offer again some advice.

In Konami bmups, bosses usually get faster and more aggressive as they lose H(it)P(oint)s. In Metamorphic Force, the Stage three boss seems to pull off insta-hits with its dual hammer punch attack. Stage one and Stage two bosses actually can perform similar fast attacks, but only if you drag the fight for long. Anyway, you can bait the Stage three boss into performing an attack, sidestep the attack on the z-axis, and then grab/kick/punch the sorry bastard while it is vulnerable (i.e. during the frames in which its hands are down and hitting the floor). The boss can counter-attack once its arms are up again, so be sure to get the timing right.

In general, once you master bait movements, you will notice that boss fights become simple even if tricky fights. You have to be fast, because their vulnerability window after any attack is small: this is the "tricky" part. Luckily, all four characters are lightning fast, so with some practice you will get the right frames for a counter against any attack, without fail: this is the "simple" part. Again, though, EU and US versions have stricter timing(s), so bosses are harder to handle.

Regardless of the version, anyway, play the game at speed and with precision and you should be fine. Metamorphic Force revolves around putting as much pressure as you can against enemies (I mention this in the squib when discussing diving and anti-air attacks), and/or countering attacks the very instant enemies fail to connect due to your baiting.

If you have any stage-specific questions, please ask away as a few other people know the game well (e.g. BKroo) and can chime in as soon as they read the post(s). Also, please feel free to spread the word about Rando's squibs to anyone who might be interested

[BIL]

Tecmo Knight / Wild Fang

Almost got the 1cc on this one, made it up to the final boss with a lucky dragon spawn on final kong.

The only thing holding me back is I'm not sure how the fuck does the character switching / stars system work? You think it's "you can switch as long as you have stars", but it keeps failing and not working arbitrarily after a certain number of swaps, despite having a million stars in reserve. I've lost so many lives trying to switch only for it to just not work, and then only be able to switch once more on my next life or something.

Aha, I knew this rang a bell. IIRC, you can't switch once you're near death. The game's endearingly goofy lifebar makes it hard to recall, but I think it's when the dragon's flame is down to just an ember.

I remember headcanoning it as the switch being very calorie-intensive. Or perhaps a design incentive to use it or lose it.

Good timing, my writeup is ridiculously overdue. Almost half a year, gotta get off my ass. I just bagged a decent enough Riot 1LC, so I'll make next week a Strong Team revue.

My one stern complaint about Wild Fang is my longtime nemesis: input drops on same-frame movement. (cf FC Double Dragon II and Holy Diver) It's tricky to do deliberately, but if you press [attack] and [move] on the same frame, the attack won't come out. This can be gotten around handily with either security double-taps, or autofire. (I normally prefer my beaters without, but the game's autofire ceiling is low enough, it doesn't change much) Ultimately I went with the former for my clear.

I sometimes wish I'd gone into playtesting. This stuff seems to seek me out like lint on velcro, haha. I guess it's my habit to burrow down into the spaces between frames when getting the muscle memory in place.

[Squire Grooktook]

Based on health? INTERESTING. I'll have to watch for that, thanks BIL! We talked about it before, but absolutely killer game.

@Randorama: That's interesting, very different/odd boss design take. I'll keep that in mind.

[Squire Grooktook]

Been double dipping into both Denjin Makai 1 & 2 lately. I'm close to the end stretch of the first game, having made it to the last level on one credit. The second game is different enough that I don't feel like the wires are getting crossed by putting casual credits into it.

Minority opinion but I think the first game is superior, despite the raucously fun combo engine of the sequel. The special move system is put to use in a more "traditional" footsies oriented game, and the movesets and their usage are decently thought out. It's definitely a tighter, more challenging game compared to Guardian's happy fun time combo carnival. I also in many ways like the aesthetic more, has a better balance of humor and seriousness and keeps a real strong classical Go Nagai kind of edgy but whimsical but brutal feeling. The story and setting is also surprisingly entertaining.

Not to throw shade on DM2 / Guardians though. The combo engine is incredibly addictive and lends itself to endless experimentation and discovery as you find new ways to style on things. I think the bosses fucking suck though (a dude with a combo breaker in a combo focused game, followed by two hyper armored giant monsters - the least interesting thing to fight in a beat em up - ? thanks)


*Edit*

Hey BIL (or anyone knowledeable about the game, I will admit like many games, our good friend was the one who got me to pick it up), how exactly do combos work in Vendetta / Crime Fighters 2? Seems like the fourth finisher attack for punches is laggy enough to be interrupted / escaped, especially by bosses.

[BIL]

Hey BIL (or anyone knowledeable about the game, I will admit like many games, our good friend was the one who got me to pick it up), how exactly do combos work in Vendetta / Crime Fighters 2? Seems like the fourth finisher attack for punches is laggy enough to be interrupted / escaped, especially by bosses.

Always happy to hear I've returned this place's favour. ^__^ Was hyped to see this on ACA a few years back, recommended by so many estimable beltscroller peeps here. It's been a while, and 99% of my play was as Boomer aka CF1 badman, but I took quite a few notes and videos for my inevitable return. Not sure how bothered you are about spoilers; I tried to mark any endgame discussion/GIFs/clips.

Goddammit though, I only wish this game was a 1ALL, like Mystic Warriors JP. Better yet, that the subtly tougher second loop was its first and only. It's damn near perfect otherwise. At any rate, let's see what I got.

Looking back, I wanna say PPP/KKK are very situational. Most enemies and even some bosses will eat 'em good. Others, you want to be careful, or even avoid PPP altogether; perhaps in favour of the brutally powerful ground game. Land a couple jabs, then blow 'em away with PK, or even catch them outright with the knockdown. K's range can be surprisingly effective too, with good spacing to balance the slower startup; plus it chains directly into PK, as well. Once the enemy's down, stomp 'em good.

(Digression: don't neglect stomps! Cram 'em in wherever able. Even if you don't KO the enemy outright, they'll likely recover in stun; an innovatively grim and useful mechanic. Most beaters have grounded foes recovering box-fresh; not here, sonny! That ain't a comfy hospital bed they just went face-first into, and this sure as shit ain't no aspirin for that ass! )

Poor bastard went SEARCHIN 4 ROVE only to lose his lunch (｀w´メ)

You can even do major damage from the ground, yourself! Even stunning/killing your would-be executioners. NB too that certain enemies and bosses have ground-targeting attacks, which you can counter with good timing! Incredibly useful vs Rude's Choi Bounge-prefiguring divebomb. The grounded recovery kicks are pretty much CF2's take on FF-style Megacrushes; filtered as always through a gritty Technos lens.

I had the game pretty well locked down for a 2ALL 1LC, and I can see that I tended to prefer off-axis PK knockdowns on bosses. (I highly recommend binding P+K to a third button; I like to put it between P and K, ala Technos, since it's kinda the game's Jump command. so much comfier, either way)

> Kurt, Stage 4. No-damage kill. Pretty representative of my typical CF2 boss fight. Knock him down from off-axis and move in. (the on-axis, advancing PK counter is satisfying as all hell, but ever-risky; you gotta nail the target square, to avoid being stranded in their striking distance. worth mastering; can be a lifesaver in hectic scenes, taking you out of backstabbers' range while neutralising an incoming attacker. and sometimes it's just simpler to lay a fucker out )

(Can't recall another game where the weapon break mechanic is not just inoffensive, but outright cathartic... love thrashing that chain with abandon. A lashing that is completely unstoppable, with levels of pain that should be physically impossible! )



> Missing Link, Stage 2. Again, no-damage. I suspect PPPing Capt. Caveman would've gotten me bitch-slapped, possibly by his AOE blowback. In fact, PPP might even trigger it. This might go for st1's Buzzsaw Bravado, too. (NB Missing Link's wakeup AOE doesn't actually do damage; your character will automatically block it. Kurt has a similar mechanic, noted in the above video's description)

Other bosses, especially Frank Rude and Joe Ohsugi, have conspicuously little defense against PPP+P. You can be really aggressive on those guys, with the obvious caveat that Rude never fights alone, and Joe massively outranges you on-axis, so don't neglect your fundamentals!

As for stage enemies, here's me deliberately timing out to summon an ungodly horde of heavies, one of whom (Hockey Mask) eats a full PPP+P. From off-axis, again; I suspect your striking hitbox is quite tall, your grappling one subtly less so. (note the Knifer getting chucked) Also lots of PK blowaways, to avoid getting swamped. Again, NB you can mix PK into jab/kick combos; great option in the heat of battle.

Overlap P means UNCEREMONIOUS TOSS

Revisiting those posts and videos recalls so much fine detailing. For example, the game's two throwing weapons. Don't use the Brick at pointblank; it'll merely knockdown for minimal damage. You wanna launch it at some range, for one of the most starkly violent instakills in the entire goddamn genre, punctuated by a bespoke "dead before they hit the ground" drop. Oof! Conversely, molotovs are the exact opposite; smash 'em on the target at pointblank for an incendiary damage boost.

Killer game. Even doggo pulls his weight with perfect choreography! This despite the ACA version unfairly banning his ultimate fighting system, Gay Dog-ryuu!

The Real Animal Stunt Crew Simulator

Bork!



How to, with a couple of deliberate walks into his contact-activated bite. The first three jumps are untelegraphed, due to my invading his Y-axis, rather than letting him come to me. The telegraphed jumps consistently occur when 1) you're far enough away, and 2) he gets on your line.

No idea how Gay Dog behaves in his native PCB habitat, but in the unfortunately censored ACA release, he's restricted to Straight Dog techniques only. Still got his stance, at least!



See you again in CF1 lil homie 3;

Spoiler

Nothing else I've played so successfully bridges raw 80s brutality to smooth 90s handling. There's still a bit of murk here and there, but never enough to disrupt control. Here's my most recent treatise on common enemy grappling.

Riot Town Senki: Plums Of Destruction (■｀w´■)

Hope this somewhat foggy recollection helps a bit. More's coming back as I type, like certain bosses (Buzzsaw and Joe Ohsugi) actually being grabbable, albeit with very specific positioning. Murphagator expertly demonstrates in his run: (CTRL+F "Murph" this post)

An absolute treasure I look forward to writing a DBPS on someday.

[Squire Grooktook]

> Missing Link, Stage 2. Again, no-damage. I suspect PPPing Capt. Caveman would've gotten me bitch-slapped, possibly by his AOE blowback. In fact, PPP might even trigger it. This might go for st1's Buzzsaw Bravado, too.

Yee it was noticing PPP or PPPP's unsafeness versus the stage 2 boss - and then going back and realizing it was equally unsafe versus the stage 1 boss (he seems to frequently counter with a quick horizontal swing...not sure if it does damage but it looks like it should hurt, dayum), was what made me realize that it wasn't a true combo.

Definitely one thing that throws me off my game in these types of experiences: to unexpectedly realize that a combo ain't a true combo and that I have to rethink how I actually do damage! I remember being similarly bewildered with Revenge of Death Adder.

So basically: when in doubt safest route is PP or KK, then move (either to disengage or attempt a throw or reposition)? I gave a brief load up and tried that against the stage 1 boss...much cleaner fight. Give em two jabs then side step and set up another punish (possibly with the meatier PK, circumstances permitting).

---

On a side note, OTG mechanics (stomps, relaunches, etc.) are a bit of a fascination with me atm. Was thinking of making a post of standout examples, with this being near the top ^_^ was in fact the main reason I followed the recommendation!

[Sima Tuna]

The standard strings are very unsafe. Kick string is safer but I have still gotten my ass kicked spamming it. Generally the neutral P+K ender is what you want to hit with after you get a couple pps in or kks. Or a throw, as you say.

[Squire Grooktook]

The standard strings are very unsafe. Kick string is safer but I have still gotten my ass kicked spamming it. Generally the neutral P+K ender is what you want to hit with after you get a couple pps in or kks. Or a throw, as you say.

You're not actually like, chaining pp -> pk are you? Doesn't seem to cancel or feel safe to attempt it as a true combo so I'm guessing you mean more like disengaging and then fishing for it as punish to knock down with.

[BIL]

Yeah, wrt combos, CF2 plays more like 80s Technos than 90s Capcom. PPP/KKK chains can work without a hitch on many enemies, but you shouldn't regard them as bulletproof, the way you can in Final Fight, or late 80s outliers Ninja Gaiden and Wild Fang. (NG giving true combos to not only players but also enemies; any one jab can trigger an avalanche of damage)

That said, where Kunio, DD1, & DD2 give a certain leeway for scrappy trades, CF2 is nearer Tecmo's pair; very much designed for no-hit play. Enemy jabs are deadly, and not to be taken regularly. As a general rule, get in from off-axis with jabs, then go for either a grapple or a knockdown, followed by a stomping that'll either KO the target, or leave them in stagger for a prompt grapple sendoff. If you're short on time/space, consider nailing them with the grapple/PK outright, sending them in whichever direction advantages. Note that stomps will hit multiple targets; it's very possible to demolish a gang of attackers after flattening them wholesale with a thrown enemy or drum/tyre.

If you've sussed out that an enemy is particularly vulnerable to strings, let 'em have it. (EG the aforementioned Frank Rude and Joe Ohsugi, neither of whom have replies; unlike Buzzsaw and Missing Link, who'll break your string with vicious counter-attacks)

Murphagator has a lot of superbly-commentated Vendetta/CF2 videos online. I was just reminded, refreshing my memory with his 1CC Marathon run there - CF2 shares the odd "deathblow" mechanic of SNK's likeable-yet-troubled Datsugoku. That is, when an enemy is on their last hitpoint, you'll automatically execute your combo-ending punch or kick. This can get awkward if you're not expecting it, moving in for what you expect to be a jab. CF2 has certain such 80s-era quirks to wrangle - see also its context grapples, and setpiece weapon rampages - though the end result is a distinct finesse beater.

[Sima Tuna]

Murph is THE MAN for 1cc strats of arcade beat em ups. He has a ton of videos on youtube of 1cc commentated live runs.

I was mostly talking about off-axis alignment as far as P+K enders. Like, hit a couple times, maybe step down a bit, P+K or something. I dunno. It's been a minute since I played. You can P+K enemies off screen to the left to eliminate them from the game (it's a bug) but I don't really think that's a fair way to play. It's valid if all you want is the 1cc though.

[BIL]

On a side note, OTG mechanics (stomps, relaunches, etc.) are a bit of a fascination with me atm. Was thinking of making a post of standout examples, with this being near the top ^_^ was in fact the main reason I followed the recommendation!

Finally gave Metamorphic Force a sitdown via its recent ACA release, playing the JP rev. Immediately wondered if you'd played it. Glad to see you're well apprised!

Perhaps the oatiest OTGs to ever OT. The basic loop is exuberantly good; even moreso with the explosive speed it grants. 1] Nail enemies with OTG, their flailing body decking any allies in their path. 2] Stomp 'em good. 3] Reset survivors - or backups - with a quick neutral OTG, plunging all into a spiral of floorbound destruction. While there are technically no juggles, OTG's speed boost is also vital for chasing down pasted foes; would-be rescuers are flattened on your arrival. (chances are you'll nail the original target, too; just like supers, bombs, and even stage hazards, jump attacks catch floored enemies just fine)

Good backstep friendo (｀w´メ) But not good enOH FUCK SORRY (◎w◎;)

Excellently, it's not a license to steal. Jump attack priority is conspicuously low, enforcing good fundamentals and maintaining tension. The OTG relies on its sheer explosiveness, letting you snipe enemies from outside their reach, and/or during startup frames. For all its hyperkinetic joie de vivre, this is a classically disciplined beater that demands you know when to hit the bricks for an off-axis regroup. Superb balance.

NICE TRY ASSHOLE (⌐■w■) Can't blame em 4 tryin tbh (*'ω' *)

While PPPs are far more powerful and consistent than in Crime Fighters 2, the killing floor spirit is unmistakable; particularly OTG's role as a command knockdown. I especially love its neutral poke variant, allowing you to snap-demolish an enemy without abandoning ground, or risking unwanted grapples with [forward].

The handling of fallen enemy state is interesting. Takes a tick for them to become ground-vulnerable, and they seem invincible - yet inert - for a tick after getting back to their feet. Feels like the designers wanted to rein the player in slightly, without spoiling the sense of dominance; an enemy recovering into a hurricane of PPPs is going to eat the floor again promptly, never mind a well-timed neutral OTG.

It's all so hyperkinetic, and germane to the aesthetic of skilled fighters (karateka, fencer, boxer, wrestler) gone howling feral. On the same bloody RAWR tip, I like its borrowing of Zero Team's excellent Back Attack shortcut. Normally, I find [away + attack] inputs annoying. But as with ZT, you can also simply hold [away] during PPP, and even ground strings. Also like ZT, they seriously mess up enemies caught by them; a great incentive to work them into your gameplan.

You rang homie (｀w´メ)

Tearing apart a grounded foe and mule-kicking the shit out of a backstabber in the same digital heartbeat is some authentic ravenous behaviour.

Don't get between a PUMAMAN and his prey, Dumbo (■｀w´■)

All this said, I really dig the authentic Saturday morning aesthetic; Konami's talents honed to mirror sheen by those big IPs. Easy to imagine a Runark x Splatterhouse take, but I think the relatively chipper tone suits its boundless energy. I only wish there were more bestial boss designs. Then again, the handful of mythic fiends give variety without breaking tone. Stage 4's cuts a particularly menacing figure, with his savagely powerful lumberjack build.

Not entirely TV-proofed. Guessing someone was exorcising his PG frustration demons with st4's MAJUU ONNA, who wields perhaps the most ferally productive BAMPU of the decade.

Nani?! K-kore wa... MAJIN no CHILD SUPPORT-ryuu! UWAAA (◎w◎;)

And there was a whole lotta Bampu going on back then!

https://shmuplations.com/undercovercops/

I did have a fairly safe strategy for the third boss. But as with others, once I was really caning the preceding stage, it felt like the designers wanted me to arrive with tons of BEAST METER and go ham. Good fun, at any rate. ^__^ But yeah, what Rando said. Baiting him with overlapped vertical movement after he enters his more aggressive phase seems reliable; if he's gonna take a hyper-armoured swing at me, he'll miss, and I can come back with a grapple or combo. I'll often catch him outright with a grapple - which is actually kinda dangerous, as he escapes quickly and can punish if you don't respond fast enough - but it seemed a reliable tack.

[Durandal]

After tremendous effort, I managed to nab the Final Edition clear of SpikeOuton the hardest difficulty as well.

I'd say this is the better version overall. Most notable changes include that super grabs are actually useful now, grab sideswitches into jump throws no longer has invincibility at its startup and is therefore no longer guaranteed to be safe, HP for all bosses has been noticeably reduced, spawns for existing stages have been altered so stages flow more smoothly, boss wakeup options are now random and can't be looped as easily, and there's of course the extra stage and stage routes. That said, there are some annoying things it adds as well. One of them being a new intro stage that's intentionally easy to new players have a smoother difficulty curve and don't get blown up two minutes in, but when you're a more experienced player having to repeat this stage each run is a total bore. I could do it with my eyes closed at this point, I wish it was either skippable or made more challenging on harder difficulties.

Second issue is that they've gone insane with the invincibility for the bosses. A lot of bosses used to have super armor attacks that you could at least interrupt with charge moves, supers, or jump throws, but now every single move that used to be a super armor move is now invincible. And there's ZERO limits to how much they can spam them in quick succession. Duo and trio bosses become a total crapshoot to control when you have multiple invincible overlapping attacks happening at the same time. To rub more salt in the wound, many bosses also gained optional invincible follow-ups they can do after their existing invincible moves, so they can be invincible for even longer and hit you for even more damage. Bosses can just react with such an invincible move if you try to hit them when they aren't doing anything else, it's rather absurd (you can see this at 11:26 in my run where a boss does this in response to a thrown weapon, which is something that never even happened to me before). Particularly ridiculous is some bosses now also being able to recover mid-air from being juggled, which can lead to absurd situations where a boss is caught in the whirlwind of your super grab, recovers, and then sets up his own invincible attack that hits you right as your super grab invincibility ends.

I want to emphasize that the buffed invincibility isn't that bad on its own and could work fine for some boss fights in the game, but when you're dealing with stuff like that in a duo or trio boss fight capable of doing high-damage spinkicks with six additional aggressive enemies also bugging at you, it really makes it hard to not want to use isolation exploits. The Opera Trio was already one of the hardest fights in the game, but having the homing command grabs (that unlike other grabs can grab you even if you are attacking) and spear spin attacks also be invincible on top of everything makes it a total roll of the dice to try fighting the three of them head-on without incurring a game over or a timeout. I was rather lucky with that fight, considering the isolation exploit I use for it only works 50% of the time.

Still, I do think Final Edition is the best version overall and belongs in the top 5 3D action games and top 10 2D/3D beat 'em ups. I have been playing SpikeOut for over a year straight now and have yet to grow tired of it. Not a lot of games manage to be this susceptible to the butterfly effect where the slightest change in inputs or whims of RNG causes entirely different situations to spiral out, on top of having to deal with a million edge cases in any scenario. Still, if you were starting out with learning SpikeOut I would recommend starting with DBO, as there bosses are easier to loop and don't have invincibility on every move. Final Edition ended up being significantly harder to clear because of this (although picking a harder route also factored into this). If Final Edition toned down the invincibility on bosses a bit and made the intro stage skippable, it woud have been a no-brainer recommendation over DBO. It's probably more tolerable in co-op, but at the very least I wish it was more limited during solo play.

Next step for me is to make a video comparing the differences between DBO and FE and making a more detailed how-to-play guide on SpikeOut, as online resources about it are sparse. I need to also check out SpikeOut Battle Street one time to see what changes it makes to core combat as well.

[BIL]

Your contributions on these elusive games are absolutely outstanding, even by your already lofty standards.

They always sound like games from the near future. The poignant nature of that swan song era, I suppose. But at the same time they look genuinely nuts. I remember reading previews in my sleepy corner of the world (population: Raiden & SFII:CE) and being all "What! No Way! WTF!" and tbh I still feel that way!

[BrianC]

Don't get between a PUMAMAN and his prey, Dumbo (■｀w´■)

I AM NOT AN ANIMAL, I AM A HUMAN BEING!

[BIL]

Taking a kick like that might've fixed the poor man's face

[BurlyHeart]

1CC on Vengeance Hunters' default difficulty

Game looks great, sounds good, and is fun to play.

Of the three characters to choose from, Golem is the grappler and the only one who can actually grab enemies. He has a variety of grabs which are really good for crowd control, as well as starting or ending combos. That said, the game is more strike based and encourages the use of movement to try and group enemies. Grapples also do not have invincibility like in many beat em ups. Whilst it can take time to get used to this, the characters are plenty strong to handle whatever the game throws at you. There are plenty of extra lives to be found throughout too and I used them to spam the final boss.

I mostly played on Vengeance! difficulty, which is the hardest, but this run was completed on Hunter (default difficulty.) I really enjoyed playing the game and it very well made. Looks gorgeous too. I will definitely return to try and 1CC the harder difficulty.