All Killer, No Filler Gamelists Part 6 - BEAT 'EM UP/HACK N' SLASH

[BadMouth]

Directory of "All Killer, No Filler Gamelists"

JUST BECAUSE A GAME IS IN THIS LIST DOES NOT MEAN IT IS WORKING 100% CORRECTLY IN MAME.
LOTS OF GREAT GAMES ARE PERFECTLY PLAYABLE, BUT HAVE SMALL SOUND OR GRAPHICS ISSUES CAUSING THEM TO BE LISTED AS NOT PERFECTLY EMULATED IN MAME.
DO NOT USE A NO-NAG VERSION OF MAME AND THEN COMPLAIN TO MAME DEVS AFTER YOU'VE REMOVED THE GIANT RED BOX THEY PUT THERE TO INFORM YOU THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE GAME.  IF YOU FEEL THE NEED TO ASK ABOUT AN ISSUE, ALWAYS TEST WITH THE UNADULTERATED OFFICIAL MAME BUILD FIRST.

EDIT: this one is DONE.
bat file attached
Needed CHDs (if your PC is fast enough to run them):
gauntdl
gauntleg

EDIT: 5/16 added Rampage World Tour since it didn't fit with classics

original post:

I haven't had time to wrap up the last few, but I'm going to go ahead and throw the next one out for discussion.

I've met very few Beat 'Em Ups that I didn't like.  They are the hot dogs of the arcade world. 
You know they are full of junk and fillers, but you know this going in and enjoy them anyway.

Here is the list from my cab, for better or worse.
I think there are still one or two Naomi games mixed in there somewhere.
When I originally made my list, I decided to combine Beat 'Em Ups with Hack 'N Slash because the mechanics are pretty much the same.
I still think this is the way to go, but it's open for discussion.
Change the name to "Fight & Move Right"?  (IIRC that phrase came from pbj)

So, what stays? what goes? etc.

EDIT: Parked some adventure platformer type games here that I originally had in run and gun because the main character throws projectiles the entire time.
Might break these into a separate list.


mame

64TH STREET   
AGE OF HEROES   
ALIEN STORM   
ALIEN VS PREDATOR   
ALTERED BEAST   
ARABIAN FIGHT   
ARMORED WARRIORS   
AVENGERS   
B.RAP BOYS
BAD DUDES VS DRAGONNINJA   
BATTLE CIRCUIT   
BATTLE TOADS   
BIG FIGHT   
BLADE MASTER   
BURNING FIGHT   
CADILLACS AND DINOSAURS   
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE AVENGERS   
CAPTAIN COMMANDO   
CLIFFHANGER - EDWARD RANDY   
COMBATRIBES   
CRYSTAL OF KINGS
CRIME FIGHTERS   
DENIIN MAKAI   
DOUBLE DRAGON   
DOUBLE DRAGON II   
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS:SHADOW OVER MYSTARA   
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS:TOWER OF DOOM   
DYNASTY WARS
EIGHT MAN   
FINAL FIGHT   
GAIA CRUSADERS   
GAIAPOLIS   
GANRYU   
GAUNTLET LEGENDS
GAUNTLET DARK LEGACY   
GOLDEN AXE   
GOLDEN AXE: THE REVENGE OF DEATH ADDER   
GROWL   
GUARDIANS   
HOOK   
KING OF DRAGONS
KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND   
KNIGHTS OF VALOUR
KNIGHTS OF VALOUR 2   
KNUCKLE BASH   
LEGEND OF HEROES   
LEGEND OF SILKROAD
LIGHT BRINGER   
METAMORPHIC FORCE   
MICHAEL JACKSON'S MOONWALKER   
MUTATION NATION   
NIGHT SLASHERS   
NINJA BASEBALL BAT MAN   
NINJA KIDS
P.O.W. - PRISONERS OF WAR   
PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON
PULIRULA
PUNISHER
ORIENTAL LEGEND   
RAMPAGE WORLD TOUR
RIOT CITY   
ROBO ARMY   
SENGOKU   
SENGOKU 3   
SHADOW FORCE   
SILENT DRAGON
SIMPSONS   
SPIDER-MAN   
SPLATTER HOUSE   
STREETS OF RAGE II    (has been demoted to not fully emulated in newer versions of MAME due to coin issue)
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES   
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES - TURTLES IN TIME   
THUNDER HEROES   
UNDERCOVER COPS   
VAMFX1/2   
VENDETTA   
VIGILANTE   
VIOLENT STORM   
WARRIOR BLADE - RASTAN SAGA EPISODE III   
WARRIORS OF FATE   
WIZARD FIRE   
X-MEN   



   
   
   
   
model 3
DIE HARD ARCADE   
DYNAMYTE COP   
   
   
model 3   
SPIKEOUT   
SPIKEOUT FINAL EDITION   

atomiswave

naomi
ZOMBIE REVENGE   

[pbj]

I'd add DJ Boy just because it's so weird and I got it free with my Genesis.  Otherwise, anything I can think of is already on your list.

The nobody ever wants to play these list:

ARABIAN FIGHT   
ARABIAN MAGIC   
ARMORED WARRIORS   
ASTERIX   
ASTRA SUPERSTARS
B.RAP BOYS 
CRUDE BUSTER   
D.D. CREW   
DENIIN MAKAI 
DOUBLE DRAGON 3
GUARDIANS OF THE HOOD (lol I even owned this board... good lord)
HAUNTED CASTLE   <- impossible and sucks
NINJA CLOWNS 
SENGOKU 2   
SENGOKU 3 
THE ASTVANAX   

[harveybirdman]

Dude you're way off! Sengoku 3 may be the best beat em up ever...

Denjin Makai is also totes awesome.

[harveybirdman]

One of the few games who's console version is much better than it's arcade version is missing


Ninja Gaiden or if you want the cute em up version Dragon Bowl.

Also

Dynasty Wars
Oriental Legend
PuLiRuLa
The Ninja Kids

Did we put Ninja Combat in Run and Gun?

[BadMouth]

Did we put Ninja Combat in Run and Gun?

Ninja Commando is there.  Not sure if same game.
I put a link to the directory at the top of all these gamelist threads so it would be easier to find the other ones.

I'm working 12 hour days and setting up a console/steam box for the living room, so haven't had time to check these out and play test the last few lists.

[romshark]

For added wackiness, try Trio the Punch: Never Forget Me. It's so weird that it has its own charm.
I can't remember if Pu-ri-ru-la (or whatever it's called) is more of a beat em up or a run and gun (I'm at work right now.)
I'll try to think of some more games, but I think the ones I know are on the list.

[BadMouth]

relevant:




Shall I include the Japanese version of Vendetta with no warning?   

[BadMouth]

Sorry I have not updated the list based on comments so far.

As of now, my thinking is:

Anything with the mechanics of "Fight and move right" stays here,
Having to jump between more than 2 levels makes it a platformer (although it could still be a platformer with only two levels if the character is throwing stuff instead of punching)

[jeremymtc]

I would suggest Black Tiger as an addition. It's sort of a prequel to Magic Sword, but with markedly different gameplay.

edit - just noticed it as possibly pending in OP. All is well.

[Malenko]

to trim:

the word "the" from those games that have it
Altered Beast - Isnt this more of a platformer?
Astra Superstars - This is a VS fighting game isnt it?
Final Fight 2 - its a SNES game
Haunted castle - just play castlevania on the console, also more of a platformer
Big Karnak - I like this game, but it feels so much more like a platformer
Osman aka Cannon-Dancer aka Strider 1.5 - how is this not a platformer?
Power Stone - 4 player fighting game
Shinobi III - Sega Genesis game

more filler than killer (personal taste):
Asterix , its colorful and good for kids but its meh to me.
Astyanax - played the crap out of this on my NES but its not a killer arcade game
Arabian Magic - Arabian Fight by Sega does the theme better
B.Rap Boys - its a terrible sequel to a terrible game (DJ Boy)
Batman - the theme feels shoehorned in overtop of a lame game
Batman Forever - Digitalized disaster
Crude Buster /Two Crude Dudes - very meh
DD Crew - the dash attacks are neat but Id rather play vendetta or final fight
Double Dragon 3 - the first is great, the second is good, the third is garbage
Golden Axe II - I like 1 and adder better, dont see a reason to keep it.
guardians of the hood - this game is garbage
Judge Dredd - this is a pretty terrible game
Knights of Valor - Keep 2 drop the first and the rom hacks.
Ninja Clowns - its quirky but Id rather play ninja baseball batman
PuLiRuLa - Ok its unique, and weird but not killer.
SuperMan - its just not a fun game.



Everything else on the list I either agree with, never played, or don't have a strong opinion about.  Side note, I picked up Top Players Golf for my Neo cab, holy crap is that game terrible.

[harveybirdman]

I agree with everything Mal said, except for B Rap Boys, that games is hilarious and fun.

[BadMouth]

Alright, deleted the ones where there was a concensus (between PBJ and Malenko or Malenko and myself) that they suck.
I will give B. Rap Boys another chance when I play test.  Like I said, I have low expectations of Beat 'Em Ups.

Moved the platformers Malenko pointed out and the Shinobi series to platformers.
I'm sure there are still a fair number of platformers in there.
I will make a determination when I play test the list.

I will add the recommended games next time I feel like avoiding my job for a few minutes.


EDIT: There is a FINAL FIGHT 2 bootleg listed in MAME.
I will see what the deal is when I play test it.

[BadMouth]

Added all of the recommended games except for Trio The Punch.
I watched a youtube video and was left very confused.
I will give it a play later.

[Malenko]

There is a FINAL FIGHT 2 bootleg listed in MAME.
I will see what the deal is when I play test it.

Yeah its a hack of the SNES cart running on the Nintendo Super System.

As for DJ Boy/B Rap , I'm aware its preference if you think the game is good or not and as always I wont be butthurt if it stays on the list. I actually have DJ Boy for the Genesis CIB.....So I think I have PBJ's Xmas gift.
I like Denjin Makaii , the select-able characters are pretty unique and Sengoku 3 is pretty great, definitely a killer game for the list.

[BadMouth]

I've only play-tested halfway through the list, but I want other opinions on whether these games suck or not.
If I have to ask then they probably do, but I only played each one a minute or two.

Avengers - seems to be no point in punching, it just lets your enemies get closer and kill you
Dragon Unit
Mug Smashers

I'm also a bit torn on:

Iron Horse - touch an enemy with anything other than your fist and you're dead.  The fact that it's hard, but simple makes me want to keep playing it though.
Kung-Fu Master - a classic, but....meh.
Arabian Fight - the perspective thing is unique, but the scale between yourself and enemies seems off all the time, the closeups during special moves is annoying, and the controls also feel a bit off

So if anyone would like to give those games a try and share their opinion, it would be appreciated. 

EDIT: Nobody commented, so I deleted all of them.

[BadMouth]

Moved a bunch more to PLATFORMERS.

Removed the following because I thought they sucked too bad:

NINJA WARRIORS
SKULL & CROSBONES
WILD FANG

Anyone disagree?

Added B.Rap Boys.  Yeah, it sucks but it's kind of fun anyway.

Gotta clean up the batch file and see if there are english language clones of a few.
Until then, I'll be at the Hamburger Bar having coffee.

[BadMouth]

This one is done.

Play Violent Storm.

For a game that I never played as a kid, it sure makes me feel nostalgic.

[harveybirdman]

I want to say that one was the sequel to Vendetta if I'm not mistaken, cool game.

[letstalkaboutdune]

Awesome list! A couple of observations:

• Isn't Knights of Valour unsupported in MAME?
• New Zero Team (nzeroteam, parent zeroteam) is a fun beat 'em up with good variety to its playable characters and should be considered.

[Haze]

Awesome list! A couple of observations:

• Isn't Knights of Valour unsupported in MAME?
• New Zero Team (nzeroteam, parent zeroteam) is a fun beat 'em up with good variety to its playable characters and should be considered.

Knights of Valour uses a protection simulation that isn't fully trusted.  Knights of Valour Super Heroes uses an emulated MCU and is much more trustworthy.

New Zero Team is a horrible version of the game that breaks the stage order etc and doesn't have the proper 4-player support.  Use Zero Team 2000 instead, it's a re-release without everything messed up (4 player support can be enabled in service mode)

[letstalkaboutdune]

Knights of Valour uses a protection simulation that isn't fully trusted.  Knights of Valour Super Heroes uses an emulated MCU and is much more trustworthy.

New Zero Team is a horrible version of the game that breaks the stage order etc and doesn't have the proper 4-player support.  Use Zero Team 2000 instead, it's a re-release without everything messed up (4 player support can be enabled in service mode)

So is Knights of Valour Super Heroes an updated version of the original Knights of Valour? Thanks for the recommendation on Zero Team 2000 - I wasn't aware that there were big differences between the clones.

[Haze]

Knights of Valour uses a protection simulation that isn't fully trusted.  Knights of Valour Super Heroes uses an emulated MCU and is much more trustworthy.

New Zero Team is a horrible version of the game that breaks the stage order etc and doesn't have the proper 4-player support.  Use Zero Team 2000 instead, it's a re-release without everything messed up (4 player support can be enabled in service mode)

So is Knights of Valour Super Heroes an updated version of the original Knights of Valour? Thanks for the recommendation on Zero Team 2000 - I wasn't aware that there were big differences between the clones.

More or less, IGS kept re-releasing the same thing over, but with more characters etc.

New Zero Team was modified to make more money, it puts a more difficult stage first in order to kill players off more quickly.  Take note when you select your character, they proceed to drive off the screen on a motorbike only to arrive at the first stage on a chopper.  The proper stage order (as restored in Zero Team 2000) sees you ride into the first stage on the bike and board the chopper later, game flows much better that way.

[letstalkaboutdune]

Good to know! Thanks for all the info.

[Brandon101884]

Awwwww you took out SUPERMAN!!!!!

Can I Add it in somehow?

[BadMouth]

Awwwww you took out SUPERMAN!!!!!

Can I Add it in somehow?

yeah, just add superman.zip to the batch file

To look rom info, I use progettoemma
http://www.progettoemma.net/ (click the US/British flag for English unless you prefer Italian)
search for the game name, click on the parent rom (usually "world" version), and that page will include the rom name and if any extra bios or sound board roms are required.

[dchase]

How can you include Robo Army but not Sengoku 2?

Robo Army is complete junk. It plays terribly. It doesn't even have good normals. Sengoku 2 is way better.

[Haze]

How can you include Robo Army but not Sengoku 2?

Robo Army is complete junk. It plays terribly. It doesn't even have good normals. Sengoku 2 is way better.

The lists are only a starting point.

The list also already has 2 Sengoku games; the first one, which got quite a bit of distribution and tried something a bit different for the time so more people are likely to remember, and the 3rd one, which I've always thought was awful, but has plenty of fans. 

Plenty of people like Robo Army, it has a wider initial appeal than Sengoku 2, which is a bit too 'Japanese' for a lot of people.  Sure Sengoku 2 holds up better once you start to dissect the gameplay, but that's not really the point.  If somebody is browsing through game lists a game called ROBO ARMY is more likely to catch their eye than yet another very Japanese sounding Sengoku entry.

Anybody cutting their game list down to ONLY what's on these lists is making a grave mistake, the idea is they represent a sample of the games available, a lot of the best games aren't on here because there's a focus on variety rather than overloading the list with too many entries from a single series etc.  If you prefer Sengoku 2, swap it in your personal list.

[dchase]

How can you include Robo Army but not Sengoku 2?

Robo Army is complete junk. It plays terribly. It doesn't even have good normals. Sengoku 2 is way better.

The lists are only a starting point.

Plenty of people like Robo Army, it has a wider initial appeal than Sengoku 2, which is a bit too 'Japanese' for a lot of people.  Sure Sengoku 2 holds up better once you start to dissect the gameplay, but that's not really the point. 

The list also already has 2 Sengoku games; the first one, which got quite a bit of distribution and tried something a bit different at the time so more people are likely to remember, and the 3rd one, which I've always thought was awful, but has plenty of fans. 

Anybody cutting their game list down to ONLY what's on these lists is making a grave mistake, the idea is they represent a sample of the games available, a lot of the best games aren't on here because there's a focus on variety rather than overloading the list with too many entries from a single series etc.  If you prefer Sengoku 2, swap it in your personal list.

But Sengoku 1 is on this list, which is just as "japanese" as 2.

[Haze]

How can you include Robo Army but not Sengoku 2?

Robo Army is complete junk. It plays terribly. It doesn't even have good normals. Sengoku 2 is way better.

The lists are only a starting point.

Plenty of people like Robo Army, it has a wider initial appeal than Sengoku 2, which is a bit too 'Japanese' for a lot of people.  Sure Sengoku 2 holds up better once you start to dissect the gameplay, but that's not really the point. 

The list also already has 2 Sengoku games; the first one, which got quite a bit of distribution and tried something a bit different at the time so more people are likely to remember, and the 3rd one, which I've always thought was awful, but has plenty of fans. 

Anybody cutting their game list down to ONLY what's on these lists is making a grave mistake, the idea is they represent a sample of the games available, a lot of the best games aren't on here because there's a focus on variety rather than overloading the list with too many entries from a single series etc.  If you prefer Sengoku 2, swap it in your personal list.

But Sengoku 1 is on this list, which is just as "japanese" as 2.

As it Sengoku 3.  Hence why 2 isn't needed.  The idea is to NOT overload the list with too many entries from a single series.

1 was creative and original for when it came out, a lot of people saw it, it even had Mega CD and Super Famicom home ports as it was a reasonably popular game, at least in Japan.
3 is a late NeoGeo game, people like the animation or something

No room for 2, Robo Army give the list more variety.

If somebody plays the games on the list, decide they like what Sengoku is doing, they're naturally going to decide to put Sengoku 2 on.

If somebody plays the games on the list, doesn't really like Sengoku, and you've got 3 Sengoku games in there, that's 3 entries down for them, without them having the chance to play something that might appeal to them more.

Nobody is going to argue that Robo Army is a objectively a better game than Sengoku 2, but they're going to appeal to different groups, and Sengoku with it's heavy Japanese mythology influences is already well represented.

[dchase]

Yet there are twelve Metal Slugs and several Samurai Shodowns in the list. It's basically just horribly inconsistent. But whatever.

[Haze]

Yet there are twelve Metal Slugs and several Samurai Shodowns in the list. It's basically just horribly inconsistent. But whatever.

Metal Slug is probably overrepresented because people couldn't come up with enough games they actually considered to be Run and Gun.

I mean Crackdown is in that list, and it's an overhead stealth maze game.  Charlie Ninja was moved to Platform, when it's not much different to Sunset Riders.

Such lists are never going to be perfect, I did an entire series of videos highlighting games NOT on these lists.

It's interesting to see how many scummy cab sellers just load their cabs up with the games from these lists and nothing else these days though; I've seen plenty on location where whoever was making the bootleg cabs simply took these lists and used them, because they were too lazy to do anything else.

[BadMouth]

How can you include Robo Army but not Sengoku 2?

Robo Army is complete junk. It plays terribly. It doesn't even have good normals. Sengoku 2 is way better.

Looking at the thread:

The nobody ever wants to play these list:
SENGOKU 2   
SENGOKU 3 

Dude you're way off! Sengoku 3 may be the best beat em up ever...

Sengoku 3 is pretty great, definitely a killer game for the list.

It's PBJ's fault    and Sengoku 3 would not have been on there if Harveybirdman and Malenko hadn't praised it.

These lists were created through discussions among a few people here who chose to participate (and whose opinions I trust).
It was something I wanted to exist, which didn't.  All the lists at the time were based on original cabinet popularity or were complete lists of every friggin' game in a genre.
The desire to avoid including every game in a series was to give a taste of the best while avoiding redundancy.
I figured that if someone really enjoyed a game, they'd check others from the same series.

It's not perfect.  (too many Shmups, Classics is horribly incomplete because I put many classics in other categories instead of including them twice)
But it got done and the result was usable.  We brought it into existence. 
Although not perfect, its popularity is indicative that we did a good job. 

Many people have shown their appreciation because after using these lists, they actually find games they enjoy.  Whereas before they were overwhelmed by the number of roms and disappointed by many of the games they tried, so they stuck to what they already knew.

I've already spent more time replying than I would have liked.
I consider this project done and don't want any obligations to maintain or update it.
Everyone is free to make their own updated list with whatever games they see fit.

I am sure there are many games that have been promoted to working since 2016 which also deserve to be on it.
(but I ain't putting in the work)

[Gilrock]

dchase got himself banned already so he won't see your reply...  He basically showed up puking in a bunch of threads old and new.

[gildahl]

Such lists are never going to be perfect, I did an entire series of videos highlighting games NOT on these lists.

Sometimes I think what I'd prefer is a "Stinkers" list.  Just get a complete MAME list, remove these, and you should have a nice list of games that are sufficiently unflawed to be worth a play to form your own opinion.  Oh, I'm sure that there would be differences of opinion there too, but it's possible that agreement might be more unified than trying to pin-down a universally accepted "killers" list since I think the definition of stinkers can be made with, perhaps, a bit more objectivity (or at least definition)--such as clearly identifiable technical flaws, AI cheats, bad performance/control issues, inferior version or rip-off of another game, failed miserably in the arcades, coin bait game, timed home console game, etc.  And the particular reason can be identified in the list so that those who are ok with games having certain flaws can keep them.  In theory then, anything that is NOT in this list should be worthy of someone's respect because no one was able to identify a fatal flaw.

[Haze]

There aren't really that many arcade games that are true 'stinkers' as most had to go through location testing, and were cancelled if they failed to perform.

There are certainly a few, I'm not sure ANYBODY likes Guardians of the Hood or Ping Pong Masters '93, but then you've got cases like Gururin on the Neogeo.  I greatly respect LordBBH, but he's put that bottom of his NeoGeo ranking so far, lower than Riding Hero.  Personally I think Guruin is a great puzzle game, unique gameplay and in my top 1/3rd of games on the system.  It doesn't look or sound the part for a Neo game, but the gameplay is solid and it's one I play more often than most.  I will agree with him on one thing though, Fighters History Dynamite is a really good game (as is Fighters History IMHO, it's much more than just a copy of SF2)

Some people might put lower budget games in there, but those have a lot of charm too, much like the indie scene that is thriving today.

[DoghouseReilly]

Yet there are twelve Metal Slugs and several Samurai Shodowns in the list. It's basically just horribly inconsistent. But whatever.

Such lists are never going to be perfect, I did an entire series of videos highlighting games NOT on these lists.

Yeah, I didn't make any changes to my game list after reviewing the AKNF lists, but I added two or three after watching your series. I see the AKNF lists as decent compilations of what you would find searching for "best mame games".

[bobbyb13]

It is an outstanding starting point.

There are notable absences from my personal list of favorites but reasons for omissions have been noted already.

However you look at it, if something you like isn't in there already it is infinitely easier to find that short list of absences in an unmerged rom stack and add them than it is to sift through thousands of mahjongg and poker machines for your bronze and golden age favorites.

Kudos to all who contributed.
I can see that it was a lot of time and effort- and well spent.

Certainly has made a few of my builds better!