SNES
Dragon View
8:00
Easy
94 94
Dragon View is a single-player SNES-exclusive hybrid brawler/RPG from Kemco. You talk to NPCs in towns, buy items, and explore a 3D Mode 7 world. When you encounter the enemy, you fight them in traditional beat em up combat. Its combat engine is a simple attack/jump/magic setup, although you gain a few new weapons and abilities over time. You also gain experience and level up your stats by defeating enemies.
PCE
Dynasty Wars
0:45
Medium
94
Dynasty Wars is a port of Capcoms horse-based arcade brawler based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms mythology. Its unique combat features mounted characters, left-right attack buttons, charge attacks, screen-clearing magic, and tons of simultaneous enemies. It also has several voiced cutscenes.
SNES
Edo no Kiba
0:40
Medium
Edo no Kiba is a single player futuristic auto-scrolling brawler that never made it out of Japan. Its gameplay is in the same vein as D.J. Boy, but it puts a strong emphasis on its unique charged blade-throw attack. Its also notable for its anime-inspired futuristic Tokyo setting.
SNES
Final Fight
0:50
Hard
91 90
The SNES version of Final Fight is the much-hated port of Capcoms genre-defining Arcade classic. Due to the fact that it was an early game for the console and cartridge space was limited, Capcom had to make three serious cuts: Guy was completely removed, as was the Industrial Area stage, and its a single-player only game. Furthermore, there are only three simultaneous enemies at once. Despite that, its still Final Fight, and it has a ton of personality, memorable enemies, and satisfying gameplay.
SNES
Final Fight 2
0:50
Medium
93 93
Final Fight 2 is the SNES-exclusive follow-up to Capcoms legendary brawler. It features new playable characters, stages, enemies, and most importantly, two player gameplay. Its a globetrotting adventure that plays exactly like the original.
SNES
Final Fight 3
0:45
Medium
96 95
Final Fight 3 is the SNES-exclusive final chapter in Capcoms beloved brawler trilogy. In addition to four playable characters (including the return of Guy), it adds dashing, energy-based ultimate attacks, Street Fighter-style advanced techniques, and branching stages. Its also the only brawler with dash-combos.
SNES
Final Fight Guy
0:50
Hardcore
94 92
Final Fight Guy is a re-release of the SNES port of Final Fight that replaces Cody with Guy. Its still a single player only game, but it changes the enemy waves around a bit and adds a few new items. In the US, it was only available at Blockbuster.
1:45
Medium
93
Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu is the Japanese-exclusive follow-up to Konamis Legend of the Mystical Ninja. It stars a cartoony version of the Japanese folk hero Goemon, whos similar to Robin Hood. Like the original, this game features River City Ransom-esque brawler stages but also adds variety in the form of action platforming and bizarre vehicle sections.
2:00
Medium
95
Ganbare Goemon 4: Karakuri Dochu is the final installment in Konamis long-running Goemon series (known as Legend of the Mystical Ninja in the west.) Much like Goemon 1 and 2, this game features a mix of River City Ransom-esque town segments and action platformer stages. However, this game lets you choose stages unique to one of four characters and play them in any order.
0:50
Medium
94
Ghost Chaser Densei is a port of the arcade brawler Denjin Makai. Like the original, its a futuristic take on Final Fight with more moves and advanced energy-based charge attacks. Although its lacking half of the playable characters and some of the stages of the original, its still a deep brawler with plenty of bizarre enemies and a phenomenal soundtrack.
GEN
Golden Axe
0:15
Casual
89
Golden Axe is a faithful port of the super-popular arcade classic by Sega. Although its axes arent golden, it adds an extra stage, a boss fight, and a credit sequence at the end of the game.
PCE
Golden Axe
0:20
Easy
90
Golden Axe on the PC Engine is a shoddy port of Segas classic arcade hack n slash brawler. It removes the distance-based combos of the original and is single-player only. It does, however, maintain the magic system and riding of Bizarrians, as well as adding voiced cutscenes and a remixed soundtrack.
0:40
Medium
91
Golden Axe II is a console-only sequel to Segas beloved hack n slash classic. Its combat is slightly refined and it features new enemies, magic attacks, and stages but is otherwise very similar to the original.
1:15
Medium
93
Golden Axe III is the Japan-exclusive final chapter in the Golden Axe trilogy. It features a revamped combat engine, an all-new cast of characters, and branching stages while maintaining Golden Axe standards like distance-based attacks and stock-based screen-clearing magic attacks.
0:45
Hard
95
Gourmet Sentai Bara Yarou is a weird futuristic two-player beat em up from the makers of Cho Aniki featuring their signature bizarre style. It features stages composed of giant mechanical feet as well as a robotic Moa head thats being controlled by a tiny little man who jumps on your head and does the Russian dance. Its gameplay is heavily inspired by Final Fight yet adds unique new techniques such as nailing the enemy into the ground. Additionally, you must cook meals from ingredients you acquired during each stage to refill your health.
GEN
Growl
0:50
Hardcore
91
Growl is a faithful port of Taitos animal-themed brawler. Although its limited to two players, it captures the originals chaotic gameplay.
1:00
Hard
Iron Commando: Koutetsu no Senshi is a Japanese-exclusive two player brawler from Arcade Zone, the guys behind Legend. Its notable for its hectic gun-heavy gameplay, plentiful weapons, vehicle stages, and impressive graphics that feature an array of effects from fog to parallax scrolling. Its also one of the only brawlers with a dedicated grab button, which is also used to pick up weapons.
1:30
Hard
95
Jim Lees WildC.A.T.S.: Covert Action Teams is a single player superhero-themed brawler based on the Image Comic of the same name. It has three playable characters with unique stages that can be played in any order. Its combat has character-specific attacks such as charged projectiles. It also has truly gigantic sprites as well as music composed by Tommy Tallarico of Earthworm Jim fame.
SNES
Kamen Rider
0:45
Medium
93
Kamen Rider is a two player beat em up based on the Japanese TV show of the same name. You play as a normal human until you transform into the titular Kamen Rider, then defeat bosses with the famed Rider Kick. Its gameplay is fairly standard but lacks throws.
SNES
King of Dragons
1:00
Medium
94 94
King of Dragons is a two player port of Capcoms medieval fantasy arcade brawler. Its extremely simple combat engine is reinforced by an RPG-style experience-based leveling system as well as acquiring new weapons and shields that change your characters appearance. It features an unbelievable 16 stages and an impressive amount of enemy and boss variety.
0:45
Casual
94 93
King of the Monsters 2 is a hybrid brawler/wrestling game that features fights between Japanese-style giant city-wrecking monsters. Its a port of the original arcade version. It has both two player co-op and versus gameplay modes. Its combat features multiple attack buttons, a grappling mechanic, and charge-based special attacks that range from teleportation to growing a horn and breaking it off to use as a weapon.
1:00
Hardcore
94 94
Knights of the Round is a remarkably faithful port of Capcoms weapons-based arcade brawler. It features a blocking mechanic that grants invincibility, RPG-style experience points that visually alter your character when you level up, items that can be broken up into smaller pieces, and a scoring system that rewards defeating the same type of enemy consecutively. It also has a super-catchy soundtrack thats excellent even by Capcom standards.
SNES
Legend
1:00
Broken
94
Legend is a two player medieval weapons-based brawler from Arcade Zone, which is composed of only two dudes. Its a gorgeous game with huge sprites, incredibly detailed backgrounds, and a decent soundtrack. However, its gameplay is wildly imbalanced and unfortunately boils down to constantly using jump kicks for an hour. At least it has Golden Axe-style screen-filling magic attacks.
2:00
Medium
92 91
Legend of the Mystical Ninja is a two-player brawler from Konami based on the Japanese myth of Goemon, whos similar to Robin Hood. Like River City Ransom, you travel around towns, beating up thugs for money to buy upgrades and talking to NPCs to figure out what to do next. It also has action platformer sections as well as a handful of minigames.
0:50
Hard
93
Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter is a futuristic brawler with a strong anime influence. It features both traditional brawler stages with screen-filling minibosses and fighting game-esque boss fights.