Here are five exceptional beat ’em ups on the NES that are still worth playing today.
5) The Adventures of Bayou Billy
What Bayou Billy lacks in his neck, he makes up for with his prodigious knife. Players step into the shoes of the titular William, who makes his home in the bayous of Louisiana, and must fight against Godfather Gordon, a local smuggler who has kidnapped Billy’s girlfriend Annabelle.
The standard hand-to-hand combat is a blast, and Billy can also equip a variety of weapons to give yourself an edge. Konami also switches things up every few stages, letting you drive Billy’s jeep and hop into an on-rails, first-person shooter segment. The latter set of levels also lets you play with the NES Zapper, if you have it.
4) Bad Dudes
TheBad Dudes have to save the president of the United States from a group of ninja criminals. It’s a wild setup that ends with the Bad Dudes eating a cheeseburger with President Ronnie, which is a fitting ending if you can make it through Bad Dudes‘ many stages.
This is a port of a fan-favorite arcade cabinet, and while it isn’t as good as the arcade version, it retains enough of that charm to still be worth jumping into. Each stage ends with a boss fight, all of which have their own special attacks to keep the action fresh. Sure, it’s better known for becoming a meme thanks to that wacky opening cutscene, but Bad Dudes is more just its premise.
3) Ninja Gaiden
Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden is an interesting one, and some players might not consider it for this list. The arcade version, which came out around the same time, is absolutely a classic beat ’em up. However, the NES version is somewhere between beat ’em up and hack and slash. Still, I’m counting it because it’s absolutely worth checking out these days.
The responsive, fast-paced gameplay still feels great, making it one of the easiest games to go back to. Your trusty sword is definitely up to the task of taking down enemies, but there are plenty of neat secondary weapons that’ll help turn the tide against Ninja Gaiden‘s many bosses. It was a great start to a series that’s still releasing new games today.
2) Double Dragon 3: The Sacred Stones
The Double Dragon series took a weird turn with its third game. Technically, there are two versions of Double Dragon 3, which are connected but not the same. The Rosetta Stone was released in arcades, while The Sacred Stones launched on the NES. However, the latter is not a port of the former, despite what you might assume.
Regardless, this is the best version of Double Dragon on the NES. Don’t get me wrong, the first two games are solid, but The Sacred Stones was developed exclusively for the NES, so it doesn’t feel like an afterthought to the arcade version. Either way, if you haven’t had the joy of playing classic Double Dragon combat, you should seek one of them out.
1) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Manhattan Project
Like Double Dragon, the Turtles‘ series has a strange legacy. The first game is a tough action-adventure that lets you switch between the four turtles. That came out in 1989. Later that year, an arcade game came out, which turned it into a beat ’em up. When it was ported to the NES, it was renamed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game. Then, we got The Manhattan Project.
This one only came out on the NES, but it uses the combat system from the arcade version. It was a meandering path, but we eventually got to a good spot. This beat ’em up set the stage for the all-timer that is Turtles in Time on the Super Nintendo, but don’t think that means The Manhattan Project isn’t worth a look.
You can jump in with a friend for excellent couch co-op action. All four turtles are playable, and combat is mostly the same as in the second game. You can now use a toss attack, but everything else is very similar. While the boss roster isn’t as impressive as Turtles in Time, it still features a few great additions, including Tokka and Rahzard from the second TMNT movie. Thankfully, it’s easy to check this one out since it was included in The Cowabunga Collection, which was released in 2022.
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