Bloody Knuckles and Busted Noses: 10 Beat 'Em Ups That Make Us Miss the '90s (and '80s)

The '90s are back with some of the greatest beat 'em up video games ever made

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Image via Complex Original
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The late '80s gave birth to the Beat ‘Em Up genre, and it’s no wonder.

This was the arcade era, and games were designed to be excessively difficult—the more lives a player lost, the more quarters he had to dump into the machine. And no game ate quarters like a beat ‘em up game. Just when you triumphed over one wave of enemies, another wave, or a massive boss, was ready to finish you off.

Beat ‘em up games eventually evolved into 3-D hack ‘n’ slash games, such as God of War and Devil May Cry. That’s another list for another day— today, we’re counting down the very best of the beat ‘em up genre—those classic, 2-D brawlers where you walked to the right side of the screen, kicked some ass, and walked to the right some more.

Tape up your hands and grab a bat. It’s about to go down.

Splatterhouse 3

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Batman Returns

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X-Men: The Arcade Game

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River City Ransom

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The Simpsons Arcade Game

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Golden Axe

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Double Dragon II: The Revenge

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time

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Final Fight

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Streets of Rage 2

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