# Ode to the side-scrolling beat 'em up/shoot 'em up. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545 "2003-08-07T07:14:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/1 "2003-08-07T07:14:03Z")
A [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=202871) about old SNES games got me thinking about the lost genre up of the beat 'em up game. Games like Golden Axe, the TMNT series, Contra, Battletoads (And who could forget Contra VS. Battletoads?!). Games that threw plot to the wind in favor of gameplay, tons of enemies, and lots of fun. Am I the only one who wishes they were still putting out more like this? On a side-note, what was your favorite? My nomination for all-time best goes to [Gunstar Heroes.](http://www.gamespy.com/halloffame/january03/gunstar/) If you’ve played it, you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Petrichor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@Petrichor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrichor)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/2 "2003-08-07T07:58:22Z")
Definitely Ninja Gaiden, an friend and myself spent months trying to finish that game. To his day I still find my self humming the theme. ---
**Author:** ![kiwiboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/35a633/32.png) [@kiwiboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiwiboy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/3 "2003-08-07T09:43:54Z")
I have fond memories of _Kareteka_ for the old Apple IIe. The princess at the end killing you if you hit her was a particularly nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![Trjckster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Trjckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trjckster)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/4 "2003-08-07T09:48:45Z")
Target Renegade on the Spectrum! Two player, gang bashing, punk smashing brillance. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/5 "2003-08-07T10:21:53Z")
streets of rage! alienstorm! and my all time favourite, final fight. the haggar spinning piledriver was the best move ever, only superceded by streetfighter. i had a big fondness for the turtles, simpsons and x-men sideways scrollers that all ran off the same game engine ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/6 "2003-08-07T19:50:17Z")
I’ll vote for **The Ninjawarriors** on the SNES as the best one ever. Very basic gameplay, but a tough-but-fair challenge, fast paced, awesome graphics, and a rockin’ soundtrack make it a classic. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/7 "2003-08-07T20:00:58Z")
Karateka. I can still hear the opening sequence of music. And the death music that immediately followed as I hit the wrong button and took a step back off of the cliff. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/8 "2003-08-07T20:02:53Z")
Ever play NinjaWarriors at the arcade? On the full size system? THREE MONITORS WIDE??? ---
**Author:** ![Eman\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Eman\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eman_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/9 "2003-08-07T20:09:16Z")
RE: Karateka So what the hell were you supposed to do when you meet the Princess? OP: Ninja Gaiden gave me fits. Battletoads was even worse. I don’t think I finished that game. Oh but the original Double Dragon…Good times, good times. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/10 "2003-08-07T22:02:47Z")
_Rolling Thunder_ took all _my_ quarters. It just kept getting crazier and crazier. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/11 "2003-08-07T22:23:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eman\_Ramos \* > \*\*RE: Karateka > > So what the hell were you supposed to do when you meet the Princess?\*\* You had to stand up and run to her. If you approached her in your karate stance, she kicked you and killed you instantly. Do games like **Lifeforce** count for this? In that game, you were a tiny ship shrunk down small enough to sail down a blood vessel, shooting germs and such that had invaded a human body. ---
**Author:** ![Sharopolis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Sharopolis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharopolis)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/12 "2003-08-07T22:46:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trjckster \* > \*\*Target Renegade on the Spectrum! Two player, gang bashing, punk smashing brillance. \*\* They dont come much better than Target Renegade. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/13 "2003-08-07T23:36:40Z")
Earthworm Jim…nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/14 "2003-08-08T00:12:28Z")
Altered Beast! ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/15 "2003-08-08T00:12:55Z")
**Lifeforce** kicked major ass – even better than the **Gradius** series, IMO. Oddly enough, the original Japanese name was “Salamander.” WTF? And I believe the original plot involved invading a giant space alien’s insides, not a human’s… ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/16 "2003-08-08T00:20:12Z")
The semi-recent “Dungeons & Dragons” arcade games are pretty much the pinnacle of the beat-em-up. Multiple character classes, a variety of enemies, items, spells, bosses, secret areas, multiple paths through the game…gotta love it. [Shadow Over Mystara](http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=D&game_id=7667) is a classic, and plays pretty well online through emulators. As for shoot’em’ups, that term applies more to games like the Gradius & 1942 series, and THAT genre is still very much alive and well, although more so in Japan. Score another point for emulators, you can get some quality shooters that never/rarely showed up on this side of the ocean, and it’s one of the few types of games where an inability to read Japanese doesn’t hurt you at all 😉 Lifeforce was great, but it had nothing to do with a human. It’s some sort of living bio-machine-planet-sized-thing. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/17 "2003-08-08T01:46:46Z")
I’ve been playing “Snipes” on and off all week. I bet no one else even remembers that one. ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/18 "2003-08-08T01:48:21Z")
“Rolling Thunder” and “Shinobi” were both AWESOME! ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ode-to-the-side-scrolling-beat-em-up-shoot-em-up/193545/19 "2003-08-08T02:00:21Z")
River City Ransom is the only beat 'em up I really enjoyed.