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Best brawler games on GamesNostalgia

Brawler games, also known as beat 'em ups, are a subgenre of action games that emphasize combat against waves of enemies. Unlike traditional fighting games that focus on one-on-one battles, most brawler games often feature side-scrolling gameplay, allowing players to move horizontally through levels while taking on hordes of enemies. These games typically involve a combination of hand-to-hand combat, weapons, and special moves. The objective is simple: defeat every enemy and progress through the game's story or stages.

Probably the best early example of this genre is Double Dragon, released in 1987 as a coin-op but then ported to all possible platforms. The sequel, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, is still considered one of the best brawler games ever. Karateka for the Apple II and The Last Ninja for the Commodore 64 don't have hordes of enemies, but they are still great examples of early progressive beat-em-up created for home computers.

The gothic horror-themed platformer-brawler Castlevania was released in 1986 for the NES. It was one of the first examples of the metroidvania sub-genre, where the player must explore several levels non-linearly.

SEGA's masterpiece Golden Axe was released in 1989, and it's still one of the best examples of fantasy brawlers with hack & slash co-op mechanics.

We have many examples of great brawlers released for the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: from Streets of Rage to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, without forgetting the fantastic Comix Zone.

On the Amiga side, we should not forget the famous Shadow of the Beast, a game that impressed all players thanks to the high-quality graphics and music.

If you liked these games, don't forget to check the related sub-genre fighting.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 genesis

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game developed and published by Midway Games in 1995. It is an improved and slightly different version of Mortal Kombat 3. The original thi...

Year: 1996 Genre: Brawler

2 players arcade brawler coin-op conversion fighting martial arts motion capture versus violence

Super Street Fighter II DX amiga

Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers is the fourth chapter of the popular beat-em-up series based on the arcade Street Fighter II. This edition, known as Super Street Fighter 2, is the first to use "Super" in the title.

Year: 1995 Genre: Brawler

2 players aga arcade brawler competitive fighting martial arts versus

Super Street Fighter II Turbo dosamiga

Super Street Fighter II Turbo is a competitive fighting game created by Capcom and released initially as an arcade in 1994. It is the fifth game in the Street Fighter 2 series, ...

Year: 1995 Genre: Brawler

2 players 3do aga arcade brawler competitive fighting versus

The Revenge of Shinobi genesis

The Revenge of Shinobi is the second game in the Shinobi series created by SEGA. Revenge was released in 1989, specifically for the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis, with the PAL (Europe) version coming out in 1990.

Year: 1989 Genre: Brawler

brawler genesis original game hack and slash martial arts ninja progressive beat-em-up side-scrolling

Streets of Rage 2 genesis

Streets of Rage 2, released in Japan as Bare Knuckle II: The Requiem of the Deadly Battle, is a beat-em-up created by SEGA for the Mega Drive/Genesis and released in 1993. The tit...

Year: 1993 Genre: Brawler

2 players anime brawler genesis original game side-scrolling

Mortal Kombat 3 genesis

Mortal Kombat 3 is the third game in the popular series of fighting arcades created by Midway. The coin-op was released in 1995. The same year several ports, including the Sega Megadrive/Genesis, were released.

Year: 1995 Genre: Brawler

2 players arcade brawler coin-op conversion competitive fighting martial arts motion capture

Streets of Rage genesis

Streets of Rage is a beat 'em up game developed and published by Sega in 1991 for the Mega Drive/Genesis. The game is also known in Japanese as Bare Knuckle: Ikari no Tekken. The g...

Year: 1991 Genre: Brawler

2 players anime brawler genesis original game martial arts side-scrolling

International Karate++ windows

International Karate Deluxe is an amazing freeware remake of the never released International Karate++, the sequel of one of the most popular fighting game on the Commodore 64 and Amiga, International Karate + (also known as IK+).

Year: 1999 Genre: Brawler

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Golden Axe genesisamiga

Golden Axe is a side-scrolling hack and slash fantasy game created by Sega and released for arcade machines in 1989. The game was ported the same year to the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesi...

Year: 1990 Genre: Brawler

2 players arcade brawler co-op coin-op conversion fantasy hack and slash progressive beat-em-up sword and sorcery

International Karate + amigacommodore-64

International Karate + (also known as IK+, or Chop N' Drop in the US) is a side-view karate fighting game created by System 3 initially for 8-bit platforms (Commodore 64, ZX Spectr...

Year: 1988 Genre: Brawler

2 players brawler c64 original game commodore 64 competitive fighting martial arts

Street Fighter amiga

Street Fighter is a fighting game created by Capcom and released initially as an arcade in 1987. It is the first chapter of the fighting series that became popular thanks to the sequel, Street Fighter II.

Year: 1988 Genre: Brawler

2 players arcade brawler coin-op conversion competitive fighting martial arts

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master genesis

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master is a hack-and-slash platformer game that was developed by Megasoft and published by Sega. It was released in 1993 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive console.

Year: 1993 Genre: Brawler

brawler genesis original game hack and slash japan martial arts ninja progressive beat-em-up side-scrolling

WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game genesis

WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game is a coin-op created by Midway in 1995. It is impossible to deny that many of today's adults grew up with games like Super Mario Bros or Sonic. Bu...

Year: 1995 Genre: Brawler

2 players arcade brawler coin-op conversion competitive fighting licensed motion capture wrestling

Streets of Rage 3 genesis

Streets of Rage 3 is a beat-em-up created by SEGA for the Mega Drive/Genesis, released in 1994. It is the third chapter of the famous Streets of Rage series. After the success of ...

Year: 1994 Genre: Brawler

2 players anime brawler co-op genesis original game progressive beat-em-up side-scrolling