Best Beat’em Ups on the Sega Genesis

Sega did an excellent job bringing the arcade experience to their home consoles. This was their strategy to be successful in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. They made some spectacular arcade games, which created the foundation for their library.

There are a ton of spectacular beat’em ups on the Sega Genesis. Sega made many, but there were also many great games from other companies like Konami, Data East, and Taito. They helped to make the Genesis/Mega Drive an excellent console for the genre.

I put together this list of the system’s fifteen best beat’em ups. There are others that I considered, but these are the games that I felt were the best. Let’s get into the list and see what is out there.

Bottom Line up Front: There are some of the Best Beat’em Up games on the Sega Genesis.

Selection criteria

Let’s talk about what qualifies for this list. I’m not just going to be putting any random game on this list. Here are the criteria I used to compile this list:

• In my personal collection
• Released in North America
• I had to enjoy the game

Alien Storm

Developer: Sega

Genre: Beat’em up

Review Score: 61/100 (GameRankings)

This is a fun beat’em up where you fight off an alien invasion. There are three playable characters, and each of them plays differently. There is also some variety to the gameplay, with first-person rail-shooter stages mixed in.

Like many Beat’em Ups, the game can get a little repetitive on some stages. The controls are simple, and it is a faithful port of the arcade game. While I like the beat’em up stages, the rail shooter stages are fantastic! They were a nice change of pace from the rest of the game.

What is interesting about Alien Storm is the way it was made. You’ll see many similarities with the late 80s beat’em ups that Sega made. Alien Storm uses the same game engine as Golden Axe and Streets of Rage.

Streets of Rage

Developer: Sega

Genre: Beat’em up

Review Score: 36/40 (Electronic Gaming Monthly)

This is one of my favorite series of Beat’em Ups. The first one is a spectacular game! The music is incredible, the graphics are great, and the gameplay is terrific!

Like many Beat’em Ups from this time, the story is very basic. These games don’t need a complicated story, but there needs to be a reason for why you’re punching seemingly random people and why they want to punch you. Streets of Rage is a short game, but it isn’t dull.

This is one of the games that I always assumed was in the arcades. It uses the Golden Axe engine but was made for the home console. There are many similarities between the two series, but I like this one better. Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage II are some of the best games on the Genesis/Mega Drive.

Streets of Rage 2

Developer: Sega

Genre: Beat’em up

Review Score: 5/5 (GamePro)

This is my favorite of the original trilogy. I’ve gone back and forth on this game and the first, but I think this is the best of these three games. Streets of Rage 2 felt a bit easier than the first game.

You fight the same group of bad guys in this game as you did in the first game. It isn’t all that crazy, and it makes more sense than other Beat’em Up games. This game has a few more playable characters than in the previous one. Aside from that, everything feels the same as the first game, but in a good way.

I like this game a lot! Sega got everything right with this game, and it is so much fun to play! This is another game that I have a ton of memories of playing with my friends. This is another series my friends and I discovered in high school, and we played it quite a bit.

Splatterhouse 3

Developer: Namco

Genre: Beat’em up

Review Score: 4/5 (AllGame)

This game is a ton of fun but can be a little stressful because of the time limit. You have to save a character before the time limit expires, or you won’t get the best ending. It adds a level of stress to a Beat’em Up that doesn’t need to be in the game.

The game picks up five years after the second game. Rick and Jennifer have a child, and everything is happy. Then, the Evil One shows up and kidnaps both Jennifer and David. Rick uses the Terror Mask once again. Once he defeats the Evil One, he has to try to destroy the mask permanently.

As much as I like this game and the series as a whole, there are some odd things about it. It is the first game in the series that feels like a Beat’em UP, but it also has a more involved story than other entries on the list. It is a fun horror-themed Beat’em Up.

Captain America and the Avengers

Developer: Data East

Genre: Beat’em Up and Shoot’em Up

Review Score: 8/10 (My Score)

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I first played this game. I had no idea it was a port of an arcade game, and I didn’t know it would be as good as it was. Captain America and the Avengers is a multi-genre arcade game with Beat’em Up and Shoot’em Up levels.

Captain America and the Avengers has a very comic book story. The Red Skull has gathered a bunch of villains to take over the world or destroy it, and it is up to the Avengers to defeat him. It is simple, creates a reason for the villains being there, and gives the player a clear goal to achieve.

This game was a lot of fun to play! The heroes were fun to play, except Hawkeye, who sucked, the graphics were outstanding, and it was challenging enough not to be boring. Having a little variety in the gameplay was great!

The Punisher

Developer: Capcom

Genre: Beat’em up

Review Score: 73/100 (GameRankings)

The Punisher is an arcade beat’em up that I didn’t know existed when I was a kid. It is entertaining, even if I would rather play the X-Men or Spider-Man arcade games. The Genesis port looks very good and is much better than the other Punisher games released around this time.

There is something odd about this game. You can play as either The Punisher or as Nick Fury. I’m not sure why there are only two playable characters or why they didn’t use characters from the Punisher comics. It is similar to how I felt about Sega’s Spider-Man beat’em up.

In this game, you’re trying to defeat the Kingpin. You’ll have to fight a bunch of other characters from the comics, at least enemies that make sense for the Punisher to fight. This is the more grounded of the Marvel Comics beat’em ups.

Golden Axe

Developer: Sega

Genre: Beat’em up

Review Score: 8.75/10 (Game Informer)

This game is a classic! When I first started collecting video games, I stumbled across this series and really enjoyed it. My friends and I played it a lot in high school.

In this game, you play as one of three characters. There is magic in the game that acts as your special attacks. This is a good port of an enjoyable arcade game. It was a ton of fun to play with my friends.

My memories of this game are tied to the discovery of the Genesis library. There were so many games I didn’t know about because I was reliant on my friends to learn about new games. While most of them had a Sega Genesis, they tended to rent the same games, and many of those games were sports games.

Golden Axe II

Developer: Sega

Genre: Beat’em up

Review Score: 66/100 (GameRankings)

I like this one a little more than the first game. It kept everything from the first game and made it better for the home console. Golden Axe II is one of the many games I learned about in high school. With no arcade near me, I had to find a copy on the Genesis.

Like the previous game, you have three selectable characters and a magic point system for the special attacks. This is a familiar formula, and Sega has made a bunch of games using it. The only bad thing I can say is that they didn’t try anything new.

This was one of the many games that my friends and I played in high school. For some reason, we all bought the Sega Genesis, and while I knew of some of the games, we all discovered the library together. It was a ton of fun, something that I imagine other groups of friends had done at some point.

Altered Beast

Developer: Sega

Genre: Side-scrolling Beat’em up

Review Score: 51/100 (GameRankings)

Altered Beast gets some flack today. It isn’t the best beat’em up, but it showed off what the Sega Genesis could do well. It was the first pack-in game for the system, and it is a fun game for what it is.

You play as a Roman Centurian who was brought back to life to save a goddess. You punch and kick enemies until you’ve collected three power-ups. These come in the form of blue spheres that are dropped by blue cows. Once you’ve collected three, your character transforms into a beast form, and the boss battle is unlocked.

Altered Beast is a short game. It might take some time to adjust, but it isn’t an overly challenging game to beat. It is an early Genesis/Mega Drive game that occasionally can be fun to revisit.

Toxic Crusaders

Developer: Sega

Genre: Multi-genre

Review Score: 6.5/10 (My Score)

This is probably a strange game to have on this list. I liked this game more than most probably do. It tries to do something with a Saturday Morning Cartoon, and I think the developers made a fun game.

While primarily a Beat’em Up, Toxic Crusaders includes Shoot’em Up sections as well as Platforming. This is often a recipe for disaster, but Toxic Crusaders does a decent job with it. There can be issues with hit detection and cheap deaths, but I don’t think they’re a big deal.

This is another game that is based on an R-rated movie. Granted, it is based on the cartoon version of those movies, but the films are the original source material. This would’ve fit in perfectly in the gross-out phase of the 90s. It is a flawed game that is fun for what it is. Maybe the new version will be better.

Cyborg Justice

Developer: Appaloosa Interactive

Genre: Beat’em Up

Review Score: 7.5/10 (My Score)

In this game, you play as a Cyborg, and if you beat the game, you’ll end up ruling a planet full of other Cyborgs. It has a very depressing ending when you think about it. Your character is trapped in a cyborg body, you can’t leave the planet, and you’re trapped in this double prison forever. At least you’re in charge.

This is an interesting Beat’em Up. You’ll only fight two enemies at a time, and the final battle is against a giant brain in a jar. You can customize your Cyborg before the start of the game, and there is a possibility of picking up another weapon by ripping the arms off your enemies. You’ll also get more points for brutally beating the other Cyborgs.

I was extremely interested in this game’s story, which I don’t normally say about a Beat’em Up. However, none of your questions are answered, and you don’t really win. It would’ve been nice if you learned what was happening with the planet you crashed on, but that wasn’t important to the developers.

TMNT: The HyperStone Heist

Developer: Konami

Genre: Beat’em Up

Review Score: 9/10 (My Score)

This is arguably the best Beat’em Up on the Sega Genesis. It is a game that I didn’t know about until I started looking for games on the internet. This was in the 2010s when I started collecting video games again.

You’re trying to stop Shredder like the other TMNT video games, cartoons, and movies. I don’t think this game takes anything from the comics. The graphics and gameplay are fantastic! It is a wonderful game to play.

I loved HyperStone Heist! It was a game that I’ve tried before, but didn’t get into it all that much. When I played it recently, I think it is one of, if not the best, Beat’em Up on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.

Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game

Developer: Technos (Published by Flying Edge)

Genre: Beat’em Up

Review Score: 42/100 (Sega Retro Aggregate Score)

If you didn’t like the NES version of Double Dragon 3, then give this version a try. It is a much better game that is somewhat easier. It also looks much better and is a fun game overall.

The third game’s story always felt a little off to me. Billy and Jimmy saved their girlfriend, then avenged their girlfriend’s death, and now they’re on a globe-trotting adventure to gather the Rosetta Stones. I guess we all grieve in our own ways, but I would think that going to see a therapist would’ve been a more rational approach.

I tried this game out when I fell down the Flying Edge rabbit hole a while ago. It looks terrific, and it plays well. While I still prefer the second game, this is a good version of the third game. It is much better than the NES version of the game.

Growl

Developer: Taito

Genre: Beat’em Up

Review Score: 57/100 (Sega Retro Aggregate Score)

This is a game that I wanted to like more than I did. Growl has a lot going for it, but some things hold it back. If I had reviewed the arcade version, I might have liked it more than I did.

In Growl, you play as one of four park rangers and fight against an army of poachers. What is very cool is when you save animals from the poachers, they help you fight the boss. I didn’t know I wanted something like this in a video game. The explosions are one of the better things in this game, but there are some problems.

Growl is a single-player-only game on the Genesis. I almost dropped the game from this list because of it, but then I was left with the question of what to put in its place. I kept it on here because it is a fun game despite its flaws.

Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter

Developer: Alminac Corporation

Genre: Beat’em Up/ Fighting Game

Review Score: 8/10 (My Score)

This game reminds me of The Guyver and M.D. Geist. You play as a sword-wielding mutant who fights a bunch of other mutants. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that this game was based on a Manga or Anime. It is based on a Manga, isn’t research fun!

Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter combines Beat’em Up and Fighting game. It can sometimes be frustrating, especially during boss fights, as you learn where to hit them. It looks terrific and plays well.

When it comes to games like this, I wonder how many people knew about the Manga this game was based on. It does make me want to look at Mazinger Z and the MazingSaga manga to see how much of it ended up in the game. It is always fun to learn about new things like this.

Best of the Rest

I couldn’t include everything on this list. I also left off the Japanese and European exclusive games. At some point, I might do a ranking list of the beat’em ups on the Sega Genesis, but that was beyond the scope of what I wanted to do here. Here is a quick rundown of the games I left off of the list:

• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
• The Tick
• Spider-Man (1994)
• SpiderMan/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge
• Battletoads
• DJ Boy
• The Death and Return of Superman
• Mystical Fighter
• Splatterhouse 2
• Streets of Rage 3
• Battletoads/Double Dragon

Conclusion

There were a lot of superhero-themed Beat’em Ups on the Genesis. I was surprised by this and even more surprised by how great they were! It is a little disappointing that companies like Data East and Capcom could bring their games to the home console, but Konami and Sega weren’t. I wonder if it was a licensing issue.

What wasn’t surprising was the number of games that Sega made. They were a staple in the arcade scene throughout the 80s and 90s, and many of those games would form the core of their launch titles for each of their home consoles. Sega has an excellent track record of making quality arcade games, and this list largely reflects this.

There are more Beat’em Ups on the Genesis/Mega Drive. This list is a good starting point for people who want to explore the genre or the Genesis/Mega Drive library. These fifteen games are the ones that I enjoyed while playing through the Beat’em Ups I own for the system.