The Punisher is a good, but basic beat’em up. It is more grounded than the other superhero beat’em ups from the 1990s. This is a Capcom beat’em up, and it was ported to the Sega Genesis.
I couldn’t find any information on a possible SNES port. This is an exclusive game for the Genesis, but it is lacking in some areas. I’ve played this on the Genesis and on my Arcade 1up cabinet.
This is one of the arcade games that I didn’t know about. I also hadn’t heard about the Genesis port of the game. After I played it, I thought it was very good, but not on the same level as the other Capcom beat’em ups. It is probably the weakest of the Marvel beat’em ups.
TLDR: A solid concept that is lacking in the playable characters and replayability.
Narrative
The game follows The Punisher as he tries to get revenge on the people who killed his family. For some reason, Nick Fury is along for the ride. I have no idea how Fury factors into this, as the game is tied to the Punisher’s origin story.
Once you track down the people who ordered the mob hit on his family, the Kingpin steps in. He sent robots after The Punisher, which explains why there are so many robots in the game. After this, you go after the Kingpin’s drug trade.
Then you take the fight to the Kingpin. You fight your way through a bunch of mini-bosses and finally fight the Kingpin. After the fight, the tower collapses. The Kingpin’s body isn’t found in the rubble, which leaves the game open for another game, which we never got.
The story is perfectly fine for a game like this. It isn’t too long, and it does a decent job of explaining what is going on. What I like about it is that it feels like a comic book story. I could see some version of this ending up in the comics.
Gameplay
The Punisher is a side scrolling beat’em up where you play as either The Punisher or Nick Fury. This is a strange combination for me. I’m sure there are stories where these two have teamed up, but I don’t follow comics well enough to know about it.
The playable characters are a real disappointment for me. There are only two, which feels strange for a 1993 beat’em up. Nick Fury is also an odd choice. There had to be other characters from The Punisher comics who could’ve been added to the game.
Part of the problem could’ve been with the rights to the characters. Marvel might’ve handcuffed Capcom, or they might’ve given the rights to other companies. Here are the beat’em ups from Marvel that I know about:
- X-Men – Konami
- Spider-Man – Sega
- Captain America and the Avengers – Data East
- The Punisher – Capcom
If there are others from the 1990s, please let me know.
Similar to other beat’em ups, the player moves through a stage and beats the crap out of enemies. You’ll usually fight four or five at a time. At the end of each stage, you’ll fight a boss. This is another area where the game falls short.
You fight a lot of giant robots. I guess it works in the larger story, but it is really disappointing. The NES game was able to get more characters in as stage bosses, so I’m not sure what the problem was with this game. It does end with a fight against the Kingpin, but there should’ve been more villains.
There are a lot of weapons you can pick up. These range from guns to flame throwers. When you pick up a gun, the enemies get guns. It is kind of funny that the bad guys play by those rules.
Overall, I like the gameplay. It isn’t an ambitious beat’em up, but it is solid. The biggest problem I have is the lack of imagination with this game. There are only two playable characters, and you fight a lot of robots for bosses. The Genesis port of the game came out two years after the arcade game, and I couldn’t tell if anything was added to the console version.
Visuals
This is the bright spot of the Sega port of the game. It isn’t too far off from the arcade version of the game. There was quite a bit of censorship in this game. This makes it a little worse than the arcade version, but not by much.
This game did take a hit when coming over to the home console. Much of it had to do with the female ninjas getting more clothes. Some of the destructible items in the arcade were no longer destructible. Smoking was also removed, and some of the violence was toned down.
I don’t think this had a big impact on the game. When I compare it to the arcade version, I do think it is a downgrade. It is still a great looking Genesis game, despite the censorship.
The stages and stage bosses look okay. Enemy and player sprites look good enough for the home console. Everything looks good, just not as good as the arcade game.
Overall, the game has good graphics. I like the cutscenes, the detail on the sprites, and some of the small touches in the game. The Punisher is a very good looking game for 1995.
Reviews at the Time
This game received mixed reviews on the Genesis. The highest scores were in the mid-8s, and the lowest scores were very low. The Punisher received a few 1/5s and 1/10s when it was released, which really stands out to me. I looked at three publications for this.
Next Generation gave the game a 1/5. The reviewer didn’t like the genre as a whole; they even took a shot at Final Fight. I’m not sure why this person agreed to review it. They wrap things up by saying the developer “deserves a good spanking” for making this game. At least they didn’t call for anyone’s death.
Game Power gave the game a 3.8/5. Sadly, the review isn’t in English, so I couldn’t get much out of it. The two areas that received the highest scores were controls and fun factor. I like the graphics more than this reviewer, but not much more.
Video Games gave the game a 7/10. It is a short review, and the reviewer compared the game to Final Fight. I think this comparison was only made because of Capcom. They called the game decent, but it didn’t do anything new.
The reviews were a little strange. You can tell when a reviewer hates a genre, developer, or a particular game. One reviewer clearly hated Final Fight and the beat’em up genre. The Punisher is a fairly standard beat’em up, and it is much better than a 1/5.
8/10. This is one of the better beat’em ups on the Sega Genesis. It isn’t as good as Streets of Rage II, Golden Axe II, or a few of the more quirky beat’em ups. I still like the game quite a bit more than some of the average games on the system.
Pros
- Good Graphics
- Great Controls
Cons
- Repetitive
- Only two playable characters
Conclusion
It is always fun to learn about a new video game. Even if it is a retro game, it can be new to you if you’ve never played it before. I never look at the reviews of something before I play it; that way, I can make up my own mind. The other thing I don’t do is go to forums to talk about these games.
When I first played this game, it was on an Arcade 1up cabinet. I really liked it, and then looked for the home console ports. It turned out that I had it in my collection, and I had completely forgotten about it.
The Punisher made my list of the best beat’em ups on the Genesis. That is how much I like the game. It isn’t the best beat’em up, but it is one of my favorites. If it were on the SNES, then I don’t think it would be on that list. At the end of the day, I enjoyed this game, and that is why I ranked it so highly.
If you liked this post, please check out my other Beat’em up posts. Some examples are Marvel Cosmic Invasion or King of Dragons.