 We're long overdue for another List video, and I have to admit I feel a little silly doing this one. Some guys arbitrary ranking of some games who cares, but in my own defense I feel like beat'em ups is a good category for a list like this, because the primary modern criticism of the genre is that many of the games blend together, and that the gameplay is too monotonous and repetitive. So that said, I thought it would be useful to explain why I think each of these games is worth checking out today and why they they stand out amongst the beat em up crowd. Bear in mind that every one of these games I'm mentioning here is multiplayer, except for one that I'll point out. 13. To start with, here's a game that never left Japan in Iron Commando. This may look and play like a final fight clone, but what sets this game apart are the sheer amount of weapons you get to use. Everything from baseball bats, hunting knives, handguns, shotguns, machine guns, with the catch being that most of the enemies you encounter also have all these weapons. This game is like a battle royale of sheer violence. It's a really tough game that stretches out across ten levels with two playable characters, but it's a lot of fun. The Super Nintendo never got a Punisher game, but Iron Commando is as close as you'd get. 12. Captain Commando. This is an arcade port, and of course this isn't going to quite measure up to that version, but if you want to play a co-op beat em up on the Super Nintendo hardware, then this port isn't a bad way to go. There's four playable characters and nine levels, and I've long said the main appeal of this one is just the bizarreness of it all. Everything from the enemy design to this mech baby that you can control. It's almost like the dev team was so tired of beat em ups that they decided to throw just whatever crazy stuff they could think of into this game, and it makes for an entertaining playthrough that goes by quickly. 11. Sonic Blastman 2. This is an even faster paced playthrough featuring one of my favorite playable characters ever in Sonya. You can just fly through this game with her. It's great. This one's a bit similar to Captain Commando, just a little bit better executed. The graphics and art design are a bit sharper, the hit detection is a bit more on point, and like I said it cuts a quick pace thanks to the dash and roll mechanics with five levels and three characters you can play as. Definitely check this one out. 10. Super Double Dragon takes a bit of a different approach, harkening back to the days of the first Double Dragon game with more of a grappling system where your first priority is to react to your enemy's attack, block accordingly, and take advantage. It's executed really well. The move set is surprisingly deep, with seven levels and two characters. Some people may not enjoy the slower pace of this one, but Super Double Dragon deserves a look because it's unique among its peers. No other game on this list plays like this one. 9. Ninja Warriors. This is another arcade port, and it's another one that's really well done, although I should point out that this is the only game on this list that's single player only, so keep that in mind. Ninja Warriors utilizes a strict 2D side-scrolling plane so there's no Z-axis to worry about. There's three playable characters and eight levels with unlimited continues, and what I really like is the momentum meter below that fills up for every successful hit you make, leading to a clear screen attack, but the meter loses all momentum if you take damage. There's a ton of moves here, and it's fun to play around with each character to see whose move set fits the way you play the best. This is the rare instance where the Super Nintendo game is actually much better than the arcade game. 8. Knights of the Round. If you'd rather have your beat-'em-ups have a role-playing game slant, then try this one out. This is your classic Capcom SNES arcade port, and the pixel art here is spectacular looking, from the three characters you play as to the huge bosses that nearly take up half the screen, and what sets this game apart a bit is that there's a leveling system here that upgrades your weapon and armor, the more bad guys you wipe out and the more points you accumulate across seven levels. All three characters are very distinct too in terms of speed and strength, which adds a lot of replay value. 7. Battletoads and Double Dragon. This is a great combination of two distinct franchises, and the mashup works really well and feels organic. You can play as all five characters, and the moves you can do with the Double Dragon guys in particular are really cool, especially with the weapons. There's seven levels and they alternate between a Battletoads-type theme and a Double Dragon-type theme. It's executed really well. This is just a very polished game with all sorts of cartoon-like carnage straight out of what you'd see in a Saturday morning cartoon. 6. Batman Returns. This is as good as a licensed Final Fight clone as you could ask for. It's the template for the kind of game everyone wanted from every superhero. The sprites are huge in detail, the enemy design is varied throughout the seven levels which help stunt the monotony, and the game even throws in a few bonus levels with the Batmobile. Batman Returns is a beat-em-up at heart, though. I mean, of course it is. It's frickin' Batman. It's early 90's Konami. You can't go wrong with that combination, and this game is proof. 7. Ghost Chaser Densei. Going a bit off the radar with this one that was only released in Japan for Super Famicom. This is another one that looks and plays like Final Fight, but the major difference is the double team moves you can do with the second player. It's so great. Single player is great, too, since the move sets for all three characters are pretty deep like this flame kick you can do, or this dragon punch, and most of the moves are pretty easy to figure out, too. If you haven't played this one, definitely check it out if you're into 16-bit beat-em-ups. 4. The Peacekeepers. This is the third game in the Rushing Beat series. It's predecessors going by the titles Rival Turf and Brawl Brothers in North America, the Japanese title of this one being Rushing Beat Shura. If you prefer a beat-em-up with some story and branching paths, then this one is for you, plus this game has a berserker mode. If you take enough damage, you start to flash red, and then you're just slinging fools across the screen left and right. It's so awesome. There's four characters here, and interestingly there's a one-on-one fighting mode here that supports up to four players. Peacekeepers gets kinda glossed over when it comes to the best Super Nintendo beat-em-ups, but in my opinion it's a great game. 3. Final Fight 3. The best way to describe this one is that it's one of the most complete games on the Super Nintendo. It looks great, it sounds great, the music is awesome, the moveset is fantastic. Everything about this game has just executed so well. It takes everything from Final Fight 2 and makes it that much better. There's four characters, there's a CPU co-op mode, so even playing single-player, you can have a partner if you'd like, and the game moves along at a quick pace making this one of the best playthroughs in the entire SNES catalog. 2. King of Dragons. What I admire most about this game is that it was made by people that understand the inherent problems with beat-em-ups, and the game addresses them by having five completely different characters with different weapons and ranges of motion, which adds a lot of replay value, and by having short levels that don't waste your time. King of Dragons almost plays like a boss gauntlet at times, and I mean that in the best possible way. This is a fast, entertaining playthrough that holds up really well today. 1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4. Turtles in Time. Well duh, of course this is going to be number one. This is one of the ten best Super Nintendo games ever made, and probably the best licensed game on the system too. Of course this game gets all the traditional beat-em-up stuff right, like hit detection in a varied moveset, and satisfying sound design and all that, but this game just has so much character you never know what to expect next. You're on a train fighting an alligator, you've got foot soldiers on horses, you've got cranks, giant body trying to zap you. It feels like anything can happen, and it's awesome. It's by far the best beat-em-up on the Super Nintendo. Alright, I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.