When you think of fighting and beat em up retro games you might first think of some arcade classics or even some famous 16-bit console fighting games. However 8-bit gamers certainly had some fun too, especially on the NES. In this post I’ll take a look at some of the best NES fighting and beat em up games.
More NES Gaming Fun:
- My Top 10 NES Games
- All You Need To Know About NES Black Box Games
- The Best NES Ninja Games
- The Best NES Racing Games
- All NES WWF Games
The Best NES Fighting Games
Let’s dive into my top 10 NES fighting and beat em up games. Get ready for quirky characters, famous franchises and more.
1. BattleToads Double Dragon
“Battletoads & Double Dragon,” released for the NES in 1993, brilliantly merges two of the most iconic beat-’em-up franchises of its time, creating a unique and enjoyable gaming experience. The game features an engaging crossover story where the Battletoads team up with the Lee brothers from Double Dragon to combat a common enemy. Players are offered a diverse selection of five playable characters, each with their own unique combat moves, adding significant replay value.
The game design includes colorful and vibrant graphics that are visually appealing for the NES era, alongside a catchy, adrenaline-pumping soundtrack that sets the tone for the action. The levels are cleverly designed, offering a balance of challenging enemies, intricate platforming sequences, and memorable boss fights. This makes “Battletoads & Double Dragon” a standout NES fighting game that successfully delivers an exciting and memorable beat-’em-up experience while paying homage to two beloved franchises.
2. Kung Fu
“Kung Fu,” released for the NES in 1985, is based on Kung Fu Master the seminal arcade-style beat-’em-up game. This game offers straightforward, yet addictive gameplay that challenges players to navigate a series of floors in a temple, each with its own set of enemies and a challenging boss at the end. With its simple controls—comprising of punches, kicks, and jumps— “Kung Fu” is easy to pick up and play, making it accessible to gamers of all ages and skill levels.
Despite its apparent simplicity, the game requires precise timing and strategy, ensuring that it offers a genuinely engaging experience that keeps players coming back for more. The game’s graphics, while basic compared to later NES titles, are clean and clear, effectively conveying the action and movement of characters. Moreover, “Kung Fu” is a nostalgic classic that helped establish the beat-’em-up genre, making it not only a fun game but an important part of video game history.
3. Double Dragon 2
“Double Dragon II: The Revenge,” released for the NES in 1989, is a quintessential beat-’em-up game that stands as one of the pillars of its genre. Building on the foundation of its predecessor, this sequel enhances the player experience through refined gameplay mechanics, engaging level design, and improved graphics. Unique to this installment is its innovative combat system, which features different attack moves depending on the direction the player is facing—adding a layer of strategy and depth that sets it apart from many other beat-’em-ups of the time.
The game is renowned for its co-op mode, allowing two players to take on the roles of brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee as they fight to avenge Marian. This cooperative gameplay is a defining feature, making it a memorable experience to tackle the game’s challenges with a friend. The stages are diverse and filled with a variety of enemies, intricate obstacles, and intense boss fights, all set to a memorable and motivating chiptune soundtrack.
4. River City Ransom
“River City Ransom,” released for the NES in 1989, is a standout beat-’em-up game that ingeniously blends action, RPG elements, and a quirky sense of humor into a memorable gaming experience. In the game, players navigate through various urban environments as high school students Alex and Ryan, on a mission to rescue a kidnapped girlfriend from a villainous gang leader. Unique for its time, “River City Ransom” incorporates RPG elements, allowing players to upgrade their characters by purchasing food, books, and equipment, which enhance their stats and grant new abilities. This feature adds a strategic layer to the game, encouraging players to earn money from defeated foes and thoughtfully select their upgrades.
The game’s graphical style is endearing, with expressive sprite-based characters and a vibrant cityscape that serves as a playful backdrop for the brawling action. A distinctive aspect of the game is its humorous tone, with enemies spouting amusing lines as they are defeated. The cooperative two-player mode is another highlight, letting friends team up for a joint adventure, which was a novel and engaging feature at the time.
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project,” released for the NES in 1992, is a standout beat-’em-up game that captures the essence of the beloved TMNT franchise, offering a perfect blend of action, challenge, and fun. Building upon its predecessors, this third installment takes the Turtles on a mission across various settings to rescue April O’Neil and Manhattan from the clutches of Shredder.
Players can choose from the four iconic turtles—Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael—each with unique and specialized attack moves. The game stands out for its excellent cooperative two-player mode, allowing friends to team up and strategize as they navigate through levels packed with diverse enemies and engaging boss battles.
The graphics are vibrant and detailed for the NES era, successfully recreating the Turtles’ universe and bringing each character to life. The game also boasts an energetic and memorable soundtrack that complements the action on screen. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project” showcases the NES’s capability to offer a rich and entertaining gaming experience, making it a beloved classic and a high point in the TMNT video game series.
6. Mighty Final Fight
“Mighty Final Fight,” released for the NES in 1993, is a delightful and memorable spin on the classic “Final Fight” series, reimagining the gritty urban brawler with a charming, chibi-style aesthetic. Despite its late release in the NES lifecycle, the game stands out as a polished and engaging beat-’em-up experience. Players can choose from one of the three iconic fighters—Cody, Guy, or Haggar—as they embark on a quest through Metro City to rescue Jessica from the Mad Gear Gang.
The game also has an RPG-like leveling system, where players can earn experience points to increase their character’s health and unlock powerful new moves, adding a layer of strategy and progression uncommon in the beat-’em-up genre of the time. The graphics are vibrant and cartoonish, giving the game a unique and playful visual identity compared to its more serious arcade counterpart. The controls are tight and responsive, making the combat satisfying and fun. Plus, the game’s soundtrack is energetic and catchy, effectively setting the tone for each stage of action.
7. Tecmo World Wrestling
“Tecmo World Wrestling,” released for the NES in 1989, stands as a defining entry in the wrestling video game genre, offering an experience that goes beyond the typical button-mashing of many contemporary titles. The game features a roster of 10 international wrestlers, each with their own unique moves and attributes, providing a range of options for players to find a wrestler that suits their playing style. A standout feature of “Tecmo World Wrestling” is its play-by-play commentary—a rarity for sports games of this era—which adds to the drama and excitement of each match, making players feel like they are participating in a televised event.
The controls are responsive and precise, allowing for a deeper, more strategic wrestling experience as players need to learn the right moves and the optimal times to execute them. In addition to the matches themselves, the game includes training sequences between bouts, where players can improve their wrestler’s abilities. The graphics are detailed and dynamic for an NES title, and the game makes great use of the system’s capabilities to create a convincing wrestling atmosphere.
Find out about all the NES WWF wrestling games
8. Pro Wrestling
“Pro Wrestling” for the NES, released in 1987, is widely regarded as a seminal title in the wrestling game genre, and it holds a special place in the hearts of retro gaming enthusiasts. What sets “Pro Wrestling” apart is its straightforward yet deeply engaging gameplay mechanics. Players can choose from a roster of distinctive wrestlers, each with their own unique set of moves, allowing for a more personalized and strategic approach to each match.
The game successfully captures the spirit of professional wrestling with a variety of attack moves, holds, and throws, encouraging players to experiment and develop their own wrestling style. Adding to its charm is the memorable, albeit quirky, cast of characters, from Fighter Hayabusa to Starman, that have since become iconic in their own right.
The graphics, while simple by today’s standards, are clean and effective, presenting clear and recognizable characters and actions that were quite impressive for the time. Moreover, “Pro Wrestling” is renowned for its two-player mode, allowing friends to face off in the ring, which was a defining social gaming experience of its era. Beyond the nostalgia it holds for many, “Pro Wrestling” on the NES stands as a foundational title that set important gameplay and design standards for future wrestling games.
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters,” released for the NES in 1993, stands as a unique and engaging departure from the beat-’em-up style of previous TMNT games, transitioning into the competitive fighting game genre. This game allows players to choose from a roster of characters from the TMNT universe, each with their own distinctive set of moves and abilities, making for diverse and strategic battles.
The controls are responsive and intuitive, enabling players to execute a variety of attacks, blocks, and special moves, making combat both accessible for newcomers and deep enough for seasoned players. Graphically, “Tournament Fighters” is among the more impressive titles for the NES, with detailed and colorful character sprites and varied, well-designed stages that effectively capture the aesthetic of the TMNT world.
A standout feature of the game is its competitive two-player mode, allowing friends to face off in tense and exciting battles, heightening the game’s replay value significantly. Adding to the experience is a catchy and adrenaline-pumping soundtrack that perfectly complements the fast-paced action of the fights. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters” for the NES is celebrated as a strong and satisfying entry in the fighting game genre, offering a unique twist on the beloved TMNT franchise.
10. Punch Out
Punch Out is a beloved and iconic boxing game that offers a unique blend of strategic combat, pattern recognition, and reflex-based gameplay that still resonates with players today. In the game, players step into the shoes of Little Mac, an underdog boxer, as he battles his way through a series of increasingly challenging opponents in pursuit of the championship title.
Where do I start with Punch Out? This is one of my all-time favourite games of all time and on any system. The graphics are fantastic, it has great humour, and it starts off pretty easy but eventually gets quite tough as you try to progress Little Mac past each opponent. The later stages can be pretty unforgiving if you haven’t played for a while and you really have to remember your opponent’s fight patterns and be spot on with your reactions.
The characters really make the game too with such opponents as King Hippo, Don Flamenco and Bald Bull to name a few. Fortunately, the game also has a password system so that you don’t have to always start right at the beginning of the game when you return to it.
Fighting and Beat Em Games for the NES
So there you have a selection of the best NES beat em up and fighting games that will certainly keep you entertained for a good few hours. There are some absolute classic games here and fighting game fans were certainly spoiled for choice on the NES.
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