Best arcade beat em up games

The best beat 'em up games of all time for any console or system, ranked by gamers everywhere. These games are ordered by popularity, so only the greatest and most popular titles are always at the top of the list. Spanning the entire history of the genre, these games are considered the best in the genre.

From popular games like features Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City to classic arcade beat 'em ups like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more, this list includes all challenging games that have ever hit the shelves, so it doesn't necessarily have all the more obscure or new beat 'em up games.

This list answers the questions, "What are the best beat 'em up games?" and "What is the greatest beat 'em up game of all time?" Vote up all your favorites below.

• 1

  • Developer: Backbone Entertainment, Konami

  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Kame Ninja in Japan and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in Europe, is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up released by Konami as a ...more

• 2

  • Developer: MNM Software, Sega Wow, Shout!Designworks Co., Ltd., Ancient Corp

  Streets of Rage 2, released in Japan as Bare Knuckle II: The Requiem of the Deadly Battle and in Europe as Streets of Rage II, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released by Sega in 1992 for ...more

• 3

  • Developer: Capcom

  Final Fight is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up produced by Capcom. Originally released as an arcade game in 1989, it was the seventh title released for the CP System hardware. Set in the fictional Metro ...more

• 4

  • Developer: Backbone Entertainment, Konami

  The Simpsons Arcade Game or just The Simpsons is an arcade beat 'em up developed by Konami released in 1991, and the second video game based on The Simpsons franchise, following Bart vs. the Space ...more

• 5

  • Developer: Capcom

  Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, released in Japan as Cadillacs Kyouryuu Shinseiki is a 1993 arcade game by Capcom. It is a side-scrolling beat 'em up based on the comic book series Xenozoic Tales. The game ...more

• 6

  • Developer: Backbone Entertainment, Konami

  X-Men is an arcade game produced by Konami in 1992. It is a side-scrolling beat 'em up based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name. The character designs of the X-Men and the supervillains ...more

• 7

  • Developer: Acclaim Cheltenham, Sega Wow, Aspect, Sega, Telenet Japan

  Golden Axe is a side-scrolling, beat 'em up, hack and slash arcade video game released in 1989 by Sega for the System 16-B arcade hardware. It is the first game in the Golden Axe series. Makoto ...more

• 8

  • Developer: Capcom

  Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara is an arcade game developed and published by Capcom in 1996 as a sequel to Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom. The game is set in the Dungeons & Dragons ...more

• 9

  • Developer: Sega Wow, Overworks, Sega

  Streets of Rage is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1991 for the Sega Genesis. It is the first installment of the Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage series which was followed by Streets of ...more

• 10

  • Developer: Capcom

  Alien vs. Predator is a beat 'em up video game developed and released by Capcom for the CPS-2 arcade game system in 1994. In the game, the players take control of up to three human and Predator ...more

• 11

  • Developer: Sculptured Software, Capcom

  The Punisher is a 1993 beat 'em up arcade game developed and released by Capcom. It stars the Marvel Comics' anti-hero the Punisher and co-stars S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury as the second player's ...more

• 12

  • Developer: Technōs Japan, Arc System Works

  Double Dragon is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed in North America and Europe by Taito. The game is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier ...more

• 13

  • Developer: Capcom

  Knights of the Round is an arcade game released by Capcom in 1991. A side-scrolling beat 'em up based loosely on the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the game features a ...more

• 14

  • Developer: Sega Wow, Sega

  Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder is a side-scrolling beat'em up video game released in 1992 by Sega for the System 32 arcade board. It was the second game in the series. Despite its popularity, ...more

• 15

  • Developer: Sega Wow, Sega

  Golden Axe II is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released for the Sega Mega Drive. It was released on December 26, 1991. It is the home console sequel to the popular game Golden Axe, marking the second ...more

• 16

  • Developer: Technōs Japan

  Double Dragon II: The Revenge is a side-scrolling beat 'em up produced by Technōs Japan originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1988. It is the sequel to Double Dragon, released during ...more

• 17

  • Developer: Dotemu

  Streets of Rage 4 is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game developed by Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games and published by Dotemu. The game is a continuation of Sega's Streets of Rage trilogy, ...more

• 18

  • Developer: Konami

  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, released in Europe as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist and in Japan as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Return of the Shredder is a ...more

• 19

  • Developer: Sega Wow, Overworks, Sega

  Streets of Rage 3, known in Japan as Bare Knuckle III and subtitled Tekken Seiten in pre-release media and the official soundtrack release, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1994 ...more

• 20

  • Developer: Capcom

  Final Fight 3, released in Japan as Final Fight Tough, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up by Capcom originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. It is the second sequel to ...more

• 21

  • Developer: Capcom

  Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom, published in 1993, is the first of two arcade games created by Capcom based on the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game and set in the Mystara campaign ...more

• 22

  • Developer: Capcom

  Captain Commando is a 1991 futuristic side-scrolling beat 'em up game originally developed and published by Capcom as a coin-operated video game, and later ported to several other platforms. It was ...more

• 23

• 24

  • Developer: Sega Wow, Sega

  Golden Axe III is the last installment in the Golden Axe series released for the Sega Mega Drive on June 25, 1993. The cartridge unit was only released in Japan while the North American release was a ...more

• 25

  • Developer: Konami

  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a beat 'em up video game released in 2003 by Konami. The game is based on the 2003 TV series. The main gameplay loosely adapts the following season one episodes: ...more