21-30
Game 21 - Super Double Dragon -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 40/100
While not the worst Double Dragon game I've played recently, it's still pretty awful. Movement is slow as walking through a stream of shit and the visuals are about as bland as I've seen on the SNES. For some reason Jimmy is wearing pink, I have no idea why. The game is entirely lackluster and the adventure you take through the game is entirely forgettable. You don't rescue Marian, you just fight some turd with a pony tail and then it's over. I didn't even realize it was the last boss until the last kick put the game into slow-motion (ironic as the entire game is in slow motion by my standards). Not a great but also not laughably bad like so many of the games in this series. There are some pretty good remixes of the original music in here too.
Game 22 - Battletoads Double Dragon -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 70/100
This is probably the best Double Dragon game and it's a pretty good Battletoads game too. Stripped of the impossible difficulty it's also a manageable game. What it lacks is the music from either Battletoads or Double Dragon. Instead it's mostly noise. The game itself is a fun adventure taking you into space, through a giant ship, back into space, onto a missile and ending... in space. It's a fun romp that ends with an insanely cheap last boss fight against the Dark Queen (the real one with tits and a latex leotard and thigh-highs, not the thunder-thighed flat chested cringe-fest from the new game) that for some reason limits you to a flat plane.
Game 23 - Final Fight 2 -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 70/100
I really liked this game. The gameplay is pretty quick compared to some beat-em-ups but not twitchy. The adventure is really fun spanning the globe as you look for Maki's friend and her father kidnapped by the Mad Gears. The adventure is what makes these games which are often quite repetitive so enjoyable. The characters are good too. Carlos is a hilarious new character who swings 2x4s like he's fencing and stands like he has a 2x4 up his ass. Maki is wearing almost an outfit with a little material, a little fishnet and a stripper's ponytail. Then there's Mike Hagar, the mayor who the game describes as the mayor that "Rules" Metro City. I imagine if he was the mayor here I'd probably avoid rattling any cages lest he take hold of me, stuff my head in his sweaty crotch, leap 30feet in the air and turn my head into a can of pizza sauce as we crash into the ground. The game has a few cameos too, you'll see Street Fighter's Chun-Li eating at a food stall in China and Guile hanging out at the military base in France for example. The game has you taking on Rolento who later becomes a fighter in Street Fighter Alpha 2. Good times.
Game 24 - Final Fight 3 -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 75/100
I liked the second game and expected more of that, but this game really threw a lot of changes into the mix for the better. For starters the music is better. The game plays faster and you have more abilities to use including Street Fighter style moves using d-pad inputs (like a Shoryuken or Hadoken motion). In this one you head out around Metro City looking for more garbage people to beat the shit out of. There are four characters you can choose from this time including a bland female police officer and a mysterious fighter who immediately tells you who he is, ruining the mystery. These aren't story-driven games though so who really cares? I think this is the best of the Final fight games on the SNES.
Game 25 - The King of Dragons -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 70/100
This was a pretty cool beat-em-up I wasn't actually aware of. My brother picked it to play so it was a bit of a surprise. You play as a group of six knights, all with different abilities helping people of the land and eventually take on the Red Dragon. The game is pretty cool, allowing you to level up your gear throughout each stage. Better weapons and shields will buffer your character to the point you'll be one-shotting enemies you struggled with earlier. The music... exists. It wasn't unpleasant but it's about on-par for a beat-em-up soundtrack. The game looks pretty nice too, with some creative ways to make bosses seem bigger than they are.The game plays really fast for a beat-em-up, closer to Ninja Turtles than Double Dragon which makes it a lot more engaging than most games in the genre. It's definitely worth a playthrough.
Game 26 - Captain Commando -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 65/100
What an odd game. You play as a Mummy commando, Captain Commando himself, a Ninja commando or a baby driving an adult human-sized Mech. This game takes you to the streets to mop up local crime (imagine that) and takes you for a bit of a ride through several interesting locales including an aquarium, the circus, a spaceship and... another planet? You fight a pile of strangely named enemies and bosses before coming back to earth a hero. The game plays quick which is always nice in this genre. The levels vary enough to keep things interesting and fun. Definitely another beat-em-up worth trying.
Game 26.5 - Captain Commando -
Switch - Completed 2P playthrough - 70/100
This is the arcade version of Captain Commando which is a much better game overall than the SNES port. Better stages, bigger and better enemies and just more punch to the gameplay. If I hadn't already played the SNES version the adventure would have been even better with all the wacky locales you visit, including a trip into outer space.
Game 27 - Knights of the Round -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 70/100
This game was a lot like The King of Dragons in a few ways. Like TKoD you increase your strength as you progress, but this game awards progression based on score and the changes are subtle as you go through the game. For example I used Perceval who wields an axe. When I started he was a big guy wearing pants holding a battle axe, by level 13 he had massive spiked armor, a huge techno-axe and was wearing a speedo as the only cover on his now massively ripped body. This was another pretty fast playing beat 'em up with some pretty nice art. While not on-par with the arcade version it was still pleasant to look at. The music, though not engrained in my memory, was actually decent as well. Definitely worth a shot if you like the genre.
Game 27.5 - Knights of the Round -
Switch - Completed 2P playthrough - 75/100
This is the arcade version of Knights of the Round. It's better in many ways than the SNES port save the music which I found much better on the SNES. As is the case with arcade ports in the day the original has bigger sprites, more enemies on screen and the action goes much faster since the coin-op machine needs you to play your game and fuck off so someone else can pile quarters into the thing. This really was a pretty decent beat 'em up.
Game 28 - The Pirates of Dark Water -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 60/100
Pirates of Dark water is based off a cartoon that ran for a season long ago. It's got a fun cast of pirates running around collecting treasures and eventually taking on the menacing captain... Bloth. Yes, Bloth. Along the way you'll kick the shit out of everyone you meet and face a bunch of really large human boss characters as is the norm for the genre. The games is full of pitfalls, traps and random hazards which get a bit grating but is quite generous with extra lives so even on hard the game is pretty manageable. Early on the game introduces enemy characters in interesting ways similar to a Ninja Turtles title but as you progress enemies start appearing almost exclusively from the screen edges and at this point they have a tendency to hang out off-screen which made for some pretty annoying fights. As for music the game has a few pleasant tracks but overall it's your typical fare for this genre in this era. The adventure was pretty fun though.
Game 29 - Sunset Riders -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 75/100
I played this game on the Genesis in December and I have to say this is another game entirely on the SNES. For starters the music is way better, the game plays faster and the entire game takes on a slight isometric view. The bosses are given hilarious voices in this version that the Genesis game missed as well like "Bury me with my money". There's an entire level that takes place on a train that was missing from the Genesis version as well. The game is a blast to play.
Game 30 - Wild Guns -
SNES - Completed 2P playthrough - 75/100
This is a game I forgot existed and therefore never played until now. It's a shooting gallery game like Cabal, but you play in a steampunk Western setting as either Clint, your typical cowboy based off Clint Eastwood (The Good the Bad and the Ugly theme plays when you get a 1-up), or Annie, a young blonde woman who resembles Little Bo-Peep with about half her tits hanging out and a pretty good view of her legs from the front. The graphics in this game were really nice with a ton of destructible items in the environments and some great animation. The music is really well done and keeps things upbeat through the game. Definitely worth the couple hours it takes to play though.