Once again, another failed top 10 as I kept thinking of more. This is basically a list of Top 12 retro martial art games I encountered from my childhood from beat-em-ups to scrolling platformers to one on ones. There’re probably thousands that I’ve missed and some right classics, especially at the arcade but I tried to play all the good ones. I’m sort of going to list it by the amount of time playing each plus what I’ve played the most and probably still do now. Not going to lie these games are still all worth playing now on emulators. Nostalgia overload.
12. Budokan: The Martial Spirit – Amiga
One of the most realistic martial arts games I ever played. Also released on the Mega Drive. You are put in the place of an aspiring student. The first screen you see is a student walking into a dojo then it zooms out and you get to enter 5 building, each one you practice in a different form of fighting. Unarmed, Kendo, Staff, and Nunchakus. The last building is to enter the tournament when ready. The CPU opponents are not limited to these weapons, and the player may only choose each of his own methods four times before it is no longer available in the tournament. Funny thing is you can select whatever weapon you want no matter the type of fight so you can have the staff against an unarmed opponent but you might need it for later. It really is a great concept but it’s quite tough and I didn’t get too far.
11. Best of the best – Super Nintendo
Nothing to do with the movies. Although this was released across multiple platforms. I Played the Super Nintendo version. You have to train your fighter to raise your stats by doing various exercises in the gym and sparring. Your fighter builds his stamina, strength, and speed to compete with an array of real-life kickboxers emulated within the game. The only downfall I had was you soon lose rhythm with the game. Upon first playing, you learn the controls, beat a couple of opponents, win belts and championships and carry on winning. As soon as I left the game then came back later I lost my rhythm and started losing my belts as I forgot what worked before. More training was probably what was needed. Worth a play even now.
10. Vigilante – Arcade
OK, this one is going to take the place of Kung Fu master because it’s basically the same game but better. Anyone who’s played Kung FU master knows you walk left and kick people that fall off the screen. If they get too close they hold you and drain your health. Same concept here except instead of walking floors you walk the streets, can kick, punch, jump kick and even get Nunchakus. Opponents can carry chains, bars, and guns. Some enemies take multiple hits to defeat. The voices and music are great. Each level finishes with a boss that sometimes is at least 5 foot taller than you. I originally played on the Master System but the Arcade version is best by far.
9. Shaolin’s Road (Kicker) – ZX Spectrum/Arcade
Next up is Shaolin’s road or sometimes known as Kicker. I originally played it on the ZX Spectrum but in terms of gameplay, it’s mostly the same as the arcade. Shaolin’s road is addictive as they come and still is if you played it now. A simple game where you jump platforms and kick or jump kick enemies who then spin off the screen in a comical manner. You can also collect weapons such as fireballs, a giant ball thing that you can control with direction and a force field. After a couple of levels, there will be a boss who you can only really defeat with a weapon.
8. Dragon the Bruce Lee story – Super Nintendo
Released on multiple platforms which were identical on each but I preferred the Super Nintendo version because there was a button for every move. No fireballs, no sonic booms, no ice blasts or Yoga flames. Just pure fighting with your feet and fists. One on One, you play as Bruce Lee and it’s loosely follows scenes from the movie. Each fighter usually has a certain way to beat them and will be susceptible to certain moves. And never forget to do the chest stomp when they are down. Lifesaver. If you build up your bar, you can unlock your fighter mode and Nunchakus too. Is tough but can be beaten. I mainly could never get past the giant ghost thing that would kill me every time. Had a 3-player mode too.
7. The Way of the Exploding Fist – All formats
Pretty much the same game on every format. Probably the first martial arts game I ever played and boy did I play it. Has a multitude of moves, low/mid/high/jump/spinning kicks. Stomach punches, face punches etc. Each direction represents an attack type. One hit knock outs and every time you KO someone you getting half of a ying-yang symbol. Get 2 full symbols and you win the match and move on. I never got it though why sometimes you get a full Ying Yang symbol instead of half. Maybe if you performed a hard to do move. I played this game so much as a kid and could only get to the 4th match which was 4th dan belt. You go up in dan’s every time you win a match. There were sequels to this such as IK+ (International Karate) which had 3 guys facing off and you could get up from your knockdowns. Also, a great game.
6. Shinobi – Arcade
The original Shinobi is still my favorite out the entire series. Later sequels were The Revenge of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer which I also owned. Shinobi was platforming at it’s finest. Scroll right throwing ninja stars at everything collecting kidnapped children. Collect enough and upgrade to this little gun thing that he holds weird. Press the special button and perform a ninjutsu attack that kills everything on the screen and hits the bosses 3 times. I always loved the bonus level which just shows your hand in point of view throwing ninja stars at ninjas that are running back and forth and jumping towards you. They get all the way to you and you lose. Got to the very last stage but never could complete it, too many ninjas about.
5. Shadow Warriors – Arcade
More commonly known as Ninja Gaiden. Before Ryu Hayabusa was chopping heads off on the Xbox 360 and featuring in the Dead or Alive series he was in an awesome scrolling beat-em-up. It was completely different on the Nintendo and Master system but I always preferred the Arcade version. I had it on the ZX spectrum which wasn’t a great port. The Amiga had an awesome port. You simply walk right while beating up big muscular dudes in hockey masks who smash through telephone boxes, barrels, park benches and whatever else you kick them into. Eventually, you upgrade to the swords. The bosses were stupidly hard but a great game. Had one of the best continue screens as well.
4. Street Fighter 2 – Arcade, Mega Drive, Nintendo
I Don’t think there’s a person on the planet that don’t know what this is. When I very first got a Super Nintendo, I got this with it. Everyone else got the Mario World bundle. What I loved about it was the different style of fighters. The 2 karate guys Ken and Ryu. The typical wrestle Zangief. The Boxer Balrog. Muay Thai guy Sagat. Whatever the hell Blanka was. Seen as there wasn’t really any one on one fighting games on the 8-bit Nintendo which I had before this and I didn’t have an Amiga or Mega Drive at that point this was the first proper one on one beat em up I played and it blew my mind at the time. A hundred thousand sequels and spin-offs later it’s still going strong.
3. Mortal Kombat – Arcade, Mega Drive
Much like street fighter, everyone has heard of this. I’ve never known a game to create such a buzz as this one did. Even the original advert was epic and we all know why. Because of the gore. The first game to really portray such gore or even purposely inflicting it on a defeated opponent. I got the Mega Drive version of course to get the gore. Watching as the Nintendo people looked on in envy still trying to justify their version. That was until Mortal Kombat 2 came out which had all the gore on the Nintendo and was clearly the better port but hey. Let’s not get into the whole what better Mega Drive of Super Nintendo debate which is still going on now. Just check YouTube.
2. Final Fight/Streets of Rage – Arcade/Mega Drive
Final Fight is so high because at the time I loved scrolling beat-em-ups and this really did tick all the boxes. You can select from 3 characters. I used to choose Guy the martial arts guy who had an awesome spin kick. Sega’s answer to this was Streets of Rage which is awesome and very similar. Choose 3 characters and take on all coming with anything weapons you can get your hands on such as bats, iron bars, knifes, bottles etc. I really couldnt include one without the other. I always preferred Final Fight. Originally started as a sequel to the Original street fighter It was going to be called Street Fighter 89 but it was so different they changed it to Final Fight. There’re still little cameos in other Final Fight games from Street Fighter characters and eventually, the Final Fight characters would be playable in later Street Fighter games such as the alpha series. It’s still a great game even today
1. Double Dragon – Arcade
Out of all the arcade games, non-I’ve played more than the original Double Dragon. I put more money in that than anything and I got so good at it I could complete it with 1 pound. It must have been ported to every format and believe me, I tried them all, non-held a candle to the arcade. Even the mega drive version was poor. The closest to the arcade I found was actually the Atari Lynx version. I also had the very poor ZX Spectrum version which I completed, naturally. At the time it was quite a violent game I mean what other game could you grab and guy by the hair and knee him in the face, then throw him to his death. Some other notable versions which were good in their own way were the Nintendo version and Master System Version. The Super Nintendo version Super Double Dragon was also good but it’s so different it’s like a different game. The sequel Double Dragon 2 was also great even if the controls were a little backward. The Amiga had a great port of this. Still a great 2 player game even to this day. So, put down the Tekken 7’s and Call of Duties and play some Double Dragon.
Some honorable mentions go to:
Bushido Blade – PS1 (no really retro but old enough)
Pit Fighter -Arcade
The last Ninja – Commodore 64
Renegade and Target Renegade – ZX Spectrum
Violence fight – Arcade
Vendetta – Arcade
Yie AR Kung-Fu – Arcade
