Best Beat 'Em Ups of All Time and Where to Play Them Now

A beat 'em up is simple to describe: walk right, fight crowds of enemies, beat the boss, repeat with a friend beside you. The good ones differ in how much control you have over a crowd and whether there is anything to come back for after the credits. This list picks the best of the arcade era and the modern revival, says where you can legally play each one today, and who it suits.

A game earned its place by still being fun to play now rather than by nostalgia alone. Many classics are only playable today Inside collections, so each entry names the current release. Where there is none, it says so. Store libraries change, so check before you buy.

Sega's sequel gave each of its four fighters (Axel, Blaze, Max and Skate) a different speed and reach, plus two special moves that cost a little health to clear space around you. The soundtrack, by Yuzo Koshiro with Motohiro Kawashima, is club music from 1992 and still the most-quoted thing about it.

• Where to play it now: in Sega Genesis Classics (PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC) and the Sega Genesis library of Nintendo Switch Online with the Expansion Pack.
• Who it suits: anyone; it is the best place to start the genre.

Dotemu, Lizardcube and Guard Crush picked the series up 26 years later with hand-drawn art and a combo system the originals never had: you can juggle enemies in the air and bounce them off walls. Special moves cost health, but you win it back if you keep hitting without being hit, which rewards aggressive play. The Mr. X Nightmare DLC (2021) added three fighters and a survival mode.

• Where to play it now: PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC.
• Who it suits: fans of the originals, and players who want a beat 'em up with a real combo system.

Konami's four-player arcade game sends the turtles through time periods from prehistory to the future. Each turtle plays slightly differently, and the SNES version (1992) reworked several stages; its best-remembered moment is throwing Foot Soldiers at the screen.

• Where to play it now: TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection (2022) on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC includes both the arcade and SNES versions, with online play for the arcade games. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (2022) is a modern follow-up for up to six players on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC.
• Who it suits: groups of up to four, and anyone who watched the 1987 cartoon.

Capcom's huge, detailed character sprites made it the arcade game to beat in 1989. Mayor Mike Haggar, a former wrestler, piledrives his way through gangs to rescue his daughter, with Cody and Guy as the other two choices. The SNES port dropped Guy and two-player co-op, so the arcade game is the one to play.

• Where to play it now: the arcade version is in the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle (2018) on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC, alongside six other Capcom arcade brawlers, including Captain Commando and Battle Circuit.
• Who it suits: players who want the purest form of the genre in one evening.

Sega's fantasy brawler has three heroes (a barbarian, an Amazon and a dwarf), magic that grows stronger with the potions you collect from fleeing gnomes, and rideable creatures you can knock enemies off and steal.

• Where to play it now: in Sega Genesis Classics and the Nintendo Switch Online Sega Genesis library. Our games like Golden Axe list covers fantasy brawlers in the same spirit.
• Who it suits: two players who like sword-and-sorcery.

The Behemoth's four-player brawler adds RPG levelling: each knight earns points to spend on strength, magic, defence and agility, and you collect animal companions with their own abilities. The humour is slapstick and wordless, so children follow it as well as adults.

• Where to play it now: Xbox 360 and, as Castle Crashers Remastered, Xbox One, PS4, Switch and PC.
• Who it suits: groups of mixed ages, and players who want something to unlock.

Based on the comics and the 2010 film, it plays like River City Ransom: you level up, buy food and items with coins, and learn new moves as you go. It was pulled from sale in 2014 and returned in 2021 as the Complete Edition with both DLC characters.

• Where to play it now: the Complete Edition on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC.
• Who it suits: players who want a longer brawler with progression.

Dotemu and Guard Crush, two of the teams behind Streets of Rage 4, made a fantasy beat 'em up structured as a roguelite: each run you choose a route and pick up magical upgrades, and you keep some progress between runs. It plays alone or with two players.

• Where to play it now: PS4, PS5, Switch and PC; Xbox Series X|S since March 2026.
• Who it suits: players who want a modern brawler they can return to for weeks.

• River City Ransom (NES, 1990) - a brawler with shops, an open city and stat upgrades long before that was common; River City Girls (2019) is its modern spin-off.
• Double Dragon (Arcade, 1987) - the game that helped make two-player co-op the genre standard; Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons (2023) is a modern roguelite take.
• Battletoads (NES, 1991) - famous for its difficulty and the Turbo Tunnel bike stage; it is in Rare Replay (Xbox One, 2015).

• Two players, one couch, one evening: Streets of Rage 2, then Final Fight.
• Four players: Turtles in Time or Castle Crashers.
• One player, long-term: Streets of Rage 4 or Absolum.

Prefer one-on-one fights? The fighting games for beginners and pros list starts with the easiest to pick up. For more games to share a screen, see the best couch co-op games on every console and the history of couch co-op.