Working through my play through of the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle I came across Battle Circuit , an arcade side-scrolling beat-em-up developed by Capcom. The game was released in arcade in 1997 and was the last of its type released in arcades as their popularity waned. In the game you play as one of 5 bounty hunters charged with getting rid of intergalactic rogues and villains. The game looks gorgeous, plays well and has witty banter-y dialogue, which I appreciated. It was one of the best games in the bundle and I appreciated its manga art style and bright colour palette. Check out some screenshots from my play through.
Battle Circuit- Video Games As Art
Knights of the Round- Video Games As Art
Knights of the Round is a classic 1991 side-scrolling beat’em up from Capcom and is one of seven games contained in the Capcom Best’em Up Collection. In the game, based loosely on the Arthurian myth, you play as either Arthur, Lancelot or Perceval and travel across various vistas to defeat the dreaded King Garibaldi, no relation to the biscuit.
The game is similar in style to Golden Axe but is slow and repetitive and feels like a slog. Even though it is 7 levels long they are laborious and feature repetitive enemies. It’s a shame as the premise is a good one. Oh well!
Captain Commando- Video Games As Art
I’ve been working my way through the Capcom Beat’em Up Collection and came across Captain Commando. I’ve heard it referred to before but had never played the game before. Captain Commando is a 1991 futuristic side-scrolling beat 'em up video game featuring the 80’s Capcom mascot. The game is set in the crime-ridden future of Metro City, where a superhero named Captain Commando, assisted by his three faithful Commando Companions rise up to protect the Earth and all the Galaxy from a gang of super-powered criminals.
So far so typical, but when one of the characters you can play as is a baby in a robot suit you know this isn’t a regular side-scrolling beat’em up. The game is fun and has attractive, colourful and chunky sprites that make it pop. It’s all a bit zany but fun.
The King of Dragons- Video Games As Art
Continuing my play through of the Capcom Beat’em Ups Collection I happened upon The King of Dragons. The game is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up video game by Capcom that allows players to choose from five characters (an Elf, Wizard, Fighter, Cleric, and Dwarf) in order to travel through the kingdom of Malus and defeat the monsters that have taken over, as well as their leader, the red dragon Gildiss.
The game is great and I loved the fact that as you progress with different characters their powers upgrade. I chose each character in my playthrough and settled on the Wizard as he had reach.
