The Best Beat 'em Up Games Of All Time

Ranker Games
Updated October 20, 2022 23.3K votes 2.8K voters 124.5K views

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.

Photo: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time / Ubisoft
Ranked by
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game
    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
  • Streets of Rage 2
    2

    Streets of Rage 2

    1993
    889 votes
    • 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
  • Streets of Rage 4
    3

    Streets of Rage 4

    2020
    156 votes
    • 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
  • Final Fight
    4

    Final Fight

    1989
    633 votes
    • 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
  • Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
    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
  • X-Men
    6

    X-Men

    1992
    492 votes
    • 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