Darius II is a 1989 arcade shooter video game developed and published by Taito. It is a direct sequel to the 1987 title, Darius. It was later released as Sagaia in Japan in 1991 for the Game Boy as well as non-Japanese ports. A remake was released for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² as Super Darius II in 1993.
Double Dragon is a beat 'em up video game series originally developed and published by Technōs Japan. It began with the release of the arcade game Double Dragon in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals.
Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons. They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well as secondary weapons. It is a sub-genre of beat 'em up games, which focuses on melee combat, usually with swords.
Kung-Fu Master, known as Spartan X in Japan, is a 1984 beat 'em up game developed and published by Irem for arcades. It was distributed by Data East in North America. Designed by Takashi Nishiyama, the game was based on Hong Kong martial arts films. It is a loose adaptation of the Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao film Wheels on Meals (1984), called Spartan X in Japan, with the protagonist Thomas named after Jackie Chan's character in the film. The game is also heavily inspired by the Bruce Lee film Game of Death (1972), which was the basis for the game's concept. Nishiyama, who had previously designed the side-scrolling shooter Moon Patrol (1982), combined fighting elements with a shoot 'em up gameplay rhythm. Irem and Data East exported the game to the West without the Spartan X license.
Operation Wolf is a light gun shooter arcade game developed by Taito and released in 1987. It was ported to many home systems.
Golden Axe is a 1989 beat 'em up game developed and published by Sega for arcades, running on the Sega System 16B arcade hardware. Makoto Uchida was the lead designer of the game, and was also responsible for the creation of the previous year's Altered Beast. The game casts players as one of three warriors who must free the fantastical land of Yuria from the tyrannical rule of Death Adder, who wields the titular Golden Axe.
The following article is a broad timeline of arcade video games.
Double Dragon is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for arcades across Asia, North America and Europe. It is the first title in the Double Dragon franchise. The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.
A beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, while a number of modern games feature more open three-dimensional (3D) environments with yet larger numbers of enemies. The gameplay tends to follow arcade genre conventions, such as being simple to learn but difficult to master, and the combat system tends to be more highly developed than other side-scrolling action games. Two-player cooperative gameplay and multiple player characters are also hallmarks of the genre. Most of these games take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical, science fiction or fantasy themes.
Knights of the Round is a 1992 beat 'em up game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. Based loosely on the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the game features an action role-playing video game-like level advancement system, with fighters automatically being upgraded to new weapons and armor as they advance through the game. An arcade edition of the game was included in Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle as one of seven titles released digitally for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows in September 2018.
Rastan Saga II, known in Europe as Nastar and in North America as Nastar Warrior, is a hack and slash platform arcade video game developed and released by Taito in 1988. It is the sequel to Rastan. The story in this game tells how Rastan got his titular name and saved a vast region called 'Rastania' from evil monsters known as "The Wicked Group." Rastania, the kingdom which Rastan saves in this game, subsequently becomes his kingdom to rule. On June 20, 2024, the arcade version of the game got ported as part of the Arcade Archives series.
A side-scrolling video game is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphics during the golden age of arcade games was a pivotal leap in game design, comparable to the move to 3D graphics during the fifth generation.
The Ninja Warriors (ニンジャウォーリアーズ) is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed and released by Taito in 1987. The original arcade game situated one display in between projected images of two other displays, creating the appearance of a triple-wide screen. Ports were released for home systems including the Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, PC Engine, and Sega Mega-CD.
Super Chase H.Q. is a racing game developed by Taito. It is the third release in the Chase H.Q. series, and the sequel to Special Criminal Investigation. After the initial release in Japanese arcades under the title Super Chase: Criminal Termination, it was re-released in North America in 1993 for the Super Nintendo.
Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder is an arcade game released by Sega in 1992. It is part of the Golden Axe series of games and takes place between Golden Axe III and Golden Axe: The Duel which features the same hack and slash action as its predecessor with new additions and improvements. Powered by the System 32 arcade board, Revenge of Death Adder features more detailed graphics, adds new selectable characters and doubles the maximum number of simultaneous players from two to four. None of the three characters from the previous game are playable, with players choosing from four new protagonists who battle through various levels to defeat the villainous Death Adder.
Thunder Blade is a third-person shoot 'em up video game released by Sega for arcades in 1987. Players control a helicopter to destroy enemy vehicles. The game was released as a stand-up arcade cabinet with force feedback, as the joystick vibrates. A helicopter shaped sit-down model was released, replacing the force feedback with a cockpit seat that moves in tandem with the joystick. It is a motion simulator cabinet, like the previous Sega Super Scaler games Space Harrier (1985) and After Burner (1987). The game's plot and setting was inspired by the film Blue Thunder (1983).
The Ninja Warriors is a beat 'em up video game developed by Natsume for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and published by Taito in Japan and North America in 1994 and by Titus in Europe in 1995. It is a follow-up to Taito's 1987 arcade game of the same title, and shares similar gameplay. The player can choose between playing as one of three ninja androids, each with different attributes and a unique set of moves including jumps, dashes, throws, and other attacks. The game was developed by the same team at Natsume that later developed Wild Guns (1994).
Gun Buster, also known as Gunbuster (ガンバスター) and released in North America as Operation Gunbuster, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Taito and released for arcades in 1992. In contrast to on-rail light gun shooters at the time, this was one of the first arcade games to feature free-roaming FPS gameplay, the same year Wolfenstein 3D was released on personal computers.
Rastan Saga, known as Rastan in North America, is a side-scrolling hack and slash arcade video game released by Taito in 1987. It was a critical and commercial success and was ported to home platforms. On May 2, 2024, the arcade version of the game got ported as part of the Arcade Archives series.
