Beat 'em Up Games Online – Classic Arcade Brawlers

The arcade brawler

The beat 'em up was the perfect arcade game for friends: drop a coin, pick a character, walk right and clear the screen. Double Dragon made the formula popular in 1987, Final Fight turned it into a blockbuster in 1989, and through the early 90s Capcom, Konami, Sega and SNK released dozens of brawlers for two, three or even four players.

Capcom: the masters of the genre

Capcom's beat 'em ups are the heart of this page. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs – known as the "Mustafa game" in South Asia and the Middle East – is the most played brawler on our site. Final Fight introduced Haggar, Cody and Guy, Knights of the Round added an Arthurian sword fight with a level-up system, Captain Commando went sci-fi and Warriors of Fate took the action to the Three Kingdoms of China.

Double Dragon and the Technos brawlers

Double Dragon is where the genre's rules came from: Billy and Jimmy Lee, Marian kidnapped, elbows and baseball bats. The series continued on arcade and NES, crossed over with Battletoads, and Technos' Kunio-kun games – River City Ransom among them – kept the street-brawl spirit alive.

Turtles, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage

The rest of the genre is here too: Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games for up to four players, Sega's Golden Axe with magic and dragons to ride, the Streets of Rage trilogy from the Genesis, SNK's Sengoku and Irem's wonderfully strange Ninja Baseball Batman.

Beat 'em up tips

• Do not stand in line with enemies. Move up and down to fight them one at a time.
• Use the special attack (usually both buttons together) when surrounded – it costs a little health but saves a life.
• Pick up weapons and food. Knives, pipes and the roast chicken under the barrel are there for a reason.
• Play co-op. Brawlers are twice as fun with a friend; just watch out for friendly fire in some games.