Double dragon dominated the arcade game scene in the late 80s and brought Beat ‘Em-ups into the mainstream consciousness. When the 90s arrived, the genre was in full swing, with releases such as Last match and Streets of Rage drives that success. While Beat ‘Em Ups were a staple of every childhood beginning in those two decades, by the time the GameCube was released in 2001 they were almost dying out.
Because the popularity of Beat ‘Em-ups was waning, some of those released on the GameCube veered towards the Hack n Slash subgenre to remain relevant. While some stuck to the origins, many of them were consigned to history and have been forgotten by fans. When it comes to Beat ‘Em-ups and the other subgenres, the Nintendo GameCube had a lot of amazing options, some of which even hold up today.
10/10 Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds
Buffy The Vampire Slayer was a pop culture phenomenon that spread from film to television, and eventually to comics and video games. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds was the fourth video game based in that universe and saw players battle hordes of vampires, zombies, and other creepy monsters that the franchise was known for.
Although it did not break any new ground in the genre, Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds was a decent match overall. It even included four different multiplayer modes as well as a single player campaign.
9/10 Gauntlet Dark Legacy
Gauntlet Dark Legacy was first released as an arcade game in 1999, just as all previous entries in the popular franchise had been. In 2001, it was ported to the Playstation 2 before getting a GameCube port the following year, and suffered its fair share of bugs and slowdowns as a result.
While the series is fondly remembered by fans of Hack n Slash games, Gauntlet Dark Legacy was a largely forgettable experience on the GameCube. When ported, it struggled to compete against some of the more modern releases in the genre.
8/10 Batman: Rise Of Sin Tzu
Batman games have been around since the 80s and they continue to be released today. Batman: Rise Of Sin Tzu was one of three released on the GameCube and is often the one forgotten by fans. Batman begins was released to tie in with the iconic Christian Bale film, while Batman: Vengeance widely regarded as the best on the GameCube.
Batman: Rise Of Sin Tzu did pretty much all of that Batman: Vengeance did, but it didn’t really build on any of it. However, both games featured the amazing voice acting of Kevin Conroy as Batman, which was always great.
7/10 Mysterious heroes
Mysterious heroes was developed by Koei and any fan playing the Hack n Slash game today will probably feel reminded of Koei’s other product, Dynasty Warriors. Where it differs from the more popular franchise is that it doesn’t stick anywhere near as religiously to historical facts, and it isn’t as mature.
There’s a lot to like Mysterious heroes, with constant fast-paced action from start to finish. It was let down by its lack of complexity and relatively simple story, which is why it is largely forgotten by fans today.
6/10 Scorpion King: Rise Of The Akkadian
Scorpion King: Rise Of The Akkadian was released only a few months later Scorpion King film and actually sold quite well as a result. The developer, Point of View Inc, managed to get Dwayne Johnson to return to voice the main character, but even he couldn’t save the game.
Scorpion King: Rise Of The Akkadian was pretty universally panned for its basic combat and complete lack of challenging gameplay. It was quickly forgotten even by those who might have enjoyed the film, and with good reason.
5/10 The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
While the Hulk is one of the most popular MCU characters, his 2008 solo film was one of the franchise’s lowest-grossing films. Fans often forget that there was another attempt at a Hulk movie before that in 2003 that also came with a video game.
The original Hulk the game was decent but the sequel, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, expanded on everything that made the first enjoyable. However, it did not sell as well as the first game, due to the fact that no movie was released at the same time.
4/10 Charlie’s Angels
On paper, a Charlie’s Angels video games released in 2003 should have done well. It was released to tie in with the second film in the reboot series, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and the first film was a success at the box office. While Neko Entertainment embraced the style of the franchise by developing it as a Beat ‘Em-up, it failed on pretty much every front.
Charlie’s Angels is almost universally regarded as one of the worst games available on the GameCube by fans, and the planned ports to the Xbox and GameBoy Advance were canceled due to the critical response.
3/10 Dragon Ball Z Sagas
Dragon Ball is one of the most popular anime series of all time, and both it and the original manga are loved by legions of fans. The first Dragon Ball Z: Budokai game gave the fans a decent fight and was generally well received, but it left little room for appreciation Dragon Ball Z: Sagas.
Like a Beat ‘Em-up game, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas was a bold move in a new direction. Unfortunately, it was quite stripped down and struggled commercially as a result. This made developers hesitant to return to it, and what could have been another series was abandoned.
2/10 Fantastic four
Fantastic four was a tie-in video game released at the same time as the 2005 film, and the ability to switch between four distinct characters made it surprisingly fun. There were some small elements of puzzle solving involved throughout the game, but it was firmly a Beat ‘Em-up regardless. The co-op option also gave fans one of the funnest multiplayer GameCube experiences.
While Fantastic four was serviceable in all areas and had satisfying combat, it didn’t really excel anywhere, and there are definitely better options on the GameCube for fans of the Beat ‘Em-up genre.
1/10 Prospective Joe
Prospective Joe burst onto the scene in 2003 and GameCube copies in North America sold out almost immediately. It used cel-shading and fast-paced action to breathe new life into the traditional side-scrolling format and was widely praised for both its graphics and gameplay.
It spawned three more games on different platforms over the next two years and then disappeared forever. Although Viewtiful Joe’s legacy as one of the most ambitious games available for the GameCube is secure, the franchise has been largely forgotten by fans since 2005.
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