As I sat down to pick up my controller and play seven absolute classic arcade gems, I was instantly teleported back to the ’80s and ’90s as I walked down a row of machines with a bucket full of coins, ready to load them into the slot under one of the many vibrant, flashing screens in front of me that were all shouting and beaming a kaleidoscope of colour towards me with, complete with their flashy buttons and toggles. The Beat ‘Em Up Collection, brought to us by QUByte Interactive, revives that nostalgic arcade feeling by providing players with seven such titles, but not without their pitfalls.
The seven titles that have been brought to players on our now beautifully rendered screens are – Iron Commando, Sword of Soden, Legend, First Samurai, Second Samurai, Gourmet Warriors and Water Margin: The Tale of Clouds and Winds. From side-scrolling punch-ups to sword-swinging adventures, you are put firmly back in the shoes of your childhood self once again as you get ready to load up the arcade machines (with those well-earnt quarters), to experience the action of these 16-bit titles. One of my personal favourites is Iron Commando. Pulling Jake’s leather jacket on as I prepared to punch Tino the henchman right in the kisser, brought with it a great deal of fun, and this, out of all seven titles, is the one I came back to the most (with Legend being a close second).
Though it sure felt like those good ol’ times as I punched, kicked, hacked and slashed through my enemies in these retro classics, some of those clunky old controls didn’t quite feel as good for me as I have gotten used to the modern era of gaming and all of its trappings. Now maybe that’s just me, and perhaps I’ve been spoiled by newer generation titles allowing me to kick butt in 4K, but a revisit to the classics is sometimes needed. However, I didn’t quite get the kick out of it that I felt I should’ve gotten. I obviously didn’t expect 4K ultra-setting graphics, but I do feel the games could’ve been given a better polish in regard to the control/gamepad rework, as the controls feel nearly as clunky and limiting as they did when I was trying to figure out what button on the arcade machine to mash back in the day.
I will give this collection its credit though. There were a handful of excellent games in the retro bundle that did entertain me, including Legend, Iron Commando and Water Margin above the rest. These were the three standouts for me and that is simply down to their replay value and how well they were able to present those classic side-scrolling action set pieces that truly popped out to the kid in me that lied to my parents about going down to the local video arcade and wasting an afternoon. The other titles, however, did go over my head and I could’ve gone about my business without those games. As I got to play through them all, I was ultimately left wanting a little more bang for my buck, as some might say. However, the price alone, to be fair, is worth paying if you want seven retro pick-up-and-play games on your desired system of choice.
As I mentioned briefly earlier, the appearances of each game in the collection, do indeed stimulate the mind of a nostalgic gamer. However, if we look to the next generation of gamers, simply put – it’s nostalgia for a reason. Many of the younger generation of gamers will overlook this collection and that simply comes down to the fact that it doesn’t scream at them like a Triple A game would, nor does it have the vibe of a unique indie game, unique though it may be. It cuts back to memory for an older generation of gamers, but as time moves on, sadly so does the gaming standard and classics such as these titles eventually fall by the wayside.
Let me just say, I’m not out here to bash this! Not the least like Bonjour does in Gourmet Warriors, but these titles for sure have their ups, one of the big ones being the soundtracks. You know, those soundtracks that beckoned players in from the street, as they could hear the glaring crashes, bangs and a suave backing track to boot. Those very ones are still very much the heart and soul of the classics here. A classic title isn’t quite complete without its soundtrack that throws two tracks at you at once and then somehow manages to captivate your attention still with the kaleidoscopic blends in front of you on screen.
My final verdict is this – Is this a ground-breaking game? No. Is this a title that aims toward an audience who still want to revisit those older titles and relive their childhood? YES. Simply put, I think this game does its purpose well in serving the audience it is intended for, but for me, the selection is pretty weak in comparison to some collections out there, and I personally feel it could’ve been better. Overall, I don’t dislike the collection, but I don’t like it either, which leads me to my ultimate scoring of – 5/10.
Beat ‘Em Up Collection (QUByte Classics) is available on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, costing you around $18.
