Here are the games I have beaten so far this year:
1 Final Fight lns ultimate (openbor)
2 double dragon 4 (switch)
3. Ultra age (switch)
4 final fight lns capcom all stars (openbor)
5 marsupalami (switch)
6 super castlevania 4 (snes)
7 tmnt rescue palooza (openbor)
8 mega man 4 (nes)
9 clockwork aquario (switch)
10 foreclosed (switch)
11 legend of double dragon (openbor)
12 golden axe myth (openbor)
13 castlevania holy relics (nes)
14 contra (nes)
15 wonder boy asha (switch)
16 streets of rage 4 anniversary(switch)
17 ninja saviors (switch)
Seems like a lot, but keep in mind I am quarantined and sick with COVID, so I am completely isolated in a room and playing games about 10-15 hours a day, this will dramatically slow down once I get better, here is a quick summary of them:
1) Final Fight LNS ultimate + capcom all stars: 2 open bor games with 67 characters spread across tons of different franchises, great beat em up with loads of combos and special moves per character, might be my new favorite beat em up
2) Double Dragon 4: Not the first time I have played this, worse than I remember TBH, kind of slow moving, cheap enemies that just gang up on you with no recourse, lots of annoying 2d sections where enemies throw stuff at you and you cant block/duck, I dont hate it but it is definitely the worst of the mainline double dragons
3) ultra age: Definition of a hidden gem, extremely awesome devil may cry style 3d brawler that nobody ever talks about, very challenging game play, lots of cool weapons and combos, fantastic bosses and an engaging story. On the short side (which is fine by me) but a really pleasant surprise
4) marsupalami: 2d platformer in the vein of DKC and Kaze and the wild masks. A little on the easy and short side as it is geared for kids but it is mechanically sound and fun to play. Don't expect something as epic as Kaze but if you like this style of game or have a little one at home this is definitely worth checking out
5) Super Castlevania 4: Not much to say here, greatest castlevania game ever made, havent played it in a while and it is even more awesome then I remember somehow, also the SNES soundtrack is just so good
6) tmnt rescue palooza: fan game that takes the best of all the NES turtles games, adds just about every character you can think of as an unlockable playable character, and tons of different levels including a few 2d nods to the NES original, perfect homage to 8 bit turtles beat em ups and is free to download, a must for turtles fans
7) Mega Man 4: 4 falls somewhere in the middle of the mega man series for me, it is a great game and one of the more challenging in the series
clockwork aquario: a lost arcade game that I bought over a year ago and it finally came in the mail. Bright colorful sprites and fun 2d platformer that has you jumping on enemies and then grabbing them and throwing them at other enemies to kill them. It is a good mechanic and the level designs are varied and fun, pretty short, beat it in about 30 minutes or so on my first playthrough(was playing easy mode) but a good time.
9) foreclosed: Really stylistic 3rd person shooter/stealth game. The game has a cell shaded look but everything is very washed out and drab, which is intentionally done to match the dystopian nature of the game. The story is told through comic book style panels that take place in real game time, if you ever saw the original crappy hulk movie it is kind of like that but done well and works for the dynamic they are going for. The game alternates between stealth segments and 3rd person shooter segments, both arepretty well done and the 3rd person segments are augmented by different mind powers and cover based mechanics. A little short but unique and fun.
10) Legend of Double Dragon: a fan remake of super double dragon which adds story cutscenes, additonal levels, a faster pace of gameplay, and a whole bunch of new moves and combos. Very well done fan game and worth checking out for fans of the source material
11) Golden Axe Myth: A fan made prequel to the original golden axe, which as the 3 heroes from the first game teaming up with death adder to retrieve the golden axe from an evil dude who stole it. The graphics here are all done from the ground up and I love the artstyle here, characters are big, bright, and everything has the look of a saturday morning cartoon. Gameplay is what you would expect from a golden axe game, although each character has some new special moves to play around with and there are a number of new beasts to ride along with upgradeable stats. Probably the best golden axe fan game I have played and is at least on par with the original games if not better
12) Castlevania Holy relics: for those of you who don't know holy relics is the best romhack of castlevania ever made. If somebody showed me this game in 1988 I would easily assume this is the real castlevania 2. Every level is completely redone, the subweapons are redone, they added a relic mechanic to the game where you get to bring a relic with a special power into each stage and use it x times per level by hitting select. The levels also take a cue from the msx game and have you finding keys to open doors in order to progress. The game is challenging but not cheap and is what you would expect from a standard castlevania game
13) contra: nothing to say here, best run n gun ever, I am sure everyone on this forum has played this or at least heard of it
14) Wonder Boy Asha in monster world: Fun remaster done in the style of dragons trap, asha is a lot more linear than the other games in the series as you have a hub world and just go level to level, although each level contains some exploration and secrets to find. Asha has a little blue dude with her that she can use to solve puzzles, interact with the environment, glide, and double jump. It is a really fun mechanic that gets completey ditched in the later half of the game which kind of sucks. While not as good as dragons trap or monster boy it is still a solid 2d hack n slash platformer with a cute story and beautiful graphics
15) Streets of rage 4 anniversary edition: I played this on release and enjoyed it but it is honestly much better than I remember. The added combo mechanics and moves, along with a whole host of new enemies, add a ton to the gameplay, there is also lots of unlockables and point incentives for completing the game with different characters. At least on par with streets of rage 2 and if I take my nostalgia goggles off I would probably concede that sor 4 > sor 2
16) ninja saviors warriors return: a remake of the ninja warriors on SNES. Ninja saviors is a beat em up that is unique in that it takes place in an entirely 2d plane so you cant move up and down to try and get position on enemies, instead you have to learn each enemy type, what they do, and how to counteract it. This game adds a lot of new moves, combos, and 2 extra playable characters. I have played the original but I am not sure if the levels here are different. Late game gets pretty difficult but they do give you unlimited continues so with enough persistence you can eventually beat it. Very cool unique game, fans of the orginal should definitely check it out, but even if you have not played that it is a solid game for any beat em up fan.