Avengers, sometimes known as Avenger, and known in Japan as Hissatsu Buraiken (必殺 無頼拳?, lit. "Deadly Ruffian Fist"), is a 1987 overhead-view vertically scrolling beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by Capcom. The game was directed by Takashi Nishiyama, who later co-planned the original Street Fighter and a few of SNK's early fighting games. The game takes place in Paradise City, where the villain, "Geshita", has captured 6 girls from the city. The player's objective (as Ryu or Ko) is to banish "Geshita" from Paradise City once and for all. During the game, the player can pick up powerups like the "Speed Up", the Super Punch, Grenades, Shurikens, Nunchaku and extra health. The game also features hidden areas on each level, accessed by breaking doors in structures on either side of the screen. The player's character has 3 normal means of attack: Punches, which are quick with short range, Kicks, which are slower with longer range, and the Roundhouse, which hits in a 360 degree motion.
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A vertical brawler in the style of Commando. The problem with this setup is that you end up spending more time walking towards your enemies than actually fighting them, and on top of it the combat is very monotonous.
With the release of both of the Capcom Arcade Stadiums, I was able to try out a lot of Capcom’s classic arcade titles that I would probably never have known about otherwise, and in some cases, I feel like that would’ve probably been for the best. Such as the case with Avenger, which I was interested to try out, on one hand being one of the earlier beat-’em-ups made by the company, and on the other hand, because I was bored and I thought “Eh, why not.” So, after playing it, I can say that the game isn’t terrible, but I still didn’t really like it. It is unique (somewhat), given what most beat-’em-ups back then were like, but that isn’t much when it is brought down by a poor execution.
The story doesn’t just have you saving one girl, but SIX of them (WOAH, SLOW DOWN THERE, CAPCOM), the graphics look pretty much like most of Capcom’s early arcade games, nothing special, the music is good, even if some of the tracks aren’t that good, the control is kind of awkward, but it at least functions well enough, and the gameplay is only a little interesting take on the genre, but that is about it.
The game is your average beat-’em-up, where you move around, fight off an endless supply of dudes with several moves at your disposal, pick up various powerups and weapons to use along the way, and fight a handful of bosses. It is all what you would expect, but this time around, it is all done from a top-down perspective. I will give the game some credit, I’ve never seen a beat-’em-up that is done from this angle, so it is kind of a neat change of pace, and the powerups and weapons that you do gather can be pretty useful against foes whenever executed properly. That being said, there is a lot holding this game back from being good.
Like I said, the perspective change is a nice one, but it ultimately makes the gameplay feel very awkward. Moving around is already awkward enough, with it feeling pretty stiff, and stuff like getting caught onto the side of mountains or buildings can get in the way, but also just trying to take down enemies can be a struggle. They are always constantly moving around, and not always moving straight to you like in every other beat-’em-up, so you gotta chase them around until you can land the punch on them, which doesn’t really feel all that rewarding or satisfying, especially with the time you waste doing so. Not to mention, there are plenty of times where you will get grabbed by an enemy, and it can get annoying with how frequently it happens.
In addition, the bosses, while not completely terrible, aren’t really all that good. Maybe it is just because of the perspective change, but it can feel really awkward to even hit some of these guys properly, with some examples really feeling like a chore to take on. For example, in Stage 4, you fight the boss on a bridge, and that is the immediate problem with it. For a game that usually allows you so much space to move around and take out enemies, constraining you to this one singular lane where all you can do is move up and punch or kick, hoping you don’t get hit, is a pretty bad boss setup, and makes things needlessly annoying. In another example, we have the boss from Stage 5, who primarily throws snakes at you while jumping out of a lake. It is very hard to even try to get a hit in, not just because of the amount of snakes that he throws at you, or the range of his own attacks, but also because of how he will jump back into the water the moment you try to sneak up on him when he is not busy, and you can’t hit him while in the water. It took me much longer then it should have for me to beat this guy because of that, and plenty of reloading saves were needed to even land a hit at all.
And that is… really all I have to say about this game. Sorry that I don’t really have too much to say about it, but that is one of the big problems with this game. All in all, it is extremely generic when placed next to any other beat-’em-up ever. Sure, it may have that perspective change, but that perspective change can only take it so far, and without any meaningful changes to the genre or the gameplay, then there is nothing here that would make me wanna recommend it to people who haven’t played it. And even then, if you are quick enough, you can beat the game in a little over 10 minutes, so why would you even want to waste your time with it?
Overall, Avenger is definitely one of the Capcom games of all time, and it really just serves the purpose of existing and nothing more, with awkward controls, gameplay, and bosses, which make playing the game not really all that worth it. Honestly, just stick with Final Fight or Captain Commando if you are looking for a Capcom beat-’em-up to play, because they are MUCH better than this.
Game #231
The story doesn’t just have you saving one girl, but SIX of them (WOAH, SLOW DOWN THERE, CAPCOM), the graphics look pretty much like most of Capcom’s early arcade games, nothing special, the music is good, even if some of the tracks aren’t that good, the control is kind of awkward, but it at least functions well enough, and the gameplay is only a little interesting take on the genre, but that is about it.
The game is your average beat-’em-up, where you move around, fight off an endless supply of dudes with several moves at your disposal, pick up various powerups and weapons to use along the way, and fight a handful of bosses. It is all what you would expect, but this time around, it is all done from a top-down perspective. I will give the game some credit, I’ve never seen a beat-’em-up that is done from this angle, so it is kind of a neat change of pace, and the powerups and weapons that you do gather can be pretty useful against foes whenever executed properly. That being said, there is a lot holding this game back from being good.
Like I said, the perspective change is a nice one, but it ultimately makes the gameplay feel very awkward. Moving around is already awkward enough, with it feeling pretty stiff, and stuff like getting caught onto the side of mountains or buildings can get in the way, but also just trying to take down enemies can be a struggle. They are always constantly moving around, and not always moving straight to you like in every other beat-’em-up, so you gotta chase them around until you can land the punch on them, which doesn’t really feel all that rewarding or satisfying, especially with the time you waste doing so. Not to mention, there are plenty of times where you will get grabbed by an enemy, and it can get annoying with how frequently it happens.
In addition, the bosses, while not completely terrible, aren’t really all that good. Maybe it is just because of the perspective change, but it can feel really awkward to even hit some of these guys properly, with some examples really feeling like a chore to take on. For example, in Stage 4, you fight the boss on a bridge, and that is the immediate problem with it. For a game that usually allows you so much space to move around and take out enemies, constraining you to this one singular lane where all you can do is move up and punch or kick, hoping you don’t get hit, is a pretty bad boss setup, and makes things needlessly annoying. In another example, we have the boss from Stage 5, who primarily throws snakes at you while jumping out of a lake. It is very hard to even try to get a hit in, not just because of the amount of snakes that he throws at you, or the range of his own attacks, but also because of how he will jump back into the water the moment you try to sneak up on him when he is not busy, and you can’t hit him while in the water. It took me much longer then it should have for me to beat this guy because of that, and plenty of reloading saves were needed to even land a hit at all.
And that is… really all I have to say about this game. Sorry that I don’t really have too much to say about it, but that is one of the big problems with this game. All in all, it is extremely generic when placed next to any other beat-’em-up ever. Sure, it may have that perspective change, but that perspective change can only take it so far, and without any meaningful changes to the genre or the gameplay, then there is nothing here that would make me wanna recommend it to people who haven’t played it. And even then, if you are quick enough, you can beat the game in a little over 10 minutes, so why would you even want to waste your time with it?
Overall, Avenger is definitely one of the Capcom games of all time, and it really just serves the purpose of existing and nothing more, with awkward controls, gameplay, and bosses, which make playing the game not really all that worth it. Honestly, just stick with Final Fight or Captain Commando if you are looking for a Capcom beat-’em-up to play, because they are MUCH better than this.
Game #231
This guy is definitely the Avenger of all time.
Played on Capcom Arcade Stadium.
Bad game!
Bad game!
It's a bit clunky as a top-down style beat-'em-up but not a bad experience. You play as a dude who's tasked to save the hostages/adoring fans from the evil Geshita and his sub-bosses.