Ok, Castle crashers is the new kid on the block, It has come out and literally single handedly revitalised the old classic 2D side scrolling beat em up genre

Now i have a lot of admiration for Castle crashers but Streets of rage 2 in my eyes is just that little notch higher, Streets of rage 2's characters have many more moves at thier disposal compared to the Castle crashers crew, And i think Streets of rage 2 has one of the best if not THE best soundtracks of the 16 bit era or any era for that matter..........

Also Castle crashers has some memorable boss battles but for me nothing beats taking on the awesome Shiva just before Mr X and then taking on the great Mr X himself

My question is simple (Although i suspect that Castle crashers will win this one)

Which is best..... Streets of rage 2 (The LEGEND) vs Castle crashers (The LEGEND in waiting)

I haven't played Castle Crashers, so I'm hardly qualified, but even if I had played it, I'd probably still give Streets of Rage 2 the edge simply b/c of the nostalgia. The game was absolutely the pinnacle of beat-em-ups IMO. I've beaten it literally 100s of times and it still pumps me up. Nothing is more memorable to me than entering the first boss screen when the music cuts out and all you hear is rain. Then you move closer and the down right nerve wracking boss music kicks in and you're surrounded by baddies. Gaming bliss.

(Streets of Rage 3 was actually a big step forward mechanically, but the difficulty curve was way too brutal and the music didn't match up.)

The correct answer is Guardian Heroes. GH pawns every game in the genre.

@ Darc........ Guardian Heroes is in a class of its own Guardian heroes is the best side scrolling beat em up/RPG Ever to grace this planet................ If Guardian heroes was released on XBLA i would happily pay 5000 ms points for it without hesitation..........

@ jman.......... Yeah , Streets of rage 2 was infectious, I have completed it coming up to 100 times on XBLA alone, Plus i must have completed it well over 150 times back in the day on the Megadrive/Genesis, And yeah, When you hit the back alley after you leave the bar it's epic when the music cuts and the rain kicks in........... Regarding streets of rage 3, its also a brilliant game and brings more to the table like the characters been able to run or dash and the fact that your weapons when used correctly give you weapon specific special moves, But as you pointed out its a shame that the music was a bit of a let down and also a shame that the level design was a little bit lackluster , still an amazing game though

You aren't the only one. I know Treasure has put a few titles on XBLA, I wish they'd make Guardian Heroes one of them. Hell it could be on WiiWare or PSN, just get it done Treasure.

If guardian heroes was on VC then my wii would sure as hell get a lot more useage than it currently does, Thing is though treasure are releasing thier classics exclusively for XBLA, Theres talk of radiant silvergun coming to XBLA (fingers crossed)........ Come on treasure, you still have hidden GEMS locked away, gimme gimme gimme

Castle crashers is great. But I don't know...for me the real beat em ups always had that macho vibe.

Like girl gets kidnapped and needs saving...fighting chicks with whips and bikini outfits...breaking pipes and bottles on someones head.

Final Fight 1, Streets of rage 2 and 3, Golden Axe, the Punisher...those will be the best pure beat-em ups in my opinion.

Guardian Heroes, Caslte Crashers, ninja turtles...these are great games, but they never hit that vibe that old games had.