The 16-Bit era of console gaming was pretty awesome and one genre that we got spoilt with was the side scrolling beat ’em up.

There were a fair few of these games released across the games machines of the day so which ones have stood the test of time and are worthy of your precious time to play again?

Here’s our round up of what we think are the best of the best to play now and in the future.

Burning Fight (Neo Geo)

We’ll start off with one you probably haven’t played because it cost £160+ to buy when it first came out and now goes for even more.

Burning fight is a blatant rip-off or homage of Final fight but is set in Osaka, SNK’s home city rather than the fictitious Metro City.

Naturally as its on the Neo Geo it looks stunning with detailed backgrounds and building you can enter and cause havok in.

Burning Fight takes you on a journey from neon lit city streets, to shopping malls, trains and you end up on a great big boat.

Thankfully, you don’t need to remortgage your home today to play it as its available on the Switch for a reasonable £5.99.

Batman Returns (SNES)

Games based on Blockbuster movies are typically pants. They are rushed to capitalise on the hype of the movie.

Luckily Batman Returns is a rare exception and features tons of locales from the movies and Batman himself is badass to the maximum.

Special mention has to go for the sound effects as there is nothing more satisfying then grabbing two hoodlums and crashing their heads against each other. The crunch sound is epic and sounds painful.

Apart from not having a two player option Batman Returns is frankly, one of the best side scrolling beat ’em ups you can get on the SNES and it so worth picking up if you can get it.