

The protagonist Tecmo Knight has the assistance of "Smokeman" and "Tiger". Pressing the "change" button allows Tecmo Knight to switch between the two. Smokeman uses powerful punches and kicks against enemies while Tecmo Knight rides him. While riding the tiger, Tecmo Knight has the use of a spiked ball and chain less powerful than Smokeman's attacks, but with greater range. When collecting the special dragon skull that randomly appears after defeating an enemy, the Tecmo Knight will summon the most powerful creature to ride on in the game: the Flying Dragon. Tecmo Knight is immune to attack while riding Flying Dragon, whose breath kills any monster in the game instantly, including the stage-end bosses. Using the "jump and attack" maneuver, Tecmo Knight can bound Smokeman or the tiger onto enemies and pummel them. Sometimes, if Tecmo Knight runs low on life, a blow by a weak monster will kill only Smokeman or the tiger, leaving Tecmo Knight to fend for himself with a very weak short-ranged attack. It is extremely hard for him to survive at this point. All bosses in the game appear in "pairs" making it harder for a single player to corner them. The only exception is the last boss. Currently, there are two "extra life" bonus skulls known to exist in the game. Players can also utilize "props" like bombs and stone-rollers placed around the map to their advantage. Much like the 1988 arcade beat 'em up Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo Knight is hard for beginners, because it requires more patience than button-pounding. Like Ninja Gaiden, the game features a rather disturbing continue screen, where Tecmo Knight is about to be swallowed by an unseen monster. If the player does not continue before the 10 second countdown ends, Tecmo Knight is heard screaming as the monster swallows him. Afterwards, the screen will black out, and a monster will tear through the screen shouting "NO FUTURE!", along with "Game Over" appearing under the monster.

Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Arcade / Action / Fantasy
Shadow over Mystara is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up with role-play elements that make it stand out from other similar games released at the time. In addition to the original four heroes found in its predecessor, Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (Cleric, Dwarf, Elf and Fighter), Shadow of Mystara adds a Thief and a Magic-User to the selection. Furthermore, with the inclusion of two separate versions of each character's sprite set, the game allows up to two players to select the same character (in Tower of Doom each of the characters could only be selected once), effectively giving the game 12 "different" characters to choose from. The two Clerics and two Magic Users also have subtle differences within their spell books. The controls are using four buttons: Attack, Jump, Select (brings up a small inventory ring around the character allowing the player to choose what item is set in the Use slot) and Use. The Cleric, Elf and Magic-User also have two extra rings for their spells, with the Jump button used to switch from ring to ring. While the game uses the same kick harness as the previous game, the Select and Use buttons are reversed. Shadow over Mystara also introduced a selection of special moves which are executed by moving the joystick and tapping the buttons in certain combinations, in a way similar to the Street Fighter series. The characters (except for the Magic-User) have a Dashing Attack as well as a Rising Attack which can be used to combo monsters or even juggle them in the air. Most characters (again, with the exception of the Magic-User and also Cleric) also have a Megacrush, a move common to nearly all of Capcom side-scrollers, which damages all enemies standing close enough to the character but in turn also damaging the player themselves.

Fighting / Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Fantasy
Guardian Heroes is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up video game with RPG elements developed by Treasure and released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn. A band of young adventurers begin a quest to change the fate of their kingdom after an enchanted sword falls into their hands. Players may choose between four characters, each with their own unique fighting style, and embark on many different paths in the game's story mode. The game also includes a special versus mode wherein up to six players can compete against each other in arena combat.

Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Arcade / Action / Fantasy
Ninja Action! The stage is set for conspiracy, mystery and evil in America. Come with Ninja Ryu as he takes you on his fateful journey. Tecmo's unique cinema display system develops the story stage by stage. You piece together the puzzle, while watching the movie-like graphics. Decide what action to take. Use the secret sword and items collected during the action scenes to fight your way to the goal!

Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Adventure / Action / Fantasy
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, for Gameboy Advance, is an action and adventure game based off of the first two movies of the popular Lord of the Rings series, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Players battle their way through some of the key events of these films as Aragorn, Gandalf, Frodo, Legolas, Eowyn, and Gimli.

Fighting / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Fantasy
The Lord of Darkness, Dark Guld, has arisen again. Wielding the famous Golden Axe, he has destroyed entire countries with his evil clan, forcing the world into chaos. Once again, three brave warriors stand up to face the oppressors, and won’t rest until the Golden Axe is returned to its rightful place.

Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Fantasy
Chaos is spreading across the land once again as the Prince of Darkness arises to conquer the world. To stop him and retrieve the legendary Golden Axe, four heroes step forward to accept the challenge.

Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Fantasy
Gauntlet Legends is an arcade game released in 1998 by Atari Games. It is a fantasy themed hack and slash styled dungeon crawl game, a sequel to 1985's popular Gauntlet and 1986's Gauntlet II and marks the final game in the series to be produced by Atari Games. Its unusual features for an arcade game included passwords and characters that could be saved, enabling players to play over the course of a long period.

Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Arcade / Action / Fantasy
Progress is made through the game by fighting through Death Adder's henchmen, including men armed with clubs and maces, skeleton warriors, and knights. Players are able to attack using their weapon, jump and cast spells that hurt all enemies on the screen. The force of this magic depends on the number of "bars" of magic power currently available. The bars are filled by collecting blue 'magic potions' attained by kicking little sprites who then drop the potions. These sprites appear during regular levels and during bonus stages in between levels. The male warrior Ax is able to cast earth spells. The dwarf Gilius, casts lightning spells and the female warrior Tyris casts fire magic. Each character has a different number of maximum magic bars and varying ranges of attack. Various steeds known as bizarrians are found in the game. These can be ridden when the enemy rider is knocked off, or if one is found dormant. The least powerful steed is known as the Cockatrice, which can be used to knock down enemies with a swipe of its tail. The more powerful dragon, which can either shoot fireballs or breathe fire, is found later in the game.