10 Best Side-Scrolling Beat 'Em Ups Of All Time

8. Castle Crashers

While the genre has been out of the limelight for quite some time now, there's no denying there's been some good to come from it in recent years, even though they've been very far and few between. Castle Crashers was one of those gems that showed certain Xbox Live Arcade games were worth the money and time. Back in 2008 when it was released on Xbox 360, it was the highest selling arcade game that year, and with good reason.

Castle Crashers has an in-depth simplicity about it that makes you come back for more. You start by choosing one of four different colored knights that come with different weapons and a magic ability. Throughout the game, you can find weapons that make you either more agile, powerful or increase your magic, along with being able to level up your characters stats as you progress. On top of that were the animal orbs that would accompany you, each with a separate ability.

It was this "collect 'em all" mentality that made the game so addictive and fun, not to mention the gameplay which was simple and easy to get a hang of.

Each character you completed the game with unlocked another, and soon you'd be playing as goons of the bosses from levels you'd previously faced. The immense amount of replay value was there, and it was easy to get sucked in. The homage to the genre as well as the new tweaks were a great reminder of the games of the past, and Castle Crashers was able to stand toe-to-toe with those games it took so much inspiration from.