The Punisher

The Punisher[b] is a 1993 beat 'em up video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It stars the Marvel Comics antihero the Punisher and co-stars S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury as the second player's character as they embark on a mission to kill the crime lord the Kingpin and bring down his organization. While following the same general formula as Capcom's previous beat 'em ups, the game has a range of usable weapons and a comic book-style presentation.

Upon its release, Play Meter listed The Punisher as one of the most popular arcade games of May 1993.[33] In Japan, Game Machine also listed it as the eighth most popular arcade game of June 1993.[34] GamePower gave the arcade version of The Punisher a perfect partial score for the game's "fun factor". Its action was praised by GamePro, who remarked that "this game's outstanding feature is its gorgeous graphics, which capture the dark, somber mood of the Punisher comic books".[35] A GameFan reviewer said that the game "proved to be everything I dreamed of in a traditional Final Fight-style game",[8] having previously described it as "definitely the greatest side scrolling fighting game ever" as well as "the bloodiest, goriest fighting game since Mortal Kombat" in his preview.