Shatterhand (USA) ROM

The attacking from Street Fighter 2000, mixed with the more fluent control of Power Blade. Shatterhand is an excellent beat'm up for the NES.
 
Just the act of punching an opponent feels satisfying. The graphical flair and the sound effect really give you the sensation that you are punching your way through this enemy or obstacle. Movement and jumping are almost spot on perfect, with jumping proving to be a little more slippery than Megaman or Mario. Keeping your footing on certain platforms requires some experience with the mechanics.
 
The level design is akin to NES Batman, without the wall jumping. The graphics are pure NES gold, almost always dark and gritty, with plenty of attention to detail.
 
Shatterhand is an excellent unknown title. Give it a try and spread the word so that other's may enjoy it as well.
 
I never understood why the original Japanese version had a cyborg as the main character though, when the English version has a stereotypical buff dude.

Natsume was really good at making NES action games, and Shatterhand is the prime example. 2D action game that involves lots of punching. Punching enemies, punching gates down, punching bullets, and so on. You can also pick up Alpha and Beta icons that give you a robot helper with a weapon depending on a 3-icon combination. Great music and graphics. (Hint: Collect the same combination twice with your robot still functional to wreck shit like God Hand, NES edition.)
The Famicom version of this game, called Tokkyū Shirei Soruburein, was based on a TV show, and is different in a few ways. It is a lot easier. The character and robot sprites are different. A stage and boss is exclusive to each version. The intro is different. But because it is easier, it is also a lot less fun Therefore, it's recommended to play the Japanese equivalent after having completed Shatterhand.