When diving into video games, particularly as a youngster, the idea of precise button inputs isn’t always immediately obvious. Let’s just say, if you’re unsure of what you’re doing, the instinct is often to pound on every button as quickly and forcefully as possible, hoping for a positive outcome.
Naturally, this strategy often backfires in many games. I once knew someone who insisted on button mashing through both gameplay and cutscenes, and they probably finished only about 10% of the games they started.
However, it’s not inherently negative if a game is forgiving of button mashing. A game can still be enjoyed, even with relentless button presses, and in certain cases, it might even be more entertaining to just go all-in and see what happens.
While any game can be played with careful strategy, it requires a special kind of game to stay engaging even when encouraging reckless button mashing, directly or indirectly.
For the purpose of this list, “button mashing” encompasses all its forms, including joystick waggling and holding a button down for extended periods.
8
X-Men (1992)
Or Any Beat ‘Em Up, Really
If there’s a game genre tailor-made for those who love button mashing, it’s sidescrolling beat ’em ups. Most classic beat ’em ups usually have a maximum of two buttons, and one of them is often just for jumping.
With only one attack button, you’ll naturally want to hammer it as hard as possible, desperate to avoid feeding another quarter into the machine.
Any classic beat ’em up could qualify for this list, but due to personal preference, let’s choose the 1992 X-Men arcade game. I still remember the good old days, huddled with friends around the cabinet, arguing over who would get to play as Colossus.
Whoever did get to play as Colossus was sure to unleash a constant barrage of “WOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAGH” from the cabinet.
We didn’t realize as kids that using your Mutant Power in that game would also drain your health, so once you could no longer use it, you were likely doomed. But that didn’t stop us from mashing buttons, and it didn’t diminish the game’s fun.
7
Gauntlet Legends
Throw Your Entire Sword
Ever watch a child get a new toy or stuffed animal, and the very first thing they do is smack it against the wall as hard as they can? That’s the feeling I had playing Gauntlet Legends for the first time.
As a conversion from the arcade scene, this game features only a single primary attack button, and given the melee-focused weapons of most characters, my initial thought was that they would simply swing at whatever happened to be in front of them. I was wrong.
Unless an enemy is directly in front of you, or you’re playing a ranged-focused class like the Archer or Wizard, your character will automatically start tossing their weapon in front of them. Their whole weapon! The Warrior throws his entire axe, the Valkyrie chucks her entire sword, and they keep doing so as long as you hold the button.
Technically, you’re meant to get closer to enemies as a melee class, but I could never get over the novelty of launching my weapon at monsters constantly. Luckily, the game provides plenty of monsters to throw weapons at, and fantastic dungeons to do so in.
6
Borderlands 2
As Fast As You Can Pull The Trigger
The most significant feature of the Borderlands series is the sheer variety of guns available, with Borderlands 2 remaining the standout example. Due to randomized stats and abilities, it’s tough to tell how the bullets will fly, but generally, you want as many bullets flying as you can. More bullets equal more dead enemies.
Different guns, different types, and different brands all fire differently, but the primary factor is whether a gun is automatic or semi-automatic. With automatic weapons, you can just hold the trigger to spray and pray until your ammo runs out.
If your bullets have wacky properties like elemental damage, you’re likely to inflict area-of-effect damage as well, so you’ll eventually hit something.
Then there are semi-automatic weapons, particularly those from the Jakobs brand. Many Jakobs weapons will fire as quickly as you can pull the trigger, meaning you can hammer the trigger on your controller. Since Jakobs weapons offer some of the highest base damage and crit rate stats, it’s worth using this to your advantage. Besides, it looks cool.
5
Prototype
Whip It Good
Part of what makes the biologically flexible creatures like the monster in John Carpenter’s The Thing so compelling is that you never know what they will do next. It’s impossible to guess the full extent of their physical capabilities just by looking at them, assuming they have any at all.
Looking at this same problem from the other side in Prototype, where you play as the biologically flexible monstrosity, it’s easy to see the appeal of being a creature like that.
In Prototype, you’re almost always objectively stronger than anything else around you. This means you don’t need to be subtle or precise when dealing with foes, which complements the game’s broad selection of modes and abilities, and its potential for causing mayhem.
I loved switching to the Whipfist and then mashing the attack button as fast as possible to poke enemies from random distances. Even in a melee fight, switching to Blade or Hammerfist and mashing a bit is usually enough to turn everything nearby into a fine red mist.
4
Dynasty Warriors
Which One? Throw A Dart
The Musou genre, like Dynasty Warriors, revolves around being a nearly invincible superhuman on a battlefield of weaker foes. You’ve got the biggest weapons and the most strength, so everything you do will devastate your enemies.
The series seems to understand this, which is why in most entries, the combat doesn’t become more complicated than a character-specific list of light and heavy combo attacks.
Victory in Dynasty Warriors is less about dealing damage and more about maximizing your area of effect. By randomly mashing light and heavy attacks, you’ll almost certainly discover a wide-swinging attack that will clear out the weaker enemies and knock away tougher opponents.
Most Dynasty Warriors games would be suitable for this list, but if I had to pick a favorite, it might be one of the spin-off tie-in games such as One Piece Pirate Warriors 3. I simply enjoy One Piece, and its chaotic, cartoonish energy pairs perfectly with all of that random button-mashing fun.
3
Mario Party
My Palms Still Hurt
I generally enjoy the Mario Party series, but it sure knows how to inflict pain. From its inception, Mario Party’s mini-games have covered everything from carefully considered inputs to completely chaotic button mashing.
Mashing buttons in a single-player game is one thing, but there’s a certain spiciness to doing so in Mario Party because you know that even a moment of hesitation means being left in the dust.
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