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.

The Punisher gained significant popularity in arcades and is widely regarded as one of the best titles in the beat 'em up genre as well as one of the best video game adaptations of comic books.

The Punisher follows the same side-scrolling beat'em up formula Capcom established in Final Fight (1989) and Captain Commando (1991)[2] as the protagonists engage ordinary foes and stage bosses.

Treasure can also be found in containers, awarding the player with bonus score points once collected (jewelry also appears after defeating female enemies).

The game begins in an illegal casino and the streets of the New York City, with the merciless vigilante Frank "the Punisher" Castle (optionally partnered with S.H.I.E.L.D.

agent Nick Fury) in pursuit of the Mafia enforcer Bruno Costa who ordered the killing of Castle's family; the chase ends with a fight against Chester Scully (a minor villain from the comics).

He breaks into a hotel and corners Bruno, who is suddenly killed by a robot called Guardroid, who tells Frank the Kingpin has programmed him to terminate him, which the Punisher must then take on.

[6] This version also contains some content censorship, including removing the most explicit violence as well as the animation of Fury smoking his cigar,[3] and female ninja enemies with skimpy outfits becoming fully clothed.

[2] 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".

[8] Reviewing the Genesis conversion, VideoGames called it "a decent exercise in vigilante mayhem" that is "surprisingly fun, yet fairly standard game".

[31] A preview by Mean Machines Sega opined it "looks good" and features "fantastic weaponry",[35] but EGM criticized the characters for being too small on the screen, also stating that there was little to no skill involved in defeating the bosses.

[21] Mega Play reviewers especially criticized the port's removal of gore and the "drab" and "dull" color palette, issuing it four scores of between 67 and 72%.

[36] GamePro outright panned the port, commenting that the special moves are too difficult to pull off, the sound effects are weak, the gameplay is generic and unimaginative beat 'em up fare, and "the graphics never come close to the coin-op game that this cart is based on".

[38] Notwithstanding the flawed home port and limited commercial success, the arcade original has achieved a cult game status.

[42] The magazine too expressed a wish for it to be included in a compilation re-release for a more modern gaming system, in this case the PlayStation Portable, but noted that the chances of this are slim due to a long-expired license.

[47] Crunchyroll's Patrick Macias wrote: "I'll confess my heart skipped a beat when I read The Punisher arcade game, the legacy of a misspent youth and countless tokens whittled away at Chuck E.