I'm not sure if there's an official name for this group of games, but I believe some may casually refer to them as the "black box games." They consist of Nintendo-published titles which were released in the first few years of the NES. Perusing through them is like walking through the baseball hall of fame. Comprised of legends like Super Mario Bros., Metroid, and Kid Icarus, the titles represent the forefront of the modern gaming industry. Yet among them lurks an intruder known as Urban Champion.
For lack of a gentler euphemistic phrase, I'll just say that this game is bad. One who is in denial of Nintendo's ability to commit an error might try to argue that the game was a prototype for the better beat 'em ups which surged at arcades a few years later. That's fine, except for the fact that Sega's Heavyweight Champ had done it almost a decade earlier. Another attempt to save face for Nintendo might suggest that it paved the way for two-on-two fighters such as the Street Fighter series. Again, this is an exercise in futility. Let us just accept a simple truth and move on. Nintendo, being comprised of human beings, is capable of doing what every single person on earth does: making mistakes. And the rarity at which Nintendo makes a truly bad game is remarkable. Heck, I'd take 27 Urban Champions for just one Super Mario Bros. 3.
