Kozure Ookami (Japan)

In this game, you play Itto, and you walk around with your son in a backpack, killing a lot of guys to death. While this is a scrolling beat'em all, in terms of mechanical complexity, there is a sort of similarity to simpler games that came before it, like Spartan X, My Hero, et al. There is no combo, but you do have a block button and can do a few different blocks with your sword by holding one direction when you press the attack button.