Whereas Mortal Kombat set a tonal bar for video game violence, the original Street Fighter II was the title that almost single-handedly paved the way for the beat-'em-up. Seriously, without the immense and unprecedented popularity that the original Street Fighter II arcade machines enjoyed, you could argue that the genre mightn't even exist as it does today. Ryu, as the main character of the original Street Fighter, was set as the primary focus of Street Fighter II and as such has became synonymous with the series since. So with that being said, is there a more iconic image in the whole beat-'em-up genre than Ryu performing his fabled Hadouken? I'd say no, there isn't.