10 Best Beat 'Em Up Video Games Of All TIme

1. Streets Of Rage 2

The Warriors
SEGA

Here we have it: the undisputed champion of the beat ‘em up, a game that brings together everything that developers had been striving for since the genre was coined in those hazy days of the eighties.

It’s tough where to start with Streets Of Rage 2, because, on the bruised face of it, the game is just a beefed up version of the original – boasting better graphics and a meatier fighting. But there is so much more to behold here.

The story alone is smart, with Sega taking the original’s arguably best playable character (Adam) out of the equation, shackling him in chains and having his brawling buddy Axel take the lead in freeing him. While Blaze could still leap like a deadly salmon, Max was a chunky fist chucker and other new kid on the block Skate was a handful in a scrap, it was Axel and his fiery fists – able to light up courtesy of a more efficient special attack gifted to each character – that was the game’s MVP.

Second level, The Bridge, is a showcase for why this game is our number one, throwing bike racing, hip tossing enemies in your direction, that are easily taken down by some clever aerial manoeuvres or a thunderous Dragon Wing. This stage alone is a golden moment in retro gaming lore.

Streets Of Rage 3 would be released later on down the track, capping the trilogy of nicely, but it’s this sequel that remains the victor.

Gutted that Alien Storm wasn't included? Think we're too cowardly to include the might of Ninja Gaiden? Get commenting below...

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Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing. He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.