Beat ‘em Ups are amazing, we all know that, but for every list of the top ten Beat ‘em Ups of all time, these all tend to focus on subjective judgments of quality. However, another question to ask would be what the most important Beat ‘em Ups of all time were. This took some time to consider and while a top ten list was considered, I decided to keep it at the six most that had the most importance to the genre overall. These were not the only important games obviously, and there are more to consider overall, but these five stood out the most in terms of their importance.
Kung Fu Master
Kung Fu Master is the single most important Beat ‘em Up ever made, for a very simple reason. This is the game that is widely agreed as having kickstarted the genre. It is indeed very basic by today’s standards, but there is something about it that is just so easy to get into, and the gameplay is addictive. This is also the first example of a licensed Beat ‘em Up at the same time, starting a long tradition that continues today. Irem would later make a spiritual sequel in Vigilante, and many games would take influence, but there is only one original.
Renegade/Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun
Renegade was not only the start of the Kunio-kun series but also originated the multi-plane belt scrolling Beat ‘em Up format. It was not perfect yet, and still a rough form of what was to come, but all the key aspects were there. Other Beat ‘em Ups that were rushed into development at the time were single-plane Beat ‘em Ups cashing in on Kung Fu Master’s success, but Renegade soon had developers realizing there was much more to be done. Tecnos would build on this game with a long-running franchise that is still going on today, and show other developers just what was possible to do with the genre.
Double Dragon
Double Dragon marked the point where the belt action scrolling in Beat ‘em Ups was perfected and multi-plane Beat ‘em Ups would be common after this. But more importantly, Double Dragon introduced the Beat ‘em Up genre to multiplayer with its co-op mode. It is difficult to picture most Beat ‘em Ups without this feature and Double Dragon is where the ingredients came together. Later games in the genre would expand with four-player and six-player games, but Double Dragon is what helped make this all possible.
Final Fight
Contrary to what some may think, Final Fight was not Capcom’s first Beat ‘em Up, as the developer had released titles like Avengers before. But Final Fight marked the turning point in the genre and introduced the Capcom formula which is still the basis for most brawlers to this day. The use of large sprites, the dedicated life bars for enemies, and more all had their roots here, and indeed the way the combat functions is all based on Final Fight. Later Capcom games and games from other developers would greatly expand the formula, but without Final Fight, the genre would be very different indeed.
Streets of Rage 1
While Streets of Rage 2 is rightfully regarded as a classic and a truly amazing Beat ‘em Up, Streets of Rage 1 was itself a turning point for the genre. Until this point, the best Beat ‘em Ups for the home were either downgraded arcade ports or experimental spinoffs that had to dip into other genres to make the game work. Streets of Rage 1 marked the point where Beat ‘em Ups made specifically for home consoles began to stand equally with those in the arcades. It would take more time to truly surpass the arcades entirely, but Streets of Rage was a revelation in this regard. Without Streets of Rage, it is unlikely we would have seen Final Fight 2 and 3 or the Rushing Beat trilogy on SNES, or any of the other original or licensed Beat ‘em Ups made for consoles and not arcades.
River City Ransom
As mentioned just a paragraph ago, before Streets of Rage 1, console original Beat ‘em Ups needed something to stand out, and River City Ransom did that in a big way. This sequel to Renegade introduced open-world gameplay and RPG elements to the genre in a big way, both of which would have a major impact not just on the genre but beyond. It is easy to see where open-world 3D Brawlers like the Lika A Dragon/Yakuza series were inspired by River City Ransom, but also others that used RPG elements, including well-loved Beat ‘em Ups from Capcom like the Chronicles of Mystara games, their spiritual sequel Dragon’s Crown and of course Treasure’s Guardian Heroes and modern side-scrolling games like Scott Pilgrim vs the World the Game.
And there we have it, the six most important Beat ‘em Ups in the genre. What others do you feel are some of the most important, not simply the highest quality?
