Me against everyone

After the hangover from the golden age of arcades, there has been a certain drop in attendance at arcades.

Home consoles and computers became more complex and durable, as slot machines often repeated the same scene without stopping with more difficulty. The end of the decade was saved thanks to the sports and racing arcades, and a genre that primarily required cooperative play The Beat 'em Up or Brawlers.

In 1987, the release of Double Dragon inaugurated gold for the beat'em up genre. The game was designed by Technos Japan and Taito around the world. It was the best-selling arcade in Japan in 1987. The success of Double Dragon caused a flood of titles in this style where titles such as Golden and Final Fight - both in 1989 - stood out from the rest in terms of sales.

Golden Axe was the second best-selling plaque in 1989 and Final Fight followed suit. The decline occurs with the arrival of 32 bits. Currently there seems to be a revival within the retro currents.

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FEATURES

A beat 'em up or "brawler" is an action game where the character has to fight a large number of enemies in combat without weapons or melee weapons.It usually consists of going through a level in sections, defeating a group of enemies before moving on to the next and at the end of facing a boss.

Although they have elements common to the games, they are different because they have scrollings and multiple enemies.Sometimes the media and fans of would also call them fighting games.

A common theme among fighters is organized crime gangs on the streets of suburban towns and cities in the United States.

There are also historical and fantastic games. The movement is generally horizontal but with a depth that allows some freedom of advance.

Players can find power-ups that replenish it, give extra points or small weapons like knives, sticks and even an animal to keep going, that our movements and our blows.

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The enemies of each level are usually of the same or similar type, which implies many types of enemies. At the beginning of the game, they often allow the player to choose from a selection of protagonists, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, moves, and even special powers.
They often have their own special attacks and require different strategies.

The control is generally quite simple and consists of moving forward, jumping, hitting and kicking. Combinations sometimes allow some special keys but are usually not very complex. Another feature common to the genre was the local cooperative game for two and even players.

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EVOLUTION

Since the early 70s and 80s, combat and martial arts films were popular in Hong Kong thanks to actors like Lee or Jackie Chan, who even had them with young American women. This has logically ended up having its replica in the world of video games, which were developed in the eighties to the game rooms and homes.

The year 1984 is the key to the appearance of the genre. Karate Champ from Data East popularized martial games. Hong inspired by the cinema Irem's Kung-Fu Master laid the foundation for side scrolling beat'em ups games with simple and multiple gameplay.

Karate combined Karate fighting sequences with the freedom of Kung-Fu Master, and successfully experimented with adding plot. He was also one of the first to be successful at home.

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Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, released in 1986 in Japan, has street fights in the genre. The western adaptation Renegade added a suburban revenge plot that has proven to be more popular with combat sports players than other games.

Renegade set the standard for future beat'em up games, because it introduced the ability to move both horizontally and vertically. The use of combo attacks, delivering a succession of damage by increasing hits and stunning with the first hit facilitating successive hits was an interesting contribution.

MAXIMUM POPULARITY

While Renegade was already the basis for Beat Up, their next hit Double Dragon, it sparked a flood of similar games. His martial arts key set and grand double were a highlight and also a hit in the hallways.

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Sega released Golden Ax in 1989. Makoto Uchida was the main designer of the game. The game features three warriors who owe the fantastic land of Yuria from the tyrannical reign of Adder, who wields the golden axe.

Not only was it a success, but there were good versions and sequels for the Sega consoles.There was a good cooperative mode and each one brings different ways of fighting.

Final Fight was initially the planned sequel to Capcom's Street, but the company eventually gave it a new title.The combo attacks in Final Fight were many more and the sprites much larger. This is the best of its kind for many fans at the time. It also spawned ports and suites. Final Fight was also the reason for the Capcom news and the bankruptcy of Technos Japan.