Beat 'em up

Video game genre A beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, while some modern games feature more open three-dimensional (3D) environments with a larger number of enemies. Gameplay tends to follow arcade genre conventions, such as being simple to learn, but difficult to master, and the combat system is typically more highly developed than other side-scrolling action games. Two-player cooperative gameplay and multiple player characters are also hallmarks of the genre. Most of these games take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical, science fiction or fantasy themes. The first beat 'em up was 1984's Kung-Fu Master, which was based on Hong Kong martial arts films. 1986's Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun introduced the belt scroll format employed extensively by later games, and also popularized contemporary urban settings, while its Western localized version Renegade further introduced underworld revenge themes. The genre th