Beat 'em up

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A '''beat 'em up''' (also known as '''brawler''' and, in some markets, '''beat 'em off'''<ref name=OQLF>{{cite web|url=http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/ressources/bibliotheque/dictionnaires/20120701_jeu_video.pdf| title=Vocabulaire du jeu vidéo| author=Perron, Yolande| editor=[[wmfr:Office québécois de la langue française|Office québécois de la langue française]]| date=2012| access-date=2015-08-31| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613015614/http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/ressources/bibliotheque/dictionnaires/20120701_jeu_video.pdf| archive-date=2015-06-13| url-status=live}}</ref>) is a [[video game genre]] featuring [[hand-to-hand combat]] against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in [[Side-scrolling video game|scrolling]], [[2D computer graphics|two-dimensional]] (2D) levels, while some modern games feature more open [[3D computer graphics|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 video game|cooperative gameplay]] and multiple [[player character]]s 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. A '''beat 'em up''' (also known as '''brawler''' and, in some markets, '''beat 'em all'''<ref name=OQLF>{{cite web|url=http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/ressources/bibliotheque/dictionnaires/20120701_jeu_video.pdf| title=Vocabulaire du jeu vidéo| author=Perron, Yolande| editor=[[wmfr:Office québécois de la langue française|Office québécois de la langue française]]| date=2012| access-date=2015-08-31| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613015614/http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/ressources/bibliotheque/dictionnaires/20120701_jeu_video.pdf| archive-date=2015-06-13| url-status=live}}</ref>) is a [[video game genre]] featuring [[hand-to-hand combat]] against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in [[Side-scrolling video game|scrolling]], [[2D computer graphics|two-dimensional]] (2D) levels, while some modern games feature more open [[3D computer graphics|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 video game|cooperative gameplay]] and multiple [[player character]]s 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 (video game)|Kung-Fu Master]]'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdMnDwAAQBAJ&q=beat+em+up+kung+fu+master&pg=PT51|title=The A-Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 1|first=Kieren|last=Hawken|date=16 February 2017|publisher=Andrews UK Limited|isbn=9781785386428|access-date=2 March 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-side-scrolling-beat-em-up|title=First side-scrolling beat-em-up|publisher=Guinness World Records|access-date=2 March 2018|archive-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721015702/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-side-scrolling-beat-em-up/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 then saw an interval of high popularity between the release of ''[[Double Dragon (video game)|Double Dragon]]'' in 1987, which defined the two-player cooperative mode and continuous belt scroll format central to classic beat 'em ups, and 1991's ''[[Street Fighter II]]'', which drew gamers towards one-on-one [[fighting games]]. Games such as ''[[Streets of Rage]]'', ''[[Final Fight (video game)|Final Fight]]'', ''[[Golden Axe (video game)|Golden Axe]]'' and ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' are other classics to emerge from this time. In the late 1990s, the genre lost popularity with the emergence of 3D-polygon technology. The first beat 'em up was 1984's ''[[Kung-Fu Master (video game)|Kung-Fu Master]]'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdMnDwAAQBAJ&q=beat+em+up+kung+fu+master&pg=PT51|title=The A-Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 1|first=Kieren|last=Hawken|date=16 February 2017|publisher=Andrews UK Limited|isbn=9781785386428|access-date=2 March 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-side-scrolling-beat-em-up|title=First side-scrolling beat-em-up|publisher=Guinness World Records|access-date=2 March 2018|archive-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721015702/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-side-scrolling-beat-em-up/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 then saw an interval of high popularity between the release of ''[[Double Dragon (video game)|Double Dragon]]'' in 1987, which defined the two-player cooperative mode and continuous belt scroll format central to classic beat 'em ups, and 1991's ''[[Street Fighter II]]'', which drew gamers towards one-on-one [[fighting games]]. Games such as ''[[Streets of Rage]]'', ''[[Final Fight (video game)|Final Fight]]'', ''[[Golden Axe (video game)|Golden Axe]]'' and ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' are other classics to emerge from this time. In the late 1990s, the genre lost popularity with the emergence of 3D-polygon technology.