Eind jaren 80 en begin jaren 90 domineerde het side scrolling beat'm up genre de videogameindustrie, en tussen vele slechte klonen waren er een aantal titels die er met kop en schouders boven uit staken. De website Topless Robot heeft een lijstje gemaakt met tien games die volgens hun de beste beat'm ups ooit gemaakt zijn. Onze favoriet is de nummer 9:

9) Final Fight

For what it was, Final Fight was pretty dead serious. Metro City was rotting from crime, and the Mad Gear gang took it when too far when they kidnapped the mayor's daughter. Instead of paying the ransom, mayor Mike Haggar ripped off his shirt and powerbombed half the criminals in the city. Joined by tennis shoes tough guy Cody and mysterious karate dude Guy, the collective beat up homies, dudes in 1920s bathing suits, cops, wrestlers, knife-wielding homeless people and bitch-slapping trannies. The tone was much more serious than other games at the time, and the violence was much more realistic. The Final Fight legacy continued on with characters like Cody and Rolento appearing in Street Fighter games.