Beat-Em-Ups, the dudebro games of the pre-3D world?

[k.vlaros]

This is a really interesting premise, thank you. It will come down to what each person thinks is the defining characteristic of dudebro games. To me, that would be the mass appeal and ubiquity, and maybe annualization, of titles that draw in the non-nerd audience. Therefore, I would say Madden, and other EA sports games to a lesser extent, was the dudebro game of the era.

[CFFJR]

Aren't there more beat em ups on the snes overall anyway?

I'm not saying this argument holds any water, I just think its silly to be slamming the Genesis in particular for this perception. Beat em ups were huge in their time, period. The arcades were packed with them.

As for nostalgia, I don't think so. After all my years, beat em ups remain one of my favorite genres. They never grow repetitive for me. I love seeing a new cast of player characters and enemies whenever I play a new one I've never tried before. I love experiencing the different level designs in each. I love trying to beat my old scores and beat the game on one life, or at least one credit.

Hell, Streets of Rage 2 alone, I've probably beaten a hundred times. I still fire it up and just have a blast every single time.

And the thing is, they aren't all the same. Yes they're very similar, but all genre games have a lot in common with each other. To use the thread's example, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage have a completely different style, particularly the farther you go in each series. By the time you get to SOR3 and GA3 they're so different, between SOR's fighter style special move button combos and GA's branching paths, that the very idea falls apart.

I too will be very interested to hear what Gamerforlife has to say on this subject.

[GameMasterGuy]

Aren't there more beat em ups on the snes overall anyway?

Must just be bad luck for me, then. A good 25% of the Genesis games I've run into have been beat-em-ups, however I haven't even heard of a single SNES one. I'll edit the title.

[CFFJR]

Aren't there more beat em ups on the snes overall anyway?

Must just be bad luck for me, then. A good 25% of the Genesis games I've run into have been beat-em-ups, however I haven't even heard of a single SNES one. I'll edit the title.

Well that's interesting! I'm surprised to hear that. There are quite a few on snes. Super quick list off the top of my head:

Final Fight
Final Fight Guy (Same game, one different character)
Final Fight 2
Final Fight 3
Ninja Warriors
Undercover Cops
Rushing Beat/Rival Turf
Rushing Beat Ran -Fukusei Toshi/Brawl Brothers
Rushing Beat Shura/The Peace Keepers

It goes on.

[GameMasterGuy]

Final Fight actually rings a bell, but I thought it was NES. Wikipedia tells me I'm misinformed, maybe I'll hunt a copy down once I get hungry for another beat-em-up.
EDIT: Just did a bit of price checking on them... why the hell is FF3 $40 at my retro gaming store, $55 on eBay, and $50 on Amazon!? Sweet Jesus, I've heard of the "Nintendo premium", but this is just outrageous!

[Hazerd]

I dont think video games were main stream enough in the 90's for "bro-dudes" if any games was "bro-dude" it was Mortal Kombat.

[pankakes123]

I have no idea what a dudebro game is to be honest. All I know is that as of recently I forever hold a grudge against Beat 'em ups on the Genesis. I recently got the Genesis collection for PS2, and went straight to Golden Axe because I've heard so many great things about it. Well, GOLDEN AXE SUCKS! There, I said it. Riding the monsters is cool, but that's it.

[Opa Opa]

I have no idea what a dudebro game is to be honest. All I know is that as of recently I forever hold a grudge against Beat 'em ups on the Genesis. I recently got the Genesis collection for PS2, and went straight to Golden Axe because I've heard so many great things about it. Well, GOLDEN AXE SUCKS! There, I said it. Riding the monsters is cool, but that's it.

Which Genesis Collection did you play it on?

[brunoafh]

As per mjmjr25's recommendation I'm going to voice my opinion here. This thread is retarded and makes no sense. Comparing 16-bit gaming to "dudebro" (seriously? come on) quite frankly gives me a head ache. For shame.

[Yancakes]

I don't know why everyone is so shocked by the "dudebro" title, it's just a little more retarded version of "brogamer", and I've heard that thrown around a freaking tonne over the last couple of years. They're a pretty new phenomenon, they're the "cool" people that got in to games recently as they've gained more and more mainstream appeal.

They pop collars, call each other bro incessantly (or bitch if they're girls- I will NEVER understand how "bitch" became a term of endearment) and only play Halo, Call of Duty and sports games.

Obviously, this is a huuuge generalization. But I like it, it tends to hold pretty true.