Final Fight lives up to its status as an iconic beatemup classic by combining fun moves with swarms of fast, dangerous enemies.

For the past few months, Final Fight truly had its hooks in me. After coming up with the bright idea to 1CC it (clear with 1 quarter), I put countless hours into trying to get the first few levels down. I learned the mechanics, discovered all the different exploits, toiled away at Damnd, Sodom, Edi E, conquered the...

...oh, who am I kidding. I gave up. I gave up like crazy. This game's hard as balls.

The reason I ended up beating Final Fight with not one, not two, but seventeen credits is due to one thing: burnout. By the time I got through 4-ish stages with 1 credit, I'd begun to get a little irritated with the game.

As impressed as I am with Final Fight's dedication to painting a picture of a very gritty NYC, I gotta admit that I just don't love the presentation. While there's some great music here, the first two tracks in this game annoy the hell out of me. And although FF features a sweeping sunset view of New York Harbor and the best representation of a subway I've seen in a game...there are some blandly lit streets and a boring industrial area that harm the atmosphere, IMO.

This might all seem a bit dour, but honestly? I can see myself coming back to Final Fight some day based purely on the merits of its fantastic gameplay.

Being one of the most iconic beatemups of all time, it's no surprise that FF gets all the basic mechanics right. Playing as Guy, I found that the loud, satisfying punches put a nice distance between you and the enemy, all while inflicting a generous amount of hitstun that allows the player to easily grapple them. Throwing an enemy sends them flying across the screen too, which means one good toss is all you need to turn the tides of a 10v1 brawl. Oh, and the special attack (jump+punch) allowed me to easily cancel out of moves, deflect projectiles, and stop myself from getting swarmed by enemies.

I think what makes Final Fight so engaging is that all of the moves make me feel so powerful. And yet, even with so many helpful attacks, I never really felt like this game was easy. The seemingly endless depth of FF comes from the devastating combo of a fun moveset and fast, challenging enemies that leap behind you, toss knives, and lunge forward at devastating speeds. Even as the game continues to whoop my ass again and again to the same screeching soundtrack, I find that I can't really put it down.

So, yes I kinda gave up on trying to 1CC Final Fight. But there's still a part of me screaming for one more try! One more try! Just one more!

Guardians: Denjin Makai 2 allows players to channel their inner Japanese superhero in a super fast beatemup with some silly charm and an impressive combo system.

For a genre all about spanking endless hordes of buff guys and emerging victorious, I find it strange how few beatemups make me feel as overpowered as Guardians: Denjin Makai 2 does.

Don't get me wrong--I still suck. I whiff attacks, I head straight into oncoming danger, I haven't even beaten the game in less than 7 credits. But every now and then, I go absolutely wild on a boss and combo them up the side of a wall. From time to time, I dispatch an entire group of enemies in a matter of seconds. And maybe, say, once per run, I really feel like I've just slipped into the shoes of a classic Japanese superhero, and it's my turn to take down the villain of the week.

This series is all about its insane move list, and so Guardians has an absolute BUTTLOAD of cool moves. The game teaches you how to do many of them from the Character Select, but some are only going to be discovered once you use your character. Guardians features a very intuitive combo system, and practicing with it will allow you to take down enemies faster and easier than if you were just taking playing a slow game of keep-away like you would in a game like Final Fight.

And honestly? I recommend playing aggressively. If you want to beat the game with less credits, the safest (and most fun) thing you can do is stack enemies and make sure you can keep hitting them before they even touch you.

I will say, though, that while Guardians is awesome, it isn't exactly epic. The game is frequently very funny, almost satirically so. Environments are beautifully detailed and enemies will frequently be caught engaging in silly gags. However, the boss designs really just...aren't great, at least visually. The first boss is a pretty funny take on the typically buff villains you'll find in any beatemup. The next few are a generic ninja, a plain-looking mech, then an ugly...mollusk, thing? The only boss that really stands out is the final one. And while the music is usually solid...gosh, the default boss theme truly sounds like boring Character Select music.

At the end of the day, Guardians isn't a beatemup that I can "get lost in" like Golden Axe or Streets of Rage 2. But it gets it right because it remains fun, bizarre and undeniably spectacular from beginning to end.