Streets of Rage 2

Sometimes a few seconds of the title music are enough and you know you're home. Streets of Rage 2 from 1992 opens with a pulsing beat and within an instant drags you into streets full of thugs who are practically asking for a proper beating. Many still call it the best 2D beat 'em up ever made — and they have solid reasons for it.

The combat here is fluid, readable and satisfying: every blow has weight, throws and special attacks land exactly where you need them, and the game rewards you for rhythm and positioning. There are four characters with distinct styles — from the balanced Axel through the nimble Blaze to the slow but crushing Max — so each choice changes the pace and tactics.

An enormous strength is co-op. Playing through the game as a pair is one of the best couch co-op experiences of its era; a well-drilled duo covers each other, combines attacks and works together through crowds of enemies and inventive bosses. The level design leads you from lit streets through fairground attractions to the final villain's lair, and the pace never lets up.

A legend was made, however, above all by the soundtrack. The then twenty-four-year-old Yuzo Koshiro composed it in his own programming language and created pioneering dance and house music that sounds raw, energetic and still modern. To this day it is cited as one of the high points of game music altogether, and it is in itself a reason people return to the game.

Streets of Rage 2 is an essential Mega Drive title — a combination of a flawless combat system, superb co-op and an immortal soundtrack makes it a game against which the whole genre is measured. If you want to understand why we love beat 'em ups, start right here.

Why play it: Perhaps the best 2D beat 'em up ever — flawless combat, superb co-op and Yuzo Koshiro's legendary soundtrack.