As you'll most likely be aware, we're big fans of Hardcore Gaming 101's series of books, which so far have covered everything from Sega's arcade history to the best shmups of all time. The latest publication takes a similar approach but looks at the many excellent belt-scrolling beat 'em ups that have graced arcades, consoles and home computers over the years.
The book goes all the way back to Technos' Renegade, which laid down so many of the foundations of the genre, before devoting a large portion of pages to the Double Dragon series – another name that is synonymous with the belt-scrolling brawler genre. Capcom's big-hitters are also featured, including Final Fight, Alien vs. Predator and Captain Commando – while Konami's seminal TMNT and Simpsons arcades games also get some attention, alongside the amazing Vendetta and the sadly-forgotten Asterix.
Via a combination of knowledgeable prose and crisp screenshots, the book does an excellent job of providing a primer on the world of side-scrolling fighters, with the only real criticism we can think of being that many other famous titles are missing, although this is because they're covered in other HG101 books (Golden Axe is in the Sega Arcade Classics book, for example) and featuring them here would be duplication.
A second volume is in the works, which will focus on Irem's contributions to the genre, such as Undercover Cops and Hook. In the meantime, this comes highly recommended – you can pick up a copy using the Amazon link below.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Comments 8
I'm really looking forward to the next Bitmap Books release 'Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side Scrolling Beat Em Ups', so I'm not sure I can justify this one as well.
I really like the Hardcore Gaming 101 books I've got, but they're usually of lower print/picture quality than the Bitmap ones and can be a bit heavy on the typos.
@BionicDodo I think the HG101 books are somewhere between a collected fanzine and a professional publication – which isn’t a diss, because they have the enthusiasm and always do the research. Their book on the Famicom Disk System was the most exhaustive English language source on the source I’ve ever read, and like most of their books well worth any retro fan’s time and money.
Who’s the pink haired chick on the cover? I recognize everyone except for her.
I've got this book ordered and waiting to get it from Amazon. The HCG 101 books are great even with their above mentioned typos and grammatical errors.
@Funneefox She's from a Konami game called Gaiapolis. I had to do a bit of searching to figure that out. I never played the game, but, strangely enough, I was recently thinking I'd like to try it.
We need game guides not picture books
@Dirty0814 try gamefaqs
@sdelfin Ooooohh Gaiopolis! Weird how I’ve played the game but didn’t recognize her. You should try it! Really fun action rpg/beat em up hybrid.
Tap here to load 8 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...