Street brawlers were a dime a dozen over a decade ago, but now they’re dead. Here’s what’s need to bring the kung fu back to the streets in a fresh manner.

A few weeks ago, my friend Gabriel stopped by to take in a couple of rounds of Hokuto no Ken for the PlayStation 2, as he’s a huge fan of the American Fist of the Northstar movie, hilariously bad Streamline dub and all. After several minutes of being dazzled by the sexy visuals and fun gameplay, he said in a very matter of fact manner, “This would kick ass as a side scrolling brawler.”

My brain hung on those words as he continued to slice his way through Roah using Rei, and I pondered why there aren’t any visually stunning, hyper-animated, 2D beat ‘em ups. After realizing that the answer to that query was one I did not want to hear (BEUs are a genre on the verge of extinction) I shed a mighty, floor-shattering man-tear worthy of one that Kenshiro would drop (after Gabe left the premises, of course). Read more