The GREATEST Beat Em' Up I've Ever Played! The Beauty and Mechanical Depth of Fight N' Rage! 

I have an interesting in-depth interview with the developer of Fight N' Rage: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uUhqQeZSRR0.html

I've been playing beat 'em ups since the 80s, this impressive game is easily top 3 all-time in this genre. Everything you said here is dead-on. It's INSANE that one guy made this.

This and Streets of Rage 4 are exactly what I wanted out of a modern beat em up. Recent ones have a bunch of RPG elements fistfucked into the game to artificially extend the playtime when in actuality, it just prolongs the player from diving deep into the mechanics.

Thank you for such review! Glad to see people that appreciate those gameplay related things! =)

You hooked me with telling me it had good mechanics. That’s what I want

Blessed game, been aggressively recommending it to everyone I know since release. I think it's two biggest influences are Cadillacs & Dinosaurs and Streets of Rage 2-3, the former has more or less the same movement and throw system and it's awesome. Now you just gotta play Ninja Warriors Once Again and you can safely say you've played all the best takes on 2D beat em ups released in the past decade.

Very satisfying breakdown of the game... And I haven't even played it yet. Considering picking it up now after watching this.

Bought the game very recently. Your helpful review played a factor in this. 👊🏽 What an INCREDIBLE game! The combat system is exquisite and very fun to learn. Has the potential to beat out SOR4 as my favorite brawler of all time...

Mechanically this truely is the best brawler out there. It could be a bit more varied in the stage design though!

Fight 'N Rage has to be one of the most criminally underrated games I've ever played. The excellent gameplay, the distinct and beautiful sprite work, speed and difficulty settings, the option to have cpu buddies if you're a lonely fuck like me, the numerous different paths and endings, the fact that you can actually play as any of the enemies in addition to the main three, I don't know if any other beat 'em up has given players this much content and replay value. If ever we're blessed with a sequel, I'll buy two copies just to support the mad genius behind this masterpiece of a game

Excellent depth, passion in this review. Many thanks.

I also love this game! I do suck because I got stuck at the end haha but well, nice to see someone talk about this hidden gem

thanks for the review - i was looking at getting this

I preordered this from limited run a couple of months ago... good to hear it's worth it :) Can't wait!

Your point about game speed reminded me of what me and my friends did back in the day with Goldeneye. After you get used to playing multiplayer on "Turbo Mode," you cannot go back! (Its so awesome! Wonder if that was popular with a lot of other people... and when the eventual rerelease happens, they better freakin include turbo mode for online!)

That thumbnail made me clicked on it... And I don't regret it.

I don't know if you'll still see this, but I bought the game after watching this and I am addicted. Never would have heard about it otherwise so thank you!

The Scott Pilgrim vs the World beatemup was quite good

Review is soo good I subscribed.

I’ve been eyeing this game for a bit and this review just pushed me over the edge to buy it. I love beat em ups but what sold me was the added fighting game (SF3/Tekken) influence and the consideration put into cancels. I didn’t know Fight N Rage was like that. Thanks for the review!

My goodness just got the meaning of the name... Final FIGHT and Streets of RAGE = Fight N' Rage 🙃

Great review! Your enthusiasm and detailed coverage have prompted me to buy this game - it'll be the first beatemup I play (unless you count Electricman 2, one of my go-to free flash games as a kid XD)

this game is amazing, I'm glad you discovered it :D

Never heard of this game. Very cool! It's now on my Steam wishlist.

Panzer Bandit Is the most slept on beat em up

Awesome! Downloaded this quite awhile ago now (on Switch), but cool to find out the game is way more awesome than I gave it credit for. (I did enjoy it, just never really took the time to learn it properly.)

I just bought this bad boy for 5 bucks on the steam sale on your recommendation, and it might be the best game I've gotten for the least amount of cash. I had to come back here to gush a bit, because FnR legit blew my mind it's so good. I honestly think it puts out SoR4, though I love SoR4 as well. Thx for the recommendation

Good call on this. I got it on sale for switch. Was looking for a quality beat em up and this fit perfectly. The old ones are fun on free play but always kinda cheap at parts. This always feels like I could do better if I practiced more. It's complex but not complicated. Only uses a few buttons but allows for all sorts of combos and moves.

Have just found your channel and thought you only did shumps, Just finished watching a couple of your Ninja gaiden videos og NG on Xbox is one of my favorite games. Will have to try this one too as I really enjoyed sor4. All your videos are great and informative

Fight 'n Rage. Someone Mashed Final Fight, And Streets Of Rage, And Did It Right. Yeah, For Those Who Didn't Get This Reference Good.

I'll have to check this out. Looks fresh.

Bought this game thanks to the channel and completely agree,a must have for anyone who is into deep, quality games

This game is just all kinds of awesomeness, except for those golden bugs, I hate those ;) About typical beat em up game length, I prefer them to be around 40-45 min, but then have branching paths. Guardian Heroes did this really well. After clearing all paths, unlocking an option to play all stages back-to-back, or something like that, seems like a far better approach. That keeps runs from dragging on, while increasing replay incentive. Oh and that elevator section and boss in the final level are a clear homage to Streets of Rage 2. Co-op is also fantastic in this game, so much combo potential, so much fun!

This review is excellent. I really appreciate you breaking down the smallest detail like the excellent enemy design and the game's thoughtful combo system. I noticed that the gameplay only features Gal, did you happen to spend time with F.Norris and Ricardo? I find that this game's trio have more depth than just about any beat em up cast.

I agree, Fightin Rage is A very amazing game, but I wouldnt want it getting too popular. Small indie games with huge fanbases ruin everything, such as Undertale and FNAF.

Picked this up on PS4 in a sale on your recommendation. Love it, easily as good as the Ninja Warriors remake. Possibly better.

I made the mistake of playing Fight N' Rage before playing Streets of Rage 4, and now I can't go back to SOR4. The fluid movement system of FNR is just too good. It's also made it even harder for me to go back to playing other beat-em-ups that I really love like The Ninja Warriors: Once Again because FNR has made me hate slow movement in general for games of this genre. But more than that, I blame FNR for making me unable to stand beat-em-ups with excessive hitstop anymore. Everything in FNR just feels so fast that other games of the genre feel like trudging through molasses.

Yes, I am absolutely sold on this.

Thorough, insightful, and descriptive review! From a fellow 3rd Strike dude, your sales pitch on this couldn’t be bested by the game creator themselves lol 🤙🏽

After playing Slave Zero X and Streets of Rage 4 again recently, I'm ready to go back to this one I think. I did like the parry system and the fact the Norris character is literally Guy from Final Fight/SF Alpha. A triple pack with Final Vendetta is releasing soon, I'll be all over that thanks to you! I've been on a beat 'em up and SHUMP tear as recently a lot of modern games have been boring me. I put FF7 remake(part 1) down as it literally bored me to tears, the pacing is just terrible compared to the original and I just..find it so difficult to care about these Borderlands/MMO style quests.

I’ll definitely be checking this out, thanks! Ever try Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara? It’s probably the most technical old school beat em up. Lots of combat mechanics and difficult to 1cc

River city girls sound track is also amamzing

You need to play Guardian Heroes. It plays like Marvel vs Capcom 2 but as a sidescroller. I could tell this game was one of this developer's inspiration.

Shmups and beat ‘em ups are the two best genres. Great review!

Oooooh a fellow beat 'em up fan! Fight'n Rage is pretty good and has so many nods to other beat 'em ups. Two others that I would also recommend are "The Takeover" (was like a spiritual successor to Streets of Rage before SOR4 released) and if you want something in the OpenBOR route, "Final Fight Ultimate LNS" is very good, too. I also like River City Ransom Underground if you want something a more retro but modern. :D I love love love love love the music in The Takeover, though. So good. :)

Bought it from Steam sale according to your recommendation. Seems like it is up there with the 90s greatest. Good call.

Never even heard of it before, bought it the other day and have to agree this game is incredible... Thanks for the heads up I would have missed out 👍

Thank you for the review, it's truly an amazing beat em up. This is the difference between just lurking in the e-shop page, just wondering and guessing, to suddenly having a detailed review that makes the whole difference. I say this as i don't really like metacritic, there are to many big games which are beloved by normies which i simply don't enjoy. So i usually can't go by those means.

Same here it's my best new beat em up for all time.

Looks awesome ...

Great game, it's in my top 3 beat'em ups along with Streets of Rage Remake and Mystara duology

Totally agree about this review, fight n rage really hits the mark for me for beat em ups. Its the combo system, gameplay mechanics that really shine. Its so satisfying stringing together nearly seamless combos while wiping large mobs. The tutorial mode is a nice addition as well as I was able to cut my teeth on learning the in/outs of the combo mechanics. I hope the developer will make a sequel to it as there really is a lack of good beat em ups on the market and after playing other mediocre entries I always wish it they were more like fight n rage.

Haven't watched this vid yet but already know it's awesome as Fight N Rage is the greatest beat em up I don't hear enough people talking about!

Thank you for the amazing video! For me, Streets of Rage 4 was a massive let down (due to some very subtle issues), but this looks right up my alley. Streets of Rage 2 and 3 are my all time favorite, but this looks simply astounding.

Looks sick.

Awesome game, it's so tight. Check out Mother Russia, it's not good as this one, but still pretty fun.

This game is part of the reason I was actually really let down by SoR 4. SoR 4 felt kinda slow and archaic comparatively in my hands. Really solid beat em up. I know a lot of people are turned off by the visuals, sadly, but its got such solid mechanics. Didn't know you were so into beat em ups, Mark! Might have to send you a copy of mine when its done... ;)

Glad to see you giving this game some love, as it really deserves it. One of the most "crisp" feeling beat em ups in a good while, seriously hits on all fronts. You didn't mention it but it also has a lot to unlock for people who are into that, though it's really just bonus since the actual game has plenty to work through already. Would really like to see more of this caliber. Outside SOR4, nothing has topped this as of late.

Just bought a few days ago, it’s great! Trying to still beat normal without dying ahahaha I need some tip vids

Fucking love this game! Great review Mark!

Alright you got it. Just purchased it on steam.

Weird timing, just 1cc'd this last week. Really liked it as well.

Haven’t played this game yet, was hoping for a physical and it got one, now to wait for limited run. Glad I picked it up :0

I got it when it first came out im playing it now i wish this was online this game is freakin AWSOME NEED PART 2 OR ONLINE ADDED

i knew it already, awesome game!

Also, that Eurogamer story you mentioned at the end of this video is so sad. It is a reminder of how the general attitude that mainstream media (and, sadly, mainstream gamers as well) have towards arcade games is one of condescension. These people think that "mere" arcade games don't deserve full-score recommendations, even for flawless ports like Ketsui Deathtiny. I get the feeling that they're also the same people who think that arcade games cannot be considered art (but, of course, triple-A walking simulators are high art to them).

This sounds so excellent, I feel like in SOR, as the series went on, there were more and more "unfair" mechanics where the game just rubberbands you off of people instead of providing a fair but strict challenge that is predictable but fun to navigate. Don't get me wrong, I like SOR, but I feel like in order to progress you just have to break the game vs apply finesse

Dang, I really want this but my game spending budget is super tight since I'm disabled. Does it go on sale alot? I'm on Switch.

Looks Great. Don't know which to get Switch or PC. Which are you playing on.

I should pick this up after knights of the round damn, I got a key a while ago

On sale for $8 on PS4/5 till 9/1. What are you waiting for?

Also, I'm Awaiting FPS Vs. SHMUPs Video, From You. Soon. :O

I love beat em ups and shmups.

I was one of the first people praising this I think. My steam review will validate that claim ha. I like gal and Ricardo , I cleared with each. Great game

Making a good beat em up is a tall order. they typically get very repetitive (counting the 3D ones aswell), are too broken, can get exploited too easily or in a lot of cases force you to cheese it as the most optimal strategy. It is a topic that i find very interesting because usually modern beat em ups have not much to offer and need to rely a lot in having a lot of characters and costumes or cosmetics in order to keep it interesting while the gameplay has not much to offer in most cases or offer not much deep (or the skill ceiling is too low and trivial sometimes), i feel like it's a genre that hasn't been explored much in the modern era or hasn't evolved that much at least in that department, whenever you see a negative review in a beatem up these are almost always the most common complaints even for generally well received games, and i feel that it doesn't have to be that way, I felt this way with Streets of Rage 4,River City Girls, River City Ransom Underground,Senran Kagura, Hyrule Warriors(which i guess this is a "brawler" but i can't see the difference other than these have more enemies but are pretty much beat em ups) and almost every beat em up there is, Fight N'Rage is the exception, the developers clearly put some fighting game inspired rules and mechanics in there, some of the games i mentioned such as senran kagura do offer defensive mechanics and other stuff but i am not really sure if they really make a difference or they are "just there", those mechanics that seem cool but you end up not using them because they are not as viable as you would think, I feel like beat em ups are generally targetted towards a very casual audience who just want to mash buttons (and that's fine) and ocassionally dodge stuff rather than also give options for more "advanced" players who want to take the game further and squeeze all the juice in it without reducing it to a sailor moon kind of route, basically what i am saying is that most beat em ups feel very barebones except that they have prettier visuals but not that much depth so there's not much juice to squeeze out, i hope more beat em ups were like this game.

Great video. I liked your Shredder's Revenge one too. I'm curious if you or anyone can direct me towards an explanation of how the point system works.

Do you prefer an arcarde/fight stick, or normal controller with an analog stick? Perhaps a SNES style controller?

Simple question "Fight 'n Rage" for the Switch. Yay or Neigh?

I really dig this one along with Streets of Rage 4. My only gripe is that the game is so long. Hoping “Jitsu Squad” can match the way this game feels.

Would you consider sharing your top beat 'em ups at some point? Would love to see your list since you seem to have solid taste in the genre. Some of my faves are the SOR games (4 was awesome), River City Ransom EX on GBA, D&D Tower of Doom, TMNT TiT, and Battle Circuit.

I wanna see a sequel tor this true gem!!!! Who's with me!!!??

Excellent game. I’m generally not into beat-em-ups, but this game is well done on so many levels, even a scrub like me can appreciate and enjoy it.

this game actually looks good unlike every other indie beat em up ive seen, never played one that's good. maybe this will be the first.

I really wish you’d done a content warning on the game. It’s the first beat-em-up I ever bought that I’ll probably never play again due to the thoughtless narrative content. I would have sold it immediately if I had a physical copy and I can’t get my money back on the digital one. It’s a shame. The game designer doesn’t have the the narrative chops to handle themes like sexual exploitation/making you culpable in unskippable innocent deaths/lulling you into a false sense of being able to save others only to kill them while you sleep even on an alternate path. If they had left that shit out, this could have been one of my favorite beat-em-ups. Because it’s there, it triggers some of my clinically diagnosed PTSD and I will never play it again nor recommend it.

Some of the enemies definitely have some nasty wake up attacks for sure, I’m trying to recall if I’ve messed with game speed at all… I don’t think I have. I’ll have to check that out

I love how you're fighting orcs and goblins and out of nowhere a dominatrix lady with a whip makes an appearance. I'm certain now that a game cannot truly be a beatem up unless it has a dominatrix whip lady at some point. lmao

hey mark, i don't usually like beat em ups because they feel too "chunky". I prefer 1v1 fighters as the movement and stuff feels better. does this game feel chunky?

This game is awesome. I really hope it gets a sequel.

SoR4 or Fight n rage? Which one is more fun?

Hey do Fight n Rage Stream The Take over is a good one that got downed when it came out but its actually good

This looks like a neo geo pocket color game. Interesting art style.

I bought this game when it went super cheap. While playing this game, all I can think of is that I wish it got a varied combo of a fighting game.

This game is great. It also gave me arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. You really need a proper controller for this, Xbox and Dual Shock style gamepads simply don't cut it.

Ooooooooh i love this game

using 1 combo or like turtles diving kicks? makes it boring for me, but i think turtles even forces you to do it?

Very late to reply and I don't know if Dragon's Crown was mentioned in this review, but Dragon's Crown's gameplay as just as polished and deep as Fight N' Rages' is, if not more so (and ok so Dragon's Crown is technically a hack n slash game and not a beat'em up). Both games are brilliant and Fight N' Rage is indeed a masterpiece, but Dragon's Crown to me is on an even higher level, it's Vanillaware's magnum opus.

I really think they should embrace mobile versions to some extent, like full controller support and auto save when you close the app and things like that. A lot of mobile games are trash ports except for maybe some the sonic ports whose devs went on to make sonic mania. But yea, i think arcade games with compatibility have a place in the market, maybe the phone market too! It just needs love and care :)

hollow knight boss gauntlet rules

Ya I agree this kind of game, when done right, is just as good as, or better than, any mainstream AAA title. Have you checked out Mercenary Kings? It feels clunky at first , but it's blooming brilliant.

It is definitely one of the best, if not the best beat em up from a gameplay perspective. But I must admit, that the art style and this anthromorphic animal theme are just not my cup of tea. There could also be a little bit more variation in the backgrounds of the stages. Can't help, but I just didn't find enough motivation to dedicate myself to this game over a longer time.