Developer: Sega

Format(s): Megadrive/Genesis

Comments: Without a doubt, one of the strongest assets of this 16-bit brawler was composer Yuzo Koshiro’s amazing techno musical score. That said, the ability to walk right through town in one short 30 minute sitting and lay waste to hundreds of goons raised the bar so high that the rival Double Dragons and Final Fights could only look on in envy. The technological leap between the first and second installments is also noteworthy, considering the quadrupling in sprite-size, as well as art and sound-effects that were easily on a par with the arcade machines of the day. Imaginative controls allowed a large variety of ways to dispatch each foe, though no attacks were as consistently devastating as Axel’s Dragon Upper, rivalling the infamous Dragon Punch for invincible cool and a trademark audio clip.