Waiting for Streets of Rage 4 is going to be incredibly difficult

The arcade beat-em-up genre was very strong in the '80s and '90s. Enter any arcade and you were bound to find at least 10 machines from different developers all in a row.Golden Axe, Ninja Gaiden, Final Fight, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons -- there was no better way to get people to plunk down more quarters than by taking a popular franchise and adapting it into a beat-em-up.

While Capcom may have reigned supreme, Sega was no slouch in that department. Leaving the arcade market behind and setting its sights on the Sega Genesis, Streets of Rage was born from the Final Fight formula. Taking place in some amalgamation of Tokyo and New York City, these games were exceptionally well-crafted brawlers with absolutely killer soundtracks (well, except for 3). They had local co-op, the ability to hold enemies in place so friends could smack them, and a brilliant art style with lots of dark alleyways and neon flare.

Sadly, the series has been on ice ever since that third entry. While I could make an argument that theYakuza series is an evolution ofStreets of Rage, fans who want something a bit more simple were given reason to rejoice last year. DotEmu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games announced that aStreets of Rage 4 would finally be happening. Not only that, but it wouldn't be using 3D models for its visual style.