The reason this article doesn’t feature any 3D beat ’em ups is because there are already so many 2D ones that they need their own article.
![top ps1 hidden gems top ps1 hidden gems](http://www.racketboy.com/retro_old/speedpunks-1.jpg)
Perhaps even knowledgeable beat ’em up fans will find something interesting here that they had not known about before. Ultimately, this article is just about exposing people to lots of great or interesting games within the genre. Remember that what may not seem obscure to a beat ’em up fan may not be well known by a more casual fan who is only just discovering classic, 2D beat ’em ups and didn’t grow up on them. Some may debate the obscurity of certain titles on this list.
#TOP PS1 HIDDEN GEMS SERIES#
featured here (though an obscure entry from a popular series may still pop up on the list).
![top ps1 hidden gems top ps1 hidden gems](https://i.redd.it/co96jetrcy431.jpg)
This is why you won’t see well known titles like Double Dragon, River City Ransom, Streets of Rage 2, Final Fight, Konami’s more popular beat ’em ups, Guardian Heroes, Comix Zone, etc. This article attempts to shine a light on as many quality, 2D beat ’em ups as possible with an emphasis on lesser known games. Fighting games owe a lot to the beat ’em up genre however, and many people often confuse the two genres since they share a lot of elements.
![top ps1 hidden gems top ps1 hidden gems](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hAmPhOqomu4/maxresdefault.jpg)
Eventually, the genre would be overshadowed by 2D fighters with the coming of Street Figher II. The genre also helped big companies like Capcom and Konami further establish themselves with a number of classic and lucrative arcade games from both companies. In addition to seeing a constant flow of quarters in the arcades, they would also develop a strong presence on consoles with popular titles like Streets of Rage 2. The beat ’em up genre flourished during the late eighties and into the nineties.