Capcom Beat 'em Ups – Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Final Fight and More

Capcom and the golden age of brawlers

After Final Fight became a hit in 1989, Capcom spent the next five years building the best beat 'em ups in the arcade on its CP System boards. Each one took the same core – walk right, punch, grab, throw, use a desperation special – and dressed it in a new world: the Arthurian legend, ancient China, the Marvel universe, a post-apocalyptic world full of dinosaurs. Many were built for three players at once.

The games

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs: the most played brawler here

Based on Mark Schultz's comic Xenozoic Tales, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs puts Jack Tenrec, Hannah Dundee, Mustapha Cairo and Mess O'Bradovich in a world where dinosaurs have returned. It has guns with limited ammo, a driving stage, enormous bosses and one of the best soundtracks of the era. In South Asia and the Middle East it is simply "the Mustafa game".

Which one to play first?

Play Cadillacs and Dinosaurs with two friends if you can, Final Fight to see where it all started, and Knights of the Round if you want a brawler with a real sense of progression.

The home versions

The Super Nintendo got its own sequels, Final Fight 2 and Final Fight 3, with new heroes like Maki and Lucia; the NES got the super-deformed Mighty Final Fight; and the Game Boy Advance got Final Fight One. The list also includes Warriors of Fate II: Sanjiansheng, a modified version of Warriors of Fate.