Rushing Beat (series)

The Rushing Beat series is a series of beat 'em up video games released by Jaleco for the Super Famicom. The series consists of three video games. Although all three games were released outside of Japan, localization resulted in various changes to the games' storylines and gameplay. While all three titles were released under the "Rushing Beat" name in Japan, localized versions used three distinct names and changed storylines and character names, loosening the games' cohesiveness. In the Japanese versions, the storyline mainly revolves around two heroes, Rick Norton and Douglas Bild.

History

"Rushing Beat" is the first entry to the series. The game was released outside of Japan as "Rival Turf", but Western versions omitted the game's introduction scene and changed the names of the game's protagonists from "Rick Norton" and "Douglas Bild" to "Jack Flak" and "Oozie Nelson" respectively. The game features a one or two player mode, in which the player must defeat a plethora of enemies using punches, kicks and various weapons collected throughout the course of the game. The game also includes an "angry" mode where the character becomes temporarily invincible and does more damage after taking too much damage. The game also features a 2 player versus mode.

The second game in the series is "Rushing Beat Ran". The game retained the playable characters from the first game in the series and added several other playable characters. The game was released in Western markets as "Brawl Brothers". Norton and Bild's names were again changed, this time to "Hack" and "Slash". The Japanese version is playable in "Brawl Brothers" through the use of a cheat code.

The third and final game in the series is "Rushing Beat Syura". The game included new player characters, branching gameplay paths, new special moves and several different endings. Rick Norton is available as a secret character while Douglas Bild only makes a hidden cameo appearance. The game was released outside of Japan as "The Peace Keepers", with various changes and omissions affecting the game's storyline, gameplay and soundtrack. Rick Norton retains his name in the localized version though, although the name is used to humorously reference "The Honeymooners" character Ed Norton during Rick Norton's ending.

External links

* [http://finalfight.classicgaming.gamespy.com/rushingbeat.html Fan page summarizing the series]