What a day. What. A. Day. It's got me feeling salty and I need to blow off some steam, so I'm just gonna ramble off some words and you guys can read it or not, I don't care, but it's better than marinating in my own frustration. In case you're wondering why I've made a ton of gaming posts lately, when I've been only slightly interested in the subject in the past, is I gave up Netflix and it's winter and if you have a TV but no desire to watch movies, games are where it's at.

I made a play date with a good buddy of mine for next week. We're gonna get ourselves some junk food, maybe some Taco Bell, and plop ourselves in front of the TV and make our way through the entire Streets of Rage Trilogy on his X-Box. Video games in general remind me of days past, but Beat 'Em Ups in particular? They're some of my best central memories. Double Dragon, TMNT The Arcade Game, TMNT Manhattan Project, BATTLE FREAKING TOADS. All those games, after school, on my buddies' NES systems waitong for my parents to get off work and pick me up. They were simple, they were engaging, they were intense, they were only really fun with two players.

The Genesis was no slouch for these games either. Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage was awesome, but being single player it left a lot to be desired. Somehow, the stars aligned, and humanity was blessed with Battletoads & Double Dragon but no one I knew had it and I only ever played it solo with a rental copy. Know what game me and a bud played like crazy though? Power Rangers: The Movie the Game. It was so dumb, but so fun. Five bucks says it doesn't hold up today, but back then? Who cared? Streets of Rage though? That's where it was at on that system. It made Golden Axe feel like a Master System title.

We can't even forget the arcades. What was the first game I remember? Ninja Turtles. It was literally in every pizza restaurant, every movie theater, every mini-golf place, every skating rink, every arcade. If you never had a chance to play it, you must have been a hermit. Final Fight was amazing and recently I got Capcom's Beat 'Em Up Bundle and I'm legit addicted to Warriors of Fate. Five unique characters, each plays differently, tons of enemies on screen, gorgeous art, and amazing sound. Slamming people in that game is sooo satisfying. We can't even forget X-Men Arcade. Six player mayhem was amazing but pray that you didn't get the short end and get stuck with The Dazzler. "Welcome to Die" indeed.

There's a magic to them. One of my favorite memories was visiting a buddy out of college. We're both broke, their apartment is barren, and all we have to keep us company is some rice, beans, and hamburger meat, a cheap couch, a half busted TV, and an NES with TMNT: The Arcade Game. We both had crazy problems in our lives at that time, but that night, I don't think we could have named them. We were too busy kicking ass and feeling like kids again. If I can catch even a fraction of that magic with my other bud next week, it'll be the highlight of my month.

Get at me guys. Share some Beat 'Em Up memories.