Back in the 90s, there was an insane number of challengers all trying to claim the beat ’em up crown. For every Streets of Rage, Final Fight, or X-Men that nailed what made the genre click, there were plenty that just didn’t quite get it. Rushing Beat, known outside Japan as Brawl Brothers, The Peace Keepers, and Rival Turf, was one of those attempts. It picked up a bit of a cult following over time, but never really broke through in a big way. Now, Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers is stepping back into the fight, taking another swing at the market to see if this time it can carve out a bigger piece of the turf.

The Rushing Beat series has honestly always been a little weird and quirky. A lot got lost on the way to the west, which left the story feeling like a confusing mess more often than not. Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers knows that, and instead of trying to clean it up, it leans right into it. You get a new, equally offbeat story about zombies and robots taking over a city, along with little recaps between stages that nod to earlier games. Whether that hits as nostalgia or just strange trivia depends on how familiar you are with the series.

The plot itself feels like it was pulled straight out of an over the top 80s action cartoon. Returning characters like Rick Norton, Douglas Bild, Lord J, Wendy Milan, and Kazan team up with newcomer Kahlua to hit the streets again. This time they’re trying to stop an evil scientist named Edgar, who is aiming for world domination with an army of robots and zombies. Backing him up is his secretary turned maid, Scarlett. The two of them have a great running gag where they bolt at the end of each stage, only to come back with some new trick or weapon. It gives off strong Team Rocket energy, and it never really gets old.

There’s a surprising amount of dialogue and cutscenes here, even pulling in screenshots from earlier games to try and explain why zombies, robots, and clones are suddenly everywhere. It’s a neat idea in theory, but in practice it can feel like a bit much. The pacing takes a hit, and you might find yourself zoning out while waiting to get back to the action. The story is definitely there if you want to engage with it, but I found myself hitting skip pretty early on just to keep the momentum going.

Let’s be honest, nobody really comes to beat ’em ups for a deep, world changing story. It’s all about the moment to moment scraps, and on that front Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers delivers a more than solid punch while still leaning into its weird charm. The six character roster is nicely varied, covering everything from a quick, nimble ninja who trades power for speed to a full on wrestler archetype, with plenty in between. It’s worth running a stage with each of them to see what clicks. You might stick with Rick Norton as your go to hero, or lean toward the faster, grappler style of Wendy Milan instead of the walking brick wall that is Douglas Bild.

Combat has a nice bit of depth too. You can launch enemies, juggle them in the air, bounce them off walls, break guards, and cancel moves into other moves to keep combos flowing. There’s even an auto combo option for newer players, or for those of us who don’t spend our nights glued to arcade sticks speaking in input numbers… yeah, I’m definitely in that camp.

After the first stage, the game wastes no time cranking things up. You’ll often find yourself surrounded by eight or more enemies at once, and it gets chaotic in the best way. What really makes it work is how well the combat system keeps up. Even when things get crowded, you’ve got enough tools to stay in control, which I absolutely loved.

One thing I didn’t mention earlier is Rage mode, a returning feature from previous games. As you land hits and throws, you build toward a Rage state where your character hits harder, moves faster, and gains access to a seriously devastating special move. Pair that with heavy attacks, back attacks, and picking enemies up off the ground to keep combos going, and you start to feel like a proper Brawl Brother.

As expected, Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers includes two player co-op, but it’s limited to local play. If you don’t have someone nearby to jump in, or your friends just aren’t into the genre, you’re stuck flying solo. Hopefully, post launch updates might bring in online multiplayer or even AI partners at some point. Fingers crossed!

The stages have a bit of a split personality. Some of them drag on longer than they really should, and a few lean on odd gimmicks that don’t quite land. There’s one in particular, with a shifting camera angle that makes lining up hits on a zombie horde way more frustrating than it needs to be. On the other hand, you also get moments like a full on musical dance number with zombies, clearly riffing on “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, which is ridiculous in the best way possible. It kind of evens out at the end of the day.

That balance doesn’t quite hold by the final stretch, though. The last few stages run through just about every beat ‘em up cliché you can think of, from subway fights to brawling on top of a moving lorry. Around this point, there’s also a pretty sharp difficulty spike. You end up spending more time hitting continue and picking your character again than actually getting to enjoy the combat. To be fair, Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers does offer unlimited continues, only docking your score, but it doesn’t really solve the problem. When you’re getting stun locked every few seconds, it starts to hurt the pacing and takes some of the fun out of what should be the most exciting part of the game.

Weapons are handled a bit differently here. Instead of grabbing something and using it on the spot, you can store multiple weapons and health items in an inventory and pull them out when you actually need them. There are a few exceptions, like RPGs or massive chunks of rebar, but having that control over when to use your gear really helps take the edge off some of the tougher encounters.

Health items have a nice extra layer too. You can eat them right away for a small boost, or save them to make proper meals at the Brawl Bus, which pops up mid stage. If you’ve stocked up on food, meals are cheaper to make. If not, you’ll watch your in game currency disappear pretty quickly.

Visually, Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers really nails its style. It leans into an anime inspired look with a bit of cel shading, giving it that “how you remember old beat ‘em ups looking” vibe, just with a much brighter and more colorful palette. The variety in stages and enemies keeps things fresh, too. Animations can be a little hit or miss, but overall I had no real issues with how the game looks or runs, especially considering how many enemies it throws at you at once.

The soundtrack lands right where you’d expect for the genre, and there are definitely a few tracks in there I enjoyed. The same can’t quite be said for the voice work and sound effects, though. Characters have a habit of repeating the same lines over and over, and during longer stages it really starts to wear on you. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, which feels pretty fitting for Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers as a whole.

If you’re a fan of beat ‘em ups, and don’t mind something a little rough around the edges, there’s a lot to like here. Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers doesn’t offer much in terms of post-game content, but for jumping in with a friend and clearing out the streets now and then, you could do a lot worse than this scrappy Jaleco throwback.