Not “everyone”, but Ion Fury and Streets of Rage 4.
For both - the gameplay is perfect, the art is beautiful, and the music is amazing. Both games are masterworks that accomplished exactly what they set out to do.
I think my last foray with side-scrolling brawlers was River City Girls. The artsy charm was fun, but then it seemed like there was no decent defensive mechanics to avoid getting hit, and the only significant source of healing was getting a game over and starting a section again. It ended up just feeling mechanically stinted compared to modern action games.
Not “everyone”, but Ion Fury and Streets of Rage 4.
For both - the gameplay is perfect, the art is beautiful, and the music is amazing. Both games are masterworks that accomplished exactly what they set out to do.
I think my last foray with side-scrolling brawlers was River City Girls. The artsy charm was fun, but then it seemed like there was no decent defensive mechanics to avoid getting hit, and the only significant source of healing was getting a game over and starting a section again. It ended up just feeling mechanically stinted compared to modern action games.