Rushing Beat X review: a '90s retro game revamp that's surprisingly deep

After Streets of Rage 4 kicked the door back open, and newer entries like Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, and Absolum kept the momentum going, you start to wonder what comes next for the beat ’em up revival. The obvious answers have already had their turn, so Rushing Beat X: Return of the Brawl Brothers feels like a bit of a left-field pick, not just another revival, but a resurrection of something that never quite made the hit list when the series released on SNES in the ‘90s.

The Rushing Beat games, known in the West as Rival Turf! and Brawl Brothers, were always the underdog brawlers. Perfectly playable, occasionally odd, but living in the long shadow of Capcom, Sega, and Konami at their peak. That’s what makes this sequel interesting; it’s not trading on nostalgia alone, but it’s part of a slow shift where we’re finally admitting the second tier had ideas worth keeping. (Read my best retro game consoles guide for more.)

Rushing Beat X leans into its novelty status to do a little more than replicate how we played games 30 years ago. It doesn’t just tidy things up; it adds a layer of mechanical depth you don’t usually see in this genre. The combo system has real bite and invention. You can string punches and kicks as expected, but the ability to cancel moves, pivot, and throw out sweeping or rear attacks gives fights a rhythm that feels more deliberate than the usual crowd control scramble. Each character tweaks that formula just enough to matter, and moves and combos change depending on when and how you input them (ground, air, and dash attacks all have modifiers).

Counters are in there, too, though I’ll admit they took me a while to trust. In the middle of the usual on-screen chaos – enemies piling in, weapons flying about – judging that perfect moment isn’t always clean. But when it lands, it’s useful and often becomes a reliable crutch against later game enemies.

Rushing Beat remains weird

What I like is that none of this scrubs away the weirdness. The old DNA is intact and, if anything, it’s amplified. Compared to Final Fight, this is still the slightly unhinged cousin – one minute you’re brawling street punks, the next it’s ninjas, zombies, robots, the full grab-bag of retro game villains. It’s a bit daft, in a good way. At the same time, it’s arguably more technical than something like Marvel Cosmic Invasion, which leans harder on accessibility.

There’s a quiet appreciation for fans of the originals, too. Character names and story quirks nod to the differences between Japanese and Western releases, and there’s a nice pull from 64th Street: A Detective Story, an unofficial prequel, and Rushing Beat X includes that game’s ability to fling enemies into scenery. You’ll be doing that a lot here, too, not just because it’s effective, but because it feels good. Smashing someone through a shop window doesn’t get old.

Weapons push that further. Swords, knives, guns, even rocket launchers, all of it’s fair game, and there’s a modern inventory system layered on top so you can stash gear or hold onto health items for when things turn against you. It adds a bit of planning to what is, at heart, still a button-masher. Not enough to overcomplicate things, but just enough to stop it feeling mindless.

While attention to how the game plays is commended, how it looks is less so. Rushing Beat X feels a bit uneven. Character work is strong, and if you can squint and see the SNES lineage, with a hint of Capcom-style flair in the silhouettes and animations. But environments swing between nicely dressed scenes and areas that feel a bit thin. One level might give you a neon-lit bar with some atmosphere; the next is a park that feels like it’s missing a layer.

The presentation, though, tries to drag it forward. There’s a touch of Persona 5 in the UI – bold, punchy, a bit flashy – with combo text popping in as you rack up hits. It works, giving the action a bit of swagger and pop, even when the backgrounds aren’t quite keeping up.

Pacing is where things wobble a bit more, as some stages overstay their welcome, dragging fights out past the point where they’re fun, while others feel like they end just as they’re getting going. There are flashes of variety, such as a shift from the usual side-on view to a slightly isometric angle, and the odd side mission to break things up, but it’s inconsistent.

Then it throws something like the ‘Mutant Festival’ at you, with a villain-led dance routine, zombies shuffling along in what’s basically a riff on Thriller. It’s ridiculous and completely unnecessary, and exactly the sort of thing that reminds you why retro games stick in the memory.

The endgame fails to KO

Post-game, Rushing Beat X is a bit thin. There’s no versus mode, for example, which feels like a misstep given how much work has gone into the combat systems. You do get a Free Play mode with extra objectives for score chasing, which is fine, but it doesn’t quite fill that gap.

Still, Rushing Beat X lands in an interesting place. It’s not the slickest revival, and it doesn’t have the consistency of the best in the genre, but it’s doing something a bit more valuable by digging up a half-forgotten series and proving there was always more going on under the surface, and sometimes that’s enough.