Why are Beat 'em ups a subgenre of fighting games?

[3DSStrider]

The two have nothing common in gameplay with each other, except they're both sidescrolling, and even then most beat 'em ups give you freedom to move up and down, and that some beat 'em ups have special moves using joystick motions.
On a side note, what exactly seperates hack 'n slash from beat 'em ups? Is the use of weaponry it? Does that mean that I should call Golden Axe a hack 'n slash despite the fact that it has almost the exact same gameplay as Streets of Rage, a beat 'em up?

[AppleQueso]

I don't think anyone actually considers beat 'em ups a subgenre of fighters, it's just grouped that way in the forums for convenience.

As for the hack 'n slash question... no clue, it's always seemed like an arbitrary thing to me. I mean if Golden Axe is considered a hack n' slash because of the use of bladed weapons, why not the TMNT games?

[brunoafh]

Street Fighter II is what separated fighters from beat em ups. It's the 1v1 competition factor.

As for hack and slash vs beat em up, according to wiki the term was coined back in the tabletop days with D&D and simply refers to a game with a heavy emphasis on combat in general. But personally, I use the term hack and slash to refer to 3D action games ushered in by Devil May Cry and Dynasty Warriors style games.

[Gamerforlife]

Yeah, beat 'em ups and fighting games are two separate genres, but they sure have borrowed a lot from each other over time. They're basically siblings in my eyes, but to call one a subgenre of the other would be to disrespect one of them. They both have their own history and both came into existence at roughly the same time

As for the hack n slash thing, I would agree with brunoath. The beat 'em up genre pretty much stole that term from rpgs. It's basically just any beat 'em up where your characters ALWAYS have melee weapons. It gets used a lot for games like Diablo too.

[o.pwuaioc]

As for the hack n slash thing, I would agree with brunoath. The beat 'em up genre pretty much stole that term from rpgs. It's basically just any beat 'em up where your characters ALWAYS have melee weapons. It gets used a lot for games like Diablo too.

Really? I always saw Diablo categorized as a dungeon crawler.

[Gamerforlife]

As for the hack n slash thing, I would agree with brunoath. The beat 'em up genre pretty much stole that term from rpgs. It's basically just any beat 'em up where your characters ALWAYS have melee weapons. It gets used a lot for games like Diablo too.

Really? I always saw Diablo categorized as a dungeon crawler.

Both terms usually get applied to it, though technically I'd say Diablo is an action rpg. Terms like hack n slash and dungeon crawler are just ways of describing what kind of action rpg it is in my opinion

Wikipedia probably has the best description of hack n slash

"Hack and slash made the transition from the tabletop to video games, usually starting in D&D-like worlds.[2] This form of gameplay can now be found in a wide range of action role-playing games, including games such as Lineage,[3] and Diablo.[4] Distinct from hack and slash role-playing video games, the term "hack and slash" also began being used to refer to early weapon-based beat 'em up action games, such as Golden Axe.[5][6] The term "hack and slash" is today used to refer to a distinct genre of 3D third-person, weapon-based, beat 'em up action games in the style of Devil May Cry,[7][8] including games such as Onimusha,[8] Ninja Gaiden, Knights Contract, God of War, Heavenly Sword, and Bayonetta"