any questions come to mind when determining the worth of a classic arcade brawler: Does the game offer players more than “move right and punch”? Do levels have various weapons and interactive objects scattered throughout? What can one expect in the way of character selection, boss battles, and other classic tropes? In the case of Team2Bit's tribute to the genre, well... there's certainly more than just "keep going."

Enter Fist Puncher, a beat-em-up brawler that combines elements of other popular arcade classics from the golden age of gaming (think Double Dragon and Bad Dudes) and fuses them with the progression elements found in any character-building RPG. And yes -- you’ll have plenty of objects to pick up and throw at enemies. Hell, some levels feature nothing but trash cans and other debris scattered around for this very purpose.

Taking place in San Cruces, the murder capital of the world, Fist Puncher allows players to control four base characters and many others as they progress through a dangerous city in order to kick the crap out of the infamous Milkman’s henchmen. The main objective is to face off against multiple fighters while rescuing a handful of kidnapped beauty pageant contestants as you fight in run down streets, alleyways, moving subways, and other areas nobody should probably ever be in.

You’ll start with four base characters: Dr. Karate, Steroid Jackson, Hella Fistgerald, and The Beekeeper. Continuing through the maps and progressing the game’s story adds additional characters to the roster. For instance, the cop-gone-renegade O’Grady who joins your crew if you’re able to defeat him and his slingshot sidekick Kid Justice.

What stands out with this game more than anything is how the character customization system allows players to build their stats however they want over time. Like any RPG-like structure, certain characters have certain abilities based on specific stats, and these abilities only become better as players progress through new levels. For instance, The Beekeeper has excellent specials and ranged bee combos (yes, bees) to make up for her rather weak physical attacks.

Players receive additional stat and skill points as they continue kicking the crap out of everything in sight. Each character seems rather well balanced, though the shift between characters can be quite the adjustment if you’re used to leveling a certain way. For instance, the transition between the more balanced Dr. Karate and the ranged Beekeeper was certainly noticeable. It’s also important to keep a good eye on which stats add to what abilities, and whether or not you prefer skills that either aid in your efforts to deal more damage or stay alive longer.

The level selection map is an especially unique twist, taking elements from popular platform titles such as Super Mario World and blending them with the beat-em-up genre. Furthermore, it offers players plenty of flexibility if one level seems too challenging for the moment. If you keep getting your ass handed to you, it’s easy to just level up in a different area and return later. Meanwhile, the games slightly funky soundtrack also adds to the overall retro beat-em-up elements encountered throughout Fist Puncher.

Aside from this shift in moves, there’s only one real drawback to the entire game: Some areas seem to make up for a lack of skills involved with boss fights with ridiculous amounts of enemies. Instead of seeming more unique and complex in themselves, certain baddies felt no more difficult to take out -- especially with higher level characters. This wouldn’t seem so terrible near the beginning, but it’s kind of ridiculous when the most noticeable change in a more difficult boss fight is the increased number of mobs.

Though some tropes and themes aren’t necessarily groundbreaking, Fist Puncher takes these familiar elements and gives players a satisfying combo for $15. With entertaining presentation and a relatively addicting customization system, Fist Puncher offers retro fans a great dose of action for the price. Anyone who’s either well aware of the classic brawler genre or looking to see what all the fuss was about should definitely add this title to their Steam library.