beat 'em up

A genre of games that started in the arcades, with Double Dragon and Final Fight being the most famous. Usually involves 1 to 4 players (depending on the game) against waves of enemies and the player(s) can use basic combos or special moves that can help in a pinch or clear out enemies faster at the cost of the characters health. More often than not, there's a boss at the end of the level the player(s) must defeat so they can continue with the next level.