Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups available for purchase

Another addition to Bitmap Books arrives with Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups. Written by award-winning author Dave Cook, and opening with a foreword by Double Dragon creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto, the book dives into the nostalgic side-scrolling beat-’em-up world.

Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups

Go Straight offers 456 pages of content. It takes a deep-dive into both beat-’em-up legends and brawlers. Featuring over 200 games spanning 37 years, the book starts with Irem’s 1984 arcade mash Kung-Fu Master all the way until later brawlers like Streets of Rage 4. It includes reviews for each game alongside hints, tips, and guides to levels and enemies. Within the pages are various screenshots, sprites, and level maps as wonderful visuals.

Games you can expect the book to delve into:

• Denjin Makai
• Double Dragon
• Final Fight
• Gaia Crusaders
• Golden Axe
• Kung-Fu Master
• Mother Russia Bleeds
• Shadow Force
• Streets of Rage 4
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The book is printed in hardback and with lithographic pages for high quality. Lithographic pages allow the colors of the book to really shine vibrantly, and feel nice to boot. Its cover art  by artist Jorge M. Velez features a spot-varnished fascia cover. Additionally, Go Straight comes with a free PDF along with the copy. If you’re in need of a guide on the go, the PDF has you covered.

Get reading!

Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups currently sells for £34.99, including the hardback and the free PDF. Arcade fans wanting both a nostalgic look at the old classics and some help getting through them will certainly want to check out this book. Bitmap Books has released other fantastic titles, such as A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games. If you’ve enjoyed that or any of their other books in the past, you should definitely check out Go Straight.