The Bouncer is a 2000 beat 'em up video game for the PlayStation 2 co-developed by Squaresoft and DreamFactory. It was published in Japan by Squaresoft in December 2000, in North America by Square Electronic Arts in March 2001, and in Europe by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in June 2001. The game was produced by Shinji Hashimoto, co-directed by Takashi Tokita and Seiichi Ishii, and features character designs by Tetsuya Nomura, and music by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi.
North American cover art
Gameplay in The Bouncer. The player is controlling Volt. Sion and Kou are being controlled by the AI. The players' health is on the top left; the enemy's on the top right.
A beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, while a number of modern games feature more open three-dimensional (3D) environments with yet larger numbers of enemies. The gameplay tends to follow arcade genre conventions, such as being simple to learn but difficult to master, and the combat system tends to be more highly developed than other side-scrolling action games. Two-player cooperative gameplay and multiple player characters are also hallmarks of the genre. Most of these games take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical, science fiction or fantasy themes.
Zeno Clash (2009) features beat 'em up gameplay from a first-person perspective.
Guacamelee! (2013) is a brawling-based game based on luchadors fashioned after a Metroid-style adventure game.