Playing Double Dragon or the legendary Final Fight in the ’80s—and then moving on to Streets of Rage—was pure joy. These were classic side-scrolling beat ’em ups with quick, straightforward plots (back then, almost every game had a simple story) where the goal was to pummel enemies with kicks and punches until every boss went down. But there was one game that, while somewhat overlooked, pushed the genre forward in my opinion: Fighting Force.

I was about 15, and 3D was taking over every corner of gaming. I don’t remember my exact PC specs, but fortunately the game was released on Windows as well as consoles. I had a Voodoo 1— that famous 3D accelerator card that brought smoother performance and flashy new effects. Fighting Force blended the new 3D combat tech with the raw power of those accelerator cards. Suddenly, hurling trash cans, landing hits, and roaming the streets all happened in a more realistic, detailed world, with a sense of freedom you just didn’t get in earlier years.

Those were revolutionary times for graphics. The combination of 3D and Voodoo hardware transformed how games looked, and beating up enemies felt more lifelike than ever.