It was the 1990s, a time where you moved seamlessly from left to right fighting monsters — side scrolled, if you will — fighting enemies, acquiring power-ups, and kicking gnomes to separate them from their natural treasure reserves. And now, we can relive this glorious era, even taking it around in our pocket, at will!

Which is to say, in plain language: Both Golden Axe 2 and Streets of Rage 2 are now available from the App Store for all Apple iOS. Streets of Rage 2 is, and I stand by this as scientifically verified truth, the best side scrolling brawler of all time.

I have a hard time mentioning Streets of Rage 2 without also mentioning that it had (and still has) an incredible soundtrack. I happily link you to the game’s maestro performing a DJ set of Streets of Rage 2′s music. One of my favorite bits kicks in at about 3:13.

Golden Axe 2, meanwhile, continues doing what the first did. Excellent animation, challenging fights, fast-paced levels, and an improved magic system from the first game might have made this the best of the series on the Genesis. There’s something uniquely appealing about waiting until just the right moment to fill an entire screen with fire or hurricanes to wipe out your enemies.

Get ‘em while they’re hot, and enjoy two of the best beat-em-ups ever — and follow this link to check out all SEGA’s games at the App Store:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sega/id281966698?mt=8

And remember — with these two titles and what’s releasing over the next few weeks, we are in a veritable renaissance of Genesis classics wherein you progress ever Eastward across the screen, hitting thugs and/or gnomes and/or axe-battling with giant minotaurs. Yes, in the coming weeks we will happily release (all to the App Store) Golden Axe 3 and Streets of Rage 3. Stay tuned to SEGA Twitter and SEGA Facebook for special giveaways!