Streets of Rage 1 and 2 (not 3!) were always known for their great soundtracks, so SOR4 had a lot to live up to. I saw stuff that reminded me of SOR, TMNT arcade and NES games, Final Fight, Street Fighter, and even Shinobi. They’re all so detailed and full of little references. I don't really like how Axel aged 20 years while Blaze and Adam only aged 10, though. I think they did a good job making the characters look like their 16-bit versions while aging them and bringing them into HD. I think the new character designs strike a good balance between the anime and comic book styles, and look pretty cool for the most part, too. The 2D shading techniques really give the game a gritty sort of look, even if it's very different from the rough, pixelated look of the Genesis games. I think LizardCube's comic book style really works for Streets of Rage. This game can never be that game you play with relatives during the holidays, like an old Ninja Turtles arcade game on MAME, in this state. Leaving out something as obvious as a real arcade mode in Streets of Rage, when your main influence is obviously SOR2, is just beyond me. Beat ‘em ups were never about letter grades, high scores, Boss Rush, or the tacked on VS modes. I feel like this game’s focus strayed too far away from the arcade style of the Genesis games. The lack of running makes the game feel archaic. Maybe if the game was in 4:3, it wouldn't feel so slow, but it's not 1992 anymore. Having to slowly walk across the screen to get to an enemy is tedious. Most of the time, I played the game alone, with Blaze, and I always felt like I was missing something. This might have been okay if the online didn't suck, but it’s absolutely worthless, and not everyone has people to play with locally. Characters in SOR4 just feel like they're missing essential tools. I understand wanting to make each character unique, but there are better ways to do that. I get the feeling that the developers balanced the game around local co-op, where you can juggle enemies back and forth, and don't constantly feel like you have to be everywhere at once, so they only gave a run to Cherry, one of the 2 new characters in the game. ![]() It's slow and feels like a step backwards from SOR3 in terms of mobility. It feels more like a sequel to SOR2 than a sequel to SOR3. Streets of Rage 4 is basically SOR2 with juggles. It feels like it's purposely ignoring everything BEUs have done since SOR2. Streets of Rage 4 plays like a game made in a bubble, though. In my opinion, it’s the depth of the combat that makes a great BEU. ![]() Capcom threw everything but the kitchen sink at the genre with Battle Circuit in 1997, Double Dragon Advance brought a classic series back with re-imagined combat in 2003, and more recently, the bar was raised even higher by games like Fight'N Rage and River City Girls. Beat 'em ups have come a long way since then. It's been 28 years since Streets of Rage 2 came out. Developers: LizardCube, Guard Crush Games
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