Raging Justice is a modern take on the 2D scrolling brawler that pulls the classic genre kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Raging Justice is a modern game born of a classic era. With online multiplayer, stylistic stop-motion effect HD graphics, and bombastic soundtrack, Raging Justice doesn't hold back.
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Raging Jank more like. I'm open to the art style but nothing here feels good or is anything above average.
Raging Justice is another proof there seems to be a niche market recently, big enough to spawn at least two handful of sidescrolling beat'em ups from a more innovative Double Dragon Neon to a more traditional Streets of Rage 4, yet I get the impression not everybody can truly appreciate the simple arcade mechanics of a button smashing brawler.
I suspect it's not even due to the misinterpreted fact a straight forward, genre defining Final Fight was once supposed to interconnect with the Street Fighter series, which is remembered as the more complex fighting game it became, as critics of beat'em up tropes often seem to not even remember how arcade machines used to work. What players call unfair these days was once supposed to steal your quarters - the challenge on the other hand if you can beat swarming enemy waves anyway.
But maybe that's just a discrepancy of generations, just like I'm still having a hard time figuring out the strategic depth of Super Smash Bros. Actually, my nephew still is trying to get me hooked on that, while I'm trying to get him into old school beat'em ups and we're gaining some quality time out of it. It's a bummer though COVID is hindering the full use of Raging Justice's three player couch co-op, whilst at least on Nintendo Switch there seems to be no option for an online team up.
Raging Justice is not very far from what you'd expect from a classic brawler like Final Fight or Streets of Rage, which is a good thing, albeit I've read above mentioned criticism. Of course it looks rather contemporary retro with its glossy esthetics combined with an inconspicuous score, but that is fine by me, as long change doesn't make things significantly worse.
In case of Raging Justice I really welcome the approach to offer obstacles and an online highscore system next to three playable characters and several difficulty levels, inducing the player's return even after the game was beat.
Sadly, that's rather well-meant than well planned, so the extra kick of motivation will rather give reason to those who like to squeeze anything out of those games anyway than the casual player happy to complete Raging Justice at all.
In my opinion mastering the controls is what divides between those casual gamers and aficionados interested enough to return for a second playthrough and begin to enjoy the possibilities a six button design like this offers. Six buttons easily are double the amount usually busy in classic sidescrolling beat'em ups and still, Raging Justice has multiple actions on some.
If you want to survive it's best to get used to roll left and right via the shoulder buttons first. This will help you out of many delicate situations and actually works better than the traditional double tap to the left or right, that's also available.
B is jump, Y is punch, X is kick, but if you pick up a knife for instance with A, you can use it with Y or throw it with X. Also Y and X together is a special attack.
What starts to get confusing in battle frenzy is that A can additionally be clinging an opponent as well as cuffing when he or she is stunned.
Depending on how advanced you are, you probably will master coordination sooner or later before your first completion. But I didn't enjoy Raging Justice as much before my second attempt from the start. So I'd highly suggest to not just see it as repetitive in enemy design with some use of weapons and vehicles for a good hour of simple entertainment. Raging Justice is already superior to quite some old arcade machines at that point. But being able to think about set goals like collected money or number of arrest with your developed skills from the beginning is where score and fun starts.
Of course, it's still an arcade style game that's not making full use of possible career type roleplay options or the creation of a revolutionary open world brawler, but for what it is, I think Raging Justice is a nice addition to any sidescrolling beat'em up collection, considering it's possibly available on discount every now and then. To me, it has enough replay value even though I'm still ignoring the extra brawl mode to reach highscores in individual scenes.
If I'd have to address something, it's the environment and characters being very obvious for the genre. MakinGames are playing it safe by repeating the classic genre design elements everybody is reusing these days. Sure, arrests are not going to work in sword & sorcery, but would have with cops like in the Lethal Weapon movies for instance.
A nice modernisation could be getting rid of the textboxes that slow down the action if you don't intuitively click them away. A better use of integrated cut scenes and voice acting could be a more pleasant experience if they wanted to establish a story.
Maybe using the experience of creating a stable brawler that's rather confusing your eyes than becoming jerky with average to massive waves of opponent attacks is what lies in the future for Raging Justice's programmers. At least I'm willing to spend well earned money for another more creative take on the genre than they already did and I admit, I am hungry for another Golden Axe or Knights of the Round a lot more than for just another street fighting beat'em up.
On the other hand, Raging Justice is a fresh yet old school enough take on the genre to me right now, so if you're up for that, why not giving it a chance, too? I'm just booting it on my Nintendo Switch for another round at this instant.
I suspect it's not even due to the misinterpreted fact a straight forward, genre defining Final Fight was once supposed to interconnect with the Street Fighter series, which is remembered as the more complex fighting game it became, as critics of beat'em up tropes often seem to not even remember how arcade machines used to work. What players call unfair these days was once supposed to steal your quarters - the challenge on the other hand if you can beat swarming enemy waves anyway.
But maybe that's just a discrepancy of generations, just like I'm still having a hard time figuring out the strategic depth of Super Smash Bros. Actually, my nephew still is trying to get me hooked on that, while I'm trying to get him into old school beat'em ups and we're gaining some quality time out of it. It's a bummer though COVID is hindering the full use of Raging Justice's three player couch co-op, whilst at least on Nintendo Switch there seems to be no option for an online team up.
Raging Justice is not very far from what you'd expect from a classic brawler like Final Fight or Streets of Rage, which is a good thing, albeit I've read above mentioned criticism. Of course it looks rather contemporary retro with its glossy esthetics combined with an inconspicuous score, but that is fine by me, as long change doesn't make things significantly worse.
In case of Raging Justice I really welcome the approach to offer obstacles and an online highscore system next to three playable characters and several difficulty levels, inducing the player's return even after the game was beat.
Sadly, that's rather well-meant than well planned, so the extra kick of motivation will rather give reason to those who like to squeeze anything out of those games anyway than the casual player happy to complete Raging Justice at all.
In my opinion mastering the controls is what divides between those casual gamers and aficionados interested enough to return for a second playthrough and begin to enjoy the possibilities a six button design like this offers. Six buttons easily are double the amount usually busy in classic sidescrolling beat'em ups and still, Raging Justice has multiple actions on some.
If you want to survive it's best to get used to roll left and right via the shoulder buttons first. This will help you out of many delicate situations and actually works better than the traditional double tap to the left or right, that's also available.
B is jump, Y is punch, X is kick, but if you pick up a knife for instance with A, you can use it with Y or throw it with X. Also Y and X together is a special attack.
What starts to get confusing in battle frenzy is that A can additionally be clinging an opponent as well as cuffing when he or she is stunned.
Depending on how advanced you are, you probably will master coordination sooner or later before your first completion. But I didn't enjoy Raging Justice as much before my second attempt from the start. So I'd highly suggest to not just see it as repetitive in enemy design with some use of weapons and vehicles for a good hour of simple entertainment. Raging Justice is already superior to quite some old arcade machines at that point. But being able to think about set goals like collected money or number of arrest with your developed skills from the beginning is where score and fun starts.
Of course, it's still an arcade style game that's not making full use of possible career type roleplay options or the creation of a revolutionary open world brawler, but for what it is, I think Raging Justice is a nice addition to any sidescrolling beat'em up collection, considering it's possibly available on discount every now and then. To me, it has enough replay value even though I'm still ignoring the extra brawl mode to reach highscores in individual scenes.
If I'd have to address something, it's the environment and characters being very obvious for the genre. MakinGames are playing it safe by repeating the classic genre design elements everybody is reusing these days. Sure, arrests are not going to work in sword & sorcery, but would have with cops like in the Lethal Weapon movies for instance.
A nice modernisation could be getting rid of the textboxes that slow down the action if you don't intuitively click them away. A better use of integrated cut scenes and voice acting could be a more pleasant experience if they wanted to establish a story.
Maybe using the experience of creating a stable brawler that's rather confusing your eyes than becoming jerky with average to massive waves of opponent attacks is what lies in the future for Raging Justice's programmers. At least I'm willing to spend well earned money for another more creative take on the genre than they already did and I admit, I am hungry for another Golden Axe or Knights of the Round a lot more than for just another street fighting beat'em up.
On the other hand, Raging Justice is a fresh yet old school enough take on the genre to me right now, so if you're up for that, why not giving it a chance, too? I'm just booting it on my Nintendo Switch for another round at this instant.