As funny as it is to call Streets Of Fury "The game made by the guys who'd go on to be knwon as the Streets of Rage 4 devs that has Nostalgia Critic in it", but it honestly deserves more than that. There's a lot of the DNA that would go on to form SOR4, from the game's greater focus on combos, to the wide cast of characters and the global score counter tied to further unlocks to encourage the returning player. And damn, what a stellar combat system the game has; genuinely feels like one of the cloest attempts to replicate Devil May Cry's focus on both grounded and aerial combat.

The visuals, going for the style of the original Mortal Kombat's digitized actors, are probably done for a budgetary reason, but I can't deny that it does give them a goofy little charm that certainly help it stick out from other beat-em-ups on the market, and while not much of the soundtrack is likely to stick with me, there were some damn good tracks in there that had me bobbing my head amidst the action. And that's all the hallmarks of a damn good beat-em-up, and for a cheap price as well, so you don't lose much if you pick it up. With the amount of content there is to go along with its fairly short campaign, I can definitely see myself coming back to this one for a long time to come!

I bought this game because it was goofy and it has the Nostalgia Critic in it, and that in itself is funny. But it kept me going from the intricate fighting system that encourages combo stacking and air juggles. That and the Nostalgia Critic being in the game is great. They actually made him a solid fighter.

Definitely a overlooked beat 'em up, you should play it, I'm so glad this game led to Streets of Rage 4.

It does get a point off because there's no Evil Nostalgia Critic skin.