When Streets of Rage 4 got revealed I was apprehensive. This is a series I love. I've gushed about it on Backloggd on other reviews of the Megadrive games (well two of them anyway...). My first thoughts on seeing 4's reveal trailer though was simply "that's not Streets of Rage". Where is the pixel art? Why is everything so bright and clean? What is with Blaze's walk animation? To be honest I wrote the game off without giving it a chance.
The reviews came in extremely positive to my surprise and piqued my interest. People I knew started playing it. Apparently it had tight controls, unlockable pixel art characters from the original game as bonus content. Was I wrong? Still I harboured doubts. What really turned my head though was hearing the soundtrack. It's a huge part of the franchise. The original and legendary composer Yuzo Kashiro was adding some music to the Soundtrack but hearing On fire by Oliver Deriviere on youtube absolutely drew my attention in a way more than any other news took. I had to buy it. When a friend of mine bought it we finally got into it playing co-op along with the Mr. x Nightmare DLC and have been playing every night now for several weeks. I happily admit I was wrong because Streets of Rage 4 is a Streets of Rage game, it is a fantastic beat 'em up and right now I am thoroughly addicted to it like I'm 12 years old all over again. You'd think someone of my age would know better by now not to judge something so effortlessly.
It's wonderful, it's everything Streets of Rage 4 should be. It brings new things to the table whilst still paying homage to the series roots. The game starts 10 years after Streets of Rage 3 with Mr. X's children having taken over what must be the world's most easily corruptible city. Original characters Blaze and Axel take to the streets along with newcomers Cherry and Floyd to take them back. As the game progresses you earn points which unlock more characters from the older games until there is quite an ensemble of choice of 18 with their own move sets though many of them are different versions of each other from older titles.
The game has the standard punch, kick, jump, and back attack as well as grapples allowing for throws, floor slams and extra damage. On top of this characters have forward dash blitz moves and specials. The specials use health but leave the chunk of your health bar you lost in green allowing you to get it back whilst doing regular blows. If you are hit however you lose it all on top of that blows damage. It's a great reward system and the special attacks can use invincibility frames to avoid damage or used in part of a combo with normal attacks and blitz moves to devastating combo effect in practice. Lastly in the character's arsenal are the star moves characters can use, these are limited and generally used to try and screen clear or at least give you some room.
Each character plays differently. The Streets of Rage 1 characters are more limited in their move sets but hit extremely hard and fast. The Streets of Rage 3 characters can all run and roll vertically making them quite manoeuvrable with the streets of Rage 2 and 4 cast as a mix somewhere in the middle. There is enough variety here you can find a character you are comfortable with to make it through to the credits and it's easy to change midway if you aren't grooving with who you have or you unlock someone new. For me though the joy has been playing through as every character aiming for S ranks and higher scores and combos for every level. Even characters I initially haven't enjoyed have turned out to be brilliant with some practice and understanding how their move sets all work.
The art style I initially hated at the game's reveal I came to love very quickly. I love the animations and character designs. It feels fresh and retro all at once with great usage of colour. If you don't like the look or feel of it thinking this isn't the game you wanted, please try it. In motion with the feeling of the controls and music it all clicks together. The aforementioned music really is perfect for the game, I mean check out the main theme. It could fit in with any of the game's in the series. Really perfect.
That's it in a quick review, Streets of Rage 4. I love how it plays, looks, sounds and feels. It's got great character and move variety, looks and sounds the part and is simply fun to play. My hat off to the dev team and I apologise for doubting you. Adding the Mr X's Nightmare DLC with extra characters and modes really seals the deal for those who want more. As my friend I play this co-op said to me the other day that all he could think about was "I really just wanted to play Streets of Rage 4".
Yeah, me too my friend, me too. What a first game to review for the start of the year.
+ Feels great to play with a large cast of characters and moves.
+ Hits the right notes for both new and old.
+ Great art and music.
+ Surprisingly addictive.
The reviews came in extremely positive to my surprise and piqued my interest. People I knew started playing it. Apparently it had tight controls, unlockable pixel art characters from the original game as bonus content. Was I wrong? Still I harboured doubts. What really turned my head though was hearing the soundtrack. It's a huge part of the franchise. The original and legendary composer Yuzo Kashiro was adding some music to the Soundtrack but hearing On fire by Oliver Deriviere on youtube absolutely drew my attention in a way more than any other news took. I had to buy it. When a friend of mine bought it we finally got into it playing co-op along with the Mr. x Nightmare DLC and have been playing every night now for several weeks. I happily admit I was wrong because Streets of Rage 4 is a Streets of Rage game, it is a fantastic beat 'em up and right now I am thoroughly addicted to it like I'm 12 years old all over again. You'd think someone of my age would know better by now not to judge something so effortlessly.
It's wonderful, it's everything Streets of Rage 4 should be. It brings new things to the table whilst still paying homage to the series roots. The game starts 10 years after Streets of Rage 3 with Mr. X's children having taken over what must be the world's most easily corruptible city. Original characters Blaze and Axel take to the streets along with newcomers Cherry and Floyd to take them back. As the game progresses you earn points which unlock more characters from the older games until there is quite an ensemble of choice of 18 with their own move sets though many of them are different versions of each other from older titles.
The game has the standard punch, kick, jump, and back attack as well as grapples allowing for throws, floor slams and extra damage. On top of this characters have forward dash blitz moves and specials. The specials use health but leave the chunk of your health bar you lost in green allowing you to get it back whilst doing regular blows. If you are hit however you lose it all on top of that blows damage. It's a great reward system and the special attacks can use invincibility frames to avoid damage or used in part of a combo with normal attacks and blitz moves to devastating combo effect in practice. Lastly in the character's arsenal are the star moves characters can use, these are limited and generally used to try and screen clear or at least give you some room.
Each character plays differently. The Streets of Rage 1 characters are more limited in their move sets but hit extremely hard and fast. The Streets of Rage 3 characters can all run and roll vertically making them quite manoeuvrable with the streets of Rage 2 and 4 cast as a mix somewhere in the middle. There is enough variety here you can find a character you are comfortable with to make it through to the credits and it's easy to change midway if you aren't grooving with who you have or you unlock someone new. For me though the joy has been playing through as every character aiming for S ranks and higher scores and combos for every level. Even characters I initially haven't enjoyed have turned out to be brilliant with some practice and understanding how their move sets all work.
The art style I initially hated at the game's reveal I came to love very quickly. I love the animations and character designs. It feels fresh and retro all at once with great usage of colour. If you don't like the look or feel of it thinking this isn't the game you wanted, please try it. In motion with the feeling of the controls and music it all clicks together. The aforementioned music really is perfect for the game, I mean check out the main theme. It could fit in with any of the game's in the series. Really perfect.
That's it in a quick review, Streets of Rage 4. I love how it plays, looks, sounds and feels. It's got great character and move variety, looks and sounds the part and is simply fun to play. My hat off to the dev team and I apologise for doubting you. Adding the Mr X's Nightmare DLC with extra characters and modes really seals the deal for those who want more. As my friend I play this co-op said to me the other day that all he could think about was "I really just wanted to play Streets of Rage 4".
Yeah, me too my friend, me too. What a first game to review for the start of the year.
+ Feels great to play with a large cast of characters and moves.
+ Hits the right notes for both new and old.
+ Great art and music.
+ Surprisingly addictive.
Given that a full 17 years passed between the release of Streets of Rage 3 and the superb fan-made Streets of Rage Remake, and another 9 years between Remake and 4, I still can't fully believe they announced this, never mind released it - it feels like a fever dream. It would be like if they suddenly announced Phantasy Star 5, or Megaman Legends 3, or SatAM Sonic season 3!
The updated hand-drawn art style is really slick, but the core beat-em-up gameplay remains intact - with a new element that adds an extra layer of depth. I'm referring, of course, to the big flashy combo counter which increases in number whenever you land a hit on anything (an enemy, a destroyable item, a falling KO-ed enemy) and awards you points based on the length of combo you can build. These points can be used to get extra lives (which you absolutely will need on the higher difficulties)... and thanks to the addition of wall-bounce and air-juggle mechanics, combos are relatively intuitive to learn and satisfying to perform. SOR4 is a game that not only rewards you mechanically for mastering its core gameplay gimmick - it ensures that gimmick actually feels good to do. Few things beat the visceral satisfaction of grabbing an enemy and wailing on them, then throwing them into a wall and hitting them with a blitz as they bounce off.
In this way, this new and evolved iteration of Streets of Rage kind of feels like a shmup! It rewards points not on progression but on skill - your main source of points is no longer stage completion or item pickups, but the abovementioned combos as well as picking up health items with full health (i.e. not getting hit). The fact that you get ranked on your performance after each level on story mode and can eventually unlock a stage select to try and improve on those scores really pushes you to get better at the core gameplay - and makes it feel more like a 'score attack' game than any of the previous entries.
That said, one of the biggest virtues of SOR4 is that it has something for everyone to enjoy, whatever your skill or experience level is. Because of the addition of charged attacks and a more robust move-cancelling system, some of the more fanciful combos available require finger dexterity and timing not unlike what you would need in a modern fighting game! But you can also stick to basic beat-em-up stuff (start a combo and then switch to a more damaging move/throw before you knock them down) and the game still feels like a lot of fun. The basic story mode (where your lives are reset every level and you can restart from the beginning of the level if you get a game over) is simple enough for casual players to get through, but the game also has an Arcade Mode for players looking to get that 'original hardware' experience.
Streets of Rage 4 looks great, feels fantastic to play, and has that new combo counter that appeals to the dopamine addict in all of us - ordinarily that would be the end of the review, but being the overthinker I am I also do want to add in some thoughts on how this could have been better.
- A relative lack of content especially compared to Streets of Rage Remake. You can unlock the 'classic' pixelated versions of the characters from earlier SOR games, but that's it really. It has 12 levels and no branching paths, which means you know exactly what to expect after going through them once. A bit like death by snu-snu, it's possible to have a bit too much of a good thing.
- Shadows. In previous games, the characters' shadows were a useful way of lining yourself up with enemies, as well as knowing their position when they jumped. SOR4 handles shadows more realistically - we don't have round black blobs underneath our feet at all times - but not having a clear way to tell exact character placement affected the game feel a little. I found myself whiffing a lot more often, and not being able to easily tell if we were aligned horizontally or not does get annoying in some sequences (for example when fighting enemies that jump offscreen, or those Galsias that walk diagonally across the screen holding a knife in front of them).
- For as much praise as I give it, the combo system in the game could have been better executed. While the game doesn't tell you this, if you get hit in the middle of a combo, you lose all your combo points. And I get that this is a risk-vs-reward, mechanic, but if you want to get the points (which you need for extra lives, remember), how it plays out is that you will rack up a big combo, and then just walk around idly for a while so you can 'cash in' your combo for points, which really breaks up the momentum of the game.
I think it's cool that between SOR4 and the fanmade SOR Remake, they basically have created the perfect beat-em-up. SOR4's combo mechanics (perhaps slightly tweaked) on top of Remake's branching path structure and wider variety of unlockables, SOR4's graphical style with clearer character shadows like in previous games. Which of the two games you prefer is entirely down to personal preference - a lot like choosing your favorite character.
I think Remake still takes the edge for me in the way that its gameplay is simpler but almost as satisfying, and its greater variety in the form of branching paths and host of unlockables. Still SOR4 is an absolute triumph of a series revival. It's a great entry point into beat-em-ups and an equally great game for veterans to refine their skills, and (I foresee) an early contender for one of the best games I play for the first time this year!
(Beat story mode on hardest, arcade mode on hard. Mained Adam)
The updated hand-drawn art style is really slick, but the core beat-em-up gameplay remains intact - with a new element that adds an extra layer of depth. I'm referring, of course, to the big flashy combo counter which increases in number whenever you land a hit on anything (an enemy, a destroyable item, a falling KO-ed enemy) and awards you points based on the length of combo you can build. These points can be used to get extra lives (which you absolutely will need on the higher difficulties)... and thanks to the addition of wall-bounce and air-juggle mechanics, combos are relatively intuitive to learn and satisfying to perform. SOR4 is a game that not only rewards you mechanically for mastering its core gameplay gimmick - it ensures that gimmick actually feels good to do. Few things beat the visceral satisfaction of grabbing an enemy and wailing on them, then throwing them into a wall and hitting them with a blitz as they bounce off.
In this way, this new and evolved iteration of Streets of Rage kind of feels like a shmup! It rewards points not on progression but on skill - your main source of points is no longer stage completion or item pickups, but the abovementioned combos as well as picking up health items with full health (i.e. not getting hit). The fact that you get ranked on your performance after each level on story mode and can eventually unlock a stage select to try and improve on those scores really pushes you to get better at the core gameplay - and makes it feel more like a 'score attack' game than any of the previous entries.
That said, one of the biggest virtues of SOR4 is that it has something for everyone to enjoy, whatever your skill or experience level is. Because of the addition of charged attacks and a more robust move-cancelling system, some of the more fanciful combos available require finger dexterity and timing not unlike what you would need in a modern fighting game! But you can also stick to basic beat-em-up stuff (start a combo and then switch to a more damaging move/throw before you knock them down) and the game still feels like a lot of fun. The basic story mode (where your lives are reset every level and you can restart from the beginning of the level if you get a game over) is simple enough for casual players to get through, but the game also has an Arcade Mode for players looking to get that 'original hardware' experience.
Streets of Rage 4 looks great, feels fantastic to play, and has that new combo counter that appeals to the dopamine addict in all of us - ordinarily that would be the end of the review, but being the overthinker I am I also do want to add in some thoughts on how this could have been better.
- A relative lack of content especially compared to Streets of Rage Remake. You can unlock the 'classic' pixelated versions of the characters from earlier SOR games, but that's it really. It has 12 levels and no branching paths, which means you know exactly what to expect after going through them once. A bit like death by snu-snu, it's possible to have a bit too much of a good thing.
- Shadows. In previous games, the characters' shadows were a useful way of lining yourself up with enemies, as well as knowing their position when they jumped. SOR4 handles shadows more realistically - we don't have round black blobs underneath our feet at all times - but not having a clear way to tell exact character placement affected the game feel a little. I found myself whiffing a lot more often, and not being able to easily tell if we were aligned horizontally or not does get annoying in some sequences (for example when fighting enemies that jump offscreen, or those Galsias that walk diagonally across the screen holding a knife in front of them).
- For as much praise as I give it, the combo system in the game could have been better executed. While the game doesn't tell you this, if you get hit in the middle of a combo, you lose all your combo points. And I get that this is a risk-vs-reward, mechanic, but if you want to get the points (which you need for extra lives, remember), how it plays out is that you will rack up a big combo, and then just walk around idly for a while so you can 'cash in' your combo for points, which really breaks up the momentum of the game.
I think it's cool that between SOR4 and the fanmade SOR Remake, they basically have created the perfect beat-em-up. SOR4's combo mechanics (perhaps slightly tweaked) on top of Remake's branching path structure and wider variety of unlockables, SOR4's graphical style with clearer character shadows like in previous games. Which of the two games you prefer is entirely down to personal preference - a lot like choosing your favorite character.
I think Remake still takes the edge for me in the way that its gameplay is simpler but almost as satisfying, and its greater variety in the form of branching paths and host of unlockables. Still SOR4 is an absolute triumph of a series revival. It's a great entry point into beat-em-ups and an equally great game for veterans to refine their skills, and (I foresee) an early contender for one of the best games I play for the first time this year!
(Beat story mode on hardest, arcade mode on hard. Mained Adam)
I played it close to release on Gamepass, enjoyed it, and wasn't impressed. I bought it this year and now I consider it an impeccable game.
Beat 'em ups always had something that bothered me, hitting the enemy, him leaving the screen, waiting for him to come back and repeating it. SOR4 fixed this by implementing juggle mechanics. Enemy bounces off the corner of the wall, enable to do some really nice combos.
I love that special moves consume life, but that can be recovered by hitting enemies, creating incredible risk-reward situations. The game rewards aggressive style.
At first I only did jab and blitz attack combos (forward, forward and jab), but after looking at the robust tutorial and training mode I was able to extract much more from the game.
I love the artwork. The colors. How you can throw a weapon and pick it back in the air. I love how Axl looks like Simba in the concept arts, I love the retro levels and the mechanics in general...
It's a celebration of the series. It has several unlockable characters from the entire franchise, with specific mechanics for each game.
The DLC includes new weapons, survival mode and 3 new playable characters. In survival mode, new moves are unlocked for the characters, greatly improving customization.
I finished with all characters, my favorites were Estel and Blaze.because reasons
Beat 'em ups always had something that bothered me, hitting the enemy, him leaving the screen, waiting for him to come back and repeating it. SOR4 fixed this by implementing juggle mechanics. Enemy bounces off the corner of the wall, enable to do some really nice combos.
I love that special moves consume life, but that can be recovered by hitting enemies, creating incredible risk-reward situations. The game rewards aggressive style.
At first I only did jab and blitz attack combos (forward, forward and jab), but after looking at the robust tutorial and training mode I was able to extract much more from the game.
I love the artwork. The colors. How you can throw a weapon and pick it back in the air. I love how Axl looks like Simba in the concept arts, I love the retro levels and the mechanics in general...
It's a celebration of the series. It has several unlockable characters from the entire franchise, with specific mechanics for each game.
The DLC includes new weapons, survival mode and 3 new playable characters. In survival mode, new moves are unlocked for the characters, greatly improving customization.
I finished with all characters, my favorites were Estel and Blaze.
Fantastic game, but a bit too easy? It might've been because i was playing on normal, but I breezed through the game with only a few game overs (except stage 11 and 12, they kicked my ass more times than i can count). Anyways, that's not a complaint, i should've just played on a higher difficulty, and YOU should play this as soon as possible.
I had so much fun w/ the coop this afternoon Streets 4 feels like a new favorite. Shit I even think it’s more fun than Ninja Turtles now. A startling revelation that what started this scribe!
Unlockables and Post-game really click for me. Everytime you beat a level you’re earning points to unlock more characters. I don’t have em all yet, but the roster IS. PHAT. Totally trumps turtles (DLC pending).
Btw, There’s a cheat code to play as a god damn Kangaroo. Nobody does that anymore. This game fucks
The story mode is voiceless with “motion comic” kinda cutscenes, and that Opening crawl of exposition just like the Ol’ Genesis game.
If I were old enough to be a proper SegaHead, I’d probably appreciate that reserved presentation more; it’s equal parts retro and indie. But I think they should either go even lower like everyone else or get big next time cuz all those cutscenes are quiet and empty. There’s hardly any action in em! mostly introductions and defeated bosses giving directions. Boring! A few nice drawings and neat dialogue would be faster.
This game is the craziest shit ever! Sega should’ve paid for some animated cutscenes or at least some voice acting.
But that’s all to say that this game is my shit now. I want to main all the characters and beat the bosses on hard and super hard and fuck you hard and she ain’t never had it this hard and Dante Must Dante, etc.
Unlockables and Post-game really click for me. Everytime you beat a level you’re earning points to unlock more characters. I don’t have em all yet, but the roster IS. PHAT. Totally trumps turtles (DLC pending).
Btw, There’s a cheat code to play as a god damn Kangaroo. Nobody does that anymore. This game fucks
The story mode is voiceless with “motion comic” kinda cutscenes, and that Opening crawl of exposition just like the Ol’ Genesis game.
If I were old enough to be a proper SegaHead, I’d probably appreciate that reserved presentation more; it’s equal parts retro and indie. But I think they should either go even lower like everyone else or get big next time cuz all those cutscenes are quiet and empty. There’s hardly any action in em! mostly introductions and defeated bosses giving directions. Boring! A few nice drawings and neat dialogue would be faster.
This game is the craziest shit ever! Sega should’ve paid for some animated cutscenes or at least some voice acting.
But that’s all to say that this game is my shit now. I want to main all the characters and beat the bosses on hard and super hard and fuck you hard and she ain’t never had it this hard and Dante Must Dante, etc.
I don’t like beat em ups and I had a great time with this! No complicated combos + fun movesets, levels, boss fights and characters across the board. I wasn’t frustrated much at all like I get with some other beat em ups and I found the game exceedingly easy to read. 2-3 hours here to play through the story and do a bit of side stuff, so definitely a good sale game, but it was a blast.
An amazing evolution of the traditional Beat 'em Up formula into something with the depth and style of a Devil May Cry game without losing any of its pick up and play nature. The only real complaints I have are that the music isn't too memorable, which is a bit of a sin when you're making a SoR game, and that the story is kinda lame. I didn't expect a masterpiece of storytelling, but I enjoyed SoR3's (JP) story a lot more than this one.
It was always a good game, but the Mr. X Nightmare DLC pushed it into amazing status, giving it the replay value it previously lacked.
It was always a good game, but the Mr. X Nightmare DLC pushed it into amazing status, giving it the replay value it previously lacked.
Amazing 2D artwork and animation followed with a very addicting gameplay. The combat might be frustrating at first if you aren't used to beat em ups but once you get the hang of it damn this game is fun as hell.
I loved it so much it made me wanna go back and play all those old beat em ups.
I loved it so much it made me wanna go back and play all those old beat em ups.
A revolution for the genre, no other beat-em-up I've played has managed to come close to its heights. The smoothness of its controls and gameplay without any real extraneous bells and whistles, the enemy variety where almost every one feels fair and fun to fight, the amazing yet tense as hell Specials system. Nothing else can really compare.
With the DLC added, this game just becomes peak. Love the rougelike-esque survival mode and the new characters are a blast. Add the absolutely incredible soundtrack and you've got an action game that's up there with DMCV, it's that damn good.
With the DLC added, this game just becomes peak. Love the rougelike-esque survival mode and the new characters are a blast. Add the absolutely incredible soundtrack and you've got an action game that's up there with DMCV, it's that damn good.
ai que jogo maneiro
uma pena ter 2 minuto de duracao
uma pena ter 2 minuto de duracao
GOTY 2020 - NUMBER THREE
Video version
I shouldn’t be an easy mark for this. For years, I’ve questioned whether scrolling beat ’em ups were actually any good, or if they were just dumb co-op knockabouts that got propped up by everything surrounding the gameplay. They were the tough guy games, with the best visuals and soundtracks, and they got a free pass for that. I used to love Streets of Rage II as a kid, but I didn’t really have much respect for the game in the years since. Not since games like God Hand and Dark Souls showed how none of those games scraped the potential provided by the combination of close combat and free movement, certainly. Somehow, Streets of Rage 4 – an outsourced indie sequel to a flawed 25 year-old Mega Drive title – is the game that saved the genre. And somehow, it accomplishes this with only subtle tweaks.
The flaw in these games was that you simply didn’t care. It was all about pushing on. Brute forcing your way through crowds of enemies, sucking up whatever unavoidable attacks they threw at you, and continuing until you either saw the credits or you died. Whichever. Barely makes any difference. Who cares.
Streets of Rage 4’s most obvious tweak to this is in how it incentivises combos. Attack enemies in rapid succession without taking a hit, and a large combo counter will appear on the screen. Higher combos lead to more points, which are the only way to earn extra lives. And you’ll need them. You can play with handicaps, such as starting with more lives and specials, but that’ll eat into your end-of-level score, in turn holding back a series of unlockables, and earning you a lower spot on the online leaderboards. It’s just a wee tweak to the formula, but it completely changes your attitude towards fights. You start exploring movesets, finding attacks that work well against different enemy types, and generally playing much more deliberately. Acting with intentional strategy. It adds so much to the game.
Then there’s the tweaks to how special moves work. Mind those on? You’d press A to do some big flashy move, but it would eat into your health, so you’d never bother? Aye, those have been fixed. Now, using a special move puts a wee bit of your health in jeopardy, but can be regained by attacking enemies without taking damage. Take a hit, and you lose all the HP you risked. Old Streets of Rage was basically a two-button game with an additional Steel Battalion-style suicide button. Now, special moves actually work within your strategy, and add to your options. Maybe there’s one big guy, surrounded by weak grunts. Do a big attack to knock him over, and use the wee guys to regain that health. It still feels like Streets of Rage, but a version of the game that the designers really thought about.
There’s all sorts of tweaks to the game that balances the classic feel with the new mechanics. Enemies can be hurt while flying through the air, and their bodies will bounce off the sides of the screen, offering opportunities for Tekken-style juggling combos. There’s now a dedicated button for picking up and throwing items, making it easier to use the full playfield, and make fewer accidents. The story mode now makes far more distinction between its levels, refreshing your extra lives each time, but also allowing you to restart and adjust your character and handicaps if you die. No longer will you play 50 minutes into the game and lose all your progress because you forgot to change the difficulty and extra lives at the start. It all adds up to a really elegant system that plays into what people love about Streets of Rage, while fixing all its problems.
I’ve spent so long talking about how meaningfully they’ve changed the gameplay fundamentals that I haven’t even talked about the only thing that most folk assumed people would be interested in – its relationship to the old Streets of Rage games. It almost doesn’t matter that they’ve done a beautiful job with it. It doesn’t matter that I used to obsess over quicktime videos of a cancelled Dreamcast game called “Streets of Rage 4”, and now I’m finally playing a game with that title. It doesn’t matter how sweetly and carefully they added to the established story, made deep cut visual references and jokes that feel entirely in-line with the Mega Drive games. I don’t want to hear anybody talking about Streets of Rage 2 anymore. This wipes the floor with it.
Video version
I shouldn’t be an easy mark for this. For years, I’ve questioned whether scrolling beat ’em ups were actually any good, or if they were just dumb co-op knockabouts that got propped up by everything surrounding the gameplay. They were the tough guy games, with the best visuals and soundtracks, and they got a free pass for that. I used to love Streets of Rage II as a kid, but I didn’t really have much respect for the game in the years since. Not since games like God Hand and Dark Souls showed how none of those games scraped the potential provided by the combination of close combat and free movement, certainly. Somehow, Streets of Rage 4 – an outsourced indie sequel to a flawed 25 year-old Mega Drive title – is the game that saved the genre. And somehow, it accomplishes this with only subtle tweaks.
The flaw in these games was that you simply didn’t care. It was all about pushing on. Brute forcing your way through crowds of enemies, sucking up whatever unavoidable attacks they threw at you, and continuing until you either saw the credits or you died. Whichever. Barely makes any difference. Who cares.
Streets of Rage 4’s most obvious tweak to this is in how it incentivises combos. Attack enemies in rapid succession without taking a hit, and a large combo counter will appear on the screen. Higher combos lead to more points, which are the only way to earn extra lives. And you’ll need them. You can play with handicaps, such as starting with more lives and specials, but that’ll eat into your end-of-level score, in turn holding back a series of unlockables, and earning you a lower spot on the online leaderboards. It’s just a wee tweak to the formula, but it completely changes your attitude towards fights. You start exploring movesets, finding attacks that work well against different enemy types, and generally playing much more deliberately. Acting with intentional strategy. It adds so much to the game.
Then there’s the tweaks to how special moves work. Mind those on? You’d press A to do some big flashy move, but it would eat into your health, so you’d never bother? Aye, those have been fixed. Now, using a special move puts a wee bit of your health in jeopardy, but can be regained by attacking enemies without taking damage. Take a hit, and you lose all the HP you risked. Old Streets of Rage was basically a two-button game with an additional Steel Battalion-style suicide button. Now, special moves actually work within your strategy, and add to your options. Maybe there’s one big guy, surrounded by weak grunts. Do a big attack to knock him over, and use the wee guys to regain that health. It still feels like Streets of Rage, but a version of the game that the designers really thought about.
There’s all sorts of tweaks to the game that balances the classic feel with the new mechanics. Enemies can be hurt while flying through the air, and their bodies will bounce off the sides of the screen, offering opportunities for Tekken-style juggling combos. There’s now a dedicated button for picking up and throwing items, making it easier to use the full playfield, and make fewer accidents. The story mode now makes far more distinction between its levels, refreshing your extra lives each time, but also allowing you to restart and adjust your character and handicaps if you die. No longer will you play 50 minutes into the game and lose all your progress because you forgot to change the difficulty and extra lives at the start. It all adds up to a really elegant system that plays into what people love about Streets of Rage, while fixing all its problems.
I’ve spent so long talking about how meaningfully they’ve changed the gameplay fundamentals that I haven’t even talked about the only thing that most folk assumed people would be interested in – its relationship to the old Streets of Rage games. It almost doesn’t matter that they’ve done a beautiful job with it. It doesn’t matter that I used to obsess over quicktime videos of a cancelled Dreamcast game called “Streets of Rage 4”, and now I’m finally playing a game with that title. It doesn’t matter how sweetly and carefully they added to the established story, made deep cut visual references and jokes that feel entirely in-line with the Mega Drive games. I don’t want to hear anybody talking about Streets of Rage 2 anymore. This wipes the floor with it.
Randomly went through the game with Axel in one sitting + tried a bit of Survival Mode.
I was really enamored with the game on release but never finished it for whatever reason. I'm so glad I went back and cleared it - a perfect blend of SoR excellence, but also repurposing it from a modern difficulty and feature approach. I've always worried with some beat em up titles of a "well, what next" thought once you finish the main campaign, but this is one I can envision myself revisiting just as much as the classic 3.
I was really enamored with the game on release but never finished it for whatever reason. I'm so glad I went back and cleared it - a perfect blend of SoR excellence, but also repurposing it from a modern difficulty and feature approach. I've always worried with some beat em up titles of a "well, what next" thought once you finish the main campaign, but this is one I can envision myself revisiting just as much as the classic 3.
They just casually made the greatest comeback after 26 years 🐐
I think that when the first game came out it was a huge deal for its time. Having played the first 3 in the last weeks there was not much to see in this newer version. It's a bit of the same but with better graphics and visuals.
The plot is excused (with the cutscenes we have a better understanding of what is going on but I wouldn't say it's a good thing)
The plot is excused (with the cutscenes we have a better understanding of what is going on but I wouldn't say it's a good thing)
Streets of Rage 4 (2020): Me gusta porque no hace falta ser fan acérrimo de la saga para disfrutarlo, sin dejar de ser un guiño constante a las anteriores entregas. El sistema de combate, es bastante continuista y entretenido sin dejar de expandir un género con las patas cortas. Más que suficiente (7,45)
Holy crap I finally beat this incredible game! That last stage took months! It had become a sort of ritual; once or twice a week I’d fire up Streets of Rage 4 and make another ill-fated attempt at stage 12 before bed. I knew I had it in me to do it without handicaps so I just kept poking at it over and over until I finally broke through with Shiva of all characters; literally my first time playing him. All the other stages I beat with Cherry; I loved jumping on guys’ shoulders and punching them in the face.
Coming off of Shredder’s Revenge, which had a lot more mobility options, Streets of Rage characters can feel a little stiff and heavy, but I found this eventually grew on me. It gave the combat a more methodical, deliberate feel that I grew to appreciate. Once I started using the back attack regularly, I felt like I was finally in the Streets of Rage zone again.
The tight controls, bright colors and faithfulness to the series style and gameplay make this an amazing sequel and just what I want out of a modern beat ‘em up. I’m definitely going to keep coming back to this one.
Coming off of Shredder’s Revenge, which had a lot more mobility options, Streets of Rage characters can feel a little stiff and heavy, but I found this eventually grew on me. It gave the combat a more methodical, deliberate feel that I grew to appreciate. Once I started using the back attack regularly, I felt like I was finally in the Streets of Rage zone again.
The tight controls, bright colors and faithfulness to the series style and gameplay make this an amazing sequel and just what I want out of a modern beat ‘em up. I’m definitely going to keep coming back to this one.
Completion Criteria: Story Mode (Normal)
I've played a couple of 2D Beat'em ups. Nothing has really stood out to me outside of Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. Whilst I've enjoyed bits from others, overall I've treated them as, harsh but, brainless.
I want this to be clear because this is the first 2D beat'em up to break my expectations. Maybe this is purely just by the addition of a "trials" mode but the complexity of skill and utility felt immeasurably higher then others of the same standard. Whilst playing the idea of how to attack were more clear. And the risk Vs reward of special skills makes each move feel more engaging. The variation across the cast had me interested in playing many members of the cast and more importantly interested in replaying the games which is something I don't usually have.
Considering the amazing soundtrack, great artwork and great gameplay. It's hard to really find any faults in the game. From a design perspective, it does exactly what it intends to the only reasonable flaw I can throw at it is theres a difficulty spike in the final levels, which may be due to it being designed for a 2 player experience.
I look forward to going back and trying other characters and bumping up the difficulty
I've played a couple of 2D Beat'em ups. Nothing has really stood out to me outside of Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. Whilst I've enjoyed bits from others, overall I've treated them as, harsh but, brainless.
I want this to be clear because this is the first 2D beat'em up to break my expectations. Maybe this is purely just by the addition of a "trials" mode but the complexity of skill and utility felt immeasurably higher then others of the same standard. Whilst playing the idea of how to attack were more clear. And the risk Vs reward of special skills makes each move feel more engaging. The variation across the cast had me interested in playing many members of the cast and more importantly interested in replaying the games which is something I don't usually have.
Considering the amazing soundtrack, great artwork and great gameplay. It's hard to really find any faults in the game. From a design perspective, it does exactly what it intends to the only reasonable flaw I can throw at it is theres a difficulty spike in the final levels, which may be due to it being designed for a 2 player experience.
I look forward to going back and trying other characters and bumping up the difficulty
The Cherry Says: the most beautiful sidescrolling beat-em-up in recent times. My only complaint is the main story is very short.
Replayed with my buddy Jamie, rocks just as hard as all the other times I've played through it on my own, maybe a little harder thanks to the new co-op grab attacks
Um dos melhores beat em ups que eu ja joguei além de ser o melhor streets of rage. O combate é uma delícia, o artstyle é impecável, a história é simples mas efetiva e tem seus momentos que vc se anima e a trilha sonora é sensacional. Se você nunca tocou num beat em up pode começar por esse, você não vai se arrepender, tem pra celulares, pc e qualquer console pós ps4/xbox one roda esse jogo, inclusive ele é super bem otimizado pra PCs fracos.
Streets of Rage 4 might be a revival of a retro franchise, but this game does not "feel" retro in nature. Fighting game inputs, semi-realistic lighting models and comic book-like characters put the atmosphere of this game on another level. Despite the modern veneer, the game still pays its respects in full to the entries that preceded it while sharpening its edge to perfection. The gameplay is the epitome of crisp; the characters, radical
Damn cool 2D ass kicker. What you see is what you get. Amid limited funds and a weird burnout phase, where I struggle to enjoy any game…. Retro style simplicity feels very fresh. I like how they jammed this game with tons of characters and let you unlock more. I like the roguelike survival dlc. I loved playing with my gf. It’s pretty dope.
Now if you compare it to TMNT Shredder’s Revenge, I like how that plays more (everyone dashes, taunts, dodge button), but this has the better content, and I love how you can throw, even the bosses, across the room like a sack of potatoes.
I love the challenge of building up combos, beating up armies, and taking out the boss while trying not to get killed. Specials taking health makes it more tense.
This game has a lot to offer!
Now if you compare it to TMNT Shredder’s Revenge, I like how that plays more (everyone dashes, taunts, dodge button), but this has the better content, and I love how you can throw, even the bosses, across the room like a sack of potatoes.
I love the challenge of building up combos, beating up armies, and taking out the boss while trying not to get killed. Specials taking health makes it more tense.
This game has a lot to offer!
genuinely one of the best beat'n up games I ever played, everything oozes polish in almost every single aspect especially on the combat and presentation.
the combat might the best in the series and in the genre as a whole, they incorporated fighting game mechanics to the recipe with wall bounces, juggles and an free-form combo system, the controls are smooth and intuitive making combat an joy throughout.
the presentation is also great, the new art direction is slick and full of style, the music is equally great, maybe not on the level of the second game but still memorable and full of bangers.
the extras are also great, costumes for characters and an good replay-value if you want to beat the campaign with all the characters since all of them has their special unique abilities and traits, there is also an full-fledged training mode in the game which is fantastic to learn it's mechanics and combos thanks to the practice options for each character.
the difficulty is once again tough like in the rest of the series but this is by far the easiest I played coming from 3 harder titles, I found the more fairer difficulty to be welcoming though, the levels are short and well-paced and most of the difficulty was fun to overcome.
overall Streets of Rage 4 is an gold standard for the genre and an example on how to bring back an old IP in my opinion, definitely an must-play.
the combat might the best in the series and in the genre as a whole, they incorporated fighting game mechanics to the recipe with wall bounces, juggles and an free-form combo system, the controls are smooth and intuitive making combat an joy throughout.
the presentation is also great, the new art direction is slick and full of style, the music is equally great, maybe not on the level of the second game but still memorable and full of bangers.
the extras are also great, costumes for characters and an good replay-value if you want to beat the campaign with all the characters since all of them has their special unique abilities and traits, there is also an full-fledged training mode in the game which is fantastic to learn it's mechanics and combos thanks to the practice options for each character.
the difficulty is once again tough like in the rest of the series but this is by far the easiest I played coming from 3 harder titles, I found the more fairer difficulty to be welcoming though, the levels are short and well-paced and most of the difficulty was fun to overcome.
overall Streets of Rage 4 is an gold standard for the genre and an example on how to bring back an old IP in my opinion, definitely an must-play.
If you're a fan of the previous 3 SoR games then the constant nods and throw backs will put a smile on your face but even if you aren't familiar this is an incredibly polished and well made old school arcade brawler that's incredibly satisfying to play
Veterans of the genre looking for a challenge be warned though, the game may seem a little easy when played on Hard or Hardest with a large abundance of healing items but if you crank that difficulty slider all the way to Maniac+ you'll understand very quickly why they are there.
A solid experience for players old and new
Veterans of the genre looking for a challenge be warned though, the game may seem a little easy when played on Hard or Hardest with a large abundance of healing items but if you crank that difficulty slider all the way to Maniac+ you'll understand very quickly why they are there.
A solid experience for players old and new
Alright I'll keep the review brief but one thing's for sure this is hands down one of the better games I've played this year
For me this game is split into two halves, first half being consistently good like every stage introducing new enemies that need to be countered in unique ways with intelligent enemy placement that actually makes you use your brain plus lots of variety in the presentation to keep things fresh. But as soon as you move past the 6th stage which is the halfway point of the game all of that gets thrown out of the window as it becomes more and more apparent that the devs ran out of creative juices, pinning you up against reskinned mobs and reused bosses turned gank from earlier stages and artificially inflating the difficulty by randomly throwing in more tougher enemies that can easily interrupt your combos in hordes. Basically, the game takes a nose dive in overall quality in the latter half compared to the first half
Despite the lackluster second half I still think this game has tons of replay value because of the competently designed plus satisfying combat with a surprising amount of depth and the roster of 8 different playable characters that each have substantially different playstyle which can make every playthrough after the initial one feel like a completely new campaign. I can vouch for the replayability as I've beaten the game 4 times (once on hardest and three times on mania)
And my god the music in this game can be REALLY good at times
For me this game is split into two halves, first half being consistently good like every stage introducing new enemies that need to be countered in unique ways with intelligent enemy placement that actually makes you use your brain plus lots of variety in the presentation to keep things fresh. But as soon as you move past the 6th stage which is the halfway point of the game all of that gets thrown out of the window as it becomes more and more apparent that the devs ran out of creative juices, pinning you up against reskinned mobs and reused bosses turned gank from earlier stages and artificially inflating the difficulty by randomly throwing in more tougher enemies that can easily interrupt your combos in hordes. Basically, the game takes a nose dive in overall quality in the latter half compared to the first half
Despite the lackluster second half I still think this game has tons of replay value because of the competently designed plus satisfying combat with a surprising amount of depth and the roster of 8 different playable characters that each have substantially different playstyle which can make every playthrough after the initial one feel like a completely new campaign. I can vouch for the replayability as I've beaten the game 4 times (once on hardest and three times on mania)
And my god the music in this game can be REALLY good at times
Es con diferencia el SoR que más he jugado, no porque sea el más completo o la experiencia definitiva de la saga, sino porque no me llena. Es divertido, los golpes se sienten con fuerza y es satisfactorio hacer rebotar enemigos contra la pared, pero la tensión está tan extendida en la hora y media de partida, que se diluye y lo terminas jugando en automático. Los beat em ups son juegos de prioridades, donde entender qué ataques tienen prioridad frente a qué otros es clave para no recibir hostias a cada rato. Una vez interiorizas sus reglas, el resto es un tema de ejecución y saber moverte por las verticales. Es misión del juego situarte en situaciones suficientemente comprometidas para que no te resulte fácil seguir el plan. Por eso muchas veces los jefes rompen las normas, no se aturden con los golpes, te interrumpen a mitad de un combo o no se dejan agarrar, para que busques otras soluciones. Pero con tantos recursos a mano, ataques rápidos, cargados, en salto y especiales con tiempo de inmunidad, acabas encontrando la prioridad la mayor parte del tiempo. Nunca llegas a apretar los dientes y nunca llega ese momento de pulsaciones subiendo y ejecución estricta bajo presión para superar un desafío. Por todo lo que hace bien de base, siempre es agradable de jugar y siempre tienes ganas de más, pero personalmente me quedo con el juego que en una partida sea capaz de saciarme.
A really fun beat 'em up game with easy to perform combos, unique fighting styles for different characters, challenging and varied enemies, bosses and difficulty levels, great soundtrack and a beautiful artstyle to top it off. I had a wonderful time playing this with my good buddy.
This took a few patches, playthroughs, a co-op session, and a DLC to really click with me. Once it did, however, this is a very solid beat-em-up that does enough to set itself apart from its predecessors while also keeping a lot of the characters, style, and vibe.
A big change from the original trilogy of games is a far more hardcore focus on combos using special attacks. There's more fighting game style moves where you can launch enemies off the ground, bounce them off walls, and even pass off to another player. This felt really awful to me at first given how sluggish Axel felt on day one, but over time and patches and playing other characters, this system is incredibly tight and benefits playing risky and fast to keep your score going. A very challenging time, but one that once you get to grips with it, is immensely satisfying.
The soundtrack is a massive highlight as well having an all-star line up from Tee Lopes, Motohiro Kawashima, Yoko Shimomura, and many others contributing to a banger after banger soundtrack. The DLC especially includes some of the heaviest songs in the game and add so much fun and flavor to an already diverse soundtrack.
Really my only gripe with this game is the endgame stages tend to drag on for too long with bosses that I'd describe as obnoxious more than anything. However the whole package does a lot to make those complaints fairly minor. Grab a bud or two and give this a swing, it's a rippin' good time.
A big change from the original trilogy of games is a far more hardcore focus on combos using special attacks. There's more fighting game style moves where you can launch enemies off the ground, bounce them off walls, and even pass off to another player. This felt really awful to me at first given how sluggish Axel felt on day one, but over time and patches and playing other characters, this system is incredibly tight and benefits playing risky and fast to keep your score going. A very challenging time, but one that once you get to grips with it, is immensely satisfying.
The soundtrack is a massive highlight as well having an all-star line up from Tee Lopes, Motohiro Kawashima, Yoko Shimomura, and many others contributing to a banger after banger soundtrack. The DLC especially includes some of the heaviest songs in the game and add so much fun and flavor to an already diverse soundtrack.
Really my only gripe with this game is the endgame stages tend to drag on for too long with bosses that I'd describe as obnoxious more than anything. However the whole package does a lot to make those complaints fairly minor. Grab a bud or two and give this a swing, it's a rippin' good time.
I Think This Game is the Best SOR Game Ever
Played the originals in preparation this release. Was disappointed to find that I didn't really like them despite growing up with them. 4 however is everything I remember the originals being. I am very happy this game exist though it has ruined the genre for me. All Beat em' Ups will be judged by this games standard.