SoR2 already has a firmly established reputation as a beat-em-up posterchild, and there's not much more to be said about it. The difficulty curve is perfect, the combat feels just right, the AI design and intentionally tankish movement brings out the cautious and mindgame-driven side of brawler design, and its soundtrack forever remains a Genesis hallmark. But beyond all the immediate bullet points, SoR2 deserves an audience because it sets out to bring humanity and soul to a genre often stereotyped as mindless junk food.
What sets SoR2 apart in the spectrum of brawlers is its ability to invigorate its universe with authentic life - especially when compared to its arcade forefathers. In Double Dragon's iconic intro, you watch Marion get an unprompted punch to the gut as she's carried off by a gaggle of thugly caricatures. In Final Fight, the first enemy you see is the mad crook Damn'd, having kidnapped and stripped Haggar's daughter - treating her like a dehumanized pawn for bartering. The ten dozen different versions of TMNT all have Shredder and Krang snatching away the Statue of Liberty (horrors!). All of these games - along with most brawlers of the time, - use these framing choices to establish from the get-go that your enemies are one-dimensional cronies that exist to beat or be beaten. They're ugly, brutish, no-good punching bags, and sometimes just downright outdated stereotypes.
You could say SoR's no better with how it also features a kidnapping plot and lots of borrowed enemy tropes from Final Fight and such, but it's not so forceful or tactless about it, and it's just a single element in its larger setting of government corruption and fractured city life. SoR2 is still a video game of its time and is incredibly fictionalized, but by overall contrast, there's a greater attempt to paint enemies as people beyond their circumstances. All the generic foes have casual, lived-in fashion styles, and many are depicted DOING things in their downtime - sleeping on park benches, chilling at an arcade, waiting for a drink at the bar, and such. They're as much a part of the setting as the leering streetlights and flashing neon signage are. Further compounded by SoR's brilliant environmental art, creating lived-in worlds with moody colors, delicate space and facsimiles of nostalgic real-world locales. It feels like a fictionalized slice of reality, just playing by some of its own stylistic rules. Yuzo Koshiro's music is equally responsible for this ambiance through his ability to steal but never outright ripoff popular house beats and melodies - the ingredients of reality shine through the simulation.
Streets of Rage 2 is fantastic and remains a divergent slice of the 4th gen beat-em-up pie, singing a similar tune as the rest of the crowd but putting a bit of heart into it. You could walk away feeling that it's just an hour of drop-kicking chumps, but it's a SOULFUL hour of drop-kicking chumps, dammit.
What sets SoR2 apart in the spectrum of brawlers is its ability to invigorate its universe with authentic life - especially when compared to its arcade forefathers. In Double Dragon's iconic intro, you watch Marion get an unprompted punch to the gut as she's carried off by a gaggle of thugly caricatures. In Final Fight, the first enemy you see is the mad crook Damn'd, having kidnapped and stripped Haggar's daughter - treating her like a dehumanized pawn for bartering. The ten dozen different versions of TMNT all have Shredder and Krang snatching away the Statue of Liberty (horrors!). All of these games - along with most brawlers of the time, - use these framing choices to establish from the get-go that your enemies are one-dimensional cronies that exist to beat or be beaten. They're ugly, brutish, no-good punching bags, and sometimes just downright outdated stereotypes.
You could say SoR's no better with how it also features a kidnapping plot and lots of borrowed enemy tropes from Final Fight and such, but it's not so forceful or tactless about it, and it's just a single element in its larger setting of government corruption and fractured city life. SoR2 is still a video game of its time and is incredibly fictionalized, but by overall contrast, there's a greater attempt to paint enemies as people beyond their circumstances. All the generic foes have casual, lived-in fashion styles, and many are depicted DOING things in their downtime - sleeping on park benches, chilling at an arcade, waiting for a drink at the bar, and such. They're as much a part of the setting as the leering streetlights and flashing neon signage are. Further compounded by SoR's brilliant environmental art, creating lived-in worlds with moody colors, delicate space and facsimiles of nostalgic real-world locales. It feels like a fictionalized slice of reality, just playing by some of its own stylistic rules. Yuzo Koshiro's music is equally responsible for this ambiance through his ability to steal but never outright ripoff popular house beats and melodies - the ingredients of reality shine through the simulation.
Streets of Rage 2 is fantastic and remains a divergent slice of the 4th gen beat-em-up pie, singing a similar tune as the rest of the crowd but putting a bit of heart into it. You could walk away feeling that it's just an hour of drop-kicking chumps, but it's a SOULFUL hour of drop-kicking chumps, dammit.