Despite owning a Sega Genesis as a kid, I didn’t really know all that much about Streets
of Rage.
I played the original at a friend’s house once or twice, but it never ingrained itself
in my psyche until I picked up Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection where the entire trilogy
was included.
And I found myself hooked in a way that hadn’t happened since the days of the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles beat-em-ups.
They were just massively fun to play with some fantastic music and imaginative locales
despite being centralized around a city.
So when Streets of Rage 4 was announced, I was ecstatic, especially when I discovered
that the Wonder Boy remake’s developers, Lizardcube, was behind it.
The pedigree was there, but did it actually come together?
While beat-em-ups really aren’t known for their plots, Streets of Rage 4 does have a
tiny bit more story than usual.
It picks up 10 years after the events of 3 where the children Mr. X, Mr. and Ms. Y, have
brought the city completely under their control.
Seeing the chaos in the streets, Blaze Fielding brings back her old partner, Axel Stone, as
well as newcomers Cherry Hunter, daughter of Adam, and the protege of Dr. Zan, Floyd.
Together the four of them fight through the city, discover the Y Siblings plans, and put
a stop to them.
It’s simple, but the small cutscenes that play between each level does add a sense of
style to everything while building up stakes and providing a small mystery.
It’s nothing grand, but I found myself enjoying it for what it was.
We’re here for that action though, and Streets of Rage 4 doesn’t disappoint.
Combat is buttery smooth and just feels...right.
Every character has a regular attack, a jump, the ability to pick up and use items, a throw,
and special moves.
It’s simple at a glance, but combining them all is where the fighting truly shines.
Seeing how a character’s standard combo flows and knowing when to use a quick punch
behind you or pull off a jump kick is immediately satisfying, especially with large crowds.
There’s even more depth than that though.
Special attacks will decrease your character’s health, but it can then be recovered if you
successfully land normal hits.
However, if you take any damage then the health that hasn’t been recovered yet is instantly
gone.
It’s an excellent system that made me decide how often I should use specials as they can
be used both offensively and defensively.
And that’s the thing about Streets of Rage 4.
It feels like a more thoughtful beat-em-up.
Now granted, I haven’t played a ton of examples in the genre, but I like how every move feels
like it has a purpose.
In addition to standard and special attacks, there’s a unique Blitz move that can extend
combos along with the returning Star Moves that can really clear a pack of enemies.
Jumping attacks can be sweeping and defensive when done at a standstill or more focused
as a single strike.
But my favorite method, especially with Blaze was a downward jumping attack that could set
up a one-two punch that disrupted most enemies.
Even throwing items has a bit of strategy to it as they can be caught when coming back
at you, making for a viable distance attack.
And this idea applies to enemies who throw those same weapons at you.
Add in the uniqueness that is Streets of Rage 4’s character line-up and the game is simply
a dream to play.
Axel is more of a standard character with good power and mobility though he’s more
focused on ground combat.
Blaze is all about quick movements and big sweeping attacks that can target multiple
enemies.
Cherry doesn’t hit very hard and is limited in her throw radius, but is a monster at combos
and aerial combat.
Floyd is all about power and ground combat, but he has surprising range to make up for
his slow movements.
And finally Adam Hunter, who’s unlocked soon into the Story Mode, is a good all around
character with no specific expertise but no weaknesses either.
It won’t take long to find a character that clicks with you as I found myself loving Blaze
and Cherry’s quick-hitting styles.
The final element that really sold Streets of Rage 4’s combat for me were the enemies
themselves.
While most are returning from the previous games, there are a handful of new ones that
feel like natural additions.
But what works most about them is how each one has their own unique tactics that you
learn and figure out how to counter.
Some may focus on weapons while others use kicks.
Jump kicking others will almost always get counters while throws decimate another.
And with new enemies being introduced at a steady rate through the game’s 12 levels,
the combat never grew stale.
This applies to the bosses as well who are, once again, a mix of new and old.
Figuring out each one’s strategies and patterns was immensely satisfying, especially when
I was able to use that knowledge to utterly dominate them.
The way each level works is clever as well, making the life and points counters integral.
At the beginning of a level, you’ll always have 2 lives and zero points on the Normal
difficulty.
If you end that level with less or more, it’ll reset for the next one.
So really, it’s all about whether you can make it through the level you’re on with
the amount of lives given.
But it is possible to earn more lives thanks to points and those are earned by grabbing
money, defeating enemies, and increasing your combo meter.
The higher it is, the more points you’ll earn at the end.
However, if you’re hit even once during the combo, it’ll break and you’ll earn
none of the points.
So it became a balancing act of determining how long I could keep a combo going without
the fear of getting hit, especially by a small sucker punch from behind.
It’s another example of how the game kept me engaged with new mechanics while maintaining
an old-school arcade feel.
But the points serve another purpose as that total, your time remaining, your health, and
your leftover Star Moves total together for not only a rank, but an overall score counter.
Along this counter are the extra unlockables of the game, namely the Retro characters from
Streets of Rage 1, 2, and 3 and the soundtracks of 1 and 2.
Each character from that game plays exactly as they did in it.
So the more limited moveset of the original is there while the expanded moves and abilities
of the sequels are present.
It’s an extra level of nostalgia that I enjoyed, but found limiting, especially with
Streets of Rage 1 characters.
Still, it’s an awesome bonus to keep you playing as the Story Mode only took me about
4 hours to complete the first time.
Streets of Rage 4 is all about replayability, and that’s facilitated thanks to the different
difficulty levels.
Normal Mode starts your character with 2 lives while Hard limits you to 1.
After that is Harder which ratchets up the number of enemies and finally the unlockable
Mania Mode which increases enemy health and just piles on the opponents.
It can be tough, but if you do game over, there are options to retry with more lives
and other perks at the cost of a lower total score at the end.
Plus there is an Easy Mode if this is your first Beat-em-Up.
In addition, there are score bonuses for beating a level with a character for the first time
and for achieving a higher ranking.
The game is always about challenging yourself, learning the patterns, and improving.
Beyond the Story, there are some other modes such as the Arcade, which tasks you with beating
the entire story on one set of 5 lives, a Boss Rush, an art gallery that also provides
character histories, and the new Battle Mode.
The Battle Mode is simply a one on one fight between you and a friend with each of the
8 stages offering something unique like exploding barrels, spawning enemies, or dodging hazards.
It’s nothing too deep, but I did find myself having fun with it in short bursts.
Alone, fighting through all of these modes can get a little repetitious and dull, but
multiplayer makes Streets of Rage 4 come alive again.
I was only able to try the 2 player online rather than the 4 player local, but I can’t
imagine there being any issues.
Online is simple enough to join up with a friend, but the connection seemed a little
spotty.
I’m not sure if it was something on my end or the game itself, but when it did run smooth,
it was a dream to play.
Even better is the sense of cooperative gameplay as the combo meter is actually shared between
the two players.
So if one is hit, the combo is still broken which really enhanced the idea of watching
each others’ backs.
As should be obvious by now, Streets of Rage 4 is stunning to look at.
The artstyle captures the feel of the original pixel graphics while updating the movements
and overall smoothness of the action.
Everything is fluid, well animated, and there are some incredible background details when
you spot them.
The music is just as incredible too as I found myself bobbing my head to many of the beats
as I played.
It lives up to such a strong legacy.
The entire package is simply a treat.
Streets of Rage 4 captures the spirit of the franchise while moving it forward in smart
ways.
Combat is tactical, exciting, and fluid.
There are a ton of characters to try, and the game finds a way to continually push you
forward.
That said, I could really only play in short bursts as I saw these same 12 levels again
and again.
It got a little tiring, but there was always something that brought me back for more.
I Liked It a Lot and I think fans of the franchise will too.
For newcomers, this really is one of the best beat-em-ups I’ve ever played making for
a perfect entry point.
Personally, I can’t wait to tackle the Mania difficulty with friends.
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