Once the jewel fighting franchise of the Sega Genesis back in the 1990s, Streets of Rage has finally returned to consoles and computers with Streets of Rage 4, a loving homage to the over-the-top beat 'em up series that updates gameplay and visuals for modern audiences while still letting players clobber armies of street toughs and eat chicken off the ground.
There's a certain set of visual cues associated with the street-fighting, gang-busting action hero of the 1980s and 1990s: Fingerless Gloves. Bandanas. Leather Jackets and Denim Vests. A city over-run with crime and violence, infested with colorful street gangs straight out of The Warriors or Miami Connection. And smack in the middle, a ragtag band of street fighters and martial artists out to save their city, one knuckle sandwich at a time...
Many classic beat 'em ups, ranging from Double Dragon to the Final Fight and Streets of Rage series, lean heavily into the 80s and 90s notion of an action hero (in no small part because they were made in this era). Players walk their chosen characters through side-scrolling maps, fighting off waves of goons with simple button combos, picking up weapons like knives and lead pipes, and picking up food items like chicken or pizza boxes to heal. Streets of Rage 4, released 26 years after Streets of Rage 3, doesn't diverge from this winning formula (read our Streets of Rage 4 review!), but does refine it in several, subtle ways:
Streets of Rage 4's Gorgeous Hand-Drawn Art
Streets of Rage 4, like previous Streets of Rage installments, is very much a 2D side-scroller. In contrast to the pixelated graphics of the Sega Genesis era, Streets of Rage 4 uses high-fidelity, hand-drawn backgrounds and character sprites to bring the neon-lit streets of Wood Oak City and reimagine its super-heroic cast of street fighters (classic protagonists like Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, and Adam Hunter, along with newcomers Cherry Hunter and Floyd Iraia).
Streets of Rage 4's Cyberpunk Future Setting
Streets of Rage 1 and 2 took place in a stylized but recognizable modern metropolis, while Streets of Rage 3 introduced cyborgs, killer robots and other elements straight out of films like Robocop. Streets of Rage 4's story leans more into the sci-fi elements of Streets of Rage 3 to create a futuristic setting with low-key cyberpunk themes – beat cops with energy shields, enemies with overt cybernetic limbs, and dirigibles floating in the backdrops of neon-lit downtown skyscrapers. In short, it looks like years have passed between the plots of Streets of Rage 3 and 4 – something true both in-game and in real life.
Streets of Rage 4's Updated Dance Club Music
It's impossible to discuss the merits of the Streets of Rage franchise without talking about its music – which has consistently been pretty damn good. The catchy fight tunes of Streets of Rage 1 through 3, composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, drew from various trends of club music, letting players kick butt and jam out to melodies inspired by techno, trance, house, and other styles of electronic dance.
A number of passionate industry composers came together to craft new beats for Streets of Rage 4 – veterans like Koshiro and Kawashima along with newcomers such as Olivier Deriviere and Yoko Shimomura. These new themes mix the electronic music of previous installments with more avant-garde, experimental trends, making each Streets of Rage 4 fight a pulse-pounding, funky experience.
On the whole, Streets of Rage 4 modernizes the visual, audio, and gameplay elements of the Streets of Rage franchise, while retaining the beat'em'up elements that still hold up in the present. Fans who are looking for more of a blast from the past can also unlock a number of retro options over the course of their play-throughs, ranging from 16-bit character sprites and retro audio tracks to a few hidden levels from previous Streets of Rage installments.
Source: PlayStation Blog