Developer: DotEmu, LizardCube, Guard Crush Games
Publisher: DotEmu
Released: April 30, 2020
Completed: April 30, 2020
Rated: T for Teen
After a 26 year wait that included several attempts that never got past the pitch stage, Streets of Rage 4 is finally here! Was it worth the wait? Mostly.
Rather than waste time with a lengthy dissertation on how much I love this series, let's dive right in to the meat and potatoes. Streets of Rage 4 is a worthy successor to the original trilogy, but it's not perfect. In many ways, it's polarizing, specifically the hand-drawn art style. I'll admit, I'm still not fully sold on it. At times it looks great in conjunction with the lighting, and others I think it loses the grittier, more realistic look of its past. There's an absolute quality to the assets, but the overall visual style may not click with you. Some people love it, some absolutely loathe it, and wishy-washy people like myself fall in between.
Whatever you think of the visuals, I think everyone can agree they're nothing if the gameplay doesn't deliver. On this front, Streets of Rage 4 is generally a home run. It feels very much like the best entry in the series (Streets of Rage 2, for the uninitiated or uneducated) with some nice new additions in the form of a juggle combo system, and new offensive and defensive special moves. But before we get to all that, let's discuss the roster.
Returning for the fourth outing are Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding, the only two characters to appear in all four games. More importantly, returning for the first time since the game that started it all is Adam Hunter! Adam was always my favorite of the original trio thanks to his long reach and raw power, and the announcement he would finally be playable once again was a welcome one. Joining the old favorites are newcomers Cherry Hunter, Adam's punk-rocker daughter, and Floyd Iraia, a beefed-up protégé of Dr. Zan who's sort of a cross between his mentor and Max Thunder for SoR2.
It's a fine and well-balanced cast where each fighter offers something unique. They all have clearly defined attributes that make them feel different from one another beyond just their special moves. With any beloved franchise, there are always characters you'd love to see return - Skate, Max, Zan, or even hidden playable character Shiva would have been welcome - but the base cast is supplemented by a host of nostalgic unlockables.
As you play, you'll earn points that go towards unlocking these bonus characters, which includes nearly every playable character exactly as they appeared and played in the original three games. Only Roo the Kangaroo, a hidden character from SoR3, is absent though Shiva is included. It's odd Roo is nowhere to be found with all the others returning, and considering he's seen tending bar in one of the game's early stages, but I guess there's just no place in the world for a boxing kangaroo.
Getting back to the game's combat, SoR4 will feel instantly familiar to veterans. There are actually lots of minor changes made to things like invincibility frames, but the basic controls remain the same. There is now a separate button to pick up items, which feels weird, but you get used to it pretty fast. The biggest changes are the new juggle combos, and how the specials work.
The combo meter is pretty self-explanatory. Hitting enemies in rapid succession will increase said meter, resulting in a point multiplier, and looking pretty cool to boot if you manage to keep an enemy airborne for a while. It's not just for single enemies though. So long as you're on the offensive, any enemy hit within the window of time will count towards your combo. It's a fun new mechanic for expert level players who can do some really impressive things, and it adds depth to the already rock solid combat.
Specials also work a bit differently. Gone is the meter from Streets of Rage 3. Your offensive and defensive specials will cost you a portion of your lifebar, but this time around that portion turns green. As long as you aren't hit by an enemy, you can regain this portion back with subsequent attacks of your own. It's an excellent system that rewards skillful play, though at the time of this writing, it's easy to exploit with Floyd's defensive special, which has a large window of invincibility frames.
The combat feels great, which is the most important thing. It's obvious the developers revere the original three games and did their best to replicate that feeling while adding thoughtful improvements. Enemies are aggressive and somewhat intelligent, and many have their own quirks such as the ability to block your attacks or throw the player (and yes, the defensive landing is still in the game). The game provides a very reasonable challenge for the uninitiated, and experts can crank the difficulty up for more.
That's all well and good... but how's the music?
Yuzo Koshiro's soundtracks to the classic Genesis games were as memorable as the combat itself, so when it was announced he was returning to provide tracks for the fourth entry, fans were excited. Koshiro-san didn't provide the entire soundtrack, but his involvement was considered a make-or-break factor for many people.
Streets of Rage 4's beats aren't anywhere near as memorable as the first two games, and they're significantly better than 3's, but ultimately I was a little disappointed in the soundtrack. There are some decent tunes, and I liked how the music would build, adding layers and complexities that matched the pace of the gameplay as you progressed through the stages. It's just that there's little here I'd listen to outside of the game. Like I said, it's decent but not exceptional. There is also an option to use retro soundtracks, which consists of music curated from Streets of Rage 1 and 2 on the Game Gear and Genesis respectively. Why they opted to use the Game Gear music instead of the Genesis original is beyond me, and it makes this option notably less desirable than it would have been had they used the incredible YM2612 tracks.
Circling back around to the visuals, it must also be said that the style may be subjective, but some of the character designs are objectively poor. Replacing Mr. X are his children who have an anime-emo-chic look that just does not work for the game. There is a graphical filter you can apply that adds a pixelated look, bringing it closer in line with the Genesis games, but no filter can make up for such lame villains.
After a 26 year wait, I'm willing to overlook a lot of Streets of Rage 4's issues. It's not a perfect sequel, but it does justice to the original trilogy. Questionable art and character designs notwithstanding, the combat is deep and satisfying. The game may be a bit too long for its own good, and the music doesn't come close to the greatness of the first two games, but it's a worthy revival in a series that has lain dormant for far too long. Hopefully it also becomes the blueprint for Streets of Rage 5 - much sooner rather than later.
Streets of Rage 4 was completed on an Xbox One X with no cheats.
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