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.
5 Comments
@cowboyjosh - Yes! I saw your review of it too and was super glad you enjoyed it. I'm a couple of trophies away from the platinum but it's easily a game I see myself coming back to for quick plays.
The game looks out of this world great.
However, it's a crime that most of the characters can't run.
However, it's a crime that most of the characters can't run.
@TheGamingN00b -You really notice it after playing those that can.
It's so awkward man. Especially since running is really useful in this kind of game. If the gameplay difference would be negligible, it really wouldn't matter either way, but that is not the case.
When I would get hit by a boss attack, because my not-being-able-to-run-character could not get his slow ass out of the way in time, despite me desperatley trying to move, I would almost ragequit.
When I would get hit by a boss attack, because my not-being-able-to-run-character could not get his slow ass out of the way in time, despite me desperatley trying to move, I would almost ragequit.
cowboyjosh
4 months ago