Beat-em-ups, as a genre, have faded in and out of fashion over the years. What was once the cornerstone of any quality arcade quickly made the transition to home consoles, but then faded away as experiences became longer and more defined. Beat-em-ups, by design, are simple and don't often hold room for complex button inputs or combos.
After disappearing for roughly an entire console generation, the genre came roaring back into the limelight with Castle Crashers in 2008. From there, indies took up the mantle of what triple-A devs wouldn't, creating a ton of passion projects with the likes of games such as Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and River City Ransom: Underground.
One series was always missing, though: Streets of Rage. Once a headliner for Sega's fledgling Genesis console, the series went on ice in 1994 and hasn't made a peep since. There may have been references thrown around in other titles, but Sega's premiere arcade brawler has been MIA.
Thankfully, the wait is finally over. After being announced a few years back, Streets of Rage 4 is finally here and I can safely say that it's a certified hit. Maybe it doesn't redefine the genre or push the envelope, but this is the kind of polished, quality product that only a group of passionate fans could create.
Picking Up Where It Left Off
The story is basically the same as it's always been. With Mr. X out of the picture, his children take up the reigns of The Syndicate and begin terrorizing the city once again. With Mr. Y and Ms. Y wreaking havoc in Wood Oak, it falls on Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, and a few new characters to set things straight. Needless to say, you won't be playing Streets of Rage 4 for the plot.
Still, that doesn't mean it's completely throwaway. Borrowing a page out of the third iteration, the plot strings together the stages in a more coherent manner than the earlier Genesis entries. It's brisk, to the point, and even has a nice surprise for longtime fans.
Even if the plot were garbage, that wouldn't matter. Streets of Rage 4 features the best gameplay the series has ever had. The basic combo system has been tweaked ever so slightly from fan-favorite Streets of Rage 2, meaning this is a slightly slower paced affair than the final Genesis installment. Still, players are now able to string hits together in a fiercer fashion, allowing for endless attacks when partnering up with friends or massive hit counters when cleverly utilizing environmental obstacles.
You can see this as early as the first level in the game. Knock an opponent against a wall and they'll bounce back at you. Time your punches correctly and you can start to juggle them. If you're smart with your usage of special moves and jump attacks, you could theoretically keep them in the air indefinitely. It stacks the odds in your favor much more than before.
It's All In The Hits, It's All In The Hits
It also just feels plain wonderful. Older beat-em-ups always had the issue of combo strings being very strict, but Streets of Rage 4 is almost free-flowing with its feel. This is backed by a nice change to the special move system. Ever since Capcom defined it in Final Fight, beat-em-ups have included super moves that drain health when used. Present in Streets of Rage 2, these moves weren't balanced all too well and often did more harm than good.
In 4, you'll still lose health when using them, but avoiding damage and successfully attacking foes will restore your lost HP. It's an excellent risk/reward system on top of a game that puts more emphasis on combos anyway. It's not always wise to perform, but there's a certain rush when done correctly.
It helps, too, that each character is much more defined than in past games. Axel remains pretty basic, but Blaze's more ranged focused specials and newcomer Cherry's aerial potential mean you'll be able to have more unique playthroughs when going with different characters. It also fundamentally changes which difficulties you'll select with specific characters, since returning veteran Adam is way too good for Easy and Normal.
Bring It On
Regardless of which difficulty you select, the change to progression is very much welcomed here. You aren't working with continues anymore and will be free to replay levels as many times as you need. If you stop in the middle, you can resume your progress directly from that level. Lose all your lives during a stage and you can retry it with some added assists, such as extra lives or additional special moves, at a score reduction.
Maybe it's not an end-all answer to difficulty balancing, but I found it to be very accommodating for those looking for stricter challenges. Easy and Normal are far too lenient for me, but Hardest is a bit tough solo. Going with the Hard setting, I was able to make my way through with minimal assist usage in roughly three hours.
It helps that the pacing is utterly fantastic and the soundtrack is a monumental triumph. Players are going to inevitably compare this to the past OSTs, but for my money, the soundtrack is better utilized here than in the past. Stages ebb and flow with enemy placement and the score accurately reflects that. It builds in tempo and percussion almost like a film, accentuating boss fights and rough encounters with aplomb.
Headin' To The Streets
Apart from the lack of a block button, the only real negative I can think of is that there isn't enough. At 12 stages, this is the longest Streets of Rage, but it flows so well and avoids reusing enemies/bosses that I just wanted more. Replaying with retro characters is nice, but it's not exactly a different game.
Still, if the worst complaint I can come up with is there isn't enough, then that sounds like an overall win. Nostalgia will be the key determining factor in whether or not this becomes your favorite entry, but Streets of Rage 4 is, without question, a great game. Here's to hoping we can see a fifth one in the future.
A PC copy of Streets of Rage 4 was provided to TheGamer for this review. Streets of Rage 4 is now available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Streets of Rage 4
Streets of Rage 4 brings the classic side-scrolling brawler to the 21st century. It features some of the original characters, combo-based gameplay, and even includes new music from series legend Yuzo Koshiro.