When a sequel to a game comes out decades later, it’s hard to imagine how well it will actually stack up. The industry has drastically changed over the course of years, let alone decades, so when Streets of Rage 4 was announced, it certainly piqued my interest. The classic arcade beat’em-up hasn’t fully gone away since the previous version with more than a handful of inspired imitators looking to fill the void. Streets of Rage 4 is certainly faithful to its roots, playing to the age of the franchise while dipping its toe into modern waters.
It’s rather impressive to see Streets of Rage back, some 26 years later. I recall having a fondness for the series, and many games came in to adopt that formula in either a retro look like River City Girls, or the Scott Pilgrim game, or even as far back as Fighting Force on the PS1, taking the beat’em-up gameplay into a clunky 3D realm. In that 26 year gap, I’ve played likely a few dozen games that have borrowed from games like Streets of Rage, Cadillac’s and Dinosaurs, or Double Dragon. Hell, I remember sinking weeks of allowance into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, or the multi-screen X-Men game that I still play on my Xbox 360.
Streets of Rage is not the first side-scrolling classic to return several years later, Double Dragon Neon, released back in 2012 was actually really enjoyable and featured some mechanics that I wish were here, such as ducking or dodge rolling out of the way of certain attacks. Streets of Rage 4 plays it very simple and isn’t as nimble as I remember, with much of the cast feeling lethargic in their movements with several unavoidable cheap attacks that can drain your health bar in seconds, liking being hit into a grenade, only to be blasted by another one and yet another one before you can even get back up. I certainly have an issue with much of the gameplay, but let me address one thing first; this is a delightful and solid game, and it’s available on Game Pass for you to download as part of your subscription, so I do recommend giving it at least a try. If you access to play this couch co-op during this social distancing culture, please do, it’s drastically better playing alongside someone.
This return to the raging streets sees you battle through 12 levels that will more or less take you around 3-4 hours to reach credits, and even less so if you’re playing in full 4-player co-op. Now, there are a few modes and characters and retro levels to unlock, so you’re playtime will dramatically increase should you deep dive into unlocking everything the game has to offer. You can also unlock variations of most characters in their classic form, that even lack some of the modern changes that their newer versions wield. It’s a very cool throwback that feels interesting and is one of the more rewarding unlocks here.
There are numerous enemy types from knife-wielding maniacs to armored police with destructible shields that regenerate should you leave them alone for too long. There are fighters that tend to knee block your attacks, gun-toting government agents, to toxic bombers who wield flasks of acid. The enemy types all have specific weaknesses and can cause you to change up your tactics or swap to another fighter upon a retry to shake it up for a new approach. Some enemies can even catch your thrown weapons, a trick you yourself can also do.
The starting cast of characters consists of a few series favorites and brand new characters. Axel Stone, the main protagonist of the entire series, returns but is much older and retired from the police force. Blaze Fielding is back as well, reaching out to Axel to dive back into the corruption that is plaguing the city. Cherry, the daughter or Streets of Rage 1’s Adam, is here as well, bringing a youthful kinetic energy to the team, rocking a guitar that is all too ready to be pummeled into someone’s face. Floyd Iraia, another newcomer to the series, was a construction worker who had his arms repaired by Streets of Rage 3’s Dr. Zan, after losing them in an awful accident. You’ll eventually unlock Adam, who is playable after their appearance in chapter 4.
Each character is graded in Power, Technique, Speed, Jump, and Stamina, with some characters like Cherry having 5 stars on speed where Alex is 3 stars and Floyd scraping by with a single star. But on the other end of that gauge, Cherry is only a single star for power whereas Floyd is rocking a full five stars. Knowing what character and move set you want for a particular fight will often have you choosing favorites or maybe taking the hard road and playing with someone new. I sampled each character during the 12 chapters and ending up finding that Adam was the most balanced with having just enough speed and power to keep up with the ramping difficulty as the game went on.
Now, for the most part, characters have a lot of the same moves, except for their special attacks and signature abilities such as Cherry being able to run, and Adam and his short-distanced dash. Each character can attack, jump, pick up items, throw said items, and has directional variations on their specials, which consume health upon use but if you hit enemies with it, it will restore it. You can hold X to charge up a strong attack, push forward twice with X for a blitz move, or press RT for a back attack, in case anyone sneaks up behind you. You can grab or vault enemies if you can get close to them, with grabs and defensive specials allowing you to be invulnerable for a few precious seconds. You also have a star move with Y+B that can be used provided you have collected stars that are often hiding in each level.
Streets of Rage 3 introduced rolling and running for each character and it’s unfortunate that this was removed, as apart from Cherry and Adam, everyone feels unnaturally sluggish, as if they are pushing through sludge as they walk. It seriously feels weird not being able to run with each character, and more than likely made me really gravitate towards the Hunter family as they felt more in line with the pace of the combat, not to mention bridging the gap between enemies that have projectile-based attacks. This is especially noticeable when having Floyd and Cherry paired up as you feel like you need to hold back as the more youthful and nimble Hunter, waiting for him to catch up.
As mentioned, each of the five fighters has unique special attacks and star abilities, such as Axel’s flaming punches and uppercuts, Blaze’s backflip kicks, to Adam’s stylized green flamed dragon kicks. Cherry can guitar slide into enemies, or you can unleash a devastating Marvel vs Capcom-sized cannon blast from Floyd. Each fighter has enough in their arsenal to make them deadly enough; it just comes down to how they feel from a gameplay perspective.
While some may not look too kindly on the short campaign, arcade fighters like this were always short affairs. Hell, I can wrap the X-men arcade game and Cadillac’s and Dinosaurs in the time it takes to reach credits in this game, so it’s pretty par for the course for the genre. Each environment is wildly different and offers up some fun environmental shenanigans. While there is a “train” level, it never feels like you’re actually aboard one apart from the low hanging sign warning. I wish there was a bike combat level as there is a cutscene involving Axel ripping down the road on one. That said, the variety here is still rather impressive as are the retro levels you’ll unlock through the “somewhat” hidden arcade machines.
After you’ve completed the story mode, you’ll unlock a variety of additional modes to tinker around with. Arcade mode will test you with completing the game on a single credit, making it the ideal mode for beat’em up veterans, and there is also a Boss Rush mode as well, pitting you against each boss, one after another, starting with just a single life. This mode also makes it clear that several boss attacks feel as if a dodge roll was meant to be there, but I digress. There is a PVP Battle mode as well, but playing against other players isn’t really my thing for this type of game, but it’s there if you want it. Online matches are also available, allowing you to partner up with other players, but I never once had a full level complete without some massive lag, disconnects, or players leaving matches. Local co-op is still the preferred option tho, even if social distancing prevents this mode from really being possible in some ways. There is also a friendly fire damage setting that is on by default, which I highly recommend turning it off to limit problems and save friendships. Local play will also allow for 4 players, whereas online is limited to 2. This is likely due to keeping the game running more fluid online, but in my experience, it hasn’t been that smooth at all. While I reviewed the game on Xbox One, those wanting to play the game on PC best stick with the Steam version as the GOG version lacks any online features at all, currently.
While there was some fan backlash on the art style, I actually really enjoy it, but I will say that some animations, such as when you knock out a boss, are bland, static, and boring. Most of these animations see a character flying through the air to 2 or 3 different frames, instead of the nice fluid animations they all share when they are active in combat. It’s an eyesore for sure, but since these moments last just a few seconds across the twelve stages, it’s hardly a deal-breaker. Now, that said, each fighter usually operates with fun character and style, with bright colors and some nice thick black lines to make them pop off the stage. There is a nice detail to the environments as well, all seemingly hand-drawn with flickering neon lights to small moving rats or birds occupying the barren streets, before things are about to do down. I personally think that the game nails exactly what it needed to do visually, with a solid soundtrack that keeps each level feeling fresh, engaging, and enjoyable. Though, some of the smack-talk present here is cringe-worthy, such as Adam’s time-traveling remark about punching some thug into next week.
While I couldn’t get on with the mobility of certain characters, I still enjoyed raging around with Hunter and his daughter and continue to find other ways to at least appreciate what the other fighters are capable of. The visual design of the game and the fighting mechanics are solid here, even if I wish each character could run and dodge, especially as some boss attacks feel suited for it. The story of Mr. X’s children is ok, but the diabolical twin’s angle feels a bit played out since Borderlands 3 tried and failed with that schtick. There are some fun moments of encountering characters from the past of the series, but given the whole ordeal is told out over some fun and well-drawn cutscenes, I found it odd that there isn’t one to bookend the game, instead opting to tell bits of the fallout throughout the credits. Your love for classic beat’em ups will either make or break the title for you, but Streets of Rage 4 is one of the better iterations of this formula, even if it can feel a tad sluggish for my tastes.
Streets of Rage 4 was downloaded via Game Pass by the reviewer and played on an Xbox One X.
All screenshots were taken on an Xbox One X.