Streets Of Rage 4 Review: 4 Ups & 3 Downs
29 years after the original game was released, was Streets of Rage 4 worth the wait?
As side-scrolling beat-em-ups became popular in the 1980s and 1990s, one franchise rose to the top: Streets of Rage. Players loved kicking ass as Blaze, pounding the crap out of thugs as Adam, or bare-knuckling through goons as Axel.
Due to its amazing gameplay, gorgeous sprites, and catchy chiptune soundtrack, SOR dominated the arcades and was the one of the best-selling games on the Mega Drive. As the game was ported to Sega's other consoles like the Master System, Game Gear, and the Sega CD, SOR looked like it would become one of the most dominant franchises in gaming.
But then something strange happened. Due to miscommunication in Sega's company, the series was indefinitely put on hold. When Sega stopped releasing consoles, SOR vanished into obscurity. As entertaining as the franchise was, it appeared this brawler had its day in the sun.
However, we can never underestimate the power of disgruntled fans. Even after beat-em-ups became a relic genre, die-hard gamers demanded a new game in the series. And 26 years after the last entry, a company called Dotemu finally released the fabled SOR4.
As ecstatic as fans were, there was still one big question; after all these years, can the game live up to the hype?
7. Downs - The Music Is Surprisingly Bland
Streets of Rage has always been praised for its astounding synthesised music tracks, which was pretty impressive considering the Mega Drive's sound didn't have the same range as its competitor, the Super Nintendo.
Despite the fact the system had audio limitations, Streets of Rage had among the best chiptunes in all gaming. The composer, Yuzo Koshiro, was known in the early 1990s as the greatest composer in gaming. Koshiro was so popular at one point, he was regularly invited to DJ at nightclubs!
If the game's music was that good three decades ago, how good would it sound on modern consoles? And the answer is not great. Despite the fact Yuzo Koshiro is once again in charge of the tracks, they don't stand out. (It doesn't even have the iconic victory jingle when you defeat the boss that was used in every other game! How do you screw that up?!)
Even if you haven't played the old games in decades, you still probably remember the opening level's iconic track, the atmospheric intro theme in SOR2, or the catchy boss tracks. Sadly, the songs in SOR4 are not as memorable.