Streets of Rage
System: Genesis
Release Date: September 18th, 1991
Developer: Sega AM7
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Beat ‘em Up
Tape up your fists and get ready to fight through the Streets of Rage! The city streets were once tame and peaceful allowing people to go about their business. This was until a secret criminal syndicate moved in and took over. The cops are just a corrupt arm of the mysterious Mr. X. Three young officers decided enough was enough and quit the force to take vigilante justice into their own hands. Step into their shoes and battle through eight levels of enemies. Can you clean up the streets?
You begin with your choice among Adam, Axel, and Blaze. They each have a different weakness out of power, jumping, and speed. They control exactly the same, although their specific moves differ. I first decided to try out Adam Hunter with his boxing prowess. As you get into the stages, you’ll find your regular attack can be strung together into a combo. This is a quick way to knock your enemies down. If you’re up close, you can walk into an enemy and tie him up in a clinch. Here you can throw in a few strikes or get them with a throw. If you want to finish off your enemies more efficiently, you can start an attack combo and then close in for a grab combo or throw.
Each stage is split up into sections. You battle any enemies in your way and trip spawns as you move forward. If you take it slow, you can avoid being inundated with enemies most of the time. You will get swarmed and crowd control becomes of utmost importance. If you press the jump and attack buttons, you’ll throw a rear facing attack, which can come in handy in many situations. There are also a bevvy of weapons you’ll be able to pick up. Knives and bottles are short range, while pipes and bats are long range. There’s also a pepper shaker that stuns the enemy you hit with it for a moment.
You’ll take damage sooner or later, but luckily, there are generously placed healing items on stages. Apples restore a bit, while a roast fills it completely. If you find yourself against a particularly difficult group of enemies, you can use your special attack to call the non-corrupt cops and clear the screen. This is only good once per stage, or life, unless you find a spare in the containers. I typically saved these for the stage boss if I could. These guys are tough when you first encounter them. But most of them fall to grab attacks. Just don’t try to suplex Karnov from behind…
It took me until my third playthrough to beat Mr. X in my allotted lives and continues. Blaze felt a bit different from the guys, but having gotten better at fighting, I had plenty of lives left over to burn through. I played a two player game with one of my kids, and though I didn’t record it, there were more enemies and boss battles had two bosses instead of one where that made sense. I’d like to try playing with someone who didn’t try to kill me over and over again, but that’s for another day.
Graphics: 3.5
Everything looks really good. The only complaint I have is that some animations are light on frames.
Sound: 4.0
That music is banging! The sound effects are appropriate and not annoying to me.
Gameplay: 4.0
Fighting is buttery smooth. When you get in the zone, you can wipe the floor with everyone who gets in your way.
Difficulty: 3.5
Some of the boss enemies are kind of cheap, though you can get through them if you’re cheesy.
Fun Factor: 4.0
I had a great time playing this. I played through multiple times and even off of my streams, so that says something.
Overall Rating: 3.8
Streets of Rage earns an A! This is a top notch game and I truly believe it is one of the best that I’ve played so far. I would keep going back when I need to beat some people up.