Streets of Rage 4, review

We play the long-awaited return of an unquestionable 16-bit classic, one of the best Beat'em Ups ever, can it measure up?

Classic Beat’em Up is a simple genre, with a very precise way of doing things. Other genres are as recognizable today as they were yesterday, despite the enormous advance in technology, such as fighting games, for example, but street fighting games were forgotten once developers were able to create wider 3D worlds, leaving them as something very specific to a specific time. For years they practically disappeared, giving way to action games of different kinds, from the most technical ones like Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, to the most cathartic ones like the musou.

Fortunately, nostalgia is a powerful ally and has not let the classic formula completely fall into oblivion. George Kamitani presented us with Dragon’s Crown, a tribute to the excellent work he already did at Capcom with the Tower of Doom / Shadow over Mystara (by the way, one of the most interesting evolutions in the genre); Scott Pilgrim Vs The World was another fantastic modern example, with memorable graphics and soundtrack – a real tragedy that by legal rights is not available to buy. Capcom reissued his best works in the genre with the Beat’em Up bundle, including the first domestic version of that gem called Battle Circuit. And there are a number of regular indie productions that show that this particular structure of creating action games has not been forgotten, with names like Mother Russia Bleeds or the excellent Fight N ’Rage. Not to mention the phenomenon of Dungeon Fighters Online, one of the most popular games in the world.

But the return of Street of Rage are bigger words. We are talking about some of the most important references in the genre, a key game on Mega Drive to compete with the arrival of Final Fight at Super Nintendo and one of those rare games that managed to make us forget the arcade games, especially that fantastic second installment in which You could see what the 16-bit Mega Drive was capable of, a whole audiovisual festival that marked the zenith of an outstanding trilogy with a high sentimental value for thousands of players for the memorable moments, its characters and, above all, everything, his music.

A tribute to Street of Rage

When an external study takes care of the continuation of a beloved name, there is always a first reaction of doubt, where the credentials of those who are going to order are looked at with a magnifying glass to try to anticipate if they will measure up. Few things are as sad in the video game as taking an abandoned cult saga and resuming it to make a mediocre or directly poor delivery, so it is normal that the fan's guard is always high. In the case of Streets of Rage IV, apart from Sega's obvious blessing, we find a three-way development between Dotemu as a producer, and joint work between Lizardcube (Wonderboy: The Dragon's Trap) and Guard Crush Games, an independent studio that He had developed a modern Beat'em Up called Streets of Fury that did not inspire great reactions in his day – partly due to his humorous approach and the use of digitized real actors.

It was not exactly a composition capable of erasing all doubts, especially without the soul of the saga, Yuzo Koshiro, his sister Ayano, Motohorio Kawashima or any member of Ancient – a study that is still active by the way, although obviously not at the level of the glorious times of Beyond Oasis, Actraiser or the Streets of Rage itself-. Wonderboy was the great cover letter, but no one escaped that, first, it was a remake of Wonder Boy in Monster land, and second, it had the full collaboration from the start of its original designer, Ryuichi Nishizawa. The jump from that to creating a Streets of Rage sequel 26 years after the third part, considering its history in the genre and its crucial role in the 16-bit era, and also with no one from Ancient on the team, was more how considerable.