Streets of Rage 4
A modern revival of the classic beat 'em up series.
Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games brought back Sega’s classic brawler series in 2020 with this beat 'em up, picking up where the 1990s Genesis trilogy left off. It launched on Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Linux, and macOS that year, with Stadia, Android, and iOS versions following later. Critics praised it, and over 2.5 million copies sold by April 2021. The Mr. X Nightmare expansion arrived in July 2021.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Dotemu
- Lizardcube
- Guard Crush Games
- Publisher
- Dotemu; Playdigious (Android, iOS)
- Producer
- Cyrille Imbert
- Designer
- Jordi Asensio
- Programmer
- Cyrille Lagarigue, Bo Samson
- Artist
- Ben Fiquet, Julian Nguyen You
- Composer
- Olivier Deriviere
- Yuzo Koshiro
- Motohiro Kawashima
- Tee Lopes
- Series
- Streets of Rage
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Streets of Rage 4 is a side-scrolling beat 'em up in which up to four players locally or two players online fight waves of enemies, aided by disposable weapons and item pickups. Alongside standard attacks, throws, and Blitz Moves, each character has special attacks that cost health, but health spent can be restored by performing successive follow-up attacks without getting hit. Each character also has unique super combos called Star Moves, performed by collecting Stars in each level. A new combo system allows juggling opponents against walls and other players, earning extra points for long combos without getting hit. Characters have unique traits, such as Max's wall jump and grappling jump, Shiva's weapon parry mechanics and aerial rave, and Floyd's long-range grapple. Story Mode takes players through levels set ten years after Streets of Rage 3, featuring the Y Twins as antagonists. Players have limited lives depending on difficulty, with the option to use assists that add extra lives and Star Moves at a reduced score. Clearing a level awards a rank based on points, and lifetime points unlock bonus player characters from past games in pseudo 16-bit style. Arcade Mode tasks players with clearing the entire game with limited lives, and there are also Boss Rush Mode and competitive Battle Mode. A retro audio option features music from the Mega Drive/Genesis and Master System/Game Gear versions of the first two games.
Development
After the 2017 remake of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, Lizardcube artist Ben Fiquet hoped to apply the same approach to the original Streets of Rage games. Since the programmer from that project was busy with his own work, Fiquet and publisher Dotemu instead asked Sega about making a proper new entry. Sega agreed and licensed the series to Dotemu, with production starting in early 2018 and an announcement that August. Guard Crush Games co-developed the title, using a tweaked version of their Streets of Fury engine, and the core team consisted of five people across the three studios. Each playable character has around 1,000 animation frames, while enemies have 300 to 400 each. Seaven Studio handled ports for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, and BlitWorks did the Windows 10 and Xbox One versions. Olivier Deriviere composed the main score, with guest composers including Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima, Yoko Shimomura, Keiji Yamagishi, Harumi Fujita, XL Middleton, Scattle, Das Mörtal, and Groundislava. Koshiro joined in June 2019 after trying a demo at BitSummit, motivated by fan requests and the game's quality. Hideki Naganuma was originally involved but left due to schedule conflicts, replaced by Fujita. The soundtrack came out digitally via Mutant Ninja Records and physically through Brave Wave Productions on April 30, 2020, with a limited vinyl run from Limited Run Games. Tee Lopes composed the music for the Mr. X Nightmare expansion.
Release
Streets of Rage 4 hit Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on April 30, 2020. Limited Run Games handled a limited physical run for the Switch and PS4, offering a standard edition with reversible box art and a classic edition featuring a steelbook case and a Genesis-style clam-shell case. A limited-edition bundle came with a CD soundtrack, a 7-inch statue, a chicken stress ball, and an artbook. Signature Edition planned another physical release for Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, split into a standard version with keyrings and an art booklet, and a signature edition with a CD soundtrack, enamel pins, and a bandana. After other physical editions were announced, Dotemu and Limited Run Games said all orders of their physical editions would include a free soundtrack CD, plus free Steam keys for those who ordered the limited edition. The Mr. X Nightmare DLC arrived on July 15, 2021, adding three playable characters—the current versions of Streets of Rage 2’s Max Thunder and Shiva, plus newcomer Estel Aguirre—alongside a survival mode where players unlock new moves and weapons by fighting waves of enemies, and the Streets of Rage 3 version of Roo. Tee Lopes contributed extra music tracks. A free update at the same time added color palettes, a training mode, and New Mania+ difficulty, plus a Stadia version. Another free update on March 10, 2023 introduced co-op moves and a custom survival mode for the DLC. Merge Games Ltd. released retail copies for Switch and PS4 on September 24, 2021. Playdigious developed a mobile port for Android and iOS, released on May 24, 2022.
Reception
Streets of Rage 4 earned generally favorable scores on Metacritic. Critics noted that while its visuals, sounds, and mechanics weren't as groundbreaking as the original trilogy's were in the early '90s, it found a wonderful balance between nostalgia and modernizing the brawler genre. Reviewers praised the game's look, sound, and feel, calling it a great pick for repeated play with friends. The combat and soundtrack were highlighted as high points, though the online features at launch drew criticism. Some felt the update was too conservative, calling it a slave to the past and stuck in the '90s despite being a loving homage. In the UK, the game charted at number 14, and it reached 20th on the US downloads chart. By September 2020, it had sold over 1.5 million digital copies worldwide, and by April 2021, that number exceeded 2.5 million. Famitsu awarded it a Gold prize, and Polygon ranked it among the 22 best Switch games. It was nominated for Best Action Game at The Game Awards 2020 but lost to Hades. In 2021, it won a Pegase Award for best music. In 2023, Time Extension placed it on their list of the top 25 beat 'em ups of all time, calling it the best entry in the series.
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