Bare Knuckle III (Genesis) Playthrough [English] - NintendoComplete

[@NintendoComplete]

Streets of Rage 3 was all but ruined by Sega of America's localization efforts, but this Japanese version feels *much* closer to the first two classic games in the series.

[@potatortheomnipotentspud]

I would agree. Pretty much the entirety of the localized version is a bullshit moment from start to finish. The enemy health bars are ridiculous even on NORMAL DIFFICULTY, and they bring back the bosses that were assholes to fight in the first two games. I haven't even beat it yet, but I don't think I want to because it's the worst game in the series. What the hell happened?

[@larrylaffer3246]

Guess Sega of America dropped the ball on this one. Tom Kalinski usually tried to make good choices in running his company. Hopefully Sega makes a version like this available on future releases of the game. Oh well part 4 will hopefully be a good one.

[@andrewmauney3082]

Yeah not a fan of 3. The music is nowhere near as good as the first 2. Cant wait for SOR4. It looks really good so far. Still cant believe a 4th one is coming after almost 30 years

[@larrylaffer3246]

@DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou Well what should I use then huh? They're both just classic boilerplate response quotes. Especially meh. After all the Simpsons help popularised that one. I just wanted to get across that Tom Kalinski usually did a good job of running Sega of America. After all thanks to people like him Sonic became the Genesis' pack in title or that Sega didn't get it's pervervial but kicked by Nintendo in the early 90's. It's your opinion though and you're in titled to it. I just miss him that's all.

[@raidenrbs]

Sor3 is the best in the series IMO. I'm sure most people just dont like it because it was too hard.

[@joe718gt4]

Instead of sending the national guard or a crisis-management team... let's send a guy in a bandana to investigate this nuclear disaster

[@CollectiveSin]

I like this guy. He's an ideas-man!

[@tattoogames1]

In the orginal game axel was a cop but decided to leave to be a bodyguard so to a point the cops still trust axel and what he can do to get the job done

[@troybilko]

Ya, he’s a ex cop

[@troybilko]

Adding a correction: he’s leading the case as a reinstated officer at 1:57

[@darkstardarin]

Truly the best version of the game.

[@omalone1169]

10:30 what I came for

[@dudeimtellingthetruth]

​@@omalone1169based

[@zoopazooploopa7723]

58:16 Holy shit, this dialogue makes MUCH more sense tbh

[@mariowario5945]

10:29 perfectly explains ash's character design though that music

[@segaking5846]

That being “God what is this?”

[@DirtyZ]

Holding UP+Jump when airborne from an enemy throw makes you land on your feet with no damage taken.

[@dalaxdercrisper957]

Yesss

[@LPetal86]

_Bare Knuckle III_ this time, eh? There are _so many_ things I could say about this game, starting with the fact that it brings back a flood of memories about despair and a big of anger about _Streets of Rage 3_ and then finding out that this, the TRUE version of the game, existed. It was one of the first games that made me realize that localization can go so wrong, and ask, "...Why?!" when learning about the differences. I know I already mentioned _Streets of Rage Remake_ , the godsend fan project that Sega shut down (and now we know why) in another comment already, but if _SoR3_ hadn't flopped so hard, I wonder about how the series would've changed direction, and the impact of knowing how the game that we know as the upcoming _Streets of Rage 4_ would've been vastly different, and what it would've been like.

[@HrvojeGrahovac]

Wait, what?

[@jballs5434]

Best game in the entire series! I absolutely hate what they did to the localization cuz this was a fantastic way to end the trilogy. The graphics aren't as good nor is the music, but the combat is fucking amazing and blows the previous games out of the water!

[@iim4xii129]

Definitely not, lol

[@LaucianoAlmeida]

This is also my favorite in terms of combat and controls. Maybe because it was the first I ever played, playing the others just felt clunky and sometimes a bit too punishing. Music- and graphic-wise I have to replay or rewatch BK2 to remember properly. Edit: switched "a bit punishing" to "a bit too punishing".

[@Fall-oo6mt]

​@@iim4xii129no

[@jubirelle]

My favorite of the three Bare Knuckle games! Really love the combat in 3 and how fast paced it is compared to 2. The soundtrack was pretty good with one or two songs that were pretty bad from what I remember but this is definitely a classic in my book!

[@YukaTakeuchiFan]

@@Dorian_Scott Nothing wrong with you thinking that, but I'm a little surprised you say it's an "upgraded version of the original". To me, SoR1 and SoR2 feel honestly like very different games altogether - I heard it said once (I forget where) that SoR1 kind of feels like it's an urban crime version of Golden Axe (your police call basically being GA's magic attack) mixed with a bit of Final Fight, and I'm inclined to agree with that - whereas SoR2 feels more like a straight beat-em-up that experimented a bit with expanded movesets. Honestly, all three games have a fairly different feel to them, in my own experience, I just don't find 2 -> 3 to be as drastic a change from a gameplay perspective as 1 -> 2 felt. (This said, if you say 'upgraded' in more of an 'I liked this one more' sense, that's fine too - and I certainly see no problem with you liking 1 more than 2!)

[@joe718gt4]

The best part of SOR 1 came back - throwing enemies into a pit

[@YukaTakeuchiFan]

@@joe718gt4 And it's made even better by how you DON'T die if you fall in yourself (you just take a significant chunk of damage and hop right back out).

[@t.castro4493]

​@@Dorian_Scott Me and my brother used to play 1 more than the others but nowadays I find the control too stiff and prefer 2 and 3. 2 is probably my fav. But honestly the original trilogy itself is great overall. Haven't played the fourth game.

[@t.castro4493]

You're definitely in the minority for being a fan of 3 but I understand why. It's not my fav, but I like it too, especially the music... it took a while for me to get used to it - even though I'm into experimental and electronic music.

[@tamtam21801]

46:46 Mr.X’s interlude

[@FinnMcCoolOfficial]

i love how this game tries harder to tell a story then the sequel that came out last year

[@ISleepWithAFanOn]

1:02:43 - I was hoping there was going to be 26 "Mr. A-Z" robots, but there was only 20. Would've been cool to have one for each letter of the alphabet!

[@theopoint-o5141]

Best game and best music in the series. I'm playing it right now. Awesome

[@Charlie-Cat.]

This game was the very first import Sega title that I ever purchase NC. I really liked Bare Knuckle 3 over the American version by far. When I tried the American version, I quickly returned it back to Blockbuster and rented the 2nd installment. But my local import store had a copy and had a converter for me to play in on my Genesis at the time. SAVED!! 8^)

[@hamadhumaid1984]

56:01 looks like Gilbert and General Petrov are close friends in the military

[@davidjskelet]

JP Version is better than USA or EUR.

[@realamericannegro977]

I love the US version because that's the only on I have access too but that game is a drag. Too hard and the enemies have too much health. They also cheat their ass off too with how the game speeds them up out of nowhere and let's them move diagonally. Shit is about as frustrating as Ninja Gaiden 2 on Xbox 360, shit is draining.

[@markpugh6808]

@@realamericannegro977 yeah SOR3 was crap

[@Rodzilla97]

yes, like people have said the usa version is too hard, and too much health for enemies(makes the game drag on way too long, and not is not very fun). this one is way better

[@davidjskelet]

@@Rodzilla97 jp is awesome fo' sho'!

[@dangamer8884]

Better than SoR 4 too

[@aceqbaceq777]

2020. it is the most amazing game of all time.

[@OtherBarry4908]

The USA version screwed up horribly on the difficulty.

[@niaholiday9406]

Enemies be having 4 to 5 health bars

[@papasmurf555]

Facts

[@tamtam21801]

Also. Bare knuckles easy mode is equal to a sor3 normal mode

[@HydrogenMist715]

i won't blame you.

[@danmakuman]

Gameplay-wise, the best one of the trilogy. Love the amount of moves and fast gameplay. Visually isn't as appealing as the 2nd one, but still looks good. The music is an acquired taste, some will like it, some will not. I like it, pretty intense and technically impressive, just not all of the tunes are masterpieces.

[@retrosoul8770]

It has the best mechanics like running, vertical rolling, special atk bar, star system, but they butchered the sound effects, reducing their intensity for some inane reason from 2. Also by speeding animations, it makes attacks feel weaker, and less effective. It loses *punch*, weight, or grit, like you're swinging into the air instead of grinding into someone's torso the way the 2nd game felt, it was perfection and they trashed it imo. They also reduced your attack damage (again, stupidity), contributing to feeling of weakness. As a result 2 still feels infinitely more rewarding to play because hitting the guys feels good where in 3 I'm attacking the air lol.

[@RedPolarBearRanger]

Since Streets of Rage 4 came out this version of Streets of Rage 3 is canon and not the American/European version.

[@polkod]

Best entry in the series and I wished they kept this game in tact for the US market.

[@dalaxdercrisper957]

It's amazing Bare Knuckles 3 make Blaze's bio weigh classified (??) in character select because woman are sensitive about their weight revealed. LMAO

[@VenusHeadTrap2]

Dr. Zero Boss fight is cut so short it makes me sad. Yuzo did a very long composition for that stage too which is very intense. Boss can be beaten in under a minute. Why not use that track for the fight with Neo X?

[@hamadhumaid1984]

That's a lot, 30,000 casualties and 80,000 wounded, Mr. X is one sadistic SOB he will do anything to instigate a war, if it wasn't for the heroes Axel, Blaze, Zan and Skate who knows what will happen to Wood Oak City.

[@zsiles]

Incredible game!

[@kingblue3171]

Incredible soundtrack

[@CHAD-ek4dl]

@@kingblue3171 in sega soundtrack (and i think gameplay itself) was slower than this, something like playing this with 0.85 speed

[@Vectormantudeoz]

4:25 I HATE THAT LITTLE SPRITE TEXT ERROR

[@YukaTakeuchiFan]

I've got to say, I really do like this game (even with the weird version differences). I particularly appreciate how the bosses didn't feel quite as samey as a lot of them from 2 did (seriously, four of them ALL had the ability to grab you, block attacks, and anti-air, with the only difference being a couple of moves they didn't share, and EXACTLY how you had to try to cheap out of their bullshit [fuck help you if you lost the sword on the way to R. Bear, and Abadede was just a frickin' nightmare]), and while slower-paced fights, rewarded your being careful with your movement and attack timing. It's weird though; while I agree that SoR3 is WAY too hard for a lot of bullshit reasons (particularly how your opponents have WAY too much freaking HP, and how attack power gets magnified WAY too hard on any difficulty that lets you actually complete the damn game fully), I also feel that BK3, on any setting, instead goes a little too far on the side of being too EASY. I definitely wish there were a middle ground between the two.

[@NintendoComplete]

Yeah, I'd agree with you. This one is a bit easier than SoR2, which was already a fairly easy game (but yeah, it definitely had some BS boss moments, no doubt!). I think one of the things that tilts this one a bit too far in that direction is how there's really no penalty for using the beefed up special moves right from the beginning.

[@guidod.1071]

I clearly remember magazines back in 1992 saying SOR2 had to be played at hard difficulty - which was considered the real normal setting. I guess Sega noted the complaints. But the great thing about SOR2 was a replayability so immense you just went from normal then hard then hardest then mania, you just couldn't get enough of SOR2 🙂

[@NintendoComplete]

@@guidod.1071 I remember that :) It took me a long while, but I did actually tackle the second one on mania. I had so much fun with that game.

[@YukaTakeuchiFan]

@@guidod.1071 Haha, I'm not arguing that. Trust me, just because I have some complaints about SoR2 doesn't mean I didn't play the hell out of my cartridge copy back in the day - and it was definitely a game in which I was all too happy to step up that difficulty one notch at a time. ;3

[@papasmurf555]

Great game! Love the music too

[@SammyRenard]

that first boss is flamboyant as hell

[@TheChompChamp7650]

especially the music

[@asamiyashin444]

The ending theme makes me think: "Oh man, if the whole OST of the game had been like that...".

[@dastanbastan9621]

The colors is not dull, it's just that Streets of Rage 3 is darker game compare to 1 and 2 and it also uses more realistic art style, meaning that colors naturally looks darker due more complex shading with deeper shadows on pretty much everything in the game. Also, it looks grainy only on emulators with wrong settings and TV's with RGB signal, properly configurated emulator or CRT TV + ‎RCA connector blends absolutely all dithering and actually makes this game more colorful than it looks here lol. I dunno, I guess if you are one of those people who insists that everything must look super sharp then yeah, you're pretty much screwed with games like this since they are not meant to be rendered in high resolution and with clean signal, but a correct amount of blur does make SoR3 look great especially if some scanlines is visible too. Anyway, I really hope that you will at least try to find some footage or screeshots where it's rendered correctly just to see that I'm not lying, because no, it has just enough dithering, not too much. It's games like Batman Returns on Genesis is a real offenders here, they do actually look grainy regardless of settings or image quality since in them dithering is a stylistic choice which was intended to be visible all the time, not just a smart trick to fake additional colors and effects, like here.

[@NintendoComplete]

I'd agree with you that it was designed to rely on the artifacting from a noisy analog signal on a CRT TV, but there's nothing wrong with the emulator's configuration here. It's an accurate representation of the system's video output, and it would've looked the same way back then with S-video or SCART output. Though the dirty tube TV picture might be the aesthetically preferred one (I prefer it too), it's not the only "correct" way to display the image. I'd still maintain that its grainy, even if it was done that way for effect, though. And I'd still call the color dull for the same reason that you say that it isn't. They went for a more realistic style and that mutes the tone quite a bit compared to 1 and 2. It really doesn't help that nearly every level ends up predominantly being some shade of brown, purple, or green. Overall I found the entire aesthetic ugly compared to SoR2's. I disagree about Batman Returns, too. I doubt anyone purposely wanted their game to look like a blotchy, checkboarded mess. The issue was the system's color palette. The selection of colors is pretty lacking on the darker end, and some designers didn't do much to work around that shortcoming, hence the gross green and purple checkerboards that we see all over Batman Returns and Chakan. Overall, I hear what you're saying and I personally agree with the preference for CRT displays, but I can't accept that a CRT with a low-grade connection is the only valid way to view or play these games.

[@dastanbastan9621]

​@@NintendoComplete imgur.com/a/yiGvILM Does it looks grainy here?

[@violentkim]

my favorite beat em up of all time!!

[@umkirraqueen1192]

its fucking insane how much more playable this game is, ive always loved SOR3 but anytime there was a group of 3 or more enemies it was a NIGHTMARE

[@DerivativeWorker]

I am pretty certain Ash was not a boss in US version. Guess they were trying to outdo Poison in the Burning Knuckle games.

[@Dorian_Scott]

He was omitted because there was so much controversy with fighting a transgender boss in a videogame.

[@dalaxdercrisper957]

In US version, they changed so much not just removal Ash the transgender guy, altered storyline, most of the cut scenes were cut off, change character outfit color and make enemies insanely strong and huge chuck of health.

[@figment1988]

@@dalaxdercrisper957 while Ash was removed as a boss, he still exists in the game's code. In order to play as him however, you need an American Streets of Rage 3 cartridge and a Game Genie. To play as Ash, enter BAWA-AAA0, and you'll be able to play as him. And if you want a laugh, set the difficulty to Mania, because Ash will destroy the brutality of that difficulty (practically making the game feel like it was set to Very Easy) due to the obscene amount of power he has.

[@dannylopez821]

My favorite beat em up of all time sor3 baby

[@thenewmissinglink8501]

Blaze will always be my love 🎅. Ever since I was little she was my fave. Crazy how they removed a lot from streets of rage. There was definitely some missing context.

[@maxlefou81]

Axel and Blaze were designed from the character played by Michael Paré and Diane Lane in the movie _streets of fire_ . Watch it and you will understand ;-).

[@MegaAmir46]

Where's the thumbnail from?? Fire playthrough

[@dalaxdercrisper957]

In the opening of Bare Knuckles 3 ,a Japanese name for Street of Rage 3. Us version doesn't have this

[@adayinforever]

What is even the point of that 3 minute timer at the end? I didn't make it in 3 minutes but the ending was essentially the same.

[@disvolual]

My favorite track is the scene with blazes note idk why

[@Wolfen_Argent]

BK3 is a proper sequel to 2. Sucks in the states you guys got such a butchered version. Best gameplay of the original trilogy

[@credit5906]

This game is known as Streets of Rage 3 in USA and Europe.

[@Rodzilla97]

this is the best streets of rage game in my opinion (only this english patch version, not SOR2 us version). then SOR1 then SOR2 (yea i like 1 better than 2) all great games. turtles in time and ninja warriors are my 2 fav 16 bit beat em ups

[@DerivativeWorker]

I remember that in this one you could play as any boss you beat during the continue phase. I remember Roo was playable if you defeat his handler and let him run away. I always thought it was because people liked playing as Shiva in the second game.

[@HydrogenMist715]

If I were Axel Stone. I was just seriously freaked out about Covid 19 atoubd the global since back then April 2020. At 37:20

[@ИванКанатчиков-й9ч]

24:15 Triple kill!

[@spoonshiro]

The US version was a drag but this one's much better. Still goofy as all hell but a lot more fun

[@starrynight4496]

where to download this version

[@900nrg]

What a game! maybe the best videogame ever.

[@DanielAyy]

Which do you prefer, Bare Knuckle 3 or Streets of Rage 2?

[@realamericannegro977]

The Jp version of Part 3 is the best to me

[@DrezzyEFTP]

At 23:26 how come you didn't lose any energy?

[@NintendoComplete]

I probably did, but not enough for it to show up on the life bar.

[@dalaxdercrisper957]

Probably exceed life bar you got because of food.

[@sebastiansrg505]

Excelente juego👍

[@hamadhumaid1984]

It doesn't matter which version is, SOR ((Bare Knuckles in the Japanese version))) is the best game and Yuzo Koshiro is one helluva music composer

[@ZZtheDark]

15:25,BE FREE LITTLE WALLABY!! 'raises two hands in the air' Also,man...would it be great to have this as the actual SOR 3 than the version we got? All just so I can see the bad ending with glorious destruction and the long scrolling text accompanying it.

[@Mitchell-ct5me]

Do you need the Sega Master System to play this?

[@hamadhumaid1984]

It seems that Skate has a trusting issues

[@franklongplays5421]

hey friend, what software do you use to record your longplays?, and you use any other softwares to compress the video or you just upload the video original

[@NintendoComplete]

I was using the Genesis PlusGX core in Retroarch, and Retroarch can record as you play. Afterward I used Premier Pro to upscale and compress the video before uploading.

[@equipeguardaguarda6891]

Joguei muito esse jogo no mega driver que eu tinha , nostalgia pura muito bom .

[@zoopazooploopa7723]

That intro got dark really fast 💀

[@tamtam21801]

KABOOOOM

[@Vectormantudeoz]

The two bombs 👀

[@silencehate1342]

I never seen some of these scenes and Ash's fight. So this really the Jpn version?

[@dalaxdercrisper957]

Yep. It's exclusive in Japanese version. Us version omitted him due to transgender racism.

[@thehumbleone1983]

I love both 2 and 3

[@theriverofgordon1470]

Didnt know this existed. Looks waaaaay better than sor 3 in north america

[@gimania]

The hype is here waiting for streets of rage 4. I dunno the different between japan and US street of rage 3. But i played the version where the young boy roller blade named sammy.

[@amso7169]

He is named Sammy in Japan, Skate in the US. His real name is Eddie, but Skate is his nickname. His full name is supposedly Eddie “Skate” Hunter. I don’t know where Sammy comes in. Anyway, you played the best version of Streets of Rage 3.

[@ThatNoizyChild]

Did you know that you can run in this game?

[@kcpneyodwacable1206]

That səms aWsome

[@2009lucho]

Bro can you please share the patched rom? Being honest idk how to patch it by mylself :/

[@NintendoComplete]

Just download the original Japanese rom, the patch, and a program that can apply IPS patches. I use LunarIPS, and there's a ton of patching programs out there if you don't like that one.

[@sparkly9294]

RED UPPER!!!

[@adamgordon2572]

Sparkly : GRAND UPPER 💯

[@ShinNicoexe-vq6ps]

@@adamgordon2572 Or Well "BARE KNUCKLE"

[@thehumbleone1983]

I love 🕹❤️ SoR 3

[@eric12tidalog8]

😆😝🤣😂😀😃Eric

[@Mr.Death101]

If this is a Japanese release why is it in English? I'm confused

[@guidod.1071]

It's a new translation www.romhacking.net/translations/1375/

[@dalaxdercrisper957]

It's a patched in English translation

[@Mr.Death101]

@@dalaxdercrisper957 so then it isn't a Japanese release because if it was it wouldn't be in English patching. It's a hacked homemade version

[@dalaxdercrisper957]

@@Mr.Death101 It's a original Japanese version but once input the patch inside the game, it replaces Japanese word to English while other things left untouched

[@kurniawanwidisusanto3619]

Why every time I see Ash, he reminds me of Bono from U2

[@AguanteScully]

En la versión americana estuvieron perfecto en sacar al personaje homosexual

[@Bloodreign1]

While still a great game, it suffers from a little something. That little something is called lack of Yuzo Koshiro scoring the soundtrack.

[@playbossthebest936]

He was a composer for this game. Credited and all

[@Hunt9-qb1if]

This guy just doesn’t know how to start the damn game

[@malimetal]

Good game, but the music is bad

[@dalaxdercrisper957]

The music were less good than SOR 2 but it's still intense and dramatic feelings to play it

[@oatmeal7818]

Bad?? The music is great and original. Yuzo koshiro did right not to mimic streets of rage 1 or 2 music

[@lightning7825]

You know I always think that bareknuckle 3 is way easier than the American version on hard mode

[@konar69]

Very Hard это прекрасно!!!

[@konar69]

? 23:00

[@konar69]

Противоречиво