Streets of Rage 4 Review | Kotaku

[@fawazr]

Dang... This review is thorough and entertaining af

[@whittlepixels5633]

I think I spotted the paid comment!

[@marco5030]

@@whittlepixels5633 Positive comments must obviously be fake....

[@whittlepixels5633]

@@marco5030 it should be bleeding obvious you pillock.

[@marco5030]

@@whittlepixels5633 you seem unhappy...

[@dezzywikins]

Agreed.

[@BusinessMan1619]

I was 21 when Streets of Rage hit my Sega Genesis. A Global pandemic isn't going to keep me away from Streets of Rage 4.

[@jaykelley103]

Shouts outs to the convenience of digital download

[@josefigueroa8681]

Any review is better than ign

[@bloomfieldplymouth8159]

Nice to see another gamer from my generation. I was 20. This game was awesome on the Sega Genesis. I remember playing this on a 19 inch Sanyo or maybe RCA color television set. The good old Cathode Ray Tube. Lol! We were so happy. Yuzo Koshiro maxing out the TV speakers.

[@AImighty_Loaf]

Wait how old are you?

[@BusinessMan1619]

@@AImighty_Loaf video gamer for life. 50

[@jordanlivigni4966]

I can tell just by your review that your love of the series runs deep. I'm so excited that they nailed this. HYPED!

[@rubenberrios6777]

I can tell you are a true fan. Best review so far.

[@watermelonpizza7824]

Now this is how you handle a review for this game. Fantastic review Paul. Clear and thorough with no weird bs reasoning. IGN's Dave should take notes from you.

[@lostgemini2000]

That ign review was trash

[@quentinmcinnerney2831]

Just like their Resident Evil 3 review

[@1khardimon]

@@lostgemini2000 they don't understand this game!

[@grivoc]

Holy crap Paul Tamayo just did the game review equivalent of a mic drop. I honestly think I was sad when it ended... and I've never played as single Streets of Rage game. Paul should review all the games. Will be picking this up today to play with my kids while we're all stuck in quarantine. Love games like Double Dragon, Aliens vs Predators, TMNT, and (more recently) Castle Crashers. Pretty sure I'll love this.

[@fortunatesoul12]

Super complete review, I really wish Kotaku would do video format for every analysis (in general we need more reviews that are not 5 minutes or less!), but I guess its a looot of editing work

[@muibadah]

That last BGM you snuck in near the end had me feeling nostalgic all over again. I was brought back to my Sega Genesis days, playing with my brothers and taking turns to play on each stage/level. Good times indeed.

[@dheagle11]

Can't even move past the start screen just to listen to this awesome music. You can tell that yu really cared about this game and it speaks volumes.

[@HIBRIDTHEORY1]

Daniel Idlebird at the title screen I wish it showed some fighting clips and profile of each character!

[@Lorfarius]

What a review! This guy gets it!

[@Syklonus]

Gets what? It's a game. Enjoyment of it is subjective.

[@hmoobgvp]

Way better review than what IGN put out. Dude over there probably didn't even want to review the game and never played the originals. This is what I call a review. Great job, I'm waiting for the physical version before I can play.

[@starclawsgaming]

If you can find Streets of Rage: Remake a fan made, remake with tons of content, it is god-tier and a bummer it got shutdown.

[@judyhopps9380]

the V5 one? Fucking amazing.

[@engdragon83]

@@jgfjgfify They did indeed finish it. Sega knew about it but didn't make any moves to stop it until it was finished.

[@believeinmatter]

This game is sooooo much fun. Such a throwback and yet feels so refreshing, recommend it too everyone and especially in Co-op.

[@jmi84]

YES. An updated version of max is in this game. It’s only a matter of time until he will be playable and available as a dlc. Now hopefully I can get confirmation that they will add SOR 3’s soundtrack in this game and it will be perfect. 👌🏻

[@lukekingsland5851]

I couldn't believe it when I saw Max! I nearly flipped my lid, he's my go to on 2. He looks awesome, I'd love a playable SoR4 Max

[@NickHunter]

@@lukekingsland5851 didn't he say in the review that you can unlock every single character from the previous games (including enemies) as playable characters, albeit in their lower bit glory?

[@lukekingsland5851]

@@NickHunter oh yeah, I've unlocked 16bit Max, he's glorious. But he looks so badass hand drawn!

[@MessierEighty8]

Roo also made a cameo in one of the levels, so they may add in him as well. Probably going to avoid Ash though, unless they update his design to something more modern and less stereotypical Village People biker gay. Update: I found the Ash cameo. On a poster in the boss fight against Nora.

[@lukekingsland5851]

@@MessierEighty8 I saw him, in the bar just before you meet Barbon

[@gokublack3608]

Nice to see someone with the love for the franchise and the era of movies. Understand what it's all about. Fantastic informative review cant wait to play it with my boys like I did with my dad bk in the 90s. See you on the streets🤜

[@gurerozdil3203]

Streets of Rage has a special place in my heart as Blaze was my first crush in gaming. For me, "Hishousouzan" comes before "Hadouken".

[@soldi1135]

I love how every character feels and plays differently, it adds to replayability.

[@hannkatt]

In love with SO4! The only thing missing is Electra, who sadly did not make it into the game, as it seems... Great job with the review! :)

[@tarekmoneimsaid]

except as a boss in stage 2 :)

[@RetroPanda13]

@@tarekmoneimsaid That's Nora, not Electra. Nora is from Streets of Rage 1, she was this game's whip ennemy. Pretty funny to see that character relegated as a boss in SoR4

[@hannkatt]

@@tarekmoneimsaid The Commissioner is the boss in the stage 2. :) Did I miss something? :)

[@DivineX9]

And a damn block or evasion move. I don’t care if the original didn’t have em, this one NEEDS some sort of evasion.

[@tarekmoneimsaid]

@@hannkatt oops right, my mistake. She's the boss on the boat stage. Also Queen, Belle and Stiletto appear as mid-bosses on the airplane stage.

[@mydasmurray]

Actually a GOOD review unlike the IGN one. This information fits into way more of what I want to know. Nice

[@AutomotiveCNC]

500th like by me. You truly deserved it! :) SOR3 was my favourite of the series.

[@mrnelsonius5631]

Awesome :) a proper review, meaning it comes from a genuine fan of the original games, which is clearly the primary target for the devs. Can’t wait to play this.

[@Sinasi08]

Excellent review from a real Streets of Rage fan! Very detailed and complete 👌 I'm a big Sega fan and played all 3 previous games on my medgadrive. This new episode is absolutely FANTASTIC!! I can't stop playing. Even my nephews who never experienced any previous episodes absolutely love this game. We finished the story mode together with 3 players.

[@McNuggs-]

What's with Axel's dad bod? Axel looks like he literally just got off the couch after 10 years of eating pizza and drinking beer.

[@DjMarksman1986]

And he's STILL whoppin azz

[@Casomyro1983]

He is a THICCBOY now. Still able to kick ass!

[@dongvermine]

#relatable

[@tmerchant96]

Blue check mark lol

[@WaterCrane]

I kind of like that take on him - complete with the beard, he's a grizzled veteran who's seen too much, while Blaze looks like an amazon even though she's canonically about 33 or 34 now.

[@tonyfromhouston]

*looks up review* *scrolls past IGN* *clicks on KOTAKU review*

[@Mikem0]

Hands down the best review I've watched in recent memory. The Streets of Rage series was my childhood go-to game with my friends. Now I get to share that series with my own kids and they can learn the glory that is Lord Skate.

[@RockRoche]

Rare to have a video game review bring tears to your eyes. Happy to see Streets of Rage 4 become a reality and hold up to the originals. 10/10 in my opinion and I'm only on Stage 3.

[@matthassot8iyyjr560]

Just when I think I couldn't be more geeked for SOR4. I watched this review... and now I feel like I'm 10 again!!!

[@wallyrocket87]

It's nice to see someone review this game, and actually know the history of Streets of Rage. Nice work, and great review!!

[@MobileDecay]

"Some folks may prefer Double dragon." No... No they don't. 😏

[@MobileDecay]

@@jgfjgfify I agree.

[@juliohernandez9372]

Back in the day Double Dragon was given respect for being the first, but yeah nobody preferred playing it once the final fights and streets of rages came out

[@juliohernandez9372]

@@jgfjgfify for sure! Very few games achieved the level of influence that DD obtained. It changed everything back in the day!

[@jballs5434]

@@jgfjgfify Every piece of art gets its inspiration from somewhere, including Double Dragon.

[@dmdeal7562]

As an old school fan of streets of rage who still regularly plays them and other such games with an arcade pad, I'm excited, and will be buying this pretty much immediately on release.

[@pipedream690]

Anyone played Fight N Rage? IMO it’s the best scrolling beat em up out there, still looking forward to playing this too.

[@kingsmurf8131]

Pipedream great game very fun and lots of unlockables love the game

[@kingsmurf8131]

Pipedream just wish there was more character to play the story mode with

[@Shl0kk]

Yep! Just played it last night (would you believe) - perhaps the gfx aren't as good as SOR4 but I think the gameplay depth far exceeds this one

[@ayougen]

I bought F'n'R a second time just to play it on Switch. I love it !

[@BlazinGunz365]

Not tried it yet but will give it a go...but I have been playing River City Girls it's a great game I would highly recommend...similar in style to the Scott Pilgrim game back on the ps3.✌🏽

[@fakename5880]

This game makes me so happy! I saw IGN’s review and nearly didn’t get it but then I saw it was on GamePass so I gave it a go and fell in love with it instantly!! Can’t believe I almost missed this one it’s everything I’ve needed in my life to lighten my heart right now!

[@AreoSky]

When he said streets of rage,known as bare knuckle in Japan, I knew this man knew what he was talking about

[@dbzeh6837]

Now that's a proper review for such an amazing game. Watch and learn Ign fools.

[@BobSmith-kk4kp]

This is, hands down, the best review I have ever seen come out of Kotaku. Well done, and I hope this is a sign of what we can expect to come from the site in the future. It is like Kotaku is finally a site about videogames again. Glad to see it, and thanks for the review.

[@RafaRodrigues]

Streets of Rage has always been my fave too and this one IS THE BEST! Beautiful and incredible! Can’t wait to play with my fave Blaze

[@NickHunter]

Blaze = Bae... ooh I wonder if the evil sisters will make a return...

[@MegaKirbySuperstar]

Can't wait to play as Cherry who is fast and reminds me Skates who was my favorite in the the old game. I'm so excited for this new game!!!! YAYYYY!

[@DvDPlaya]

Why isn't Skate in this game?

[@paxhumana2015]

@@DvDPlaya , he is in the game...he is just unlocked later. However, as for a modern version of Skate/Eddie/Sammy, I would hope that he would appear as future DLC. Also, how about we lobby for a 16-bit , as in an actual 16-bit, version/mode of the game, as well as the Streets of Rage Remake having all of the features of V4 and V5 put in there, as well as having it available in a modern version/mode, and all of the SORR exclusive music, thugs, bosses, and stages, along with The Ringmaster and Harakiri thrown in for good measure as DLC in this game?

[@nathanstrik]

Can't wait for this! The art style alone has me drooling.

[@AGUSKPO360]

I need a TMNT with this art style!. The person in charge of the design of funds, and the composer responded to a tweet where I made a fan art of Donatello simulating the artistic style of the game, at the same time Lizard games and Dotemu liked me. I hope it's a sign that they will haha.

[@skins4thewin]

SOR2 was special in that it just felt damn good to play through. Something about the combat never got old & just stayed fun throughout each playthrough. I have a friend that isn't even a gamer but he will play SOR2 with me from start to finish & he loves it. I hope this one ends up being the same way.

[@DANNYTWISTER46]

The soundtrack was awesome too

[@ravagingwolverine]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who prefers the look with the retro filters. It's so weird that their "retro reveal" trailer only showed the old characters on the unfiltered backgrounds, and not the full retro modes. That's the kind of thing that would have been good to publicize so that those who didn't like the new visuals could take another look at the game before release. I found it tricky to even find good examples of the retro mode for a few days after release, as it's a feature many reviews just briefly mentioned. The retro effect and the option to reduce or eliminate screen shake have definitely made me interested in this game again. I haven't liked the general look and some of the decisions made for the game since they announced it, but it does appear they put a lot of effort and care into the game. I understand how many may like the new visuals, but they look so flat to me. They've shown concept art for this game and I thought some of the alternate designs of the new art looked better, especially the characters without the thick, black outlines.

[@KirPinkFury]

Tomorrow Limited Run Games will have a super collectors edition.

[@drewtube6838]

The best Review of this game that most people will not watch.

[@watermelonpizza7824]

This and Easyallies review were great. But IGN's though..it was a fcking joke. He was pointing out a lot of things that doesn't make any sense.

[@JoeSmoe1]

because kotaku is shit 99% of the time

[@watermelonpizza7824]

@@JoeSmoe1 lmao true.

[@justaguyonyoutube1937]

Love this game. Put in 10 hours today. Going to bed now and will be playing all day tomorrow after my yard work.

[@XXtheJUMPoffXX]

Tayshawn Holland 10 hours, wow... how long is a single play through?

[@justaguyonyoutube1937]

@@XXtheJUMPoffXX not that long maybe 3 hours. Played by myself at first all the way through. Then my brother and me played story mode again. Then I want back throught to unlock trophy's so yeah about 10 hours lol. I been waiting on this game for 26 years felt like a kid again playing yesterday.

[@B33FY2011]

I can't wait till my physical copy comes from Limited Run games. I want to play this game so much.

[@thebrownbaldy]

I've read waiting on this game since hearing about it in 2018. But that background music got me pumped!!!

[@donniebravo19]

🗣 "Excellent Review!" Had to shout that out lol 😎👍 Keep up the good work

[@Overdoseplus]

Didn't expect a review this good from Kotaku

[@HIBRIDTHEORY1]

Paul showed CHITOWN HOUSE MUSIC love MUCH RESPECT ✊🏾 #SOR4EVER

[@matsug5704]

the music of this game is SO SICK! I love it.

[@HIBRIDTHEORY1]

Mario G INSTANT SUCCESS! I hope this pave the way for more great games of this genre.

[@polimayo]

Always gotta give credit to the originators. 🙏

[@Sho_Ryu_Ken]

They put so much passion into this game wow! Plus not to mention og characters can play with new style characters and new style characters can go retro and go into the old sor games this is a SOR! FANBOY! DREAM! COME! TRUE!

[@NickHunter]

Yeah I've seen other reviews and had NO IDEA they did that, so cool! Bought it immediately after watching lol

[@benholmes320]

@.....3:43 I've watched all these trailers & reviews & this is the 1st time i realized Max is a boss character?! I wonder if we get to use that sprite along with the retro!

[@thecardboarddungeon8770]

I was thinking the same thing! Seems like it would have been possible since his model and animations are already in the game but I’ve only seen statements that the SoR 1, 2 and 3 characters are only playable in their original forms. Maybe future DLC?

[@klenk12]

Between this and river city girls, im so happy to see beat em ups make a comeback. The only tough decision now is whether to get it on ps4 to play on my fightstick, or to get it on switch for portability.

[@DGJ206]

Man I'm telling u get both of them. Least u can take it on the go with the switch. I will be getting both

[@richyroa]

Got the switch version at launch, and recently the steam version. Game is THAT good

[@andrewhickinbottom1051]

AHHHHH i cant wait for this! SoR 2 is still my favourite game ever! I wish steam would let me pre-purchase and download it now - that 10gb download is gonna be agonising when it unlocks :-D Nice review Paul!

[@JetBlackThreat]

GOTY for the old streets of rage fans this was pretty much a masterpiece for the comeback game. Amazing work

[@winther5]

Great review! Didnt think I needed more beat 'em ups after getting the Pandora's box 4 - but I'm not passing on this, looks awesome!

[@mikeylovespizza4012]

Been playing this with my 2 daughters and both loves it! I still have SOR 1,2,3 for genesis

[@MarquisSmith]

Nostalgia overload. Put an ungodly amount of time into the first two on the Megadrive. They were the go-to games when you and a mate were bored.

[@itimmy101]

Waiting with anticipation for my physical copy to arrive!

[@switchprocontrollersplatoo7240]

Man, I am so happy this game is good. I grew up on SOR2, and I’ve been excited for this.

[@amso7169]

Streets of Fighters 2

[@switchprocontrollersplatoo7240]

Epsilon Eagle sorry 😂

[@marklord7614]

And it supports crossplay with PC and Xbox. I'm having a good time with this game. Oh, and this was a great review!

[@jellewils3974]

'Streets of Rage turned my living room into an Arcade, with some of the coolest music that my tiny brain had ever heard at the time' Dude, you trying to make me cry?! I just felt like a 10 year old again...

[@justinpadfield2928]

Click on Kotaku video, it doesn’t start with HELLO, immediately turn it off

[@TBContent24]

Beautiful review

[@diluteduk]

us retro arcade nerds need more of these games. I sorely miss Punisher, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Knights of the Round, etc. The best recent games in this style were Castle Crashers and Scott Pilgrim

[@jacobynoctis4825]

This review sounded very emotional... Pretty good stuff.

[@boxcarpilot30]

Sweet!, Do we know if this game will have ingame achievements or scoreboards in Switch?

[@vice1011]

I can't wait until this game drop I'm still watching the video as I'm writing my comment 😂😂. The game looks clean and also im loving the combos and plus the finish as the enemy is stunned nice footage like you said this game is filled to the brim 👍💪.

[@jfritz942]

Every... character.... from.... every... streets of rage game.

[@tarekmoneimsaid]

except Roo :(

[@whenyounutinhermouthandshe]

Where the fuck is skate!?

[@Ryuma103desires]

@@whenyounutinhermouthandshe lol you gotta unlock him

[@whenyounutinhermouthandshe]

@@Ryuma103desires Fuck. I'm still stuck on stage 12, that level is hard as hell when you're by yourself

[@Ryuma103desires]

@@whenyounutinhermouthandshe its all Bout technique I unlocked everything in about 7 hours

[@JK11763]

Fantastic Job on the Review. Well Done Sir.

[@Kenjiro_Uchiha]

Marvel needs to bring back their Beat 'em up games with some this sweet animation style!

[@NickHunter]

Bring em all back, the old TMNT , the simpsons, hell even Predator had a sidescrolling brawler

[@sebastiaanvanwater]

"unlock every character from SOR history" Even Ash? No way.

[@shoeflaps]

That would be Bare Knuckle history, so, no.

[@threesomemist9148]

And they are missing roo

[@paxhumana2015]

Where are Rudra and Elle? Also, will Estel be a playable character in the future?

[@sebastiaanvanwater]

@@paxhumana2015 Roo is in some background in SOR4.

[@Sho_Ryu_Ken]

@@threesomemist9148 spoiler alert! Roo is now a bartender!

[@jago75]

Would love to have Joe Musashi from Shinobi as a DLC character. Make it happen Sega!

[@jeffhill1326]

Great review. So happy I found and bought this game. I have been playing the genesis mini lately and this is a great follow up. I even like the music more than the originals but still has the great feel of the original.

[@wildwest1832]

I really like the graphics and style they went with. It looks very true to the original games without changing it into something weird.

[@AlphaC3ph]

I bought it without any second thoughts ,for me its just nostalgic and the game is well made.

[@cha14cha14]

I was wondering how playable is this on keyboard? Can you rebind buttons?

[@Grolmusl]

I played this game today.. Stunning and awesome gameplay from old times when after school I'm focused and aiming my legs to the arcade house.. Fantastic game

[@iSm1lez]

The streets will look like this after quarantine ends. Hope you people learned some special combos, abilities.

[@renofheavens2]

As long as there are apples and turkeys laying around we should be fine

[@AxelEatsBinTurkey]

Great review and after finishing the story mode twice I still want to keep playing it :) One question I had is how to unlock the crt filter/where is it?

[@bauul.]

It's in the options, you don't need to unlock it or anything.

[@jamesmatthews6477]

Fantastic review, really thorough with passion and affection of the game 👍 👍 👍

[@abstraction21]

Oh man, this brings me back to my childhood. I don’t think Double Dragon is a fair comparison though since that was a previous gen. I would say it’s more compatible to SNES’s Final Fight.

[@ilikecheezepizza]

This was an excellent review.

[@gianniclaud]

This games looks really well done, appropriately fusing old and new elements together. I think Sonic Mania was a decent attempt.

[@paxhumana2015]

...and yet people bitched at Sonic the Hedgehog 4 for literally doing the exact same fucking thing as Sonic Mania, like how fucking fickle and stupid ARE people exactly, anyway?

[@gianniclaud]

@@paxhumana2015 people BITCHED because it was a lazy attempt.

[@GETEMBEAU81]

GO STRAIGHT!

[@anthonylai5719]

Man me and a few people found out there's a competitive battle mode knowing the combos and the limit of juggles is ridiculous

[@banjomcgee6333]

I can't find this game in the playstation store. Is it not listed yet?

[@combii91]

How do you unlock de post effect option for retro crt is not showing on xbox one, anyone?

[@FlapJackDaddy]

Has this yet to appear on the PSN store? I can't find it.

[@mctusk]

Ok, now we demand a new Cadillacs and Dinosaurs

[@seantrice1176]

GREAT REVIEW. HIGHLY DETAILED AND INFORMATIVE. JUST BOUGHT THE GAME. THANKS.

[@symboitesRul3]

Streets of Rage 1, 2 and Street Fighter 3 = Best Soundtracks EVER!

[@MarshmallowMadnesss]

Can this game get any better?? It's got everything. Too bad shipping on the physical release seems like it will take forever.

[@mrnewson]

Would love to see an X-Men game of this style. Can't wait for my copy from Limited Run Games to arrive.

[@mistuhkyooh4938]

There have been many xmen beat em up games, from the 90s.

[@mrnewson]

@@mistuhkyooh4938 Yep. Some decent ones. Some utter shit like X-Men Destiny. Would be cool to see something new with this style though.

[@mistuhkyooh4938]

@@mrnewson the xmen arcade w 6 players was the shit.

[@paxhumana2015]

@@mistuhkyooh4938 , if you have a PS3 or Xbox 360, it is available on the PlayStation Network Store or Xbox Live Marketplace.

[@drsoggyhamflaps6705]

Still not in the PS store US?!?!

[@fake._]

This game is the best thing in a while

[@DrGanja99]

Loving the switch so far. Needed this strictly off nostalgia. One of my favorite games on Genesis.

[@Old_Man_Jay]

So what do you guys think of sor4 compared to the fan made sor remake? Personally, not that it's a bad game, because sor4 is great, but I think in comparison, sor4 is lacking compared to sorR

[@rexgamewell]

I'll probably buy this for my kids.

[@Sir.Vinchenzo]

Rex GameWell same! Introduce them to the old school beat em up genre.

[@stealthassasin22]

Wait even the kangaroo is unlockable?!?!?!

[@mikekos7606]

Pros: - nice graphics style; - very good sound and music; - Blaze outfit; - special attack work in combo; - online coop; - price - only 5,99 $ Cons: - no run/roll; - Axel outfit; - Adam outfit; - no alternative outfits; - new characters; - only 1 special (blitz) attack, when you earn score stars your blitz attacks are upgraded in 2-3 SoR (or use secret moves)

[@HIBRIDTHEORY1]

Blaze Outfit...🤣 Hilarious

[@koldtan]

Fantastic review, from a fan to the fans