Game Review: Streets Of Rage

Game: Streets Of Rage
Console: Sega Mega Drive
Developer: Sega (AM7)
Release Date: 2nd August 1991 (PAL)

Listen along with the game OST as you read

Streets of Rage is an absolutely classic Beat Em Up, the first game in a series which was designed to compete with other Beat Em Up games of the time such as Final Fight. You can choose from one of three characters (two if you're playing with a friend) and beat the crap outta baddies for 8 levels to face the final boss, the head of a crime syndicate controlling the people of the city.

The first level begins right where you'd think... on the streets, a busy street with flashing signs and advertisements. Almost immediately an opponent squares up to you and you'll only have a few seconds of walking to the right unopposed each level. Graphically I'd say the game scrubs up well; despite its age, it's got good animation of each character's movement, can handle many enemies on screen at once and the backdrops look as vibrant and exciting to the eye as ever.

Moveset wise, there are a fair few moves to pull off, including jump/kick combos and multiplayer moves if you're with a friend. Weapons are abundant, with enemies carrying them and all manner of bottles, bats and knives hidden under bins and mailboxes. There's also a special powerup to help with bossfights and particularly tough baddies in the form of support from your missile toting police buddies. While other games might have more moves, these options give a simplicity to the fighting. Its all about accuracy and timing, and holding onto your weapons.

The game is accompanied by a chiptune soundtrack, which is pretty groovy, and a good accompaniment to the overall feel. Vocally only the screams and grunts from your opponents as you punch them to the floor are heard, which is just how it should be. The level settings are pretty diverse, and you'll encounter different enemies as you progress; beaches, boats, outdoor elevators and hallways are all perfectly acceptable places to fight in this game.

The controls on Streets of Rage are pretty sound, the movement and hit detection is great, no complaints there. The only thing I'd change would be to put the button to summon your special police comrades somewhere where I won't accidentally hit it, because all too often I'll waste it, but I suppose that's rather more my fault than Sega's.

The time limit never really seems to be an issue in the game, I can only recall running out of it once, and that one time, my cartridge failed and stopped spawning enemies for me to hit. The real difficulty here is in learning the opponent's movesets and the distance from which you can hit them. With that memorized, its pretty simple to take on multiple enemy types at once. I do think that this game is easier with two players, as although there are more onscreen enemies, you can look after one another's health bars and use powerups strategically.

This is definitely a game to play with a friend, having played both single and multiplayer, I'd say nothing beats the strategy and teamwork of two player, added to the multiple endings, should you reach the final boss. There's a satisfaction in completing this fairly short game, as although you're given 3 continues and multiple chances to gain extra lives, they're really needed and finishing the game is still an achievement.

Overall then, a classic arcade Beat Em Up, which plays nicely and is better with a friend, but still entertaining alone. There's not too much of a story, but what is has isn't contrived and works well enough to talk you into beating the stuffing out of the bad guys (not that you needed much coercing). Personally I think this game has stood the test of time well and is still fun to play through today. Multiplayer adds replay value and strategy to the equation, and beating up your friend after working together for so long is great.

Rating: 92/100
Grade: A