![]() It is easy to apply the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality with a game like Streets of Rage 4. You select a character from an initial roster of four and make your way through each level, defeating a big boss at the end before moving on to the next level. Playing like your typical beat ‘em up, Streets of Rage 4 sees you punching and kicking your way through a city akin to games like Double Dragon, Final Fight and even, to a certain extent, Battletoads. Now, twenty six years since Streets of Rage 3, Streets of Rage 4 attempts to bring the action into the modern era to mixed results. Arcades and beat ‘em ups feel almost complementary to each other, but Streets of Rage was one that I was personally aware of but never really adored. Whereas other revivals have been for properties that have been undisputed kings in their genres, Streets of Rage is coming from a market that was crowded given the cultural context it rose to prominence in. It's a triumph that feels arcade perfect in an era where all the arcades have long since been bulldozed.Revivals are totally the in thing right now, but one that I never quite saw coming was Streets of Rage 4. Lizardcube, Guard Crush and Dotemu have done such meticulous work it almost feels like the beat 'em up is relevant again. But who doesn't want to squat over a chicken and hear a floppy bloop, before flinging a sword at a cop, kneeing a biker in the chuff and falling out of a lift. It shouldn't exist and it really shouldn't be this good. Streets of Rage 4 is a funky anachronism in 2020. And a boss armed with an Uzi, grenades and a rocket launcher seems a little unfair, but none of this is ever insurmountable. You will accidentally throw a weapon when you meant to pick up food. There are a few blips and niggles that tarnish the package but nothing to really make you rise up in anger one character in particular seems to have it easier than most due to automatic grappling. It's very easy to understand and have fun, and there's just enough variety in attacks, combos and specials to keep you juggling a handful of tactics when all-out brutality requires a little finesse. Co-op play in particular lifts Streets of Rage as you juggle enemies between each other, throwing bodies around with slapstick abandon. Gameplay doesn't vary much between characters but there's welcome replayability whether upping the difficulty, nudging that high score up, improving your rank, or playing alongside friends. It's a confident style, a sassy teenager in its prime beautiful and cocky in youth. Motorbike helmets, spikes, whips, and dayglo leather jackets like it's a kinky rave. The ass-kicker with his hands in his pocket looking nonchalant before he leaps for your face like the malicious little bastard he is. ![]() The riot cops with their glowing shields, Diva and her electric python. Character design updates add a visual flair of their own. It's not afraid of using every colour in the Sharpie box but still sticks to the original palette from previous Streets of Rage games. ![]() The new art style is slick and suitably comic book. ![]() This repetition is a rhythm, and it's so easy to slip into it and play along, it becomes intoxicating quickly. Whatever the reason, Streets of Rage 4 does a superb job of blending the old and the new. Or people just assumed there's no audience for them. They don't make them like this anymore, outside of retro indie pixel offerings, because there's barely an audience for them. In more ways than one, Streets of Rage 4 slaps like a MFer. It's audio dynamite, a percussion of whacks and snaps accompanied by an electro soundtrack from the original composers. You get your ass-kicked too, but it doesn't matter because you keep steamrollering forward, left to right, as punks jump up to get beat down. There's nothing better than taking a weapon off a dirty cop and smashing it over his skull in revenge. You smash up an art gallery, pummel arcade machines, get down and dirty in the sewers, throw goons out the back of a plane, headbutt at a rock concert. Cops swing at crooks inside a trashed police station, and you interrupt both with a flying boot to the spine. The city is rioting and you're not the only one fighting crime. ![]()
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