After lamenting the almost two decade drought of F-Zero titles last week, it looks like there could be hope for the franchise yet.
This week’s entry will take us to Sega’s Streets of Rage franchise, a series of beat-em-up title that defined the Genesis. The original game even came as part of the “Sega 6-Pack” cartridge, which to me was always such a definitive collection of the most popular (not best, most popular) series on the console. It was a landmark franchise for the company…until it wasn’t. After the third game released in 1994, it fell off the face of the Earth. No SOR on the Saturn. No SOR on the Dreamcast. No SOR on any other console once Sega switched to software only. Fortunately, that was finally remedied this year, with Streets of Rage 4 hitting modern consoles a few months ago. It’s great to see the dormant franchise receive new life, but that isn’t the game we are going to discuss.
Many Sega fans have told me they believe the second game, released in 1992, is the best in the franchise. I figured I would start there. I have played the original and I like it, but don’t love it. Beat-em-ups aren’t my favorite and I have always felt SOR was a little bit slow and plodding. It had great enemy design though and some really cool character, plus a little bit of a “choose your own ending” scenario. So did the second game fare any better?
While it’s definitely a much better game than its predecessor, I still found SOR2 to feel very, very slow, especially for a Genesis game. The speed at which your character walks is painful, it almost feels like the controller is broken. I’m all for deliberate games, but I don’t think this is the best genre to be going that route. However, I have to give the game credit, it’s not like the enemies have blazing speed either. They also move deliberately and that goes a long way in making the game not feel cheap. It’s good, solid, fair challenge that comes from having to use the correct attacks and manage multiple enemies at once and not from having to contend with what can feel like broken controls.
I say “feel” broken because once you get a grasp on the game’s speed, you will actually find the controls quite responsive. You can jump, attack and use a special move unique to your character, which replaces the screen clear attack from the first game. Hit detection is pretty good on the strikes and the thud sound they make when you hit an enemy is awesome. Managing the pseudo 3D effect can be a challenge at times, but I never found it game breaking and it does add an extra element of strategy. There are grab attacks but I was never able to determine how to actually do them. This was less an issue of control and more just the game not telling you. I suppose I could have looked it up on the internet, but I decided to go full 1992 and pretend the internet wasn’t a thing yet.
The game looks great graphically, SOR2 did a lot of things with foreground graphics I didn’t think the Genesis was capable of. The environments are well animated and detailed and the enemies are interesting to look at. The attention to detail here was excellent and you can tell effort went into every single pixel. The music was similarly cool, it was heavily influenced by 90s club music, which is a guilty pleasure of mine. It also offers outstanding sound quality for an early Genesis game. SOR 2 did a great job in the presentation department.
That said, the player characters are straight up 90s stereotypes. Did they HAVE to include a skateboard kid? It was 1992, of course they did. That said, everybody plays well and has their own unique strikes and special moves. They have stats as well, but I’m not really sure they mattered much. The special moves are what makes these characters feel different. The only issue I have with them is that this is one of those games where you lose health if you use your specials. Fortunately, SOR2 makes up for this by including far more health powerups than the average beat-em-up.
That’s really all there is to say here. There’s a story, something about the villain from the first game being out for revenge. It’s simple, but you aren’t playing a game like this to watch cutscenes or read text. You are playing it to move to the right and punch people in the face. SOR2 allows you to do that in interesting environments with well designed enemies. I will also say I don’t think its as difficult as other games in the genre. I was able to beat it in two attempted playthrougs. That’s probably a good sign for less experienced gamers, as it makes it more accessible than some of the brutally difficult games in this genre.
And that’s the key here, accessibility. SOR2 didn’t do anything revolutionary, but it offered a quick, fun, mindless experience for those looking to unwind. Despite what the internet tells you, its okay to do that sometimes. I love a good 40 hour RPG with a batshit nuts story as much as anyone, but I don’t want every game to be like that. SOR2 isn’t the best game, or even the best beat-em-up, I have ever played. I wish it was more fast paced, but it’s a good, solid effort that still holds up today.
8.5/10
This week’s entry will take us to Sega’s Streets of Rage franchise, a series of beat-em-up title that defined the Genesis. The original game even came as part of the “Sega 6-Pack” cartridge, which to me was always such a definitive collection of the most popular (not best, most popular) series on the console. It was a landmark franchise for the company…until it wasn’t. After the third game released in 1994, it fell off the face of the Earth. No SOR on the Saturn. No SOR on the Dreamcast. No SOR on any other console once Sega switched to software only. Fortunately, that was finally remedied this year, with Streets of Rage 4 hitting modern consoles a few months ago. It’s great to see the dormant franchise receive new life, but that isn’t the game we are going to discuss.
Many Sega fans have told me they believe the second game, released in 1992, is the best in the franchise. I figured I would start there. I have played the original and I like it, but don’t love it. Beat-em-ups aren’t my favorite and I have always felt SOR was a little bit slow and plodding. It had great enemy design though and some really cool character, plus a little bit of a “choose your own ending” scenario. So did the second game fare any better?
While it’s definitely a much better game than its predecessor, I still found SOR2 to feel very, very slow, especially for a Genesis game. The speed at which your character walks is painful, it almost feels like the controller is broken. I’m all for deliberate games, but I don’t think this is the best genre to be going that route. However, I have to give the game credit, it’s not like the enemies have blazing speed either. They also move deliberately and that goes a long way in making the game not feel cheap. It’s good, solid, fair challenge that comes from having to use the correct attacks and manage multiple enemies at once and not from having to contend with what can feel like broken controls.
I say “feel” broken because once you get a grasp on the game’s speed, you will actually find the controls quite responsive. You can jump, attack and use a special move unique to your character, which replaces the screen clear attack from the first game. Hit detection is pretty good on the strikes and the thud sound they make when you hit an enemy is awesome. Managing the pseudo 3D effect can be a challenge at times, but I never found it game breaking and it does add an extra element of strategy. There are grab attacks but I was never able to determine how to actually do them. This was less an issue of control and more just the game not telling you. I suppose I could have looked it up on the internet, but I decided to go full 1992 and pretend the internet wasn’t a thing yet.
The game looks great graphically, SOR2 did a lot of things with foreground graphics I didn’t think the Genesis was capable of. The environments are well animated and detailed and the enemies are interesting to look at. The attention to detail here was excellent and you can tell effort went into every single pixel. The music was similarly cool, it was heavily influenced by 90s club music, which is a guilty pleasure of mine. It also offers outstanding sound quality for an early Genesis game. SOR 2 did a great job in the presentation department.
That said, the player characters are straight up 90s stereotypes. Did they HAVE to include a skateboard kid? It was 1992, of course they did. That said, everybody plays well and has their own unique strikes and special moves. They have stats as well, but I’m not really sure they mattered much. The special moves are what makes these characters feel different. The only issue I have with them is that this is one of those games where you lose health if you use your specials. Fortunately, SOR2 makes up for this by including far more health powerups than the average beat-em-up.
That’s really all there is to say here. There’s a story, something about the villain from the first game being out for revenge. It’s simple, but you aren’t playing a game like this to watch cutscenes or read text. You are playing it to move to the right and punch people in the face. SOR2 allows you to do that in interesting environments with well designed enemies. I will also say I don’t think its as difficult as other games in the genre. I was able to beat it in two attempted playthrougs. That’s probably a good sign for less experienced gamers, as it makes it more accessible than some of the brutally difficult games in this genre.
And that’s the key here, accessibility. SOR2 didn’t do anything revolutionary, but it offered a quick, fun, mindless experience for those looking to unwind. Despite what the internet tells you, its okay to do that sometimes. I love a good 40 hour RPG with a batshit nuts story as much as anyone, but I don’t want every game to be like that. SOR2 isn’t the best game, or even the best beat-em-up, I have ever played. I wish it was more fast paced, but it’s a good, solid effort that still holds up today.
8.5/10
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