Streets of Rage

This article is about the video game. For the series, see Streets of Rage (series). For the unrelated film, see Streets of Rage (film).

Streets of Rage
Developer(s)	Sega
Publisher(s)	Sega
Director(s)	Noriyoshi Ohba
Designer(s)	Noriyoshi Ohba Hiroaki Chino
Programmer(s)	Hiroshi Momota
Composer(s)	Yuzo Koshiro
Series	Streets of Rage
Platform(s)	Mega Drive, Sega CD, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, MegaPlay, Virtual Console, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Live Arcade, Nintendo 3DS
Release date(s)	Mega Drive/Sega Genesis JP 19910802August 2, 1991 EU 199108August 1991 NA 199109September 1991 Game Gear JP November 27, 1992 NA December 1992 EU 1992 Sega Master System PAL 1993 Wii Virtual Console NA February 19, 2007 JP February 27, 2007 EU March 2, 2007 iOS Devices NA September 14, 2009 Microsoft Windows NA January 26, 2011 Nintendo 3DS 3D Classics JP August 21, 2013 NA December 19, 2013 EU December 19, 2013
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Streets of Rage (ベア・ナックル 怒りの鉄拳, Bea Nakkuru: Ikari no Tekken, "Bare Knuckle: Furious Iron Fist") is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1991 for the Sega Genesis. It is the first installment of the Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage series which was followed by Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3. The game was also converted over to Sega's Game Gear, Sega CD and Master System. In 2007, the game was released for the Wii's Virtual Console in North America and Europe, and in 2009 it was released for the iOS via the App Store. The game was again made available as part of Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection in 2009 on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.

Gameplay

The three characters

Similar to the game Golden Axe which was released two years prior by Sega, enemies walk onto the screen from both sides as well as occasionally appearing from other locations. The player must defeat each opponent to progress through eight locations, known as rounds. With the exception of round 7, there is a boss battle at the end of every round with a disproportionately large enemy. Unlike its sequels, none of the enemies are named within the game (only in the Japanese version's manual) and only the bosses have life gauges. As in contemporary games Double Dragon and Final Fight, weapons can be picked up, and these include knives, bottles, and drainpipes. In Streets of Rage, the special attack is assistance from a police car which will enter the screen from the left and fire explosives, taking health from all enemies. The player is given one special attack per life or per level, with power-ups shaped like police cars giving another. In round 8, the special attack can't be used.

There are three playable characters in the game. Adam Hunter possesses high power and jump ability, but slow movement. Axel Stone is high powered and moves quickly, but has poor jump ability. Blaze Fielding moves faster than the others and has good jump ability, but is the weakest character.

Plot

The once peaceful city has been taken over by a criminal syndicate, including the police. Mass violence has become extremely dominant and no one is safe. Adam Hunter (an accomplished boxer), Axel Stone (skilled martial artist) and Blaze Fielding (judo expert) are young ex-police officers who had to quit the force in order to fight back the syndicate.

Depending on whether the game is played as one-player or two-player co-op and the player accepts or rejects Mr. X's offer to become his henchman, there is a possibility for an alternate ending where the player becomes the new head of the crime syndicate.

Releases

Ports

8-Bit Versions
Port	Release	Features
Sega Game Gear	JP November 27, 1992 NA December 1992 EU 1992	Adam is omitted. 5 rounds in the game. 2-player feature via cable link.
Sega Master System	PAL 1993	Cut-down music and introduction 2-player feature unavailable Unique boss on Round 6 Only 2 enemy characters can appear on-screen
16-Bit Versions
Arcade (Mega Tech / Mega Play)	1991	Played for time, not credits
Wii	NA February 19, 2007 JP February 27, 2007 EU March 2, 2007
iOS	NA September 14, 2009	2-player feature unavailable
Microsoft Windows	NA January 26, 2011
3DS	NA December 19, 2013 JP August 21, 2013 EU December 19, 2013	3D effect One hit kill mode Bare Knuckle (Japanese version) mode CRT TV mode Restore Points

Collections

A signature title and franchise for Sega during the Mega Drive era, the title was collected often.

• Mega Games II (compiled with Golden Axe and The Revenge of Shinobi) that was later bundled with the Sega Mega Drive.

• Sega Classics Arcade Collection (a Mega-CD compilation with the two previously mentioned titles, plus Super Monaco GP and Columns, also available as in cartridge format for Mega Drive II). The voice effects for the characters in this version of the game were all redone.

• Sega Genesis 6-PAK (composed of Streets of Rage, Sonic the Hedgehog, Columns, The Revenge of Shinobi, Golden Axe and Super Hang-On); and Mega 6 (composed of Streets of Rage, World Cup Italia '90, Columns, Super Monaco GP, The Revenge of Shinobi and Sonic the Hedgehog).

• Streets of Rage, along with its two sequels, was included in the Japanese version of the Sonic Gems Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2, but was omitted from the North American GameCube version to avoid it gaining an E10+ rating, and also from the European GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions for similar reasons. They are now also available on GameTap.

• Streets of Rage along with both of its sequels are included in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

• In 2012, Streets of Rage Collection, a package of all three Streets of Rage games, was released on Xbox Live Arcade as part of the Sega Vintage Collection range of titles. A PlayStation Network release has not been announced.

• On 26 January 2011 Streets of Rage was released on Valve's Steam platform, both as a standalone purchase and part of the SEGA Mega Drive Classics Pack 4.

• On 21 August 2013 3D Streets of Rage was released for Nintendo 3DS, both as an e-shop standalone purchase and later on 18 December 2014 as a part of the Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives.

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score AllGame MegaTech 92% Wizard B

MegaTech magazine said it had "excellent sprites, backdrops and brilliant music. Add in great gameplay and simultaneous two-player action and you've got an essential buy". Mega placed the game at #6 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time.

Reviewing the game's appearance in Sega Arcade Classics for the Sega CD, Glenn Rubenstein said it "still holds up well."

Legacy

Main article: Streets of Rage (series)

Streets of Rage was followed by two sequels, Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3. There were plans for two further sequels to Streets of Rage, one of which was developed by Core Design for the Sega Saturn, but Sega pulled the Streets of Rage name during development after a disagreement with Core about porting it to rival formats; the game was eventually released as Fighting Force.

Comics

Three six-part comic strip series based upon the games appeared in Sonic the Comic in the early 1990s (along with several other adaptations of popular Sega franchises). The first two of these was written by Mark Millar, who has since become popular writing The Authority for Wildstorm and Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates for Marvel, while the third (and a Poster Mag story) was written by Nigel Kitching. Peter Richardson produced the artwork for all nineteen episodes. These three stories are based on Streets of Rage 2 and do not feature Adam.

The first story, simply entitled Streets of Rage, appeared in STC #7–12 and involved Axel, Blaze, and Max quitting the highly corrupt police force in order to do more good as vigilantes, taking down Max's ex-partner; the crime lord and martial artist Hawk.

The next serial, Skates' Story, appeared in STC #25–30 and introduced Skates, delinquent stepson of Murphy, a friend of Axel and his team and one of the few honest cops left on the force, who was unwillingly drawn into joining Axel's group after his parents were killed by Mr X.

A special one-off story, called The Facts of Life, appeared in "Sonic the Poster Mag" #7 and involved the heroes causing a racket by fighting one of the many street gangs in a sleeping neighborhood. The police arrive and arrest the thugs, as well as take the heroes to a junkyard for execution. Along the way, Axel explains why he, Blaze, and Max quit the force to a young rookie officer. At the junkyard, just as the officers are about to shoot Max, the rookie officer unlocks Blaze's handcuffs, who proceeds to beat the stuffing out of the cops, with Axel, Skates, and Max following shortly. After the dust clears, the rookie officer says that he's seen the true colors of the police force and requests that Axel hit him. Axel does so until Blaze tells him to stop, and they and Max and Skates leave as dawn breaks.

The third and final serial, called The Only Game In Town, appeared in STC #41–46 and involved the Syndicate unleashing an army of street gangs on our heroes, with the event turned into a gambling event as Mr. X opened a book based on whether or not the heroes would reach the river without being killed first. This ploy was played against the villain when Blaze bet on twenty-thousand dollars on her team's survival at odds of a thousand to one. This third story was notable for revealing that, for his failure, the old Mr. X had been the victim of a "swimming accident" and had been replaced with a new one by the Syndicate at story's end. Like many non-Sonic stories in this magazine, the story had a cliff-hanger ending, with the new Mr. X promising that he would "recoup his losses" and kill the heroes.

Soundtrack

Main article: Discography of the Streets of Rage series

The game's chiptune soundtrack was acclaimed, with several soundtrack albums being released. The soundtracks were composed by Yuzo Koshiro. Another musician, Motohiro Kawashima, helped on the second, providing a few tracks, and making even more for the third. Three soundtrack CDs were released in all, each of which now sell for high prices at auction and in Japanese markets.

When the first game's development began in 1990, Koshiro was influenced by electronic dance music, specifically house, techno, and rave, and wanted to be the among the first to introduce those sounds in video games. The soundtrack shows the influence of contemporary R&B and hip hop music. Koshiro said "the most important element in recreating club music sounds for the games was to emulate the timbre and percussion sounds of Roland's rhythm machines" (the most famous models being the TR-606, TR-707, TR-808, and TR-909), stating that "it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that that sound defined the genre."

Animated

Sega has formed the production company Stories International and teaming up with Evan Cholfin for film and TV projects based on theirs games with Streets of Rage as an animated project.

External links

• Streets of Rage at MobyGames
• http://www.soronline.net/