Streets of Rage 4

Streets of Rage 4

Streets of Rage 4[a] is a beat 'em up video game developed by Dotemu, Lizardcube and Guard Crush Games, released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 30 April 2020. The game is a continuation of Sega's Streets of Rage series, which was a trilogy of games that released during the early 1990s for the Sega Genesis.

Gameplay and premise

Carrying on the style of gameplay from previous entries in the Streets of Rage series, Streets of Rage 4 is a side-scrolling beat 'em up in which players fight against waves of enemies using an array of attacks and special moves. New to the gameplay formula is the ability to recover health spent using a special attack by performing successive follow-up attacks. Players are also able to juggle opponents against each other and walls for extended combos. Stars can be collected allowing players to perform powerful super moves.[1]

The game takes place 10 years after the events of Streets of Rage 3, featuring returning characters Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, and Adam Hunter,[2][3] alongside two new characters, Adam’s daughter Cherry, and a muscular cybernetically enhanced armed apprentice of Dr. Gilbert Zan name Floyd Iraia.[4][5] The game will also feature online multiplayer for two players and local multiplayer for up to four players, for the first time in the series, as well as a competitive Battle Mode.[5] Unlockable features include characters from past games, who are presented in 16-bit style, and retro music tracks from Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2.[6]

Development

Rumors of a fourth entry in the Streets of Rage series being in development have circulated since the mid-1990s.[7] Following the success of Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, a 2017 remake of 1989's Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, publisher Dotemu and developer Lizardcube approached Sega about creating a sequel in the Streets of Rage series. Sega agreed and production on the game began at the beginning of 2018, with the game publicly announced that August. The game is being co-developed by Guard Crush Games, using a modified engine from their Streets of Fury game.

The soundtrack is being primarily composed by Olivier Deriviere, with additional compositions from Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima, Yoko Shimomura, Keiji Yamagishi, Harumi Fujita, Das Mörtal, and Groundislava.[8][9] The soundtrack is structured so that Deriviere wrote the primary themes, while each boss fight's theme was written by one of the guest composers.[9][10] Koshiro was not a part of the project from the start, but joined in June 2019 after playing a demo of the game at BitSummit, an indie game showcase in Japan. He cited fan requests and how the game was coming along as reasons for joining.[11] Hideki Naganuma was also originally set to contribute, but dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts before being replaced by Fujita.[12] The game will also allow players to switch to the soundtracks from Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2.[13]

Release

The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 30 April 2020.[13] A limited physical release for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions by Limited Run Games is available as both a standard edition with reversible box art and a classic edition with a steelbook case and a Genesis-style clam-shell case.[14]