Random Game O' the Day: Streets of Rage 3

[digitalpress]

The DP Random Game Generator of Questionable Sequality has chosen Sega's Streets of Rage 3, the final installment for the series - though hopefully not forever.

Most gamers didn't take too well to this sequel, citing very little improvement over SoR2, but I can't say that I agree with that. Aren't all games of this genre somewhat expected to be repetitive? There were some additions to the game, new characters, moves, and secrets, but was that enough for YOU? Tell us what you think - write your own mini-review here.

DP Guide sez:

Streets of Rage 3 (Genesis, by Sega) $18/R4 +
a.k.a. Bare Knuckle 3 (Japan)
Developed by AM7. Music by Yuzo Koshiro. EASTER EGGS: a) If you open the ROM binary you will find some strange text: "Axel Stone is strong. I am a boy. I love you. Fuck you. Go home. Let's fight. It is a pen. I miss you. Why don't you know. She is my son. Moon Friends Cotton love Last chance ". To the best of our knowledge, none of this actually appears in the game. b) Yeah, we like skipping levels too. To do it in this game, get to the menu screen, hold B and Up, then move to "options". With these buttons still held, press START. You will hear a tone confirming the code and a new "stage select"option will appear on-screen. c) To start with up to 9 lives, go to the options screen, highlight "number of players" and press A + B + C + Up on Controller 2, and use Controller 1 to select up to 9 lives. Meow. SANTULLI SLANT: The third installment in the series introduces the playable character Dr. Zan. Now most of you know how I feel about robots, especially seemingly benevolent ones. So when I play this game, I force another player to play Dr. Zan and then I ruthlessly and mercilessly pound on them until all of their lives are lost, then continue on with the game. The game itself is a nice step from the classic SoR2, with a head-to-head mode (excellent for smashing Dr. Zan's metal skull in), new moves (a wonderful game for the 6-button controller), branching paths and four different endings. Yummy. [Gr: 8, So: 7, Ga: 9, Ov: 8] Released 1994.

[Cafeman]

SOR3 disappointed me at first play. But after buying it and comparing it to the prior 2 SOR games, SOR3 certainly has it's place -- it's much faster and has new moves (double dash rolls up & down screen) which change the feel from SOR2. SOR2 is still my fave though. And (as EVERYONE says over & over), the music isn't as good in part 3. And it has a Kangaroo. Dr. Zhan sucks though, as do the little 'story stills'.

[Gamereviewgod]

My thoughts are here:
http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/streetsofrage3.htm

[Eternal Champion]

Ah, finally a thread I'm interested in. Streets of Rage 2 is one of my all-time faves. I have loved beat-em-ups since Double Dragon. SoR 2 blew me away back in '92--the moves, the characters' size, animations, etc., AND THE MUSIC. The "Alien Club Beat" still comes into my head.

I rented SoR 3 once with friends and we pummeled each other for a night. We were very disappointed in Zan, that Max was dropped for this guy. I forgot about it for about 9 years.

I got a nice complete copy very recently ( for $25--ouch). I've played SoR 2 to death and needed something new.

I'd say this game takes the beat-em-up to its zenith on the Genesis. Better graphics, bigger characters, faster moves, more moves, etc. I'd also say that the music is the best on the Genesis--meaning that it doesn't sound like video game music on an FM sound chip. I think it sounds like real hard club music (Yuzo Koshiro has the Genesis sound chip on his rig). Unfortunately the sound chip can't handle many other sound effects. The bad dudes' death knell scream is too much for it--very grainy, and it's just too loud (not to mention irritating). The death knell in SoR 2 is much better. A lot of punching sound effects are lost as well. Yuzo's music is too much to handle! I will stand up for the music, though--he took it in a very different direction, more hard-beat-oriented, and it sounds so good you could release a CD of it as-is.

Again, the loss of Max to Zan is a huge mistake. Zan is BORING to play. He contributes nothing. His animations just look half-done. Max was killer in a 2-player game. Crushing. Bad move on Sega's part. Imagine Max in this environment--bigger and badder moves. I only use Blaze and Axel, but Skate is good in a 2-player fight.

And Yuzo Koshiro's sister's character designs rock, of course, but changing the colors of Blaze and Axel in the U.S. version...huh?! Yellow and Black?!?! x_x I actually like Blaze's silver-ish color.

Despite all of these complaints, I LOVE Streets of Rage 3. After playing this for a while SoR 2 felt slow and sluggish! (Then compare that to SNES' Super Double Dragon--it's glacial) The action is furious and gets quite difficult--I've only seen up to the 4th level. Then it really gets ridiculous. And with VERY little slow-down or flicker. I LOVE the new 6-button moves. The addition of secret playable characters is a fun bonus. An improvement over SoR 2 is the backgrounds--more detailed with more parallax scrolling, as well as interactivity with the environment. You can finally throw bad dudes into pits! Off ledges! Dodge automated carts in the middle of a fight (what a PAIN in the ass that was, before I figured out the pattern)! Dodge falling oil drums, or punch them into the punks' heads! Wind! I love that stuff.

In the end, a worthy companion to SoR 2. If SoR 3 had had some changes (updating Max instead of the new Zan, bringing back Adam instead of Skate, re-thinking the sound effects, NOT changing Axel & Blaze's colors), it would have been the ultimate beat-em-up on Genesis.

P.S. www.gsarchives.com has some cool Blaze animated sprite rips, but the site appears to be defunct--anyone know???

[tynstar]

The Streets of Rage series is one of my favorite series on the Genesis.

It is fun to have so mindless fun every once and a while. Streets of Rasge 3 took me some time to use the new characters but after I did that it was fun. SoR3 was not as good as SoR2 put still a fun game.

[kainemaxwell]

The boxing kangaroo...nuff said.

[Tetsu]

Plenty of improvement over part 2, but no one cared. Too bad. It was a worthy installment. Music could have been better; it's more evolved and esoteric but not as catchy as a result.

[Vroomfunkel]

i don't know why people say that SOR 2 is better! I would be hard pressed to choose between the two, but I think no.3 would win it. I have only actually played the Jap version... I don't think there is all that much difference though, except the extraordinarily camp boss that was cut from the US / UK releases. I actually played this game right through with a couple of friends on Sunday night, and we all loved it! And Dr. Zan rocks, I love his throw moves where he just tosses people over his shoulder.

It's got to be one of my all time favourite sideways scrolling beat 'em ups. Not that there were many that came after it, the genre seems to have pretty much died. Shame.

Vroomfunkel

[Ed Oscuro]

I say this Random Game of the Day generator kicks ass...Streets of Rage, after all, is probably one of the most underrated games on any series. I can't exactly step back to the early 1990s and say how much it was hyped, but I think not that much (just a few print ads and such, right?) Very good despite (or because of?) the lack of attention it recieved from the general public. Though I'm a fan of Golden Axe 3, any SoR game pretty much takes even GA3 to the cleaners in terms of moves and variety.

[ManekiNeko]

Count me in as one of the folks who preferred Streets of Rage 2 to the sequel. SOR3 was a bit too complicated for its own good... I don't think I ever figured out all of those special moves. They came up with a lot of bad ideas in the game, too, including the maze at the end (always a bad idea in a fighting game, as Renegade proved) and those awful new color schemes.
Here's how I see it. Streets of Rage was much too conservative and timid, and Streets of Rage 3 was a little too weird and experimental. Streets of Rage 2 found a happy medium between those two games.
So, how's about the Super NES game Final Fight 3? It was the Super Nintendo's closest equivalent to Streets of Rage 3, and I must say that I liked it just a little better. It was a huge improvement over the incredibly boring and uninspired Final Fight 2.

JR

[kainemaxwell]

I think the music in SoR2 is better then 3 also.

[digitalpress]

*an ominous voice bellows*

"Rise from your grave, abandoned beat'em-up topic!"

[Mr. Smashy]

I haven't even played Streets of Rage 3. Now, I feel bad.

Maybe I'll play my Streets of Rage 1 and 2 to cheer me up.

[Push Upstairs]

I love the improvements made in SOR3. I love the 6-button support, the special moves, all of it...except the stupid pallete switch and the idiotic upped difficulty.


Thankfully i get the best of both worlds by having "Bare Knuckle 3". No stupid pallete swaps (Blaze in RED) and the difficulty is on the same level as SOR2....challeging when you want it and mellow for those times when you just wanna kick the shit out of Donovan.

Plus you get to play as that bizarre gay mid-boss Ash (without a game genie code)


SOR 1+2 have the best music, but some of the music in SOR3 rocks. The music for the boss Yamato & the music for "City Hall" are good stuff.

[Richter]

so today is BEU day? =P

the sweet thing that i loved about 3 was the weapon specials. Especially Blaze using the dagger. slice, dice, uppercut!

[Azazel]

I too prefered Street of Rage 2 over this game.

My mine gripes with it.

Loss of Max being replaced by Zan
Loss of comboes for Axel that were in part 2
Weapons can only be used so many times
Some of the smaller characters can't throw some of the big characters like Big Ben etc.

Plus
Playing as Shiva through that code was kind of nice.

Other than that I really don't have very many good things to say about it. I played through it once but doubt I will ever again.

[suppafly]

This was a great game. Im a Street of rage series fan. I agree that SOR 2 is the best of the series, but SOR 3 IS a very good game too.

The music is a little too much in the techno side for my likings, but i enjoyed the game anyway. I do miss max, who was the best character in SOR 2.

Im NOT a great player at all, but SOR 3 was a little easy, i finished it the first time i played it. Overall i think its one of the best 50 genesis games, and i think its worth more than 18 US complete too!!!

[KirbyStar27]

great game for genesis. Loved em all!!

[Ed Oscuro]

Heh. Looking over my old and rather foolish old post :)

Well, I've listened to the soundtrack as much as I can bear since then. There are a few neat intros (the Park music among them, one of my many favorites in gaming but still a favorite) and a few really pretty good tracks...unfortunately many are...odd...still a winner overall, but it's a lot wierder and harder to listen to than it should be. The Bulldozer music, for example, is really quite awful to my ears.