Streets of Rage IV - Survival Mode DLC and Anniversary Editions Out Now

[Lorfarius]

I give up! I can't get past that 4th stage no matter what I do. Tried every character but none of them make any difference.

[schmojo]

1 hour ago, Gabe said:

 

Could be because the Game Pass version is a patch behind?

 

i think it must've been a server side issue - we clocked it start to finish this afternoon with no problems.

[JLM]

5 hours ago, tronied said:

I went through 6 stages yesterday and had a  great time  I think it's everything I wanted it to be aside from one or two annoyances.

 

There's a section where there is no y-axis and you're stuck on a fixed line (on the ship). There is an enemy with his hands in his pockets with yellow trousers who has this one bloody attack which has three kicks to it. Basically, I walked toward him and it triggered his kick and whilst I was on the floor he kept backing off meaning I couldn't get near him Tried again but this time tried jumping and it triggered the same three kick thing which counters anything I have. I literally couldn't do anything to him and was stuck just being pummelled until I died. i think eventually he got close enough for me to catch him with a punch after he'd kicked me for me to break the cycle. It was still infuriating at the time as there's nowhere to go and no-way to counter! If I'd have had the metal-arm dude I could have fired the special laser attack, but I think I was using Blaze.

 

Aside from that though, definitely a 9/10 for me. Can't believe I'm playing it though without paying a penny (gamepass)... kind of feels wrong 

 

If you use your defensive special just as the kick is about to hit you, your invincibility will beat it and you'll knock him down. Then if you quickly close the distance as he's getting up he won't be able to get back to the range where he throws out the kick. I think that bit is quite deliberately meant to encourage you to do that as it's one of the few sections where they've removed the option to dodge  by shifting on the Y-axis. Man  the more I play it the more I love that health regain on specials and the way this game wants you to use them. If you watch high level world record attempt runs on Streets of Rage 2 you will see people specialling their health into oblivion even when you can't get the health back. This is a much more sensible take on it. It also adds an extra bit of value to the longer/more stylish combos this game adds to the series. On top of the damage and flashiness, sometimes you want to extend a combo just to maximise health regain.

 

Guys I like this game.

 

Oh, for anyone playing Floyd, Anthropants (current SOR2 Mania world record holder with Max) is uploading some good stuff on his Youtube. He's already managed to finish Arcade on Mania (on day 1, the freak!) with the big lad so I'm sure there will be plenty of good stuff to steal from his runs. Right from the start I love how he uses Floyd's stubby little jump as a dash, throwing out jumping down + attack all over the place to keep the crowds under control. He's very good at Streets of Rage.

 

 

[Nate Dogg III]

SOR1 Axel is busted to fuck, you can pretty much just mash attack and the bosses have no idea what's going on. S ranks all over the shop.

 

I also like this game. Still struggling to look past Cherry at the moment, her blitz comboes out of everything and also in to loads of stuff, has terrific screen carry as well which is great for getting out of trouble. And headstomp shenanigans are just too fun. I've barely used specials so far (to my shame I didn't even notice the regain mechanic at first, too busy punching stuff) but they're next on the list. 

[JLM]

Haha yeah he has SOR1 jab speed and SOR1 damage, it's preposterous. It's like playing Vanilla Sagat in USF4.

[Nate Dogg III]

His turn feels like a single frame as well. Crowd control is a delight. I wonder whether they even tried to balance him (and the other retro bods) or just thought, fuck it, and chucked them in there.

[DC]

A love letter to my childhoood. Wonderful.

[Joystick Chevron]

1 hour ago, JLM said:

Haha yeah he has SOR1 jab speed and SOR1 damage, it's preposterous. It's like playing Vanilla Sagat in USF4.

 

1 hour ago, Nate Dogg III said:

His turn feels like a single frame as well. Crowd control is a delight. I wonder whether they even tried to balance him (and the other retro bods) or just thought, fuck it, and chucked them in there.

 

On the one hand, I've just unlocked him so yay. On the other, I'm take it he doesn't have The Best Move Ever so can I really bring myself to play him? Decisions, decisions.

[Jackson]

Not a lot to say except I got the switch version and it's so good, probably better than SoR2

[Super Craig]

40 minutes ago, Joystick Chevron said:

 

 

On the one hand, I've just unlocked him so yay. On the other, I'm take it he doesn't have The Best Move Ever so can I really bring myself to play him? Decisions, decisions.

 

You won't need it.

[Down by Law]

Gotta say this is coming into its own on hard. It still feels cheap sometimes but having to go at a much slower pace to not put yourself at risk as the enemy damage output is so high, makes each encounter feel like a proper fighting game. In turn I'm learning the best strats for each opponent and really enjoying the music as it's now getting time to shine before barrelling through to the next area. 

[DC]

I completed it on hard using loads of continues and assists. I assume this is why I haven’t amassed enough points for the first unlock.

[Down by Law]

Some enemies need better tells though. The cops can seemingly Instagrab you with no startup frames, the kickboxers do that 3 kick combo at will and the worst is those galsias that transition from fist to knife wielding without a single animation frame so it completely fucks you over. Really annoying to lose a big combo seemingly out of your control

[Down by Law]

Also anyone else using legacy controls find that throwing weapons also makes you jump at the same time sometimes? Again getting done over through no fault of my own. Problem is if you choose legacy you can't remap throw, so now I have to change my playstyle because of that. A little bit of tightening up and this game could be an all time great. They are so close. 

 

 

[JLM]

I think with the cops you need to identify the taser ones and knock them down immediately, then they can't do their grab move. I find that the most infuriating move in the game to be hit by as it really is instant and has crazy range on it. Fuck taser cops man.  The other cops without tasers flash red before they attempt a grab. At that point I treat them like a grappler in a fighting game until I knock them down, as this seems to snap them out of it. The Commissioner and Signals also do the red flash and will seemingly be locked into a grab attempt as their next action unless you avoid it or knock them down to snap them out of it.

 

I do agree that there are some attacks that are too fast and feel more like the SOR2 ninjas with their 1 frame sweeps.

 

On another note, on this playthrough now I only just realised that:

 

 

During the Barbon fight, the bikers only come out to get involved when you punch their motorbikes. I was just fighting him now and realised he was at half health and he still had no goons. Thought it was the game bugging out, but no, it was me totally missing a nice little touch they added.

[LeighCb]

I changed to legacy controls, which I prefer, the pick up sometimes doesn't hit but it feels better to play. I'm plodding through with Floyd who seems the best choice in single player.

 

It's kicking my ass, but I've had some wine. I'm happy to have a few goes until I complete it. Punching cops feels good. Stage 6 music is banging. 

[LeighCb]

The commissioner is a dickhead. 

[Isaac]

Just done my second completion run with SoR 1 Axel on Normal (my first was on Easy).

 

This really is something special. They've done a magnificent job.

[Isaac]

Also on my second play through this song really clicked for me:

 

 

 

The bit from 2:47 (that plays in the lift on the way up) sounds like some long-lost 16-bit banger.

[Pob]

On my second go I just got all the way to stage 5 on Hard without losing a life. Felt pretty badass. It’s just a shame my extra lives weren’t stacking, I was playing it like my 30p depended on it! I guess Arcade mode has that setup?

[Nate Dogg III]

For those into the soundtrack, the whole thing's up on Bandcamp, which coincidentally is waiving its fees today so artists get all the sales proceeds. SOR4 is available for as little as $9.99: https://olivierderiviere.bandcamp.com/album/streets-of-rage-4

[Mr. Gerbik]

Just played it start to finish in one sitting with the same friend I've been playing SoR2 with for decades. Just like Halo CE, SoR2 is one of those rare games we keep coming back to over and over again. I waited before even starting SoR4 until we both had time.

 

WE FUCKING LOVED IT. On Xbox btw, zero problems playing online, and on medium. We only died one time, on stage 5 or 6 - the one with

Spoiler

Shiva

as the end boss. And only because I was fucking around on the character select screen and ended up with Floyd instead of Cherry for that one level. The latter seems way friendlier for newbies. If I hadn't messed up, we would have finished without continues... 

 

But it was so, so good. Way above both our expectations. Plays like a dream. Love the juggling, managing to keep a boss in the air for a while will never get old. So much lovely fan service. Amazing music. Gorgeous visuals. Love it, love it, love it.

 

We then fired up mania for a laugh and boy you wouldn't believe the amount of enemies on-screen  Feels like Dynasty Warriors almost! Managed to finish the first two stages, but it's difficult. Doesn't feel unfair or impossible, but very difficult nonetheless.

 

I saw mention about the defensive move on Y in this thread, but neither of us used it at all! First time playing so we played it like we do SoR2  I'm guessing looking into those newer moves will make mania more doable, can't wait to dive in and try to get good at this. It's so lovely

 

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[DarhkFox]

Really enjoying this. I do find certain characters are better on certain levels though.

 

Actually wiite enjoying the battle mode too , think I've won 99% of the games.. somehow 

[Joystick Chevron]

1 hour ago, LeighCb said:

The commissioner is a dickhead. 

 

Yeah, so far I've tended to get battered by bosses on my first meeting then get them next time around (except for Shiva, oddly, he's the only one I've managed to one shot) but the Commish is just a total bastard every time. Seemingly always armoured up, always dashing around and smashing you before you can do anything and absolutely the last thing I wanted to see when taking on Estele again on the train ride. Her I can deal with but her and him together? Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg.

[Boothjan]

Oh man, this is just perfect. Because it's imperfect. It's the exact Streets of Rage sequel I've wanted for 25 years. It feels like a Megadrive game in 2020 - and I mean that in a wholly positive sense.

 

For me,  I really wanted SoR4 to be a proper follow up to the series I loved when I was a pre-teen. I loved the series on the Megadrive, they're amongst my first gaming memories. 

 

I have 2 kids aged 9 and 11 and a 13 year old stepdaughter. So they're roughly the ages I was when each SoR game came out.

 

Tonight, I promised my 11 year old son a co-op game on SoR4 and it was a perfect gaming moment playing a game I love alongside my son who is the age I was when I fell in love with the series. I think I've converted him.

 

I didn't want game changing new features, 3D graphics, an open world or anything we've seen since the days of 16 bit consoles. I wanted another SoR experience and this is just bang on the money.

 

Watching my son playing it and enjoying it was awesome because I realised that he was mirroring the exact same emotions I was. Me in 1992 and me in 2020.

 

This is just what gaming is all about. 

[SweatyTravolta]

I've just had to install Joy2Key in the year of our lord 2020 because the game doesn't recognise my Hori arcade stick. PC games ladies and gentlemen.

 

I will say that it's completely worth the effort because with cross save I was able to seamlessly continue my progress from the Xbox but with an infinitely superior control method. The game just flows so much easier with that three button layout.

[Pob]

I had a peek at the 2020 controls last night. What a load of nonsense - Legacy all the way. 

[Treble]

2 hours ago, SweatyTravolta said:

I've just had to install Joy2Key in the year of our lord 2020 because the game doesn't recognise my Hori arcade stick. PC games ladies and gentlemen. 

 

Which Hori? My Switch HRAP is spotted without problem. 

[SweatyTravolta]

23 minutes ago, Treble said:

 

Which Hori? My Switch HRAP is spotted without problem. 

Fighting Stick EX2. Sure it's 12 years old but Windows 10 recognises it just fine as does every other game. All I get shown is Controller is Disconnected in the input menu. I mean I complained but it's a very quick fix all things considered and makes it awesome to play the game.

 

It was my first time doing multiplayer and some of the team up moves you can do are outrageous. Was a real hoot.

[Down by Law]

Got my first S rank on stage 7 on hard.. It took me over 10 goes just to finish the damn stage nevermind actually go for the rank which was turned out to be a lucky bi-product! I got a 108 combo on the big brawl where the train stops and somehow managed to defeat the commissioner and estel by abusing the star moves.

 

I don't really understand what the devs were aiming for in this boss fight. Commissioners grab attack can only be interrupted by defensive special, but he spams it so you have to spam back. Now you've got a giant green portion of your health bar but you hit him with normal attacks to try and recover health, but he's got armour - so you're forced to hit defensive special yet again or lose a life if you don't have enough yellow health left. It's counter-intuitive and poorly designed imo. Nevermind all the grenades and shit Estel is lobbing all over the place at the same time. I got that S rank but it didn't feel earned. 

 

You don't get all this armour bullshit in SoR2 or any of the others. It's hugely abused by enemies in this game to its detriment. 

 

 

Still fun as fuck though, I love it : D