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

Down by Law

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dug

dug

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And you can just hold it until you land, no need for tricky timing.

 

Only had a few quick blasts on this, but absolutely loving it. It's properly squeezing my nostalgia glands. Although I do wish it played the old level complete jingle.

 

Im finding it quite difficult though, level 7 boss

 

Spoiler

Estel and commissioner

 

can shit the fuck off.

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misterSquare

misterSquare

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2 hours ago, Pob said:

Am I missing something or is

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Max

a massive difficulty spike? I've blitzed pretty much every other boss first try, but this guy appears to have no weaknesses, to the point I thought maybe I wasn't supposed to tackle him head on and instead there might be a way to break the mind control. Are you really expected to just chip away it him with quick hit and runs?

 

Yeah, he seems really tricky at first but is very do-able one you adjust your play style a little bit. I really struggled with him on my first Normal run but breezed past him just now on Hard.

 

But yep, you're right - don't try anything fancy. No long combos, no stun locks, no throws. Get some solid hits in and then get out of range. His attacks are generally easy to dodge provided you just stay a decent distance away and on a different vertical plane. You can button mash out if his grab if you're quick too.

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CarloOos

CarloOos

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I do have one minor niggle, the character design of the Y twins. Everything else is so heavily rooted in 90s action archetypes but when you get to the final two they're full on anime and don't really fit aesthetically. Felt similar about the DJ boss, he was more Scott Pilgrim than Streets of Rage.

 

I really enjoyed flicking through the artwork in the extras menu and seeing the evolution of most characters, but they only had the final designs for those two which is a shame.

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Down by Law

Down by Law

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The whole last stage veers too far from the path IMO, way too anime inspired.  The only really disappointing stage, though I've got to be honest when I saw Axel get on that motorbike I thought we were finally going to get some of that motorbike action that was cut from 3 :(

 

tumblr_pte7n3bmAv1xq94wqo1_500.jpg

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Death's Head

Death's Head

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54 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

The whole last stage veers too far from the path IMO, way too anime inspired.  The only really disappointing stage, though I've got to be honest when I saw Axel get on that motorbike I thought we were finally going to get some of that motorbike action that was cut from 3 :(

 

tumblr_pte7n3bmAv1xq94wqo1_500.jpg

 

They're in the bomber games remake if you get hold of that.

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Benny

Benny

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50 minutes ago, Doctor Shark said:

I haven't played this game. It might be terrible for all I know, but goddamn is it gorgeous. Just something about the art style which I totally dig. Reminds me of the equally gorgeous Wonderboy, that kind of comicbookish illustrated style. 

 

I mean it's not as if there is any evidence that currently points to it being very much the opposite of terrible...

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Popo

Popo

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57 minutes ago, Doctor Shark said:

I haven't played this game. It might be terrible for all I know, but goddamn is it gorgeous. Just something about the art style which I totally dig. Reminds me of the equally gorgeous Wonderboy, that kind of comicbookish illustrated style. 


I’ll let you in on a secret - it’s dead good. :D

 

Played online with my bestie earlier, a bit stuttery but completely enjoyable, much better than playing alone. 

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Wiper

Wiper

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5 minutes ago, Benny said:

 

I mean it's not as if there is any evidence that currently points to it being very much the opposite of terrible...

 

I mean, I'm definitely having a terrible time :angry:

 

By which I mean that I foolishly agreed to take part in a flash fiction challenge (write one piece of short fiction a day, for a month), which combined with work, exercise and online social commitments has meant I've not been able to spend as much time as I'd like on Streets of Rage 4. Nor even start playing the Sakura Wars remake. Stupid Sega follow-ups/translations all coming out at exactly the wrong moment!

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Skull Commander

Skull Commander

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1 hour ago, CarloOos said:

I do have one minor niggle, the character design of the Y twins. Everything else is so heavily rooted in 90s action archetypes but when you get to the final two they're full on anime and don't really fit aesthetically. Felt similar about the DJ boss, he was more Scott Pilgrim than Streets of Rage.

 

I really enjoyed flicking through the artwork in the extras menu and seeing the evolution of most characters, but they only had the final designs for those two which is a shame.

I don't mind the twins but I get your point. The dj boss does totally stand out though and looks a bit shit compared to a lot of the other characters. 

 

Also at the risk of sounding like a broken record the retro soundtrack is a huge missed opportunity. So much 8 bit dross in there at the expense of the good stuff. Played through the whole game with it on and was surprised how much 8 bit tracks were included. 

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BadgerFarmer

BadgerFarmer

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Level 7 on Hardest gave me some trouble. About 5 attempts to get through. Mainly because of the added bastardry on the boss.

Spoiler

2 Commissioners!

 

In the end, it was a case of doing well enough in the rest of the level to make sure there's enough left in the tank for the boss. A few decent combos got me an extra life as well, which took the pressure off. Good fun overall though - at least it's a short level.

 

I did a vid:

 

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Captain Kelsten

Captain Kelsten

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10 minutes ago, Benny said:

 

I mean it's not as if there is any evidence that currently points to it being very much the opposite of terrible...

 

I haven't looked at scores or impressions at all. I literally just saw some screenshots and thought it was really nice looking. 

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Pob

Pob

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This game is amazing. I finished story mode on Hard last night and I think the difficulty was very well pitched. Compared to beat 'em ups of old, it felt very fair and balanced. It's like a sequel that should've come out in the late 90s, but has 2020-quality game design refinements and balancing.

 

Only Stage 9 gave me any bother - that took a fair few attempts. Every other boss fight felt tough but fair. There were no 30p stealers like Sodom in Final Fight. I thought the final boss might be a nightmare but I just manage to squeak it on my second attempt with a very lucky last second extra life - it went right down to the wire, though, just like a bunch of other boss encounters. I love the way if you time it right most bosses are susceptible to a full combo/grapple, just like regular dudes. You just need to learn when to go for it.

 

Crucially, it doesn't have any of the distracting cruft of modern games. I played some Double Dragon Neon at the weekend after Streets 4 gave me the taste. It has the basic punching and grappling down, but it also has dodges, a dodge meter, stances and a 'shop' (ie flow-destroying menu system) where you upgrade your specials. I'm so pleased Streets 4 doesn't have any of those distractions - it just does the basics extremely well with a few new tweaks to add extra layers of strategy.

 

It's extremely satisfying getting into the flow of working your enemies around the screen, going for big combos when there's space and busting out the right moves in the right situation. Maybe I just didn't have the game design vocabulary to register it back in the day, but it feels like a very tactical game compared to brawlers of old - not button-mashy at all. I had a quick go of SOR2 at the weekend as well, and SOR4 is much smoother and more responsive.

 

This has been a real surprise. Scrolling beat 'em ups were my favourite genre until Street Fighter 2 stole my heart. I always wanted more games in this exact style - 2D, but allowing up-and-down movement, with the focus on pummelling crowds instead of remembering complex button inputs. They died a death after the 16-bit era, with Die Hard Arcade being the only subsequent one I can remember. Proper 3D brawlers like The Warriors and Ninja Gaiden are all well and good, but they're not the same. This has reminded me how much I love the classic 2D setup.

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Down by Law

Down by Law

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It's really terrific, I can't stop playing it. Just a couple of small niggles that can hopefully be patched in to make it one of the GOATs:

 

Enemy scream to be louder in the mix - I really miss that distinct 'YAAAA' when an enemy is KO'd.

Jukebox options. Customize each stage music - some tracks like 'Maximum' you barely hear past the first minute in game. 'A Ki Ra' , the amazing music from stage 11, is over before it really gets started. Would have suited the final stage much better with how it escalates. Also with the retro mix. Put the 16-bit SoR1 songs in there.

For the love of all that is holy, give Axel some kind of defense or mobility option. Going from Axel to Blaze is like not having one arm tied behind your back. Give him the SOR3 vertical roll!

 

 

 

 

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Pob

Pob

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Since I discovered the ability to vault off someone's shoulders I feel like the mobility issue has been answered. You can't just roll out of dodge if you get overwhelmed, you have to grab someone and crowdsurf out of there.

 

One thing they do need to fix as how hard it is to pick up consumables when you're holding an item using Legacy controls. For some reason you need to be perfectly aligned on the y-axis. It's much more forgiving if you're empty-handed. I did find myself coming a cropper of the Legacy controls on the last stage when there are weapons lying all over the floor and I found myself picking them up rather than attacking. They become frustrating obstacles when there are littered everywhere.

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Down by Law

Down by Law

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It's more for defense against AoE attacks than anything else. Take the skull robots for example, when they jump up, cherry can rush, adam can dash, blaze can do a air defensive to clear half the screen and even floyd can do his big boi bounce to shift quickly while all Axel can do is slowly stroll about. Fighting two of them in the sewer is so difficult because you have to try and avoid one's AoE's attack while the other is TK'ing weapons at you. The lack of mobility for Axel is obvious

 

Did you find with Legacy control sometimes you press jump and attack to throw weapons but you also jump at the same time? That needs sorting out too

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Pob

Pob

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36 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

Did you find with Legacy control sometimes you press jump and attack to throw weapons but you also jump at the same time? That needs sorting out too

 

No actually, I saw you mention that before and I never had that issue. Just the accidental weapon picking up (a limitation of the control scheme) and picking up items when wielding a weapon (a bug).

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Benny

Benny

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4 hours ago, Pob said:

One thing they do need to fix as how hard it is to pick up consumables when you're holding an item using Legacy controls. For some reason you need to be perfectly aligned on the y-axis. It's much more forgiving if you're empty-handed. I did find myself coming a cropper of the Legacy controls on the last stage when there are weapons lying all over the floor and I found myself picking them up rather than attacking. They become frustrating obstacles when there are littered everywhere.

 

I think if you stand neutral before pressing attack you pick them up more easily every time. However if enemies are in front of you it will prioritise attacking over pickups.

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