Streets of Rage: Why the Hype? - Segadrunk 

And now because of the long lasting hype, Streets of Rage 4 is born!!!!! ✊🏻💥

And just days after this video they announce a sequel. Confess, you are the evil masters behind Sega. The SNES DRUNK name was a big clue.

There is no Beat 'em up game without an elevator stage

I love how the music changes for the bosses in the first streets of rage, also the noise the car makes as its skids in before firing the bazooka! :D

Yuzo Koshiro did the music for all 3 Streets of Rage games, which was inspired by club music that was popular at the time, and was one of his more famous works. I hope Yuzo returns to make new music for Streets of Rage 4.

Totally underselling Remake here. That game is the best part of the franchise, and perhaps the greatest fan endeavor of all time.

The reason why the difficulty is so unreasonable in some of these USA-localised Mega Drive games is because Sega of America were convinced that the rental market would cannibalise cartridge sales if the games were easily beatable. They ramped up how hard their games were and pressurised important 2nd and 3rd party developers into doing the same. (Dynamite Headdy and Contra Hard Corps being other notable examples)

The soundtrack of SOR3 left me mostly bemused and cold when I was a kid. Nowadays I think it's the greatest most impressive collection of sounds ever generated by a 16-bit console

I think it's worth mentioning the 3DS ports of Streets of Rage 1&2 by M2. In addition to adding (surprisingly well implemented) stereoscopic 3D, they're loaded with extra game modes and easter eggs. They also contain both the US and Japanese versions, and they support local multiplayer. It's a shame they never got around to 3.

It really is the best beat em up series ever. The hardest thing for a beat em up to do is stay fun with multiple playthroughs and I never get bored of these games...even 3

I’ve been doing some serious snes-drinking lately and catching up on “the early years”. I know I’ve said this before but I find your videos well thought out and well written. The mixing and voiceovers are just as good too. Basically you chose really interesting topics and make a lot of these games come alive. Ive found some fingers that I never knew existed back in the day. Thanks for continuously putting out such solid work.

it's not hype it's the truth I still play Streets of Rage 2 quite often

Streets of Rage 3 I see as kind of a Japan Mario 2. Its like: "you mastered the last game, here' the next challenge". I actually beat 3 and yeah it was hard, but I kept trying and eventually got the good ending. Plus the little additions like hidden characters, using power moves w/o taking damage and the star system rewarding you for doing well actually were pretty good ideas.

Every Time I play streets 2 it brings back so many childhood memorys. I was the only one in my group of friends to have a Genesis so my bedroom was always ground zero for amazing streets of rage action. The memorys of me and buddy's playing for hours on end and munching on Doritos and slamming coca cola will be memorys I will never forget.

Drop everything, SNESdrunk uploaded!!!

I don't think you can call it "hype" 20 years later. At that point it's probably cemented as a "classic".

Streets of Rage 2 I feel they really out did themselves at Sega. And remake was really cool as well.

For anyone who hasn't yet played SoR Remake, play SoR Remake. It's absolutely incredible.

So nostalgic, LOVE Yuzo Koshiros music too. Adds so much to the experience, I think deserves a proper shout out in your video.

The absolute best part of my Childhood.I still use the Streets of Rage 2 music for my ringtones... Thanks so much for making this!

I still don't understand why SEGA didn't bought Streets of Rage Remake and published it by himself instead of shutting down the whole project at the moment of the final release, it was an act of love for the series and a great work effort which deserved a better fate.

1:25 *Hits a backflip off elevator* PIECE OUT!

I don't own very many video games, but of the handful I do own Streets of Rage 2 is one of them. Hell, I just love looking at the box art. Everything about that game was so well made.

Sega REALLY needs to bring this series back.

Ever since seeing how much you love the genre, this video is the only thing that I have wanted to see you do. Good stuff!

I had a japanese version Bare Knuckles III when I was a kid. It is my all time favorite beat em up till this day. The fast paced action and stars special moves really make it special. Played it every day after school along with Mortal Kombat 3 and Rock n Roll Racing

Watching this after having played the crap out of Streets of Rage 4. Probably the best game in the series now.

Great video! Always enjoy a new snes drunk to start the day!

Because Streets of Rage is a freaking awesome beat-em-up, that's why. And Streets of Rage 2, not Sonic, was the very first game I ever owned and played on my Genesis back in the day. I LOVE the "In the Bar" theme in Stage 1, as Yuzo Koshiro really nailed it with the music.

Awesome video! There were a few things not mentioned in the video that obviously most would hardly even know about this series like the team attack, being able to land from being thrown and even (recently discovered) being able to break some grabs if your fast enough. There was also a japan only remake of SoR1 ported to mobile phones that oddly enough added some more features the series never had like cancelling your combos into throws and alternative combos for example.

Really digging your vids and synopsis. And I hope you have a great rest of your day as well, thank you!

Did....did you know that Streets of Rage 4 was coming? This video is incredibly timely!

Awesome video man! Great work.

Streets of Rage is hands down my favorite beat em up series. And the remake is the best SOR remake is the best experience. The amount of replayability is insane, with tons of content, gameplay tweaks and unlockables. For any beat em up fan, I HIGHLY recommend seeking it out. It's one of the great fan projects ever made, along with AM2R and Kaiser's EX games.

I don't think many RU-vidrs could take a well known, much loved game like this and make an original, fun, entertaining video. Kudos to you for doing so. I learned a lot from it too: I had no idea about holding jump + up to negate a throw, or what the heck a star by your energy bar meant. I guess that's a problem with cart only collecting... no manuals!

Streets of Rage Remake is great too😏

I’m liking the Sega entries! Review the Thunder Force series!

This popped up on my recommendations and crazy that you uploaded just a few days before the SOR4 announcement.

A perfect introduction to the series in about 10 minutes. Great job! I know where to point people now.

Game rentals were ilegal in Japan. Sega of America reacted to the legality of rentals by making their games harder, in the hopes customers wouldn’t be able to beat it over one retal period. Dynamite Heady is another example of this idiocy .

Who's watching this after the SOR4 announcement? Cant wait!

SOR2 was and still is a perfect beat'em up that puts other beat'em ups to shame. SOR4 is a great homage to the series.

Because now it's confirmed dotemu is working in the fourth installment of the series and we must be prepared to taste and analyze that!

Anyone ever use to chill on a Saturday morning and just let the SOR2 sound test play all the BGM tracks like background music for life? Anyone?..........anyone?..............shit.......

I've been playing since the og Genesis days, I honestly love these games, and I'm really looking forward to playing Streets of Rage 4 soon, these games r amazing! 💯😃 Just subbed btw, great video! 🙌😃

Hey, I play Beat Em' Ups for the story! With Streets of Rage 1-it's always amazing how that clear screen attack never hurts you! I've never played Streets of Rage 3 though-so it would be interesting to see how challenging the game is (I wonder how challenging it is spamming jump kicks attacks-as opposed to not spamming jump kick attacks) Thanks for doing a great review on the Streets of Rage series for Sega Genesis!! As well as bringing up some other games there after!

Excellent timing, Streets of Rage 4 was just announced!

BKIII doesn't just tone down the overall difficulty, but it also reduces the overall amount of damage that enemies deal by a SUBSTANTIAL amount. In Streets of Rage 3 on higher difficulties, like Hard, you get BODIED if you aren't careful. Just a few hits from some Zacks and some sudden slides from a Scarab or two and you're DOS (Dead On The Spot). Meanwhile, take that same situation into BKIII and you'll probably get away with about 10-15% of your health taken away. Just a massive difference. I truly believe that BKIII is the true version of SOR3 and that someone made the game way harder for American audiences because they probably wanted to be "challenged" in many ways.

I'm glad you think so highly of the Streets of Rage games. The second one is still the best overall, but the other games are definitely no slouches. I got my hands on Bare Knuckle 3 for all the reasons you mentioned. I can't stand the amount of changes Sega made in localisation. Axl's grand upper sound bite was also changed to bare knuckle in the Western release even though that just makes no sense at all.

Still my favorite beat em up series! Nice transition to other platforms as well! Video games are awesome and the Streets of rage series is legendary! The music for Streets of rage 2 is chock full of classics! Great video Drunk!

I know the Final Fantasy composer gets the most hype but Yuzo Koshiro is easily the best composer of the 16bit era. He's soundtracks are albums that completely stand on there own. I've played songs from the Streets of Rage 2 soundtracks during my regular DJ sets and people loved them. Props to Mr Koshiro.

I remember how amazing was playing this game on my cousin's video game, since I didn't have a Mega Drive. Excellent review! Hugs from Brazil. 😂

Streets of Rage 3 has my favourite soundtrack out of any Mega Drive game. Absolutely mind blowing shit.

The fact that you played the "moon beach theme” at the end earned my sub......#greatestbackgroundmusicever

I'm glad you mentioned the music, it's just brilliant. The game feel is unparalleled in SoR 2 especially

Thank you very much sir! Bc of this video, I discovered SOR Remake. Happy to be a Buy Me a Coffee supporter 😀

So much nostalgia for this series!!! I remember having friends stay over during summer break renting streets of rage 1&2 and staying up all night. The streets need cleaning they are full of rage!!!👊🎮👍

3:50 One of the best things about street of rage to is the music: Mixing the heart and soul from Chicago house with the dystopian cyberpunk-esque sound from Detroit techno really suits the concept of Street of rage. Fighting delinquency in the 90s has never been more fun.

First time hearing the segadrunk intro. Loved it.

And a few days after this video was released, Streets of Rage 4 is announced. What fortunate news yet unfortunate timing lol

How timely. They just announced Streets of Rage 4 :D

Great job on this coming from a huge fan of this when I was a kid. But psssst they are making streets of rage 4 now!

Not too long ago I decided to throw in Streets of Rage and play with my younger brother who never had. We started with 2 and moved on to 3. Having a 20+ years fresh look at it: Streets of Rage 3's moveset is great, but the difficulty is goddamn brutal.

This video should explode soon because unless SNESDrunk knew something we didn't, Streets of Rage 4 was just announced!!!! HYPEEE!!!

I assume the difficulty of the third game was changed as a concession to the rental market. It actually wasn't uncommon for games back then to have their difficulty increased when they were localised.

GREAT review, as always.

Snes drunk nailed it with 2 words Balance and Atmosphere! 2 of the most important traits in great beat em ups. Others being gameplay, and overall variety in moves, enemies, backgrounds etc. Why is Turtles in Time a better experience then Hyperstone Heist? Sure as hell isn't because of gameplay or music. TiT destroys HH in terms of atmosphere and variety. Why is Maximum Carnage better then Speration Anxiety despite being 1-player only. Atmosphere and variety. Balance not so much haha.

And 4 days later they announced Streets of Rage 4...

Great episode!

SOR 1 has One of the greatest soundtracks ever. Holy fuck. I listened to this every day for a few months last year. Thanks for the reminder.

Great analysis, the stage progression in the first game was the best

Yeah I personally think SOR3 is the best for Sega Genesis because it's faster paced, more challenging, and all-in-all has the best functionality. I loved 2 as well but it felt way too easy compared to 3. Course, SoRR v5 is better than these games and might be the best fan remake ever.

Some things to bring up: With regards to the atmosphere of SoR 2: The first stage boss battle is just plain epic. The music is gone for a moment and all you hear the falling rain as it slowly climbs in. You're in this dingy alley behind a bar and it just feels gritty. The boss tears off his shirt as he joins the fray. There's even this claustrophobic fight inside a moving truck with around ten on-screen opponents and this high adrenaline music. With regards to the difficulty of SoR 3: They really did a number with one boss fight. I think he is called Jet. The bosses have "lives" meaning that you have to deplete their life bar a number of times. Usually it's around three or four at most. Jet has a whopping seven lives and he continually brings in more jet pack goons with his same move set. In the Japanese release he had three lives. The only way to have a fighting chance is to knock out two of the three goons and try to avoid the other since he tends to call them in when they're all beaten. There is a slight "hack" when you go in single player. Once you reach the last life of your last continue pull out the controller and plug it into the second port. Hit start and you can join in with a full stock of continues. Only way I managed to reach the brutal final stage.

The Beats of Rage fan-made game engine might be worth mentioning too. Lots of good and/or crazy stuff to come out of that one.

Me and my younger brother played all these together. Definitely miss those local co-op days though some switch games are sort of bringing it back a little.

It's very nice to have well-produced minidocs of games.

And you even mentioned SORR, perfect !

The music of the first one was legend... still listening to each and every day on Spotify

Its the greatest series that has been completely abandoned by its maker. Love and have all 3 and have all 3 soundtracks from Data Disc.

Thanks for mentioning Fighting Force. It's actually my 2nd favorite SoR game. I was thinking to myself that nobody ever seems to mention that it's the unofficial SoR4 as I was watching your video. And then lo and behold.

1 and 2 are some of the best video games I played with my friends during the 90s. Aww.. and I almost forgot how amazing and catchy the soundtrack is!

Streets of rage 2. One of the rare examples of a game that still rules it's genre. I haven't played a better beat em up till this day. There was no competion back then. Streets of rage destroyed everything that Nintendo could conjure, from Final Fight to Turtles in time. No game came even close to rival Streets of rage.

One way that part 2 is worse than part 1 is that it lacks team moves. In the first game, you can throw your partner towards the enemies and your partner can perform a very powerful flying attack. Or you can leap over your partner to perform a powerful flying attack in the other direction. That was brought back for part 3.

I had this game for my Genesis, it was NOT a mega hit initially. Most people DID NOT have a Sega Genesis UNTIL the model 2 was dropped to $99. I'm NOT shocked it became so popular. Streets of Rage 2 was the best because they made it more like final fight.

Nice BGM ! Nice gameplay !

Since it's been out for a couple years now, I'm surprised you didn't do a SOR4 video!

I prefer the soundtrack to SOR1 than the sequel. The second game has two outstanding tracks but it feels like the first game has more. I can’t tell you the impact putting the first game on for the first time and hearing the music alongside the intro had. I was in awe.

Those soundtracks take me back

Souvenirs souvenirs. J'adorais ce jeu...et la musique 👍🏻👍🏻

In Bare Knuckle 3 you can play with the drag queen Ash, which is a boss that was cut from the american version.

I remeber playing this game back in high school while listening to tool's AEnima album. It synced up like Pink Floyd and The wizard of Oz

The ninja who commits suicide at 1.25! He must have felt bad for killing Adam. 🤣🤣

For what a late 90's Streets of Rage 3D game might have looked like, just out Spikeout or Spikeout: Final Edition for the Sega Model 3 arcade board. Produced by Sega but, to my knowledge, completely unrelated to any Streets of Rage effort, it's a surprisingly deep and lengthy 3D beat 'em up with a lot of varied stages. Definitely worth a play through!

SNES Drunk mentioned Sonic Blast Man? I am surprised :0 This guy knows was up and Fighting Force? I have that game. I am glad I found your channel

Streets of Rage 4 is here!

Great video man! Really enjoyed. Streets of Rage 2 is one of my favorite beat 'em ups!

My introduction to 1 was on Sega CD and then 2 on Dreamcast and 3 on PS2. It felt weird being introduced to the series this way rather than on Genesis itself. I never knew that Dreamcast’s sound is warped and still find that version nostalgic.

Great video! :D

I missed this series when the genesis was out, and tried it on a strangers ds. Definitely one of the best genesis games/series I missed out on. Clearly I played too much sonic

And yesterday there was an official trailer/announcement for a Streets of Rage 4!!