Streets of Rage 2

Streets of Rage 2. For some reason, I can never get tired of this game. It seems like I should. At a glance it is merely another formulaic cookie; cut from the same mould established by golden-age greats such as Double Dragon and Golden Axe.

It’s embarrassing, too! My favourite game—Shadow of the Colossus—is a sensitive, meaningful masterpiece. However Streets of Rage 2—a game which revolves around punching badly-dressed hooligans in the face—would almost definitely sit somewhere in my top ten beside it, cheesy neon-accented brashness and all. But before this all starts to smell like another nostalgia-infused harkening back to the good ol’ days: sleepovers with friends, Coca-Cola cans piled high, chips ‘n’ dip and Genesis games, I think it bears mentioning that I am not alone in this. SoR2 is regarded as one of, if not the best beat-em-up game ever made. Almost twenty years after release, sit anyone down in front of the game and in five minutes they are having fun. That’s clever.

Like many other classics, SoR2’s most notable achievement was striking the right balance with all of its elements, but it didn’t hurt that the game was, and still is incredibly beautiful. Well, maybe “beautiful” isn’t… quite the right word. Kitsch, maybe. Vomit-inducing overindulgent 90s palettes outfit the outlandish ensemble of enemies. Denim-clad knife-wielders, wrestlers, kung-fu experts, ninjas, and bikers round out the more sensible side of the spectrum, while robots, S&M mistresses, jetpack-soldiers and overweight fire-breathing baseball players add a helping of the bizarre. While the cast is tight enough for you to become familiar with each enemy’s attacks, the variety—both in terms of appearance and challenge—is pleasantly diverse, even when compared to modern titles such as Castle Crashers. The heroes you play are similarly gaudy. Max, a gigantic wrestler, Skate, a teen who gets around on rollerblades, Blaze, a thoroughly underdressed martial arts expert and Axel, the American hero (completed with white T-shirt and jeans). Colourfulness is continued into the locations you are taken to as you progress through the game. SoR2 could have been another field trip to the wrong side of the tracks, but instead there are wrestling stadiums underneath baseball fields, secret jungle island bases and amusements parks. Yeah! Implausibility, that’s more like it! Even the more predictably styled early levels have charm. Low-key jazz plays in the first stage’s dive bar, the level boss Barbon calmly polishing a glass. Later, you challenge him to a fight out the back amongst the rubbish bags and trash bins, the rain pounding down. Brilliant.

Each character has marked strengths and weaknesses, and provide very different gameplay experiences. Although there is an impressively varied moveset at your disposal including holds, throws and team-up attacks, the game is very button mash friendly and can be enjoyed thoroughly without the more advanced techniques. Besides, it’s really more in keeping with what SoR2 is all about. Fighting feels brutish and solid. Loud cracks account the strength of each blow and screen shakes punctuate heavy impacts. Combos are delivered slowly and deliberately. It’s brash and grungy. Whenever I go back and play Final Fight I can’t help but think they were truly missing that feeling; the barbaric, severe dirtiness of street fighting.

Which neatly brings me to the soundtrack. Yuzo Koshiro is considered a decorated veteran of video-game soundtracks but in my opinion SoR2 was his best. The persistent squealing and chirping of old video game music can be pretty rough on the ol’ ears, especially since chiptech music has itself evolved into a sophisticated genre of its own and our standards have changed. SoR2’s tracks play the strengths of Genesis hardware masterfully. The techno-pop vibe has a dirty edge to it with plenty of distorted samples and thumping beats, and really helps keep the game moving at a wild clip.

The game as a whole has aged remarkably well. Although graphics and sound have improved significantly since its release, it thrives within the restrictions and stands as one of the most solidly presented games of its time. Beautiful pixel art, responsive controls, huge groups of characters on-screen, two player co-operative play, excellent music. It had everything. Castle Crashers, one of XBox Live Arcade’s best selling releases proves that people still enjoy this genre, and don’t require the expansion of scope that arguably killed off simpler games like this (well, until the cheaper price point of downloadable games came back). Even now it remains extremely popular, with downloadable releases on all three current-gen consoles.

The right words to describe why SoR2 is so good have for years eluded me. I think now it is finally clear; and that I was before delving too deeply. The “secret sauce” didn’t ever exist. SoR2 is the distilled, chimeral evolutionary finale of the genre. That’s not to say that it is some mad scientist’s amoral beast, haphazardly sewn together from the limbs of the best stock. No this was no fluke. SoR2 wasn’t created with hyped zeal, nor was it just rolled off the production line. It was created with a consummate, focused understanding of the beat-em-up genre; add more features and it becomes too complicated, take features away and the taste is bland. SoR2 is just right.

[10/10]