Streets of Rage 3

The Good
In the same way SoR 2 improved on pretty much every aspect of the first, this one also improved on a fair number of areas. The minimal plot of the previous games, only told at the starting sequence now develops between the game with some cutscenes, and now there are a few different endings depending on well you do some key parts. Gameplay was also tweaked a bit: it's now possible to run with any character, as well as perform a defensive roll left and right (or more accurately, up and down). Weapons now can be used a certain number of times before breaking, instead of magically vanishing every third time it is dropped, and Axel's Rising Upper was toned down... until the player reaches two or more stars. Then, it becomes more powerful (and spectacular) than before, but gaining such ranking requires a lot of beating to be done, and each death means a setback. Level-design wise, death pits and traps re-appeared, making levels a lot more varied and opens strategies missing from the second. The developers weren't shy on that, and most levels include a part with them.

The ability to play as Shiva is interesting, although he's far too strong to be taken seriously.

The Bad
I really don't know what went through through the heads of Sega of America executives with this game. Making a few changes to close a bit on cultural differences (such as the removal of the character Ash - with all the noise about video game violence, the last thing they needed was accusations of gay bashing) is acceptable; butcher the story left and right because they could, change the character colours for no reason whatsoever and make the game impossibly hard are the reasons why the game is so lowly regarded among fans of the series. And not only is impossibly hard, but the ending is crippled for those who don't select anything but the hardest difficulty settings. Yeah, there's no doubt SoA knew how to screw up a game completely.

Surprisingly, the music isn't even half as good as the previous efforts. I've read somewhere the music was rendered rather than composed, which explains how Ventolin-ish it occasionally sounds like.

The Bottom Line
On an interesting note, the same SoA refused to give a green light on a SoR4 project for the Dreamcast. So not only they spoiled the last game, but also effectively killed the series. Nice.

Anyway, the game strikes me as a bit of a paradox. While its improvements come in the line of the previous games, making the game effectively better, the butchering of the game at the hands of SoA spoiled most of the game with idiotic changes and an incoherent plot. My advice is to play the original Japanese game with a translation of the plot at hand.

The Good
The fabulously-detailed graphics, the new villains, the two different final levels, the secret characters like Shiva and Roo, the characters' new moves (some of which involves two-player co-operation), the new ideas such as the train level, and having to fight your way through concrete walls whilst keeping a bulldozer at bay. Also, Level 6 features you having to find and destroy computers in order to unlock previously unreachable areas of the enemy HQ.

The Bad
The over-reliance on enemies from Streets of Rage 2, the often watered-down action, and the fact the whole thing soon becomes repetitive. It's not helped by uninspiring, tuneless pieces of music. There are some good end-of-level boss tunes, and a few others, but mostly you'll be turning the sound down. And quite often there seem to be no sound effects to relieve the monotony. Removing Ash from the Western version was a bad idea.

The Bottom Line
Fight your way through seven levels of horizontally scrolling 2D/3D beat-em-up action and save the city from Mr X and his army of thugs and robots. Not as good as Streets of Rage 2, but still recommended to those who are fans of these kinds of games.

The Good
Everything about the core action, this game gets generally right. Punching a goon feels good, knocking down enemies feels good, the movement feels good, and just about every aspect of the game feels solid. You can tell the pedigree that this game came from has paid off in terms of control schemes, pacing, and handling of the game itself.

The designs are also visually more interesting, at least to me. The previous game felt like it was a tribute to the greatest 80s action movie ever. This one, however, dials it back and takes on a more somber tone in terms of its palette, which is actually quite fitting given the darker theme and narrative.

The Bad
On the flip side, while the action feels better, the game design feels less thought through compared to it's predecessors.

While the first game was a pioneer in it's overall design, it really was the second game that brought it all together and managed to make sure there was literally no extraneous parts to the game design. The second game felt like the designers really took the time to think through every mechanic, every piece of content, and every extra piece of option they delivered to the players.

Streets of Rage 3, on the other hand, felt like someone built the entire game, and then after the game was completed, decided to add more stuff onto it just because. No where is this more apparent than with the star system. If you ask me, the star system felt completely extraneous to the experience, as anyone who could really benefit from the star moves the most would have the hardest time holding onto it anyways, and anyone who could hold onto their stars probably didn't need the star moves anyway. There are a couple of instances where the lower level star moves are strictly speaking, more useful than the upgraded versions. All of it just made it feel like the star moves were actually not part of the original game design. (In fact, I challenge anyone to play the game as is without using their star moves. You will probably find it to be a far tighter experience)

This goes double for the a lot of the secret stuff. i.e. were Shiva, Ash and Roo REALLY necessary for the game? Shiva was particularly egregious as he has a single move in his arsenal that can basically allow you to lockstun any enemy to death. A lot of these little things crop up with these extra characters and extra content that it honestly felt like someone at Sega saw the finished product and said, "we need Shiva to be playable, and kids like Street Fighter 2, right? So let's put some of THAT stuff in there" and there it was.

Keep in mind, this is not to say the game is BAD by any stretch. It just feels SLIGHTLY on the bloated side of things.

The Bottom Line
In the 90s, a lot of games went through a strange of cycle of innovation > refinement > bloat between sequels. Golden Axe went through it, street fighter went through it, JRPGs went through, and Streets of Rage was not immune.

To be fair though, it made it out far better than other franchises as it still produced a HIGHLY competent side scrolling beat 'em up. Might not the genre re-defining classic that was Streets of Rage 2, but still an immensely well executed brawler set in that magical time that is the 90s where it feels like gang violence had to be colorful, ridiculous, and full of metal punks.

The Good
Streets of Rage 3, is an excellent sequel to an outstanding series. In SOR3, the insidious Mr. X is back. This time out he seeks to destroy the city, that he once ruled. Axel, Blaze, and Skate are back with new comer Dr. Zan, to stop Mr. X once and for all. There are also three hidden playable characters. The graphics in this game are unbelievable. As close to arcade quality as the Genesis ever got. With all new "Blitz" moves, so you can bring your rage to the streets. As well as all-new enemies, and weapons. SOR3 also packs multiple endings adding to it's replay value. If this was to be the final installment in the series it would be a fine end indeed.

The Bad
SOR3's difficulty is unlike anything seen in the previous titles. For some reason when Sega of America, localized this game they upped the difficulty very-hard, became hard,hard to normal, etc. Adam is not playable, while not that big of a deal, I would have liked to seen him as a playable character.(As well as most other SOR fans.)

The Bottom Line
Imagine Final Fight or Double Dragon, with better story, graphics, gameplay, and in a nut shell you will have the Streets of Rage series.

The Good
Have you ever sat down and thought.. OK I feel like achieving the near impossible? Yes?! Then try and find a copy of this game and completing it all in the same day!! This game is very hard to find, especially in the U.K! You can find it on the net for about $40+! I have seen it retail for £83!!!! And thats alot for a game! If you aren't wanting to achieve the impossible and are almost maybe getting a copy of your own.. then you have to think to yourself 'do I REALLY want this game?' If you are a Streets of Rage fan the OF COURSE YOU WANT IT!!! It was 8 years before I could play this game after hearing about it. Streets of Rage 2 is an ultimate classic (definitely on the Mega-drive/Genesis top ten!) and I wanted more of the same - THE ULTIMATE SCROLLING BEAT 'EM UP!

Pressing the start button on the title screen gives me the same options and player set up as usual for the series, except one thing... THE most important thing.. THE MUSIC HAD CHANGED!!!!!!!!! What did they do?! I thought ' its ok, maybe the in-game music is like the other games'' I was wrong.. but not disappointed at all! The music (which is one of the main driving points of the series) is a combination Arcade style sounds mixed with Techno,Electro and Eclectic dance. Which basically means that it mixes you along with the rest of the game nicely!

The Bad
Um.. What happened to this being one of the last great games on the Genesis? The game which could define Sega's console for what it achieved?! Well, this game isn't anything special, no big differences. No Adam! You get to play as a kangaroo and not the guy from the very first game?! That wasn't a good idea really (I mean, COME ON! IT'S THE LAST STREETS OF RAGE!!) Well, they DID make the game really hard! OK, maybe thats not such a good thing.. People moaned about the second game being too easy, and now, too hard doesn't work!! What could they of done? I would of liked to see some classic bosses here, a long fight towards the end where you face every boss in the game one by one (like in the first and second game) Some more music would of been great! Adam back in it! A more imaginative fighting system (maybe chose whether to hit with feet first or hands first..)

The Bottom Line
ITS STREETS OF RAGE 3!!! If you loved the second game, then this is a fresh new look on the series, just don' expect much else to be different (Axel's jeans are black now..) All what is different is the kangaroo, Dr Zan robot man, the music, Axel's jeans have gone black and his face is weird, no Max from the second game, no 3-4 player option.. Delete all those, and you got one cracking fighting game! If you haven't played ANY of the series, then you're going to like this ALOT! Even though it's a bit hard.

I think all Streets of Rage fans should write to Sega and beg for another (with classic gameplay and no silly plot or C.G cut-scenes!!) And also, unlock-able Streets of Rage 1, 2+3 for those who can't get a copy! Write to them! If they make it, then the cause was just. :)

The Good
Streets of Rage 3 features improved graphics, animation, music and sound effects along with new fighting moves and a few storyline plot twists. On the surface it would seem as if Sega simply took what was great about Streets of Rage 2 and made it better.

The Bad
During the video game wars between Nintendo and Sega, the later sought to portray itself as being cooler and less stuffier then the Big N. This was done in its ad campaigns as well in its products.

Sega gave approval for Galoob to produce a Game Genie for the Genesis and Game Gear. Sega allowed games made for their systems to contain graphic violence, blood, gore and even some scantily clad females. Yet, Sega's own Streets of Rage 3 was heavily censored for release outside of the Asian market; drastically changing the original storyline (harsh language and nuclear weapons) as well as some enemies characters who were gay or transsexual. Why these changes were made is not all together clear. Their was intense political scrutiny placed upon the video game industry in the early 1990's and, maybe, Sega decided to retool the game so as to avoid controversy. Yet, it does create some obvious plot holes, a less dramatic storyline and undermines the notion that (as the ads said) Sega does what Nintendo doesn't.

The Bottom Line
Streets of Rage 3 is an action packed, beat em' up that builds upon the successful elements of the first two games. Fans of the genre, should enjoy the ride. However, the decision by Sega to drastically alter the original plot and censor certain elements from the game was a bad decision, which has never been fixed.