Streets of Rage II (Sega Genesis) Review

 (Originally posted on July, 2017)

(1992, Sega Genesis)

(Note: The PC/Steam version was played for this review.)

Even with its increasingly appealing library, I was always turned off by the original Game Boy’s blurry, greenish display; opting instead for the high tech, much cooler Game Gear. With no Mario or Ninja Turtles available, the next best thing looked to be a portable rendition of the hot new Streets of Rage II, which quickly became my favorite game on the system. Between the disappointing arcade ports, shallow licensed software and not so smooth Sonic games chosen for Sega’s battery draining glove box, I constantly returned to the satisfying action and simplified (but still so catchy!) jams found in the very competent port of the Genesis’ most famous beat-em-up. For the longest time, I figured that having played so much portable SOR2, I must not be missing a lot from the original version. Boy, was I wrong! As much as I loved pulverizing Mad Gear rejects on the Game Gear, the console version is all the more glorious, putting up a tough fight against even the best brawlers found in the arcades.

The game begins with another dreamy and somber intro which rather shamelessly reboots the opening of the first game; just slightly altering the general plot, ominous cityscape and even the Enigma inspired music. But from the very moment you get to punching, SOR2 immediately distinguishes itself from the amazingly scored but otherwise underwhelming original. Diagonal scrolling segments are quickly introduced, adding a much needed divergence to the genre’s usual never ending eastward path. The neon glows brighter and the sea displays a greater majesty as even more enemies march to their demise, freshly colored with a pleasant brightness rarely seen in your typical Genesis game. Even with its faster overall pace and numerous improvements, not the least of which is a better flowing and slightly deeper battle system, the narrow scope of gameplay quickly turns repetitive, as traditional beat-em-ups tend to do. Without a small crowd of fellow arcade goers to draw over as you make it further into the game, the jamming music and rapidly transitioning set pieces are what serve to keep things exciting while playing at home…

What Streets of Rage II gets right, after the legendary soundtrack, of course, is in having some of the most refreshing pacing of any beat-em-up. Across each of the 8 levels, you’ll find yourself on a different screen every few minutes or so. You may start at the entrance of a theme park where a pirate ship attraction awaits in the distance, board the deck, descend into the cabin interior, then exit to a different area, all within the span of about 8 minutes. Other stages include the series’ typical gritty and dangerous neon lit streets, a mysteriously hi-tech baseball stadium, a biker swarmed bridge that overlooks a meticulously drawn, curiously energetic city and an absurd H.R. Giger inspired alien funhouse. Upon making it to the customary syndicate tower found at the end of almost every game of this type, you may find Mr. X to be one of the most generic final bosses in gaming, but you’ll still get a kick at how he sadistically rains bullets on not just your vigilante gang, but any of his own minions that are in the way.

Yes, there’s a greater variety of weapons, special moves, bosses and super moves (sadly no longer hilariously over the top like SOR’s bazooka launching police cars). Despite all the improvements, the non-stop repetition of SOR2’s fair, but not particularly engrossing combat may get old even before the first playthrough is over. Even when restarting the game on a harder difficulty, the control input is so narrow, paths so linear and challenge so repetitive, it’s not too much excitement other than in the listening. The four playable characters are diverse enough to make multiple replays distinctly different, but still not to the point that you’ll want to immediately set off on another hour and a half rescue mission. Axel is probably the most powerful, as his forward>forward>punch attack immediately sets off a self-propelled wave of multiple hits which the enemies rarely withstand. Exclusive to the Genesis version, newcomer Max is obnoxiously slow to the point where I ended up abandoning him a couple levels in. Forget the hundreds of thugs to take out. There’s a lot of walking to be done in this game, and he can’t even get that right. Profiting from not just club music of the time but also the Street Fighter 2 craze, Blaze has formidable flying kicks and a fireball move that animates unmistakably like Chun-Li’s Kikoken. She is the most deadly with a knife, as a second swing exclusively gets added to her attack. Skate is perhaps the best character to replay the game with, as he quickly rolls around the screen and attacks with a tricky leaping somersault which commands a long range, but must be well timed as it takes several feet to go into effect.

The legendary 16-bit music established in the first game continues as Streets of Rage 2 features more blatant ripoffs of early 90s dance music… that’s done so well that Yuzo Koshiro is as forgivable in his methods as Kanye West or Led Zeppelin in theirs. Curiously enough, the jazzy bar music is perhaps the best track in the whole game, and is one of the few pieces with seemingly no evidence of reproduction. Even when the the soundtrack’s rather laid back, the ensuring trance makes the cartoon violence that much more enjoyable. From the opposite side, the visceral jolt of beating up gangsters with pipes and taking in the sharp, bright pixel art makes the music even more perceptible in turn. Even if arcade style beat-em-ups are somewhat of an archaic genre, largely intended to quickly rob boys of quarters by use of relentless violence and suggestive themes over substantial challenge, this game just sounds so good that the hundreds of druggies, dominatrixes, bikers and martial artists to be mowed down all begin to swirl inside a pleasant wave of chip-tune mastery so very reminiscent of those early 90s dance compilation commercials.

As favorable as it is compared to others in the genre, Streets of Rage II is still a rather boring and mindless game, but it’s the very best of such mindlessness available! It’s general competence, fantastic soundtrack, along with impressively serving as one of the finest pieces of early 90s pop-culture makes it well worth a play. Not just arguably the best console beat-em-up available, the overall experience is as memorable as the brawlers Konami and Capcom featured in every respectable arcade back in the day. If you once stuffed entire rolls of quarters into The Simpsons or Alien vs. Predator, why not throw down just a couple bucks (or less!) to own a copy of SOR2? Whether impressing a guest by taking them on a 90s time machine, or you’re after an occasional quick burst of simple but highly stylish action, Streets of Rage 2 fits in one’s library even better than a steaming cooked turkey inside of a random metal drum.