The computer games industry, like the entertainment industry in general, is constantly evolving. New products are released that amaze with graphics, plot or unusual mechanics. True, more and more often an ordinary gamer wants to take a break from all this exquisite and deep diversity and return to something understandable and simple. Retro fans will never disappear. And the beatmap genre is undoubtedly given a piece of the soul of serious adult uncles and aunts, who 20-30 years ago, as children, crushed enemies on the first computers. Golden Ax, TMNT, Double Dragon are already living classics.
Download Streets of Rage 4 for iPhone and iPad (App Store)
The advent of 3D almost killed the genre, but can something that is given love and thousands of hours of life of numerous players die? Yes, and the legacy of the classics can be found in numerous cross-genre products, although not so many classic 2D scuffles have been released since then. It is impossible not to recall the Streets of Rage series, which was developed by Sega. The fourth series of the game was released recently, its release has become an event for fans of the genre.
The launch of Streets of Rage 4 was planned back in the 90s, just on hearing were the previous games in the series. However, things did not go beyond the choice of the studio and the creation of prototypes by them. Already in our time, the French from Lizardcube offered the copyright holders, Sega, to bring to mind the official sequel. In the wake of the resurgence of interest in classic products (thank you, Sonic Mania), it was decided to release Streets of Rage 4 as well. I must say that the developers managed to resurrect the classics. The fans will be happy.
Why do we all go back and go back to old games? Yes, because I want to return to the atmosphere, subconsciously transferring us to childhood. For a sequel, the loss of branded “charm” is a cruel sentence. The original Streets of Rage took place against the backdrop of city landscapes burning with lights, either a kind of symbiosis of the Japanese-American metropolis, or even outright slums. All these skyscrapers, neon signs, flickering lights are an integral part of the game world. In SOR 4 (Streets of Rage 4) this spirit is preserved. All backgrounds are quite authentic, corresponding to the comics and cartoons of the distant 90s. Of course, the developers carefully added cosmetic effects to diversify the initially poor graphics. Animation and effects look really juicy.
The plot continues the story of 25 years ago. Only 10 years have passed in the world of Wood Oak City, but now the main villain, Mr. X, has been replaced by a new crime syndicate. It was led by the children of the former boss, Mr. and Miss Ygrek. Of course, the mafia seeks to enslave the city. All the same former cops Axel and Blaze, as well as the young guitarist Cherry Hunter, the daughter of the hero from the first part, and the big man Floyd Iraya with mechanical arms, a student of Dr. Zan, come into the fight with them. Their stories and skills overview are summarized in the library so you don’t have to blindly choose.
But the plot here is just a background, so without going through the previous parts, you will not lose in understanding what is happening. The script develops through short cutscenes between stages, in which the main villains are introduced and the events are connected. And for the fans, the creators nevertheless prepared several Easter eggs in the scenes in the form of references to previous games in the series.
The game mechanics are simple and straightforward. The character we control moves from left to right, meets various bandits on his way, beats them up, again and again. Arms, legs are used, spectacular throws and tricks, weapons are used. You can throw dangerous objects at opponents, repeating this due to ricochets. Heroes are given a limited number of lives, but they can be increased by scoring points. Blocks and parries are not provided here, except that the hero can trip and thereby dodge the blow, or simply jump away or go to the side. To deal with especially strong enemies, special techniques are used, which require the expenditure of life points. Of course, it can be restored, but you will have to count your investments. Pleased with the variety of these powerful techniques, juggles appeared in them.
In general, the combat part is based on the second part of the game. But such a return to the roots is doubtful – the heroes lost in dynamics, becoming less running and rolling. The first two parts of the series taken as a basis gave rise to linearity – the levels lost their forks, and SOR4 has only one ending. There were four of them in the same SOR3. This interferes with replay value, and the total duration is short – about three hours. Representatives of this genre rarely require more time to complete, but the variability of the endings could at least better motivate them to restart.
The developers have relied on something else. The same replay value is based on the need to collect all the trophies and the highest rating. And the secret retro bosses in SOR4 will not be so easy to find. You will want to try out the different styles and techniques of all the available heroes.
The atmosphere of the SOR series has always been successfully supported by music. Back in the early 90s, the Japanese Yuzo Koshiro adapted dance tracks for the game. The musician boldly mixed various contemporary genres at that time: house, electro funk, techno, R’n’b. In the third part, the sound extravaganza became even crazier and more experimental. In SOR4, eight composers already worked on the music, Koshiro himself wrote the themes for key fights. True, such a variety slightly affected the integrity of perception – nevertheless, in the original games there was less caution and sterility. But it is worth thanking Lizardcube for attention to such details – in the SOR4 settings you can activate a retro soundtrack, secret retro levels and retro pixel graphics. Don’t like the work of game designers and composers of the 2020s? You can always go back to the style of the 90s!
Multiplayer is an important feature of the SOR games. After all, it is always more interesting to complete missions with friends! True, in the mobile version of Street of Rage 4 this mode is not active at launch, it will appear later with an update. In total, a cooperative can have up to 4 participants. For mobile devices, the game has been adapted, in particular, in the field of interface. Also, you can save your achievements in the Game Center, and due to iCloud support, you can continue passing on other iOS devices. Support for MFi controllers will make control even more convenient.
Of course, there is something to complain about in Streets of Rage 4. However, the continuation of the cult series clearly succeeded. The original form of classic beatmaps has been preserved, while improved effects, tactics and controls have become the basis of evolution. If you want a real retro – the developers have laid the possibility of a “rollback”. Cooperative scuffle is clearly not a new genre, but many missed it. The successful experience of SOR4 may encourage developers to re-read other iconic games of the bright 90s.
Download Streets of Rage 4 for iPhone and iPad (App Store)
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