Streets of Rage II

"Not as Deep as Its Sequel, but still VERY Solid."

For many, this game is the pinnacle of the Streets of Rage series, for some even the peak of the 16-Bit side-scrolling beat 'em up era entirely. And while this game and its sequel have, in my opinion, aged better than Capcom's pioneering Final Fight series, remaining fun to play and attractive to look at to this day, arguing that this is a better game than Streets of Rage III is examining it while wearing nostalgia's beer goggles. This does not mean that SoRII is not a good game--it is VERY good, and immensely fun to play--but it simply is NOT the best game in the series.

Graphics

A marked step up from the hideously dated Streets of Rage, this game boasts large, detailed, bright, and colorful sprites, all the more surprising considering the Sega Genesis' less-than-stellar graphical capabilities. One can only imagine if Sega was trying to compete with the Super Nintendo's superior color pallette, as the sprites really pop off the screen, with backgrounds that are just as clean to match. Ironically, this graphical style somewhat flies in the face of the attitude of the Streets of Rage series; the grit, the dirt, and the danger that these games originally distinguished themselves with (later in the Genesis' life span, Sega found the happy medium between grittiness and detail with SoRIII).

The character animations are standard, and the enemies are, of course, nothing but palette swaps of each other, but they are just as attractive and detailed as the sprites of the heroes. The backgrounds really don't distinguish themselves very much visually--there won't be any levels that strike you as particularly memorable (with the possible exception of Level 3's second section, taking place in a mist-filled catacomb...very novel).

All told, even though the graphics are a bit cartoony for a series as edgy as this one, they're still very nice to look at and don't detract from the game.

Sound

Ah, yes.

That music.

Yuzo Koshiro is as responsible for the success of Streets of Rage as anyone else--his hip-hop and house-infused tunes really give this game a panache, style, and flare that no other game, no other series in the 16-bit era could really match; there simply was (and perhaps, still IS) no game that boasts a collection of songs that are so striking, so hummable, so memorable, and so unique, that part of the fun of the game is making it to the next level to HEAR what's next. Koshiro's rhythms really give the game character, and in many instances are so attractive, so RIGHT, that they suck the gamer in and even help move the action along. I cannot overstate how integral this game's amazing soundtrack is to one's enjoyment of the it. What's even more mind-boggling is the Genesis' infamously horrid sound capabilities--somehow Koshiro, like the Sonic Team, overcame this console's audio weaknesses and produced some of gaming's most memorable and classic music.

</James Lipton>

All that said, however, the Genesis' audio flaws DO make themselves known: the shrieks that enemies utter when they die are grating and IRRITATING, and every sound effect is marred by a scratchiness that the game's developers really can't be faulted for. Moreover, although there is some voicework in the game (most likely a reaction to the increasing popularity of Capcom's Street Fighter franchise), it too is hopelessly dithered. There are standard smacks, thuds, and whacks for good measure, of course, but these are standard.

The music is where it's at.

Gameplay

Streets of Rage II boasts four players that, unlike the first game in the series, actually control and play somewhat differently. They each contain their own strengths and weaknesses (well, MOST contain weaknesses), and some degree of variation is required in playing style to effectively utilize each of the characters: Skate (a new character, younger brother of the first game's Adam)is ultra-quick, but doesn't deal much damage; Blaze is slightly slower, doesn't do much more damage, but has all-around good ability and a killer jumping kick; Max, another new character, is a wrestler whom, of course, has RIDICULOUSLY (as in overpowered) grappling attacks, as well as being deadly with pipes and swords.

This leaves Axel, the game's hero--and herein lies a big problem with the gameplay.

Although SoRII isn't exactly difficult by any stretch of the imagination (SoRIII is much more challenging), it is horribly unbalanced because Axel is so much better than everyone else. In fact, the other characters seem more of a novelty, a distraction to be explored once one becomes bored of finishing the game with Axel.

Axel has decent speed, good range, and does above average damage, but these attributes are moot considering that all a player has to do to beat SoRII is spam his "Bare Knuckle" special move (in addition, his standard jab is just fast enough and just long enough that he can safely spam it as well, spacing them out to keep his enemy in perpetual hit stun...it's impractical when the screen is filled with enemies, but it's useful throughout the game nonetheless), which does insane damage (some enemies can block, inexplicably causing this move to do MORE damage than if it had landed!), is easy to execute, and is pretty safe. Only Max's throws come close to matching Bare Knuckle's cheapness, and they require you to grab your foe (although Max has spammable moves as well).

The imbalance issues also extend to some of the weapons, as swords and pipes--which appear frequently--make the player virtually untouchable (especially in Max's hands) and do GINORMOUS damage.

As unbalanced as this game is, however, this does not mean it isn't fun to play. The game boasts a solid beat-em-up core, a la Final Fight (and let's not forget Double Dragon), with its own innovations: such as being able to throw over your shoulder enemies that grab you from behind; or landing on your feet after being thrown, eliminating damage; being able to grab opponents and jump over them to throw them from behind; not to mention helpful tools such as back attacks and multiple jumping attacks. And let's not forget that TWO PEOPLE can play this great game simultaneously, increasing the fun.

The game itself is reasonably long, but it can become a little redundant after a while, especially with the game's low challenge (SoRIII would later remedy this problem with managable length, balanced characters, and stronger enemies).

Extras?

SoRIII boasts hidden moves, team attacks, enhanced & hidden characters, some hidden areas, and even has multiple endings.

SoRII has none of these.

Overall

In all, while its graphics are more polished than its prequel--and perhaps TOO polished for a series priding itself on its rawness--they do not quite match the detail of its sequel. Furthermore, SoRII also lacks the depth, replay value, and challenge of SoRIII. Its soundtrack, however, is hands down the best in the series, and coupled with an otherwise solid game engine--despite its balance issues--you can certainly do a lot worse than SoRII, which though a good game, is NOT the best game in the series.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/01/06