Bad news: two days ago I had a fever, insanely sore throat, and a nagging cough. Good news: I spent my sick time playing the Sega Genesis classic Streets of Rage 2 on Wii’s Virtual Console. Here are my findings.
What The Hell Is It?
Known as Bare Knuckle 2 in Japan, this is the 1992 sequel to Sega’s Streets of Rage, a game that I played incessantly. For some reason, I never played, asked for, or bought SOR2, even though it was one of the Genesis’s more popular and respected titles.
SOR2 is a classic 16-bit era beat ‘em up, featuring an insanely awesome main villain called Mr. X, an endless horde of bad guys ranging from S&M clad women to ninjas, and levels ranging from baseball stadiums to alien lairs. Here’s the introduction, straight from the game, which I’m including here because of its classicness:
One year after the battle…The city that had been plagued with crime and violence was safe and peaceful.
However, evil has once again cast it’s shadow over the city.
Mr. X, the Syndicate crime boss believed destroyed by the three young vigilantes, has come back to life stronger than ever.
Thirsty for revenge, he kidnaps Adam in an attempt to lure Axel and Blaze into a trap!
Axel and Blaze set out to help their faithful companion, joined by Axel’s friend Max, a wrestler, and Adam’s kid brother Skate. They’re determined to save Adam and put Mr. X out of action.
Four young friends, rage burning inside them, make a stand for friendship and peace…
The Game Then
The original SOR was heavily hyped by Sega — I always felt it was their answer to the mega popular SNES exclusives, Final Fight and Street Fighter II — and it did indeed become a hit for the Genesis. And SOR2 was notable for several changes it made to original’s core gameplay: completely revamped graphics with bigger characters; SOR’s special attack (a cop car that pulls up, shoots a rocket in your vicinity and kills all the dudes around you) was replaced with character specific special moves that drain energy with each use; a life gauge for every enemy in the game; two new characters to play; and lots more. Much to their credit, Sega did not take the easy way out and just rehash the original game. SOR2 was a true sequel that improved on everything in the first game, and is proof that at one point, Sega was one of the world’s best game makers.
The Game Now
SOR2 is now considered a true classic, and among the very finest action-fighters ever made. It’s easy to understand why. When done right, these games are just fun, and SOR2 is about as balanced as they come. The controls are still superb to this day, and the amount of moves you can perform is staggering; the difficulty is on the hard side, but not soul-shattering like many games of the era; the graphics actually still look great; and finally, the two-player mode exemplifies multiplayer perfection.
Key Nostalgia Moment
Just reading the opening prologue. It really takes you back to a time when game storylines were gleefully stupid and you loved them even more for it.
Is It Worth the Nostalgiabucks?
Yes. For fans of the series, it’s a no-brainer. For those of you who got into gaming post-Genesis, or for those who didn’t own a Genesis, it is absolutely worth a spin. This is essential gaming, and definitely up there with the best of a practically extinct genre.
Now, why hasn’t Sega released a portable version of this, or any of the SOR games? I would happily pay for these gems all over again if it means being able to play them on the subway, every day.
(Photos courtesy of the awesome Streets of Rage Online)
the best game ever created. let you have full control of the streets and the game play s awmazing