by prfsnl_gmr Sat Sep 04, 2021 11:38 pm
I’ll preface this post by noting, without hesitation, that the 16-bit versions of Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 are the best versions, and morbid curiosity is really the only reason to play the 8-bit Streets of Rage games. Those facts, however, make them perfect for this month’s TR!
Streets of Rage for the Game Gear is very much a Game Gear game. It has bright colors, decent sound, and big, chunky pixels. The music, as in the original, is particularly good, and it actually survived the 8-bit conversion relatively well. Like it’s 16-bit counterpart, the game is also a pretty basic belt-scrolling brawler, but it is missing a few of its predecessor’s features. First, Adam is MIA, and you can only play as Axel or Blaze. Second, it has only five levels. Third, and worst of all, the game’s hit detection is poor, and most of your character’s basic attacks do pitiful damage. Accordingly, the best strategy is to throw enemies until you get the incredibly overpowered pipe weapon, then hold onto that for the rest of the level. By the later levels, losing the pipe weapon is tantamount to a “game over” screen, but since the game has only five levels, you can still push through it without too much difficulty.
The Master System version, in contrast, is stellar. Developed by Sega and released late in the Master System’s lifetime, Streets of Rage is, hands down, the Master System’s best beat ‘em up, and a strong candidate for the best beat ‘em up on any 8-bit system. It looks great; it sounds great; and the music is stellar. (The character portraits, along with Adam’s sprites, are a little off putting, however. They’re like meme versions of the Streets of Rage cast.) Unlike the Game Gear port, you can play as Adam, Axel, and Blaze, and the game retains all eight of the original’s levels. It also features an exclusive boss - a short guy in a top hat with a rocket launcher on his back - not seen in any other Streets of Rage game. (That’s probably for the best since he’s really annoying.) The hit detection is good, and the game plays really well. The only area where the Game Gear version bests it is with regard to the number of enemies on screen. The Game Gear version can display up to three enemies on screen at a time, while the Master System version never features more that two.
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Streets of Rage 2 for the Game Gear is a technical marvel. It looks and sounds way better than the Game Gear port of the first game, and it is arguably one of the best looking and best sounding games on the system. It features three playable characters - Max is MIA this time - and although they’re remixed a bit, the Game Gear port features every level from the 16-bit version of Streets of Rage 2. More impressively, all the characters retain their special moves; the hit detection is solid; and the game still features up to three enemies on screen at the same time. The problem with the Game Gear Version of Streets of Rage 2 is that it is way, way too hard for all the wrong reasons. Even the lowliest enemies hit like trucks and, worse, they can lock you into patterns from which you can’t recover before losing a life. (If one of the motorcycle guys hits you, for example, you won’t be able to get back up, and you just have to wait until you die and respawn before you can play again.) This has the strange effect of making many of the normal enemies all way harder than the bosses, who are actually pushovers. I really, really wanted to like this game, but after a lot of frustration, I relied on save states to get me to the end.
Streets of Rage 2 for the Master System is, basically, a bad port of the Game Gear game. It retains everything bad about the Game Gear port, but lacks a few things that made the Game Gear port, almost, great. First, there are, at most, only two enemies on screen at a time, which means you’re less likely to get locked into a pattern from which you can’t recover. The hit detection, however, is awful, and frequently, enemies can hit you despite the fact you can’t hit them back. This makes a few of the bosses, particularly the jet-pack guy and the boxer, almost invincible. Worse, it renders every character, except Axel, almost completely useless. Playing through the Master System port of Streets of Rage 2 was an even more frustrating and grueling experience than the Game Gear version, and I pushed through this one with save states too.
So…in sum…I recommend the Master System version of Strerts of Rage to anyone looking for a new Streets of Rage experience. The other 8-bit ports, however, are best avoided.
Next up…Donkey Kong Country? Ninja Gaiden? Street Fighter II?
Last edited by
prfsnl_gmr on Sun Sep 05, 2021 10:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.