1. Golden Axe II (GEN)
2. Time Crisis [Special Mode] (PS1)
3. Streets of Rage (GEN)
4. Time Crisis: Project Titan (PS1)
5. Rayman Origins (360)
6. Borderlands (360)
7. Streets of Rage 4 (Switch)*
8. King of Dragons (SNES)
9. Wild Guns (SNES)
10. Star Fox (SNES)
11. Guardian Heroes (SS) [2x]*
12. World of Illusion (GEN)
13. Raiden Fighters Jet (360)
14. Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive (360)*
15. Streets of Rage 3 (GEN)The Streets of Rage series is my favorite beat 'em up series, with the second game being my obvious favorite. Back when Streets of Rage 3 was released, I didn't give it much of a fair chance. I didn't care for the additions of Zan and Roo, the color swaps, and I recall not even liking the box art at the time. After renting the game, I was also mixed on the gameplay as the added difficulty made a casual co-op session with a friend less fun and I felt that the music was a step down. But a few years ago, I tracked down the English translated version of Bare Knuckle III, finished that version, and came to enjoy the game in its original form.
After playing and finishing the first two games and now the fourth game in the series so many times, I felt like spending some more hours on the third game, the title I've played the least in the series. Except this time around, I wanted to play the US version with all the changes by Sega of America. Even though I still don't care for a lot of the changes to the game, over time, I've come to appreciate this title much more, especially the grittier and darker vibe.
The graphics are a mixed bag in SOR3, the character sprites and character animations look to be more detailed and we do get cut scenes between levels, which is a nice touch, even though Sega of America adjusted the plot to be pretty corny. However, the level designs and backgrounds lack much parallax scrolling or animation, which is too bad. We also see a few of the same backgrounds, such as the elevator and battle with (robot) Mr. X, which look to be borrowed from SOR 2.
Regarding the soundtrack, when I first heard the soundtrack to this game back in the day, I didn't really care for it, but I've started to come around to some of the music here. However, I don't think it compares to the high standard of club influenced electronic music that made up the soundtracks of the first two games. I'm a fan of Yuzo, and I think he produced a couple great songs here, but some of songs don't have much rhythm at all and sound like a mish mash of samples that don't come together well. It's a bit too experimental for my taste. I'm aware there's info out there saying he made the music using a program he coded. If that's the case, I wish he simply continued his creative process from the earlier titles.
The gameplay is where I think this title shines and where Sega did improve the game in comparison to the earlier titles. The ability to run by double tapping a direction is a good addition, and so is the roll mechanic to dodge enemies and projectiles. Also, to have a recharging bar which lets you use your special moves without losing any health is also a welcome addition. And lastly, I think the "star" system, where the more points you rack up without dying, the stronger your blitz attack gets, is a good feature and motivates the player to try to rack up points. I had a tough time keeping three stars here, but this is a fun mechanic. Another good feature is the inclusion of different endings depending on your performance towards the end of the game.
Even though I think this game is the weakest in the SOR series, it's still a better game than a lot of other beat em ups out there and worth checking out, especially if you've played the other games in this series to death, like I have. I think it's worth checking out Bare Knuckle III first, to play the game in its original form. That version with the English translation is probably the best way to play, but it's also interesting to play the US retail release to compare with all the differences and get a feel for the version we had here in the States.
