For many of our readers this game will need no introduction. If you haven't yet played Streets of Rage 2 then you are in for a treat. Simply put this is probably the best scrolling beat-em-up available on any console. Yes it is that good!
Sega didn't do just a lazy update of the original - this sequel got the full treatment. So what's new? First two new characters in the shape of cumbersome muscleman Max Thunder and Adam's little bro Eddie AKA 'Skate' (No Adam though). The inclusion of these new characters really helps to balance the gameplay out. Each character plays quite differently so it adds more variety to the game than the prequel.
The special weapon featuring a police car firing missles at the bad guys is thankfully gone, which is good news as it disrupted the gameplay with an annoying five second cut-scene. To replace this new special moves have been included which can help get the player out of a tricky situation.
Double tapping the D-pad in the direction you a produces a special move such as Axel's uppercut, with a press of the special weapon button you can produce two powerful energy sapping moves depending if you press forwards or not.
The fighting mechanics are improved greatly with more scope for combos and tag team shenanigans. The baddies are tougher than ever with crazed motorcyclists, sword wielding ninjas and Blanka style beasts for you to dispatch into next week.
The music is as awesome as ever with the genius of Yuzo Koshiro writing the score. There's a techno vibe which works so well with this type of game. The sound effects are great too.
You will have no complaints in the visuals department either, the animation is lovely and smooth, no slowdown even with 10 enemies or more are on the screen at once, the character sprites and big, bold and colourful and the backgrounds are some of the more detailed you will see on the Megadrive.
Conclusion
If you like beat-em-ups then you will love this. For a game which was released in 1992 this game feels as if it has not aged at all. It is really the definitive two player scrolling beat-em-up and deserves to be in every gamer’s collection.
Comments 8
The one game I've mastered on Hardest! I just love this game and with two player co-op it's fantastic! I don't know how SEGA ripped some of the characters from other beat em ups at the time and made it their own.
Damn you, nostalgia! 9/10 is excessive - unlike your good selves, I feel that SoR 2 has aged quite badly. Sound and graphics remain as great as they were two decades ago, but the gameplay doesn't hold up in the same way. Nonetheless, better than Golden Axe, Final Fight, Burning Fight and the rest of 'em.
Yes, its still quite a fun game however I wouldn't personally give it 9/10. An 8/10 would be more accurate these days (although I don't doubt that it would easily have gotten a 9/10 at the time of its original release) and I only first played this on the VC.
I actually agree with the review of 9/10. This is the pinnacle of 16-bit brawlers. The graphics and music pushed the Genesis hardware to the limit and this is a fantastic game.
I agree with you completely Tony, except I'd give it a perfect 10! And Roo, it is much better than Golden Axe, Final Fight, and "all the rest of 'em". You're right!
Nice little review, my favourite scrolling beat 'em up of all time. Used to play this game in 2P mode with my cousin in 'mania" difficulty that you could only access via cheat code. The mechanics are perfect and it's aged pretty well, it can get a tad repetitive for me now and would benefit with a few extra moved, but for the time it was unbeatable and it's amazing it holds up as a good game even today
What a game. Simply far better than Streets of Rage 3, IMO.
I just played this for the first time tonight on the Mega Drive Ultimate Collection and I can't beleive I never cared for this series before. Too much fun.
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