Backlog Bingo 2021 has been in full swing for over a week now, and we finally have our first victim!
Stream Session #11 saw the Random Number Generator choose Streets of Rage 4, and I was excited because for once it looked as though I would actually complete my first Bingo tile live on Twitch. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. After a marathon (for me) 3.5 hour gaming session, I gave up last night after attempting to beat the final boss several times.
I was tired. My hand was cramping, and my patience was wearing extremely thin. So I called it a night, and left it unfinished. That bugged the shit out of me though, so the next day I decided I was going to give the last stage another go. I can gladly state that it must have been the fatigue the night before, as I hopped in and beat the final stage on the first try without even resorting to the in-game assists.
I really liked Streets of Rage 4. The graphics are nice, and I really love the art style. It the sprites manage to look nice and smooth without looking like a shitty Flash mobile game, and that’s always a plus. The levels are a plus, too. I think out of the 12 different stages, only the Y Tower is the only one that was truly dull and boring. Each stage introduces at least one new enemy type, and even though the game started to recycle bosses, it was scarce enough to keep from getting annoying.
What else can I say about this game? it’s a Beat ‘Em Up. One of the cool things it does is give the player the option to choose “assists” if they die. By sacrificing a percentage of their final score, the player can choose to have a couple extra lives, or some more stars, or both. Honestly, I didn’t give a rat’s ass about my final score, so taking advantage of these when I just wanted to get through the game was a no-brainer.
I never got to actually play co-op with anyone, so I can’t comment on the multiplayer, but I’m willing to get it just makes a great game better. I would definitely recommend this one for some couch co-op.
Verdict: If you like beat ’em up arcade games, you can’t go wrong with Streets of Rage 4. It’s all the brawling goodness you think you remember from the arcades, PLUS Blaze’s high kick.
