09-03-2007, 04:57 AM
Console: Mega Drive / Genesis
Cost: 800 Wii Points
The evil Mr. X is back again ("resurrected", according to the intro- if you think that's insane, wait until you see him in Streets of Rage 3), and Adam, one of the playable characters from the first game, has been kidnapped. Axel and Blaze team up with newcomers Max and Skate (Adam's younger brother) to go beat up hundreds of street punks throughout the city and rescue their friend. Alright, it's a naff plot and it makes no sense, but like most games of its time, the story was largely confined to the manual and the intro anyway.
Streets of Rage 2 shows developers how sequels should done, improving over its predecessor (which wasn't too shabby itself) in almost every way. Unlike the original, each character now plays differently- Max the wrestler is strong but slow, Skate is weak but he can sprint, while Axel and Blaze are average all round. What's more, Sega wisely decided to ditch the first game's special move which summoned a police car to fire a cannon at the enemies, interrupting the flow of play. Instead, each character now has several unique special moves, although they do drain your health slightly to stop you overusing them. Weapons like crow bars and knives return too, so combat doesn't simply consist of hitting the attack button until the enemy is dead. Speaking of which, enemy health bars are also a welcome addition to the series.
The graphics are also greatly improved compared to the first game. The characters are bigger and more detailed, and their animations are smoother. Amazingly a large number of enemies can appear on the screen without slowdown. The levels are more varied in appearance than before, plus each level has multiple sections.
One aspect that really stands out is the music. Taking inspiration from techno and electronica, Yuzo Koshiro contributes what is easily one of the best soundtracks of the 16 bit era. The tracks are varied and compliment the levels very well. The sound effects are brilliantly over the top, and there's also some digitsed speech, but like most games of the time the original console's audio limitations make it practically incoherent. Not that it matters much, they still sound cool (especially the enemies' death screams).
Being an arcade-type game (although it was always designed for the Mega Drive), it's naturally not a very long game. The game takes less than an hour to complete, and it's quite easy as well. The exception to this is the hidden "mania" mode, which is insanely hard. It's up there with the likes of Ninja Gaiden (Xbox) and Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts in terms of difficulty. With four characters to master, and the sheer addictiveness of the game, it keeps you coming back for more. Co-operative multiplayer returns, and now there's a duel mode where two players can fight each other (the original game did let players duke it out, but it couldn't be done until you reached the end).
Streets of Rage 2 is a major improvement over its predecessor, and easily tops the watered-down SNES port of Final Fight for the title of best scrolling fighter on the Virtual Console. It can feel a like it's all over a little too soon, but it's fun and addictive enough to keep you coming back for more. One of the best Sega games available on the Virtual Console.
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Lifespan: 6/10
Overall: 9/10
First review? I've done four already, but thanks anyway.
Crap i always forget who dose reviews and who dosn't...