Streets of WHO?
This game came out when I was younger, about 10 or so, and I certainly wasn't letting angry video game nerds ruin my experience with this game with bad reviews, and I am very thankful for that. I'm not 100% sure how truthful this is, but I heard somewhere that this was originally "Streets of Rage 4", but it was later scrapped. If it is, I can see it, but if that was a vicious lie, it sure had me fooled.
Fighting Force definitely evokes the spirit of SoR. It brought that genre into the 3D realm, even if it hasn't been popping for some time. I never had an issue with Fighting Force, other than getting my arse kicked, of course.
And the fact that you could choose your path at certain points in the game? It definitely screams replayability, and can even be enjoyed with a friend (although, to this day, I'll still fire this sucker up on my PSP and handle it alone).
It doesn't even try to give you a story, aside from the turn of the Century coming, and some mad scientist is getting a gang together to overtake society as we know. Enter, ba ba ba dum- FIGHTING FORCE. Okay, sorry, couldn't miss the opprotunity.
You can seemesly weave combos, throws and weapons, and with points to collect, I always thought this as a PS1 gem. Eidos fudged up when FF2 came out, and it was NOTHING like the first one.
This is my absolute favorite beat 'em up game, as I feel it properly did it's inspirations justice, no matter what some angry video game nerd says. If you missed this gem, and your interest is even halfway piqued, it's worth checking out!