An arcade beat 'em up classic that is still quite remarkable to this day.
Streets of Rage, as it was originally designed, was always meant to be a two-player arcade romp. Everything about it screams arcade. The gameplay itself is relatively basic - work your way through the level, beating enemies up. There are weapons which you can find and use. And I loved it but there was just something about it that bothered me. Then I realized, the problem with Streets of Rage isn't that it's a bad game, it's that the Genesis doesn't have a slot to put quarters in.
So you have a set number of continues that you can use to beat the game with, your "credits" and once you exhaust those continues that's it. Game over. Fin. The problem is the game gets quite repetitive if you really have it in your heart to beat Streets of Rage. You'll be playing the same levels over and over again until you finally develop the necessary skills to handle the game. Unlike other arcade ports such as Golden Axe, the console edition of Streets of Rage doesn't really offer anything better then the arcade original. I do the game injustice however, for the fact remains it is a very good game despite the fact that the home console medium doesn't do it justice.
Streets of Rage is at it's best when played with a friend however - the way it was meant to be played. And if you've got a buddy or two that like playing old games, then this one might be worth picking up. As far as Beat 'Em Ups go, it is pretty standard fare but it does some things that cause it to stand out in my mind.
One is the music - I found the music remarkably impressive. Of course, it isn't as beautiful as the original Sonic the Hedgehog but considering the age of the game it does it's job admirably. The graphics too are quite beautiful albeit very dated at this point. In other words, aesthetically Streets of Rage looks great. It handles well too.
The gameplay, as I mentioned, is standard fare but things do get mixed up with the choice of being able to select between three different fighters all of which have their various strengths and weaknesses. You can also use a 'special move' that is not unlike magic from Golden Axe which leads Streets of Rage to play very much like a modern version of that game (Albeit without the wicked cool mounts) I can't call it a great game, because as much as I enjoyed it, I find myself drawn to other games in the genre such as the Nintendo's aforementioned River City Ransom. But still, it can't be argued that Streets of Rage isn't a Genesis classic and it's a good choice for someone looking to expand their Genesis library.