After 24 years, a legend is set to make a huge return. Publishers Dotemu have officially announced Streets of Rage 4.
Although a release date and compatible systems are yet to be revealed, we did get a glimpse of it in action via a teaser trailer released by Dotemu yesterday.
In the trailer, we see new hand-drawn visuals due to it being developed by Lizardcube who brought us Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap. We also see the return of series veterans Axel and Blaze sporting new looks. Axel appears older with an unkempt beard and is noticeably chunkier, whilst Blaze is similar to her previous appearances. No other playable characters (if any) are shown.
We also see the return of Axel’s signature Bare Knuckle manoeuvre in which he scrapes his fist along the ground and unleashes a fiery uppercut. We also see Blaze’s unique flying kick.
In Dotemu’s own words:
Featuring hand-drawn visuals from the team behind 2017’s gorgeous Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap remake, Streets of Rage 4 builds upon the classic trilogy’s gameplay with new mechanics, a fresh story and a gauntlet of dangerous stages with a serious crime problem. Streets of Rage 4 recalls classic gameplay but it stands as an entirely original arcade-style romp thanks to the expertise of Guard Crush Games and Dotemu.
Whether players gang up with a friend or clean up the city solo, Streets of Rage 4 is a skull-bashing, chicken-chomping delight all set to a thumping soundtrack sure to get your blood pumping.
Named Bare Knuckle in Japan, the Streets of Rage trilogy were side-scrolling beat-em-up games in which players walked along streets, alleyways, night clubs and other urban environments fighting thugs, with each stage ending in a boss fight. The first game had 3 playable characters, namely Axel, Blaze and Alex, but there were 4 playable characters in Streets of Rage 2 and 3. All 3 games were exclusive to the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis in the US) but were subsequently released for the Xbox 360 via the Sega Vintage collection.
We will report more details as they are announced.
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