The first Streets of Rage is a classic brawler that may look dated, but is actually quite enjoyable. Being the first in the series, it certainly has flaws, but not enough to ruin the overall experience. Moving forward and hitting bad guys is not all you can do in this game. There are plenty of things to make the game more interesting. One of these things is the famous soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro, who wanted to use the style of 90s house music. You may even find similarities to actual 90s music. Also, this game has some environmental hazards such as pits and crusher machines. There is also more than one ending, but I don't want to spoil too much.

The story of this game is very simple, but most people who play brawlers do not care about their stories. A powerful criminal syndicate takes over a once peaceful city and turns it into a crime-ridden nightmare. Because the police force is under this malicious control, three vigilantes quit and took matters into their own hands. Who are these three vigilantes you might ask?

You play as three characters: Axel Stone, Adam Hunter, and Blaze Fielding. They share the same move set, but not exactly the same moves and fighting styles. They also differ in power and speed, as Adam is the slowest and Blaze is the fastest. There are other differences like how our heroes use certain weapons and how some of them use certain attacks differently. For example, Axel's jumping attack has a shorter range than Blaze's and Adam's. Another example would be that Blaze throws enemies at a farther distance than Adam and Axel. You'll just have to explore these differences by playing the game as each character. Like most brawlers, you have your standard combo, aerial attack, and grab attacks. However, this game threw interesting moves to the table, such as vaulting, suplexes, back-attacks, landings from throws, team attacks (done by throwing or vaulting over your partner), and reversal throws (for when enemies grab you from behind). Hand-to-hand combat is not all you will be using to fight crime, however.

The selection of weapons include baseball bats, lead pipes, knives (which you can throw), glass bottles, and pepper shakers. There is also a special attack in the game where a cop drives onscreen (unless you're in the final stage) and guns down every enemy on the screen where you are (different weapon depending on which player calls for the cop), which helps in overly crowded areas and boss fights. The special attack can only be used once per life, but you can pick up the police car item to use it again. Just try not to die, or else you will have one special attack again. Beware the fact that certain enemies can use also use weapons. Some enemies may even have weapons that you cannot use (although it would be nice to use them yourself). I should tell you about the mooks themselves, as well.

The enemy roster in this game is the smallest, but this is the first game, after all. Along with your typical street thugs, you are also up against enemies such as dominatrices, martial artists, slashers, fire-breathers, and more. And, of course, there's the mysterious crime boss, Mr. X. You will find that every enemy is very different from one another, which adds to the variety of this game. For example, you'll find that one of the enemies can use multiple weapons and grab you from behind (perfect time to use that reversal throw I talked about earlier). Another enemy might have an anti-air attack ready for when you decide to jump near them. You will also find that the same type of enemy can differ in terms of not only palette swaps, but also aggressiveness, health, weapons, and other aspects that are specific to each goon. Here's something you should know: the newer the color of an enemy, the more hits it will take to defeat them. One problem with the enemy roster I noticed is that you will find that one of the bosses has been recycled and brought his own clone in a later stage, which I thought was a cop-out. Speaking of clones, you will have to fight two of every mid-boss and boss when playing in 2-Player Co-Op Mode. For the smallest roster in the series, I thought this was actually handled quite well due to how much variation there is, even if you're fighting the same type of enemy.

There are 8 stages in the first Streets of Rage. The first few stages are pretty standard and straightforward, but the game's level design starts to get more interesting after you finish them. One level takes place on a bridge in construction full of pits to help you dispose of enemies, although you should avoid falling in them yourself. Another level takes place in a factory where there are conveyor belts and crusher machines that can also either help or hinder you. And then there's the popular elevator level where you can throw the enemies off (but you should avoid falling off yourself, naturally). I would talk about the final level, but I don't want to spoil it. All I will say about is that the police cannot help you there. Overall, this is a pretty good level selection.

This game is fun, but it's clearly not perfect. There's quite an amount of glitches, big or small. For example,there is a way to get to the top of the screen during one of the boss fights. The graphics are not that great in this game, but the sequels greatly improve on that aspect. Most of the bosses can be killed using an easy-to-pull-off tactic, but I'd rather not give that away.

This game is SEGA's first try, but they surely did a good enough job for me to recommend it.
Streets of Rage gets a 7/10 from me.

Really nice review. It has awesome details and a great length.  I like how it flowed. Good job.

Great review man was it your first I hope to read more from you