Bare Knuckle

This game was and still is absolutely amazing. I think everything in it is worth a mention...but I won't spoil anything for people who haven't played this game before. I was too young to remember it when it was originally released (I was only 2). I first played it when I was 10 after a mate let me borrow it when he said he'd owned it. I'd never played it before so I wanted to know whether the rumours were true. I played it once...and I was hooked. It was truly amazing.

It's about three characters, Axel, Blaze and Adam, who try to bust an evil syndicate that's taken over the city. You get to choose one of the three characters to play as, and you travel through the Streets of Rage, beating up loads and loads of baddies on the way, until you reach the final boss. It's entertaining, as you try to earn more and more points, and find different ways of killing your enemies. Rest assured, the game gets harder and harder as you go through the game.

The graphics are the only disappointing thing...compared to the 2 sequels, that is. But, even so, it is amazing. The music is just completely out of this world. It is the best out of all the techno music of the age, and it is still pretty darn good. The sound also broke the barriers of the technology of the time, and I fully appreciated that. Also, I found the plot line very appealing, and I loved the way it expanded in the following 2 sequels...which don't disappoint.

If you love the games of old, you will love this. Here, we have music that is second only to Sonic the Hedgehog, and a plot line which does set the standard for future games, as it's structure has been copied endlessly, and if you play it, you'll see what I mean. It will be well worth it.

I watched it a while way way way back ago... I used to own a SEGA mega-drive and i still have the streets of rage game somewhere in the shed or garage room... It was a great fun easy game that just gets harder and harder and more fun... Esspcially level 8 there was something you couldn't do because your inside on a carpet, but four is not bad except you keep falling in holes u need to be careful and those stupid fire men... Great music i must agree with someone who mentioned it definitely some of the BEST EVER! music ever played or invented for an arcade game... i remember recording bits and bobs... the GAME OVER music was great so great i recorded it for a ring tone and everyone at school was asking me where i got it from...?

I said Streets of rage... i loved it, but it was this game i could always be indulged in forever and if you love action arcade game... with GR8 graphics and easy to use controls there is a remote at the start to be able to move your self and just a b c buttons on it and it was so simple to use you can vary different moves.

i think it was b b c or a c b c and you can throw them it was a while ago that my mega drive broke nearly 7 or 8 years ago so i can't remember..., but i wish i can own one again.

Now play stations have taken over brilliant game machines no one sells the games no more and no more mega drives why and it is not fair.

Do you not WISH it could have been made into a film...

Streets of Rage is one of the most exciting video games! The characters, the action, the fighting, and the sure thrill of excitement makes this game a fun non-stop playing time! Below is a brief look how I think the game is!

Game Play: The game play is very good. There is really basic controls here and is easy to perform. Novice gamers should have a good time here!

Graphics: The graphics are wonderful especially for the Sega Genesis! The backgrounds are really beautiful!

Difficulty: The game is easy but as it goes on you find out that it will become more difficult!

Music: The music is great! Just fantastic catchy tunes through out the game! In My opinion its some of the best music ever in a video game!

Sound: The sound is great. Nuff said!

Overall: I have always loved Streets of Rage! If you like fighting and action adventure games then I strongly recommend you play this game!

To purchase this video game check out Amazon.com!

Saturday, November 27th 1993. I had become bored of Last Battle and Shadow of the Beast. They were poorly-chosen Xmas presents a few months earlier and I wanted to swap them for something more worthy. I only owned said games for 12 weeks but it felt like eternity back then, but something more worthy was about to come.

I traded the games at a trading barrow in Falkirk shopping mall. The games I got in return were Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. Upon returning home and jammed in SoR and my mind was blown, first by the funky soundtrack and second by action. Here was a beat-em-up worthy of the arcade that was finally available on home consoles. As a kid, I loved this game. I played it a zillion times during Spring 1993 with my friend Andrew. I used to play Axel or Blaze and he would be Adam and no matter how often we played it we never seemed to get bored. Then Streets of Rage 2 came out, and we quickly forgot that this one even existed.

You play as ex-cops Axel Stone, Adam or Blaze Fielding, who have quit the force in order to take on the bad guys in their own way. There are 8 levels to work through in a run-down and corrupt city led by the evil Mr X. Beating up all the bad guys and the end-of-level boss is much fun, and the screen progression gives the game panel-to-panel comic book vibe.

Level 4 (The Bridge) was my fave because you could chuck baddies down the holes into oblivion. You even have the chance to become Mr. X's right hand man at the end of the game (at a price). This leads to the 'bad ending' in which you become the the boss of the syndicate. Exactly how this is possible is a mystery since you destroy the syndicate on your way to Mr. X, but never mind.

Streets of Rage also has truly fantastic music. The composer Yuzo Koshiro did absolute miracles with the limited technology of the time. The main theme, Level One, Level 4 and Final Boss are standout tunes. Hell, they are ALL standout tunes and classics in their own right.

I am a proud owner of SoR, but when you also own Sor2 it does sort of render this one obsolete. The graphics are a little choppy too, but it is still one of the finer side-scrolling beat-em-ups ever made.

Pros:

Average graphics but nice backgrounds represented in a comic-book like panel progression that fits the tone of the game.

Great tunes.

Easy to get into and hard to put down.

Cons:

Vastly inferior to the infinitely more complex Streets of Rage 2.

Poor enemy AI. Baddies often walk away from you instead of engaging in combat. This is especially infuriating with the Level 5 boss.

Lack of combo moves.

Lack of decent weapons.

Bad guy models are repeated far too often.

This was and still is a great game, a very underrated classic. Limited in variety but still playable nonetheless. Good old times playing the good guys against the army of evil bad guys. Even today I play this game and with great joy as it brings back great memories of the young days. too bad it wasn't a film, had a lot of potential to be a better film than street fighter, maybe even Mortal Combat.

The cast wouldn't have been hard to find and i am sure there are many good directors out there who could have pulled off a good production from a set story.

a definite classic!