There's an 8 bit version of SoR1 ? Also the game isn't available yet on the Switch e-shop for me, anyone else? edit: Game is now live on the e-shop, with a 10% reduction.
One thing I'm not too keen on (aside from the aforementioned Pickup-holding-weapon bug) Spoiler The bosses. They behave more like the ones from Final Fight than those of a SoR game. Invincibility frames for no real reason other than to let a scripted routine play out, not bring knocked down when they should, zipping all over the place constantly. SoR2 (and to a lesser extent 3) had bosses that mostly adhered to the same rules as the player, several of them even had enough moves and balance that they could have been playable characters themselves. The Final Fight style works for that game as it's designed to eat credits, SoR isn't like that really. I do get the feeling they've done this by design to prevent the player cheesing a boss with juggles against a wall, but still....doesn't feel quite "right".
I wouldn't just say it's the retro music that is the problem (although when I watched it on stream yes there are some questionable choices). 8-bit tracks are okay for variation but not for all of them. They should have included some stuff from SoR3 as well, the better tracks anyway. The one that gets me the most is the stage clear music at the end of a round with the standard soundtrack. When they have Yuzo Koshiro on board, how the fuck did they not just put in the original jingle and not that awful thing they made instead? When you look at the soundtrack as a whole, they tried to convince people that Koshiro and Kawashima were doing most of it when it wasn't even the case. Did they need to hire so many composers? Not really. They just did it for the hell of it.
I only had the time to play the first few minutes, but I loved it. I adore the way the game look, I'm so happy they decided to go with this hand-drawn style instead of doing yet another pixel art game. edit: I played up to level 6, super fun game. I might even prefer it to 2 so far. I struggle a lot to recover when I get thrown, though. It always felt easy in the other games, but here it feels like the game is a bit picky with it.
By the unknown reasons, GOG version is completely castrated from online features: https://twitter.com/lizardcube/status/1255624409810972679 Which a bit annoys me, because GOG is the only place where I'm interested in buying this game. On the other hand - I don't think that I'm especially interested in having those online features (there is some vague promise from GOG side that they will be later present). On the third hand (how many hands do I have?) - I still didn't finish Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3. Ouch :P
So I have some fanboyish nitpicks - they don't seriously hamper my enjoyment of the game, but... Mentioned already, but yeah the bosses with invincible frames and attacks. At least they are predictable, but man not being able to RUN or ROLL out of the way unless you play Cherry/Adam or SOR3 characters kinda blows. The new control scheme takes some getting used to, and yes it seems on legacy mode you can't pick up items if you are already holding a weapon. I'm trying to learn the new controls because i find it easier tapping one button to throw a weapon and grab it back off the recoil and repeat over and over (great strat against the cops with shields) I am still perplexed by the dev's choice ("legacy") to use the name Galsia instead of Garcia...ok fine. But one name they completely fucked up and got wrong is laxine(or is it raxine lmao), the name of the radioactive element discovered by Dr. Zan in BK3. Instead, they went with that stupid fan translation's inaccurate "rakushin". Seeing that used on the profiles for Zan and Floyd made me groan. How the fuck do you get a name wrong by going off a FAN TRANSLATION as your source...instead of seeing that name is at least correct (L/R debate aside) when Axel references the element in Project X Zone 2 as raxine. I'm sure I will find more to nitpick about lmao
That super special edition became available for order from Limited Run Games Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd it's gone. I was hoping to get the signed LP's, but i guess i'll just have to make do with the unsigned ones you get in a big bundle with the main limited edition ='D
I got it in my cart, hit checkout, everything going smoothly then kicked back to the homepage. Truth be told I'm only wanting it for the statue, and there is that Axel figure from Storm Collectables so maybe I'll give it a miss.
The wierd usage of the 8-bit SoR1 tracks can be explained by taking a look at the Wave Master release from years back. They've literally used Disc 2 and that one only. https://www.discogs.com/Yuzo-Koshiro-Bare-Knuckle-Original-Soundtrack/release/7803948 I got bored earlier and started writing up a list of the tracks I think should have been played for each section, I'll finish and post it later :p
Not really unknown. The Steam version uses Steam's online play API's and servers. As far as I know, GOG Galaxy doesn't provide a system for online play, achievements, and other online features. This saves the developer from having to invest in their own servers for online play.
So I decided to buy the digital version for the PS4 after all was said and done. The game is also part of Game Pass, so I guess if I wanted to play it on my Xbox One, I can just download it since I have Game Pass Ultimate. I've only made it to Spoiler Chinatown and I'm playing through the game as Cherry first, since I wanted to play through the game as one of the new characters first. I'm playing on Normal, and damn I suck at the game. xD I like the throwback to the old games when Spoiler you find some arcade cabinets, that Easter egg made me pretty damn happy! Overall I'm enjoying the game so far.
Using Galsia makes it less racist. Seriously it's annoying to use a literal common latin surname to denote a thug class. And, having the Rakushin correctly romanized would basically confirm they used laxatives to blow up an entire city in BK3, so nope. Thanks. It's good to remember that you can't use real names of medicine in many countries (that's why you have CARBOS, ZINC, IRON etc. instead of Indometacin, Chitosan and Bromexhine they used in the jp release of Pokemon).
I'm very excited to buy this game, being a Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage fan for about 7 years. Not to mention the music pleases my ears in a way I cannot even describe. Bought a "High-Definition Graphics" model Genesis purely cause of it. Will probably get it with my next paycheck after bills are paid.
OK. Here we go.... Speaking as somebody who loves Streets Of Rage the same obsessive and nitpicky way many of the regulars here feel with Sonic, this is my hot take. Every time I see a gushingly positive review saying it's just like the originals, I'm there thinking "Did we play the same game? Did we play the same ORIGINAL Games?". I mean, this is no Sonic 4 in regard to it's parity with the originals, but on the other hand, it ain't no Sonic Mania either... Not by a freaking long shot. This game is desperately in need of a huge amount of balance pass patching, particularly for single player runs, if you want your Streets of Rage game to... you know... FEEL like Streets of Rage. At least to this aging arcade gamer, I think normal mode should be a cathartic run where you can beat out your frustrations with a gentle difficulty curve, not giant difficulty spikes at every boss and even generic mobs pulling invincible active frames out of their arse every which way. Especially when they've decided to totally go the "Nobody liked anything in SOR3" route and omit the dodge roll. You want that type of frustration? You should be putting that in Hardest/Mania. Restarting a stage right back from the start if you screw up is, in my eyes, terrible game design. Why not let players continue and penalise the score AFTER rather than penalise once by making you go right back to the start, and then a second time at the end with your score if you decided to use an assist? It's clear they got the inspiration for that scoring system from modern-day spectacle fighters. The thing is... Those games DO have checkpoints, and you CAN continue, they just know how to number crunch the score at the end to take that into account. Also, most of the legacy/retro stuff feels so hastily tacked on that it's sloppy and half-baked. 8 Bit versions of SoR one soundtracks, the retro soundtrack having no thought put into it's level assignments, and legacy controls having a terrible bug which means often you can't pick up food or points if you're holding a weapon... I get the distinct feeling this stuff was an afterthought used to drum up a bit of extra good will after having some kind of "moment of clarity" that the more "hardcore" SOR players (of which I'm clearly a guilty party) might backlash at what they've done. Very sweary video, here:
