Bonjour! I am Jordi Asensio, Lead Game Designer on Streets of Rage 4. I worked on the game’s design system, character integration, level design, and game modes. Today I would like to introduce the new Survival mode, as well as the new characters that will be playable in our DLC, Mr. X Nightmare – available on July 15.
Streets of Rage 4 developers offer an insightful walkthrough of Mr. X Nightmare’s Survival mode in a new episode of PlayStation Underground.
Introducing Streets of Rage 4’s Survival mode
We always wanted a Survival mode for Streets of Rage 4, but we decided to focus on the campaign first so as not to sidetrack production. It was a tough decision, but we knew it was the right one.
With the game released, we could focus on a post-launch expansion. I started poring over previous ideas we had as well as player feedback. I noticed that fans wanted, in addition to new content, new ways to play. So we tackled the challenge on two fronts: gameplay (characters and mechanics) and content (enemies, stages).
I also wanted to use this opportunity to inject a sense of power progression into our core gameplay experience , without overloading players with overelaborate RPG elements that’d negatively impact the game’s rhythm. That’s how the idea to use Perks came in.
We made sure that our first Perks were built on existing gameplay systems. This early batch was pretty simple: increasing the character’s strength, defense, and speed, and giving them weapons. We then added more unusual stuff – elementary effects (fire, thunder, poison). Once we moved forward with this concept, we added new ideas – for example, cursed Perks with both positive and negative effects. We also identified synergies between Perks to create surprising combinations.
After this came months of testing and balancing.
Estel hits hard.
Facing the simulation
In Streets of Rage 4’s Survival mode, the player uses the remnants of Mister X’s brain to enter a simulation. This simulation produces waves of enemies in trap-filled arenas. After a wave is beaten, you can choose between two Perks that remain active during your entire run.
There’s no selectable difficulty. We instead designed runs around three phases: early, mid, and endgame. To pull this off, we worked diligently on the relationship between the difficulty curve and player power.
In the early game, the player starts shaping their build and approach to the run based on Perk selection. The average player will face a good challenge, while more advanced players will focus on building momentum for what is to come, thanks to combos and scoring which rewards players with Star moves. Midgame is where the curves synchronize – the player’s skill will be determinant here. Endgame is where a player’s skill and use of perks will determine how long they can survive..
In order to keep every session engaging, we had to create a system to generate enemy waves – one where randomness helps create crazy situations but still built up on specific rules. Enemies are divided into categories:
Fodder goons: enemies that occupy the screen more by their numbers than their strength.
Advance goons: enemies with specific attacks. You’ll need to use smarts to beat them.
Elite goons: these are game-changers requiring you to adapt your strategy and not put a foot wrong.
With these in place, the game can design waves just like we did for the main campaign and create interesting combinations: 4 fodder goons + 2 advanced, 8 fodders + 1 elite, 2 elites, etc.
Each enemy has a rank value, every level a value cap (as example, level 4’s rank cap is 400).To keep advanced players challenged, procedural generation can exceed that cap. A rubberband system balances things though: hit 450 in a level and the next starts at -50. The reverse is true, so be careful!
Gladiator biome variants
Creating new levels and new enemies
The mode features arenas that are completely new. We wanted to create a feeling of oppression, that sense of survival, pushing players to their limits. We brainstormed new biomes and unique traps for each.
Concepts for traps in the factory biome
Having new playable characters but no new enemies would have been a missed opportunity! So while the art team was busy crafting all of the playable characters, I decided to select sprites from the original games. A total of 30 retro enemies are integrated into SoR4, including a couple of bosses that still give players nightmares.
Even though I tried to align most of them to the spirit of the original game’s AI, they still had to be adapted to the SoR4 game system. For example, some retro enemies kept using invincible attacks, so we replaced them with armor attacks. This means that they can absorb a few punches while still seeing their health bar impacted.
Adding new playable characters and new moves
As soon as the team got the green light for a DLC, we started working on Max, Shiva, and Estel. Demands from fans were very strong for this trio and we already had a head-start since their character design was done and some animations were already integrated.
Max is a grappler, of course. He is a slow character in SoR2, but experienced players can be very fast with him, so I needed to keep this in mind while adapting him to the new game’s system.
For Estel, we had carte blanche so we decided to give her a unique, very direct and hard-hitting style compared to the other two characters. We also added explosives and incapacitating grenades to her regular move list.
I wanted to build the Shiva character around his combos.. For Shiva’s alternative moves list, I was inspired by his special attack as a boss in Streets of Rage 4. I was able to create a lot of techniques based on the creation of clones.
Teaching classic characters new tricks
Perks are a key element of rogue-lite games, and we searched for inspiration and elements that could be used in the SoR4 game experience. After the release, I created for fun an alternate version of Axel with a brand-new set of moves using animations and art that already existed. I then added some FX on it. This is how the idea came about to permanently unlock new moves as a reward in Survival mode. Since you can fully customize your character’s move set, this DLC gives players plenty to discover. And once you’ve unlocked everything, you’ll want to try every combination yourself in order to get the highest score.
Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare launches July 15 on PlayStation 4.
Bonjour! Ich bin Jordi Asensio, Lead Game Designer von Streets of Rage 4. Ich habe am Designsystem des Spiels, der Charakterintegration, dem Level-Design und den Spielmodi gearbeitet. Heute möchte ich den neuen Überlebensmodus und die neuen Charaktere vorstellen, die in unserem DLC Mr. X Nightmare gespielt werden können, der ab 15. Juli verfügbar ist.
Wir präsentieren den Überlebensmodus von Streets of Rage 4
Wir haben uns immer einen Überlebensmodus für Streets of Rage 4 gewünscht, aber hatten uns entschieden, uns zuerst auf die Kampagne zu konzentrieren, um uns bei der Produktion nicht ablenken zu lassen. Die Entscheidung ist uns schwergefallen, aber wir wussten, dass sie richtig war.
Als das Spiel veröffentlicht war, konnten wir uns auf eine Post-Launch-Erweiterung konzentrieren und ich fing an, über Ideen nachzudenken, die wir bereits hatten, und mir das Spielerfeedback anzusehen. Mir ist aufgefallen, dass die Fans außer neuen Inhalten neue Spielmöglichkeiten wollten. Also haben wir uns der Herausforderung an zwei Fronten angenommen: Gameplay (Charaktere und Mechanik) und Inhalt (Gegner, Stufen).
Ich wollte außerdem diese Gelegenheit nutzen, um unserem Hauptgameplay-Erlebnis ein Gefühl des Stärkezuwachses zu verleihen, ohne die Spieler mit zu ausgefeilten Rollenspielelementen zu überladen, die den Spielrhythmus negativ beeinflussen. So ist die Idee entstanden, Perks einzusetzen.
Wir haben sichergestellt, dass unsere ersten Perks auf existierenden Gameplay-Systemen beruhen … Dieses frühe Batch war ziemlich einfach: Wir haben Stärke, Abwehr und Tempo der Charaktere erhöht und ihnen Waffen gegeben. Wir haben dann noch andere ungewöhnliche Sachen hinzugefügt – nämlich Elementareffekte (Feuer, Donner, Gift). Als wir mit diesem Konzept weitermachten, haben wir neue Ideen hinzugefügt, zum Beispiel verfluchte Perks mit positiven und negativen Effekten. Zusätzlich haben wir Synergien zwischen Perks identifiziert, um überraschende Kombinationen zu erschaffen.
Danach kamen Monate des Testens und des Ausgleichens.
Estel schlägt schwer zu.
Zur Simulation
Im Überlebensmodus von Streets of Rage 4 verwendet der Spieler die Überreste von Mister X‘ Hirn, um eine Simulation zu starten. Diese Simulation produziert Gegnerwellen in Arenen voller Fallen. Wenn eine Welle besiegt wurde, könnt ihr zwischen zwei Perks wählen, die während des gesamten Runs aktiv bleiben.
Es gibt keinen wählbaren Schwierigkeitsgrad. Wir haben die Runs stattdessen auf drei Phasen angelegt: zu Beginn des Spiels, in der Mitte und gegen Ende des Spiels. Dafür haben wir fleißig am Verhältnis zwischen der Schwierigkeitskurve und der Spielerstärke gearbeitet.
Zu Beginn des Spiels trifft der Spieler Vorbereitungen und plant den Run mit der Perk-Auswahl. Für durchschnittliche Spieler ist das eine gute Herausforderung, während fortgeschrittene Spieler sich darauf konzentrieren, dank Kombos und Punkten, die die Spieler für besonders gute Moves erhalten, Kraft auszubauen. In der Mitte des Spiels gleichen sich die Kurven einander an – hier entscheidet das Können des Spielers. Gegen Ende des Spiels entscheiden das Können des Spielers und der Einsatz der Perks darüber, wie lange ein Spieler überleben kann …
Damit jede Sitzung unterhaltsam bleibt, mussten wir ein System erschaffen, das Gegnerwellen generiert – eins, in dem der Zufall zu verrückten Situationen führt, aber gleichzeitig an bestimmte Regeln gebunden ist. Gegner werden in Kategorien aufgeteilt:
Fodder Goons (Kanonenfutter-Gegner): Gegner, die den Bildschirm mehr durch ihre Menge als durch ihre Stärke beherrschen.
Advance Goons (Vorhut-Gegner): Gegner mit bestimmten Angriffen. Ihr müsst sehr clever sein, um sie zu schlagen.
Elite Goons (Elite-Gegner): Diese können über das Spiel entscheiden, und ihr müsst eure Strategie anpassen und dürft keinen Fehler machen.
Damit kann das Spiel Wellen generieren, so wie wir es in der Hauptkampagne getan haben, was zu interessanten Kombinationen führt: 4 Fodder Goons + 2 Advance Goons, 8 Fodder Goons + 1 Elite Goon, 2 Elite Goons etc.
Jeder Gegner verfügt über einen Rangwert, jeder Level über ein Limit (zum Beispiel ist das Ranglimit von Level 4 400). Damit sich auch fortgeschrittene Spieler herausgefordert fühlen, darf prozedurale Generierung dieses Limit überschreiten. Das Ganze wird durch eine Art Gummiband ausgeglichen: Wenn man in einem Level 450 erreicht, beginnt der nächste bei -50. Aber Vorsicht, das funktioniert auch andersrum!
Gladiator-Biomvarianten
Erstellung neuer Levels und neuer Gegner
Der Modus bietet Arenen, die brandneu sind. Wir wollten ein Gefühl der Unterdrückung erschaffen, den Überlebensdrang, der Spieler an ihre Grenzen bringt. Wir haben über neue Biome mit jeweils einzigartigen Fallen nachgedacht.
Konzepte für Fallen im Fabrikbiom
Neue spielbare Charaktere zu haben, aber keine neuen Gegner, wäre wirklich eine verpasste Chance gewesen! Also während das Designteam emsig an den ganzen neuen Charakteren arbeitete, entschloss ich mich, ein bisschen beim Originalspiel zu klauen. Insgesamt 30 Retro-Gegner wurden in SoR4 integriert, darunter auch einige Bosse, die den Spielern immer noch zu Albträumen verhelfen.
Obwohl ich versucht habe, die meisten von ihnen am Geist der KI des Originalspiels auszurichten, mussten sie immer noch an das Spielsystem von SoR4 angepasst werden. Zum Beispiel verwendeten einige Retro-Gegner weiterhin unbesiegbare Angriffe, also haben wir sie durch Rüstungsangriffe ersetzt. Das bedeutet, dass sie ein paar Schläge vertragen, obwohl das Auswirkungen auf ihre Gesundheitsanzeige hat.
Mit neuen spielbaren Charakteren und neuen Moves
Sobald das Team grünes Licht für einen DLC hatte, haben wir mit der Arbeit an Max, Shiva und Estel begonnen. Die Fans haben dieses Trio gefordert, und wir hatten bereits etwas Vorsprung, da ihr Charakterdesign fertig war und einige Animationen bereits integriert waren.
Max ist natürlich ein Grappler. In SoR2 ist er ein langsamer Charakter, aber erfahrene Spieler können mit ihm sehr schnell sein, also musste ich das im Hinterkopf behalten, als ich ihn an das neue Spielsystem anpasste.
Bei Estel hatten wir freie Bahn, also entschieden wir uns dafür, ihr im Vergleich mit den anderen beiden Charakteren einen einzigartigen, sehr direkten und harten Stil zu verleihen. Außerdem haben wir ihrer normalen Move-Liste Sprengstoffe und kampfunfähig machende Granaten hinzugefügt.
Ich wollte den Charakter Shiva um seine Kombos herum entwickeln … Für Shivas alternative Move-Liste habe ich mich von seinem Spezialangriff als Boss in Streets of Rage 4 inspirieren lassen. Ich konnte viele Techniken auf der Grundlage von Klonen erschaffen.
So bringt man klassischen Charakteren neue Tricks bei
Perks sind ein wichtiges Element von Roguelite-Spielen, und wir haben nach Inspirationen und Elementen gesucht, die wir im SoR4-Spielerlebnis brauchen konnten. Nach der Veröffentlichung habe ich aus Spaß eine alternative Version von Axel entwickelt, diesmal mit einem brandneuen Moveset, das auf bereits existierende Animationen und Designs zurückgreift. Dann habe ich einige Effekte hinzugefügt. So ist die Idee entstanden, neue Moves dauerhaft als Belohnung im Überlebensmodus freizuschalten. Da ihr das Moveset eures Charakters vollständig anpassen könnt, gibt es in diesem DLC für die Spieler viel zu entdecken. Und sobald ihr alles freigeschaltet habt, möchtet ihr bestimmt alle Kombinationen selbst ausprobieren, um die höchste Punktzahl zu erzielen.
Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare erscheint am 15. Juli auf PlayStation 4.
With PlayStation Now’s May lineup, you can try to survive unrelenting yokai in feudal Japan, rub shoulders with manga icons, and battle your way across an entire city. Starting tomorrow, May 4, Nioh, Jump Force and Streets of Rage 4 will be available to play on your PS5 or PS4 console.
Let’s take a closer look at each game.
Nioh
Take up your sword and travel to Japan’s blood-bathed Sengoku period – an era ravaged by warring states and dark, malevolent forces – and cut a violent path through the land as the masterless samurai, William. Cross blades in brutal hand-to-hand combat, wielding swords, axes, spears and even war hammers against foes both human and demon. In this brutal third-person adventure, you must endure the vicious encounters and learn from your mistakes: each death will bring you resurrection and each resurrection a greater resolve to overcome your foes.
Jump Force
Some of the most famous Manga heroes are thrown into a whole new battleground: our world. Uniting to fight the most dangerous threat, the Jump Force will bear the fate of the entire human kind. Create your own avatar and jump into an original Story Mode to fight alongside some of the most powerful Manga heroes from Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Hunter X Hunter, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu Yu Hakusho, Saint Seiya and many others. Or head to the Online Lobby to challenge other players and discover lots of modes and activities.
● Jump Force is available on PlayStation Now until Monday, August 2, 2021.
Streets of Rage 4
Sega’s iconic side-scrolling beat’em up is reimagined for the modern generation. Featuring fan favorites Axel and Blaze, newcomers Cherry Hunter, Floyd Iraia (and unlockable guest stars), clean up the streets of Wood Oak City the only way you know: with fist and foot. Pull off stylish combos alone, with up to three friends locally, or team up with another player online. And all the while enjoying a soundtrack – created by industry icons – that perfectly accompanies the action.
● Streets of Rage 4 is available on PlayStation Now until Monday, November 1, 2021.
As we recently announced, PlayStation Now has begun rolling out support for streaming 1080p capable games (requires minimum internet speed of 15 mbps) on PC and PS4/PS5 consoles. The rollout will occur over the next several weeks across Europe, US, Canada, Japan where PlayStation Now is available. Your game streaming resolution may vary, depending on your internet connection.
Mit dem Spieleangebot von PlayStation Now im Mai könnt ihr euch im feudalen Japan den gnadenlosen Yokai stellen, mit berühmten Manga-Helden messen und durch eine ganze Stadt prügeln. Ab morgen, den 4. Mai, werden Nioh, Jump Force und Streets of Rage 4 für eure PS5- und PS4-Konsolen verfügbar sein.
Schauen wir uns die einzelnen Spiele genauer an.
Nioh
Zieht euer Schwert und begebt euch in Japans blutige Sengoku-Zeit – eine Ära, gezeichnet von kriegerischen Reichen und dunklen, bösartigen Mächten – und bahnt euch als abtrünniger Samurai William euren Weg durch das Land. Führt schonungslose Nahkämpfe und schwingt Schwerter, Äxte, Speere und sogar Kriegshämmer gegen eure menschlichen und dämonischen Feinde. In diesem brutalen Third-Person-Abenteuer müsst ihr gefährliche Begegnungen meistern und aus euren Fehlern lernen: Nach jedem Tod werdet ihr wiederauferstehen und euren Feinden mit noch größerer Entschlossenheit entgegentreten.
Jump Force
Die berühmtesten Manga-Helden finden sich auf einem brandneuen Schlachtfeld wieder: unserer Welt. Im Kampf gegen die größte Bedrohung wird die Jump Force gemeinsam das Schicksal der gesamten Menschheit entscheiden. Erstellt euren eigenen Avatar und kämpft im Story-Modus Seite an Seite mit den mächtigsten Manga-Helden aus Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Hunter X Hunter, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu Yu Hakusho, Saint Seiya und vielen weiteren. Oder fordert in der Online-Lobby andere Spieler heraus und entdeckt weitere Modi und Aktivitäten.
Jump Force ist bis Montag, den 2. August 2021, bei PlayStation Now verfügbar.
Streets of Rage 4
Segas kultiges seitwärts scrollendes Beat‘em up hat eine Fortsetzung für die aktuelle Generation erhalten. Gemeinsam mit Axel und Blaze säubern die neuen Charaktere Cherry Hunter und Floyd Iraia (und weitere freischaltbare Stargäste) die Straßen von Wood Oak City und kennen dafür nur einen Weg: sich mit Händen und Füßen durchprügeln. Spielt allein, mit bis zu drei Freunden offline oder mit einem weiteren Spieler online und meistert beeindruckende Kombos. Währenddessen genießt ihr den fantastischen, von Größen der Szene komponierten Soundtrack, der die Action perfekt untermalt.
Streets of Rage 4 ist bis Montag, den 1. November 2021, bei PlayStation Now verfügbar.
Wie bereits angekündigt, wird PlayStation Now in Kürze auf dem PC und auf PS4- und PS5-Konsolen das Streaming von Spielen in 1080p-Qualität einführen (benötigt eine Internetverbindung mit einer Geschwindigkeit von mindestens 15 Mbit/s). Die Einführung wird innerhalb der nächsten Wochen in Europa, den Vereinigten Staaten, Kanada und Japan dort erfolgen, wo PlayStation Now verfügbar ist. Die Auflösung des Streamings kann je nach Internetverbindung variieren.“
Despite the rest of 2020, the past 12 months have been rich with immersive video game worlds, inspiring characters, compelling gameplay mechanics, and fantastic soundtracks. You’ve already told us what your highlights are. Now leading developers in the industry share their personal PlayStation picks from the class of 2020*.
Call of Duty: Warzone
As chosen by…
“As somebody who typically doesn’t play multiplayer, I not only surprised myself with how many hours I logged in Warzone this year, but how profoundly meaningful it all was. On its surface, Warzone combines the battle royale genre with Call of Duty’s rock-solid mechanics, gunplay, and audio design, making for a very potent (and addicting) combination.
“In 2020, however, Warzone became much more than a ‘game’ for me—it launched right around the time Covid-19 hit Seattle and we all went into lockdown, which just so happened to be when Camouflaj was due to wrap up development on Marvel’s Iron Man VR. My colleagues and I got into a fun habit of unwinding in Warzone after a long day of remote work. The game became our virtual afterhours hangout where we’d find ourselves having really heart-to-heart conversations while blasting our way out of spicy firefights.”
– Ryan Payton, Director, Camouflaj – Marvel’s Iron Man VR
“Since the month of April a few close friends and I play it about two to four times a night around 10pm for a few hours. These late night gaming sessions have been instrumental in keeping me sane during a very difficult year. We’re absolutely focused on getting that win but, we also just talk about the most random stuff and just laugh non-stop. It’s a release, it’s relaxing, it’s comforting and it’s just positive vibes. Video games have always been a participatory medium and a form of escapism. What I didn’t foresee happening is video games becoming another instrument in mine and so many others mental health toolbox this year. For those reasons Warzone was and still is my favorite game of 2020.”
– Ramone Russell, Product Development Communications and Brand Strategist, San Diego Studio – MLB The Show 20
Demon’s Souls
As chosen by…
“Although there were many amazing games this year, my favorite has to be Demon’s Souls. I never played the original, but got hooked on these types of games when Bloodborne came out in 2015, so getting a new PS5 was even more exciting because I got to play Demon’s Souls for the first time. Oh, and it also looks amazing. Incredible job by Bluepoint Games!”
– Jason Connell, Creative Director & Art Director, Sucker Punch – Ghost of Tsushima
“For me it’s got to be Demon’s Souls. Its worlds are as terrifying as they are beautiful. There are few games which give you that same tension, that sense of foreboding. The moment you think you’re getting somewhere you’re put firmly back in your place. It’s always keeping you on your toes. It’s stunning, punishing, awe-inspiring, and when you do finally defeat that seemingly impossible boss it’s incredibly rewarding. You really feel like you earn your victories. This game and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it… it hates me.”
– Ned Waterhouse, Designer Sumo Digital – Sackboy: A Big Adventure
“I was looking at a list of games that have been released this year. Most of them I’ve finished, some of them Platinumed, some of them are a trophy or two short of the Platinum, and I was (seemingly) struggling to choose which game to pick out as my personal game of the year. But try as I might, I couldn’t get away from the fact that to me, the original 2009’s Demon’s Souls is one of the most important video games of all time and the 2020 remake by Bluepoint Games re-hammered that point home like the Black Phantom Garl Vinland on NG+++ after you miss your parry.
– Henri Markus, Game Designer, Housemarque – Returnal
Doom Eternal
As chosen by…
“Doom (2016) was an incredibly tough act to follow as it was such a breath of fresh air, but somehow, Doom Eternal gave me everything that I could have wanted out of a sequel. Instead of just giving moreDoom (which they did completely and then some) they also completely expanded upon the core combat loop of the game; taking the Glory Kills = health mechanic and adding on the additional moves to provide armor and ammo, which fundamentally changed how you interacted with the combat spaces in comparison to its predecessor.
It constantly has you thinking while also moving and shooting – evaluating your own resources in the midst of combat. Combining that fundamental change with just a hilariously over-the-top feel of ever-increasing scope and scale made for a truly memorable experience this year. Plus… you have to love a game that has something called a ‘Super Gore Nest’. Somehow balancing the line between reverential, serious, over-the-top, and absolutely ridiculous – Doom Eternal was definitely an achievement by the team at id.”
– Louis Studdert, Producer, Toys for Bob – Crash Bandicoot 4
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
As chosen by…
“The rules are simple, the gameplay is wild, and you can enjoy it with your entire family. The combination of old and new elements – gameplay that focuses on a balance of luck, mastery of action, and strategy – is great. I think it’s fantastic that your luck depends a lot on the physics of interacting with other players, making it hard to direct your frustrations at the game itself. It’s been awhile since I’ve been this vocal while playing a game.”
– Hideaki Itsuno, Director, Capcom – Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
“I got caught up in the hype and started playing the game and before I realized it, I had spent an entire night trying to clinch that crown…”
– Naoki Hamaguchi, Director, Square Enix – Final Fantasy VII Remake
Ghost of Tsushima
As chosen by…
“It was visceral and precise like the blade itself. Legends was the best co-op experience to date with friends.”
– Keith Lee, CEO, Counterplay – Godfall
“Not only can you see Sucker Punch Productions’ technical finesse in this game, but I really felt their strong commitment to craftsmanship. Even as a Japanese person, I really enjoyed this game as a historical piece.”
– Masayoshi Yokoyama, Designer & Writer, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio – Yakuza: Like A Dragon
“Ghost of Tsushima really left an impression on me. It was a completely new game set in Japan during the Kamakura period, which I imagine was no easy endeavor for Sucker Punch to undertake, and they did a fantastic job with the stunning visuals and highly polished gameplay. Here at Team Ninja, where we have worked on a lot of sword fighting action, we were really impressed with the game overall, and strive to create a title with as much ‘honor’ as Ghost of Tsushima.”
– Fumihiko Yasuda, Producer, Team Ninja – Nioh 2
“Ghost of Tsushima is a game that has a special place in my heart. Everything in the art style, characters, music helps realizes the samurai setting perfectly. It was one of my most anticipated games for 2020 and Sucker Punch delivered it.”
– Rafael Grassetti, Art Director, Santa Monica Studio – God of War
“Hopping into Tsushima and clearing out Mongols from camps is exactly the therapeutic gameplay I needed in 2020. The world is beautiful, there are tons of things to discover, the combat is fluid and surprisingly deep, and I can feel like I’m actually accomplishing something turning the entire map from red to white! Sucker Punch really delivered on the samurai fantasy.”
– Kurt Margenau, Co-Game Director, Naughty Dog – The Last of Us Part II
Ikenfell
As chosen by…
“I’m tempted to give GOTY to the nostalgic grand slam that is Final Fantasy VII Remake, but my heart was stolen late in the year by Ikenfell! I was drawn in by the cool tactical approach to RPG combat, but before I knew it I was engrossed in the story of troubled magical youths trying their hardest. It’s the best classic RPG I’ve played in years and nobody should sleep on it. Also: killer soundtrack!”
– Kevin Zuhn, Creative Director, Young Horses – Bugsnax
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
As chosen by…
“My favorite game for 2020 is Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales because of its diversity, homage to Harlem and it’s always fun when my sons and I can swing through and explore Marvel’s New York City while fighting crime.”
“My personal favorite game of 2020 is the same as my personal favorite from 2019: No Man’s Sky. In a lot of ways, NMS is the opposite of the games we make at Naughty Dog: rather than every moment being carefully crafted, literally the entire galaxy is procedurally generated. Digging a tunnel to take shelter from a raging radiation storm, barely avoiding freezing to death diving for ancient secrets in a polar ocean, building my dream-base on a forest moon filled with giant squid creatures, quietly watching flying animals flock and undulate with the planet’s ring backing them in the sky… Some amazing memorable moments in that game, all the more special because no one will ever have those exact moments but me. The next-gen update on PS5 is amazing, a great reason to come back.”
– Anthony Newman, Co-Game Director, Naughty Dog – The Last of Us Part II
Resident Evil 3
As chosen by…
“I was pretty busy this year, but I made time to play Resident Evil 3 because I loved the Resident Evil 2 remake. I thought RE3 was fantastic, especially given how stressful 2020 was. The combination of horror and action made it extremely cathartic for me to play through.”
– Derek Yu – Spelunky 2
The Last of Us Part II
As chosen by…
“The original Last of Us is one of my favorite games of all time. It really felt like they pushed the boundaries of what is possible in games and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole experience. With Part II, I wanted to know where director Neil Druckmann would take this world. How could he and the team possibly surpass the original, having set the bar so high?
“Well, they did, and I wasn’t let down. Existing characters are taken in unexpected directions, and brand new characters join The Last of Us saga that add spice to an already rich post-apocalyptic world.”
“This game stuck with me for a long time. Humanity is shown from its darkest angle. But in all the hatred and revenge, is also a story of empathy and hope. A thought-provoking masterpiece.”
– Angie Smets, Studio Director, Guerrilla
“There’s so many [games to choose from]! I *just* platinumed Astro’s Playroom – and that was fantastic – a real love letter to the history of PlayStation…. But probably the highlight of my year was seeing the continuation of the Joel/Ellie story in the sequel to the Last of Us.”
– Stuart Whyte, Co-Studio Head, London Studio
“The narrative masterpiece that is The Last of Us Part II. One of the only games where I don’t find myself trying to analyze game loops or reading Reddit about min-maxing builds. A game where I sit back and willingly surrender myself to the brilliant minds at Naughty Dog.
Also, my wife agreed that if we ever have a daughter, her name would be Ellie. (If you’re reading this, it’s on the internet now. No take-backs).”
“I was blown away by the experience, by far my favorite of the year. I have always loved the craft and attention to detail Naughty Dog puts into every game they make and with The Last of Us Part II has set the bar, once again, for what our industry can accomplish.”
– Brian Horton, Creative Director, Insomniac Games – Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2
As chosen by…
“Revisiting THPS 20 years later has been like some kind of hallucination. I sank 4 trillion hours into this series on the original PlayStation, and the gameplay feels just as snappy and endorphin-inducing as it did in my nostalgia-tinted memories of yesteryear.”
– Anthony Pepper, Senior Designer, Mediatonic Game – Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
—–
And while most of the creatives who kindly took the time to contribute to this article managed to boil down their favourite game of the year to just one title, some found the decision impossible. We made a rare exception and didn’t force them to choose. Here’s what they had to say:
Persona 5 Royal and Streets of Rage 4
As chosen by…
“I tend to enjoy games that I can share with my family, so it’s really a toss up between two titles for this year – Persona 5 Royal and Streets of Rage 4. I played the original Persona 5 when it released in Japan back in 2016 and Royal has even more content and story. My wife and five year-old daughter loved watching the characters interact and the well-developed story unfold. I must have played for over 230 hours!
Streets of Rage 4 is a fun action game that has local co-op and it’s great to share the experience with the fam. The controls are simple enough for my daughter to play, and she’s pretty good. I personally love the throwbacks to the original. The nostalgia is heavy with a booming soundtrack and homages to the originals.”
– Peter Fabiano, Producer, Capcom – Resident Evil 3
Final Fantasy VII Remake and Ghost of Tsushima
As chosen by…
“It is so hard to pick one, as there are so many good games that shipped this year… if I go with my heart it will have to be Final Fantasy VII Remake. For me it was a massive hit of nostalgia. I was always a big fan of the series even from the very first one! But if I go with my soul, Ghost of Tsushima as it was so well done. I really like how they took this theme and expressed it in mechanics and systems beautifully.”
“This is tough. I will get in a lot of trouble for making choices like this, but I can’t decide between Ghost of Tsushima or The Last of Us Part II. Ghost was such an enjoyable experience – I am so happy for the team at Sucker Punch at the way that has gone for them. Exploring 13th century Japan felt unique, and it’s such a beautiful game as well. The cinematic Kurosawa Mode just felt so cool. And The Last of Us Part II was a very intense experience. Not just because the story and characters were gripping, but also because the world itself was so detailed. It’s the kind of memorable experience you get from being dragged way outside of your comfort zone.
“In fact, you cannot expect me to choose just one game here. So I am not going to. Btw, I am also very impressed with the work that Sucker Punch and Naughty Dog did to make both titles run so well on PS5.”
– Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios
*The views and opinions expressed are those of the persons appearing in the blog and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
**Call of Duty: Warzone, Demon’s Souls, Fall Guys, Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, Streets of Rage 4, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2’s online multiplayer modes require internet connection and a PS Plus subscription; fees recur until canceled. Age restrictions apply. Full terms: https://www.playstation.com/legal/ps-plus-usage-terms/.
Streets of Rage 4 macht vieles genau richtig. Da wäre zum Beispiel das grandiose Kampfsystem, in dem sich Gelegenheitsspieler wie Kampfsportmeister fühlen und sich Kampfspielfans dank jeder Menge anspruchsvoller Techniken so richtig austoben können. Oder der Soundtrack mit seinen mitreißenden Tracks und eingängigen Beats, die nicht nur die Action auf dem Bildschirm unterstreichen, sondern auch für sich genommen ein wahrer Ohrenschmaus sind. Die neuen Charaktere mit Kultfaktor. Die von Hand gezeichnete Grafik, die euch förmlich vom Bildschirm aus entgegenspringt.
Streets of Rage 4 hätte auch vieles falsch machen können. Den Zauber der originalen, nach wie vor umjubelten Sidescroller-Beat-‘em-up-Trilogie nachstellen zu wollen, schien ein Ding der Unmöglichkeit zu sein. Zum Glück haben die drei Studios, die sich dieses höchst unerwartete Revival vornahmen – Dotemu, Lizardcube und Guard Crush Games –, ihre Hausaufgaben gemacht.
Sie studierten die originalen Designdokumente bis ins Detail. Pflückten die Formel auseinander. Redeten mit den Schöpfern und den Fans. Wägten ab, was modernisiert werden und was unbedingt so bleiben musste, wie es war. Das Ergebnis dieser dreijährigen, akribischen Vereinigung von Alt und Neu erweckt den Geist dieser Klassiker bildschön zu neuem Leben. Ganz entscheidend dabei: Es fühlt sich nicht wie ein Relikt aus einer längst vergangenen Ära an.
Ein großartiges Beispiel: die Neukonfiguration der Spezialangriffe der Charaktere. Zuvor konnten diese starken Moves zwar ganze Brocken aus der Energieleiste des Gegners reißen, doch dafür musstet ihr kostbare eigene Gesundheit einbüßen. In Streets of Rage 4 wird verlorene Gesundheit gespeichert und kann zurückgewonnen werden … wenn ihr in der Offensive bleibt und keinen Treffer kassiert. Nur eine kleine Änderung, aber mit sehr positiven Auswirkungen auf den Spielfluss. So sind diese Moves jetzt zwar immer noch riskant, können sich aber auf ganzer Linie auszahlen.
Selbst dann, wenn ihr nur die Basis-Kampfoptionen verwendet, macht das Spiel unheimlich viel Spaß. Jeder Schlag und jeder Tritt fühlt sich dank der beeindruckenden Soundeffekte und des begleitenden Rucks des DualShock 4 Wireless-Controllers wahnsinnig befriedigend an. Ihr könnt auf Gegner einprügeln, sie zwischendurch auch mal werfen oder mit Sprungtritten überraschen und fühlt euch am Ende der Session trotzdem wie der krasseste Kämpfer oder die krasseste Kämpferin überhaupt.
Doch das Spiel verlockt euch auch geschickt dazu, komplexere Angriffe auszuprobieren. Denn schon ein elementares Verständnis der Funktionsweise von Kombos reicht, um ein paar wirklich abgefahrene Abfolgen hinzulegen. Und jedes eindrucksvolle Ergebnis stachelt eure Neugier weiter an und reizt euch, noch mehr zu lernen und zu experimentieren.
Ich bin normalerweise bei meinen Spielsessions ganz ruhig und total konzentriert. Aber sogar ich habe einen Begeisterungsschrei von mir gegeben, als ich mit Adam Hunter eine Kombo hinlegte, bei der eine Handvoll Schurken quer über den Bildschirm flog und von einer Wand abprallte. Ich habe einen beeindruckten Pfiff losgelassen, als ich entdeckt habe, wie man mit Cherry Hunter mit einer schnellen Folge von Luftangriffen über eine Reihe von Gegnern hüpfen kann. Und ich musste über meine eigene Dreistigkeit lachen, als ich mit Muskelpaket Floyd Iraia erfolgreich durch eine ganze Gegnerschar gepflügt bin.
Die breit gefächerte Kämpferauswahl bietet euch eine Vielzahl von Spielstilen, mit denen ihr euch vertraut machen könnt. Eine Verbesserung zum Original, mit der man nicht unbedingt gerechnet hat: In der Kampagne könnt ihr zwischen den Levels die Kämpfer wechseln. Ich hatte schon meine Favoriten aus den vorherigen Titeln und bin ihnen treu geblieben. Doch bei dieser genialen Aufstellung habe ich mich immer wieder dabei ertappt, wie ich das Charakterauswahl-Menü durchgegangen bin.
In den Originalen habt ihr euch vor wunderschönen Hintergründen und in fesselnden Szenarien durch die Stadt gekämpft. Dem kann die Fortsetzung mühelos das Wasser reichen und setzt noch ganz einzigartige Varianten obendrauf. Schilder müssen übersprungen werden, während ihr euch auf dem Dach eines fahrenden Zugs prügelt. Ein Kampf in einem schwer bewachten Luxusflugzeug wird immer wieder unterbrochen, weil ihr in den freien Fall übergeht. Ein Gefecht in Chinatown zeigt stolz, das es von Actionfilmen inspiriert ist, und lässt euch ständig größer werdende Gegnerscharen in einem Dojo bekämpfen. In jedem der 12 Levels gibt es einen so denkwürdigen Augenblick, dass man immer wieder dorthin zurückkehren möchte.
Am Ende ist es vielleicht die Skalierbarkeit, die mir an Streets of Rage 4 am besten gefällt. Die Levels sind in perfekte Häppchen aufgeteilt und die Vielzahl an Modi – darunter Online- und Offline-Koop sowie Wettkampfoptionen – bietet euch so viele Möglichkeiten, dass ihr die Spielsessions so lang oder kurz gestalten könnt, wie ihr möchtet. Ich habe in der Kaffeepause schon mal einen kompletten Level durchgespielt, aber auch schon einen ganzen Abend lang versucht, im Arcade-Modus mit nur einem Credit so weit zu kommen wie möglich.
Wie ich eingangs schon sagte, ist dieses Spiel sowohl für Fans des Genres als auch für Neugierige geeignet, durch den vertrauten Aufbau für die meisten leicht zugänglich und das Gameplay stellt euch ungeachtet eures spielerischen Niveaus stets zufrieden. Somit ist es für mich das perfekte Spiel, um gemeinsam mit Freunden Spaß zu haben. Zwar kann ich mich aufgrund der derzeitigen Lage nicht in den Chaos versprechenden lokalen Vier-Spieler-Koopmodus stürzen, doch wenn der Tag kommt, an dem meine Tür der Welt wieder offensteht, dann werde ich mit diesem Spiel darauf warten, wieder mit meinen Freunden die Controller heiß laufen zu lassen und mein Soundsystem dabei auf volle Lautstärke aufzudrehen.
Streets of Rage 4 does a lot right. Take its sublime combat system, making casuals feel like martial art masters and giving fighting fans high-level techniques to sink their teeth into. Or its soundtrack, all head-bopping tracks and catchy beats that drive the on-screen action and prove as pleasurable a listen when sampled in isolation. Instantly iconic new characters. Hand-drawn visuals that pop off the screen.
Streets of Rage 4 could have got a lot wrong. Attempting to rebuild the magic of the original, forever-celebrated side-scrolling beat ‘em up trilogy felt like a fool’s errand. Thank then the trio of studios who decided to tackle this unlikeliest of revivals – Dotemu, Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games – for doing their homework.
They researched design documents. Examined the formula. Talked to creators, fans. Weighed up what needed modernising, what needed to be left untouched. The result of this three year long, meticulous splice of old and new beautifully recaptures the spirit of those classics. But crucially it does not feel like a relic of a bygone era.
A great example: the reconfiguring of characters’ special attacks. Previously these powerful moves could tear chunks out of enemy energy bars, but at a price: the loss of some of your own health. In Streets of Rage 4, lost health is banked, potentially recoverable… if you keep on the offensive and don’t get hit. A small tweak, but it changes the gameplay rhythm for the better, making those moves high-risk but high-reward.
And even if you want to keep your combat options basic, the game is a blast to play. Every punch and kick thrown has a satisfying weight, thanks to impressive audio and a corresponding timed jolt from the Dualshock 4 controller. You can bash away at enemies, toss in the occasional throw, the odd jumping kick and still come out of a session feeling like a badass.
Yet the game subtly entices you to try out more complex attacks. Because even a rudimentary idea of how combos work leads to some flashy sequences. Each showy display perks your curiosity, teases you learn more. To experiment.
I’m usually quietly intense during my gaming sessions. Yet I actually whooped in glee at one combo string I pulled off with Adam Hunter that caused a handful of baddies to fly across the screen and rebound off a wall. Whistled in appreciation as I discovered how you could hop across a line of enemies with a flurry of aerial attacks while playing Cherry Hunter. Laughed at my own audacity in successfully ploughing through a crowd of foes as the tank-like Floyd Iraia.
The diversity of the fighting roster offers a pleasing range of styles to learn your way round. An unasked-for improvement over the originals: in campaign, you can switch fighters between stages. I had my favourites in previous entries and stuck to them. Yet with a cast this good, I found myself continually rotating through the character select screen.
The originals presented you with compelling backdrops and scenarios as you battled your way across the city. This sequel easily matches those and adds its own unique spins. Sign boards need leapt over as you clash atop a moving train. A fight through a luxurious and heavily-guarded plane keeps being interrupted as you go into freefall. A Chinatown battle wears its action movie inspirations proudly as you take on ever-increasing hordes in a dojo. Each of the 12 stages has a memorable moment that makes it worth revisiting.
But it’s maybe the scalability of Streets of Rage 4 that I like best. Thanks to the bite-sized nature of those stages and multitude of modes – which include online and offline co-op and competitive options –sessions can be as short or as long as you want them to be. I’ve blasted through a single stage during a coffee break, yet also lost an evening attempting to get as far through the game as I can on a single credit in Arcade.
As I said at the beginning, it’s a game that caters for genre enthusiasts and the curious, a familiarity of design that makes it accessible to most with gameplay that continually rewards you, irrespective of your skill level. Which makes it, for me, the perfect game to enjoy with friends. While current circumstances prevent me from enjoying the chaos of four-player local co-op, come the day I can welcome the world back through my front door, it will be for this game that controllers will be passed around and my sound system’s volume cranked up for.
This week, voice actor Briana White joins us for a heart-to-heart about her experience bringing Aerith to life in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Plus, our first impressions of Streets of Rage 4, our favorite beat ’em ups, and a deep dive on the Doom franchise. Listen in!
Stuff We Talked About
Final Fantasy VII Remake interview with Briana White
New release dates for The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima
Streets of Rage 4
Our favorite classic beat ’em ups
Doom
SnowRunner
The Cast
Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE
Tim Turi – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE
Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
Here is a sentence I did not think I’d be writing in 2020: there’s a new Streets of Rage game launching today.
Why the surprise? It’s not only because it has been 26 years since the last one, but that the original side-scrolling beat ’em up trilogy was lightning in a bottle, rightly celebrated at the time, and has been venerated by genre aficionados ever since. How could any modern-day studio hope to resurrect the series? How could they recapture that magic?
As it turns out, one couldn’t. But three might. Guard Crush Games (who created a love letter to the genre in the form of 2015’s Streets of Fury and handled programming duties on Streets of Rage 4), LizardCube (responsible for the gorgeous visual overhaul on 2017’s Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap remake and who looked after art direction) and Dotemu (retro-loving, Paris-based studio who took care of game design and general production) joined forces and embarked on a three year journey to reimagine Streets of Rage for a PS4 audience.
To find out the story behind what may be this generation’s most surprising retro revival, I reached out to a number of people working on the title.
Kindly setting aside time in the last few days before their game’s launch — and giving us a taste of the collaborative nature of the project — were Dotemu’s Executive Producer Cyrille Imbert and Lead Game Designer Jordi Asensio, Lizardcube’s Art Director Ben Fiquet and Guard Crush Games Technical Director Cyrille Lagarigue, as well as composer Olivier Deriviere.
Maintaining an iconic legacy
Adam Hunter, Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding as they appeared in the key art for 1991’s Mega Drive classic Bare Knuckle. The game would be rebranded Streets of Rage for its western release.
This series is well-loved for so many reasons. Its gameplay, music, and design are all iconic. There must have been a lot of attention on every development decision made. Which aspect did you feel the most pressure to deliver on?
Asensio: Every aspect, really. The original games are so well crafted that you cannot leave any aspect unpolished. For my part, I tried to give people instant fun while creating a deep system that will make people interested in mastering the game and coming back again and again.
Lagarigue: The overall dynamic of the fights, so that they feel fluid and strategic but still snappy.
Imbert: A bit of everything. But the game feel, the gathering of different aspects like the design, the animation, and the reactivity was definitely something we had to nail. The music was also something that absolutely needed to succeed.
Obviously Streets of Rage has a very unique look and feel. How much did player — or even developer — feedback impact the final level and character designs?
Asensio: As a matter of fact, we talked a lot with hardcore fans and they gave us tremendous feedback and ideas. Every event we could show a demo at (like PAX) was a gold mine. We changed, added, and balanced considerably thanks to this feedback. Smiles and praise were also key to keeping us focused on our work.
Fiquet: Before starting production, I spent a lot of time researching game design documents, interviews with the developers, in-depth video analysis, fan-made games, even fan art. This helped me get a sense of the overall feelings surrounding the license.
Reimagining Streets of Rage for 2020
The key art for Streets of Rage 4, featuring (clockwise from top left) Blaze Fielding, Axel Stone, Floyd Iraia, Adam Hunter, Cherry Hunter
Has Streets of Rage 4 evolved much from its original concept, or did you have a pretty clear idea of what it would be from the start?
Asensio: From the start we wanted it to be a pretty straightforward beat ’em up with no fancy modern trends. Just a good old-fashioned beat ’em up. Then as the game was coming together, we found room for improvement: adding more fun, along with modern solutions to old frustrations, without ever losing track of the game’s roots.
Imbert: The idea was crystal clear for everyone: we just wanted to do a great beat ’em up game. Something pure, simple, and efficient. Something that would be in line with its predecessor, but modern in its approach.
Can you touch on the modern-day additions you’ve brought to the classic SoR gameplay formula, and explain why you added them?
Asensio: There are small things (but which make a big difference), like downsizing the depth of the player character’s hitbox when moving up or down, so you really dodge when you want to dodge. And bigger things – for example, in SoR2 when you were surrounded, doing a special move was smart, but it cost a small amount of health. So it was better than being hit, but it always felt a little off to lose health for a good decision. So in SoR3 they added a cool-down bar that allowed you to do your special move for free.
We tried something different. In SoR4, you lose a small amount of health that you can regain by hitting enemies – but if you are hit in the meantime, this small amount of health is gone for good. This opens the door for some aggressive play styles, gambling a lot of life in order to do huge combos. Some players will prefer to use specials more wisely though…
We also added powerful ‘Star’ moves, which replace the old ‘police call.’ Police call is a “clear screen” mechanic, and though it’s fun, we wanted to have something more befitting our gameplay loop. So now you have to think more to connect your Star move, as it hits only a certain portion of the screen, which is dependent on your character. It can save you from a lot of enemies (sort of like an emergency defense mechanism), but it can also extend the length of a combo. This helps you recover some invested health from special moves and focus your damage on a boss, for instance.
Many levels have environmental dangers. You can use the wrecking ball in this rooftop fight to knock out enemies (and score a Trophy)
Lagarigue: We wanted to give the players more freedom on how they can play.
We changed the rules of the main game mode (Story mode) so that you restart at the beginning of each stage when you run out of lives. Also, if you are stuck you can choose to get gameplay assists (more lives, star moves…) in exchange for a reduced score.
This way, everyone can finish the campaign, but you are still tempted to choose a higher difficulty level because you know that you will be able to get help if you are stuck. Then you can train and improve your score on each level or try the old-school-style Arcade mode. So the goal was really to keep the challenge while making the game more accessible.
“You can unlock retro characters by scoring points, and you get bonus points when you play at higher difficulty levels or when you try different characters. So overall you are incentivized to get better and play in a variety of ways.” – Cyrille Lagarigue
Creating new characters…
How much iteration did Cherry Hunter and Floyd Iraia go through in terms of design and combat style before you agreed on their final versions?
Asensio: Usually we do a kick-off meeting where we discuss each character’s overall style and gameplay. Then we go into details move-by-move to determine the function of the move and maybe find a pose that will fit. Then it’s up to Ben [Fiquet, Lizardcube’s Art Director] to work his magic. Sometimes moves change because Ben finds something cool visually that may (or may not) fit the gameplay, but in the end the animation influences gameplay as much as gameplay influences animation — so we always find common ground.
For Cherry Hunter it took several iterations to balance her two sides: bare-hands moves and guitar moves. We pushed the sliders to the max so the bare-hands move feels really fast and swift, while the guitar moves feel really slow but powerful, with range and a big zone of impact.
Fiquet: Graphically speaking, both characters were driven by their function – but I was adamant on Cherry’s guitar despite some push-back from the team. I wanted something that would be truly unique in the series and cool looking. Ultimately though, I wanted characters that would fit right in with the Streets of Rage universe.
Asensio: Floyd was pretty straightforward, since he was the last character and we knew what we needed for the game to have a good, rounded character roster. The biggest challenge was to work around the unique concept of a “ranged grappler.” It took several iterations, even some last-minute ones, to balance him well, since his telescopic grapple can win against a lot of AI behaviour (yes, we ended up changing the AI a little bit for him).
…and reimagining the classic brawlers
In the same vein, were Blaze, Adam, and Axel easier to design because you could adapt the blueprint of their looks and combat styles from SoR 1-3?
Asensio: From the start we decided that they should have their iconic moves, but I changed their properties. So for instance, Axel’s neutral jump kick now just does one hit, but it’s more powerful and it sets enemies bouncing off the wall.
Fiquet: Axel wasn’t easy to design artistically. I knew giving him a beard and bulking him up would be quite a leap for many, but I felt the character needed to get rougher with time. You can read about Blaze and Adam’s redesign in our previous blog post.
How did you decide on each character’s special moves? Again, was it a case of refining previous special moves or completely reimagining them?
Asensio: The fun part about Axel and Blaze was that we could introduce some new twists to their existing moves. So we could think about them in terms of how well they would fit into our game system defensively, offensively, and combo-wise.
Then, I tried some special air moves by reusing some animation frames from other moves, allowing us to add some new moves. It was fun and useful, so Ben made legit animations for them and it became a thing: every new character has a special air move.
For Adam, we thought of him as a completely new character. We had several discussions about what his playstyle should be. The idea of a small forward dash made sense, since like all of Hunter’s family members, Adam can move fast. For the other moves, we tried to find powerful ones to fit his SOR1 character stats (“power A”).
Lagarigue: We really wanted to find a fighting style for Adam that played like a “regular” character, yet wasn’t too close to Axel or Blaze. There is a little detail I implemented that I like a lot: if you dash with Adam and you touch an enemy, you do a circling move and get to the other side. I got the idea while watching the fights between Jackie Chan and Brad Allen in the movie Gorgeous. I thought it would be fun to have a character that felt like a very agile boxer, and that is the gameplay behavior I came up with to try to replicate this feeling.
Axel and Blaze are the only two characters to appear in all four games. Why did you choose to have Adam return over Skate, Max, or Zan?
Asensio: Adam is too cool and was out for too long!
Fiquet: Honestly, he was long overdue. As soon as we announced the game, you could hear the outcry of so many fans pining for his return. We knew we were gonna add him, and it was excruciating not to be able to show him sooner. Adam doesn’t fill a gameplay need like the fast Skate or the strong Max. He just needs to be here because he rocks.
What was your process when deciding which enemies would return? Are there any you consciously excluded? If so, why?
Asensio: Streets of Rage 2 is, I think, the best game of the series. I love its slow, strategic pace. I love how it was designed around three core enemies: Galsia, Signal, and Donovan. Galsia will come at you and keep you busy, Signal will attack when you face away from him, and Donovan will prevent you from jumping on him. So we built enemies and levels around this idea of synergy between baddies. Oh, and we decided not to bring Jet back, because he’s so annoying — flying all over the place and not vulnerable to combos…
Streets of Rage 4’s music
The soundtrack is a mix of in-house tracks and contributions from iconic industry names. How did you decide on the sequence that they would appear in the game? Was each contributor given a theme, or concept art of a level, to help shape their track, for example?
Imbert: The idea was to have a main composer who would bring harmony and coherence throughout the game. Olivier Deriviere is not only a great composer and a fan of electronic music, but he also completely understands the relation between music and gameplay. This is vital for a Streets of Rage game.
But we also wanted to have different Eastern and Western influences. Different touches of music, because this is something that existed in previous SoR titles. So we had the original composers, Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, take care of strong tracks – certain boss fights, important themes, certain levels, etc. The idea was to have part of the soul from the original titles, but also the amazing music they both make nowadays.
We also had lots of other talented artists who represent the best of classic and modern video game music, as well as contemporary musicians that never composed for a video game before. Each had a specific moment of the game to interpret with their own vision and transcribe into music. We sent each composer a scene from the game, with story elements and general indications about the atmosphere and characters. And then we just let them work their magic. Receiving their tracks one by one was like Christmas every time.
Olivier, what was the most challenging track for you to create/lock down the final version of?
Deriviere: The most challenging aspect was to follow what Koshiro-san & Kawashima-san did in the previous Streets of Rage. I didn’t want to mimic their style but rather their approach, which was taking club music from the 90’s and incorporating it to the game. However, in my case, I had to go through 25 years of club music and pick what would be right without betraying the spirit of the series. It was so much fun to revisit some of the East and West coast tunes. I also revisited dubstep, IDM like Aphex Twin, and so many more genres. But to make it all sound like a whole was definitely challenging!
Which track from the guest musicians’ submitted surprised you the most? (This could be the full track or just a section of one which completely shattered your expectation)
Deriviere: I think I wasn’t surprised by the Main Title theme from Koshiro-san, it is perfectly reminiscent of Streets of Rage and it sets the right tone and prepares the player for the upcoming fight. We start the game with his style, close to the original games. On the other hand, what Kawashima-san delivered is very special, very modern, and almost sounds like avant-garde electronic music sometimes. The two of them are incredibly unique and, to my big surprise, I understood much more on how they could have created such cult music in the past… (and the present too!) All the other guests did a fantastic job as well, adding their own personalities to each boss.
The game also features the option to play classic tracks – how did you decide which would play where?
Deriviere: It was a team effort. We took feedback from the most hard-core people and we spread the retro music from Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 onto the levels and bosses.
The game features two player online co-op and, for the first time in the series, four player local co-op
The game’s extra modes
How does the gameplay scale or change in four-player local co-op mode?
Asensio: Balancing a 4-player co-op mode is almost impossible. So from the start we decided to not try it, but instead just crank up the fun factor by only making small changes that make the game more fun and easier to understand. For example, the more players you are, the less damage you do, so you must help each other and coordinate your actions to make cool co-op combos. Also, you do bonus damage if you activate friendly fire. There are more enemies during the boss fights, so you always have someone to fight. Plus, enemies are more aggressive, and players can’t be superimposed (they repel themselves like opposing magnets).
Does the game feature any New Game+, leaderboards, etc. to draw players back in once they’ve finished the campaign?
Asensio: There are leaderboards for every stage and character, so once you’re done obtaining the S rank (the highest rank) for all stages, you can go for some serious score attacks against the world’s best players. There is also the Mania difficulty mode, which is a New Game+ in its own right. Players should also try the battle mode, where each stage has a cool flavour that always provides interesting fights.
Lagarigue: You can then try the game’s two ultimate challenges: Arcade mode, where you have to finish the whole campaign in one go with a limited number of lives; and Boss Rush, where you have to defeat all of the bosses without extra lives. Both are very fun, but intense!
Asensio: We discussed how we reintroduced the original sprite version of the characters into this game in our previous Blog post. But the truth is, I even put other sprites from other games into the engine… so at some point we even had Joe Musashi from Sega’s Shinobi as a playable character. Of course we removed him at the end since it was for engine testing purposes only, but it was pretty cool kicking bad guys with him.
Fiquet: One of the bosses — Estel, a tough cop driven by duty — is based on a real cop I encountered in my building. She was so bad-ass I decided to put her in the game.
Estel (left) is one of the new characters you’ll have to tackle over the course of the game
Looking back over the development, what was the biggest challenge?
Asensio: The biggest challenge was to understand the previous games and what made them so good. You have to leave your nostalgia goggles aside and ask yourself, ‘What’s the essence of these games? Are there any frustrations? Should we remove them, or maybe they are part of the experience?’ These sorts of things.
Lagarigue: I think the biggest challenge was to nail down the game’s level design and rhythm. When you make a side-scrolling beat ’em up, it is hard to keep it interesting and varied while keeping the same fighting gameplay. I think we achieved it by iterating a lot on the level design, on how and when the enemies appear in the levels. And also by polishing the enemies’ AI, especially for the bosses.
Imbert: There were so many challenges along the way. For example, it’s so difficult to find the right balance between legacy and innovation. Personally, one of my biggest challenges was the music. It was very difficult to gather so many great artists together and handle all the licensing elements and negotiations. But the result is amazing and it allowed me to work with and get to know insanely talented people like Olivier Deriviere and Yuzo Koshiro.
Fiquet: Staying true to the original games while trying to create something new. You face not only yourself, but also the expectations of fans around the world.
Greetings, PS Blog. My name is Ben Fiquet and I’m the CEO of Lizardcube and the Art Director on Streets of Rage 4. It’s been a long journey but we’re finally here: Streets of Rage 4 comes out in a week! Everybody at Lizardcube, Dotemu and Guard Crush Games can’t wait for you to play it and try the various game modes and content we’ve created for this series revival.
For today I’d like to share some insights regarding our redesign of Blaze and Adam, two of the series’ most iconic characters.
Streets of Rage 4 has 17 characters to choose from: 12 retro characters in all their pixel-art glory, and five iconic HD hand-drawn heroes. Blaze Fielding has appeared in every game since the series began, but with vastly different styling from game to game. It was obvious to us that she would be in Streets of Rage 4, but our challenge was how to render her for players in 2020?
I decided to start from what fans remember most, which is the original sprites. One of her “calling cards” is the color scheme: red, underlined by her miniskirt and tight top. It was important to keep these attributes, as they express not just the character herself but also the fond memories of many players around the globe.
So, I tried different things in my attempt to “get” the character. My point of view is that she’s a strong, independent woman — a cop and a professional dancer who’s not afraid to clean up the streets in a tight skirt.
I liked her jacket in the first episode, which gives her a more urban look, so I wanted to keep it — but in a more modern way.
Ultimately, what put me on the right track was returning to her idle pose, which would put her in action and help provide some rhythm to the shapes and contrasts.
The sixth one above is cool, but it’s a bit too aggressive. From all the references I gathered, there’s always something gentle about her face. Also, all the details I included were too complex for animating, which is important in terms of production.
On a side note, as an animator I tend to design knowing that elements will look better when animated. For example: her elaborate belt will make a sweet motion when she moves.
Which brings us to the animation, which is very important to me and is also one of Lizardcube’s strengths.
Due to the technical limitations of the time, the original games didn’t have many frames. To bring the game forward to the present, I wanted as much fluidity and impact as possible. This proved very hard on the production, since each playable Streets of Rage 4character has approximately 1,000 frames. Plus you have assorted enemies between 300/400 frames each. And everything is hand-drawn frame by frame in Photoshop.
For the special moves, I added more visual effects to increase the impact. This emphasizes that special action and it feels more rewarding to perform. It’s also a continuation of the character – Blaze’s style is more fluid, and using her natural blue FX with some lotus and mandala-type shapes gives her moves their own flavor.
I followed the same mindset when designing Adam. However, because he only appeared in the first episode, there was way less to work with. I tried keeping his shoulder pads, but to no avail — they felt too anchored to the 80s. So I explored other directions… The glasses make him look more mysterious, and sort of remind me of the look of the old sprite, where his eyes are barely noticeable.
Finally, after various attempts to show him wearing a jacket like a PI or a detective, here he is. The same, yet not the same.
Designing Adam
Adam from the first Streets of Rage didn’t have many moves, so we had to iterate what we thought would be a good fit for him. One of his traits is his ability to dash, and the color green for his visual effects was a good choice that sets him apart. I tried to make him snappy with strength, and since Axel has a dragon for a defensive move, I thought the wolf was on point.
Lastly, for Adam’s Ultra move we wanted a wave moving forward. I thought having swords coming out of the ground was kind of new, but would also portray him as a “sword of justice.”
Thanks for reading! I hope you like the game, and that long-time fans will enjoy seeing our new takes on old favorites. Don’t forget you can choose to play their new forms or go retro, just like back in the day.
Hey everyone, I’m Cyrille Imbert, Executive Producer of Streets of Rage 4. It’s been 26 years since the last episode of the Streets of Rage series, but today I’m happy to announce that we’re finally launching the new chapter on April 30! Everyone at Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games is super excited to finally make this dream a reality. As huge Streets of Rage fans ourselves, we can’t wait for you to play and enjoy the game.
This blog is about more than just the release date. We’re also ecstatic to reveal the return of Battle Mode, a game mode that will help you and your friends decide once and for all who truly is Wood Oak City’s finest alley-clearing ruffian.
But enough talk – check it out for yourself in the trailer above!
Battle Mode lets you select your favorite characters and test your skills against one to three friends across several memorable levels. While it’s true that Streets of Rage 4 is all about cooperation, we thought it would be fun to let you guys play around with the characters and discover which of them is the most powerful, and which ones best suit your playing style. Whether you want to train your combos and specials, or just have some fun, Battle Mode is the place to do it – and it will be available right from the start.
As shown in the trailer above, you can try out Battle Mode with the Streets of Rage 4 characters, as well as the complete roster of twelve retro characters that we announced last week (once you’ve unlocked them, of course!).
These retro features have us super excited, and I want to take this opportunity to provide you with more details:
In Streets of Rage 4, you’ll be able to use the characters from previous Streets of Rage installments. We brought back almost everybody (sorry Roo) – complete with their own shiny pixel-art outfits and unique characteristics, for a total of 17 playable characters.
You may already know this, but you’ll also be able to choose between two different soundtracks for Streets of Rage 4. One is an all-new soundtrack composed by an all-star line-up of musicians (including Olivier Deriviere, Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima, Yoko Shimomura, Das Mörtal, Scattle…). The other consists of tracks selected from Streets of Rage 1 and 2 – for those who want the full nostalgic trip! Plus, you can switch soundtracks in-game whenever you want.
Go Straight
Bringing these pixel characters back to life was no easy task, but as fans it was something we were committed to and wanted to surprise you guys with.
Everything started right at the prototyping stage of development. We didn’t have any Streets of Rage 4 characters ready then, so in order to start testing things and working on the gameplay, Jordi Asensio, our game designer, ripped some sprites from previous Streets of Rage games and integrated them into the Guard Crush engine. As the development went along, we realized that these sprites actually looked really good visually – with the lightning effects and all – and that having them playable was something we knew fans would love.
The same was true for the music. We didn’t have any new tracks to work with at the beginning, but we knew we wanted something with the same spirit as the previous soundtracks. We used classic Streets of Rage 2 tracks like “Go Straight” as placeholders in order to maintain a “Streets of Rage flavor” while testing the game. What we ended up with was a mix between beautiful new sounds and old-school 16bit-era music, and it felt so right that we decided to put all our effort towards integrating this as a feature in the final game.
Fighting in the street
As mentioned above, bringing back all these characters wasn’t easy. First, our team had to rip each and every character, one by one, frame by frame. This was an exhausting process because we were dealing with around 1,500 different frames. But the next phase was even more complicated because we had to reconstruct all the animations with the right timings from the original games. Because of how intricate this process was, everything had to be done by hand.
Once the animations felt authentic, it was time for the real fun: the gameplay Because all the characters come from different games and because Streets of Rage 4 is a brand-new title, Jordi and the Guard Crush team had to adapt everything to the Streets of Rage 4 system. This meant going over all the characters and reproducing the properties of all their moves, one by one. This process required a lot of research and tuning, because our goal was to be very faithful. Thus, the team had to go over every timing and every hitbox, frame by frame.
Hitbox comparison for the same move: on the left, Streets of Rage 4; on the right, Streets of Rage 2
Occasionally, exactly reproducing the original properties didn’t work because Streets of Rage 4 works differently from the previous episodes and the old gameplay did not feel as fun as expected. So, for some characters or moves, we had to adapt and do even more fine tuning to make their move-sets work in a way that felt fun and on-point, which also meant adding some new subtleties. I don’t want to spoil those for you here though – I’ll let you discover them on April 30!
After months of seriously hard work, voilà: 12 freshly tuned classic combatants and five new fighters, for a total of 17 playable characters! We hope you enjoy playing Streets of Rage 4 as much as we enjoyed making it. Thank you all very much for your support since we first announced the game. It has been an exceptionally long, extremely rewarding journey for us, and you can’t imagine how excited we are for you to enjoy the finished product.
Don’t hesitate to keep sharing with us on social media your love and thoughts for this amazing series. Reading your feedback, ideas, and encouragement was a real pleasure, and it most definitely helped us to give our best all the time.
Hey everyone, I’m Cyrille Imbert, Executive Producer of Streets of Rage 4. It’s been 26 years since the last episode of the Streets of Rage series, but today I’m happy to announce that we’re finally launching the new chapter on April 30! Everyone at Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games is super excited to finally make this dream a reality. As huge Streets of Rage fans ourselves, we can’t wait for you to play and enjoy the game.
This blog is about more than just the release date. We’re also ecstatic to reveal the return of Battle Mode, a game mode that will help you and your friends decide once and for all who truly is Wood Oak City’s finest alley-clearing ruffian.
But enough talk – check it out for yourself in the trailer above!
Battle Mode lets you select your favorite characters and test your skills against one to three friends across several memorable levels. While it’s true that Streets of Rage 4 is all about cooperation, we thought it would be fun to let you guys play around with the characters and discover which of them is the most powerful, and which ones best suit your playing style. Whether you want to train your combos and specials, or just have some fun, Battle Mode is the place to do it – and it will be available right from the start.
As shown in the trailer above, you can try out Battle Mode with the Streets of Rage 4 characters, as well as the complete roster of twelve retro characters that we announced last week (once you’ve unlocked them, of course!).
These retro features have us super excited, and I want to take this opportunity to provide you with more details:
In Streets of Rage 4, you’ll be able to use the characters from previous Streets of Rage installments. We brought back almost everybody (sorry Roo) – complete with their own shiny pixel-art outfits and unique characteristics, for a total of 17 playable characters.
You may already know this, but you’ll also be able to choose between two different soundtracks for Streets of Rage 4. One is an all-new soundtrack composed by an all-star line-up of musicians (including Olivier Deriviere, Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima, Yoko Shimomura, Das Mörtal, Scattle…). The other consists of tracks selected from Streets of Rage 1 and 2 – for those who want the full nostalgic trip! Plus, you can switch soundtracks in-game whenever you want.
Go Straight
Bringing these pixel characters back to life was no easy task, but as fans it was something we were committed to and wanted to surprise you guys with.
Everything started right at the prototyping stage of development. We didn’t have any Streets of Rage 4 characters ready then, so in order to start testing things and working on the gameplay, Jordi Asensio, our game designer, ripped some sprites from previous Streets of Rage games and integrated them into the Guard Crush engine. As the development went along, we realized that these sprites actually looked really good visually – with the lightning effects and all – and that having them playable was something we knew fans would love.
The same was true for the music. We didn’t have any new tracks to work with at the beginning, but we knew we wanted something with the same spirit as the previous soundtracks. We used classic Streets of Rage 2 tracks like “Go Straight” as placeholders in order to maintain a “Streets of Rage flavor” while testing the game. What we ended up with was a mix between beautiful new sounds and old-school 16bit-era music, and it felt so right that we decided to put all our effort towards integrating this as a feature in the final game.
Fighting in the street
As mentioned above, bringing back all these characters wasn’t easy. First, our team had to rip each and every character, one by one, frame by frame. This was an exhausting process because we were dealing with around 1,500 different frames. But the next phase was even more complicated because we had to reconstruct all the animations with the right timings from the original games. Because of how intricate this process was, everything had to be done by hand.
Once the animations felt authentic, it was time for the real fun: the gameplay Because all the characters come from different games and because Streets of Rage 4 is a brand-new title, Jordi and the Guard Crush team had to adapt everything to the Streets of Rage 4 system. This meant going over all the characters and reproducing the properties of all their moves, one by one. This process required a lot of research and tuning, because our goal was to be very faithful. Thus, the team had to go over every timing and every hitbox, frame by frame.
Hitbox comparison for the same move: on the left, Streets of Rage 4; on the right, Streets of Rage 2
Occasionally, exactly reproducing the original properties didn’t work because Streets of Rage 4 works differently from the previous episodes and the old gameplay did not feel as fun as expected. So, for some characters or moves, we had to adapt and do even more fine tuning to make their move-sets work in a way that felt fun and on-point, which also meant adding some new subtleties. I don’t want to spoil those for you here though – I’ll let you discover them on April 30!
After months of seriously hard work, voilà: 12 freshly tuned classic combatants and five new fighters, for a total of 17 playable characters! We hope you enjoy playing Streets of Rage 4 as much as we enjoyed making it. Thank you all very much for your support since we first announced the game. It has been an exceptionally long, extremely rewarding journey for us, and you can’t imagine how excited we are for you to enjoy the finished product.
Don’t hesitate to keep sharing with us on social media your love and thoughts for this amazing series. Reading your feedback, ideas, and encouragement was a real pleasure, and it most definitely helped us to give our best all the time.
Streets of Rage, also known as Bare Knuckle, is a trilogy of beat ’em up games developed and published by Sega in the 1990s. Famously known for its nonstop action and electronic dance-influenced music – scored by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima – the series has gained “cult classic” status throughout the years and it is considered one of the greatest beat ’em up series of all time.
Since last year, co-developer Dotemu (Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, Windjammers 1 and 2) with co-developers Lizardcube (Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap) and Guard Crush Games (Streets of Fury) are all working on a new opus!
We’re all huge Sega fans and after Wonder Boy we wanted to bring another video game legend back to players. A few weeks ago, we revealed that Yūzō Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima will be joined by an all-star ensemble in contributing brand-new tracks for the Streets of Rage 4 soundtrack, which is a huge accomplishment for us.
Regarding the game itself, its classic beat ’em up gameplay will remain the same but with new mechanics, a fresh story and beautiful hand-drawn stages to explore with a selection of well-known and beloved characters… and a few new faces to discover.
Amongst them, the latest character to join Blaze Fielding and Axel Stone is a badass guitar-playing warrior named Cherry Hunter — the daughter of the one-and-only Adam Hunter. She’s a self-defense expert, trained by her father and Axel, and while she may not be the buffest character on the roster, she’s definitely one of the fastest. Cherry will be the perfect choice for players who love rock music, fast action, and neon colors. Watch the new trailer at the top of this post to see her in action.
Cherry will be joined by other characters soon, so stay tuned for more news!
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