Line #3 Trivia/StreetsOfRage


1	!!The tropes:
2	* ApprovalOfGod: The developers of ''Streets of Rage 4'' (Lizardcube, Dotemu, and Guard Crush Games) revealed in [[https://thegg.net/interviews/streets-of-rage-4-interview-with-lizardcube-dotemu-and-guard-crush-games/ an interview with TGG in 2018]] that they had played fan games of the series, even specifically acknowledging ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRageRemake''.
3	* BadExportForYou: ''3''. Not necessarily because of the [[DifficultyByRegion inflated difficulty]] itself, but because the lowest difficulty setting in the overseas versions, Easy, includes EasyModeMockery that cuts out the last two stages of the game, while the Japanese version's equivalent difficulty level, Normal, lets you play to the very end. In other words, you're punished for playing a non-Japanese version. Also, the Japanese version's Easy difficulty, which ''still'' lets you complete the entire game and would've been the overseas versions' EasierThanEasy difficulty, is removed altogether. The story was also [[DubInducedPlotlineChange completely rewritten and overhauled]], turning the Rakushin bombs into just generic bombs, removing the city bombing intro, and sliding in a robot duplicate plot that replaced the Syndicate's attempts to TakeOverTheWorld with the Rakushin.
4	* {{Blooper}}: In the first game, Mr. X refers to the player's character as a "man", even if they're playing as Blaze, the sole female player character.
5	* BTeamSequel: The first three games were made by Creator/{{Sega}} while the fourth was made by Lizardcube.
6	* ColbertBump: The second game's soundtrack, in particular Stage 3's main theme "Dreamer", saw a brief upsurge in interest thanks to Music/SmoothMcGroove covering it.
7	* ContentLeak: One of the final trailers for ''4'' revealed [[spoiler:Y Island]] in the Battle Mode, which was actually meant to be a secret that's exposed when progressing in the Story Mode.
8	* DivorcedInstallment:
9	** The first game started its development as a spin-off of ''ESWAT: City Under Siege'' originally given the development title of ''DSWAT''. This explains the appearance of the police car from ''ESWAT'' when using the game's special move.
10	** There was going to be a ''Streets of Rage 4'' on the Platform/SegaSaturn, but it was turned into the unrelated game ''VideoGame/FightingForce'', and instead released on the Platform/PlayStation and Platform/{{Nintendo 64}}.
11	* DuelingWorks:
12	** For the original trilogy, with Creator/{{Capcom}}'s ''VideoGame/FinalFight''.
13	*** Capcom was almost untouchable when it came to BeatEmUp arcade games. The original ''Final Fight'' is superb; the definitive 90's side-scroller beat 'em up. (Plus it gave us [[EnsembleDarkhorse Poison]]!) But the follow-ups [[{{Sequelitis}} were not as good]] (''Final Fight 3'' [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel notwithstanding]], [[FirstInstallmentWins though it still lacked the wider recognition of the first installment]]).
14	*** ''Streets of Rage'' being made specifically for [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis a console]] worked out better as far as not having to downgrade anything, as was common for arcade ports. ''[=SoR1=]'' was all right. The second game was great; some have even called it a masterpiece. ''Final Fight'' invented the formula, but ''[=SoR2=]'' perfected it. It has a great balance of stage space and character definition. Capcom fans may appreciate the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' homage/ripoff in the form of [[CaptainErsatz "Zamza."]] (That's Blanka. And Vega. It's Blanka-Vega.) Their decision to go back to the smaller characters with ''[=SoR3=]'' was a little mystifying, though. The English release was changed for the worse with [[DifficultyByRegion the added difficulty]], and it had a more experimental soundtrack widely considered to be weaker.
15	** ''4'' had one with ''VideoGame/BattleToads2020''. Both games were [[SequelGap long-awaited sequels]] to classic beat 'em ups by new studios released in 2020, featuring bright, cartoonish, high-definition 2D graphics. There was also a minor one with ''The [=TakeOver=]'', another ''SOR''-inspired urban beat 'em up using pre-rendered 3D models. Overall, ''4'' was better-received, though ''The [=TakeOver=]'' clearly [[SpiritualSuccessor paying homage]] to ''SOR'' (to the point of getting Yuzo Koshiro himself on board to compose the Stage 1 theme) and being in development long before ''4'' was officially announced[[labelnote:*]]while the final release date of ''The [=TakeOver=]'' (November 2019) was only a few months before that of ''Streets of Rage 4'' (April 2020), its earliest builds date back to 2016 whereas ''[=SOR4=]'' was first revealed in August 2018[[/labelnote]] meant most who played it and ''[=SOR4=]'' [[FriendlyFandoms ultimately enjoyed both games]].
16	* DummiedOut: Data for the cut motorcycle level in the third game was left on the cartridge close enough to finished state that you can skip to that level using a device like Game Genie, but only for ''Bare Knuckle 3''. The data is completely corrupted in ''Streets of Rage 3'' and is not playable under any circumstances.
17	* ExecutiveMeddling: For the release of ''Streets of Rage 4'' on [[Website/GOGDotCom GOG.com]], the game lacks the 2-player online feature (although 4-player co-op is included). When disappointed fans asked Lizardcube about it, they replied that the decision was not theirs, but the game publisher Dotemu. They added that fans should write to Dotemu to convince them to make the feature available to them. Multiplaying was allowed later, but only between GOG Galaxy clients.
18	* FanTranslation: Of the Japanese version of ''3'', [[http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1375/ courtesy of Twilight Translations.]] It exists because of the difficulty changes mentioned above, the [[DubInducedPlotlineChange radically altered storyline]] in the overseas versions, and the mysterious {{Palette Swap}}ping of the player characters.
19	* PromotedFanboy: Many employees at Lizardcube were avid ''Streets of Rage'' fans in their youth and were delighted to work on the fourth game.
20	* RefittedForSequel: Blaze's final design in the fourth game, along with [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/streetsofrage/images/8/89/BlazeSoR4Concept1.png several]] [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/streetsofrage/images/8/8a/BlazeSoR4Concept2.png prototypes]] viewable in ''4''[='s=] ConceptArtGallery, is based upon official ''[=SOR3=]'' art [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/streetsofrage/images/a/ad/BlazeFieldingSoR3.jpg depicting Blaze wearing a black jacket over her usual attire]] (which also matches [[https://www.giantbomb.com/a/uploads/square_medium/13/139866/2695263-streets%20of%20rage%203%20crop.jpg her depiction]] on [[http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?cover_id=7118 the cover]] of ''Bare Knuckle III'').
21	* ScrewedByTheLawyers: WordOfGod states licensing issues is the reason why the retro soundtrack option in the fourth game does not have any music from the third game.
22	* SequelGap: ''Streets of Rage 4'' came out over ''26 years'' after ''Streets of Rage 3''. [[note]]To be more specific, ''[=SOR3=]'' first released mid-March in 1994 for the U.S. and Japan, with other regions receiving it a few months later in June. The fourth game didn't release until the tail end of April 2020.[[/note]]
23	* ShownTheirWork: Skate's special move is an actual breakdancing move called the power windmill.
24	* UrbanLegendOfZelda: There was a rumor that locking ''Streets of Rage'' onto ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic & Knuckles]]'' would allow you to play as Knuckles in ''[=SOR1=]''. This was eventually [[{{Defictionalization}} defictionalized]] in various fanhacks.
25	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
26	** Pre-release screenshots show that ''Streets of Rage 3'' was originally going to feature a section where the heroes ride motorcycles.
27	** [[https://tcrf.net/images/9/9c/SOR_Early_Profile.png Amongst other things,]] it Adam and Axel were originally called "Wolf" and "Hawk" respectively. "Hawk" would later be used for the CaptainErsatz of Axel in ''VideoGame/FightingForce''.
28	** The unlockable concept art for ''Streets of Rage 4'' shows that several returning enemies and bosses were ultimately left on the cutting room floor, including the Fog bikers, Electra, Mona & Lisa, as well as non-pixel versions of Jack II, Abadede, and R. Bear. All of them would eventually return in the Mr. X Nightmare DLC as retro enemies in Survival mode.
29	** The same set of art for the heroes showed two different playable characters were planned before the final version gave us Cherry and Floyd. The first was what appeared to be a version of Cherry wearing rollerblades, likely as a plan to make her a Skate expy before retooling her into something more unique. The second was a young lad with bangs and used Creator/BruceLee-esque martial arts judging by his stance, and who also had an alternate costume heavily resembling [[Anime/DragonBallZ the Great Saiyaman]].
30	** Floyd was originally a much older-looking African American man with the surname Harper instead of Iraia.
31	** Earlier concepts for Dylan show he was going to look like either a {{Japanese Delinquent\|s}} (with a schoolboy uniform), an expy of Anime/SpaceDandy, or a {{Yakuza}} thug who fought with hands in his pockets. DelinquentHair included. There were even female Yakuza enemies as well. All were scrapped and Dylan became the final concept to fit the tone of the game better.
32	** Lizardcube toyed with the idea implementing running in the fourth game, but removed it during playtests because the game became a running fest and reduced challenge. Therefore, only Cherry can run (while Adam and [[DownloadableContent Shiva]] can dash).
33	** Lizardcube had access to the design documents of past games. They thought of implementing the motorcycle level mentioned above. However, the amount of work, animation, and sprites needed for just one level prompted them to replace the motorcycle level with a cutscene.
34	** The fourth game had plans to use the third game's soundtrack as a part of the retro soundtrack feature, but licensing issues prevented the developers from using it.
35	** [[VideoGame/JetSetRadio Hideki]] [[VideoGame/SonicRush Naganuma]] was planned to be one of the guest composers for the fourth game, but [[https://twitter.com/Hideki_Naganuma/status/1336725154886369281 conflicts over royalties and ownership]] made him leave the project.
36	** Dotemu repeatedly lobbied Sega for [[VideoGame/{{Shinobi}} Joe Musashi]]'s inclusion in ''4'', but were firmly turned down. His appearance on a graffiti mural in one of the levels is a nod to this.
37	* WordOfGod: For the series' 30th anniversary in 2021, [[https://twitter.com/yuzokoshiro/status/1422211630868295680 Yuzo Koshiro posted on Twitter]] that Axel's uppercut move [[InconsistentSpelling is supposed to be named Ground Upper]], not Grand Upper as often assumed and spelled in the old American manuals, for how he drags his fist along the ground (something made clearer by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_bgPefCyfA the fourth game's reveal trailer]] showing Axel grind his fist against the ground when rushing in to attack Diva, [[FrictionBurn causing it to]] [[PlayingWithFire go ablaze]]). ''Sonic Gems Collection'' actually had it spelled right. With the ''Mr. X Nightmare'' DLC in ''4'' introducing alternate special moves for the cast and providing names for the standard ones, [[FlipFlopOfGod however]], it appears that the official spelling is still Grand Upper.
38	* WriteWhatYouKnow: Estel's haircut comes from a real-life French policewoman one of the fourth game's development team members encountered years earlier.
39	!!Other:
40	* There was a comic book based on the second game written by Creator/MarkMillar.

Context Trivia / StreetsOfRage