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'''''Streets of Rage 2''''', known in [[Japan]] as {{nihongo|'''''Bare Knuckle II: Shitō he no Chinkonka'''''|ベア・ナックルII 死闘への鎮魂歌|lit. "Bare Knuckle II: The Requiem of the Deadly Battle"}}, and in [[Europe]] as '''''Streets of Rage II''''' with a [[Roman numeral]], is a side-scrolling [[beat 'em up]] released by [[Sega]] in 1992 for the [[Mega Drive|Sega Mega Drive/Genesis]]. The game is also playable in the game Sonic's Ultimate Sega Genesis Collection. It is the second game in the ''[[Streets of Rage (series)|Streets of Rage]]'' series, a [[sequel]] to ''[[Streets of Rage]]'' and followed by ''[[Streets of Rage 3]]''. Its [[video game music|soundtrack]] is by [[Yuzo Koshiro]] and Motohiro Kawashima.
'''''Streets of Rage 2''''', known in [[Japan]] as {{nihongo|'''''Bare Knuckle II: Shitō he no Chinkonka'''''|ベア・ナックルII 死闘への鎮魂歌|lit. "Bare Knuckle II: The Requiem of the Deadly Battle"}}, and in [[Europe]] as '''''Streets of Rage II''''' with a [[Roman numeral]], is a [[side-scrolling video game|side-scrolling]] [[beat 'em up]] [[video game]] released by [[Sega]] in 1992 for the [[Mega Drive|Mega Drive / Genesis]] [[video game console|console]]. The game is also playable in the game ''[[Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection]]''. It is the second game in the [[Streets of Rage (series)|''Streets of Rage'' series]], a [[sequel]] to ''[[Streets of Rage]]'' and followed by ''[[Streets of Rage 3]]''.


The game introduced two new characters: Max Thunder and Eddie "Skate" Hunter (known as Sammy Hunter in [[Japan]]), brother of Adam Hunter from the original game.
The game introduced two new characters: Max Thunder and Eddie "Skate" Hunter (known as Sammy Hunter in [[Japan]]), brother of Adam Hunter from the original game. The game's [[chiptune]] [[video game music|soundtrack]] is composed by [[Yuzo Koshiro]] and Motohiro Kawashima.


== Gameplay ==
== Gameplay ==
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*'''PSN/PSN+''' Streets of Rage 2 is also available for free download as part of Sony's "PSN+" Service, or for £3.99 on "PSN"
*'''PSN/PSN+''' Streets of Rage 2 is also available for free download as part of Sony's "PSN+" Service, or for £3.99 on "PSN"
*'''Steam''' Streets of Rage 2 was published on Valve's ''[[Steam_(software)|Steam]]'' platform on 26 Januari 2011, both as stand-alone purchase and part of the ''SEGA Mega Drive Classics Pack 4''.
*'''Steam''' Streets of Rage 2 was published on Valve's ''[[Steam_(software)|Steam]]'' platform on 26 Januari 2011, both as stand-alone purchase and part of the ''SEGA Mega Drive Classics Pack 4''.

==Soundtrack==
{{Main|Discography of the Streets of Rage series}}
{{Listen
| pos = right
| filename = Streets of Rage 2 - Go Straight.ogg
| title = "Go Straight"
| description = "Go Straight" from the game's [[chiptune]] [[video game music|soundtrack]] demonstrating [[techno]] and [[house music|house]] influences, [[distortion (music)|distorted]] [[electro (music)|electro]] synths, "[[Trance music|trancey]] electronic textures," and [[Panning (audio)|panning]] audio.
| filename2 = Streets of Rage 2 - Expander.ogg
| title2 = "Expander"
| description2 = "Expander" from the game's soundtrack demonstrating [[electro house|a blend]] of [[house music]] with [[electroclash|"dirty" electro]] basslines and "[[Trance music|trancey]] electronic textures."
}}
The [[video game music|music soundtrack]] for ''Streets of Rage 2'' was composed by [[chiptune]] musician [[Yuzo Koshiro]], along with several contributions from Motohiro Kawashima. It was composed using then outdated [[NEC PC-8801]] hardware alongside Koshiro's own [[audio programming language]]. According to Koshiro: "For ''Bare Knuckle'' I used the PC88 and an original programming language I developed myself. The original was called MML, [[Music Macro Language]]. It's based on [[NEC]]'s [[BASIC]] program, but I modified it heavily. It was more a BASIC-style language at first, but I modified it to be something more like [[Assembly language|Assembly]]. I called it ‘Music Love'. I used it for all the ''Bare Knuckle'' Games."<ref name="hg101_retro">{{cite web|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/Japanesecomputers.htm|title=Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier|first=John|last=Szczepaniak|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101|accessdate=2011-03-29}} Reprinted from {{citation|title=[[Retro Gamer]]''|issue=67|year=2009}}</ref>

The soundtrack was influenced by [[electronic music|electronic]] [[electronic dance music|dance music]], specifically [[House music|house]], [[techno]], [[hardcore techno]],<ref name="jeff_davis">{{cite web|last=Davis|first=Jeff|title=Interview with Yuzo Koshiro|url=http://www.psy-q.ch/mirrors/thegia/sites/www.thegia.com/features/f010123.html|work=Gaming Intelligence Agency|accessdate=6 August 2011}}</ref> and [[breakbeat]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Yuzo Koshiro ‎– Bare Knuckle II|url=http://www.discogs.com/Yuzo-Koshiro-Bare-Knuckle-II/release/884374|publisher=[[Discogs]]|accessdate=30 July 2012}}</ref> The soundtrack for ''Streets of Rage 2'' is considered "revolutionary" and ahead of its time,<ref name="gradar_sor2"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Streets of Rage 2 Original Soundtrack (US): Review|url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/reviews/mustin/streetsofrage2.shtml|publisher=Square Enix Music Online|accessdate=31 July 2012|author=Mustin}}</ref> for its "[[electro house|blend of]] swaggering house [[synths]]," "[[electroclash|dirty]]" [[electro (music)|electro-funk]] and "[[Trance music|trancey]] electronic textures that would feel as comfortable in a [[nightclub]] as a video game."<ref name="gradar_sor2">{{cite web|last=McNeilly|first=Joe|title=Game music of the day: Streets of Rage 2|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/game-music-of-the-day-streets-of-rage-2/|publisher=[[GamesRadar]]|accessdate=28 July 2012|date=April 19, 2010}}</ref>


==Cultural references==
==Cultural references==
Line 188: Line 203:


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection]]
*''[[Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection]]''


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 07:17, 8 August 2012

Streets of Rage 2
File:Streets Of Rage 2 -EUR-.PNG
North American boxart
Developer(s)Sega (AM7)
Ancient
H.I.C.
Shout! Designworks[1]
Publisher(s)Sega
Composer(s)Yuzo Koshiro
Motohiro Kawashima
SeriesStreets of Rage
Platform(s)Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, MegaPlay, Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, iOS, Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)Beat 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Streets of Rage 2, known in Japan as Bare Knuckle II: Shitō he no Chinkonka (ベア・ナックルII 死闘への鎮魂歌, lit. "Bare Knuckle II: The Requiem of the Deadly Battle"), and in Europe as Streets of Rage II with a Roman numeral, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released by Sega in 1992 for the Mega Drive / Genesis console. The game is also playable in the game Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. It is the second game in the Streets of Rage series, a sequel to Streets of Rage and followed by Streets of Rage 3.

The game introduced two new characters: Max Thunder and Eddie "Skate" Hunter (known as Sammy Hunter in Japan), brother of Adam Hunter from the original game. The game's chiptune soundtrack is composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima.

Gameplay

Though Streets of Rage 2 plays very similar to its predecessor it improves and refines much of the gameplay. The biggest change is the replacement of the original special attack, which was calling a police car to damage all on-screen enemies, with individual special attacks performed by each character, that depletes some of their health. Each character's move list has been expanded and edited to make them very individual to play instead of similar with different handicaps.

Enemies are also improved; all are given life gauges (previously only Bosses used them) and names, and like the selectable characters, given bigger and more individual movesets. There are many new enemies, including Bikers, Ninjas, Kickboxers and Robots.

There are also changes to the weapons that can be picked up. The pepper shaker and the Bottle from the original game have been removed. The knife has been tweaked, so the player can throw it at will, whereas in the first game the it could be thrown by accident by the player. As a trade-off, the knife does much less damage when thrown in Streets of Rage 2. A kunai has been added, with the same functionality as the knife. The baseball bat from Streets of Rage is replaced by a katana, which performs the most damage of any weapon in the game.

Aside from the differences in weapons and enemies, the characters themselves are given some special abilities and handicaps. In addition to their traits and individual moves, the characters now have a "semi-special move": a powerful, non-energy-draining attack, performed by double tapping a direction and pressing punch. Also, Skate had the ability to dash when a direction is double tapped, a feature carried over to all characters in Streets of Rage 3.

Synopsis

Plot

A year has passed since the events of Streets of Rage. To celebrate the defeat of the mysterious "Mr. X" and his syndicate the previous year, Adam Hunter, Axel Stone, and Blaze Fielding met at their favorite nightspot in the city and spent their time reminiscing about their vigilante crusade against "Mr. X" and his organization. Axel and Blaze had moved out of the city after the adventure from last year. Axel has begun working as a part-time bodyguard and Blaze teaches dance classes. Adam has since rejoined the police force and lives in a small house with his younger brother.

The next morning, Axel received a phone call from Eddie 'Skate' Hunter, Adam's younger brother. Skate had arrived at home from school and was shocked to find his house in ruin and his older brother missing. Attached to the front door was a picture of Adam chained to a wall at the feet of Mr. X. The criminals began to retake the streets once more. Beatings and lootings took place regularly and in broad daylight. Chaos reigned in the city, far worse than before.

Realizing that "Mr.X" and his syndicate has returned for revenge against him, Skate and Axel waste no time in telling Blaze about the unexpected situation and Blaze herself is determined to help Axel out in defeating "Mr. X" and rescuing Adam. Accompanied by Adam's young brother Skate and Axel's "friend," a professional wrestler named Max Thunder, Axel and Blaze set forth on a rescue mission, which will take them from the city all the way to "Mr. X"'s hideout on a desolate island.

Endings

Unlike the other two games in the series, this game has only one ending, the "good" ending where Mr. X is defeated and Adam is rescued. The five heroes then take a helicopter to leave Mr. X's island.

Rounds

Streets of Rage 2 features much longer levels, each with multiple settings. Building from Round 3 in Streets of Rage, the game also expands on weather effects, like rain and mist.

File:Streets of Rage 2 action.png
Gameplay of Streets of Rage 2 features standard side-scrolling beat'em up mayhem
  • Round 1: Downtown
  • Round 2: Bridge Under Construction
  • Round 3: Amusement Park
  • Round 4: Baseball Stadium
  • Round 5: The Ship
  • Round 6: Mr. X's Private Island
  • Round 7: Munitions Plant
  • Round 8: Syndicate Stronghold

Release versions and ports

In Japan, and in Europe, Streets of Rage 2 uses Roman numerals (Bare Knuckle II, Streets of Rage II) and Blaze's up skirt jump kick sprites are intact. The Japanese version also shows Mr. X smoking a cigar, which was edited out of the EU/US version. The Japanese version gives Skate's first name as Sammy, but in the European and US versions, his name is Eddie. The European version gives Max's second name as Hatchett; the US and Japanese versions give it as Thunder.

  • Beta Version via ROM Emulation, a beta version of the game's first level is playable. It is semi-complete with moves, areas, rain effect and all sound effects missing. The bar area is much shorter and without breakable tables and chairs, and the Electra mini-boss is missing, replaced by a Donovan sprite named Singer. Barbon, the level's boss is scrambled when performing certain moves and will respawn three times upon defeat. After that, the player is stuck in the Boss Area. Max Thunder uses a completely different sprite set, giving him a more gorilla-like appearance. Axel's special moves were also changed for the final, in this beta he uses two attacks similar to Sagat's Tiger Uppercut and Ryu and Ken's Hurricane Kick from Street Fighter II. It also features a different background music (this one named officially "Walking Bottom"), more similar to the tunes found within Streets of Rage.

the Mega Drive original, and to each other, similar to the Master System/Game Gear version of Sonic the Hedgehog, they are, in truth, different games. As well different levels and the inferior graphics, Max Thunder is omitted from both. The Game Gear version does not show enemy names.

  • Arcade Version An arcade version of Streets of Rage 2 was released onto Sega's Mega Drive based Mega-Play hardware. It uses a regular credit system. In this version, all 1-ups have been replaced by money bags, there is no in-game timer and the difficulty levels are one step above the Mega Drive version. Scoring is kept by number of KOs, instead of damage inflicted.
  • Virtual Console On May 15, 2007, the game was released for Japan's Virtual Console, and then released on North America's Virtual Console on May 21, 2007. On June 1, 2007, it was released on Europe's Virtual Console.
  • Xbox Live Arcade On August 29, 2007, Streets of Rage 2 was released on Xbox Live Arcade for the Microsoft Xbox 360 console. This version features filtered graphics and online co-operative play. It was later removed from the service in June 2012 and replaced with the Streets of Rage Collection.
  • iOS The original game was released for iPhone and iPod touch in April 2011.
  • PSN/PSN+ Streets of Rage 2 is also available for free download as part of Sony's "PSN+" Service, or for £3.99 on "PSN"
  • Steam Streets of Rage 2 was published on Valve's Steam platform on 26 Januari 2011, both as stand-alone purchase and part of the SEGA Mega Drive Classics Pack 4.

Soundtrack

Main article: Discography of the Streets of Rage series

The music soundtrack for Streets of Rage 2 was composed by chiptune musician Yuzo Koshiro, along with several contributions from Motohiro Kawashima. It was composed using then outdated NEC PC-8801 hardware alongside Koshiro's own audio programming language. According to Koshiro: "For Bare Knuckle I used the PC88 and an original programming language I developed myself. The original was called MML, Music Macro Language. It's based on NEC's BASIC program, but I modified it heavily. It was more a BASIC-style language at first, but I modified it to be something more like Assembly. I called it ‘Music Love'. I used it for all the Bare Knuckle Games."[11]

The soundtrack was influenced by electronic dance music, specifically house, techno, hardcore techno,[12] and breakbeat.[13] The soundtrack for Streets of Rage 2 is considered "revolutionary" and ahead of its time,[14][15] for its "blend of swaggering house synths," "dirty" electro-funk and "trancey electronic textures that would feel as comfortable in a nightclub as a video game."[14]

Cultural references

  • Some levels of the game have references to the Japanese name of the series. In the second half of Round 3-1, there are arcade machines that say "Bare Knuckle", posters featuring "BK2", and advertisements in Round 4 that say "BAREII".
  • It has also been said that the background music for the stadium scenes (officially named "Under Logic") bears a resemblance to The Shamen's 1991 hit "Move Any Mountain".[16]
  • The Stage 4 boss "Abadede" bears a strong resemblance to that of the former professional wrestler The Ultimate Warrior, who had worked for the WWF in the early 90's.
  • The first of the three fat enemies in Stage 5 is named "Heart", as a reference to the popular manga Fist of the North Star (original Japanese name Hokuto No Ken), which featured an extremely overweight martial artist called Heart.
  • The character Skate resembles the eponymous playable character from the game DJ Boy, another side-scrolling beat 'em up. This arcade game, developed by Kaneko, was later published by Sega on the Mega Drive. In fact, Sega changed the in-game name of the character from "Sammy" in Bare Knuckle 2 (Japanese release) to "Skate" in Streets of Rage 2 (U.S. release); American Sammy licensed the arcade game for U.S. distribution. Skate is the character's nickname in both incarnations; his first name in the non-Japanese versions is given as Eddie.

See also

References

  1. ^ nof-h. "ベアナックル２". Park21.wakwak.com. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Streets of Rage". GameRankings. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  3. ^ Template:Allgame
  4. ^ Gary Whitta (1993). "Streets of Rage 2". Computer and Video Games (141): a10-11. Retrieved 1 March 2012. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c Streets of Rage 2 at MobyGames
  6. ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (May 30, 2007). "Streets of Rage 2 Review: The definitive console brawler". IGN. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Streets of Rage II: Review". Mean Machines Sega: 136–9. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Reviewed: Streets of Rage II". Sega Force (16): 28–31. 1993. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Streets of Rage 2". VicioJuegos. 24/08/2007. Retrieved 1 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide". Electronic Gaming Monthly: 20. 1993. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors= and |month= (help)
  11. ^ Szczepaniak, John. "Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2011-03-29. Reprinted from Retro Gamer, 2009
  12. ^ Davis, Jeff. "Interview with Yuzo Koshiro". Gaming Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  13. ^ "Yuzo Koshiro ‎– Bare Knuckle II". Discogs. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  14. ^ a b McNeilly, Joe (April 19, 2010). "Game music of the day: Streets of Rage 2". GamesRadar. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  15. ^ Mustin. "Streets of Rage 2 Original Soundtrack (US): Review". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  16. ^ Perfekt Past: Streets of Rage II, Peoww, 2008-02-17
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