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Kick butt at Streets of Rage 4 with these expert tips from the developers
Want to become a better vigilante? Streets of Rage 4 Executive Producer Cyrille Imbert shares some of his top combat tips to help you up your game.
After 26 years of failed projects and wonky tech demos, Streets of Rage 4 is finally a thing you can actually pay money for and play… like, right now. The game released to a huge response from series fans and newcomers alike, but even the most seasoned Streets of Rage player has to admit that the game is quite challenging when compared to the originals.
That’s why, for your gaming pleasure, we’ve tag-teamed with Cyrille Imbert, Streets of Rage 4 producer and CEO at developer Dotemu, to give you some tips to help you clean up the streets like a pro.
Ready? Fight!!
1.Try all the different characters
Characters from every different Streets of Rage game appears here
© Dotemu
Fans of the previous games will have a favourite character that they main, but it’s worth giving all of the revamped returning fighters and newcomers Cherry and Floyd a fair chance. Each of them has a unique set of moves that chain in different ways, so it’s worth figuring out which one bets matches your flow and preferred play style. Basically, don’t just main Axel because he was your main in Streets of Rage 2.
“It’s super weird,” says Cyrille. “I’ve seen people saying, ‘oh Floyd is completely over-powered, it’s so easy to play with him!’ and others are like, ‘I hate playing with Floyd, Blaze is so much better.’ So everyone has their own favourite and that’s why it’s important to find your own who is most compatible.”
2. Learn all the enemy patterns
Kick everything and you'll be fine
© Dotemu
Let’s get this out of the way first; those punks with their hands in their pockets suck, and even Cyrille agrees he found them mega-annoying to begin with. Every single enemy and boss in the game has their own unique patterns and weaknesses that, once you memorise them, makes them easy to defeat.
“The best tip is to really understand the patterns of the enemies, like their weakness and strengths,” advises Cyrille. “Once you figure this out and when you come to a new screen, you’ll be like, ‘okay, I need to get rid of this guy right away, or I can leave this other one, let him do his thing and go back to him after dealing with all the other guys.”
In the end, beating the pocket guys is actually pretty simple; they’ll do their jump kick when you stand in line with them, so just walk up or down to trigger it, wait for them to stop their jump kick then move in to punish them with a counter-attack. You can also use this trick to make the kickboxers do their jumping knee, which leaves them open for a follow-up beatdown.
3. Memorise where health items are
The original three characters return, each with new (but familiar) looks
© Dotemu
As much as fans hate to admit it, we’ve probably all lost a life in Streets of Rage moments before reaching the next health item. It’s almost as painful as actually taking a lead pipe to the face (to be fair, that might be a slight exaggeration…)
“One of the most important things in the level design is the placement of the chicken and apples,” says Cyrille. “If you know where they are and don’t forget about them, then you’re good, as you can manage your health really well. The most frustrating thing is to lose a life, come back then realise there was a chicken just under a nearby barrel.”
That does totally suck, so that’s why memorising where all of the health items live in each stage will help you fight more strategically. You should also avoid spamming health-sapping specials when you know there won’t be a pick-up for a while, and totally go for those big scoring combos and riskier moves when there’s one nearby.
4. Use your environment
No Streets of Rage game is complete without deadly environmental hazards and weapons lying around. Knowing how to use all of these stage features to your advantage can really help give you an edge during even the most intense battles. One of the best tricks you can pull off is throwing a weapon at an enemy, then hitting the grab button at the right time to catch it as it bounces off them. You can keep doing this to put a ton of pressure on your target.
“There are many different sections in the game that feel like a difficult bottleneck,” explains Cyrille. “Try to start thinking about the weapons that are around and how you can use them best. For example, the taser is very effective against shields and the police baton is very fast.”
“Sometimes there are pits in stages that you can use. So for example in the elevator you fight Goro (the karate guy), who is super strong and hard to beat. He’s tricky to throw but once the elevator windows are smashed, you can grab him and let him break out of it so he jumps backwards into the abyss.”
5. Become invincible
Several old characters
© Dotemu
Cyrille agrees that another top tip is to use special moves and throws to become temporarily invincible. While using all of the characters’ neutral specials (pressing the special button without a direction) you’ll be completely invincible for a few frames, which are known as ‘i-frames.’
For example, you can use the i-frames of Axel’s spinning fire punch to make enemy bullets or thrown weapons go right through you. You can even throw an enemy to avoid attacks or slam them into the ground to make a shockwave that takes out nearby punks.
And don’t forget; although special moves drain your health, you can refill your life bar by hitting enemies enough times. Just be careful not to get hit first, as you’ll lose it all!
There we go, five top tips straight from the developer. Now get out there and start cleaning up those streets!
