t1z4l

Sega announced the development of new Jet Set Radio, Shinobi, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, and Crazy Taxi games with Sega Power Surge. A trailer showing the 5 new games appeared at The Game Awards 2023.

Each title is currently in different stages of development, has no definitive title, and will appear over the next several years. Sega Power Surge has been described as a new initiative to produce new titles from the publisher’s treasure trove of iconic game series. At the time of writing, there is no confirmation on which platforms the games are being developed for.

You can check out the new reveal trailer featuring footage with brand-new Sega classic games like Jet Set Radio here, though the clips going over the new titles is rather short. It's preceded by a live action segment setting the stage for the project, which includes references to the classics.

Sega Power Surge is an initiative to develop new Jet Set Radio, Shinobi, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, and Crazy Taxi titles. The games will release throughout the next few years. More information will appear in the future, and the announcements will include news about things like potential platforms.

The post Sega Power Surge Brings Back Jet Set Radio, 4 More Games appeared first on Siliconera.

Streets of Rage 4 is a tremendous game. I’m not just saying that because of the cool interview we conducted. I truly love this game; it’s everything I could have wanted from a contemporary beat ‘em up and then some. A lot of that is due to Lizardcube’s amazing visuals, Guard Crush Games’ shockingly substantial combat, and the dope soundtrack. But what really, really stood out to me during my playthrough was how much this game gives each character on an individual basis. Streets of Rage 4 makes every character feel special and goes beyond just the gameplay to facilitate that feeling.

It’s hard to make a game that’s about combat, and strike a balance between complexity and accessibility. Beat ‘em ups are simple by nature, but modern gaming demands more than a button-mashing quarter-muncher. At the same time, veer too far into the other lane and you may as well make a fighting game. Streets of Rage 4 achieves that balance with just a little added work for the player, but pulls one of my favorite tricks in games like this. Rather than giving each character different moves with varying inputs, Streets of Rage 4 has each character use the same controls, but with wildly different animations and properties.

Because you only have to learn one set of controls, it’s super easy to focus on what actually happens when you press those buttons. There’s the health-draining special move that has an offensive vs defensive modifier, and the core command attack that activates if you double-tap forward before you punch. For the most part, characters share the same commands. But the actual gameplay context differs a lot! Blaze, for example, uses a flying kick move that has OTG properties. Cherry can actually run before her unique move, and Adam’s has (ostensibly) extra juggle oomph. Axel is stockier and mostly shorter range, but he makes fire and it hurts. Floyd does the Mike Haggar thing with grapples, and he also has a laser beam that goes full-screen!

Besides the gameplay, Streets of Rage 4 also does something cool you don’t see in most arcade-style beat ‘em ups. It encourages you to swap who you’re playing as, even in the middle of a run. Typically, you either go through a whole run as the character you chose, or you get to swap after you get a game over and use a continue. Streets of Rage 4 gives you the option to change characters between levels, and even gives you score bonuses for playing each level with each character at least once. Considering this game actually features several unlockable characters (even in the story!), that’s an excellent way to let the player know it’s a good idea to experiment in the moment.

Beat ‘em ups don’t always do a great job making the characters feel distinct. Sure, there’s the infamous Colossus roar in X-Men, and Mike Hagger has that piledriver. But for every Haggar there are groups of Ninja Turtles and white dudes in karate gis who barely have tangible play differences. Streets of Rage has always been about giving its characters unique moves, but Streets of Rage 4 really goes the extra mile to add depth and individuality to the play experience of each hero. And it even pokes at you in the options and rewards system to try everyone out. All that extra effort makes a world of difference, especially in this genre space.

Streets of Rage 4 is available for the PlayStation 4, the Nintendo Switch, the Xbox One, and the PC.

The post Streets of Rage 4 Makes Every Character Feel Special appeared first on Siliconera.

Imagine being a longtime fan of something. Then, decades down the line, it's suddenly your job to help make a new one. That's a lethal combination of excitement and anxiety I'm not sure I could personally handle. But the crew behind Streets of Rage 4, a sequel to Sega's classic console brawler trilogy, is tackling this task head-on. There could be a million questions I'd ask people involved with such an undertaking, but this time I'll settle for a good handful. We got to shoot some questions to the team, which is really multiple teams, comprising work from Lizardcube, Dotemu, and of course Guard Crush Games. Specifically, we heard from Lizardcube Creative and Art Director Ben Fiquet, Guard Crush Games Lead Programmer Cyrille Lagarigue, and Dotemu Game Designer Jordi Asensio.

Lucas White, Siliconera: How did Guard Crush Games get involved?

Cyrille Lagarigue: Dotemu and Lizardcube had secured the right to develop the game with Sega, and they were looking for a partner with experience on side scrolling Beat’em Ups to take care of the technical side of development. They liked the work we did with Streets of Fury, and we were obviously very enthusiastic to work on such a great IP, so it was a match! We were then able to have a head start in developing the game by reusing our custom engine and improving upon it.

https://youtu.be/Z-1e1cbiKpg

In one of Dotemu's mini-docs, Yuzo Koshiro noted his fascination with French developers working on a sequel to a Japanese game--what does it feel like to approach a project creatively rooted in one place/culture through multiple sequels?

Ben Fiquet: I think he sees it as an oddity, a fun one to be sure. It is difficult obviously to try to carry a vision. It was really a product of the 90’s but also particularly Japanese.

So when you approach a project like this, despite your best efforts, it will reflect your own perception of these games through your lens of a French man, with your own culture. But all of this is made with the utmost respect for the original material and we tried to bring that vision forward.

Lagarigue: The French have always been pretty close to Japanese culture; is the second country after Japan in Manga sales for example. I am French but I live in Canada, one of the team is Canadian, and we listened to a lot of fans in the US during PAXes, so I like to think that the game has a little of an international vibe. Also, it takes place in a city that looks like New York City.

What sets Streets of Rage apart from other brawlers, and how has that perception colored 4's development?

Jordi Asensio: I love Streets of Rage 2’s slow pace compared to all other beat ‘em ups from this era. It makes the game feel really strategic. I think it’s due to its console roots because arcade beat ’em ups had to be flashy in the first 2 minutes, throwing everything they had at you. That difference makes Streets of Rage 2 a much more well balanced game, not just gameplay wise.

For example you have the time to look at the backgrounds and enjoy the music, and just feeling badass walking through the streets.

In Streets of Rage 4 we really thought about that: How we can make a beat ‘em up interesting and always fresh, even after a lot of hours are sunk into the game?

How protective (or not) is Sega of its IP? We've seen examples of Sega allowing or even embracing fan games, but when it comes to an official project how much oversight is there?

Asensio: They are very protective, but once they give you the greenlight, you’re free to do whatever you want. They of course watch what you do closely, but they always trust you.

Somewhat related, did the team(s) have any access to documents or anything Sega has saved from the original games, or what research was conducted while the project began taking form?

Fiquet: We looked at pretty much everything that was associated with the original games; game design documents, artworks, interviews, fan projects and more…

We’ve also asked for help from dedicated fans that knew the games in and out, both in gameplay and lore and it was extremely valuable.

Can we have some insight into how the team(s) arrived at the story and art directions?

Fiquet: I think it’s a matter of culture and personal tastes. I started with the original games as a canvas, but soon it became imbued with what I wanted to bring and what I knew how to make.

Wonderboy gave a blueprint in of production, and I carried on the touch we ignited there which is influenced by French comics, traditional animation, and Japanese culture.

It was super important to be able to reproduce the particular mood of the franchise ,both visually and narratively, but going fully hand-drawn HD had to bring changes, and hopefully for the better.

How the heck did so much musical clout get saddled up for this game?

Asensio: Streets of Rage games are like music albums. It’s an adventure; it tells a story through the game. The music of the originals is so good that people, myself included, still listen to the soundtrack. So from the beginning, we wanted to give music the attention it deserves, and thanks to Cyrille Imbert (Dotemu CEO) and Alex Aniel from Bravewave Productions, we managed to find tremendous artists, and not only from the video game industry. [Note: this interview was conducted before Hideki Naganuma left the project due to a scheduling issue]

What's something particularly exciting about Streets of Rage 4 nobody is talking about enough?

Fiquet: People have been dissecting the game with every update so we’re pretty much covered in all directions, but… we still have things that people will discover when playing the game.

Can you talk about the creative process or any unique challenges associated with bringing brand new characters (such as Cherry) into the mix?

Fiquet: I think it was necessary to bring new things into the mix. Primarily because it gives you more gameplay opportunities, and also it can shakes things up with new ideas and new lore. But all of this had to fit within the universe and characters already here, and that’s a difficult line to walk.

Some fans are asking for their favorite character to make a comeback, but I hope they will be happy with what we’re bringing. Streets of Rage 4 has the power to bring fun to old school fans and newcomers alike.

Lagarigue: The two new characters follow two archetypes: the fast, “tricks” character (Cherry), and the strong, big and slow character (Floyd). Everything started from Ben’s designs, but then we worked together to have them have their own playstyle, to ensure they didn’t feel like Skate and Max with a different skin. Cherry is more aerial than Skate; she can bounce on enemies and has dive moves. She also has strong finisher moves with her guitar. And Floyd plays closer to Haggar from Final Fight than Max, being the first character in a Streets of Rage game who can walk around while holding an enemy.

Streets of Rage 4 is slated for a Spring 2020 release, on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One, and the PC.

The post Streets of Rage 4 Interview: Throwing Hands With Guard Crush, Lizardcube, and Dotemu appeared first on Siliconera.

Music publisher Data Discs announced that it has released the remastered soundtracks for the Streets of Rage series via Bandcamp. Previously, the company released the remastered soundtrack of the trilogy via physical records.

Each of the soundtracks will cost £6.00 to purchase, which translates to around $7.50 USD. The soundtracks for Streets of Rage and 2 are credited solely to Yuzo Koshiro on Data Discs' site, while 3 is credited to both Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima (Kawashima also composed some tracks on 2). Both artists are returning for the  Streets of Rage 4, alongside Yoko Shimomura, Hideki Naganuma, and Keiji Yamagishi.

According to Data Discs, the audio for the remastered soundtrack was sourced from the original NEC PC-88 files. It was then recorded and provided by Yuzo Koshiro, in combination with a 32bit/96kHz capture from a Mega Drive console.

You can find Data Discs' new Bandcamp digital soundtrack store here. (It currently only contains the Streets of Rage series soundtracks.) Meanwhile, the official store also has the soundtracks still available via record format, with the first game's soundtrack now back in stock.

The Streets of Rage series released on the Sega Genesis. The fourth game will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in Spring 2020.

The post Streets of Rage Series Soundtracks Now Available Digitally on Bandcamp appeared first on Siliconera.

We previously reported that a concert of video game music medleys from games composed by Yuzo Koshiro would be held in Japan, and the New Japan BGM Philharmonic Orchestra is now inviting the entire world to watch alongside viewers in Japan. The concert is to be livestreamed at 2pm JST on December 1, which translates to 9pm PT tonight.

The highlight of the concert will be ‘Symphonic Suite: ActRaiser 2018’, where every song from ActRaiser will be played in a row. Apart from ActRaiser, songs from The Scheme, Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage 2, and Etrian Odyssey are set to be featured.

You can find the livestream on Youtube embedded below:

You can check out some rehearsals that Yuzo Koshiro himself teased on Twitter in our previous report here.

The concert will take place at Ota Civic Hall Aprico in Japan on December 1, 2018 at 2pm JST, and viewers outside Japan can watch it via livestream at 9pm PT.

The post Yuzo Koshiro Concert To Be Livestreamed For Free Tonight At 9pm PT appeared first on Siliconera.

The New Japan BGM Philharmonic Orchestra is holding a series of concerts, with the first featuring music composed by Yuzo Koshiro, as well as the man himself as a guest.

The concert will feature music from the following games:

• The Scheme
• Streets of Rage
• Streets of Rage 2
• Etrian Odyssey
• ActRaiser

Furthermore, every song from ActRaiser will be presented in orchestra for the first time in 25 years since the game’s release, according to Koshiro himself.

Koshiro has also been posting some snippets from the NJBP’s rehearsals, such as the Etrian Odyssey suite, which includes ‘Destruction Begets Decay’ and ‘The Capital of Shinjuku’ as part of its medley:

古代祭りリハ、世界樹編！ 本番は12月1日、もうすぐです。https://t.co/OLAuHyYChO pic.twitter.com/zWgnte7aLM

— 古代祐三 (@yuzokoshiro) November 20, 2018

Next, he teased a bit of the World Tree’s BGM (All Over the World):

Performing the Actraiser’s World Tree BGM for the first time in 25 years ! アクトレイザーの世界樹ステージ。演奏されるのは実に四半世紀ぶり？ 本番楽しみです！ https://t.co/OLAuHyYChO pic.twitter.com/0EQpD36eMJ

— 古代祐三 (@yuzokoshiro) November 20, 2018

Finally, here’s another poster for the concert, featuring Etrian Odyssey:

The concert will take place at Ota Civic Hall Aprico in Japan on December 1, 2018 at 2pm JST. You can find the page with the details and a link to ticket buying here and here respectively.

The post Yuzo Koshiro Orchestra Concert To Be Held In Japan, Featuring Streets Of Rage And Etrian Odyssey appeared first on Siliconera.

London-based record label Data Discs is planning on selling vinyl editions of the soundtracks for Shenmue and Streets of Rage this September.

Data Discs says that its aim is to “showcase the creativity of game composers and bring their (often overlooked) works to audiences both new and old." To achieve this, it carefully selects from what it considers to be the best soundtracks out there and then remasters them before putting them on vinyl.

You can listen to a couple of remastered tracks from the Shenmue soundtrack on Data Discs’s Soundcloud page.

Pre-orders for the vinyl editions of the soundtracks on the Data Discs website went up on May 30th. There will apparently be exclusive editions available to those who pre-order early on.

The post Shenmue And Streets Of Rage Soundtracks To Be Released On Vinyl appeared first on Siliconera.

Backbone Entertainment was doing some neat stuff with Sega and we're not talking about the Sega Vintage Collection. They pitched a new Streets of Rage game to Sega. Concept art for Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, and Adam Hunter – the original trio from Streets of Rage – was shared by a former Backbone Entertainment artist.

What's really interesting is Backbone Entertainment also put together a pitch to reboot ESWAT! ESWAT: City Under Siege is a sidescrolling action game for the Genesis.

We also have some artwork from Backbone Entertainment's unreleased Gauntlet game for Nintendo DS. Eidos was supposed to publish Gauntlet for DS back in 2008, but the game never materialized despite being reviewed by  a couple of magazines. Here's the Wizard, Elf, Valkyrie, and Barbarian.

The post New Streets Of Rage And ESWAT Games Were Being Pitched To Sega appeared first on Siliconera.

It's a miracle that Sega didn't forget Alex Kidd. Their former mascot character is coming to Xbox 360 when Alex Kidd in Miracle World is available on Xbox Live Arcade. PEGI rated the Sega Master System game along with a bunch of other Sega classics.

Super Hang-On, Golden Axe, Golden Axe 3, Streets of Rage, and Streets of Rage 3 were rated by PEGI too. PEGI also rated Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World, and Monster World IV. The Monster World games were leaked and announced almost a year ago, but since PEGI took a look at them maybe we'll get to finally play Monster World IV in English.

The post Alex Kidd, Golden Axe, And Streets Of Rage Sega Vintage Collection For Xbox 360 appeared first on Siliconera.

Streets of Rage, the archetypal SEGA Genesis/Megadrive 2D side-scrolling beat'em up, will soon be gracing the Wii Virtual Console. Presumably, for a price. Now, taking into consideration that a) most people haven't got their much deserved Wiis yet b) Virtual Console games are slightly overpriced c) every PC owner has more than 128MB of RAM, an estimated 94% of you dear Siliconera readers will be thrilled to know that BoMbErGaMeS have developed an excellent -and accordingly freeware- remake of Streets of Rage. Get your 70MB here and know that it will run perfectly on any PC bought during the last 5 years.

Streets of Rage Remake, just so you know, while keeping the traditional gameplay formula and banal 80s story, expands on the original by adding more locations, more levels, new moves, obscure enemies and  quite a few extra animation frames. Even the original music has been remixed, though not necessarily improved. Not impressed yet? Well, I guess you're too much of a traditionalist then. Better try Streets of Rage Online, the ultimate SoR archive.

The post Streets of Rage Remake appeared first on Siliconera.

Sega announced that they were bringing fiveGenesis games over to the Virtual Console. We’ve seen Gain Ground and Bonanza Bros. on the Japanese release list, but three of the other titles are brand new. Streets of Rage, Comix Zone and Bio-Hazard Battle are all going to be sold in the 800 point price range. I loved Streets of Rage enough to buy the Japanese version of Sonic Gems Collection, which had all three games in the series. If we’re getting the first game we’ll get all three at some point. Comix Zone is another great game from the Genesis era. It looked great back then and even though it is on the short side it was creative enough to be memorable. Check below for descriptions of the five games, the Streets of Rage one will probably make you laugh.

Streets of Rage - This city was once a happy, peaceful, place…until one day, a powerful secret criminal organization took over. This vicious syndicate soon had control of the government and even the police force. The city has become a center of violence and crime where no one is safe. Amid this turmoil, a group of determined young police officers has sworn to clean up the city. Among them are Adam Hunter, Axel Stone, and Blaze Fielding. They decided to put their lives on the line and take back their city through their special hand-to-hand combat abilities. They are willing to risk anything, even their lives, on the Streets of Rage. (1991/© SEGA)

Bio-Hazard Battle - An army of biogenetic mutants has gone haywire, terrorizing the world and putting the future of the planet in jeopardy. It's up to you to take on the mutant menace and restore order and harmony to the planet Avaron, before it's too late! Through eight levels of intense action, you'll be up against some of the nastiest, most vile creatures you've ever seen, things like mega amoebas, nuclear crabs, electroworms, and gut-grabbing insects. You have four different Bioship fightercraft to choose from, each with unique handling capabilities and weapons systems. Your mission will take you through cavernous mineshafts, the ocean floor, and the Biowar Lab, each populated by heinous creatures that only man could have created. Hop into your fightercraft and save Avaron from certain doom. (1992/© SEGA)

Gain Ground - It's the 31st Century, and science and technology have progressed to the point that the human race is approaching perfection: no war, no poverty, and no conflict. With nothing to worry about, the human race seems destined to live forever in harmony; but what if Earth came under attack? By this point in time, people did not know how to cope with problems or conflicts, and had completely lost their survival instincts. In response to this, the United Earth Government created the Gain Ground system, a war simulator that would help humans rediscover their lost instincts. After several terrible malfunctions, the creators became prisoners in their own creation. Now it's up to you and two courageous comrades to go into the Gain Ground system, rescue your fellow humans, and destroy the system. You'll battle through different periods in history as you revive your survival instincts, while trying to stay alive! (1991/© SEGA)

Comix Zone - Sketch Turner is an artist in New York City. One day while Sketch is drawing, there is a huge thunderstorm and a bolt of lightning hits Sketch's image, bringing it to life. That image is Mortus, a megalomaniac mutant who wants to become real and rule the earth. Mortus magically transports Sketch into the pages of his comic book so that he can end his creator's life and become real. Inside the comic book, Sketch meets General Alissa Cyan, who believes he is a superhero that came to save their post-apocalyptic world from the evil brought by Mortus' hand. Now that he's a comic book superhero, Sketch can fight like a one-man mercenary platoon! (1995/© SEGA)

Bonanza Bros. - Mobo and Robo Bonanza are enjoying their favorite television show when the picture crackles and the shadowy figure of a mysterious stranger appears on screen. This figure asks them to collect certain items that he has placed inside various buildings to test his security force. If they return the items successfully, Mobo and Robo will be rewarded. The two of them agree to get the job done in just three minutes, however, they don't know yet that each building is packed with security guards who will raise the alarm if they are caught red-handed and a huge reward will be given out if Mobo and Robo are apprehended. Fortunately both Mobo and Robo are equipped with bullets that can knock the guards unconscious for a few seconds. Help the infamous Bonanza Bros. infiltrate a number of different locations ranging from banks to mansions to casinos and don't get caught! (1991/© SEGA)

The post Streets of Rage, Comix Zone and Bio-Hazard Battle headed to the Virtual Console appeared first on Siliconera.