Episode 57: Streets of Rage 2

Retro Spectives

Pat and James are joined by special guest Drew Koscelek of the WDGR Podcast to discuss and argue whether Streets of Rage 2 has truly stood the test of time. When it was first released in 1992 for the Sega Genesis, it blew everyone away with its gorgeous graphics, vibrant soundtrack, and its fast and fluid gameplay. Even today, many consider it to be one of the best in its genre.

Beat ‘em ups were hugely popular in the late 80s and early 90s, a fixture of the arcade scene and dominating the home console market in the early 90s. But as time went by, they began to fade from view into total obscurity, only appearing here and there as curios like Scott Pilgrim. The release of Streets of Rage 4 to widespread critical acclaim reminded everyone that the genre still has a lot to offer.

But for all the success of Streets of Rage 4, is Streets of Rage 2 still worth playing today? Have the 28 years in between the two games made the original titles redundant, a shadow of what the modern titles offer? Or does Streets of Rage 2 still have what it takes to be fun to play? Is it a classic that has truly stood the test of time?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How does it feel to control Streets of Rage 2? Are special moves that require finicky inputs better than the simplicity of one button per action?
• What is it like to learn to play Streets of Rage 2 with little to no experience with the genre? How hard is the game, and what kind of challenge does it present to the player?
• Is Streets of Rage 2 a satisfying co-op experience? Or does friendly fire with your punches, kicks and grabs lead to an intensely frustrating experience?

We answer these questions and many more on the 58th Episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Streets of Rage 2 OST: Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima

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Our special guest for the episode was Drew Koscelek of the WDGR Podcast! Each and every episode they discuss video games as two people who have no time to play video games. They’re currently running a March Madness video game franchise draft that you can participate in, so please do go check them out! You can also join their discord server to join the conversation.

WDGR Website

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WDGR Discord Server

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Is Streets of Rage 2 really the best in the series, or is the remake of 1 even better? Did we misunderstand something about how you’re meant to play the game co-op? What are brawlers from other franchises worth playing now that we’ve got our feet wet? Come let us know what you think on our

community discord server!