Streets of Rage 3 was overall slightly unpolished in its mechanics and sound effects. But it is still a solid entry in the series and have enjoyed it as much as the previous entries. The music was way ahead of its time. Only in the recent decade are we hearing similar methods of production and musical melodies in modern day music. I've always been a fan of the style but a part of me wishes Koshiro mixed it up with some normal techno house tracks too.
Sad enough it was a downgrade visually, audibly, in game physics were clunky, heck the sprites were smaller, disappointing compared to SOR2. What you might say a quarter baked game.
I always preferred this one over 2. The rechargeable special attack, incorporating the charge attack with weapons, dashing, rolling, among other things. I still love 2.
The localization changes and odd choices in difficulty adjustments made this a controversial entry but I still enjoy the darker tone, unlockables and branching paths. I sadly only played the emulator version back in the day so I didn't know about the new combat features. I still enjoyed the game
Bara Knuckle 3 , is a masterpiece, a little rushed and in consquence too easy, but still fun... SOR 3 is a disaster caused by intrusive localization that would make current worst localizations blush in shame. From storyline changes, to nonsensical costume changes, Weird color changes, Weird Difficulty scaling to compensate the problems of the original, weird ending locked behind the normal difficulty changes. Weird Roll mechanic getting ruined. WEird changing the special bar so you can almost spam it. The OST , many don't like it, and i understand. I love Kawashima mixing, The only bad thing is that the OST doesn't mix well with the genesis chip, I think Koshiro was better in taking advantage of the chip. But the compositions themselves are beautifuly chaotic. love them.
Personally I wouldn't call it easy, I can consistently advance to the final stage in Streets of Rage 2 without too much trouble but SOR3 kicks my ass right from the get-go with the average enemy being far more aggressive and fast, circling around you and locking you up in combos, the first boss of the game would be a mid-game boss in SOR2 difficulty-wise , and don't even get me started on the twins in the bar on the second stage.
Good video... for me the "masterpiece" of Streets of Rage 3 lies in the potential of it, and not in the execution. I have grown to really love some of the music. Dub Slash, Happy Paradise, Shinobi Reverse, The Poets, Spinning Machine. By the way, the composition was shared roughly 50-50 between Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, with Koshiro having the slight majority of composition credits. I feel now that the music isn't even the "weak point" of the game. For me the problem was more in the pacing as Ayano said. A good example from memory would be the "Tunnelway" section, with that annoying minimalist repetitive tune playing, you're trapped in this little railway section with way too many ninjas, and the action is broken up by carts coming at regular intervals. So the stupid ninjas jump to the ceiling and you have to tuck into an opening in the back to avoid the carts; this part was tedious and went on for way too long. I haven't played it in a long time but that's my memory, just one example I think highlights the issue. My impression was formed growing up with SoR 1 and 2, and then playing SoR 3 much later, super excited about this game that's eluded me up to this point. I was obviously disappointed. I would still like to play an English translation of Bare Knuckle III with a fresh palate, but with that said, I have difficulty imagining it improving the game _that much_ that things like Mr. X as a Brain won't still be ridiculous to me. I'll end my comment with a comment on the Ending music. That was another bad impression for me. Nowadays I can appreciate the SoR3 Ending music as a sort of tribute to the series. But that's probably being a little generous. My initial impression was that it was lazy and disappointing. I was hoping for a unique, heartfelt Ending tune like the first 2 games, but instead we got a loop of parts of the SoR2 theme. There was nothing even added to it. It ended the game with the impression that I had just played a fan game or something. That might be a little overly harsh, but it was the impression at the time.
Love the combat mechanics in 3 and somewhat kinda disappointed they weren't carried over in 4 (aside from the SOR3 retro characters). Also "rakushin" should be called "raxine." This was correct in the localization of Project X Zone 2, but even the developers of SOR4 relied too much on the BK3 fan translation and got the name wrong in 4 too 😂
I always rather liked SoR3, though definitely not as much as 2. I love how it starts out, with the track “Fuze” and the fact you can run and have dashing attacks. It makes a great first impression. The combat is quite good, and it does have some of my favorite SoR tracks (Fuze, The Poets I & II, Beat Ambience, Shinobi Reverse, and Dub Slash). Also, being in North America, I recall using the Game Genie to play as Ash, as well as Shiva.
26:36 “Just go play Bare Knuckle 3.” Right, but that wasn’t officially available until relatively recently, and it’s still not in English. I still haven’t finished the Western version because the changes are so frustrating (I’ve tried more than once).
My favorite beat'em up. SoR 3 had so many gameplay additions and refinements over 2, including branching paths and multiple endings. No other console beat'em up had that at the time. SoR 2 has some of the best video game music ever, but SoR 3 has way more variety in the gameplay. It was my favorite game to replay as a kid. SoR 3's gameplay was so good, people complained then characters couldn't run and roll when SoR4 came out.
What is there to 'misunderstand'? I enjoyed the first 2 games and didn't like this one. That's what it comes down to. If you enjoy it or not and just because you did doesn't mean everyone who didn't just didn't get it or whatever.
To me, ever since I've started playing games from this series, I've always thought it was just a wannabe Final Fight clone for the Sega Genesis. IMO, SOR3 really differentiates itself from the Final Fight series. Especially when it came to SOR2, that literally was just a Final Fight game for Genesis. They felt too similar. I definitely prefer SOR3 over 2 because it feels fresh in comparison.
For me it’s the music that killed the game. 1 and 2 and incredible music that anyone could get into. 3 has this hardcore techno mess of a music that will only satisfy few people. Edit: music is especially important to beat them all and shoot them ups because of the more linear nature of the gameplay. If I can’t stand the music, I just won’t play the game.
3 still has a great soundtrack. Not quite as great as the other 2 (which are legendary), but still good enough to make it fun to replay. Heck and in terms of other beat 'm ups SoR3 is still better than any not called SoR and IMO still no worse than SoR4.
...yeah...thatz whay mozt say causal techno fanz think about the 'SoR 3 OST'...but uz hardcore techno fanz agree the 'SoR 3 OST' iz the very bezt...in fact...i'd say 'SoR 2 OST' waz the worzt of the three cuz it waz super bazic🫤
SoR3’s soundtrack is superior to the first two games. It’s arguably also the most technically impressive soundtrack of all Genesis games. It sounds so raw and clean. The biggest issue is that the western versions of the game were narratively nerfed and made artificially difficult compared to the JP release
My take on why people hate on 3 because it isn’t the comfort game for most that part 2 is . From the start to finish 3 kicks your ass so you have to be in the mood to play or be a streets of rage veteran…another reason is the music isn’t as consistent as 1 &2 however in my opinion the music in 3 does fit the more fast and frantic gameplay so looking back now as an older millenial I can appreciate the decision of yuzo koshiro to experiment and you have to keep in mind the game came out in 94’ so music changed since 91’ 🤷🏾♂️ .but as far as cons go for me I would say the biggest one is the sound effects which I feel are severely lacking lol but other than that SOR3 has the most replay value and has the best gameplay
I kinda mixed with the music part. Tbh Koshiro Yuzo has catchy tunes. Meanwhile Kawashima is like hit or miss since he's more into beat. The game mechanic is more fluid. The best part indeed and a reason i more into SoR Remake rather than SoR 4 despite of the modern sprites The question for future. What will Sega put in SoR 3D that we saw in Sega "comeback" trailer with the "remake" IPs? Will they "try to keep different"? Or they "knowledge some homage games" like Fighting Force (since it's 3D)?
Sor3 is my favorite in the franchise! I love the dark/serious/intense atmosphere and the soundtrack! I love the faster gameplay. The difficulty change was ridiculous for the west. Making the west version censored was a mistake (Ash made sense to censor though. The 90s was a scary time to be gay.) Japanese version Story 8/10 Soundtrack 10/10 (Yes it is a different vibe lol) Gameplay 8/10 Characters 5/10 (Adam & Max should have been playable.) Replayability 10/10 (It took me a long time to get the good ending.) Graphics 5/10 (I heard many fans express how disappointed they were with the graphics. Being a huge downgrade. I only saw the Sega CD version of Sor2 I never saw the Genesis version graphics until years later and I'm blown away.)
never had a megadrive, not played any sor game until recently so no nostalgia for me. i've found sor 3 to be the best coz of the gameplay. its much better than sor2 . double tap attaks all the way!
Way better then the SOR2 in my opinion. SOR3 is the most underrated beat em up aside from Konami`s Vendetta. SOR 2 is a little bit overrated in my opinion. Because it lacks originality or features that make it stand out from most beat em ups. Though i loved the game, after beating it i felt their was something missing. Years later i realized its missing originality.
Every aspect of EVERYTHING shows that SoR2 is the better game in EVERY way, except for the gameplay and hidden characters. Lacking originality? How? SoR was SEGA's answer to Final Fight, and one series is spoken of More than the other today, along side sequels.
Mostly indoors of Rage 3 is a weak presentation game. Its many issues are basically - uninspiring locations/level design, weird/wonky hit detection, questionable soundtrack direction and overall rushed production. I agree that mechanicswise and risk/rewardwise its the best out of four official entries but it just doesn't feel exciting to play. Like at all. Bosses are crap, stage hazards are annoying, Zan is a weak newcomer, secret characters are unfinished and the entire mood of the game is lacking. I'll take my neon lights backgrounds any day over some dull warehouse or construction site nothingness, thsnk you very much. It doesn't have the impact of the first two games. As simple as that. Oh, and btw - extended blitz attacks are available to characters without having to collect stars (kinda negating the effort of not dying for as long as you can). As far as I recall you have to hold X-button on a 6-button pad and enter a specific per character per attack command (it's hold X fw fw for everyone for the initial 1star move I believe and varies for the further upraded versions).
I just can't ride w/ that music no matter how many times or for how many years I've heard it. Those two must've been dusted.😅 Yeah, THEY like the music. Game play is Definitely an improvement, but I find that the environments are just bland.
The music of SoR3 was a detriment in the same way it was in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike. SF3 Second Impact has some of my all-time favorite music in any game. Third Strike completely butchered the music, as well as all of the overall sound design. I absolutely hate the changed voices and sound effects, and it had a massive effect on my ability to enjoy the game. I said all that to say that some people, myself included, are far more "in tune" with a game's sound design. To me, personally, a game's audio is more important than its graphics. Just like Third Strike, the music of SoR3 ruined what otherwise could have been a great experience. What makes it worse is when you compare it to music from 1 and 2. SoR2 has my favorite music of any Genesis game. I am a lifelong hater of the Genesis soundchip and style, so Yuzo Koshiro's use of it was masterful.
Streets of Rage 3 was overall slightly unpolished in its mechanics and sound effects. But it is still a solid entry in the series and have enjoyed it as much as the previous entries. The music was way ahead of its time. Only in the recent decade are we hearing similar methods of production and musical melodies in modern day music. I've always been a fan of the style but a part of me wishes Koshiro mixed it up with some normal techno house tracks too.
Ayoo... Yuzoboy is here? I love your covers man. I am so glad you watched this video. Thank you. 👏🏼
Sad enough it was a downgrade visually, audibly, in game physics were clunky, heck the sprites were smaller, disappointing compared to SOR2. What you might say a quarter baked game.
"....start a world war just so they could have revenge on Axel Stone and his friends." Literally using a nuke to take out an anthill, lol.
I always preferred this one over 2. The rechargeable special attack, incorporating the charge attack with weapons, dashing, rolling, among other things. I still love 2.
Honestly, SOR3 should also get the love it deserves, and thankfully everyone has been playing it nowadays (Both US and Japanese versions).
The localization changes and odd choices in difficulty adjustments made this a controversial entry but I still enjoy the darker tone, unlockables and branching paths. I sadly only played the emulator version back in the day so I didn't know about the new combat features. I still enjoyed the game
Bara Knuckle 3 , is a masterpiece, a little rushed and in consquence too easy, but still fun... SOR 3 is a disaster caused by intrusive localization that would make current worst localizations blush in shame.
From storyline changes, to nonsensical costume changes, Weird color changes, Weird Difficulty scaling to compensate the problems of the original, weird ending locked behind the normal difficulty changes. Weird Roll mechanic getting ruined. WEird changing the special bar so you can almost spam it.
The OST , many don't like it, and i understand. I love Kawashima mixing, The only bad thing is that the OST doesn't mix well with the genesis chip, I think Koshiro was better in taking advantage of the chip. But the compositions themselves are beautifuly chaotic. love them.
Personally I wouldn't call it easy, I can consistently advance to the final stage in Streets of Rage 2 without too much trouble but SOR3 kicks my ass right from the get-go with the average enemy being far more aggressive and fast, circling around you and locking you up in combos, the first boss of the game would be a mid-game boss in SOR2 difficulty-wise , and don't even get me started on the twins in the bar on the second stage.
Intrusive Localization is a perfect term for this situation❤
After including a pure grapple character in sor 2, i missed having a grappler in sor 3.
You mentioned the hidden characters but forgot the "super" versions of Axel, Skate and Zan.
Well I was only talking about the the characters that are different from the main four, instead of the just super versions of existing characters.
Good video... for me the "masterpiece" of Streets of Rage 3 lies in the potential of it, and not in the execution. I have grown to really love some of the music. Dub Slash, Happy Paradise, Shinobi Reverse, The Poets, Spinning Machine. By the way, the composition was shared roughly 50-50 between Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, with Koshiro having the slight majority of composition credits.
I feel now that the music isn't even the "weak point" of the game. For me the problem was more in the pacing as Ayano said. A good example from memory would be the "Tunnelway" section, with that annoying minimalist repetitive tune playing, you're trapped in this little railway section with way too many ninjas, and the action is broken up by carts coming at regular intervals. So the stupid ninjas jump to the ceiling and you have to tuck into an opening in the back to avoid the carts; this part was tedious and went on for way too long. I haven't played it in a long time but that's my memory, just one example I think highlights the issue.
My impression was formed growing up with SoR 1 and 2, and then playing SoR 3 much later, super excited about this game that's eluded me up to this point. I was obviously disappointed. I would still like to play an English translation of Bare Knuckle III with a fresh palate, but with that said, I have difficulty imagining it improving the game _that much_ that things like Mr. X as a Brain won't still be ridiculous to me.
I'll end my comment with a comment on the Ending music. That was another bad impression for me. Nowadays I can appreciate the SoR3 Ending music as a sort of tribute to the series. But that's probably being a little generous. My initial impression was that it was lazy and disappointing. I was hoping for a unique, heartfelt Ending tune like the first 2 games, but instead we got a loop of parts of the SoR2 theme. There was nothing even added to it. It ended the game with the impression that I had just played a fan game or something. That might be a little overly harsh, but it was the impression at the time.
Love the combat mechanics in 3 and somewhat kinda disappointed they weren't carried over in 4 (aside from the SOR3 retro characters). Also "rakushin" should be called "raxine." This was correct in the localization of Project X Zone 2, but even the developers of SOR4 relied too much on the BK3 fan translation and got the name wrong in 4 too 😂
Fantastic video man. I always have time for anything SOR.
you have done well to recognize sor3 as superior game-play wise.
I always rather liked SoR3, though definitely not as much as 2. I love how it starts out, with the track “Fuze” and the fact you can run and have dashing attacks. It makes a great first impression. The combat is quite good, and it does have some of my favorite SoR tracks (Fuze, The Poets I & II, Beat Ambience, Shinobi Reverse, and Dub Slash).
Also, being in North America, I recall using the Game Genie to play as Ash, as well as Shiva.
26:36 “Just go play Bare Knuckle 3.” Right, but that wasn’t officially available until relatively recently, and it’s still not in English. I still haven’t finished the Western version because the changes are so frustrating (I’ve tried more than once).
There's a fan-translated ROM of BK3 floating around the internet (I think the file name has Twilight v.1.0 in it). I've played it and it's decent.
Mr X is the pettiest video game villain ever!
i can still enjoy SOR 3, while acknowledging its faults.
My favorite beat'em up. SoR 3 had so many gameplay additions and refinements over 2, including branching paths and multiple endings. No other console beat'em up had that at the time. SoR 2 has some of the best video game music ever, but SoR 3 has way more variety in the gameplay. It was my favorite game to replay as a kid. SoR 3's gameplay was so good, people complained then characters couldn't run and roll when SoR4 came out.
What is there to 'misunderstand'? I enjoyed the first 2 games and didn't like this one. That's what it comes down to. If you enjoy it or not and just because you did doesn't mean everyone who didn't just didn't get it or whatever.
Thank you for this awesome video
No! Thank you for watching.
شكراً جزيلاً
To me, ever since I've started playing games from this series, I've always thought it was just a wannabe Final Fight clone for the Sega Genesis. IMO, SOR3 really differentiates itself from the Final Fight series. Especially when it came to SOR2, that literally was just a Final Fight game for Genesis. They felt too similar. I definitely prefer SOR3 over 2 because it feels fresh in comparison.
For me it’s the music that killed the game. 1 and 2 and incredible music that anyone could get into. 3 has this hardcore techno mess of a music that will only satisfy few people.
Edit: music is especially important to beat them all and shoot them ups because of the more linear nature of the gameplay. If I can’t stand the music, I just won’t play the game.
3 still has a great soundtrack. Not quite as great as the other 2 (which are legendary), but still good enough to make it fun to replay.
Heck and in terms of other beat 'm ups SoR3 is still better than any not called SoR and IMO still no worse than SoR4.
...yeah...thatz whay mozt say causal techno fanz think about the 'SoR 3 OST'...but uz hardcore techno fanz agree the 'SoR 3 OST' iz the very bezt...in fact...i'd say 'SoR 2 OST' waz the worzt of the three cuz it waz super bazic🫤
Music is amazing in the third game u jus don’t get it
SoR3’s soundtrack is superior to the first two games. It’s arguably also the most technically impressive soundtrack of all Genesis games. It sounds so raw and clean.
The biggest issue is that the western versions of the game were narratively nerfed and made artificially difficult compared to the JP release
SOR3's music fits the game perfectly with the dark and gritty setting (somewhat lost outside of the Japanese version)
My take on why people hate on 3 because it isn’t the comfort game for most that part 2 is . From the start to finish 3 kicks your ass so you have to be in the mood to play or be a streets of rage veteran…another reason is the music isn’t as consistent as 1 &2 however in my opinion the music in 3 does fit the more fast and frantic gameplay so looking back now as an older millenial I can appreciate the decision of yuzo koshiro to experiment and you have to keep in mind the game came out in 94’ so music changed since 91’ 🤷🏾♂️ .but as far as cons go for me I would say the biggest one is the sound effects which I feel are severely lacking lol but other than that SOR3 has the most replay value and has the best gameplay
I kinda mixed with the music part. Tbh Koshiro Yuzo has catchy tunes. Meanwhile Kawashima is like hit or miss since he's more into beat.
The game mechanic is more fluid. The best part indeed and a reason i more into SoR Remake rather than SoR 4 despite of the modern sprites
The question for future.
What will Sega put in SoR 3D that we saw in Sega "comeback" trailer with the "remake" IPs? Will they "try to keep different"? Or they "knowledge some homage games" like Fighting Force (since it's 3D)?
Where can you play streets of rage remake?
Sor3 is my favorite in the franchise! I love the dark/serious/intense atmosphere and the soundtrack! I love the faster gameplay. The difficulty change was ridiculous for the west. Making the west version censored was a mistake (Ash made sense to censor though. The 90s was a scary time to be gay.)
Japanese version Story 8/10
Soundtrack 10/10 (Yes it is a different vibe lol)
Gameplay 8/10
Characters 5/10 (Adam & Max should have been playable.)
Replayability 10/10 (It took me a long time to get the good ending.)
Graphics 5/10 (I heard many fans express how disappointed they were with the graphics. Being a huge downgrade. I only saw the Sega CD version of Sor2 I never saw the Genesis version graphics until years later and I'm blown away.)
I always loved 3 more than the other two.
great review.. Thanx Bro.. im having a nice breakfast with this video ^^
I am glad you are enjoying it brother. 👊
I'm of the firm opinion that people who don't like SoR 3 just don't like hardcore in your face techno and prefer house beats. It's that simple. :)
If Streets of Rage 3 had a few more tracks from Yuzo San, it's number one.
My list regardless:
1st: Sor2
2nd: SoR3
3rd: SoR
I think the game's music was really good. its not quite the level of SoR2 , but still very good.
The Sega Europe release of this was shockingly bad. A franchise killer.
Still, at least we got SOR:Remake and SOR4 eventually
How? It's just the US version at 50 hz instead of 60 hz like all European versions of console games back then.
Streets of Rage 3 is kinda the same situation as Golden Axe 3 both are misunderstood
Yay First!
I do have to say... the music really is some incredible dogshit.
never had a megadrive, not played any sor game until recently so no nostalgia for me. i've found sor 3 to be the best coz of the gameplay. its much better than sor2 . double tap attaks all the way!
Way better then the SOR2 in my opinion. SOR3 is the most underrated beat em up aside from Konami`s Vendetta. SOR 2 is a little bit overrated in my opinion. Because it lacks originality or features that make it stand out from most beat em ups. Though i loved the game, after beating it i felt their was something missing. Years later i realized its missing originality.
Because SoR 2 inspired so many other games. That's like saying Street Fighter 2 or Doom lack originality
@Loveistheirwholehapp is this dude just trying to be "Different"?😂
Every aspect of EVERYTHING shows that SoR2 is the better game in EVERY way, except for the gameplay and hidden characters.
Lacking originality? How?
SoR was SEGA's answer to Final Fight, and one series is spoken of More than the other today, along side sequels.
Mostly indoors of Rage 3 is a weak presentation game. Its many issues are basically - uninspiring locations/level design, weird/wonky hit detection, questionable soundtrack direction and overall rushed production. I agree that mechanicswise and risk/rewardwise its the best out of four official entries but it just doesn't feel exciting to play. Like at all. Bosses are crap, stage hazards are annoying, Zan is a weak newcomer, secret characters are unfinished and the entire mood of the game is lacking. I'll take my neon lights backgrounds any day over some dull warehouse or construction site nothingness, thsnk you very much. It doesn't have the impact of the first two games. As simple as that.
Oh, and btw - extended blitz attacks are available to characters without having to collect stars (kinda negating the effort of not dying for as long as you can). As far as I recall you have to hold X-button on a 6-button pad and enter a specific per character per attack command (it's hold X fw fw for everyone for the initial 1star move I believe and varies for the further upraded versions).
I just can't ride w/ that music no matter how many times or for how many years I've heard it. Those two must've been dusted.😅 Yeah, THEY like the music. Game play is Definitely an improvement, but I find that the environments are just bland.
The music of SoR3 was a detriment in the same way it was in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike. SF3 Second Impact has some of my all-time favorite music in any game. Third Strike completely butchered the music, as well as all of the overall sound design. I absolutely hate the changed voices and sound effects, and it had a massive effect on my ability to enjoy the game.
I said all that to say that some people, myself included, are far more "in tune" with a game's sound design. To me, personally, a game's audio is more important than its graphics. Just like Third Strike, the music of SoR3 ruined what otherwise could have been a great experience. What makes it worse is when you compare it to music from 1 and 2. SoR2 has my favorite music of any Genesis game. I am a lifelong hater of the Genesis soundchip and style, so Yuzo Koshiro's use of it was masterful.