★ Sega Mega Drive · 1991–1994 ★

Streets of Rage

Sega's answer to Final Fight. Three warriors. One corrupt city. A soundtrack that changed everything.

Streets of Rage 1 gameplay Streets of Rage 2 gameplay Streets of Rage 2 fighting scene Streets of Rage 3 gameplay

About Streets of Rage

Streets of Rage is Sega's defining beat 'em up trilogy, released on the Mega Drive between 1991 and 1994. Developed initially by Sega AM7 and then by Ancient Inc., the series pitted players against the criminal empire of the mysterious Mr. X across three increasingly ambitious instalments.

What set Streets of Rage apart from contemporaries like Final Fight was its extraordinary soundtrack. Composer Yuzo Koshiro - co-founder of Ancient and a programming prodigy - built a custom sequencer on an NEC PC-88 to push the Mega Drive's Yamaha FM synthesis chip to its limits, producing techno and house music that sounded like nothing else in gaming at the time.

Thirty-plus years later, the series remains a benchmark of both game design and music composition. Streets of Rage 4 (2020) proved the formula endures, and Koshiro's original soundtracks continue to be performed at concerts and celebrated by musicians worldwide.

★ DID YOU KNOW? ★

Yuzo Koshiro composed the Streets of Rage soundtrack using a custom sequencer he programmed himself on an NEC PC-88 computer.

Streets of Rage 2 gameplay overview. Yuzo Koshiro's landmark soundtrack was composed on an NEC PC-88 to push the Mega Drive FM chip to its absolute limits.

Three Games, One City

The trilogy spans three years and three increasingly ambitious Mega Drive titles. The original (1991), developed by Sega AM7, established the template: three fighters, one corrupt city, a police-car special that no rival offered. Streets of Rage 2 (1992) handed the franchise to Ancient Inc. and rebuilt everything - four characters with distinct mechanical trade-offs, eight stages each with their own visual identity, and a soundtrack that has outlasted every peer. Streets of Rage 3 (1994) pressed further still: a run button, branching endings, and a Japanese version - Bare Knuckle III - that differed so sharply from the Western release that fans still debate which deserves to be considered the intended game.

The formula proved durable. Streets of Rage 4 (2020), developed by DotEmu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush, sold over two million copies and brought Koshiro, Kawashima, and Keiji Yamagishi back as composers alongside new voices. The streets keep pulling people back.

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