Sega Nerds

A look back: Streets of Rage 3

by Hudson on October 8th, 2007

The touching story of a kangaroo and his devilish clown master.

Yes yes, it’s a bit late. I have a very good reason, though!

After the break!

I… I just don’t like Streets of Rage 3 very much. I know, I know, you can play as a tough guy, a scantily-clad woman, or even a kangaroo if you play your cards right. But it’s just. So. Hard.

Given the recent release of two games never-before-seen in the West on the Virtual Console this week, one can’t help but compare the American version of SoR3 to its Japanese counterpart, Bare Knuckle 3. And frankly, Bare Knuckle 3 rocked.

Fully-clothed women! The horror!

BK3 was much, much easier than SoR3. In fact, even on the highest difficulty level BK3 was easier than SoR3’s initial difficulty setting. Sega also cut Ash, a stereotypically homosexual boss character, from the North American release. Good idea or not publicity-wise, cutting ash also deprived western gamers of the chance to unlock another playable character.

Finally, Sega of America covered up some of the more skimpy female enemies’ outfits, which didn’t affect gameplay but was nonetheless a little bit sad for everyone involved.

That’s a bit better.

But even if you didn’t know anything about Bare Knuckle 3, Streets of Rage 3 is still a step down from it’s predecessor. The balance that permeated Streets of Rage 2 is sadly absent, and thanks to the crazy story changes made for the American version what little there is of the plot makes absolutely no sense.

Probably the most striking oddity is your journey to city hall, which turns out to be a building that looks exactly like the White House. Wild!

In any case, Streets of Rage 3 on the Virtual Console is a case of too little, too late. Take the $8 you were thinking of spending on this and use it to buy Streets of Rage 2 if you haven’t already. These mean streets are definitely…

Not recommended.

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POSTED IN: News, Nintendo Wii, Retro, Virtual Console