Streets of Rage Online

[ Versions ]

A look at Bare Knuckle and the various conversions of the game.

Bare Knuckle is identical to Streets of Rage except obviously for the title screen and the Japanese writing in the intro.

Take a look at the Bare Knuckle box art in the Info section.

Conversions

Master System & Game Gear

The conversions to Sega's 8-bit consoles are suprisingly good. The SMS version's graphics are recognisable, and the conversion team managed to squeeze some good renditions of the music out of the SMS sound chip. The game features all three characters, and plays quite well. The only problem is that the game is a lot harder than the Genesis/Megadrive original. Although this is normally a good thing, in this case it isn't, as the increased difficulty is due to frustrating gameplay.

The GG version is similar in most respects, but the graphics are obviously smaller and less detailed but have a superior colour palette. Adam is also missing from the lineup. In addition, the GG version doesn't seem to allow you to knee enemies whilst holding them, which is a strange omission.

Overall they are both good conversions, but unlike with the 8-bit versions of SOR2 the SMS version is notably better.

Sega/Mega CD

The game was included with Sega/Mega CDs from 1993 onwards as part of the 4-in-1 Classics disk and the 5-in-1 disk. These CD versions are identical to the Genesis/Megadrive originals except for the voice samples, which were re-recorded to make use of the Sega/Mega CD's capabilities. Although the sound quality was vastly improved they are totally different from the originals and apparently worse sounding. Thanks to Azathoth for this info.

Arcade

Sega later released Streets of Rage for their Mega Play and Mega Tech arcade systems. These arcade systems have similar boards to that of the Megadrive and play adapted Megadrive games. The only difference between these two arcade versions is that in the Mega Tech version your money buys time to play the game, whereas in the Mega Play version your money buys traditional arcade style credits.

According to the Killer List of Videogames another arcade version of Streets of Rage exists (thanks go to David Steyer for sending this in). I assumed that this listing was simply the Mega Tech/Play version, but the KLOV description gives the copyright year as 1989 - two years before the Genesis/Megadrive release! Generally KLOV are right about most things, and this makes it appear that Streets of Rage is an arcade conversion. This is quite strange, as I have never read anything in magazines or elsewhere to suggest this. Also, this is curiously missing from the Streets of Rage title screen; if it was a conversion the copyright would read 1989 & 1991, not just 1991.

A more thorough read of the description will reveal some more interesting facts; the game apparently runs on the System 18 board (used by many of their late '80s coin-ops) and because of this it can be easily be converted into Golden Axe, which is a highly similar game in both gameplay and graphic style. The arcade version also allows simultaneous 3 player, something not in the Megadrive version. KLOV also states that Rounds 4 & 5 are a construction site and an oil rig - is this just a mistake on KLOV's part or does it have different levels?

So, what is this game? I personally think that it is the Mega Tech version and that KLOV have made a mistake with the copyright year, as it is possible that the Genesis/Megadrive original could have been altered to allow 3 player in the Mega Tech version, although unlikely.