Lizardcube’s Art/Creative Director, Ben Fiquet, explains how Streets of Rage 4 came to be

 

After the recent release of Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare, Lizardcube’s Art/Creative Director, Ben Fiquet, explains how the Streets of Rage project came to be after finishing Wonder Boy on his latest blog post.

The blog post contains early artwork/animations and screenshot mock-ups of a remastered version of Streets of Rage 2 and an earlier version of Streets of Rage 4 along with details on how the project was greenlit by SEGA of Japan and his experience working with Guard Crush, Dot Emu and several composers together on the game. Check out Ben’s blog to see cool concepts on Streets of Rage 4.

Streets of Rage 4 DLC “Mr. X Nightmare” finally make Shiva playable

Ever since I was a mere child and laid my eyes on the badass ninja guard for Mr. X, Shiva, I wanted him to be a playable character. Now, the wait is over, Streets of Rage 4’s first DLC pack “Mr. X Nightmare” has confirmed he will be the third playable character.

As we know the other two playable characters announced were Max Thunder and Estel Aguirre. Sadly we don’t have a release date for the DLC, but we do know its coming out sometime this year.

Streets of Rage 4 reveals Max Thunder as playable, part of ‘Mr. X Nightmare’ DLC

Dot Emu has announced the ‘Mr. X Nightmare’ DLC where they teased the DLC having three new playable characters. The last announcement had Estel Aguirre as playable and this time its Max Thunder. While its not a surprise, since the publisher put up a silhouette image of the upcoming characters, its nice to finally get it confirmed.

But who will be the 3rd and final character? Everyone’s money is on Mr. X’s bodyguard Shiva, which has been a fan favorite character for decades. Considering that the DLC deals with Mr. X returning, having Shiva as a playable character would be pretty awesome.

This was announced today because its Streets of Rage 4′s 1st year anniversary. Time sure flies by….

Streets of Rage 4 announces Mr. X Nightmare DLC, will also come with free content update to base game

Looks like the listing from Dot Emu on SteamDB was true, the new add-on DLC for Streets of Rage 4 is being titled Mr. X Nightmare. The DLC is set to have Estel Aguirre as playable, new game modes, new moves, new weapons, and even new tracks by Sonic Mania fame Tee Lopes.

But what if you just got Streets of Rage 4? Well, Dot Emu isn’t leaving the base game behind as this update for the DLC will also include free upgrade to the base game that will include Mania + difficulty, Training mode with tutorial, New color palettes, and more stuff to be announced in the future.

The steam page for the DLC is already up, if you guys want to add it to your Wishlist. This trailer has me hyped, lets go!

Streets of Rage 4 artists release Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2 concept art video, now I want this to be real…

Garou: Mark of the Wolves is one of my favorite fighting games along with its cousin Street Fighter 3rd Strike, both games had a very unique style and as you also know Lizardcube’s games’ Streets of Rage 4 and Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap also have a unique art style. So, Lizardcube artist’s Ben Fiquet and Julian Nguyen-You released a 20 plus minute video showing how they create these retro gaming concept art pitches, this time with Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2.

Its interesting because they really got the game to resemble the original game in tone of colors but the art style that has now become signature Lizardcube is still there. I think they did a good job of having a great blend and personally would be stoked if Lizardcube made Garou: Mark of Wolves 2. Hey, SNK, you watching this?

Yeah, but Lizardcube is probably too busy with a new Shinobi, right?

Storm Collectibles adds Streets of Rage & Golden Axe figures to their line

It looks like Blue Fin Brands’ Storm Collectibles will now add Streets of Rage and Golden Axe to its ever growing line-up of video game figures. The selection of figures is sort of interesting, while it makes sense to have someone like Axel Stone on here, its interesting that they went with the Streets of Rage 4 look. Also for Golden Axe we got none of the main heroes but instead we got Death Adder (makes sense) and a Skeleton? A bit random?

Even so these figures look pretty awesome, I have to admit. Check out the Golden Axe Skeleton and Street of Rage 4’s Axel Stone product pages.It seems that I can’t find the product page for Death Adder, so keep checking the product page here.

Streets of Rage 4 Balance Patch Now Available with 150 changes

The developers of Streets of Rage 4 has released a balance patch for the game on consoles with the exception of Playstation 4 at the moment. This balance patch has up to 80 updates, bug fixes and balance changes to the game, all of which were tested by the community. The update includes:

– Online improvements: better fluidity and stability, less latency.
– New online stats display options available on the HUD section.
– Balancing improvements for all main characters.
– Major gameplay improvements for all stages.
– Various bug fixes.
– Fixed rare random crashes.

You can read more updates available on this site. If you own Streets of Rage 4, let us know what do you think of the update on the comments below.

Limited Run Games adds Streets of Rage 4 soundtrack CD to existing orders

There has been a bit of a kerfuffle going on with the physical release of Streets of Rage 4. We haven’t been covering it, but with a recent update from Limited Run Games I thought it was worth writing about. In March, Limited Run Games announced physical editions of Streets of Rage 4 for North America (with international shipping) in standard, classic and limited collector’s editions. Shortly after the pre-order window closed, Merge Games announced they too would have a North American physical release of the game, at a lower price with its own exclusive bonus items and releasing earlier than the Limited Run Games releases.

Streets of Rage 4 releasing on April 30th for all platforms, Battle Mode revealed

Publisher Dotemu has finally revealed when Streets of Rage 4 will release. You can take to the streets and beat up thugs this upcoming April 30th, and it will launch for all four platforms. In addition, Battle Mode has been announced. In Battle Mode, you pick from a selection of different characters and beat the tar out of your opponents, with up to 4 players being able to participate in the brawl.

Also advertised is pre-orders for the physical copies of the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions of the game, by Limited Run Games. These physical copies come with a steelbook, a reversible cover, and a custom clamshell case mimicking the design of a SEGA Genesis case.

Streets of Rage 4 coming to Microsoft Game Pass on day one

While Streets of Rage 4 was already teased as a Game Pass game, it wasn’t confirmed or really talked about after the announcement. Was the game going to be timed exclusive? Would it be on sale first then come to Xbox Game Pass? Now the Facebook page has confirmed that it will be available to Game Pass consumers the same day as it goes on sale digitally.

The issue? Its coming soon, without a solid release date. I guess now we wait.

[Thanks for the heads up Brandon!]

Streets of Rage 4 reveals Retro features – classic playable characters and music!

While news of a late April release date have been floating around for the upcoming Streets of Rage 4, the developer has said they cannot confirm this date. However what they can confirm is an amazing addition to the game: Retro stuff! Streets of Rage 4 will feature unlockable playable pixel art characters from the previous games in the franchise, complete with their sound effects, movesets and special moves. Combined with the game’s current roster, this brings the game up to 17 playable characters.

But wait, there’s more! The game will also include the soundtracks to Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2, which players can switch to and listen to as they brawl in the streets. These new elements are an awesome inclusion, and really elevates the game in my mind.

Streets of Rage 4 will be available soon for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Streets of Rage 4 Original Soundtrack to be available on digital platforms on day one and Vinyl this Summer

DotEmu announced that a official Streets of Rage 4 original soundtrack will be available to listen on several digital platforms (Spotify , Deezer, etc) on day one of release with the Vinyl coming out this Summer with the help from Brave Wave Music and Mutant Ninja Play.

Streets of Rage 4 will be available on Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC this Spring 2020. Pre-orders for limited editions are also available on Limited Run Games website.

 

Streets of Rage 4 physical edition pre-orders live, soundtrack composer revealed

Streets of Rage 4 physical editions for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch are now up for pre-order at Limited Run Games. Dotemu, Lizardcube and Guard Crush Games have also revealed the main composer for the game. Olivier Derivière, who worked on soundtracks for A Plague Tale: Innocence, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Dying Light 2 and more. The soundtrack will also feature several guest musicians, with new contributions from Scattle (Hotline Miami 1 & 2), Das Mörtal (Hotline Miami 2), XL Middleton, and Groundislava. These join the already announced guest artist Yuzo Koshiro, however a bit of bad news as Hideki Naganuma has been announced to no longer be able to contribute to the soundtrack due to scheduling issues.

Still, the game looks and sounds great and we can’t wait to get our hands on a physical copy!