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In addition to these five main characters, there are some unlockable retro characters for old school fans. Like previous entries in the series, the choice of characters offer different play styles that balance power and speed. Cherry is Adam’s daughter who moves quickly and uses her guitar as an ax and Floyd Iraia, a musclebound human who has some cybernetic enhancements. The roster includes Streets of Rage veterans Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding and Adam Hunter while introducing a couple new characters.
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There are initially four playable characters, though a fifth character is unlocked partway through the story progression.
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Streets of Rage 4 takes place ten years after the events of Street of Rage 3. After 1994, however, these streets seemed to calm down and not a peep was heard from Axel or Blaze or any of the other characters until a couple years ago when Streets of Rage 4 was announced. In the ’80s and ’90s beat ’em up brawlers were popular in arcades and consoles, with Streets of Rage being the a strong argument for fans of this genre to own a Sega Genesis. Bringing a franchise out of retirement over a quarter century after its most recent game seems like a bold move, but that’s exactly what Dotemu is doing with Streets of Rage.
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