Meet the playable Streets of Rage 4 characters

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

Axel has appeared in every game as a playable character. A former police officer, he left the city and had been living in isolation prior to the events of Streets of Rage 4. Blaze called him back into action when a new Syndicate, led by the children of Mr. X, twins Mr. and Ms. Y, started causing trouble. He has significantly bulked up compared to previous games and has long hair in addition to a beard. Still has his trademark blue headband, though. He may have started off as an all-rounded character, but he’s turned into an incredible powerhouse.

Axel’s fighting style is a combination of boxing, kickboxing, and karate, thus he has quite a few tricks up his sleeves. His main Blitz Attack is Grand Upper, a powerful uppercut, while his main Defensive Attack is Dragon Wing, swinging his fist in circles to hit surrounding enemies. Dragon Smash is his main Offensive Attack that has him punch repeatedly and end with an uppercut. Dragon Dive is the main Air Attack which shows him rolling and punching with a dragon made of fire. Yes, he can use fire now.

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

In addition to being a playable character in every game, she was a police officer with Axel. She was essentially the token female fighter until the fourth game. Her design has changed little over the years, and her current look is a cross between her first and third game appearances. Though Blaze has a strong sense of justice, she’s incredibly ruthless towards her enemies. She is also something of a sore loser, as she’s a very proud woman. In her spare time, she’s a dance instructor and private investigator. Blaze certainly isn’t one to stay idle. How she came to help rid the city of the Y twins is kind of funny. She’d been back with the police for a while but was expelled after refusing to attend anger management classes. She got into an argument with the commissioner which resulted in her punching his face.

Blaze’s fighting style is judo with gymnastics and is often throwing opponents over long distances. Her main Blitz Attack is Hishousouzan, which involves her leaping into the air and striking with an energy attack that’s blade sharp. For her Defensive Attack, it’s Embukyaku, a cartwheel kick, and Kikou Shou is her main Offensive, which is a short-range burst of energy that hits more the closer the enemies are. Tobi Kyaku is Blaze’s Air Attack and that has her using a flying kick that also pushes her forward. An additional attack she has is her always powerful Suplex, which she can use on any heavier enemy.

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

Another former police officer, he has been in all games, though he wasn’t playable in the second and third. His little brother, Eddie, a.k.a Skate, was playable instead. He became playable again in the fourth game and is unlocked after Stage 4. Eddie, however, is not present, though the developers have said he’s an adult now, considering the timeline. Adam was the strongest in comparison to Axel and Blaze, albeit rather slow, with no special moves to speak of. Streets of Rage 4 gives him an entirely new moveset along with more balanced abilities. He’s less of a strongman now and is more technical in his approach to fighting.

Adam’s fighting style is primarily kickboxing, though uses regular boxing moves as well. His signature moves include an Uppercut that can launch an enemy straight up in the air and a Roundhouse Kick (which basically does the same thing as the Uppercut only horizontally). He also uses Chopper, a whirlwind kick, and Sword Strike, where he punches the ground and green crystals pop out to strike opponents. An interesting fact about Adam is that he’s a current Special Forces agent and was part of a team assigned to infiltrate the new Syndicate. You can unlock him after finishing chapter 4.

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

One of the new playable characters in the series, she’s the daughter of Adam and is just as powerful as he is. Despite this, she has no interest in becoming an officer herself, preferring to go into music. She mostly passes her time by playing in several city clubs late at night. As such, she doesn’t just fight with her hands, she also fights with her guitar. Cherry essentially takes the place of her uncle Skate as a fast, if slightly weak, fighter. Additionally, she’s the only one who can run.

Her fighting style is Pogo, which involves a lot of jumping and backflips. Her Blitz move is the Flying Knee, essentially jumping and kneeing someone in the face. Townshend Smash is her main Offensive move, smashing her guitar on the floor, and Sound Check is her main Defensive, where she plays a chord to send shockwaves at enemies. Cherry’s the one who initially answered the call to fight the new Syndicate, as her father was on another assignment.

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

Another new playable character in Streets of Rage 4, was a construction worker until an accident cost him his arms. When his former company wouldn’t help him, the scientist Dr. Gilbert Zan stepped in and gave him a set of robotic arms. Dr. Zan, a cyborg, was a playable character in Streets of Rage 3, replacing Max Thunder, but is just part of the story in Streets of Rage 4. Floyd expressed his gratitude to the doctor by becoming his assistant and apprentice. His arms are powered by Rakushin, a radioactive element known for being very destructive.

As he uses his robot arms to fight, his special moves are centred around them. These include his Magnetic Grab, where he extends an arm to grab an enemy, and his Rakushin Cannon, where his arm turns into a cannon and shoots a beam of Rakushin energy. It’s been said that his fighting style is similar to the Haka, an ancient Māori war dance. Since Floyd is descended from the Māori of New Zealand, it would make sense for him to add some culture to his fighting.

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

A former wrestler and old friend of Axel, he first appeared in Streets of Rage 2 and didn’t show up again until the fourth game. He's a boss character being mind-controlled by Ms. Y, making the player fight him to break the control. Max becomes playable in the Mr. X Nightmare DLC. He might be old, but he’s built like a tank and still knows how to wrestle. He has quite a few powerful moves, including the Spinning Knuckle Bomb, in which he extends his arms with his hands together and spins rapidly in a wide, horizontal circle.

Another one is the Thunder Tackle, where he charges forward with a shoulder extended, knocking out several enemies at once. Max’s most powerful moves, however, are the Bear Hug and Atomic Drop. His Bear Hug involves him grabbing an enemy and crushing their skull five times, while the Atomic Drop sees him snatching an opponent from behind and ramming their spine against his knee. Pity he can only be played in the DLC, he’s a real powerhouse.

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

He’s been a reoccurring boss since the second game and was formerly the right-hand man of the late Mr. X. Shiva has since abandoned the Syndicate and currently runs his own dojo. As a newly formed Buddhist, he is a lover of animals and is fervently opposed to any kind of animal abuse. He actually is opposed to the Syndicate now because they’re involved in animal testing. For whatever reason, he’s a boss in the main game and is a playable character in the Mr. X Nightmare DLC. Shiva’s fighting style is Kempo, and he's a very powerful fighter.

A lot of his moves involve flames surrounding his feet, such as Final Crash, where he turns his back at his enemy and then goes into a quick ducking twist, extending his leg upwards with a flaming foot. Another one is his Flaming Circular Kick, in which he spins an overhead back kick while his foot is engulfed in purple flames. Another character that really should’ve been playable in the main game.

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

The last new character, she’s the leader of the SPEC-OPS team the Y twins initially had working for them. Estel was tricked into believing that the heroes were the bad guys and fought them as a boss on two separate occasions. Her fighting style is Krav Maga, and most of it involves kicking. The Quick Flip Kick happens when the player gets too close to her, knocking the player quite a distance. She has other moves too, like the Elbow Strike, where she leaps forward and strikes with her elbow, sending the player upwards.

Thankfully Estel comes to realize she’s on the wrong side of things and betrays the Y twins. She’s a full ally by the end of the game. Estel is a very strong fighter, but unfortunately, she’s only playable in the DLC. An interesting fact about her is that she’s the daughter of a Swedish-Columbian couple. Now there’s an interesting pairing you don’t see every day.

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

Players were asking for one of the most iconic characters in the franchise since the game was first released. Developers didn't respond to their requests officially, but they did add a cheat code for Roo, and you can now unlock him.

• Hold Up and Basic attack button
• Press start while still holding those two buttons
• Release all buttons, then select Story

You should be able to pick the boxer kangaroo, and then to unlock him permanently, you will have to go through the first level. If you don't manage at first, you'll have to repeat the procedure with the cheat code.

Known as Bare Knuckle in Japan, the original Streets of Rage came out in 1991 and made a name for itself amongst other side-scrolling beat ‘em ups like River City Ransom and Final Fight. It was stylish, featured genius movesets, and had an epic soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro of Revenge of Shinobi fame. By mixing techno, house, and other genres, Koshiro gave every brawl the oomph they needed to encourage the player on. Streets of Rage 2 would come out the following year and improved on the original almost 100%. Better animated sprites, tighter controls, and more detailed environments made for a fresh new experience. It was even on par with the uncensored version of the original Mortal Kombat.

The third game, which came out 15 years later in 2007, unfortunately, was too much too late. Numerous behind-the-scenes issues with Sega (in-fighting, mismanagement, self-sabotage) along with an extreme difficulty spike in the Western release made the game almost unplayable. Everything had been cranked up to 11, but hardly anyone was happy with it. Nowadays, Streets of Rage 3 has become nearly forgotten and is almost impossible to find. Attempts to revive the series had been planned over the years, but nothing had come to fruition until early December 2019, when Streets of Rage 4 was announced.