Video games are an increasingly popular form of entertainment consumed by millions all over the world. They are played on various platforms, from smartphones to specialized gaming hardware. Therefore, it is natural that video games would impact the daily lives of those who engage with them. This is especially the case with multiplayer video games, as people not only consume the game, but also participate in thematic discussions, create fan-made content, and compete against other players in eSports tournaments.

After 26 years of waiting, DotEmu collaborated with Lizardcube and Guard Crush Games to resurrect the Streets of Rage series. The fourth game was received positively by fans and critics alike, resulting in a constant presence in online gaming forums and in the digital stores selling the game. In this paper, we present a framework of player engagement that can be used to understand and quantify the impact of Streets of Rage 4 on the gaming community as a case of study.

1.1. Background of Streets of Rage 4

Moreover, one of the main reasons for such high demand is because fans have been desiring to play and restore their ability to play the SOR series but with a novel, innovative, and contemporary perspective in graphics and mechanics. For all of this, it promotes the meeting among epic fans of gaming, most within the playing community. All of this shows the social and connective potential generally left aside in gaming, not by players but by their respective developers and producers.

Streets of Rage 4 is a game that was quite expected by the gaming community. After the large success and impact of recent titles returning with the nostalgic feeling that their respective predecessor games managed to deliver, the fourth title of this beloved game brings an already formed fanbase together with very high expectations. What makes Streets of Rage a significant franchise is mainly the connection with its past classics, but also the variety of mechanics presented that today are not so usual in the gaming area, like the side scrolling, beat ‘em up, and the familiarity with both the online and offline gameplays.

1.2. Purpose and Scope of the Study

Most game studies use detailed game characteristics or content information and have thus overlooked details about the consequence of innovation on members of the game industry because of difficulties in identifying the effects of game classes on the gaming community. The theoretical foundation of the present study is Schumpeterian, where innovation alters the status quo within an industry and affects job creation, firm growth, and wage distribution variables. Findings suggest that a developer benefits from entering the Beat ‘Em Up genre when it comes off the plane of relative novelty to entrench in the market monopoly and that further iterative innovations may induce a modern Beat ‘Em Up genre renaissance to generate new patterns of industry structure. We trust that this paper can be an initial step in better understanding the Beat ‘Em Up genre’s increasing importance in the videogame industry.

The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of Streets of Rage 4 on the gaming community and, by extension, the overall industry. To address this, the present study includes a comprehensive overview of the development of Beat ‘Em Ups. After that, we cover various industry impact factors such as sales, Metacritic ratings, ESRB rating, and Google Trends data analysis. Two breadth measures of popularity and momentum indicated how popular a game was over time. Finally, we arrived at some conclusions and future work.

2. Historical Context of the Streets of Rage Series

The sequel arrived in December of the following year, Street of Rage 2, which is considered one of the best games of its kind. Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima would once again be in charge of the soundtrack, which included compositions of many recognized themes. Since then, in addition to video games, the series became popular through emulators, as well as through space that both Sega consoles included in Flash cartridges. Although the success of the first two Streets of Rage was substantial, the third installment, on the Mega Drive Numeric Team, didn’t meet expectations for critics or players. However, it did deliver improvements at the conceptual level, something that helped shape the subsequent development of the genre.

The original Streets of Rage launched in the first quarter of 1991 in Japan, Europe, and North America, and quickly captivated both creators and players with its aggressive gameplay, rhythm, and audiovisual presentation. Both the Sexy Boyz and Girls Band – the producer and composers of its shared tracks – return for this new delivery. What’s more, the original game appears as a gift for servers and loyal players. This game became a legend in record time and, together with other franchises such as Final Fight and Double Dragon, revolutionized the concept of fighting as a lone wolf on the 8 and 16-bit platforms. Players loved the hard 80s aesthetic, the characters, their specials, and, above all, the opportunity to play either single, cooperative, or versus.

2.1. Evolution of the Series

The game has worked for the console on PC platform and for the possibility of personalization, also free-screen. The game has stages to check gamers and media, not only the world it covers but the polish on the scenarios, animations, physics, and adjustments that are the users’ demands. The game received an initial indicator of 80, in the first hours, but it tends to increase. Other media also pointed to 80 to 90 as time passes. However, the figures completed 90, these distrusting percentages of experienced users and that they reveal the game’s worth, the assiduous players of Streets of Rage since the previous series, and the new followers. The comparison between the notes of the critics and that of the community, which allows for more open analysis, is interesting. Garreth Hanrahan of Chris Hallam’s Outlook Magazine points out the value of the good gameplay from the time of the prevails, despite the dedicated multiple studios seeing some empty imbalances. The heirs of Cuphead have not yet returned, which is unimportant because they delivered a game that PS Plus would please users by brooms.

Since the launch of the first game, Streets of Rage has been acclaimed and developed in motion within its own evolution on different platforms. The first title has the best reception, also restricted to consoles and for its more beneficial co-op option. One argues that the second one has more praise, but some people played and knew Streets of Rage by Raiva Streets 3. Each version of the game has its flavors and specifics which won the hearts of families and friends. The third seems to have some debate, but its soundtrack has a presence. Each new platform in the series not only updated the game but also provided Christmas via Bluetooth and other advantages of the technological progress of the time. Raising the question of the new territory showing of what it is capable in Streets of Rage 4, being a phenomenon not only because of SP and CO-OP but doing it with which group and sure.

2.2. Key Features and Gameplay Elements

The game includes a wide range of graphics that provide players with a visually beautiful and exciting, stimulating experience that flows organically from the wild fighting style. Bosses control the blockage ability, reduce the number of impacts and losses suffered, and implement special disabling button attacks. «E» stands for the number of classic games to revive players, allowing players to call in an emergency. Earned unexpectedly, and the life bar scores points and significantly intensifies the game. The tone varies when moving to improve the temperature of the captivating electronic sound without overwhelming the tone. There are simple tutorials for fighting techniques in story mode that are not too daunting, but for a more classic experience, the game opens directly in the five-stage pact before the final stages.

There are different street styles in the 4 Streets of Rage, each very different in its manifestation, which comes with a different response system for enemies, providing the implied street style. What follows is a flashlight.

Players can venture through story-based mode that is for 1 to 4 players and then engage, either privately or publicly, in online action through the shared screen. They have to expect a person to engage during this action. It is just as much to inspire the familiar sense of nostalgia to see the iconic names and their notably hand-drawn animation from the previous installments. The whole experience of Streets of Rage 4 is full of nostalgia for its fighting mechanics and the head-bopping backgrounds for the electronic beats.

A large roster of unlockable characters, which includes statesmen from earlier games like Axel and Blaze but also some new blood, adds to the opportunities for a broader playing style. The game is aimed squarely at four-co-op arcade action, abundant combos, and team-up attacks. In addition, there is a style of play and experience for solo gaming.

To understand the impact of Streets of Rage 4, a thorough explanation of the game is essential. Streets of Rage 4 shows a blend of fast, furious fighting with electronic dance tracks that kick-cutlass to the vibes, turning over fast and styling the fun of the classic games with fresh mechanics and some of the genre’s lushest graphics. Fans of the Sega classics (or for that matter, those who remember good times with Capcom’s Christmas entry, Final Fight) will find solid gameplay that is strictly based on button-mashing, although there is enough depth and variety to be interesting for more seasoned players.

Key features and gameplay elements of Streets of Rage 4

3. Community Engagement and Interactions

There was also so much hype for a Streets of Rage 2 mod that was released in 2011 that featured Chun-Li, Guile, and Cammy from Street Fighter. Fanatics created and shared editorials and later Let’s Play videos to share their thoughts and enjoyment of the games and compiled their ideas for a way to revolutionize the series over decades. Many fans have also asked and inquired about the aesthetics of the game, asking for more information on the art, models, intelligence, and the company that they can share with the social audience.

The Streets of Rage fan base is very enthusiastic and often creates and shares fan art, music, remixes, and reimaginings of the game and its characters both on the web and with developers. Developer Guard Crush Games created omakes, which are smaller games using the same engine but often having nothing at all to do with the primary game, which were small standalone games they then gave away for free to fans in lieu of the game not being out yet. Fan games based on Streets of Rage included updates and new characters, and all of them were built on recent and modern hardware, giving the series new life. Fans pay for emulation and official ports of older games from the series. They pay for copies of the original and compiled music, as well as full game soundtracks on vinyl, and they discuss the game scores quite a bit. With the announcement and release of Streets of Rage 4, the game was extremely hyped months before release despite there not being any announcement of a new game before then since 1994. Many fans were surprised and never thought they’d ever see a game of this nature again.

3.1. Online Forums and Social Media

Another social media tool is Twitter. Although a little bit more difficult to navigate due to not having lists, the game Streets of Rage 4 does have a good following. Fans of the game can discuss the game through their direct messages, retweets, and quotes on the discussion boards. Also, another social media tool is Instagram. Streets of Rage 4 has a good user base where they show off their art skills, whether that is drawing fan-based characters, the bosses, and even screenshots of the game. There are a lot of users that display their photos of the game’s soundtrack vinyls, screenshots of them playing the game, and updates to the game.

One of the newer avenues for communication and discussion about Streets of Rage 4 is social media, specifically Facebook, Twitter, and especially Instagram. Some Facebook groups that are commonly used are «Streets of Rage Comics,» «Streets of Rage 4 Original Gang,» and «The Original Street of Rage Trilogy.» These groups all have different user-based content. «Streets of Rage Comics» is specifically for fan-based comics made by fans of the series. Streets of Rage 4 Original Gang is for fans of the 4th installment of the game and provides updates, memes, and discussions about the game. The Original Street of Rage Trilogy group is a fan group for the first three games of the Streets of Rage franchise. The website «Reddit» does have a group, «Streets of Rage,» although its user-based interaction is low compared to other games on the website.

3.2. Fan Art and Creative Works

Many fans of the franchise are not only artists but also game developers who have built small games based on Streets of Rage, often understanding its deep essence and the gameplay mechanics. While classic modifications can mostly change the behavior of a character or add new characters, there are also original game designs and ideas that transform the typical, all-too-familiar teammate behavior or add diversified game elements connected with Streets of Rage, deviating from the standard genre routine. The Streets of Rage story has also affected certain people and helped them to overcome their suffering and become stronger, more independent characters, just like the game’s heroes do.

Streets of Rage 4 ignited the spark of creativity and inspiration among not only hardcore gamers, but also fans, artists, and creative people, many of whom expressed their adoration and love for the retro game via various fan-made content and mods. Creativity has flourished noticeably on DeviantArt, where over two thousand fan arts are dedicated to SoR4, and a Streets of Rage art contest raised the creative activity to another level and scale. The artistic background primarily reflects the visual concept of the game or the fleshed out world of the beat ‘em up.

4. Game Mechanics and Innovations

Similar to previous series chapters, the next chapters provide insight into the game engine – from foundations to strikes and movements to combat strategies, including positioning and strategic allies. All this only for versus mode. The quest mode (History mode) is equally incomplete and is taken from the first to the last boss with or without allies in Thugs who have powerups for us until they are shattered without subintervention of new opponents, as in normal levels. The foundations of the «engine» cover the base of combat and tutorials of game control. For this chapter, even versus mode is necessary – only it and versus mode are necessary for the study (It also helps another level of information about the boss). After that, all moves, attacks, and basic defense are exposed and expanded as they are found and developed in the game. In the chapters that follow, primarily the boss and how to defeat each, the game engine will be exposed in individual details for the strategy of elimination of that opponent.

The fighting engine execution is based solely on the creativity and knowledge of game players and how much they can deploy the available resources in game mechanics. For this reason, it becomes a fundamental issue to identify, expose, and understand all elements of this particular engine so that we can open all possible likelihood of changes, as this new layer of knowledge and game control becomes available. Thus, the secrets and solving more difficult challenges can be found, and several ‘tricks’ or even ‘bugs’ that allow the player to strategically optimize his game can be adjusted back to the game.

4.1. Combat System Enhancements

Many new fighting game mechanics and enhancements were added to Streets of Rage 4. The new combat system has many things that are very different from the old Streets of Rage series and many unique elements most other beat ‘em ups do not have. Some of these unique mechanics and enhancements are as follows: Join Collision, Crowd Move, Hard Knock, Safe Jump, Rush Cancel, Blitz Move, Stealth, Recovery Cancel, Improvise Special Move, and others. There are also some mechanics or enhancements that are adopted but have been greatly evolved beyond recent modern combat-type arcade games. Faster everyday worry, bigger crowd, enemy head-byte function, more adjustment of base combo attack speed, more frequent opponent kicks, new sandwiching system, new threatening mechanism for the laser sensor, and temporary weapons that can trigger a large number of enemies are just some examples. These enhanced systems should model numerous features more closely to the interplay of a combat-type arcade game, but judged by the low feedback loops that have received, they’re excellent in playing experience.

4.2. Character Development and Customization

In my opinion, terribly. They used an inspiration mechanic, similar to the Ninjutsu Masks that you could find around the levels or hidden restorative items that are always in plain sight, but has a set amount that replenishes in certain sections first. Again, I appreciate the exaggerated difficulty of the arcade games that are being emulated, but this felt like a step back. This mechanic is the only thing that makes characters different in Streets of Rage 4, and while I played Streets of Rage 3, I get the feeling that there were a lot of attacks that were unique to certain characters in the 3rd game that would appreciate the addition of variety gained by unlocking custom abilities.

Character development and customization is something that could be seen as a quality of life feature that has come to be expected in modern gaming, and that makes any new entries to the beat ‘em up genre that don’t have anything to offer a particular criticism. The first Streets of Rage game featured three uniquely different characters with a unique moveset tailored to at least one of them. Streets of Rage 2 increased the count to four characters. As I have previously mentioned, Streets of Rage 3 introduced the ability to find a new move system that introduced a layer of customization to the game, extending the longevity and replay value of the game because many of these could only be unlocked via character-specific dialogues in an otherwise simple beat ‘em up. So how does Streets of Rage 4 tackle this progress of upgrading a character system?

5. Impact on the Beat ‘Em Up Genre

Streets of Rage 4 brought vigor to the beat ‘em up genre. The success of games like Castle Crashers and Mother Russia Bleeds signaled that the beat ‘em up genre had gathered a large enough community wanting new experiences. Streets of Rage 4 has shown that with passion and respect for the roots, a project can be financially and critically successful. Although it would be impossible without the support and enthusiasm of the gaming community, especially those who have supported the initiative since its announcement. Therefore, Streets of Rage 4 not only paved the way for a new generation of beat ‘em ups; it reignited the passion of fans of the genre and reminded everyone of the importance of old video game sagas for today’s gaming world. The message is clear; we cannot discard past works. Their contribution allows us to produce titles renowned in the present and even decades after their launches.

The beat ‘em up genre, which began in the late 1980s and was perfected in the early 1990s, was thought to be in a critical state. The cultural taste for these titles seemed to have been exhausted. Players were no longer thrilled by the simple pleasures found in a game like Final Fight, which was once considered one of the greatest among a profusion of beat ‘em ups available in the early 1990s. That judgment, however, does not apply to the beat ‘em up genre sales records; they mostly prospered throughout the years. Contributing significantly to these sales, beat ‘em ups have been attracting a large amount of old and new indie game developers. Today we see a multitude of beat ‘em up games on digital platforms.

5.1. Influence on Contemporary Games

Undoubtedly, Streets of Rage 4 has been a success and has been very well received by the community of people who like games of the genre, having an almost unanimous acceptance today. It could have been something totally different; it lacked funding and effort. Streets of Rage, as a franchise, has the power to influence new games and bring new people to these games, making them more and more known in the gaming segment. The game also brings several references and influences to the series, such as a level that references one from Chinatown, the very beginning of the game that references the first door of Go Straight in the original game, etc. So far, Streets of Rage 4 has won eight awards in the Gamespot 2020 Game Awards prior to its release. Due to its popularity, the new game has managed to reach a milestone of more than two million units, including downloads from PlayStation Plus, a remarkable number for a franchise 30 years away from the generation in which it was most successful.

Once Streets of Rage 4 was released, the game immediately delighted fans who had the opportunity to test the new features and improvements. Known YouTubers, such as Player Dunas, Daniela Rigon, and Alvaroo, were quick to test the game and present walkthrough videos, and talk about the gameplay, the characters, and the game’s soundtrack. Streets of Rage 4’s impact is great on polygonal games today! This type of game without Streets of Rage 4 had no intention of being developed today. Streets of Rage 3D would not have seen the light of day, just like many other games present in the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation library. The optimization of some movements was also greatly improved, which makes the game easier for those who find it difficult to play on the Sega Mega Drive.

6. Cultural and Societal Relevance

Consumers of any entertainment product need to be provided with the guarantee of purchase satisfaction, that their acquisition has value beyond the duration of play. Experiencing what Streets of Rage 4 represents, its spectacular and multi-diverse style. Its mashup of silky animation with fiery backgrounds and a foreground that harks back to comic-style madness with lights that radiate grey shades. One would be hard-pressed to find an element in any of the game aesthetics that would not meet the demands of a person of good taste. The menu, the characters, the settings, the synchronization of events and sounds, the pacing of the story. It is an integrated system by which to express the atmosphere it wishes to evoke throughout its cycle, and this has been achieved by the good work that is visible on the screen. The community is more than just a target of this medium. It is a partner who contributes to the prevalence of this and other art forms for the future, and therefore the long-term financial confirmation of a marketplace is the fruit of the continuous new developments offered to the players.

Streets of Rage 4 even became a pop culture moment as The Simpsons premiered an episode featuring a segment parody of The Simpsons Game that crossed over with many old games including Streets of Rage. The representation, exposure, and connection to other forms of entertainment are only testaments to how it has forever crept into pop culture and can unfold in different areas of entertainment and art. It is also a cautiously monumental game to refer to recent real-world events and like any art inspired by the time in which it was made, it will be able to be seen by future generations as a product of its era and write pages, debates, and theory. Certainly, Streets of Rage 4 is a product of more than any of its predecessors, and it can and should be used to inspire more than simply nostalgic feelings.

6.1. Representation and Diversity in Game Characters

This sampling of objectives gives teams the possibility to improve knowledge and performance in all dimensions. The careful choice of artistic styles contributes to a complete and complete feel inherent in the work and creative method, and most capable of particular application in pursuit of quality of life and enjoyment of the user representative, teaching games, and students of competence system, assistance systems, references on the perception of people who are more similar to the need of external models, research, and validation; including 2.5D gaming research and gender games for achievements and further validation methods related to the 17 available entries.

One of the main attributes that older versions of Streets of Rage games had was the diversity and variety in the cast of characters. Through its influence and predecessor, Streets of Rage 4 aims to improve the game characters and change the currents that lead to recurring problems such as limitations on representation that other games still suffer in character construction without using the identity problems of the represented characters. The effort is to achieve different kinds of customized, attractive and unique models for a Games 2.5D. Such initiatives contribute to representativeness for diversity, providing perspectives to people in a society.

7. Conclusion

Although the groups collided and split, ultimately, SOR4, despite its heavily notoriously delayed arrival (going back to the second sequel yet for the past 16 years absent) has resorted to successfully fulfilling more than one theme to celebrate and praise. The pockets of splintered fans who lobbied a few years ago for a sequel through online campaigns, among others, also remain focused on what to love again. And comments on social media overflow with good emotions about Axel, Blaze, Adam. The online/offline co-op revival overflows through captivating art and new ‘museum’ history aesthetics, all significantly contributing, individually, to a great contemporary reimagining. With a great soundtrack that could easily be called contemporary but is also capable of being mistaken for 16-bit, filled with rap/soft rock, echoes of jazz-rock that were the brand sound of the first game, and an original orchestral song in style, SOR4 ends up being, if anything, a memorabilia of a unique mix of peace, love, and party.

In conclusion, after carefully comparing the game’s cultural uniqueness and determining how it borrows from popular culture, we reach the conclusion that while the game has taken a lot from various mediums including music, sound, art, story, and setting, this is not enough for it to be considered entirely unique based on the C.U. formula. Although individual elements themselves and combinations of these in the game are culturally unique, we have determined that SOR4 is not uniquely different enough to be innovative in itself, although our theories might change once the DLC and patches mark the final version of the game. While this final version of the product might not meet the high levels of creativity or innovation of more passionate theories, nonetheless, the contributions of the various media elements analyzed surely make it an important game that has been eagerly awaited and was received positively among the public.

7.1. Summary of Findings

The work conducted in this dissertation is based on research questions that aimed to evaluate the impact of the Streets of Rage 4 updates. The research findings for these questions were covered in Chapters 5 and 6. The thesis concludes with a summary of the main findings, their relevance, an identification of a number of areas for future research, and its final words.

This chapter presented a study that illuminates the impact of Streets of Rage 4 on the gaming community. The game was published by Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games and was heavily inspired by the earlier titles in the franchise. Data was collected during a period in which the game was receiving updates that introduced a large part of its extra content. The research provides an overview of the updates and the reception they received from the gaming community and evaluates the impact of said updates on the overall playability and popularity of the game by asking the original research questions. A summary of the research findings and their relevance to both academic research and game developers is presented. The chapter closes with a brief overview of directions for future research.

7.2. Implications for Future Game Development

That is what the developers of Streets of Rage 4 planned when they pursued making the game in the first place. Their goal was to provide a new modern bridge between the beat’em-ups of old while addressing a new generation of players that may not have ever been exposed to the 16-bit era of gaming. It is no easy feat to do well at this, but Lizardcube has proven that it is possible, necessary, and worthwhile. The future of interesting and engaging games has a real chance to be more than bigger, flashier versions of the greater success-creating titles that were released previously. Developers can successfully take risks by pursuing interesting properties, and players who have less traditional tastes will support these projects. It all starts with a good idea and masterful follow-through.

The success of Streets of Rage 4 may inspire some developers to take bold new ideas further in the games they are developing. The number of dedicated fans that the series has without having a new release in over 20 years was truly impressive. Where fans clamored for a new experience in this beloved series, the developers delivered. There is no doubt that there will be a demand from the fans for more games like the ones offered in the Streets of Rage franchise. The only difference now is that developers can take their projects further. They can now push for their vision of a serious impactful release in this lineup as well. Streets of Rage 4 had little competition when other games have released updated versions of classic arcade games.