N +

First, lets educate you all on what type of Genre SoR2 is. It's called a "Beat-em-up". See it's not exactly a fighter game or a sidescroller, it's a mix between the two. You start each level on the left side of the screen, and make your way towards the right side. On your journey you have to pummel a million baddies to get to your destination, picking up health, weapons, and money along the way. Many games from the "classic" days of gaming are considered Beat-em-ups, think of the Ninja Turtle games, surely you've played one of those - hopefully it was the good one.

Anyway, Streets of Rage 2 (SoR2) is obviously a sequal game to SoR1. It takes place after the events of SoR1 when Axel and Blaze put an end to an evil syndicate in the city. Now it is one year later and Axel and Blaze find out that the sydicate has returned, destroyed the city and have captured an old friend named "Adam" (Who was a playable character in SoR1). They recruit Adams little brother "Skate" as well as one of Axels friends "Max" to fight their way back to the top of the syndacate where they plan to destroy it, rescue the city, and Adam.

The game features fantastic graphics for it's time, and yes, once again a soundtrack that is unforgettable. A much better game than SoR1, SoR2 adds alot of content, and takes very little out. The game gives the player more movesets, one of which is very useful, a semi-special attack that allows the player to deal massive damage without using the characters energy, of course it's not as powerful as your special attack which does drain your energy a little. Another big addition that unfortunately works against you is "the biker" character, who can run into from off the screen, luckily you can kick them off, which also explodes their bike when it crashes. However the trade-off to offering harder enemies means that they now come with health bars, and names. At least I know how close "B.Signal" is to death! And he's not even a boss!

Characters
Max
Axels buddy who is VERY freaking powerful, but very slow. His Stamina is also maxed out which means that this guy can take massive damage better than giant enemy crabs. He can barely jump, which gives him a huge disadvantage when he faces the Motorcycle baddies.
Axel
Axel is pretty well rounded out, giving up a bit of jump for a bit of technique his combos are easier to pull off than most. Second best character to start off with since he is very balanced. Not my favorite though.
Blaze
Blaze is what hardcore Nintendo fans could equalte to Luigi in Mario Kart. A perfect balance, the best character to learn to play the game with. Blaze has a pretty decent reach as well when doin jump attacks.
Skate
Easily my favorite character, and easily the hardest character to play as (i'm not even that great with him). He has got horrible power which spells bad news for boss fights, and horrible stamina, which always spells bad news. His speed is what makes him so fun though, He is also the only character that can throw enemies left or right once grappled!

There are 8 "Rounds" or stages in the game, and it's seriously just enough for a game which does not support a save function (although on Wii you can technicaly save). They are:

• Round 1: Downtown
  
• Round 2: Bridge
  
• Round 3: Pirates Amusement Park
  
• Round 4: Baseball Stadium
  
• Round 5: The Ship
  
• Round 6: Jungle
  
• Round 7: Factory
  
• Round 8: Syndicate Headquarters
  

In round 8 you will have to fight all the bosses again, as well as a new Boss Shiva, and Final Boss "X" - The leader of the Syndicate.

My biggest love for the game is the Two-Player aspect. The game is hilarious when played with two players, but it also, I think gets harder. They throw more enemies at you, and the same number of items as a one player mode. Also you can't turn off friendly fire which means that you will accidentaly get hit, and hit your buddy all the way through the game. Accidentaly grabbing extra lives, and food is hilarious, and drives many friends to real life battles. Good times to be had by all.

N+ 8/10 - For an awesome one player mode, and even better two player experience download Streets of Rage 2 from the Virtual Console. I promise that this is a game anyone will love when playing with a friend.

Cost: 800 Wii Points

Full North American Virtual Console List
Full European Virtual Console List