Black dude with blonde hair and glasses
As long as he doesnât show up as this gameâs playable Poison, as Master Raven.
New interview with the creators:
Summary
Robin TGG
This is a very big and exciting moment for me, because Iâve grown up playing the SOR series. Furthermore, I have been waiting for a sequel to SOR 3 for many, many years now. So with that said, please go ahead and introduce yourself to our readers =)
Ben:
Hello Robin, my name is Ben Fiquet. Iâm Art/Creative Director at Lizardcube. Iâve been working in animation, comics and video games for 13 years. Iâm a Sega kid all the way, especially attached to the Megadrive/Genesis which is very dear to my heart, and obviously the Streets of Rage series.
Jordi:
Hi, Iâm Jordi Asensio, Game designer at Dotemu. Iâm a big fan of the Streets of Rage series and beat âem ups. Iâve been working in the game industry for more than 10 years. Like so many others, Iâve been waiting for a sequel to SOR3 for many years, and Iâm really proud and excited about being a part of the team that will finally bring it.
Cyrille:
Hi, Iâm Cyrille Lagarigue, president and main programmer at Guard Crush Games. I have been a programmer and game designer in the industry for more than 10 years. I love action games, and I love making games with tight controls. So right now, âStreets of Rage 4â is the most important project of my life. So I really hope that you will like it!
Robin TGG
Iâm not quite sure about what youâre allowed to say about the SOR 4 project, but could you perhaps us a short breakdown what the SOR 4 project is all about? (thereâs so many rumors going around right now, so I hope that we can set the record straight with this interview).
Ben:
Well, itâs pretty simple: Streets of Rage 4 is the new episode of the Streets of Rage series. It is currently being published by Dotemu and is developed by three studios: Lizardcube for the art direction, Guard Crush Games for the programming, and Dotemu for the game design.
Itâs a brand new and official game in the series which has been dormant for way too many years.
Cyrille:
As Ben said it, we are making a new episode in the series! We try to be faithful to the legacy of this amazing franchise, while pushing the envelope on the technical, graphical and gameplay sides.
Robin TGG
How did the SOR4 project come to be exactly? (how, when, where and why) I mean, how did Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games, Dotemu and SEGA partner up for SOR 4?
Ben:
After finishing up Wonder Boy: The Dragonâs Trap, I started drawing sketches of licenses that we could do next, and obviously, as a Sega fan, Streets of Rage was on top of my list. As it happens, Dotemu was definitely thinking about it as well, and we talked about it over a beer.
Jordi whoâs working as game designer at Dotemu got together with Cyrille Lagarigue from Guard Crush Games. As they have been developing a beat them up and a dedicated engine for almost 10 years, and they have a great knowledge of the genre.
So, we started working on the idea with Dotemu and Guard Crush Games and prepared a presentation with design ideas, artworks, animations, and so on. We finally went to SEGA and showed them what we wanted to do. SEGA really liked the idea and long story short, they said yes!
Itâs still amazing in itself, but we built a great relationship with SEGA since Wonder Boy, and naturally they were more inclined to listen to us.
Robin TGG
Do you have any idea why itâs taken SEGA such a long time to get the ball rolling with SOR 4? Because the SOR fans have been asking for SOR 4 for a very long time (thatâs also why the SOR Remake project was born). So my question is very simple, why now?
Ben:
We canât answer on behalf of SEGA, but I think that the project that we presented them was good and made sense, and so does the team behind it. With Wonder Boy: The Dragonâs, Lizardcube proved how much care and craft we could put in reviving old games. On the other hand, Dotemu has a great track record when it comes to work on old licences, and we showed that directly to SEGA with that game as well.
Finally, Guard Crush Games are experts in the beat them up genre, and that is important when youâre making a new Streets of Rage game.
Jordi:
I can only guess but you can find several SOR4 prototype videos, and they are often very far away from what we think a SOR game must feel like. So when we made a proposition to SEGA, we were really focused on making a game that you can see and say: âoh yeah thatâs Streets of Rage!â
Cyrille:
I also think that the timing is just right. The success of Sonic Mania showed that SEGA could trust a passionate team of external developers that already proved that they were capable with the genre, and give them one of their main license.
Robin TGG
Howâs the vibes within the SOR 4 development team right now? (are you excited, thrilled and so on) And how has the feedback been from fans, the game community and games media been since the release of the first SOR 4 trailer? (bad, good, mixed?).
Jordi:
Obviously, weâre very excited and as weâre all big SOR fans. Weâre on the same page when it comes to make the right decision for the game. Feedbacks from people and journalists who have played the PAX demo are great. As they are loving the gameplay changes and the overall feeling of the game. Of course, we can feel the pressure growing but the good feedback we had are reassuring. Lots of fans are benevolent, and we wonât let them down!
Ben :
The response has been amazing so far. I mean, the reveal took everybody by surprise. Fans and newcomers are eager to see more. Of course, there has been few mixed viewpoint from hardcore fans but in the same time, the trailer was really short in terms of gameplay and we canât wait to show them what the game will ultimately be. The dev team is moving steadily forward, and there is a great and fun relationship between everyone, especially since the good vibes we received after revealing the game.
Cyrille:
We are very enthusiastic, and we have one goal: to focus on the gameâs development. Given the gameâs reception so far and the playerâs response, we know that we have something special here. So weâre concentrating and focusing on making the best game possible. We get along very well in the team, and there are so many talents that are really complementary, working on a project like this one does not occur many times in a lifetime, so we try to make the most out of it.
Robin TGG
Whatâs your own history with the SOR series? And what has been your greatest source for inspiration for SOR 4? (besides the obvious SOR series itself).
Jordi :
I still remember the day I played SOR2 at a friendâs house. That day was my first time playing Sonic 2 and Final Fight CD too (what a day!). I instantly loved SOR2 and we kept coming back to it. I never really stopped playing that game. So when I became a game developer, I instantly tried to make a beat âem up. Iâve played so many of them, even obscure ones⌠Besides SOR, Dungeons&Dragons Shadow over Mystara and Guardian Heroes are my favorites. They really took the genre very far with lots of great ideas and top notch production value. I secretly hope the golden age of beat âem up comes back.
Ben :
Since I was living in the countryside, video games were a go to for escaping in fantasy worlds. The fights, the style, the neon signs of Streets of Rage were an amazing transgression for me. I donât remember when I bought SOR2 but I remember breaking a controller spending countless hours on the game.
For SOR4, the art inspirations are very wide, and that includes everything from the Capcom games and their amazing artists and animations to the more recent Scott Pilgrim video game. Furthermore, SOR 4âs art inspirations also come from fine arts or comics and movies.
Cyrille:
I have to confess I was a Nintendo kid. However, I played a lot of âBeyond Oasisâ (made by Ancient) on my cousins Genesis, and I were fascinated by this game. Streets of Rage and Beyond Oasis have in common that they have an incredible atmosphere. Working on SOR4 and analyzing SOR2, I realised how superior this game was to other beatâem ups.
Robin TGG
Will Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima have anything to do with SOR 4âs soundtrack? If no, then whoâs making the music for the game? (imo, you should ask MegaDriver from Brazil for some tracks, because his really talented, and his also a huge fan of SOR).
Jordi :
We arenât commenting on specifics right now but there will be more details revealed on the soundtrack soon. We know the soundtrack to the original Streets of Rage games were important to the overall worldâs feel, and we hope to deliver a soundtrack worthy of the fans! For us, the soundtrack is as much important as the graphics or the gameplay, and we take it really seriously. So please stay tuned, because the OST will have itâs own announcements in the future.
Robin TGG
Itâs already known that the graphics and visuals of SOR 4 will be done by the team behind the âWonder Boy: The Dragonâs Trap remakeâ. However, whatâs not known (at least not to my knowledge) is why you went with that visual style for SOR 4? I mean, donât get me wrong.
I really love the visuals from the remake of WB III, but Iâm still curious to know why you went with that visual style for SOR 4? And was there ever any other plans for SOR 4 in terms of graphics and visuals? (for example, full 3D graphics, or retro-like graphics like the old SOR games).
Ben:
Itâs a mix of various influences. It comes from my background as an animator and comic artist. There are a lot of possibilities when contemplating the wide range of style 2D is offering.
Before making a presentation to SEGA with Dotemu, I spend months making concept art in different directions. What I ended up with is what I believe represents best what the game is to supposed to be.
I really like pixel art, but I donât think that what this project needed. I really believe traditional animation brings way more life than any other techniques and since the license has been asleep for so long, I wanted to make it live again. There is a lot more to show, and I hope fans and newcomers alike will appreciate it.
Technically speaking, we contemplated various techniques like having a mix of 2d and 3d, for example, but ultimately. We decided to stick to the original gameplay and 2d, even if weâre improving it to the 2018âs standards.
Robin TGG
Will SOR 4 be a mix of the best parts from SOR 1-3? Simply put, will players be able to play as the characters from the past? And use old + new attacks, combos and grips?
Jordi:
Itâs too soon to tell anything, but we want to be generous in terms of content, so stay tuned.
Robin TGG
Iâm aware that it might be too early on in the development process of SOR 4 for you to answer this question of mine, but SOR fans have been asking me to ask you about thisâŚSo, will there be any online, co-op and battle mode (player Vs Player in a one on one fight) in SOR 4?
Jordi:
Weâre currently concentrating our efforts on the core of the game, so itâs definitely too soon to talk about this.
Robin TGG
Even though the âStreets of Rage 4â reveal trailer is less than one month old, itâs still very close to one million views. So I think itâs safe to say that there is a huge interest and hunger for the game. So Iâm curious to know what thoughts that went through your mind when you guys and girls saw how fast the trailerâs popularity grew over time?
Ben :
My feeds went crazy, really. I knew that it would be a huge impact when we announced it out of the blue, but it was madness. To be honest, it can be quite overwhelming, but weâre trying to keep a cool head and carry on to deliver the vision we have.
Jordi :
It was crazy. I tried to read all the comments on Twitter and YouTube. So I didnât sleep for two nights. So, yeah, it was just too much.
Cyrille:
I am not a big Twitter user, but when we released the trailer, my feed went crazy. It was a frenzy of comments. So we had reaction videos to watch, and so on⌠It was surreal to have such a big impact when you work for months in a small office in front of your computer.
Robin TGG
How comes that Axel looks so much older in SOR 4? (he even got a beard!) I mean, Blaze and Axel are the same age, and yet Blaze looks so much younger than Axel (perhaps Axel has lived a very hard life since SOR 3?). So that also makes me wonder when and where SOR 4 takes place? (I take it that SOR 4 takes place a couple of years after SOR 3?).
Ben :
The events of SOR4 takes place more or less 10 years after SOR3. Despite his beard and rugged look, Axel is honestly quite fit for his age, and Blaze is still a beautiful thirty something bad ass woman.
Robin TGG
I take it that SOR 4 will be released to PC, PS4, Xbox One and the Switch, right?
Cyrille:
More will be revealed in terms of platforms later on.
2 Likes
Hmm, at least they recognize how important the soundtrack is going to be for the game. Thatâs the main thing I was looking for while skimming through.
'Wonder when theyâre going to showcase more of the game.
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That looks a lot better than I expected. I am definitely looking forward to more information about Streets of Rage 4 after seeing the updated gameplay.
I still canât stand how Axel looks like
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I think Axel looks better in-game than the animated trailer. He kind of reminds me of Roddy Piper in 1988âs âThey Liveâ. His design is leagues better than his Capcom counterpart Alexâs has been since inception.
That .gif turned this game to a Day One for me. Pumped!
Axel still looks like shit
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Axel is still a bum. Change his design please.
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Like pretty much everything looks good but axel. Like, I donât get why they wonât change his design. Itâs awful. He just looks fat, hairy and sad.
That lighting could use some work. Sure it looks good in screenshots, but some of those enemies are now harder to see.
I didnât mind Axelâs look too much since I wasnât going to grab this, but now that I am buying it Iâm not too hard on it.
Maybe SOR1 design will be unlockable?
As a hardcore sor fan who plays sor 2 almost every day here are my thoughts.
Dont mind the Axel redesign but the art style still bugs me. I would have liked the SOR 2 style but its sort of growing on me.
Game looks slow as hell. Hope they at least implent the running and rolling from SOR3.
Is it me or do the stages all look very shallow/the vertical movement space seems very limited. Like 2/3rs of the screen is backround and 1/3 movement when really it should be other way around. I get the classics had some narrow stages but there were also really wide stages too.
Really like the new design enemies though. Eswat and ruby rose.
Watching this animated, makes me remember why HD remix looks bad in motion because it was restricted to use the usual redrawn frames without applying animation techniques for the in-between frames that is present here.
Yes it was the lighting that seems to need some adjustment because it blends to both enemy models and player characters.
The enemy model and also the characters should have a separate light source and a more lighter dark shade that wonât blend in the background.
Why play SoR2, when Remake exists?
I love SoR2 most, of the O.G. 3 (even Nippon 3), but Remake is just too good.
4 needs to apply everything that Remake did right re: pretty much everything, and then some.
I want more moves per character, personally.
Maybe River City Ransom buying of moves a la a Forgotten Worlds style shop system.
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Because I play it on my mobile device. If I could get sorron android with all cheats unlocked I would playthat
I canât wait!!
1 Like