Format: Cartridge
Genre: Brawler
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega

Streets of Rage 3 represents the third major graphical shift in the series' three titles. This time, the general aesthetic of the first two games has been replaced with character and stage designs that attempt to be a bit less stylistic in tone. Animation is excellent, although the overall look of the game is not quite as appealing as the second title.

Yuzo Koshiro returns once again, but rather than recycle motifs for the third time in a row, he creates 100% original work that makes a dramatic departure in style from the first two titles. While some of the songs are conventional in nature-- and excellent-- much of the soundtrack sounds like Koshiro was on speed while doing the composition. It's not bad and, like the drastically altered digital voices, still fits the game's theme well. It's just not quite up to the standard of the first two titles.

The second game had much more deliberate and thoughtfully paced fighting mechanics than the original title, and the game was sublime as a result. The third game, however, reverts mostly to button mashing, with an emphasis on pummeling opponents with many hits, as opposed to hitting them with a few well thought-out hits, as in the second game. The stages are superb, but with the somewhat loose mechanics behind them, they just don't come across as strongly as those in the game's predecessor.

The biggest problem with Streets of Rage 3 is that it is outrageously difficult-- at least twice as difficult as the Japanese version, Bare Knuckle 3; the game is pretty much impossible to play through without cheating and using the second controller's set of continues. The American localization also contains some ridiculous censorship from the Japanese iteration. Even with the shortcomings, the game isn't terrible-- just don't expect to ever be able to beat it.