The ign review seems to be from an alternate dimension where beatemups are still common in 2020 and SOR 4 simply didn't bring anything new to the saturated genre. Otherwise the position is indefensible

I want to see a Golden Axe revival after seeing how well SoR4 was.

Streets of Rage 4 exceeded all my expectations. It is so damn good.

Beat game a couple of times already. I am glad it's getting positive reviews. Now Nitpicking stuff that would make it better: 1- Roll mechanic to dodge attacks( if one thing was to be picked from this list, i choose this one) like SoR 3 and remake. Some times getting blown up twice in the air by exploding things, felt very cheap. Also a Run would still be good to add for at least blaze and axel. 2- In previous streets of rage games, you had a 1 or 2 hit window to press your special move when getting attacked. This one once you are getting hit there is no escape. 3- Alternate paths. Funny that you mentioend designer like Guardian heroes since that game features that. 4- A little more on the ending/Alternate endings 5- and for those things above they could have charged more for the game.

They did an amazing job! I hope we get a part 5 and 6!!

This game is awesome. Already played it from start to finish 7 times! Can't wait for covid to be gone, so I can play it with my brother and relive our 90's childhood!

Streets of Rage 4 is so awesome! Love the story, gameplay, levels, and unlockables.

the IGN review is terribel, I even noticed that the reviewer only played on easy, since in all the footage shows him having 5-7 lifes

First sonic mania and now this, western indie developers are showing Sega how to treat their franchises, hope we eventually get phantasy star 5.

Bought Streets of Rage II as an eleven year old for the Mega Drive and bought the new version IV for PC: they truly delivered. Everything done perfectly! Cool review video!

I bought this on Friday. It's soo good, the inclusion of the retro soundtrack is awesome. The police station level with the SOR2 boss music is absolutely wonderful. 🥰

Been on a real Streets of Rage binge with playing SOR4 and watching videos, including yours good sir, recently. I played the games back in the day, was around 1994 when I first played them but sadly I never owned them at the time. I remember enjoying them and I loved the Streets of Rage comic stories that appeared in our Sonic The Comic too (who remembers that?) and through playing the new game and watching the videos, I actually forgot how much I love this series. The gameplay, the music, the sheer enjoyment of playing through the stages and playing with friends and family, its all fantastic. I really need to get back to working on my Mega Drive collection and while I do still have a lose copy of SOR1 somewhere, I really owe it to myself to finally get the full original trilogy boxed, hopefully the Bare Knuckle versions too! Loved all your videos so far and really looking forward to watching this one too, you've earned a subscriber! Keep up the fantastic work! :)

Everyone playing Streets Of Rage 4 all over recommendations

Blaze Fielding looks sexy in this game!

Thank you for your videos on this awesome franchise that I saw in your channel. As a kid in the late 80s/ early 90s, I played the games when I has the Sega Genesis at home. Now 20some years later when I heard about this game, I was excited. My 90s memories are rekindled, lol!!! I immediately bought the game and played it twice. The updated and retro graphics that so perfect for some of us old school gamers, The game controls are crisp. The returning characters alongside with a few new ones which is always a good way to introduce a new generation of fans. the cutscenes and stages that moves the story along well. The icing of the cake is clearly the music soundtrack........is so frickin AWESOME....Bits of jazz, techno, club, hip-hop, rock influences with the 1990s sounds. The love the way the music transforms perfectly from one scene to another within each stage. In my opinion,this game was worth the wait and worth the price. I hope this game gets some additional downloads or content in the near future. Perhaps the same companies whom produce this game can make an follow up sequel within a couple of years.

I wouldn't trust IGN's reviewers to recognise a truly great game or movie as such.

Bought it yesterday, had a lengthy session beating it today, IT RULES. Replay-value is SUPERB, combat feels 100% right and requires much more from you than the original trilogy (it's hard but a learning experience), do not let "it's not Japanese" scare you away. Will jump back in when my hands and fingers recover. (PS4/Switch versions have greatly expanded visual settings options, otherwise all are equal).

Great review! Keep them coming. Purchased SOR4 straight after.

I was waiting for you to talk about this! As soon as I beat it I was like “man I wonder what Top Hat thought of the level designs and boss battles”

I've been waiting for your video on this game. I loved your retrospective videos on the old games. Great stuff!

This game is outstanding!! I'm 43 and played all previous 3 games on my megadrive. But even my nephews who never played any SOR (14 & 20) absolutely love this game. We have so much fun playing together. I gave them some tips on how to play better and stronger 😊

absolutely fantastic documentary! so informative and entertaining! great job!

Amazing game! Pleased this old Sega fan tenfold. Great video! Definitely the most informative I've seen on YT.

Was watching our for your video on SoR4. Nicely done. It's an amazing game, love it. I've been playing it with my daughter most of the weekend. We've both had a good time, and she doesn't have the 90s nostalgia that I do.

hope they remake Golden Axe next

Loved it! Thank you Top Hat Gamer! What a glorious video! Excellent presentation!

This is THE GAME we needed. Not only is it important for reviving the genre, but also reviving the relevancy of sprite-base game engines. Too much COD monotony, and not enough creative games that cater to a mainstream market.

Thank you Top Hat for this. This is Highly informative and needed. As always youve put together high quality content under extreme pressure. Thank you my friend .....yeeeeaaaaaa!!!!

I love this kind of depth in your videos! New sub!

Love your Streets of Rage videos! This game is a fantastic celebration of a series that was dormant for far too long. So good to have it back!

Ohhh Hat, i figured you'd get on this sooner than later!!! Looking forward to watching it :D Love your videos, and congratulations on your milestone last week :D

The wait was so long that many players haven't even played the older SOR games; Hell, some of them weren't even alive when SOR3 was released. I'm one of these people. One day I saw SOR4 in game pass and thought "oh cool. this looks like a fun beat em up". Little did I know that it would become my #1 beat'em up and also one of my favorite games of all time. I liked it so much that I actually gave the older entries a shot (via Streets of Rage Remake) and had so much fun (still do from time to time). You could say that this game. along with fantastic TMNT Shredder's Revenge, brought back my love for beat em ups

Great video, best one yet. Keep em coming 👊😜👌 love this game,

Thanks for this video and extensive overview! This game was certainly worth the wait! Kudos to you, sir! 😁

Great video and review! Love the classic games and bought the 4th title when it was released and I have to say its awesome!

This is the fourth video of yours I have watched recently since I found your channel, i thought you caught lightening in a bottle, but it was no accident........just excellence, new sub, thank you Sir Top Hat

The SOR series is one of my favorites of all time! I owned them back in the day when they came out. I have played them plenty of times throughout the years. They are easily some of the best beat em ups of all time! SOR4 is a different game using the originals as the backbone, and does so with amazing success! It adds and tweaks mechanics while keeping the core combat, despite juggling changing how the game plays compared to the originals. Easily one of the best beat em ups to come out in a very long time! Pick up SOR4, you are going to love it!

If you love a game don't let reviews control if you want to buy it or not. It's your money. They didn't pay for your game. If you want to get it because you want it fine. If not that's fine too. That's the way I've always felt about reviews myself for many many 20+ years. And far as Streets Of Rage 4 goes? This is a time to CELEBRATE!!!! This like Mega Man 11 finally releasing is a victory for all of us! And I'm incredibly greatfull to everyone that worked on the game. Thank you so much! Seriously things like this bring tears of joy for me! Keep this up and we'll see very successful sequels of many classic great games!

That's the heartiest YEAAAAAAAHH!! I've heard from you recently man! I'm happy for you!

Great video as always! Great to see companies using their marketing funds correctly by funding this like this! Stopped playing SoR4 just long enough to watch and forward this video.

It is amazing how everyone involved approached each aspect of the game. There was so much respect and humility shown by all of them. It definitely paid off, because Streets of Rage 4 is awesome!

You convinced me tophat i got my sega collection downloaded along with streets of rage 4 so much nostalgia now i get to share it all with my 6yr old son a metaphoric passing of the torch once he able to read better were moving on to final fantasy 😆 great and honest review much appreciated tophat

Didn't notice the length; well done!

Somewhere..... Capcom is making a new final fight with Akuma in it 😭😭😭

I was very impressed with it. Also, impressed with this video. Bravo sir on a stirling effort. However, I'm still waiting for my Cap!

Got damn tophat.. you never cease to impress.

You can't spell "ignorant" without IGN.

The greatest beat um up franchise has returned and it’s fantastic. SOR3 is my favorite of the original trilogy with 2 being second. I just got SOR4 so I’m going to have to see how my list changes. The SOR franchise is the best at what it does imo.

Brilliant video, Enjoyed it immensely :-)

Bought this for a friend and myself on Steam a few days ago. Well worth the 20 bucks each for an excellent update to an old classic. So much fun!

One of the best coverages out there on this game. IGN and Game Informer seems to be those reviewers that give perfect scores on 1st Person Shooters but anything that is nostalgia or an expansion of true gaming, they hate. You did an amazing job on this my good sir! Greeting from the US.

Really wasn't sure if I liked the look of this new game, But, I can honestly say it's fantastic, feels just right and plays great! The visuals are very nice and have grown on me - ultimately they were the right choice.

Ign sucks, I haven't gone by their reviews for years now

Really enjoy your channel and content ❤ power to you 😊 and streets of rage 4 is a great title !

Hi Top Hat, great review as always! Not sure this was said here, but I just wanted to mention there is apparently a way to unlock Shiva, but it's ultra hard, and it's after you unlock everyone else.

Thanks for the video! Bro streets of rage 2 is one of my favorites of all time. Love the game. Sor4 is fun and enjoyable as Hell. Having a BALL playing. Wish there were more stages. So glad I got this game. Would love to see this made into a more open world or add at least 20 more stages or levels. LOVE N This Game

Now we just need them to remake Shining Force, maybe a new entry based off the original Shining Force 1 and 2 style of game play. A new entry into the Japanese style Strategy RPG.

I'm so glad this games getting great reviews. I got it on release date but I haven't played it yet waiting for my mate or relative to come so we can play the whole campaign 2 player old school style.

Congratulations Top Hat Gaming on getting your free copy of SOR4 and giving us a very in depth video of my childhood game.

Great overview of a great game. Also a special collaborator was anthropants the king of streets of rage.

Fantastic video as usual.

I study and work with digital marketing and I am a BIG lover of the classic trilogy... To me it was so engoyable to watch this video as a incredible project class. I am anxious to play this game! Thanks for this video

Yeah, so this video convinced me to buy the game now and not later on some deep sale. I'm so glad you were entrusted to do this video by the devs because you simply deserved the opportunity. Also, I love the reviews of the reviews. I feel like IGN was like guy 1 "hey, there's a new streets of rage game, who wants to review it?" Guy 2 "uhhhhhhh, I think my dad used to play that game, I'll do it" Guy 1 "fuck it, you're hired" Again, thank you for what you do, I seriously love watching you go over the classics and take me back on a nostalgia trip or introduce me to things I never got to experience and forgot about over time.

Thanks THGM for introducing us to the Lizard Cube, Dotemu and Guard Crush teams. They have the best philosophy about remakes from 8 and 16 bit eras. The two Wonderboy games are both a marvel and show proof that we need great teams bringing classics forward with resourcefulness and care. This was a hefty episode. SOR4 IS A DREAM COME TRUE! Thats what IGNs review should have been. Short and sweet.

A series revived and needed. I'm having a blast with this game, it didn't really miss a beat.

I love this game, already played through it a couple times and want to keep playing just to unlock everything

Excellent program. As you read IGNs review, I felt more and more offended at the ignorance. SOR4 is fantastic! Sonic Mania Plus and now SOR4 have shown how to bring back our 90s SEGA faves in a super enjoyable, fun and rewarding manner.

Literally just watched your other streets of rage video on SoR3 and was gonna ask when is the SoR4 video gonna come out?

Best gaming channel

Props and big ups to these developers who made SOR4. It's definitely a dope fun game. I'm having a blast playing it. They should make a remake of all of the 3 previous SOR games just how they did with RE2 and RE 3. I would definitely buy that.

the game is a beautiful masterpiece that was long overdue. I can't wait to play it

I agree with everything you said. I keep playing this game again and again. You were spot on in every bit of your review. Hopefully we do get DLC characeters down the line. I never knew of Ash until now.

Its truly an instant classic. I've not been able to put it down

This is actually my first SOR game. My friends told me to pick it up the day it came out. I have been super addicted since then!

I love the series... I love the new game... I hate the look of "Dad Bod Axel" but I understand that time changes thing... they hooked Adam up though, he looks and plays awesome, love his dash mechanic... Overall I'm impressed with the original 4 and the new DLC... GREAT VIDEO MAN!!!

I am beyond pleased with SOR4. We've all waited so long could anything really live up to the wait and desire for SOR4? Somehow all these brilliant devs did it. Truly amazed at how much I love SOR4. I say Sega gives them Shinobi, Golden Axe, Astal and Nights. Keep these folks making more Sega content. They have yet to disappoint.

I’ve been waiting for this game for so long

SO happy to see Streets of Rage revived in conjunction with Sonic Mania and the Wonder Boy series. It's also wonderful to see Yuzo Koshiro returning to compose tracks for the OST. I've been holding out for a physical copy and placed a preorder for the Switch version. Cannot wait to plug in my USB 6 button Genesis controller and go to town! I also own the Hori Street Fighter Arcade Stick (that resembles the SF2 control panel) and am excited to see how the game performs with it. Have heard nothing but good things about this unexpected revival, very excited to see how it turns out.

God I hope Capcom makes a Captain Commando 2 that is like this PLEASE CAPCOM!!! Do it!!!

Great Soundtrack! Great Models! Great Stages! Definitely recommend SOR4, if your a fan or if it’s your first time you can use Retro soundtrack, Retro Characters, and you can even go though some Retro Stages! I’m definitely happy with the outcome!

Addictive is definitely a word I would use to describe this game. The artstyle of the characters have definitely grown on me (though it would be nice if they offered a smoothing option of the original character pixels). Playing it firsthand definitely makes a difference I would say, for those who are still on the fence. I myself was pretty hype from the announcement alone, and felt like this was crafted as a passion project the more they showed. If offers a new twist on the classic gameplay, that provides a challenge, and very rewarding experience when you learn the new mechanics (though admittedly some of them make some enemies annoying...those who've played know what I'm talking about), yet I still welcome this fresh experience. Some times you just have to take risks to save that precious combo or avoid a hit. Much like SOR remake, this game encourages you to keep playing, not just from fun gameplay, but with unlockables. and bonus models. I'm a bit leery on the idea of THIS game having potential DLC, but this game was pretty solid (though it could use some tweaks), so some fairly priced dlc, of Max, Shiva, Estel, etc would be alright with me...maybe they can patch in a 4 player co-op online, and some other things. IDK, like I said, this game is solid either way. I HOPE down the line we can get an SOR5, etc. :P It's so exciting to see this franchise FINALLY get a sequel after so many failed attempts, and after SEGA halted SOR Remake. The music is generally amazing, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE what Yuzo did for the main theme! It FELT like SOR instantly. I love how the music even transitions when you reach certain parts of a stage (like the Art Gallery music...just YESSSS), and that the bosses each have their own themes. Some stages/bosses even had familiar sounding tunes. Like fighting DJ K Washi who is clearly supposed to be named after the composer of the track playing, Motohiro Kawashima, you can hear elements of "Expander" in the music, and he was the composer of that track in SOR2. Like I just was blown away by the efforts of everyone involved. I'm glad that Alex Aniel was able to get Yuzo and Motohiro involved, and that the soundtrack became this big collaborative effort. I haven't played with the classic soundtrack, yet but heard they used GG versions of SOR1 tunes...which is off putting, because SOR1 has some serious bops! Great commentary, and that's awesome you were gifted a copy! I see everyone else see's right through the BS of reviews from like IGN. Seriously WTF even? Anyway, hope everyone is having as much fun with the game as I am.

Possibly the best remake/sequel ever! Worth twice the price.

Does still anyone cares about those noobs at IGN? they critic games more they play them! SOR series are a gem beyond their grasp! Me and my friends played all SOR games through the years and we still love them! Thats what matters, not the media that nobody cares anymore! Long live top hats commentary! Cheers! :)

This is one of very few SP/MP campaign games I will keep revisiting possibly for years.

Easily one of the (if not THE) greatest beat-em-ups of all-time; & I was HELLA skeptic when it was announced. I love how it's only when you start playing for rank that you realize just how diabolical the AI is (also when you get low on health & there's a food pickup on the screen).....bonus props to the devs for the AI programming. Excellent review!!!! Oh; & please tell me you did a deep dive on the Mr. X Revenge dlc??? B/c they knocked that out the park as well...

Good vid man, very informative. I also only linked the vid just cause of that line...."Chiillldd Bearing" :D :D :D :D Question, SOR was not popular in Japan back in the day, how about nowadays??

the term "knocking it out the park" can get overused but my oh my it fits SoR4 perfectly!

You convinced me. Never played any of the Streets of Rage games but I downloaded this one, great fun!

This is an awesome video mate, with some impressive and different looking footage than usual!!! 🎩 #LondonRealArmy

I was in my mid twenties when Streets of Rage 2 was released. It was my all time fave Megadrive game. I recently purchased Genesis classics for PS4 so I could play SoR 1,2 and 3 again for a bit of nostalgia. 3 days after the purchase Streets of Rage 4 was released. I wasn't aware this was being released but I bought it straight away. I smashed it all weekend and have already unlocked all characters from original SoR titles. Huge thanks to the developers, they have done an amazing job.

If you want even more diverse reviews, I encourage you to look at the Steam reviews. I'm not going to give my opinion here, more than just saying that I absolute love this game, but I must say that, as any masterpieces, it has its fair share of detractors as well as supporters. Just enjoy the game, thanks for your review man, I watched it in its entirety, and not only I agreed with you, but also enjoyed it all the way, you got a new subscriber, keep up!

Streets of Rage 4 is a very successful revival to the series, and you can tell that the proper love and care was put into this relic. I love playing this with online players. If there’s a streets of rage five, then I’m all in. And I swear it’s like IGN does not know what nostalgic games are at times. I mean they’re so caught up in the modern games like call of duty, but doesn’t look back on retro games like this.

I whole-heartedly agree that the IGN review was completely tone deaf. It sounded like it came from a much younger person who was not around for the 16-bit era and had never actually played the SoR series on original hardware. When my kids started showing interest in gaming, I taught them the roots first and they are now well-versed in classic games. My 8y/o is particularly excited for this new release, so I felt compelled to spring for the Limited Run Classic Edition physical release and we are anxiously awaiting it! Thank you for taking the appropriate time to fully flesh out this review, Mr. Top Hat. I was pleased to enjoy the whole of it.

It would be nice if you could interview the game developers. I also want to say thank for making this content given that you have been through a lot thanks for this beautiful content

As a fan of the added mechanics of SoR3, I was initially frustrated with the reduced mobility options in 4. However the more I played, the systems started to click and it's incredibly fun and addictive. The game teaches you on higher difficulties that managing the situation and using your special moves liberally is a must. Your neutral special is key to use any time surrounded and can also be used to counter enemy attacks with the I frames. Throwing also has I frames and a must for crowd control. The jumping special for Axel and Blaze are key for mobility. To get your green life back, you'll need to attack without taking hits. This risk/reward mechanic is well balanced and once you string it all together by racking up the combo and countering the enemy patterns, gameplay becomes sublime. The devs have a clear intention here with their design and I simply love the feel of combat now after my initial reaction. The ost and visuals also have really grown on me where returning to the older games is tough. At $25 this game is a steal for genre fans. I encourage anyone curious to buy it .... This game delivers. Then hopefully the devs continue to support this game with new dlc characters/enemies/levels/modes.

Was reading your patreon partners a personal challenge? Lol loved the vid

Just got this game. Man this a 10/10. Streets of Rage 2 was my favorite game growing up (played it over 120 times me and my little brother back in the 90s.). I thought I wouldn't enjoy this one due to how it looks. But man was I wrong. The music is definitely Streets of Rage quality.

When I was younger I used to pick Skate all the time. Then a few years ago I realized how much I like Blaze. I am pleased at how well Blaze plays in this game.

This game was my all-time favorite. I still play the original, and the sequel. I loved the sequel. At the time, I thought it was a truly unique and incredibly fun game to play. When my friend told me they were working on this game, I was as gitty as a schoolgirl. I was not disappointed by this game. Although I am, a little disappointed with the music tracks, I can forgive the developers, because they finally brought back a legendary game. Thank you. The game rocks!

Great review for an excellent game