History YMMV / StreetsOfRage

* FanPreferredCouple: Though much more prevalent in the [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis]] days, a lot of players assumed Axel and Blaze were an item, likely owing to their partnership both before and after resigning from the force. ''Fanfic/StreetsOfRageSaga'' making them an OfficialCouple may have also contributed to this perception. ''[=SOR4=]'' seems to have put a bit of a damper on the ship, what with Axel living out in the wilderness between games and Adam being the only character among the ThreeAmigos to have started a family, but it still has Blaze being the one to contact Axel as well as [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/streetsofrage/images/9/91/SOR4_Ending_08.png sling her arm around his shoulder in one of the ending stills.]] This even appears to have bled into a few ''SOR''-inspired [[BeatEmUp beat 'em ups]], most notably 2021's ''The [=TakeOver=]'' -- the game's Axel and Blaze equivalents, Ethan Rivers and Megan Brooks, are [[BattleCouple dating]] and have an adopted daughter [[IHaveYourWife whose kidnapping sets off the plot]].

** The soundtracks of the games are quite enjoyable. There's a good reason AwesomeMusic/YuzoKoshiro's name appears on the title screens of all three games directly under Sega's copyright. The soundtracks are so popular, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dOnOKsaQz0 Koshiro makes money on the side by remixing his own tracks and playing them at clubs.]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siC1gKWOzmA Full set here.]])

* {{Fanon}}: The game itself never went into details on how Mr. X managed to kidnap Adam in ''2'', so fans tend to think that it happened because around this time, Mr. X hired Shiva as [[TheDragon his Dragon]], and he proceeded to ambush and trounce Adam. Considering that Shiva is the game's penultimate boss, it would make sense that Adam, after months of peace and not fighting, would be outclassed (whereas in-game, Axel and friends needed to plow through Mr. X's men by fighting, so when they reach Shiva, they've already honed their fighting experience to defeat him). The fan remake runs with this as one version has Adam warning the gang about him.
* FanPreferredCouple: Though much more prevalent in the Genesis days, a lot of players assumed Axel and Blaze were an item, likely owing to their partnership both before and after resigning from the force. ''Fanfic/StreetsOfRageSaga'' making them an OfficialCouple may have also contributed to this perception. ''[=SOR4=]'' seems to have put a bit of a damper on the ship, what with Axel living out in the wilderness between games and Adam being the only character among the ThreeAmigos to have started a family, but it still has Blaze being the one to contact Axel as well as [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/streetsofrage/images/9/91/SOR4_Ending_08.png sling her arm around his shoulder in one of the ending stills.]]

** ''Streets of Rage 2 Except It Makes That Weird Creator/TimAllen Noise When People Die'' [[labelnote:Explanation]]When Sega published Steam Workshop tools for creating mods of UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} ports of Sega Genesis games (i.e. Sega-sanctioned {{ROM Hack}}s), one of the most infamous mods to come out was [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=674634532 one]] for ''Streets of Rage 2'' in which the death grunts are replaced with Tim Allen's memetic groan from ''Series/HomeImprovement''.[[/labelnote]]

** The lack of running and rolling in ''[=SoR4=]'' divided fans on various forums [[TaintedByThePreview pre-release]], and ended up being a sticking point after the game hit shelves. For the many faults found with the third installment (see ContestedSequel and ItsHardSoItSucks below), the new mobility options and how they affected gameplay were actually well-received by most players, to the point that the much-lauded ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRageRemake'' made it so that the ''[=SoR1=]'' and ''[=SoR2=]'' casts had access to the same updated mechanics. As such, the fact that the fourth game game [[SnapBack reverted]] to a more ''[=SoR2=]''-esque formula, with only Cherry and Adam having alternate forms of movement (running and dashing respectively), invites frequent debate as to whether this choice was a step back. Not helping matters is that Lizardcube did consider having the ability to run implemented as a universal feature, only to remove it during playtesting for balance purposes. To make up for it, most characters have a Forward Offensive Air Special that acts as a sort of dash or evasion maneuver with invulnerability windows [[note]]Axel has a rolling attack that can hit enemies while on the ground, Blaze has a jump kick that elevates her and moves her forward, and Floyd has a double jump[[/note]], though the downside is these moves [[CastFromHitPoints do cost health]]. In addition with the ''Mr. X Nightmare'' DLC, every character has an unlockable alternative Blitz attack, Special attack, and their forward variations. Most of them act either as a dash or a gap closer to make up for it.

** Estel in ''4'' has been pretty well received by fans too. Not only for being yet another female boss fight (and an AmazonianBeauty), but actually trying to do her job in keeping order, just [[HeroAntagonist getting in the heroes' way]] for seeing them as another of the gangs plaguing her city. Thankfully she wises up after Mr. Y blows up a subway the group are fighting on and helps from then on. Fans clamored for her to be playable in DLC and got their wish with her being the first announced new character in ''Mr. X Nightmare''.

** Shiva as a playable character in ''3''. His normal moves have a lot of range and are very fast, instead of the back attack he has a 2-hit punch that can combo infinitely (as mentioned above), and his special attack takes half of one health bar and is completely invincible. It's not like he makes the game a cakewalk, but he outclasses everyone at everything.

** ''Streets of Rage 4''[='s=] incarnation of Shiva has an alternate moveset that, in short, blows not just his ''3'' version but ''damn near every other character completely out of the water''. Flying Kick, his alternate Blitz attack, has so many invincibility frames that they're even on the move[='s=] startup. Spirit Palm is an Offensive Special with such a low cooldown that it can be machinegunned, used in infinites, and in Survival, it's bugged so that it restores health under the Blood Thirst buff. Shiva is also [[MechanicallyUnusualFighter the only character able to air combo via repeated jump attacks]], which--if the player is [[SomeDexterityRequired skilled]] [[DifficultButAwesome enough]]--can be combined with Spirit Kick (his alternate Air Special) and the aforementioned Spirit Palm for potentially ''infinite'' air loops.

** Along with the DLC Characters, Most Alternate Movesets are bound to be broken since they haven't had any patches, while the other moves had three whole updates.
*** Floyd[='s=] alternate blitz, [[RapidFireFisticuffs Gatling Punches]] are completely invincible if you whiff them and the moves cooldown gives Floyd nonstop invincibility frames. (Despite that you ''are'' vulnerable after you actually use it to hit an enemy.) This makes spamming the move a legitimate strategy.
*** Floyd[='s=] Alternate defensive special, Thunder Trap, guarantees a grab on enemies in their getup animation, giving him a new infinite on bosses.
*** Blaze[='s=] Alternate blitz attack, Rekkaken, you guessed it, gives Blaze ''yet another infinite''

** ''Streets of Rage 4''[='s=] incarnation of Shiva has an alternate moveset that, in short, blows not just his ''3'' version but ''damn near every other character completely out of the water''. Flying Kick, his alternate Blitz attack, has so many invincibility frames that they're even on the move's startup. Spirit Palm is an Offensive Special with such a low cooldown that it can be machinegunned, used in infinites, and in Survival, it's bugged so that it restores health under the Blood Thirst buff. Shiva is also [[MechanicallyUnusualFighter the only character able to air combo via repeated jump attacks]], which--if the player is [[SomeDexterityRequired skilled]] [[DifficultButAwesome enough]]--can be combined with Spirit Kick (his alternate Air Special) and the aforementioned Spirit Palm for potentially ''infinite'' air loops.

** The North American version of ''Streets of Rage 3'' was hit ''hard'' by this. It [[ScrappyMechanic not only inflates the difficulty levels]] [[ItsHardSoItSucks by one level each]], but also [[EasyModeMockery locks you out of the last two stages]] if you are playing on Easy, [[DifficultyByRegion which is Normal in the Japanese version]]. The Japanese version has no such mockery, not even on its own Easy difficulty, which would be EasierThanEasy in the North American version [[BadExportForYou if it existed]]. The storyline also heavily [[{{Bowdlerise}} bowdlerised]] to remove the fear of a war storyline in favor of more general lawlessness and disorder in the city, with many dialogue changes resulting in some dialogue making little to no sense. In addition, the female enemies were given jackets to look less revealing, Axel, Blaze, and Skate swapped their usual colors for gender neutrality, and [[MachoCamp Ash]] was DummiedOut (he still existed in the game's code, but you had to use a game enhancer to use him). This may be among the reasons why the ''Sega Vintage Collection'' for the ''Streets of Rage'' trilogy features all regional versions of the game.

** In an inversion, the ''Mr. X Nightmare'' DLC adding in alternate color palettes for the main cast but ''not'' restoring the outfit colors from the international version of ''[=SOR3=]'' (or adding in new colors for ''any'' of the Retro characters, like Mona & Lisa for ''[=SOR1=]'' Blaze) was bemoaned by some players.

** [[spoiler:Shiva and Max]] are playable... but ''only'' in their retro, pixelated appearances compared to [[spoiler:their boss incarnations]] (with [[spoiler:Shiva in particular having [[FightingSpirit a few]] [[DoppelgangerAttack new tricks]] since the Genesis days]]), thereby preventing them from contributing to the larger plot after their brief appearances in the story. Arguably justified in that [[spoiler:Shiva is a mostly neutral third party]] and [[spoiler:a brainwashed Max is the boss of the penultimate stage]]. This is no longer an issue as of the ''Mr. X Nightmare'' DLC.

** The lack of fan-favorite DualBoss Onihime & Yasha ([[DubNameChange Mona & Lisa]]) in ''4''. The dev team did not include them in the game like they originally wanted to due to time constraints, with all that remains being concept art of what they would have looked liked had they been brought in. In their place are simple color swaps of the first boss, Diva (Beyo & Riah), with the only other difference between being elemental attacks. How cool would it have been to take on the evil twins again in glorious, hand-drawn, 2D animation?

** ''Streets of Rage 4''[='s=] incarnation of Shiva has an alternate moveset that, in short, blows not just his ''3'' version, but ''damn near every other character completely out of the water''. Flying Kick, his alternate Blitz attack, has so many invincibility frames that they're even on the move's startup. Spirit Palm is an Offensive Special with such a low cooldown that it can be machinegunned, used in infinites, and in Survival, it's bugged so that it restores health under the Blood Thirst buff. Shiva is also [[MechanicallyUnusualFighter the only character able to air combo via repeated jump attacks]], which--if the player is [[SomeDexterityRequired skilled]] [[DifficultButAwesome enough]]--can be combined with Spirit Kick (his alternate Air Special) and the aforementioned Spirit Palm for potentially ''infinite'' air loops.
** Alongside Shiva comes the return of Max in ''Mr. X Nightmare.'' Already considered the best character in ''2'', this rendition of Max comes with the alternate Defensive Special in [[TornadoMove Spinning Knuckle Vortex]]. Its low cooldown and crowd control properties make taking out droves of enemies look like a complete joke, and the move has [[WeaponsThatSuck a vacuum effect that sucks in foes]]. With proper usage and good timing (such as when an enemy is in HitStun from a late Power Slide), enemies can even be positioned in front of Max but with their backs to him, easily setting up his devastating back throw. Oh, and his jab combo gives him a ''one-button infinite'' on bosses that can't tech on landing.

** '''Mr. Y.''' Specifically, the Version 05 Patch gave him the ability to do an armored dodge roll. Basically, he'll stop doing it and you'll be able to hit him once [[GetBackHereBoss he feels your blood pressure's spiked high enough trying to nail the little bastard down]]. It's not like his sister's any better, either. [[spoiler:Naturally, Y Island ends with Ms. Y, followed by [[DualBoss the Y Twins fighting together]]]], and then the [[HumongousMecha Y Mecha]]--which is [[BackgroundBoss commandeered]] by one of the siblings as the other is still assailing you in the foreground.]]

** In the third game, there's the oddly placed Japanese styled building that comes after a tunnel level, complete with a boss fight that looks like a samurai and he can split into two other copies. Luckily, you only fight one of them at a time.

** Beyo and Reya in the fourth game. Their simple, easy to anticipate attack patterns and lack of ability to call reinforcements the way other bosses do mean that they're much easier than the bosses that come before and after them (Shiva and [[spoiler: Max]], respectively)

** The lack of running and rolling in ''[=SoR4=]'' divided fans on various forums [[TaintedByThePreview pre-release]], and ended up being a sticking point after the game hit shelves. For the many faults found with the third installment (see ContestedSequel and ItsHardSoItSucks below), the new mobility options and how they affected gameplay were actually well-received by most players, to the point that the much-lauded ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRageRemake'' made it so that the ''[=SoR1=]'' and ''[=SoR2=]'' casts had access to the same updated mechanics. As such, the fact that the fourth game game [[SnapBack reverted]] to a more ''[=SoR2=]''-esque formula, with only Cherry and Adam having alternate forms of movement (running and dashing respectively), invites frequent debate as to whether this choice was a step back. Not helping matters is that Lizardcube did consider having the ability to run implemented as a universal feature, only to remove it during playtesting for balance purposes. To make up for it, most characters have a Forward Offensive Air Special that acts as a sort of dash or evasion maneuver with invulnerability windows [[note]]Axel has a rolling attack that can hit enemies while on the ground, Blaze has a jump kick that elevates her and moves her forward, and Floyd has a double jump[[/note]], though the downside is these moves [[CastFromHitPoints do cost health]]. In addition with the ''Mr. X's Nightmare'', every character has an unlockable alternative blitz attack, special attack, and their forward variations. Most of them act either as a dash or a gap closer to make up for it.

* ContestedSequel: ''Streets of Rage 3'' had a number of changes to the base gameplay that are hit or miss for many players (such as the way special attacks work and the blitz attack upgrades), [[DifficultyByRegion regional differences in difficulty]] that are stacked against NA-version players, and a different style of soundtrack that clicks with some players and rubs others the wrong way. As a result, both the fandom and even official follow ups like ''Streets of Rage 4'' tend to treat it poorly. It's the only game from the original trilogy not to have its soundtrack represented in ''4'' (not helped by how this ''was'' attempted, only to be ScrewedByTheLawyers due to licensing issues), and it overall sees much less attention for remixes and re-releases compared to the soundtracks of the first two games. However, ''3'' isn't entirely ignored, as all of ''3''[='=]s playable cast (minus Ash) can still be unlocked in their original pixelated forms in ''4'', including their universal dash and roll mechanics, which actually gives them access to more actions and controls that the regular ''4'' cast mostly lacks. ''4'' also follows the original Japanese storyline of ''3'', rather than its {{Bowdlerise}}d American counterpart (helped by the Japanese version having received a FanTranslation into English).

*** Fighting another player character in survival mode can be a nightmare since not only they can combo you like crazy if you get caught, they'll also spam their special moves and star moves freely without restrictions. Made a lot worse if they have another boss or mooks with them.
*** The Retro stages feature Kusanagis. Imagine everything you hate about [[GoddamnedBats Donovans.]] [[UpToEleven On Steroids.]] Kusanagis have the same Devious AI that loves to flank you, use items to stuff your approach, and jab you at your most inopportune time. Now give him a projectile and ''two bars of health.''
*** Mr. & Ms. What/Whatever are clones of the Y Twins, which means [[GetBackHereBoss trying to chase them across the stage while they each shoot projectiles and prod you with their rapiers respectively.]] The difference from the Y Twins original fights lie in the fact that you’re usually dealing with ''2 or 3 at a time.''

* FanficFuel: Adam's actions during the third game present a number of possibilities and some game mods show guesses as to what happened (with Max along for the ride)
* {{Fanon}}: The game itself never went into details on how Mr. X managed to kidnap Adam in ''2'', so fans tends to think that it happened because around this time, Mr. X hired Shiva as [[TheDragon his Dragon]], and he proceeded to ambush and trounce Adam. Considering that Shiva is the game's penultimate boss, it would make sense that Adam, after months of peace and not fighting, would be outclassed (whereas in-game, Axel and friends needed to plow through Mr. X's men by fighting, so when they reach Shiva, they've already honed their fighting experience to defeat him). The fan remake runs with this as one version has Adam warning the gang about him.

** Basically all of the Retro Characters in ''Streets of Rage 4'' that originate from ''2'' and ''3''. They not only have faster attack delays allowing them to chain attacks and deal out damage more efficiently thanks to retaining their old mechanics, but the ''3'' members in particular keep their run and roll alongside their blitz attacks, which lets them utterly tear the game up given only Cherry can run and Adam has his dashes otherwise.
** Streets of Rage 4’s incarnation of Shiva has an alternate moveset that, in short, blows not just his ''3'' version, but ''damn near every other character completely out of the water.'' Shiva’s Flying Kick has so many Invincibility Frames that they’re even on the move’s startup. Spirit Palm is an Offensive Special with such a low cooldown that it can be machinegunned, used in infinites, and in survival, it’s bugged so that it restores health under the blood thirst buff.
** Alongside Shiva, comes the return of Max in ''Mr. X Nightmare.'' Already considered the best character in ''2,'' This rendition of Max Comes with the alternate defensive special in [[TornadoMove spinning vortex.]] Its low cooldown and crowd control properties make taking out droves of enemies look like a complete joke. Oh, and his jab combo gives him a ''one-button infinite'' on bosses that can't tech on landing.

*** The biker women in ''4'' aren't much better. In close range their kicks have high hitstun to open you up to other attacks, and they love to come flying in with a headbutt from range to blast you away if you go after other mooks.

** Robo-X in ''3'' is pretty fast on the move, and on the draw. He not only has a machine gun attack (don't be on the same lane he is), he also has a homing rocket attack. (which leaves him open while the missile's on screen) Take too long to throw or slam him, upon grabbing him, and he will electrocute you a la Zan. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And he laughs at you every time you get knocked down.]]

** '''Mr. Y.''' Specifically, the Version 05 Patch gave him the ability to do an armored dodge roll. Basically, he’ll stop doing it and you’ll be able to hit him once [[GetBackHereBoss he feels your blood pressure’s spiked high enough trying to nail the little bastard down.]] It's not like his sister's any better, either.

** In ''4'', [[BottomlessPits falling off the screen]] will not break your combo meter, at least until it was patched.

** The chime that plays every time you pick up a star in [=SOR4=].
** The 1-Up jingle in the Game Gear version of ''2''.
* OlderThanTheyThink: Some see the Star Moves in ''4'' as new for the series. The Game Gear port of 2 was the first to use this gameplay mechanic. Not to forget ''3'', had them as well, but not items hidden by breakable items. You gained Star Moves (up to a total of 3) as long as you did not die and collect extra lives via scoring points. It's fine in the Japanese verion, but easier said than done in the Western versions due to change in difficulty.
* PolishedPort: The ''Sega Vintage Collection'' (developed by M2, not Backbone Entertainment) on UsefulNotes/{{X|boxLiveArcade}}BLA not only compiles the entire Genesis trilogy, but also allows players access to each game from different regions, giving players the ability to play the original Japanese version of ''Bare Knuckle III''. It also offers a slew of customization options, from video adjustments with full 1080p support to fully re-mappable control scheme. You can also save your progress at anytime, save replays, play trial modes, play online multi-player, and listen to games' soundtrack at your leisure (including the unused tracks).

** ''[=SOR2=]'' for some reason lacks the ability to remap the controls, a strange omission given the fact that it's present in both ''1'' and ''3''. This is fixed in most compilation ports released on modern consoles that allow control customization.
** In ''[=SOR4=]'', 4 Players can only be done locally while online play is limited to 2 players, unless you rely on third-party software.
** Any points earned in the ''Mr. X's Nightmare'' expansion's Survival Mode do not count towards the main set of unlockables (including character unlocks).
** Explosive hazards can spawn on players due to randomization in ''Mr. X's Nightmare''. This can lead to cheap hits or unfortunate deaths, if the player has low health. This does not happen often, but can due to bad spawning.
** ''[=SOR4=]'' Arcade mode does not let you save, not even perform a SuspendSave. For console players in particular, completing the roughly 1 1/2-hour game without being able to change games in the meantime is a tall order.
** For some reason in the Switch version of ''4'', the game does not allow the player to customize their controls with the trigger buttons. All other consoles and the PC version allow this. Playing the Switch version will be somewhat awkward, if you are too used to your custom control layout on different consoles or PC. The Switch does have system-side button-remapping so you can circumvent this, but only for wireless controllers; you cannot remap buttons for wired controllers (including third-party wireless controllers that connect with a USB-connected receiver and therefore are treated by the Switch as wired controllers).
** Enemies or bosses with ranged attacks can shoot/hit you from off-screen in ''4''. This is rarely a problem when playing the campaign, but becomes a nightmare in Survival mode. As the level gets higher, more mooks will spawn and you never gonna know who you're going to fight. If it's all ranged enemies or they spawn in later, prepared to get hit or locked in to a stun loop.
** ''4'' introduces a combo system wherein the more damage you deal in one combo, the better points bonus you will get when the combo ends. If you stop doing damage, the combo display starts to flash, and eventually the combo will terminate and you get your combo bonus. Now, getting hit will end your combo as well, ''but'' you will only cash in the combo bonus if you are hit when the combo counter is flashing. If you get hit with a combo in progress but before the counter starts flashing, a "Break!" message will appear and ''you will lose your entire combo bonus.'' This isn't really explained in-game and it can turn S-rank and other high-score runs into exercises of frustration because you dealt thousands of HP of damage in one combo...only to lose it all because you got jabbed for ScratchDamage too soon after your last hit. This is meant to be a risk-vs-reward type of gimmick but having to idle in safety for a few seconds to cash in your combo bonus if you don't want to risk breaking it disrupts the flow of the game.

** Barbon returns with a vengeance in ''4.'' He has the highest health of any boss in the game and moves around the stage absurdly fast, often running circles around the player and delivering fast attacks with long reach and tough patterns. When he reaches low health, there’s barely a moment where he isn’t super armored. Also each time any of the motorcycles break in the area, a heavyweight biker girl will appear to gang up on you while you're facing Barbon.
** Max in ''4''. He hits like a freight train and he can't be interrupted or knocked down by anything other than a Star attack. The timing needed to get in and chip away some of his health, then escape while he's setting up an attack can be quite frustrating.

** ''Mr. X Nightmare'' brings over [[FatBastard Bongo]] from ''1.'' He rushes in your direction breathing fire just like your average Big Ben. The difference being he does it ''3 times in a row,'' has super armor throughout the whole attack, and is very difficult to punish because the gaps in said armor aren’t particularly forgiving. Even if you do, you won’t get much damage off of it because his heavy weight doesn’t allow for long combos.

** The lack of fan-favorite, DualBoss, Onihime & Yasha (Mona & Lisa) returning in the ''4''. The team did not include them in the game like they originally wanted to due to time constraints. All there is of them is concept art of what they would have looked liked, had they been brought in. In their place, are just color swaps of the first boss, Diva (Beyo & Riah). With the only other difference being elemental attacks. How cool would it have been to take on the evil twins again in glorious, 2D, hand-animation?

* TierInducedScrappy: The retro ''Streets of Rage 1'' incarnations of Axel, Blaze, and Adam manage to be both extremes of this trope in ''4''. One the low end, they have ''not'' aged well compared to all of their sequel counterparts, including ''4''[='=]s cast itself. By way of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, the ''1'' cast retains their lack of many offense innovations, such as blitz attacks and personal special attacks. Their original police special is now treated as a Star Move, meaning that it still has very limited use compared to the ''2'' and ''3'' casts having improvised takes on their additional attacks as Star Moves while also retaining their personal specials as a separate action, as well as utilizing ''4''[='=]s health-based special move system. This all causes the ''1'' cast to feel very bare-bones to use compared to anyone else in the game. On the high end of this trope, the only compensation they have to make up for their shortcomings is their much higher damage output compared to the ''4'' characters - and when playing ''Mr. X Nightmare'', since they don't have blitz or special commands, the perks that give those particular attacks elemental properties are instead applied to their common - and much quicker/safer - back attacks and jump attacks.

* WinBackTheCrowd: Those who don't like the changes or designs to the main cast of ''Streets of Rage 4'', particularly regarding how everyone but Cherry lacks the ability to run, were covered with the multitude of Retro Characters from all three previous games. Consequently, this means that every character with a ''3'' variant has their full roll and run mechanics, giving players plenty of options on replays.

** ''4'' introduces a combo system wherein the more damage you deal in one combo, the better points bonus you will get when the combo ends. If you stop doing damage, the combo display starts to flash, and eventually the combo will terminate and you get your combo bonus. Now, getting hit will end your combo as well, ''but'' you will only cash in the combo bonus if you are hit when the combo counter is flashing. If you get hit with a combo in progress but before the counter starts flashing, a "Break!" message will appear and ''you will lose your entire combo bonus.'' This isn't really explained in-game and it can turn S-rank and other high-score runs into exercises of frustration because you dealt thousands of HP of damage in one combo...only to lose it all because you got jabbed for ScratchDamage too soon after your last hit. This is meant to be a risk-vs-reward type of gimmick but having to idle in safety for a few seconds to cash in your combo bonus if you don't want to risk breaking it breaks the flow of the game.

** ''4'' introduces a combo system wherein the more damage you deal in one combo, the better points bonus you will get when the combo ends. If you stop doing damage, the combo display starts to flash, and eventually the combo will terminate and you get your combo bonus. Now, getting hit will end your combo as well, ''but'' you will only cash in the combo bonus if you are hit when the combo counter is flashing. If you get hit with a combo in progress but before the counter starts flashing, a "Break!" message will appear and ''you will lose your entire combo bonus.'' This isn't really explained in-game and it can turn S-rank and other high-score runs into exercises of frustration because you dealt thousands of HP of damage in one combo...only to lose it all because you got jabbed for ScratchDamage too soon after your last hit. This is meant to be a risk-vs-reward type of gimmick but having to idle in safety for a few seconds to cash in your combo bonus breaks the flow of the game.

** ''4'' introduces a combo system wherein the more damage you deal in one combo, the better points bonus you will get when the combo ends. If you stop doing damage, the combo display starts to flash, and eventually the combo will terminate and you get your combo bonus. Now, getting hit will end your combo as well, ''but'' you will only cash in the combo bonus if you are hit when the combo counter is flashing. If you get hit with a combo in progress but before the counter starts flashing, a "Break!" message will appear and ''you will lose your entire combo bonus.'' This isn't really explained in-game and it can turn S-rank and other high-score runs into exercises of frustration because you dealt thousands of HP of damage in one combo...only to lose it all because you got jabbed for ScratchDamage too soon after your last hit.

** The Game Gear port of ''2'' is considered superior to the Master System version, despite being on weaker hardware. The controls are fluid and responsive, even though it's down two buttons, there are unique levels (with their own exclusive bosses), the soundtrack is translated well to the portable console, and most importantly, co-op. Co-op is missing in the Master System version.

** For some reason in the Switch version of ''4'', the game does not allow the player to customize their controls with the trigger buttons. All other consoles and the PC version allow this. Playing the Switch version will be somewhat awkward, if you are too used to your custom control layout on different consoles or PC. The Switch does have system-side button-remapping, but only for wireless controllers; you cannot remap buttons for wired controllers (including third-party wireless controllers that connect with a USB-connected receiver and therefore are treated by the Switch as wired controllers).

** For some reason in the Switch version of ''4'', the game does not allow the player to customize their controls with the trigger buttons. All other consoles and the PC version allow this. Playing the Switch version will be somewhat awkward, if you are too used to your custom control layout on different consoles or PC. The Switch does have system-side button-remapping, but only for wireless controllers; you cannot remap buttons for wired controllers (including third-party wireless controllers with a USB-connected receiver).

** For some reason in the Switch version of ''4'', the game does not allow the player to customize their controls with the trigger buttons. All other consoles and the PC version allow this. Playing the Switch version will be somewhat awkward, if you are too used to your custom control layout on different consoles or PC. The Switch does have system-side button-remapping, but only for wireless controllers; you cannot remap buttons for wired controllers.

** For some reason in the Switch version of ''4'', the game does not allow the player to customize their controls with the trigger buttons. All other consoles and the PC version allow this. Playing the Switch version will be somewhat awkward, if you are too used to your custom control layout on different consoles or PC.

** The Game Gear port of ''2'' is considered superior to the Master System version, despite being on weaker hardware. The controls are fluid and responsive, even though it's down to buttons, there are unique levels (with their own exclusive bosses), the soundtrack is translated well to the portable console, and most importantly, co-op. Co-op is missing in the Master System version.

** Enemies or bosses with ranged attacks can shoot/hit you from off-screen in ''4''. This is rarely a problem when playing the campaign, but becomes a nightmare in Survival mode. As the level gets higher more mooks will spawn and you never gonna know who you're going to fight. If it's all ranged enemies or they spawn hit in latter, prepared to get hit or locked in to a stun loop.

** Any points earned in the ''Mr. X Nightmare'' expansion's Survival Mode do not count towards the main set of unlockables (including character unlocks).

** Skate isn't even ''mentioned'' in ''4'' outside of his non-canon unlockable retro versions. Sure, Dr. Zan is also only playable as his retro iteration, but at least he has a hand in the backstory (namely, designing Floyd's cyborg arms) and whose Mr. X Nightmare simulation serves as the FramingDevice for the DLC's Survival Mode. Even ''Roo'' gets more love, making a brief appearance in Stage 5 as the bartender and eventually also becoming unlockable in the DLC.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: [[spoiler:Shiva and Max]] are playable... but ''only'' in their retro, pixelated appearances compared to [[spoiler:their boss incarnations]] (with [[spoiler:Shiva in particular having [[FightingSpirit a few]] [[DoppelgangerAttack new tricks]] since the Genesis days]]), thereby preventing them from contributing to the larger plot after their brief appearances in the story. Arguably justified in that [[spoiler:Shiva is a mostly neutral third party]] and [[spoiler:a brainwashed Max is the boss of the penultimate stage]]. This is no longer an issue as of the ''Mr. X Nightmare'' DLC.

** Basically all of the Retro Characters in ''Streets of Rage 4'' that originate from ''2'' and ''3''. They not only have faster attack delays allowing them to chain attacks and deal out damage more efficiently thanks to retaining their old mechanics, but the ''3'' members in particular keep their run and roll alongside their blitz attacks, which lets them utterly tear the game up given only Cherry can run and Adam has his dashes otherwise. For extra insult to injury, the same broken version of Shiva above is one of these characters, wholly intact to destroy another game.

** Any points earned in the ''Mr. X Nightmare'' expansion do not count towards the main set of unlockables (including character unlocks).

** Any points earned in the ''Mr. X Nightmare'' expansion do not count towards the main set of unlockables.