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 2016'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]].

* CompleteMonster: In the [[ComicBook/SonicTheComic comic]]'s "Skate's Story" & "The Only Game in Town!" arcs, [[DiabolicalMastermind Mr. X]] is a power-hungry crime lord who's taken control over a majority of the city, responsible for all the crime and corruption within the city and its police force. To further extend his control, Mr. X attempts to have an entire cruise ship of hundreds attending a charity ball blown up in order to kill a few politicians onboard, hoping to replace them with his men. After his activities are leaked to the public, Mr. X later creates a massive betting pool where people can bet on the possibility of Axel and his crew making it through to the other side of the city, sending an army of gangsters to try and kill them.

** Jet and the Rocket Mooks at the end of Stage 6 in ''Streets of Rage 3''. In ''[=SOR2=]'' Jet was a GlassCannon. Now Jet's [[{{Cyborg}} a lot more robotic than before]] and is [[BaldOfEvil bald]]. He gained a [[PlayingWithFire flamethrower]], a TON of health (four bars on Normal!), and has an infinite number of Rocket Mooks he can summon (actually ten, but you'll never live that long to see it unless you're good enough to defeat Jet in the first place.) Never mind that you just got through ThatOneLevel. After you beat him, twice as many Rockets flood the screen... Luckily [[BigDamnHeroes Adam arrives in a helicopter and provides]] MoreDakka to gun them down.

* CheeseStrategy: As noted in GameBreaker, Shiva's ''4'' incarnation [[MechanicallyUnusualFighter has the unique ability to perform air combos]], allowing for easy juggles that can rack up big damage very quickly. Normally, there's a caveat in that more advanced air combos require his alternate Offensive and Air Specials (Spirit Palm and Spirit Kick) to get around the regular groundbounce and wallbounce limits, but this is a different story with the FinalBoss. So long as they're standing still, it's possible to stay airborne almost indefinitely (and only with the use of Spirit Kick) due to the boss being ImmuneToFlinching, letting Shiva shave off massive chunks of their health bar while also staying out of harm's way. (There is the risk losing the provisional health from rapid [[CastFromHitPoints Special]] spam, however.)

** R.Bear in Stage 5 of ''Streets of Rage 2''. JUST R.Bear. The bugger beats out pretty much ALL your attacks with his ridiculous range from his punches and his ability to counter. And you fight him ''AGAIN'' in Stage 8 (as a palette swap named [[YouKilledMyFather Bear Jr.]]). Granted, using a katana or a pipe makes him far easier, but still.

** Max, Skate and Dr. Zan's appearance in ''Streets of Rage 4'' is a weird case; while all three were anticipated by fans, no one expected them to only be playable in their [[{{Retraux}} original pixel form]].

** R.Bear in Stage 5 of ''Streets of Rage 2''. JUST R.Bear. The bugger beats out pretty much ALL your attacks with his ridiculous range from his punches and his ability to counter. And you fight him ''AGAIN'' in Stage 8 (as a palette swap named [[YouKilledMyFather Bear Jr.]]). Granted, using a katana or a pipe makes him easier, but still.

*** One room in the sixth stage features Galsias, already GoddamnedBats as is, with ''[[BladeOnAStick naginatas]]''. Have fun trying to come within melee range of them.

** Nora, the {{whip|ItGood}}-cracking, [[HellBentForLeather leather-clad]] {{dominatrix}} seen in the first and fourth ''Streets of Rage''. In the second and third games, she's replaced by [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Electra]], who has the same traits as Nora, but also [[LeotardOfPower bares more skin]] and wears fishnet stockings.

** The fighting arena in ''4''[='s''=] Survival Mode is a huge pain in the ass in later levels. Not only do you have to deal with the the BottomlessPit on both sides of the area, there's also one in the middle of the floor and the arena itself isn't big enough to give you room to move around. There's also flamethrowers on both sides of the arena, which can send you flying backwards and very likely knock you into the pit. The walls are electrified, so getting hit into them will damage you and send you reeling. Said walls can also randomly turn on and off, so you either get to deal with being electrocuted or being thrown into the pit. To top everything off, there can also be huge swinging balls hanging from above that can knock you around whenever anything hits them. So if you're really unlucky, you can get juggled a ''lot'' from all the environmental hazards and take more damage from them than the mooks themselves. Mooks that can attack from a distance like Ruby, Bronze Raven, Big Ben, and the PaletteSwap versions of [[DegradedBoss Mr. Y]] will make this level a complete nightmare.

** ''3'' (Western Version): Mr. X, after his defeat, kidnaps the Chief of Police to have him and the city's politicians replaced with robot replicas in order to strengthen his control over Wood Oak City. Having Axel [[FrameUp framed]] for the Chief's kidnapping, Mr. X sends his men out to commit crimes and plant bombs throughout the city as a distraction. Upon his encounter with Axel and friends, Mr. X tries to have all of Wood Oak blown up, looking forward to ruling over the city’s remains no matter how many people die. If the bombs are not stopped in time, countless people and buildings are destroyed in the explosions, leaving psychological scars in the surviving citizens.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome

** Nora and Electra to a degree. Aside from [[EvilIsSexy their appealing designs]], they managed to net [[AscendedExtra ascended roles]] games after the Genesis trilogy possibly because of their popularity, the former getting a MookPromotion as a boss in ''4'' and the latter becoming a playable SecretCharacter in ''Remake '' as "Elle"."

* {{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). [[VideoGame/StreetsOfRageRemake The fan remake]] runs with this as one version has Adam warning the gang about him.

* The toxic elemental boosters for heavy attacks, blitz attacks, specials, and weapons in ''Mr. X Nightmare'' induce poison status on enemies upon contact. This makes Max and Shiva even more dangerous and a godsend against enemies with huge lifebars and/or ImmuneToFlinching.

** ONLY TRUST YOUR FISTS! POLICE WILL NEVER HELP YOU [[labelnote:Explanation]]A popular image macro using a screencap from [[VideoGame/StreetsOfRageRemake the fan remake]] of Axel jumping out of a cop car. Used by fans (among other parties) to point out how Axel and gang do a far better job stopping crime by punching criminals than the cops do.[[/labelnote]]

** As noted in BrokenBase above, the reduced character mobility in ''4'' by default (making the game play more like ''2'' on the whole) is largely seen as a regression from one of the few additions in ''3'' many players actually approved of. Depending on who you ask, the inclusion of the ''[=SoR3=]'' characters (with their ability to run and roll left intact) only made this worse as opposed to alleviating the problem, with detractors citing how ''Remake'' updated all previous versions of the cast with ''3''[='s=] mechanics yet managed to make everyone play differently enough so as to not invalidate one another.

* ToughActToFollow: ''Streets of Rage 2'' is held as a downright legendary BeatEmUp in the genre, which means both ''3'' and ''4'' have to live in its shadow and consequently get challenged over any deviation from ''2'''s formula, ''4'' in particular given the entirely different developers [[SequelGap after so long]]. To a lesser degree, ''Remake'' did justice to the series so well that ''4'' also had to tangle with trying to revive the series after the fans' excellent tribute and former sendoff.

** Nora and Electra to a degree. Aside from [[EvilIsSexy their appealing designs]], they managed to net [[AscendedExtra ascended roles]] games after the Genesis trilogy possibly because of their popularity, the former getting a MookPromotion as a boss in ''4'' and the latter becoming a playable SecretCharacter in ''Remake '' as "Elle."

** 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.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Shiva's motivations for fighting the heroes in ''4''. [[spoiler:He detests the Y Twins' methods, which led to him resigning from the Syndicate for good, and showing the heroes where to find them. While this can be seen as a double standard since Mr. X also committed dubious actions, he ''did'' [[FridgeBrilliance presumably win many followers through sheer influence and charisma alone]], while the Twins want to force as many people to serve them against their will and are more reckless overall.]]

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The 2D visuals for ''4'' are done beautifully, with even the generic mooks looking very well-done while remaining faithful to their 16-bit incarnations.

** 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)

* CaptainObviousReveal: Just about everyone called Max's forthcoming return as a playable character in his modern incarnation via ''Mr. X Nightmare'', as soon as they saw his silhouette in the DLC character lineup.

* 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).

*** Barneys. Unlike their fellow police palette swaps, they have twice as much health and always come armed with a taser. The moment you see one show up on screen, expect to be tased at least once because they'll rush you, throw you down and zap you before you can blink. This can even happen in a split-second before you're about to start attacking them, the instant they line up with you, making it nigh unavoidable. They're even worse when backed up by a large group of enemies or worse, other Barneys.

*** 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 and made ''much'' worse if there's two of the player characters or two different ones fighting you at the same time.
*** The Retro Stages feature Kusanagis. Imagine everything you hate about [[GoddamnedBats Donovans]]. [[ExaggeratedTrope On steroids.]] Kusanagis have the same devious A.I. 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.''

** [[TheDragon Shiva]] from ''2''. Many loved his boss fight and design. So much so that the developers not only brought him back for ''3'' but made him a playable character in it as well. No surprise he showed up again in ''4'' too (though sadly just as a boss character. However, his ''3'' self can be unlocked as a retro character and eventually, the ''Mr. X Nightmare'' DLC made his ''4'' self playable as well), [[spoiler:in which he actually parts on respectable terms with the heroes]].
** Nora and Electra to a degree. Aside from [[EvilIsSexy their appealing designs]], they managed to net [[AscendedExtra ascended roles]] games after the Genesis trilogy possibly because of their popularity, the former getting a MookPromotion as a boss in ''4'' and the latter became a playable SecretCharacter in ''Remake '' as "Elle".
** 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 eventually got their wish, with Estel being the first announced new character in ''Mr. X Nightmare''.

** In addition to serving as a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel, ''Streets of Rage 4'' competes high in this regard. Not only do you have a new art style, graphics, and characters, but a revamped combat system that encourages juggling and wall-bouncing enemies along with a combo mechanic and ranking system that incentivize the player(s) to do better while adding replay value. ''4'' also has the most bonus content out of any game, ports included. You have the Story Mode with accessibility options, Arcade Mode (1 continue run), Boss Rush Mode, unlockable characters from each iteration of the series, online co-op multiplayer (2-player only) [[note]]through Steam Remote Play or Parsec, it is possible to do 4-player co-op online, however[[/note]], and a first for the series: local 4-player co-op.

** '''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.]]

** Max is full of them in ''2'', which is probably why they switched him out for Zan in ''3''. He slides faster than he walks, so expect expert Max players to [[RunDontWalk slide, not walk]]. His Thunder Tackle will DEMOLISH blocking opponents since they will take a huge amount of chip damage during his dash attack. Finally, Max's grapples work on any enemy who walks into range. This is true for all characters, but Max covers a lot of area and can jump while holding his opponent. Expect good Max players to backbreak about 4 enemies at once.

* LowTierLetdown: 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. In addition, their Police Call ability [[{{Nerf}} took a significant blow]] from its ''[=SOR1=]'' glory days; instead of [[SmartBomb affecting the entire screen]], the flames created by cover fire only extend in an direct line from the player's position. The Star Move also lacks any invincibility, whereas all enemies on screen would previously be frozen while the napalm dropped. 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.

* PlayerPunch: Fail to defeat Robot Y in time in ''3'' and [[spoiler:he ends up blowing up an entire city. With ''nukes'', if it's the Japanese version. While the Japanese version tries to make you feel somewhat better by saying that at least war with Lima was prevented and that the tragedy will be forgotten in time, the US version outright states that the citizens' trust in Axel and company has been greatly damaged.]] All because of your incompetence.

** If someone quits an online game in ''4'', the entire session ends and you're kicked back to the main menu. This can be absolutely devastating on Survival mode since prematurely ending the game doesn't let you keep anything you might've unlocked for passing certain milestones.
* SequelDifficultySpike: Not only is ''3'' much harder, [[EasyModeMockery the game won't let you continue to Stage 6 and beyond on the easiest difficulty]]. Again this was due to Sega's American branch switching the difficulties around. What was meant as "Easy" was suppose to be "Normal"

*** Abadede in the original isn't too hard, as he only has his running uppercut attack, which can be countered by either moving to the side and grabbing him, or by jump-kicking him as he charges towards you. In ''2'', however, he gets several new attacks, including a damaging back throw, a bellyflop attack, he can randomly break out of your combos and grapples, and his running uppercut is a lot less predictable because of all his new moves.

** Jet and the Rocket Mooks at the end of Stage 6 in ''Streets of Rage 3''. In ''[=SOR2=]'' Jet was a GlassCannon. Now Jet's [[{{Cyborg}} a lot more robotic than before]] and is [[BaldOfEvil bald]]. He gained a [[PlayingWithFire flamethrower]], a TON of health (4 bars on Normal!), and has an infinite number of Rocket Mooks he can summon (actually 10, but you'll never live that long to see it unless you're good enough to defeat Jet in the first place.) Never mind that you just got through ThatOneLevel. After you beat him, twice as many Rockets flood the screen... Luckily [[BigDamnHeroes Adam arrives in a helicopter and provides]] MoreDakka to gun them down.

** [[spoiler: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.

** The fighting arena in ''4's'' survival mode is a huge pain in the ass in later levels. Not only do you have to deal with the the BottomlessPit on both sides of the area, there's also one in the middle of the floor and the arena itself isn't big enough to give you room to move around. There's also flamethrowers on both sides of the arena, which can send you flying backwards and very likely knock you into the pit. The walls are electrified, so getting hit into them will damage you and send you reeling. Said walls can also randomly turn on and off, so you either get to deal with being electrocuted or being thrown into the pit. To top everything off, there can also be huge swinging balls hanging from above that can knock you around whenever anything hits them. So if you're really unlucky, you can get juggled a ''lot'' from all the environmental hazards and take more damage from them than the mooks themselves. Mooks that can attack from a distance like Ruby, Bronze Raven, Big Ben, and the PaletteSwap versions of [[DegradedBoss Mr. Y]] will make this level a complete nightmare.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** One of the reasons why the International version of ''Streets of Rage 3'' came under fire was due to the changing of the character's colors to ensure gender neutrality, despite going against what they wore in the past. [[note]]Though BrokenBase applies here, as some {{Palette Swap}}s--like Axel's black-and-yellow ensemble inspired by Adam--were better appreciated, if not less contentious at the very least.[[/note]] In ''4'''s trailer, one of the first things you notice is that both Axel and Blaze are using their classic color schemes once again. The unlockable retro ''3'' incarnations of Axel, Blaze, and Skate also use their original colors, even in the American version of the game.
** After spending two games in a supporting role at best, and after having his daughter Cherry revealed first, Adam Hunter became a confirmed playable character for ''4''.
** One of the hurdles of unlocking a SecretCharacter in ''3'' was that after you unlock them, you need to waste a Continue to select them (or in case of wanting to use Victy/Roo from the start, if you don't know the unlock code you need to get a Game Over). In ''4'', you get the option to switch characters after stage or a retry (at least in Story Mode, and even then, the Arcade Mode is locked until you finish Story Mode). Therefore, after unlocking Adam and the retro characters, you can use them immediately.
** Those who felt that the changes to the story for the U.S. version of ''3'' were unnecessary are relieved that ''4'' retcons them to go with the Japanese version's storyline instead, making explicit references to the [[FantasticNuke Rakushin]] plot.

** If you manage to [[spoiler:replace Mr. X as crime boss while playing as Blaze, then in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=323S2dEGDQw#t=2m28s her "evil ending" cutscene]] she qualifies as an example of this]].

** [[spoiler:YOU BECAME THE BOSS! YOU ARE GREAT!]] [[labelnote:Explanation (Spoilers!)]]The original game's infamous, co-op play-exclusive bad ending where, after one player [[FaceHeelTurn decides to join Mr. X]], [[DuelingPlayerCharacters defeats their partner]] (if that player refused the offer to work for Mr. X), and then [[TheStarscream goes on to beat Mr. X as well]], the now FallenHero [[SlouchOfVillainy takes their place]] as the new head of TheSyndicate.[[/labelnote]]

** [[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]]. [[AuthorsSavingThrow This is no longer an issue as of the]] ''[[AuthorsSavingThrow Mr. X Nightmare]]'' [[AuthorsSavingThrow DLC, however]].

* 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. In addition, their Police Call ability [[{{Nerf}} took a significant blow]] from its ''[=SOR1=]'' glory days; instead of [[SmartBomb affecting the entire screen]], the flames created by cover fire only extend in an direct line from the player's position. The Star Move also lacks any invincibility, whereas all enemies on screen would previously be frozen while the napalm dropped. 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.

AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Shiva's motivations for fighting the heroes in ''4''. [[spoiler:He detests the Y Twins' methods, which led to him resigning from the Syndicate for good, and showing the heroes where to find them. While this can be seen as a double standard since Mr. X also committed dubious actions, he ''did'' [[FridgeBrilliance presumably win many followers through sheer influence and charisma alone]], while the Twins want to force as many people to serve them against their will and are more reckless overall.]]

''Remake''AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Shiva's motivations for fighting the heroes in ''4''. [[spoiler:He detests the Y Twins' methods, which led to him resigning from the Syndicate for good, and showing the heroes where to find them. While this can be seen as a double standard since Mr. X also committed dubious actions, he ''did'' [[FridgeBrilliance presumably win many followers through sheer influence and charisma alone]], while the Twins want to force as many people to serve them against their will and are more reckless overall.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Shiva's motivations for fighting the heroes in ''4''. [[spoiler:He detests the Y Twins' methods, which led to him resigning from the Syndicate for good, and showing the heroes where to find them. While this can be seen as a double standard since Mr. X also committed dubious actions, he ''did'' [[FridgeBrilliance presumably win many followers through sheer influence and charisma alone]], while the Twins want to force as many people to serve them against their will and are more reckless overall.]]

** Nora and Electra to a degree. Aside from [[EvilIsSexy their appealing designs]], they managed to net [[AscendedExtra ascended roles]] games after the Genesis trilogy possibly because of their popularity, the former getting a MookPromotion as a boss in ''4''.

*** 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.

----

* 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 2019'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]].