Awesome / Streets of Rage

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• In a dark way, the "you became the boss" ending in the first game. You beat the crap out of your partner, then you do the same to Mr. X and take over his crime syndicate for yourself.
  YOU BECAME THE BOSS!
  YOU ARE GREAT!
• The elevator sequence in the last stage of 2, where you beat the crap out of reskins of Barbon, Zamza and Abadede. Then you get on top and fight Shiva, who fights just like the player characters.
• Beating Mr. X in either of the first two games. The crime lord brings a tommy gun and several minions to the fight, while you just have your fists. And you can still beat him.
• From Streets of Rage 3, throwing an enemy into one of the Bottomless Pits in Stage 3. You just lose a large amount of health if you fall into a pit. Enemies on the other hand, die instantly no matter how much health they had remaining. You can also do this rarely in the first game, except you will die just as easily as the enemies if you fall into pits.
• The climatic battle in 3, against a hovering robot with missile launchers and throws, while racing against the clock to beat it. Given the higher default difficulty for non-Japanese versions and the several ways you can get a bad ending, you WILL feel awesome when you get the good ending (by beating the boss before time runs out).
  • 3 also implies, particularly in the Japanese version's Good Ending path, that the entire reason Mr. X is a Brain in a Jar is because the heroes beat him down so brutally that his body physically crapped out on him. Yes, the man's return and his kidnapping of Adam drove the vigilante heroes to practically kill the instigator with their bare hands, compared to most beat-em-ups leaving the villain's demise ambiguous or their cause of death be indirect. And considering this is a man prepping to nuke both the series-central city and an entire nation for the sake of perpetuating a War for Fun and Profit, he kind of deserved it and ends up finally being Killed Off for Real here too.
• After beating the Commissioner in the second level of Streets of Rage 4, Mr. Y appears and offers the heroes a Briefcase Full of Money if they stop attacking the Syndicate. Rather than just saying no or just outright attacking Mr. Y and his goons, Axel uses his Grand Upper attack on the money itself before he and the other heroes bail by jumping through a window and falling to the river below.
• Fighting Mr. Y and Ms. Y simultaneously in the fourth game. Not only do they cooperate very well with each other, as the brother is a gunman and the sister a swordswoman, but they bring in a giant robot to aid them as well. You still can win with your fists.

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