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Streets of Rage 3From Sega Retro
Streets of Rage 3, called Bare Knuckle III (ベアナックルIII) in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1994 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the last part of the Streets of Rage series and a sequel to Streets of Rage 2. The game features several enhancements over Streets of Rage 2 such as a more complex plot, multiple endings, longer levels, more in-depth scenarios (with interactive levels and the return of traps like pits) and faster gameplay (with dash and dodge moves). Weapons can now only be used for a few times before breaking and can now be integrated with unique moves with certain characters, hidden characters have been added along with several cutscenes to give the story greater depth. Controls are identical to its predecessors. Compared to its prequels, Streets of Rage 3 is a less common and more expensive game to find second-hand in its original Mega Drive form. It has, however, been released for the Japanese version of Sonic Gems Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2, and for the Wii's Virtual Console service. The game also appeared in Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Streets of Rage 3 was not as successful as its predecessors for several reasons, most prominently the soundtrack. Though still composed by Yuzo Koshiro like the previous installments, Koshiro took a more experimental approach with the music inspired by Detroit's hard techno scene which was popular in Japanese night clubs at the time. It is said to have fared poorly when transitioned to the Mega Drive's sound chip. These problems are exacerbated on a PAL console, due to the unoptimised drop from a 60Hz refresh rate to 50Hz, effectively ruining large parts of the game. Prototype screenshots show that a motorcycle stage was planned, with some code still present in the final ROM. It is unknown why this feature was axed.
Localization ChangesBare Knuckle III suffered severe censorship during its localization in the US and Europe as Streets of Rage 3. Unlike the previous two games, Sega of America saw fit to make the character colour schemes "gender neutral", meaning the in-game colours do not match either the box art designs or previous games. Among the most notable changes were the removal of the miniboss, Ash, due to his perceived homosexuality. A new story was developed which features several plotholes and missing scenes from the Japanese version and the difficulty level was also increased for unknown reasons. Scantily clad female characters were given more clothes to wear. These and other changes ultimately hurt critical reception in Europe and North America, with some reviewers urging Streets of Rage series fans import Bare Knuckle III or skip this title entirely. A fan translation from 2009 by Twilight Translations is available for Bare Knuckle III, and also changes the region to US as well. This translation had script used with the permission of the original author, in the ROM hacking Project Bare Knuckle III DX: Director's Cut which added the lost Motorbike Stages and additional areas of Round 6 restored in addition to a few other changes. ManualsProduction Credits [Bare Knuckle III]Producer: Ossiy, Noriyuki
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Voice: Saru Man, Elilin, Kami, Hamako, Yossy Production Credits [Streets of Rage 3]Producers: Ossiy, Noriyuki, Max Taylor
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Sound Effects: Saru Man, Elilin, Kami, Hamako, Yossy Physical Scans
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