Streets of Rage 2 (Bare Knuckle 2 in Japan) is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1992 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the second game in the Streets of Rage series and sequel to Streets Of Rage. Its soundtrack is again done by Yuzo Koshiro, whose work was inspired by early '90s club music. The game was universally hailed; as the Genesis was maturing, so did the game engine. More intricate fight moves, better soundtrack and more cartridge space for smooth graphics sold this game: it would be followed by the less successful Streets Of Rage 3 a little more than a year later. It has been released recently, in 2007, on Nintendo's Virtual Console.

Streets of Rage 2 also introduced two new characters to the franchise: Max Thunder and Eddie "Skate" Hunter. It dropped the major character "Adam" from SoR.

Plot Edit

One year has passed since Adam Hunter, Axel Stone, and Blaze Fielding successfully defeated Mr. X and broke the Syndicate Crime Organization's hold on the city. Peace has returned to the streets, the once-vacant neighborhoods are being repopulated, and prosperity has returned to the city. Adam has returned to the police force, while Axel and Blaze have moved out of the city and found jobs as a bodyguard and a dance instructor, respectively.

On the anniversary of their victory over the syndicate, Adam, Axel, and Blaze reunite to celebrate and talk about old times. The next day, however, Axel receives a frantic call from Adam's younger brother, Eddie, who returned home from school to find their house completely wrecked. Worse, no one at the police station had seen or heard from Adam since early that morning.

Axel and Blaze rush to investigate, and find a photo of Adam, in chains, laying at the feet of a man they know only too well. Mr. X and the Syndicate have returned, and, thirsty for revenge, have kidnapped Adam in the hopes of luring Axel and Blaze into a trap. With the criminal syndicate out in full force, and their old friends from the police force either fired or transferred elsewhere, Axel and Blaze take to the streets, along with a friend of Axel's, Max "Thunder" Hatchett, and Adam's kid brother, Eddie "Skate" Hunter, with the goal of rescuing Adam and stopping Mr. X and his criminal syndicate once and for all.


Though Streets of Rage 2 plays very similar to its predecessor, Ancient took time to rewrite the game engine. The biggest change is the replacement of the original special attack (which was the police car); it is now an individual attack based on the player you've chosen. The fighting mechanics were vastly improved, as you can now chain combos better, juggle many characters, and have a more personal move-set according to character.

Enemies are also improved; all are given Health Bars and names, and like the selectable characters, given bigger and more individual fighting techniques.

There are also changes to the weapons that can be picked up. The Pepper Shaker, Baseball Bat and the Bottle from the original game have been removed. The Knife has been tweaked, so the Player can choose to throw the Knife when he or she pleases.

Playable Characters Edit

Stages and BossesEdit

1 DowntownBarbon
2 Bridge ConstructionJet
3 Amusement ParkZamza
4 StadiumAbadede
5 ShipR. Bear
6 JungleSoother and Steath
7 Munitions PlantShiva
8 Syndicate StrongholdMr. X


Videos Edit
