Streets of Rage 3/Playable characters

At the beginning of the game, 4 playable characters are available:

• Axel Stone,
• Blaze Fielding,
• Eddie "Skate" Hunter,
• Dr. Gilbert Zan.

Following certains conditions to satisfy during a run and by inputting some cheat codes, 3 enemies can become playable characters:

• Roo, the kangaroo coming along the mini-boss of the second stage, Bruce the clown,
• Shiva, the boss of the first stage,
• Ash, the mini-boss of the first stage in the Japanese version of the game.

Those additional characters are quite rough and are in an unfinished state, particularly Ash as most of his attacks look similar.

Note: in this page, the introduction of each selectable character is directly taken from the game manual of the American version. Character's backgrounds are quite different between the Western and Japanese releases, especially for Zan.

Character movesets

The control scheme in SoR3 takes after and expands on the one in SoR2. Each character has both a basic and an advanced moveset. The advanced moveset is composed of several types of special moves, which are not classified the same way in the Western and Japanese versions of the game.

In SoR3, the blitz move can be upgraded up to 3 times, the current blitz level being shown with a series of stars under the player's health bar. Moreover, by holding some specific kinds of weapons, characters can perform special moves different from their bare hands versions. However, those 2 mechanisms are not mentioned in the English game manual, only in the Japanese manual.

Advanced moveset

Move (EN)	Move (JP)	Command	Comment
Blitz	Seichō Hissatsu 成長必殺	+	The Japanese term literally means growing deadly (technique). This is called like that to convey the idea of upgradable blitz.
Special Blitz 1	Seichō Hissatsu 1 成長必殺1		In the US manual, the move name only appears in the section dedicated to the Sega Activator.
Special Blitz 2	Seichō Hissatsu 2 成長必殺2		In the US manual, the move name only appears in the section dedicated to the Sega Activator.
	Seichō Hissatsu 3 成長必殺3		As you can't perform this move with the Sega Activator, it is not named in the US manual.
Stationary Special	Hissatsu Waza 必殺技		Usually simply called special by players. The Japanese term literally means deadly technique.
Directed Special		+	Usually called forward special by players.
	Buki Hissatsu 武器必殺	+ or +	Usually called weapon blitz or weapon special by players. The Japanese term literally means weapon deadly (technique).

Special blitz 1 moves are direct upgrades of standard blitz moves, going faster and farther. Special blitz 2 moves initiate completely different move sequences that get completed when reaching 3 stars.

Axel Stone

After the Syndicate was defeated the second time, Blaze's old partner from the police force moved far from the city and set up a school of martial arts. The letter he receives from Blaze brings him back to the city at top speed.

	Axel Stone
	Move list Type Name Description Blitz Ground Upper 1-Star Blitz Extra Ground Upper 2-Star Blitz Ground Hook 3-Star Blitz Ground Hurricane Stationary Special Dragon Wing Directed Special Dragon Smash Blitz with katana Rising Slash Directed Special with katana Sword Blast Blitz with timber, pipe or bat Power Strike Special (cheat mode) Quadruple Ground Hurricane + Dragon Wing combo

Blaze Fielding

An ex-cop who had helped overthrow Mr. X twice before, Blaze now works as a private detective. When informed by Dr. Zan that the next victim of the Syndicate's evil scheme will be her old friend, the Chief of Police, she immediately sets up a task force to go to his rescue.

	Blaze Fielding
	Move list Type Name Description Blitz Hishou Souzan 飛翔双斬 1-Star Blitz Chou Hishou Souzan 超飛翔双斬 2-Star Blitz Shouka Souzan 昇華双斬 3-Star Blitz Shouka Souzan Ha 昇華双斬破 Stationary Special Embukyaku 円舞脚 Directed Special Kikou Shou 気功掌 Blitz with knife Suisei Shouzan 慧星昇斬 Directed Special with knife Hyakka Retsuzan 百華烈斬 Blitz with katana Kikou Ken 気功剣

Eddie "Skate" Hunter

Since his last encounter with Mr. X and his thugs, Adam's kid brother has grown smarter, stronger and faster. And he's ready and willing to hit the Syndicate where it hurts.

	Eddie "Skate" Hunter (EN) / Sammy Hunter (JP)
	Move list Type Name Description Blitz Dynamite Head Butt 1-Star Blitz Super Dynamite Head Butt 2-Star Blitz Rolling Head Butt 3-Star Blitz Rolling Head Butt Thunder Stationary Special Double Spin Kick Directed Special Nakijyakuri Punch 泣きじゃくりパンチ Blitz with timber, pipe or bat Home Run Upper Directed Special with timber, pipe or bat Spinning Blaster Blitz with knife Ningen Missile 人間ミサイル

Dr. Gilbert Zan

A former RoboCy researcher converted into a cyborg during Dr. Dahm's early experiments. Dr. Zan probes a little too deeply into corporate files and discovers what the secret research is really for. He knows the Syndicate must be stopped once and for all, but because of his criminal record he can't approach the police. So he pays a visit to Blaze's agency and enlists her help.

	Dr. Gilbert Zan
	Move list Type Name Description Blitz Vernier Tackle 1-Star Blitz Mach Tackle 2-Star Blitz Mach Booster 3-Star Blitz Hyper Booster Stationary Special Power Spark Directed Special Thunder Bolt Blitz with any weapons Directed Special with any weapons Energy Shot (some weapons provide enough energy to toss several balls)

Roo

Roo being a hidden playable character, no official sources from the game disclosed the names of the moves performed by Roo. So, this section uses the move names specified in Streets of Rage 4.

	Roo (EN) / Victy (JP)
	Move list Type Name Description Blitz Handbrake Stationary Special Somersault Tail Whip Directed Special Hurricane Kick

Shiva

Shiva is another hidden playable character. He's quite unfinished and some of his moves feel quite uncomplete or out of place, like his blitz.

	Shiva
	Move list Type Name Description Blitz Special Final Crash

Ash

Ash as a playable character could have been a failed attempt or a joke that the developers still included in the game as a bonus. Nearly all his moves use similar animations and are not really well developed.

	Ash
	Move list Type Name Description Blitz Special