Streets of Rage 3/Playable characters

From Sega Retro

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

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

Despite appearing during the story, Adam Hunter and Max Thunder both remain unplayable.

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. They hint at the fact that the developer team may have tried to render all mid-boss and boss characters playable for a more interesting Battle mode.


Notes:

  • In this page, the introduction of each selectable character is directly taken from the game manual of the American version. However, character's backgrounds are quite different between the Western and Japanese releases, especially for Zan.
  • The American manual doesn't name any special moves contrary to the Japanese manual. So, all the special move names in the below sections only come from the Japanese manual.

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 Right Right + B 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 A Usually simply called special by players.
The Japanese term literally means deadly technique.
Directed Special Right + A Usually called forward special by players.
Buki Hissatsu 武器必殺 Right + A or Right Right + B 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. At a blitz level of 2 stars, special blitz 2 moves initiate completely different move sequences that get completed when reaching the 3-star level.

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.


A cheat code allows Axel to do an alternative special attack, replacing both the regular special and forward special moves. On the select screen, select Axel with C and when the message Round 1 Start/Stage 1 Start appears, do a clockwise motion on the D-pad quickly (about two completed circles per second) until the first stage begins and Axel appears on-screen. Press A to execute this new special attack.


SoR3 Sprite Portraits.png
Axel Stone
Move list
Type Name Description
Blitz Ground Upper
SoR3-Axel-Blitz.png
Special Blitz 1 Extra Ground Upper X Right Right
SoR3-Axel-1StarBlitz.png
Special Blitz 2 Ground Hook X Down Right
SoR3-Axel-2StarBlitz.png
Special Blitz 3 Ground Hurricane X Left Down Right
SoR3-Axel-3StarBlitz.png
Stationary Special Dragon Wing
SoR3-Axel-DefensiveSpecial.png
Directed Special Dragon Smash
SoR3-Axel-OffensiveSpecial.png
Blitz with katana Rising Slash
SoR3-Axel-Blitz-Katana.png
Directed Special with katana Sword Blast
SoR3-Axel-OffensiveSpecial-Katana.png
Blitz with timber, pipe or bat Power Strike
SoR3-Axel-Blitz-Bat.png
Special (cheat mode) Quadruple Ground Hurricane + Dragon Wing combo
SoR3-Axel-CheatModeSpecial.png

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.


SoR3 Sprite Portraits.png
Blaze Fielding
Move list
Type Name Description
Blitz Hishou Souzan 飛翔双斬
SoR3-Blaze-Blitz.png
Special Blitz 1 Chou Hishou Souzan 超飛翔双斬 X Right Right
SoR3-Blaze-1StarBlitz.png
Special Blitz 2 Shouka Souzan 昇華双斬 X Right Up
SoR3-Blaze-2StarBlitz.png
Special Blitz 3 Shouka Souzan Ha 昇華双斬破 X Down Right Up
SoR3-Blaze-3StarBlitz.png
Stationary Special Embukyaku 円舞脚
SoR3-Blaze-DefensiveSpecial.png
Directed Special Kikou Shou 気功掌
SoR3-Blaze-OffensiveSpecial.png
Blitz with knife Suisei Shouzan 慧星昇斬
SoR3-Blaze-Blitz-Knife.png
Directed Special with knife Hyakka Retsuzan 百華烈斬
SoR3-Blaze-OffensiveSpecial-Knife.png
Blitz with katana Kikou Ken 気功剣
SoR3-Blaze-Blitz-Katana.png

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.


SoR3 Sprite Portraits.png
Eddie "Skate" Hunter (EN) / Sammy Hunter (JP)
Move list
Type Name Description
Blitz Dynamite Head Butt
SoR3-Skate-Blitz.png
Special Blitz 1 Super Dynamite Head Butt X Right Right
SoR3-Skate-1StarBlitz.png
Special Blitz 2 Rolling Head Butt X Right Down
SoR3-Skate-2StarBlitz.png
Special Blitz 3 Rolling Head Butt Thunder X Up Right Left
SoR3-Skate-3StarBlitz.png
Stationary Special Double Spin Kick
SoR3-Skate-DefensiveSpecial.png
Directed Special Nakijyakuri Punch 泣きじゃくりパンチ
SoR3-Skate-OffensiveSpecial.png
Blitz with timber, pipe or bat Home Run Upper
SoR3-Skate-Blitz-Bat.png
Directed Special with timber, pipe or bat Spinning Blaster
SoR3-Skate-OffensiveSpecial-Bat.png
Blitz with knife Ningen Missile 人間ミサイル
SoR3-Skate-Blitz-Knife.png

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.


SoR3 Sprite Portraits.png
Dr. Gilbert Zan
Move list
Type Name Description
Blitz Vernier Tackle
SoR3-Zan-Blitz.png
Special Blitz 1 Mach Tackle X Right Right
SoR3-Zan-1StarBlitz.png
Special Blitz 2 Mach Booster X Left Up
SoR3-Zan-2StarBlitz.png
Special Blitz 3 Hyper Booster X Up Left Right
SoR3-Zan-3StarBlitz.png
Stationary Special Power Spark
SoR3-Zan-DefensiveSpecial.png
Directed Special Thunder Bolt
SoR3-Zan-OffensiveSpecial.png
Blitz with any weapons Energy Shot (faster and weaker version, some weapons provide enough energy to toss several balls)
SoR3-Zan-Blitz-Weapon.png
Directed Special with any weapons Energy Shot (slower and stronger version, some weapons provide enough energy to toss several balls)
SoR3-Zan-OffensiveSpecial-Weapon.png

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.


There are two ways to select Roo / Victy:

  • When fighting the mid-boss of stage 2, defeat the clown Bruce (EN) / Danch (JP) without killing Roo / Victy. He will run away and become selectable by the players after losing all their life. Joining players will be able to select him directly.
  • On the title screen, hold Up+B then press  START . Roo / Victy should appear on the character select screen.


SoR3 Sprite Portraits.png
Roo (EN) / Victy (JP)
Move list
Type Name Description
Blitz Handbrake
SoR3-Roo-Blitz.png
Stationary Special Somersault Tail Whip
SoR3-Roo-DefensiveSpecial.png
Directed Special Hurricane Kick
SoR3-Roo-OffensiveSpecial.png

Shiva

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


Right after beating Shiva at the end of stage 1, hold B until the next level begins. He will become selectable by the players after losing all their life. Joining players will be able to select him directly.


SoR3 Sprite Portraits.png
Shiva
Move list
Type Name Description
Blitz
SoR3-Shiva-Blitz.png
Special Final Crash
SoR3-Shiva-Special.png

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.


Right after beating Ash as the mid-boss of stage 1 on the Japanese version of the game, hold A until the next section of the first level begins. He will become selectable by the players after losing all their life. Joining players will be able to select him directly.


SoR3 Ash portrait.png
Ash
Move list
Type Name Description
Blitz
SoR3-Ash-Blitz.png
Special
SoR3-Ash-Special.png