Streets of Rage 4/Playable characters

From Sega Retro

Characters availability

Vanilla game

The first time a player launches the game, only the Story mode and 4 playable characters are available:

  • SoR4 Axel Stone,
  • SoR4 Blaze Fielding,
  • SoR4 Cherry Hunter,
  • SoR4 Floyd Iraia.

The character select screen hints at a 5th character that must be unlocked: SoR4 Adam Hunter. While all the other modes are unlocked by completing the Story mode at least once, nearly all the previous incarnations of playable characters in the franchise can be unlocked through a lifetime scoring system, the only exceptions being Roo and Ash from SoR3. Players can earn lifetime points simply by completing stages in the Story mode or the Stage Select mode.


After completing a stage, a stage score is calculated following those different criteria:

  • Initial score, points cumulated during the run by hitting enemies, doing combo chains and picking bonus items up,
  • Time bonus, the faster the stage gets completed, the more points the player gets rewarded with,
  • Health bonus, the more health remains, the better the score,
  • Star bonus, The more stars you collected without using them, the higher the score.

The run is assessed by a letter-ranking system (S, A, B, C, D) and, then, a total score is calculated:

  • Score bonus, the stage score is directly added to the total score,
  • Rank bonus, the better the assignment, the higher the bonus,
  • First time completion bonus, when the player finishes a stage with a given character for the first time, he/she gets some additional points.

This total score is directly added to a lifetime score.


By cumulating lifetime points this way, players can unlock new characters by reaching some thresholds:

  • SoR4 Adam Hunter gets unlocked after completing the stage 4 the first time in the Story mode,
  • SoR1 Axel Stone at 200,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR1 Adam Hunter at 250,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR1 Blaze Fielding at 310,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR2 Max Thunder at 390,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR2 Axel Stone at 480,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR2 Blaze Fielding at 570,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR2 Skate Hunter at 650,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR3 Axel Stone at 730,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR3 Blaze Fielding at 840,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR3 Skate Hunter at 940,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR3 Dr. Gilbert Zan at 1,050,000 lifetime points,
  • SoR3 Shiva at 1,150,000 lifetime points.

Mr. X Nightmare DLC

Purchasing the Mr. X Nightmare DLC directly unlocks new modes and 3 additional playable characters:

  • SoR4 Estel Aguirre,
  • SoR4 Max Thunder,
  • SoR4 Shiva.

One of the new modes is the Survival mode, which allows players to unlock new alternative moves for every playable character. Unlocking new moves in the Survival mode works similarly to unlocking new characters in the Story and Stage Select modes: completing a run in the Survival mode gives the player some scoring points. If the player cumulates enough points, one or several moves will be unlocked for the character used during the run. However, contrary to the lifetime scoring system, the survival scoring system is only graphical (i.e. a progress bar is associated with each character in a dedicated screen) and no actual figures are ever showed.


As a bonus, the possession of this DLC also allows player to get access to SoR3 Roo through a cheat code. In SoR3 on Mega Drive, you had to hold Up+B then press  START  on the title screen. In SoR4, you have to input this code on the main screen:

  • On PlayStation 4, hold Up+Square and press  OPTIONS ,
  • On Xbox One, hold Up+X and press  MENU ,
  • On Switch, hold Up+Y and press Plus.

Nothing indicates that the cheat code worked but Roo should appear on the character select screen of any modes from there on.

On PC, the cheat code is always the same: hold Up+Attack and press  START . But the cheat code ignores any button remappings and always follows the default button assignment of input controllers. If your controller doesn't even have a start button, you can always do the cheat code by mixing button inputs with your keyboard. The cheat code by using only the keyboard is the following: hold Up+F1 and press Enter.

Unless going through the Survival mode and unblocking at least one alternative move with him, the cheat code must be performed each time the game gets launched to get access to him again.

Character movesets

In the vanilla game, all the characters get moves that can be split into 2 large categories: the common moveset and the advanced moveset. Advanced movesets can be further broken up into different move types, representing different kinds of special moves that have specific names for each characters. The Mr. X Nightmare DLC adds alternative advanced movesets to all the playable characters, including SoR1 incarnations.

Advanced move types

Every playable character can have as many as 7 kinds of advanced moves:

  • SoR1 incarnations get a star move,
  • SoR2 incarnations also get a blitz, a defensive special and an offensive special,
  • SoR3 incarnations can also get up to 2 additional weapon blitz moves,
  • SoR3 Roo do not have any weapon blitz but gets an air special,
  • SoR4 incarnations also all get an air special but their weapon blitz moves look more like basic weapon moves,
  • SoR4 Blaze's air special can be performed 2 times in a row if it hits an enemy the first time and her remaining health allows for it,
  • Floyd can also perform his air special several times in a row, up to 9 times in a row, as long as his life bar is not empty,
  • Floyd is the only character to get a grab special,
  • SoR4 Shiva's offensive and air special attacks take each 2 different forms depending respectively on the distance to enemies and the input direction,
  • Estel's offensive special is a 2-hit combo move by default but it can achieve up to 8 hits by smashing the attack button.

The Mr. X Nightmare DLC provides additional alternative moves for all those advanced move types besides weapon blitz and grab special attacks.


As SoR4 is localised into 12 languages, the names of the advanced move types in all those languages are listed in this section. For languages not using Latin characters, move names are first transliterated into the Latin script (a.k.a. romanisation) and then given in the language writing system. The transliteration systems used for each language are:

  • Revised Hepburn for Japanese,
  • Revised Romanisation (South) for Korean,
  • GOST R 52290-2004 (street and road signs system in Russia) for Russian,
  • Hanyu Pinyin for both flavours of Chinese.

Exceptions are for words that are transliterations of English words into the language writing system. In this case, the actual English words are given.

As usually done to avoid political issues in modern gaming, Simplified Chinese is meant for Chinese as written in Mainland China and Traditional Chinese for Chinese as written in Taiwan.


Language Move Type Name
English Blitz Defensive Special Offensive Special Air Special Star Move
Portuguese
Português
Blitz Especial Defensivo Especial Ofensivo Especial Aéreo Movimento Estrela
German
Deutsch
Blitz-Move Defensiver Spezialmove Offensiver Spezialmove Luft-Spezialmove Stern-Move
Spanish
Español
Blitz Especial Defensivo Especial Ofensivo Especial Aéreo Movimiento Estrella
French
Français
Attaque Blitz Coup Spécial Défensif Coup Spécial Offensif Coup Spécial Aérien Attaque Étoile
Italian
Italiano
Blitz Speciale Difensiva Speciale Offensiva Speciale Aerea Mossa Stella
Japanese
日本語
Ōwaza
大技
Special (Bōgyo)
スペシャル(防御)
Special (Kōgeki)
スペシャル(攻撃)
Special (Taikū)
スペシャル(滞空)
Super Ōgi
スーパー奥義
Korean
한국어
Blitz
블리츠
Bang-eo Teugsugi
방어 특수기
Gong-gyeog Teugsugi
공격 특수기
Gongjung Teugsugi
공중 특수기
Star Move
스타 무브
Russian
Русский
Blitz-Priyem
Блиц-Прием
Oboronitel'nyy Spetspriyem
Оборонительный Спецприем
Atakuyushchiy Spetspriyem
Атакующий Спецприем
Spetspriyem V Vozdukhe
Спецприем В Воздухе
Zvezdnyy Priyem
Звездный Прием
Ukrainian
Українська
Blitz
Бліц
Spetsudar Zakhystu
Спецудар Захисту
Spetsudar Napadu
Спецудар Нападу
Povitryanyy Spetsudar
Повітряний Спецудар
Zoryanyy Pryyom
Зоряний Прийом
Simplified Chinese
简体中文
Bàojī
暴击
Fángyù Dàzhāo
防御大招
Jìngōng Dàzhāo
进攻大招
Fúkōng Dàzhāo
浮空大招
Xīng zhī Mìjì
星之秘技
Traditional Chinese
繁體中文
Shǎndiàn
閃電
Fángyù Mìjì
防禦秘技
Gōngjí Mìjì
攻擊秘技
Kōngzhōng Mìjì
空中秘技
Xīng zhī Zhāoshù
星之招數

Despite those official terms, most English-speaking players would call defensive special attacks simply as special attacks and offensive special as forward special after the manipulation to be done to achieve them.

Character move names

Similarly to fighting games à la Street Fighter II, advanced moves are completely different from one character to another and are given specific names. In SoR4, the names of all the advanced moves are only available and displayed after buying the Mr. X Nightmare DLC to allow the selection between original moves and alternative moves. In most languages, the move names are simply those given in English, the exceptions being in Japanese, Korean and both flavours of Chinese.

Note: In-game star moves are activated with some zooming effects and the background turning night blue. As the below animations reproduce them without any backgrounds, those effects are replaced by a simpler night blue shadow effect.

Axel Stone

After the fall of Mr. X, Axel retired from the police force and moved out of the city. Desperate to find true strength beyond his fists, he went to live in the wilderness. He spent his days training, meditating, and studying.

However, despite his love for this simpler life, a call from Blaze was all it took for him to return to the city once more.


In non-Latin languages, his name gets rendered as close as possible to how it sounds in English:

  • Akuseru Sutōn アクセル・ストーン (Japanese),
  • Ākèsài'ěr Sītōng 阿克塞尔·斯通 (Simplified Chinese),
  • Àikèsài'ěr Shǐdōng 艾克賽爾·史東 (Traditional Chinese).
SoR Axel portrait.png
Streets of Rage
Move Type Language Standard Move Alternative Move
Star Move English Summon Police Pipe Rage
Japanese Summon Police
サモンポリス
Pipe Rage
パイプレイジ
Korean Summon Police
서먼 폴리스
Pipe Rage
파이프 레이지
Simplified Chinese Jǐnglì Zhīyuán
警力支援
Shuǐguǎn Wúshuāng
水管无双
Traditional Chinese Chuánhuàn Jǐngchá
傳喚警察
Shuǐguǎn Wúshuāng
水管無雙
SoR2 Axel portrait.png
Streets of Rage 2
Move Type Language Standard Move Alternative Move
Blitz English Grand Upper
SoR2-Axel-Blitz.png
Tiger Knee
Japanese Ground Upper
グランドアッパー
Tiger Knee
タイガーニー
Korean Grand Upper
그랜드 어퍼
Tiger Knee-Kick
타이거 니킥
Simplified Chinese Shēnglóngquán
升龙拳
Měnghǔxī
猛虎膝
Traditional Chinese Shēnglóngquán
升龍拳
Měnghǔxī
猛虎膝
Defensive Special English Dragon Wing
SoR2-Axel-DefensiveSpecial.png
Tornado Kick
Japanese Dragon Wing
ドラゴンウィング
Tornado Kick
トルネードキック
Korean Dragon Wing
드래곤 윙
Tornado Kick
토네이도 킥
Simplified Chinese Jiànlóngquán
见龙拳
Lóngjuǎntuǐ
龙卷腿
Traditional Chinese Lóngwǔ Jiǔtiān
龍舞九天
Huíxuántī
回旋踢
Offensive Special English Dragon Smash
SoR2-Axel-OffensiveSpecial.png
Dragon Dash Blow
Japanese Dragon Smash
ドラゴンスマッシュ
Dragon Dash Blow
ドラゴンダッシュブロー
Korean Dragon Smash
드래곤 스매쉬
Dragon Dash Blow
드래곤 대시 블로우
Simplified Chinese Jiànglóngquán
降龙拳
Xùnlóngzhǒu
迅龙肘
Traditional Chinese Fēilóngquán
飛龍拳
Lóng zhī Qiángfēng Chōngcì
龍之強風衝刺
Star Move English Grand Dragon Wing
SoR2-Axel-StarMove.png
Spinning Dragon Upper
Japanese Grand Dragon
グランドドラゴン
Spinning Upper
スピニングアッパー
Korean Grand Dragon Wing
그랜드 드래곤 윙
Spinning Dragon Upper
스피닝 드래곤 어퍼
Simplified Chinese Háo Jiànlóngquán
豪见龙拳
Huíxuán Shēnglóngquán
回旋升龙拳
Traditional Chinese Háo Lóngwǔ Jiǔtiān
豪龍舞九天
Huíxuán Shēnglóngquán
迴旋升龍拳
SoR3 Axel portrait.png
Streets of Rage 3
Move Type Language Standard Move Alternative Move
Blitz English Grand Upper
SoR3-Axel-Blitz.png
Scissor Kicks
Japanese Ground Upper
グランドアッパー
Scissor Kick
シザーキック
Korean Grand Upper
그랜드 어퍼
Gawi Kick
가위 킥
Simplified Chinese Shēnglóngquán
升龙拳
Jiǎndāotuǐ
剪刀腿
Traditional Chinese Shēnglóngquán
升龍拳
Jiǎndāotī
剪刀踢
Defensive Special English Dragon Wing
SoR3-Axel-DefensiveSpecial.png
Spinning Body Blow
Japanese Dragon Wing
ドラゴンウィング
Spinning Body Blow
スピニングボディブロー
Korean Dragon Wing
드래곤 윙
Spinning Body Blow
스피닝 바디 블로우
Simplified Chinese Jiànlóngquán
见龙拳
Xuánshēnchōng
旋身冲
Traditional Chinese Lóngwǔ Jiǔtiān
龍舞九天
Huíxuán Zhòngjī
迴旋重擊
Offensive Special English Dragon Smash
SoR3-Axel-OffensiveSpecial.png
Dragon Punch
Japanese Dragon Smash
ドラゴンスマッシュ
Dragon Punch
ドラゴンパンチ
Korean Dragon Smash
드래곤 스매쉬
Dragon Punch
드래곤 펀치
Simplified Chinese Jiànglóngquán
降龙拳
Kànglóngquán
亢龙拳
Traditional Chinese Fēilóngquán
飛龍拳
Lóngquán
龍拳
Star Move English Spinning Body Smash
SoR3-Axel-StarMove.png
Spirit Blade
Japanese Body Smash
ボディスマッシュ
Spirit Blade
スピリットブレード
Korean Spinning Body Smash
스피닝 바디 스매쉬
Spirit Blade
스피릿 블레이드
Simplified Chinese Xuánshēnzhuàng
旋身撞
Shénhúnrèn
神魂刃
Traditional Chinese Huíxuán Fěnsuì
迴旋粉碎
Língrèn
靈刃
SoR4 Axel mugshot.png
Streets of Rage 4
Move Type Language Standard Move Alternative Move
Blitz English Grand Upper Dragon Roll
Japanese Ground Upper
グランドアッパー
Dragon Roll
ドラゴンロール
Korean Grand Upper
그랜드 어퍼
Dragon Roll
드래곤 롤
Simplified Chinese Shēnglóngquán
升龙拳
Ténglóngquán
腾龙拳
Traditional Chinese Shēnglóngquán
升龍拳
Lóngjuǎn
龍卷
Defensive Special English Dragon Wing Dragon Upper
Japanese Dragon Wing
ドラゴンウィング
Dragon Upper
ドラゴンアッパー
Korean Dragon Wing
드래곤 윙
Dragon Upper
드래곤 어퍼
Simplified Chinese Jiànlóngquán
见龙拳
Fēilóngquán
飞龙拳
Traditional Chinese Lóngwǔ Jiǔtiān
龍舞九天
Shēnglóngquán
升龍拳
Offensive Special English Dragon Smash, Dragon Rush Dragon Bite
Japanese Dragon Smash, Dragon Rush
ドラゴンスマッシュ、ドラゴンラッシュ
Dragon Bite
ドラゴンバイト
Korean Dragon Smash, Dragon Rush
드래곤 스매쉬, 드래곤 러쉬
Dragon Bite
드래곤 바이트
Simplified Chinese Jiànglóngquán, Xùnlóngxí
降龙拳、迅龙袭
Shìlóngquán
噬龙拳
Traditional Chinese Fēilóngquán, Lóng zhī Fǔchōng
飛龍拳、龍之俯衝
Lóngyǎo
龍咬
Air Special English Dragon Dive Dragon Crush
Japanese Dragon Dive
ドラゴンダイブ
Dragon Crush
ドラゴンクラッシュ
Korean Dragon Dive
드래곤 다이브
Dragon Crush
드래곤 크러쉬
Simplified Chinese Zhuìlóngquán
坠龙拳
Suìlóngquán
碎龙拳
Traditional Chinese Lóngqián
龍潛
Lóngyǎosuì
龍咬碎
Star Move English Dragon Burst Ultimate Dragon Wing
Japanese Dragon Burst
ドラゴンバースト
Ultimate Dragon Wing
アルティメットⅮ・W
Korean Dragon Burst
드래곤 버스트
Ultimate Dragon Wing
얼티잇 드래곤 윙
Simplified Chinese Bàolóngquán
爆龙拳
Jiūjí Jiànlóngquán
究极见龙拳
Traditional Chinese Jùlóng Bàofā
巨龍爆發
Zhōngjí Lóngwǔ Jiǔtiān
終極龍舞九天

Blaze Fielding

Blaze was dishonorably discharged from the police force when she refused to take anger management classes after punching the commissioner in the face over an ethical disagreement.

These days she works as a dance instructor and choreographer for local musicals.

She still has a bad habit of getting into street brawls. With her ear ever to the ground, she picked up on rumblings of a new crime syndicate and immediately started calling in old favors.

Cherry Hunter

Being the daughter of Adam Hunter, the most decorated cop the force has ever known isn't easy. It comes with a lot of baggage and a lot of frustrations.

While Cherry inherited his brawling talents, she didn't inherit his desire for law and order. Choosing to devote her life to music, she spends most of her nights playing electro progressive rock in some of the most dangerous dives in the city.

Floyd Iraia

Floyd had always worked hard for the local community until a horrible work accident left him armless.

The management at the construction company decided to invest in lawyers rather than helping him with the massive medical bills.

In the end, help came from Dr. Zan, with whom Floyd spent years learning how to build, and use, his new cybernetic arms which Zan had developed.

When Blaze called on Dr. Zan for help, Floyd was the one who answered.

Adam Hunter

After the events of 10 years ago, Adam just wanted to take care of his daughter, Cherry.

But he was called on to join the special forces and infiltrate the new organisations gaining control of the city.

Having been in the shadows for too long, he finally decided to finish the fight he started.

Shiva

After the fall of Mr. X, Shiva was enlightened and started a dojo to make use of his talent and promote Buddhist teachings.

Unfortunately, many of his disciples left to join the new crime syndicate. What finally made up his mind, however, were the reports of animal cruelty at Y's secret labs.

Now he's just waiting for the moment to strike. And when he does, he'll strike hard.

Estel Aguirre

The only daughter of a Swedish-Columbian couple, both exemplary police officers, Estel grew up learning that duty, justice, and integrity were the most important things.

Strong-willed and eager to serve, she doesn't always see that her colleagues' ambitions can be less noble than her own.

Eddie "Skate" Hunter

Skate is a typical teenager. He keeps up with the latest styles and is slightly rebellious. He looks up to his big brother Adam, who is also his mentor and helps him train in martial arts.

Max Thunder

Kicked out of the Pro Wrestling association because he refused to throw a fight, he joined Axel and Blaze to get rid of the syndicate and also show his friends what a real German suplex is.

Dr. Gilbert Zan

Dr. Gilbert Zan is a scientist, former Syndicate member, and the one who discovered the element Rakushin.

After the Syndicate betrayed him, he was forced to become a cyborg. He then contacted Blaze Fielding to get payback.

Now he helps people and tries to undo what he did while in the Syndicate's employ. In particular, he built Floyd's arms.

Roo

As a throwback to SoR3, in the Mr X Nightmare DLC, Roo is only accessible through a cheat code. On Mega Drive, you had to hold Up+B then press  START  on the title screen. In SoR4, you have to input this code on the main screen:

  • On PlayStation 4, hold Up+Square and press  OPTIONS ,
  • On Xbox One, hold Up+X and press  MENU ,
  • On Switch, hold Up+Y and press Plus.

Nothing indicates that the cheat code worked but Roo should appear on the character select screen of any modes from there on.


On PC, the cheat code is always the same: hold Up+Attack and press  START . But the cheat code ignores any button remappings and always follows the default button assignment of input controllers. If your controller doesn't even have a start button, you can always do the cheat code by mixing button inputs with your keyboard. The cheat code by using only the keyboard is the following: hold Up+F1 and press Enter.