Proto:Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis).

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this.

To do: more prototype differences. source there is also an unused US title screen in the ROM.

This very early prototype of the Genesis Bare Knuckle II (aka Streets of Rage 2) contains rough versions of the four playable characters and the first stage.

Title and Options

Prototype	Final

• The title screen in the prototype is very similar to the final Japanese title screen. Aside from the TM using the logo's palette, it has so many subtle differences that the GIF below makes it easier to see them:

• The story cutscene and demo do not exist yet. If you wait on the title screen for a few seconds, the game will cut to a blank screen with the message "PRESS START BUTTON" before looping back to the Sega logo.
• The font (except for the one used for the timer and lives) is different. It's pretty much a colored and shaded version of the obligatory 8-bit font.

Prototype	Final

• The Character Select screen is pretty different. The characters use completely different portraits, and the "SELECT PLAYER" and "(insert character selected here)" text uses a different font.
• The "SELECT PLAYER" text has weird yellow lines by it, which isnt in the final version.
• 'Technique' is horribly misspelled as 'Technic'.
• Two players can choose the same character. This requires a code in the final. It is also possible to select 2 Players with only one controller connected.
• Duel mode is absent, as is a traditional options menu. Options takes you to a rudimentary animation viewer, which is covered below.

Controls and Gameplay

• The control scheme is mostly the same as the final's, although the controls themselves are noticeably sluggish.
• You can only hit one enemy at a time, which makes dealing with a crowd of enemies a bit of a nightmare at times.
• You can't combo from a punch to a blitz, which makes Axel's god-tier Punch-Punch-Blitz combo completely impossible.
• Attack hitboxes are noticeably smaller than the final. You can see this when you try to punch when an enemy is inside you; in the final, they will get hit, in the proto, no.
• In the final, holding B for a moment and releasing will perform your combo finisher. This is absent from the prototype.
• No enemies try to break out of holds. You can also vault over an enemy an infinite number of times, whereas the final makes you let go after two vaults.
• When you are in a front grab, B performs a pummel and Forward + B performs a power attack, similar to Final Fight. These were switched in the final.
• Oddly enough, it's possible to hit yourself with a thrown enemy. This can happen if you are close to and facing away from a wall. (This also applies to Barbon.)
• There are no items or destroyable objects at all.
• The prototype gives you points for defeated enemies only. In the final, you get points for landing attacks as well.
• The enemies do not fall down when you respawn after losing a life.
• Your health is completely refilled at the start of an area, while the final restores only a little.

Miscellaneous

• The only song is a weedy, Streets of Rage 1-style tune that plays nonstop during gameplay. It is not in the final, but it does appear on the official soundtrack, under the name "Walking Bottom". It was also used for the results screen in Streets of Rage 4, when the retro soundtrack is enabled.
• There are no sound effects whatsoever.
• There's no "ROUND 1 START" message when starting the first (and only) stage.
• This prototype doesn't yet properly handle screen transitions, it doesn't hide old graphics being unloaded and new ones being loaded in their place, resulting in some glitchy looking graphics between area transitions.
• Although pausing works, the "PAUSE" message isn't present. You can press A + B + C during a pause to reset the game.
• If you get a Game Over, the game won't automatically return to the title screen. You can get around this by adding a second player and getting a Game Over with them as well.

Characters

Max

• Max's sprite set is quite different, displaying a rather gorilla-like posture. His jumping animation has his mouth wider open as well.
• Max's jump height is lower.
• Max's front grab Forward + B doesn't work properly. He'll perform his suplex animation, but he either won't actually pick the enemy up, or said enemy will be thrown.
• Max can vault over enemies, unlike in the final (despite having no animation and appearing glitchy). This means that he cannot perform his jumping slam attacks.

Axel

• Axel's vertical jump attack is a knee. The final changes it to an upward kick by adding a couple of frames.
• Axel's blitz attack is a jumping uppercut, resembling the Shoryuken from the Street Fighter series, rather than his Ground Upper.
• Axel's standing special is a jumping spin kick, resembling Cody's special from Final Fight instead of his Dragon Wing. This move will officially be used for SOR2 Axel in Streets of Rage 4 as the "Tornado Kick".

Blaze

• Blaze's stance looks different, and she doesn't run her hand through her hair during her idle animation.
• Blaze's downward air attack uses her front throw animation. It doesn't seem to be able to hit anything.
• Blaze's blitz attack is an awkwardly animated double kick instead of her Hishousouzan.

Skate/Sammy

• Skate cannot run.
• Skate's back attack has a strange animation and doesn't move backward at all, making it very hard to hit enemies with.
• Skate does not have his vault throw. His Roller Uppercut can be performed with Forward + B during a front grab, but the final changes it to Back + B only.
• During Skate's Migraine attack, the enemy turns around for whatever reason. It also doesn't knock them down at the end, allowing enemies to be easily stunlocked to death. If it kills them early, Skate will finish the move in midair.

Enemies

• Galsia and Donovan usually stay out of range of the player and get closer to attack, similarly to the first Streets of Rage.
• Donovan doesn't have his uppercut attack or his ability to use pipes (pipes being completely absent from the prototype). Because Donovan lacks sprites for getting thrown, he'll change into Galsia as he's flying through the air and revert once he lands.
• Donovan is used as a placeholder for Electra (called "Singer" in the prototype) in the bar scene. He acts like a regular Donovan with a larger health bar.
• Jack is pretty much the same as in the final. While he can drop his knives, you can't pick them up. Jack lacks get-up invincibility.
• Barbon is somewhat finalized, however, his sprite will become glitched when he throws you, performs his roundhouse kick, or blocks. Barbon lacks get-up invincibility.
• Barbon is the only enemy in this prototype that can throw the player. It's possible to land safely from a throw by holding Up+Jump.
• The health bar for bosses works similarly to the player's lives. The boss falls down once a star is depleted, and damage is not carried over. It functions as one long health bar in the final.

Level Differences

Stage 1-1 (Street)

• Some of the electronic signs in the background are broken, as well as the orange windows at the beginning (which seem to use the "DUNK" graphics).
• In the diagonally scrolling section, some of the enemies appear out of thin air. This is because the enemy location points have an error in them, where they are supposed to come out the doors, but instead awkwardly out of the wall.
• Towards the end of the diagonal area (as the road is about to go straight again), there's a big green floor texture on the building that should not be there.
• The manholes are in the middle of the playfield instead of at the bottom. They are not covered, and Donovans do not jump out of them. You can also walk right over them.
• The wall at the end is not solid. You can walk onto and fight right on top of it.
• The alley where Jack walks out is much narrower and doesn't have the car.

Stage 1-2 (Bar)

• This area is much shorter than in the final, being only about two screens long.
• The lights shine down onto the floor, rather than shining offscreen like the final, giving the impression of the lights being closer to the camera.
• A small staircase in the background uses an incorrect tile and looks wrong.
• As Electra doesn't exist yet, the "boss" is a Donovan named Singer with two life bars.

Stage 1-3 (Back Alley)

• There are no rain effects.
• The building that you come out of is not complete, as the top is missing.
• Like in 1-1, the fence at the end is not solid. It has a different, incomplete-looking design.
• Barbon appears at the end, as usual. When he is defeated, another one will appear. This goes on until he is defeated four times, and nothing happens after that.

Animation Viewer

As mentioned above, selecting Options on the main menu will take you to this screen. Every existing character except Barbon is selectable here.

The controls are:

• Left or Right to switch characters.
• Up or Down to change animations.
• Hold A to watch the animation play out.
• Press B to flip through the frames of the animation.
• Press C to switch the character's direction.
• Press Start to go back to the main menu.

The numbers on the right side are as follows:

• KIND NO: The character selected.
• ANIME NO: The current animation.
• SEL NO: The current frame of the animation. Goes in reverse order, curiously enough.
• SEL TIME: Number of frames (in real time) that have passed.
• ATTACK: This switches between different numbers for all attacks other than throws, but it isn't clear what they mean. Presumably, it represents the "type" of each attack (i.e., whether it can knock down).

If you keep scrolling to the right past Jack, things kind of glitch up. The game will not crash, you can still control things like normal, and you can just scroll back left, but the indicators will not be on-screen anymore. Exiting and reentering this menu will restore things to normal.

(Source: Original TCRF research and SOR Online)