Streets of Rage

Streets of Rage

[Episode 28] This month on barSILENCE we’re Fighting in the Streets of Wood Oak City as we listen to the legendary soundtracks of Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 on the Sega Genesis.

These early '90s beat'em-ups set the standard for the genre with their stellar gameplay but even more so with their groundbreaking and innovative soundtracks!

Tune in and listen to knockout tunes from these iconic games and uncover some of the musical influences of the famed Yuzo Koshiro the mastermind behind one of gaming’s most beloved soundtracks!

Grab that ground chicken refill your health and let’s take on the evil Mr. X and save the city!

Special shoutout in this episode to Game Composer, Chase Bethea for talking with me about our shared love of Streets of Rage and Yuzo Koshiro as I worked on this episode!

Follow him on Twitter

Check out his music on Bandcamp

Tracklisting:

00:00:00 - The Street of Rage (Streets of Rage) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:01:28 - Intro & Streets of Rage

00:07:43 - Fighting in the Street (Streets of Rage) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:12:32 - Dilapidated Town (Streets of Rage) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:15:54 - The Last Soul (Streets of Rage) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:19:10 - Moon Beach (Streets of Rage) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:24:07 - Beatnik on the Ship (Streets of Rage) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:28:23 - Keep the Groovin' (Streets of Rage) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:31:36 - Attack the Barbarian (Streets of Rage) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:34:46 - Streets of Rage 2

00:39:38 - Go Straight (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:42:57 - Ready Funk (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:44:42 - In the Bar (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:45:59 - Walking Bottom (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:47:59 - Slow Moon (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:50:18 - Dreamer (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:52:32 - Never Return Alive (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:56:07 - Wave 131 (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

00:59:12 - Under Logic (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

01:01:02 - Alien Power (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

01:04:07 - Outro

01:06:14 - Good Ending (Streets of Rage 2) [Yuzo Koshiro]

barSILENCE is a monthly podcast crafted to celebrate and explore the best video game music in the world! You’re here because you enjoy the same thing that I do, and I am grateful for that.

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[00:01:30] Alright, welcome back and thanks for tuning in to another episode of BarSILENCE.

[00:01:34] My name is Damison and I'm your host.

[00:01:36] BarSILENCE is a show that's dedicated to exploring the very best video game music each

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[00:02:26] In this episode, we're going to be taking it to the violent streets and listening to the legendary

[00:02:31] soundtrack to Streets Arrage and Streets Arrage 2 for the second genesis.

[00:02:35] If you've listened to this show regularly, you've probably heard me mention the awesome music

[00:02:39] to both of these games before.

[00:02:41] You've also probably seen and heard the countless leeches of fans online who sing the

[00:02:45] praises of these technically magnificent and sonically impressive soundtracks.

[00:02:49] So, to get things started, we're going to begin this episode with the 1991

[00:02:52] Sega Genesis release of Streets Arrage.

[00:02:55] But let's rewind a bit though.

[00:02:57] The beat-em-up John Rys Origins actually started in the early 1980s with games like 1984's

[00:03:02] Action Arcade Game called Kung Fu Master by Data East.

[00:03:06] This Hong Kong martial arts film inspired game features a Kung Fu Master,

[00:03:09] as he fights through five levels to rescue his girlfriend from the crime boss known as Mr.

[00:03:14] X.

[00:03:15] It spawned a few similar games in the years following, but it was 1987's Double Dragon

[00:03:19] that truly ushered in the beginning of the Golden Age for this genre in the arcade.

[00:03:23] And especially later, when it arrived on the NES where it rapidly became a co-op sensation at home.

[00:03:29] As the next generation of consoles took off in the early 90s,

[00:03:32] it was kept comes 1989 arcade and super Nintendo release of Final Fight that set the stage for

[00:03:37] Sega to create a game of their own that could compete with it.

[00:03:40] Enter Streets Arrage

[00:03:42] The plot of this game set our son three former police officers who turned to vigilante

[00:03:46] justice to free their city from the grip of a menacing crime syndicate.

[00:03:50] This ruthless game led by the presumably different yet equally notorious Mr. X has plunged

[00:03:55] the city into chaos. And it's up to our heroes, Adam Hunter, Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding

[00:04:01] to bravely navigate seven levels fighting through waves of enemies to determine the stop them.

[00:04:06] Their ultimate goal is to confront Mr. X at the syndicate's headquarters and bring

[00:04:10] in and to these streets of rage.

[00:04:13] Thanks to this game's story, impressive moose set and the ability to play with friends

[00:04:17] it provided a ton of replayability for Genesis gamers. But it wasn't just the gameplay that made

[00:04:22] this game a success though. One could argue that one paired with the absolutely killer soundtrack

[00:04:27] Sega had an instant classic on their hands. The composer, user Casero, whether he intended to

[00:04:33] or not, managed to create a monolith in video game music. And crafted a masterpiece of not only

[00:04:39] one of the best soundtracks on the Genesis, but quite possibly the most technically impressive

[00:04:43] display of what could be done with this system. Around the time the co-sure was tasked with creating

[00:04:47] this iconic soundtrack he also experienced Los Angeles for the first time. That trip introduced

[00:04:52] him to the music trends that were taking America by storm. Particularly hip hop and early house

[00:04:57] music which he saw frequently on MTV. His plan was to emulate the fusion of house,

[00:05:03] techno, and hip hop style music by imitating the sounds of the popular Roland 808 and 909 drum

[00:05:09] machines with the set's sounds of the TV 303 by imitating them on an any CPC 98 with the programming

[00:05:16] language they he created himself. Which is seriously impressive. And with a bit of luck,

[00:05:21] Sega's managers ended up loving the demo and told him to perceive. So let's get into some of

[00:05:26] these amazing songs from the first game of the series. The moody and slow track that opened up

[00:05:31] the show is called the Street of Rage. It does an excellent job of immediately setting the tone for

[00:05:36] this game. And for those of you who are familiar with the group called Nigba, you might hear a

[00:05:41] little influence from their 1990 song called St. Nespar 1. To get things started in our first block,

[00:05:47] we're going to begin with the knockout track from the first stage called fighting in the street.

[00:05:51] This one is a certifiedly awesome jam and is probably one of the most iconic songs on the soundtrack.

[00:05:57] There's also hint of two tracks from 1989 in this one too. You get a touch of sold the

[00:06:02] souls to get a life and a dose of pump-up jam by techno-tronic as well. After that one,

[00:06:07] we're going to listen to the funky hip hop like beats of a track called to lap a day to town

[00:06:11] and then we'll listen to the last soul. I've recently got to talk to friend of the show and

[00:06:16] VGM composer Chase Bethella about the music history's Rage. We both share love a co-sheroes work

[00:06:22] and he reminded me of how excellent the song is with its low groove, twinkly synths,

[00:06:26] and excellent bass that all come together to perfectly express that you're heading into the

[00:06:31] layer of the big boss. So thanks for their reminder to include this one, Chase. You should absolutely

[00:06:36] take a minute and head to Chase's website, ChaseBethia.com and go to his bandcamp to listen

[00:06:41] to some of his excellent music like the scinty goodness of a ground zero and the chip-tony beats

[00:06:46] of deity quest. We'll continue our streets of Rage journey with the serious groove of a track

[00:06:51] called Moon Beach which is a tasty sample of a rad 1990 summer jam and I absolutely love it.

[00:06:58] After that we'll hear beat Nick on the ship and follow it with Keith the Gr oven,

[00:07:01] which is another jam from this game that was definitely inspired by Co-Shira's LA trip.

[00:07:06] This song's main beat takes a note from the song called Open Your Eyes by Black Box,

[00:07:11] which if you know who Black Box is, then you probably know this is an underrated jam on

[00:07:15] that peak 1990 dance album. Then finally we'll wrap up this block with the boss battle song

[00:07:21] called Attack the Barbarian that taps into the 90s techno scene and is a prime example of how

[00:07:26] Co-Shira who masterfully simulated these types of genres with style. All right time to hit the

[00:07:32] streets and take Mr. X down enjoy these tunes and I'll be back after that to talk about the

[00:07:37] Street to Rage 2. In 1992, Sega released the sequel Street to Rage 2 for the Sega Genesis.

[00:34:52] It launched a critical acclaim and quickly became one of the best selling games of the holiday season

[00:34:57] even continuing its success well into 1993. The plot of this sequel takes place a year after the

[00:35:02] events of the game following the fall of Mr. X and his criminal syndicate or so our character's think.

[00:35:08] Darkness ends up returning to the city as a vengeful Mr. X and his dugs,

[00:35:12] kidnapped Adam in an attempt to lure axle and blaze into a trap. Our returning heroes from

[00:35:17] the original are joined by new team members Max Thunder, a professional wrestler and Eddie skate hunter

[00:35:23] who's Adam's younger brother. This new team then sets out to rescue their friend and finally put

[00:35:28] it into the chaos once and for all. This sequel was developed by ancient, which is a Japanese studio

[00:35:34] founded by use of casserole, his mother Tomo and his sister Ayano who worked as the art,

[00:35:39] character and graphic designer for the studio. Ayano worked closely with use of to develop a new

[00:35:44] combat system, drawing direct inspiration from Street Fighter 2 which had just been released a year

[00:35:48] earlier in 1991. This innovation resulted in a unique special attacks for each character,

[00:35:54] delivering extra damage but it came at the cost of the player's health. The rest of the team was

[00:35:59] focused on rewriting the game's engine, dedicating their efforts to creating smoothly animated

[00:36:04] larger character sprites, implementing diagonal scrolling and adding a ton of detail into the

[00:36:09] stages. So while that was in process, useos work with centered around taking the soundtrack to the next

[00:36:14] level. First reach a rage 2, he builds on the ground breaking house inspired compositions of the original

[00:36:20] and this time draws influences from progressive techno, break beats and adds in a touch of

[00:36:25] electrofonc for good measure. Honestly, this whole soundtrack lives in Brie's A Night Club V,

[00:36:31] which is a remarkable feat considering it was made with a custom-coded program on outdated tech

[00:36:36] for a system that wasn't exactly known for having the best music at the time.

[00:36:41] Yet, these very limitations pushed useos to refine and enhance his composition methods,

[00:36:45] resulting in what is arguably the best soundtrack ever created for the second genesis.

[00:36:50] It's worth mentioning that even useos himself has said that the soundtrack's to

[00:36:54] actraiser on the Super Nintendo and Streets of Rage 2 are his greatest works,

[00:36:59] and it's really hard to disagree. This game's soundtrack was also recognized as a major highlight

[00:37:05] in the gaming media world too. In a 1993 issue of the US gaming magazine called Electronic Games,

[00:37:10] they listed both streets of Rage Games as having some of the best-view game music ever.

[00:37:15] Cleaming the useos Ocashero was just about universally acknowledged as the most gifted composer

[00:37:20] currently working in the video game field. Which is high praise in an era where only a short time

[00:37:25] previously, composers were largely uncredited or given on serious names and staff roles.

[00:37:31] So let's celebrate this masterpiece on the Genesis and get into our final block of tunes for this episode.

[00:37:37] Up first, we're going to listen to the universally beloved track that comes from the first level in the game.

[00:37:42] Ghostsrate is likely one of the most club-ready songs in both of these soundtracks

[00:37:46] and it's quite possibly my favorite song in all of these games. Interestingly,

[00:37:50] there's actually quite a few house tracks out there that have a very similar lead to Ghostsrate,

[00:37:54] including, do you want a party by base value that came out in 1992?

[00:37:58] As well as the 1989 track called Move Your Feat to the rhythm in the beat by hit house

[00:38:03] that's an absolute treasure. So you know Yuzoka Shiro was definitely bringing the heat on

[00:38:08] the house tip and tapping into that beat. After that track, we're going to keep it moving

[00:38:12] and listen to Ready Funk which is another stinger of a track and follow it with the Soltery

[00:38:16] sounds and catchy bassline of In the Vark. Then we're going to hear the song called Walking

[00:38:21] Bottom which actually comes from an early prototype of the game that wasn't in the final.

[00:38:26] This song has some dissonant sounds we've been through it but the jazzy vibe makes this

[00:38:30] one a toe-tap or the same at least. Then we'll hear another one of my favorite tracks from

[00:38:34] this game called Dreamer. I've always loved this song sing lead and backing beat that makes you

[00:38:39] want to move. It's hard not to love this one. Then we're going to follow it with a boss battle

[00:38:44] track called Never Returnal Life and back it up with the song called Way 131. This tracks

[00:38:49] luscious house vibes are another example of drawing inspiration from a black box song. The

[00:38:54] US Billboard Hot 100 Hit, Everybody Everybody is a pop-in-house and Euro disco track that peaked

[00:39:00] at number 8 in 1990 and rightfully so. It's a great jam. After that, we're going to hear

[00:39:06] another killer tune called Under Logic. There's an awesome techno pop song from 1991 by the

[00:39:11] group Shaman called Move Anymout. You can definitely hear the main lead similarity if you look

[00:39:16] up but I definitely prefer what you so cushero did with this one. Then last we'll wrap up this

[00:39:21] walk with the experimental and hauntingly cool techno meets 90's hip hop boss battle tune

[00:39:26] called Alien Power. All right, time to save the city once again and listen to the knockdown

[00:39:31] and drag out soundtrack to Streets of Rage 2. Enjoy these tunes and I'll be back after that.

[01:03:08] Music

[01:04:11] All right, so that's the show. Hopefully you guys have enjoyed this episode about the legendary

[01:04:15] great soundtrack to Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 on the second genesis. If you want to

[01:04:20] interact with the show and tell me what you think about my selections in this episode,

[01:04:23] you can follow me on a variety of social media platforms. Then includes Instagram, Twitter,

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[01:04:34] gray screenshots, artwork, music clips, and various information about the game's feature in each episode.

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[01:05:24] you'll get access to a bonus episode of Awesome Music Each Month. Be sure to check the show

[01:05:28] now for a link to learn more. I would also like to thank friends of the show and leech in members,

[01:05:33] Aaron, of the excellent video game for already podcast Super Pod saga as well as Professor Tom

[01:05:38] of the Shoochin Academy VGM Club. You can and should check out both of these shows wherever you

[01:05:43] get your podcast as well as on Terriplayer. Alright, so wrap up the show I've got one more song

[01:05:48] to play us out. We're going to listen to Good Ending from Street to Rage 2. This song is the perfect

[01:05:54] way to take us off the streets and enjoy some non-found food after eat tough day of beating up the

[01:05:58] roughy and some thugs of Mr. X. It has a great in-sheury sound that honestly tastes a lot like victory.

[01:06:05] Anyway, enjoy this final song and as always thanks again for listening and I'll see you guys next time.