Streets of Rage 3

Streets of Rage 3 is a beat'em up video game released by Sega in 1994 for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis. It is part of the Streets of Rage series.

Overview
1994 was the year the series saw its end. Streets of Rage 3, packed in a 24 meg cartridge, was an enhanced version of the previous title that had several enhancements such as a more complex plot, multiple endings, lengthier levels, better scenarios (with interactive levels and the return of traps like pits) and faster gameplay (with dash and dodge moves). Weapons could now only be used for a few times before breaking (in the previous titles an object would only disappear when it was dropped for the third time), some bosses could be played after being defeated and a few cutscenes were added to give the story depth. Max gave his place to Zan, a cyborg, who was important for plot reasons.

Besides the fact that it was far more difficult than its predecessors, it was also criticised for having an abrasive and noisy soundtrack, more experimental than the previous two which used more melodies and dance beats. That said, there are no other 16-bit games with music like it, and it has its fans.

Regional differences
While translating this game from Japanese to American and European audiences, Sega of America altered it significantly. The most notable changes were that the playable miniboss Ash was removed because he was clearly homosexual, the costume colors were changed, the females are less scantily clad, and the plot was rewritten, leaving many gaps in the narrative. In the original Bare Knuckle 3 the story dealt with a new explosive substance called Rakushin, discovered by a Dr. Gilbert (who later turns out to be "Zan"), and the disappearance of a military general. In the American and European versions of Streets of Rage 3, all references to Rakushin were removed, and the general was replaced by the chief of police, and a scheme to switch city officials with robot clones was invented. Another difference was if you didn't save the general you had to head to the White House, this too was changed in the US/Euro version where instead if you didn't save the chief then you had to head to the City Hall. Also, Bare Knuckle 3, even in the highest difficulty setting, was significantly easier than Streets of Rage 3 on default difficulty. Another change is that Axel, Blaze and Skate had their clothes altered. (Axel is dressed like Adam, Blaze's clothes were changed from red to gray, and Skate wears red and blue instead of red and yellow) Sega stated that these were changed to create "gender neutral colors".

Endings
There were several endings, they are listed below.
 * Defeat Robot Y but failed to beat the timer then the bombs detonate in the city and making it into complete ruin.
 * Beat Robot Y before the timer expires, the city is saved, this is the good and best ending.
 * Failed to save the general/chief then you have to face Shiva again as the last boss.
 * There is an "Easy mode" ending in the US/Euro versions where the Robot X in Stage 5 is the last boss of this mode, after defeating him you are then told to play the next difficulty mode.

Trivia
In the Japanese version of the game (Bare Knuckle 3), along with the other hidden characters, you can also unlock and play as an 'effeminite' male character named Ash, after beating him in Round 1. He cannot wield weapons and has very few attacks, though he's ridiculously quick and is far too strong to use in a normal game. Ash can also be unlocked in the US version by using the Game Genie.

According to several pre-release screenshots, there was originally a section where the players got to ride the motorcycles they are so often attacked by. This section was obviously removed for the final version.

The character Blaze is very reminiscent of the female character in SEGA's 1985 coin-op Flashgal.

When the UK magazine Mean Machines Sega reviewed the game in 1994, they had their art editor draw a cover picture with Zan and Blaze standing in front of the building. Sega Europe bought the rights to the artwork to use it for the cover of the UK/Europe release.