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Streets of Rage 4 reveals unlockable classic characters Zan, Skate, & more

A number of classic characters like Dr. Zan, Max, and Skate will be joining the Streets of Rage 4 roster in a nod to the franchise's pixelated era of bare-knuckle brawling.

TJ Denzer

April 8, 2020 8:55 AM

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There are a grand number of characters in the Streets of Rage universe that players would no doubt love to see join the Streets of Rage 4 playable cast. With as much effort as Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games are pouring into the animations of each fighter, it’d likely be a ton of work to expect all characters to make it in. Fortunately, Streets of Rage 4 will have a cheeky workaround. Many of the classic fighters like Dr. Zan, Skate, and Max will be unlockable in the game… in their classic pixelated forms.

Dotemu showed off the unlockable classic fighters in Streets of Rage 4 in a new trailer posted on the Dotemu Twitter on April 8, 2020. The main cast of Streets of Rage 4, including Axel, Blaze, Cherry and Adam Hunter, and Floyd Iraia are set in stone, but the new trailer showed that classic Streets of Rage brawlers will be unlockable, just in their retro forms. Max, Skate, Dr. Zan, and even classic versions of Blaze, Adam, and Axel were shown playable in the trailer’s list of 12 unlockable retro fighters.

That wasn’t all. The new trailer also showed that players will even be able change the soundtrack. Though Streets of Rage 4 features a tasty modern take on the solid brawler beats of the franchise, players will be able to switch the soundtrack over to Streets of Rage 1 and 2 playlists to further boost the retro vibes. Although we dream of seeing Zan, Skate, and Max eventually get their own fully animated sprites in this gorgeous game, the retro offerings in Streets of Rage 4 are an excellent alternative what is shaping up to be an altogether amazing game.

Streets of Rage 4 is slated for launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam soon. Be sure to check out our other coverage, including the reveal of 4-player co-op and Floyd Iraia, and a PAX South deep dive into Adam Hunter.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.