Adam Hunter, who has been missing in action for nearly three decades, has been officially announced to be the next playable character in Streets of Rage 4.
For those unfamiliar with the side-scrolling beat ’em up franchise, the boxer-turned-detective was one of the three playable characters in the original installment for Sega Genesis back in 1991. Adam Hunter was replaced by his younger brother Eddie “Skate” Hunter in both of the second and third installments. Hence, making his long-awaited return in Streets of Rage 4 a special moment, at least for fans who have kept up with the franchise all these years.
Based on the announcement trailer, Adam Hunter still has his “screen-clearing combos as well as his special moves and dash ability” from his debut. He will be fighting alongside Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, and his daughter Cherry Hunter who was recently revealed in the summer. Streets of Rage 4 could possibly receive more playable characters in the coming months.
Streets of Rage 4 is being developed by Lizardcube, Dotemu, and Guard Crush Games. The upcoming brawler features an amazing lineup of composers that includes music contributions by Yoko Shimomura, known for Street Fighter 2 and the Kingdom Hearts franchise; Hideki Naganuma, known for Sega Rally and Super Monkey Ball; and Keiji Yamagishi, known for Ninja Gaiden and Tecmo Bowl. The franchise has always been renowned for its music and safe to say, Streets of Rage 4 is in very good hands at the moment.
Streets of Rage 4 remains without a release date. Announced back in August 2018, a tentative release window of the first half of 2020 has been given by the publisher for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
It has been nearly three decades since the franchise was shelved. The original Streets of Rage was released on the Sega Genesis in 1991. The following two sequels arrived in 1992 and 1994 respectively. While the Streets of Rage 2 installment did receive a 3DS port in 2015, fans have obviously been keeping their fingers crossed for a direct sequel.
