Streets of Rage 2 is a beat 'em up released on the Genesis in North America in December 1992 and in Japan, as Bare Knuckle II, on 14 January 1993. It was developed by Sega with Ancient and other studios, and Ancient's Ayano Koshiro was lead graphic designer. Yuzo Koshiro wrote most of the soundtrack, with three tracks by Motohiro Kawashima. The playable fighters are Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, the wrestler Max Thunder and Eddie "Skate" Hunter.
The game debuted at number one on the UK all-formats chart in January 1993. An arcade version ran on Sega's Mega-Play hardware with a regular credit system, and separate 8-bit adaptations for Game Gear and Master System left Max out of the roster. Regional versions also differ in names: the rollerblader Skate is called Sammy in Japan, and Max's surname is Hatchett in Europe.
The game was later re-released many times. The Xbox Live Arcade version sold 184,555 units by 2011, a 3D Classics edition came to the Nintendo 3DS in 2015, and the Android "Classic" version passed one million installs by 2019.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Streets of Rage 2 | Genesis | December 1992 | Sega | 1 |
| NA | Streets of Rage 2Virtual Console; EU on 1 June 2007 | Wii | May 21, 2007 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | ベア・ナックルII 死闘への鎮魂歌 | Genesis | Jan 14, 1993 | Sega | 1 |
| EU | Streets of Rage II | Genesis | January 1993 | Sega | 1 |
| EU | Streets of Rage IISeparate 8-bit adaptation without Max | Game Gear | August 1993 | Sega | 1 |
| EU | Streets of Rage IISeparate 8-bit adaptation without Max | Master System | February 1994 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | — | Game Gear | Jul 23, 1994 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | —Virtual Console | Wii | May 15, 2007 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Streets of Rage 2Xbox Live Arcade; removed June 2012 | Xbox 360 | Aug 29, 2007 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Streets of Rage 2Steam; no longer sold | Windows | Jan 26, 2011 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Streets of Rage 2 | iOS | April 2011 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Streets of Rage 2PlayStation Network | PlayStation 3 | Jun 28, 2011 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | —3D Classics | Nintendo 3DS | Apr 29, 2015 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | 3D Streets of Rage 23D Classics | Nintendo 3DS | Jul 23, 2015 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Streets of Rage 2 ClassicSEGA Forever, free with ads | Android | Sep 20, 2018 | Sega | 2 |
| WW | Streets of Rage 2Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack (SEGA Mega Drive app) | Switch | Oct 25, 2021 | Sega | 1 |
Also known as: ベア・ナックルII 死闘への鎮魂歌 JP1Bare Knuckle II JP1Streets of Rage II EU13D Streets of Rage 2 WW1Streets of Rage 2 Classic WW2
Box art by region
NA Streets of Rage 2 
EU Streets of Rage II
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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TitleNAJP/EU
North America uses an Arabic numeral (Streets of Rage 2), while the Japanese Bare Knuckle II and the European release use the Roman numeral II.1
-
TextJPNA/EU
The young rollerblader is called Sammy in Japan and Eddie "Skate" Hunter in the West.1
-
TextEUNA/JP
The wrestler Max has the surname Hatchett in Europe but Thunder in North America and Japan.1
Where to play legally today
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Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
Streets of Rage 2 (SEGA Mega Drive - Nintendo Switch Online)
Mega Drive version
Checked: 2026-10-133ec.nintendo.com
Reception
Critics scored it above 90% almost across the board, and GamePro gave it a perfect score. It debuted at number one on the UK all-formats chart in January 1993 and was the top-selling Mega Drive game in Japan that month. Yuzo Koshiro's soundtrack is widely regarded as one of the best in games.1
In lists
Sources
- 1en.wikipedia.org
- 2androidpolice.com
- 3ec.nintendo.com
- 4store.steampowered.com
- 5en.wikipedia.org
- 6ja.wikipedia.org
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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