Streets of Rage 3

ベア・ナックルIII (Bea Nakkuru Surī)Genesis, PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360 +41994

  1. JP1994
  2. NA1994
  3. EU1994
  4. RU—

Streets of Rage 3 is called Bare Knuckle III (ベア・ナックルIII) in Japan, and the Western release changed the story, raised the difficulty and removed content. The 2012 Streets of Rage Collection lets players choose between the Japanese, European and North American versions.

Streets of Rage 3 is a beat 'em up for the Mega Drive/Genesis, developed by Sega and Ancient and published by Sega. It came out in Japan as Bare Knuckle III on 18 March 1994, in North America in July 1994 and in the UK on 21 July 1994. Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima composed the music, drawing on Detroit hard techno and an 'Automated Composing System' built on randomized sequences.

The game is best known for how much its localization changed. The Western version rewrote the plot, made the game harder, removed the mid-boss Ash and recolored characters' outfits, so Bare Knuckle III and Streets of Rage 3 play noticeably differently.

The game later appeared in Sonic Gems Collection (Japanese version only), on the Wii Virtual Console, on Steam and on the Genesis Mini 2. The 2012 Streets of Rage Collection lets players choose between the Japanese, European and North American versions. It holds an aggregate score of 83% on GameRankings.1

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Streets of Rage 3 Genesis July 1994 Sega 1
NA Sega Genesis Mini 2Preloaded on the North American and European models of the Genesis/Mega Drive Mini 2 Other Oct 27, 2022 Sega 1
JP ベア・ナックルIII Genesis Mar 18, 1994 Sega 1
EU Streets of Rage 3UK date Genesis Jul 21, 1994 Sega 1
WW Sonic Gems CollectionJapanese version Bare Knuckle III only; also on GameCube PlayStation 2 August 2005 Sega 2
WW Streets of Rage 3Virtual Console Wii September 2007 Sega 1
WW Sonic's Ultimate Genesis CollectionCompilation for Xbox 360 and PS3 Xbox 360 2009 Sega 3
WW Streets of Rage 3Steam, standalone and in Sega Genesis Classics Pack 5 Windows May 3, 2012 Sega 1
WW Streets of Rage CollectionSega Vintage Collection; choice of Japanese, European or North American version Xbox 360 2012 Sega 1

Also known as: ベア・ナックルIII JP1Bare Knuckle III JP1Bea Nakkuru Surī JP1

Box art by region

  • Streets of Rage 3 box art, North America release
    NA Streets of Rage 3
  • Streets of Rage 3 box art, Europe release
    EU Streets of Rage 3

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • TextJPNA/EU

    The Japanese story is about the explosive Raxine and the kidnapped General Ivan Petrov, with Mr. X plotting a world war; the Western version drops Raxine, replaces the general with the Chief of Police and turns the plot into a scheme to swap city officials with robot clones.1

  • DifficultyNA/EU

    The Western Normal setting is harder than the Japanese Hard, and on Easy the Western version ends after Stage 5.1

  • ContentNA/EU

    The mid-boss Ash, also a hidden playable character in Japan, was removed from the Western releases and can only be reached with cheats.1

All differences (6)

Reception

Reviews were good overall (GameRankings 83%). Critics liked the new moves, larger levels and visuals but criticized the lack of innovation, the Western localization (GameFan said it 'neutered' the game) and the soundtrack, which split opinion.1

In lists

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2en.wikipedia.org
  3. 3en.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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