Streets Of Rage is all about big fights, but nobody’s going to give you more of a challenge than the colorful variety of bosses you’ll bump into at the end of each stage. We’ve seen everything from killer robots, to ‘roid-rage wrestlers and expert boomerang throwers!
There’s a few notable standouts in the pain department, and we’ve decided to list them here, today. Here’s 10 of the hardest bosses in the Streets Of Rage franchise, ranked by order of difficulty.
10 Souther
The second boss of the original Streets Of Rage is also one of the toughest. He’s tall, and his reach is quite large. That’s bad news, given the Wolverine-style claws he uses to hack and slash at his enemies.
Jump attacks do diddly squat against Souther, as he’ll simply phase himself out of harm’s way and respond with a counter-attack. His speed makes it hard to navigate around him for a grapple attack, which means players are in for one tough fight.
9 Zamza
This annoying pest shows up several times throughout the course of Streets Of Rage 2, but and he gets progressively harder as the game continues. Zamza is incredibly fast, relying on dash attacks to move in quick and slash you to ribbons with his Freddy Krueger-style gauntlets.
He can also grab the player and perform a suplex maneuver, which is impossible to counter. Zamza will also jump a lot, and each one will land him at a different height on the screen, forcing players to be on their guard at all times.
8 Yamato
He’s really cool to look at, but no fun to fight. Yamato shows up in Streets Of Rage 3 as an armored samurai with a few neat tricks up his sleeve, including the ability to clone himself. Each of the three clones he manifests has a different style of attack, making it hard to formulate an effective strategy.
When the clones have been eliminated, the real Yamato leaps into the fray, and he’s got enough health to survive for the long haul. Players need to exercise a lot of caution before attempting to take this guy down.
7 Particle & Molecule
They hop, they’re hard to catch, and they’re made of metal. You get the idea! Particle & Molecule show up in Stage 7 of Streets Of Rage 2 where they’ll harass you as much as possible in preparation for the final stage.
If you manage to grab one, they’ll electrocute you with a charge throughout their chassis. If you try to rush in for a barrage, they’ll clunk you over the head with a mace. And finally, when you defeat one, they’ll blow up in your face. So much fun!
6 Beyo & Riha
These two ladies are alternate versions of Diva, the first boss in Streets Of Rage 4. On their own, they’d be manageable, but they team up to deal out punishing damage on players using a variety of killer attacks largely focused around their snakes.
They’re also capable of playing keep-away with the player by executing fire and acid ground attacks, making it impossible to get in close without taking a lot of damage. The only option is to separate them by focusing on taking down just one, leaving the other open for a decent counter-strategy.
5 Shiva
Shiva has the goods when it comes to laying down the beatings. He’s a kempo fighter with rush attacks that allow him to get in close and lay you out before you have a chance to throw a fist.
He was at his most lethal in Streets Of Rage 2 as the second-last boss of the game, but he also makes a reappearance in Streets Of Rage 4 as a changed man who ends up helping the heroes. All it took was a little “convincing,” which is quite the challenge if your difficulty is set to Hard.
4 The Commissioner
He has the law on his side, but the Commissioner doesn’t need it! He’s got enough of a solid punch to stand all on his own, without the need for backup. He pops up as the second boss in Streets Of Rage 4, yet he’s one of the hardest in the entire game.
His combination of racing dash-punches and slam attacks are devastating, and when he’s lit up, he won’t be fazed by regular attacks. This forces the player to adopt a hit and run strategy, as a full-frontal assault will result in you ingesting your own teeth.
3 Mr. & Ms. Y
Mr. X’s petulant children are every bit as conniving and ambitious as their father was, but they’re relatively easy to defeat…on their own, that is. The final Streets Of Rage 4 battle has the player battling them simultaneously, which changes the formula quite a lot.
If that weren’t bad enough, one of them will eventually leap into a giant tentacled robot, while the other harasses you on the ground level. At this point, avoiding hits is practically impossible. As a tag-team, Mr. & Ms. Y are the real deal!
2 Mr. X
Regardless of what Streets Of Rage title you’re playing, Mr. X is sure to give you a tremendous headache. He’s aggressive, fast, brutish, and wields a machine gun which he’ll feed you if you get too close.
In Streets Of Rage 3, the baddie makes his final appearance as a brain controlling Robot Y. After a fierce battle involving a bomb countdown, Mr. X is put to the mat, once and for all. We hope it’s the last we’ve seen of him!
1 Rocky Bear
No other boss on this list is as difficult or maddening as Rocky Bear. This large boxer is both nimble and brutish, and he’s got a few attacks that are going to surprise first-time players.
In addition to hitting like a cinder block ejected out of a cannon, Rocky Bear can grab the player and headbutt repeatedly, or leap into the air and rain down a flying butt-drop. Whatever the case, dropping this punk is far more difficult than it looks!
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