Ben Fiquet, the Lizardcube CEO and Streets of Rage 4 art director, recently headed to the PlayStation Blog to show people how old favorites became new again in the latest entry in the beat’em up series. While both of the focus characters have been a part of the series since 1991’s Streets of Rage, the latest insights offer a better look at how the Streets of Rage 4 Blaze Fielding and Adam Hunter designs changed.
Fiquet began by looking at old and new Streets of Rage 4 Blaze designs. He noted that the goal was to try and callback to old staples in her many appearances, but also make her new. He showed old old character sprites that showed her in red outfits, specifically with a matching top and miniskirt. He also noted he made the exaggerated belt so it would look good when animated.
He noted:
My point of view is that she’s a strong, independent woman—a cop and a professional dancer who’s not afraid to clean up the streets in a tight skirt. I liked her jacket in the first episode, which gives her a more urban look, so I wanted to keep it—but in a more modern way.
Here are the Streets of Rage 4 Blaze designs. When sharing them, Fiquet noted each of the playable characters has around 1,000 frames of animation.
As for the Streets of Rage 4 Adam look, he pointed out how so many of his old designs, like his shoulder pads, “felt too anchored to the 80s.” He also said he tried to give him a jacket like a detective, but it didn’t work. However, he did keep the mysterious sunglasses for the look. He gave his moves a wolf motif, since Axel had a dragon, to act as a counterpart.
Streets of Rage 4 will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 30, 2020. It will have 17 playable characters.
