Streets of Rage/Awesome Music

The composer's name isn't on the title screen for nothing.

• How do you know that the soundtracks for the Streets of Rage series are all time classics? (Besides the fact that Yuzo Koshiro composed them) Well, lets start with the first game:
  • Best. Intro. Ever.
  • The catchy Player select theme.
  • Prepare to be Fighting in the Streets of Round 1.
  • Attack the Barbarian Boss!
  • Round Clear
  • Dilapadated Town of Round 2 may not be that awesome, but it is undeniable that it suits the gritty, crime-ridden, rundown neighborhood theme of the Round.
  • Hit the Moon Beach of Round 3.
  • Keep the Groovin' on the bridge of Round 4.
  • Cruisin' with the Beatnik on the Ship of Round 5.
  • Like Round 2, Stealthy Steps of Round 6 makes up by being thematically appropriate.
  • Throw the enemies out of the elevator to their deaths on Round 7 while listening to the Violent Breathing.
  • It is Round 8 and it is time for The Last Soul.
  • Prepare for the Final Boss fight, for Mr. X is not the Big Boss for no reason.
  • My Little Baby, the good ending theme, unless...
  • ...You took Mr. X's offer and You Became the Bad Guy!.
  • The unused tracks Up & Up, The Super Three and Name Entry.
  • The Official Soundtrack, despite being based on PC-88, is largely identical except for few little changes (the extended bit at the end of Intro theme for example). Still, the slight differences in instruments used may make the themes sound better for some. Also, it has five arranged tracks.
• And now for the fan-favorite, the second game:
  • Just Go Straight on Stage 1. Or listen to the Beatmix version in the sound test.
  • Beware the whip cracking lady In the Bar
  • Never Return Alive if you can't beat the boss.
  • Go for the Spin on the Bridge on Stage 2.
  • Hitch a ride while listening to Ready Funk
  • Dreamer from Stage 3. If only real life amusement park had this on the speakers...
  • Alien-themed set has Alien Power.
  • On Stage 4, we get to play baseball (with Bongos substituting for balls) with Under Logic on the speakers.
  • Going way too fast and way Too Deep on that secret elevator.
  • On Stage 5, we stowaway on the syndicate ship with the Slow Moon on the night sky.
  • We hit another beach on Stage 6 with the Wave 131 on the background.
  • Going deep into the Jungle Base.
  • Back to Industry on stage 7.
  • Expander by Motohiro Kawashima sets the mood for riding the elevator to the top.
  • Combining the Streets of Rage theme, You Became the Bad Guy!, The Last Soul and mixing them with SOR2's musical style, we get S.O.R. Super Mix, the theme of Stage 8.
  • Motohiro Kawashima delivers again with Shiva's theme Max Man.
  • Feel the Revenge of Mr. X. And Bullets in the face too.
  • Good Ending. That is all that is needed to be said.
  • Unused track Little Money Avenue
  • The Official Soundtrack, like the first one, is also almost identical. Like also with first one, different instruments, volumes, etc. can make it different, most obviously with the Spin on the Bridge.
• The music for the third game is hit and miss for most people, but it has some good tracks, and Motohiro Kawashima had bigger hand in composing it:
  • Yuzo Koshiro:
    • Kama de Coco.
    • Random Cross for chucking out annoying enemies out of the construction lift.
    • Ninja Samurai Boss Yamato gets his own theme, Shinobi Reverse.
    • Beat Ambiance in the ninja and martial artist filled tunnels.
    • Raving to Inga Rasen while you smash apart Dr. Dahm's machine.
    • Spinning Machine, the new player select theme.
  • Motohiro Kawashima:
    • Fuze, for bomb hunting.
    • Cycle I, for pier trashing.
    • The Poets II, as a warm up before Shiva.
    • Boss theme.
    • Dub Slash, which is what many consider to be this game's equivalent of Fighting In The Street and Go Straight, for kicking that Kangaroo slave driver.
    • Moon, leading to the encounter with fake Mr. X.
    • The Poets I, avenge the Chief/General by storming the City/White House.
    • Cycles II, back to industry.
  • The Official Soundtrack with the slight differences.
• As a sidenote, Yuzo Koshiro mixed the tracks as part of DJ gig.
• And of course, the many fan remixes, most notably the soundtrack for the Streets of Rage Remake. Notable originals and reworkings from Version 4:
  • Spin on the Bridge (Dance Mix) was so well-recieved that people expressed disappointment at it not being in game in the final version.
  • Baseball Stadium was a fan favorite as well.
  • This is the coolest Ferryboat I've ever ridden...
  • Secret Laboratory (Monster Gallery Mash Mix), when you discover the syndicate's twisted experiments.
  • Revenge of the Big Boss.
• ...and the Final Version 5 (get the tracks here for examples with no youtube links, no hotlinking):
  • For starters, does the Shop music sound familiar?
  • SMS Power, to fight biker punks and ninjas in a dangerous amusement park attraction.
  • Max Man II, following in the footsteps of SOR3...
  • Powering through the caves to Mr. X's secret laboratory? There's a Cycle III for that.
  • Tracks from the original games were greatly reworked and expanded here, such as:
    • Robo X
    • Crazy Train
    • The Atlas Club (probably misnamed, probably Dance Club)
    • Alien Power
    • Fuze
  • However, most are in agreement that SOR 3 Boss Theme only needed a minor upgrade. B)