Discography of The Streets of Rage Series - Streets of Rage 2 Soundtrack

Streets of Rage 2 Soundtrack

The soundtrack for 1992 video game Streets of Rage 2 is the least difficult Streets of Rage soundtrack to find, having been released in the United States. The tracks on this soundtrack are identical to the Japanese CD soundtrack known as Bare Knuckle II. It was mostly composed and played by Yuzo Koshiro, with a few tracks also composed by Motohiro Kawashima. The soundtrack is said to be one of Koshiro's greatest and it shows the power of the 16-bit Mega Drive/Genesis's YM2612 sound chip. The music was described by Koshiro as "hard-core techno." The game has also been noted as one of the first video games where the composer's name, Yuzo Koshiro, appears on the title screen.

The soundtrack was influenced by electronic dance music, specifically house, techno, hardcore techno, progressive techno, breakbeat, The soundtrack for Streets of Rage 2 (1992) is considered "revolutionary" and ahead of its time, for its "blend of swaggering house synths," "dirty" electro-funk and "trancey electronic textures that would feel as comfortable in a nightclub as a video game."

Square Enix Music Online praised the soundtrack for having "some of the baddest beats ever to grace a video game soundtrack" and its creative use of the Mega Drive/Genesis's limited sound chip, such as "panning in the left and right speakers" to keep "the melodic material briskly moving forward" in the first stage "Go Straight" track. "In the Bar" has been described as "dreamy" blues-influenced piece with "a briskly walking bassline" and "a semi-improvisational feel that adds a jazz mystique." The boss theme "Never Return Alive" is described as an "insane piece" where the "saw wave drills into your mind and serves as a nice synopative measure to keep the edgy nature of the musical material intact throughout the piece's duration." The second stage "Spin on the Bridge" track, described as "hip hop on crack," has been praised for its "absolutely wicked breakbeats!" "Dreamer" has been described as a "dream-like" track with electronica arpeggiations, ethereal tones, and trance elements. "Alien Power" has been described as trip hop with "a bit of ethnic drum percussion," giving it a "strange and a bit creepy" feel. "Slow Moon" has been praised for its funk and call-and-response elements. "Jungle Base" has been described as a hard-hitting dance song. Another stand-out track is the seventh stage "Expander" theme, which was largely composed by Motohiro Kawashima and has been praised as a hard-hitting track with "raunchy synth bass, panning synths," and fast tempo. "Too Deep" has been described as an ambient track, though with sound effects that "sound like a ringing phone."