Raging Justice Reviews
There’s plenty of fun to be had if you turn off your nostalgia goggles, but there’s little denying Raging Justice doesn’t do an awful lot else to escape from that particular shadow.
Overall, Raging Justice is a lackluster delivery of a beat ’em up game. It looks like a beat ’em up and sort of plays like one, but it carries over the mistakes of the past and even ramps them up in some cases. If you’re really into beat ’em ups and are frothing at the mouth for a new game in the long-abandoned genre, then go ahead. Otherwise, steer clear and save yourself the disappointment, since there are ways to go about replaying old classics and, at the end of the day, those are all you’ll really need.
As a massive Streets of Rage 2 fan (still my favourite game of all time) I have been looking forward to play Raging Justice from the second I learned of its existence. Now while I can’t say that this knocks SoR2 of the top spot (the nostalgia alone meant it never had a chance), what Raging Justice does do is bring the forgotten genre into the modern day and it does it well. With the addition of challenges and the GoodCop/BadCop system, MakinGames have added longevity to a game that is short by design (as most brawlers were). There are some annoyances such as those mentioned previously, along with some collision detection issues involving a steel girder that manages to hit you whether or not you’re actually under it when it comes down. Also some of the boss fights feel needlessly drawn out due to the small window given to inflict damage during the gameplay loop (boss is vulnerable for a short time, boss becomes invulnerable during his attacks, boss calls for gang of regular enemies then sits in the corner, invulnerable again, while you take them out, repeat). These niggles aside, Raging Justice is just pure fun. It harkens back to the classics that inspired it while adding enough to give it it’s own identity. Its simple gameplay combined with its challenges and leaderboards give it the “one more go” factor that will keep genres fans coming back for more. Even for those who haven’t played this type of game, there’s plenty of fun to be had. As my non gaming wife put it, after we played through the campaign, “it’s repetitive but addictive” and who am I to argue with her?
As a throwback to an arcade favourite, Raging Justice does a decent enough job to provide you with the short and shallow candy fix that made the genre appealing in the first place. It may be ugly in design, in a 90s 3D model pre-rendered kind of way, but it does have a plasticine charm to it all to make it visually stand out.
Raging Justice is ridiculous fun which is, at its heart, just an updated version of Streets Of Rage. It's dumb, entertaining and well made, even if it can be horrifically hard.
A retro-style beat 'em up without the retro charm, Raging Justice attempts to bring a dormant genre back to life with mixed results. Unfortunately, it just isn't as much fun as you'd hope it would be. So near, and yet so far, you'll be yearning for Streets of Rage in no time at all.
Raging Justice is a good brawler that flies on the wings of nostalgia. It doesn't invent new mechanics for the genre, but it is a solid game. The grapichs looks very bizzarre and maybe pre-renderend 3D models are not the right choice for this kind of games.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you're looking for something substantive or something that doesn't have vexing controls and frustrating moments, this doesn't deliver that. What you see is what you get. No more no less.
Erring on just the right side of trashy, Raging Justice doesn't break any significant new ground for the side-scrolling brawler but it succeeds as an entertaining effort all the same.
There are enough surprises and moments of goofy fun (enemies need to beware of the lawnmower) that Raging Justice manages to both honor and at least marginally improve on the many genre classics that came before it. That said, consider when you’re going in what you’re looking to get out of it. The more of a genre fan you are and looking forward to matching up against your friends on the leaderboards the better a purchase it will be. If you’re just out to “beat it” and move on it may be a bit more iffy, though if you’ve got a friend to lay the smack down with that could also skew more to the positive on that added fun factor alone. Raging Justice very clearly was created with a specific objective in mind, and for the most part it seems to have hit that mark in spades. How wide an audience that makes it ideal for is a fair question.
Raging Justice takes what you love about classic brawlers and marries it with current day sensibilities. With multiple difficulty levels and settings, leaderboards, and extra stage challenges, there’s more to this game than meets the eye. While it doesn’t do anything revolutionary for the genre, it’s still a great deal of fun and well worth your $15.
Aside from the disappointing lack of playable characters, Raging Justice is an impressive blast from the past that puts a forgotten style of fighting game on center stage and shows why it's still fun all these years later. It's a fighting game you'll love.
Has Raging Justice lived up to my expectations? Mostly, yes.
A charming homage to Streets Of Rage and other scrolling beat 'em-ups, but it doesn't overcome the genre's limitations and manages to add a few of its own.
Raging Justice isn't going to win any awards for originality or narrative depth, but it succeeds in picking up the often neglected scrolling fighter, dusting it off and sending it out with a fresh pair of clothes and some new ideas. The extra buttons are put to good use, giving you a wide array of offensive options when you're in the thick of things, and the ability to arrest enemies adds a layer of strategy to the otherwise mindless action. When played solo the game is perhaps a little too unforgiving to recommend to everyone, but when you rope in a second player it becomes one of the most enjoyable multiplayer experiences on Switch; working together to clean up the streets is fun, but you won't be able to resist occasionally stabbing your ally in the back, just for old time's sake.
There's so much wrong with Raging Justice that it's easy to forget that it's not completely unbearable. It's an average romp through arcade-like levels and while the key gimmick doesn't hit a home run, it at least is fitting with the theme. That said, this does sadly come off as a cheap imitator that misses the mark more often than not, and as I eluded to earlier, that hurts for me to say.
Mediocre spiritual successor to Streets of Rage which can be a lot of fun despite its flaws, especially in co-op. It will not surprise any fan of the genre, though.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Raging Justice harkens back to the side scrolling beat-em ups of old such as Streets of Rage and Final Fight whilst brandishing sprite animations in vein of the Original Mortal Kombat series
Raging Justice is a blast from the past. It's very entertaining and fun to play with friends. It only takes about an hour or two to beat, depending on the difficulty level. The number of enemies to conquer in single player can be overwhelming and frustrating. But if you are a fan of the genre, then I definitely think you should try it out.
If we focus on Raging Justice solely as a Beat 'em up, it is not exactly the most original experience with a terrible art style. Despite that, it is still a fun multiplayer game that is good for passing time if you are in the mood for it.