Streets of Rage 4 nearly had Shinobi’s Joe Musashi guest-starring

Red Tape is just the worst

If there’s one thing that gives Dotemu’s Streets of Rage 4 its beating heart, it’s the rad roster of heroes kicking names and taking ass on the mean streets on Oak Wood City. But a recent interview conducted by Twitch channel Gwak reveals that Blaze and pals nearly had some welcome help from a familiar face.

According to SoR 4 designer Jordi Asensio, the team at Guard Crush Games was eager to have numerous Sega stars turn up to the ruck as surprise guest characters. One referenced example is Joe Musashi, shuriken-flinging hero of classic arcades Shinobi and Shadow Dancer. Sadly, it seems there were just too many fingers in too many pies in regards to licensing, and Musashi was relegated to becoming some cool graffiti in the sewer stage.

I can’t help but think of who else might have shown up, rocking Lizardcube’s beautiful hand-drawn style. Imagine Golden Axe‘s Tyrus Flare, the wolf-headed dude from Altered Beast… Hell, I’d even take Alex Kidd and his giant fist. When it comes to the crunch, I’d rather have SoR 4‘s all-new combat cop Estel Aguirre over any of these guest stars. That’s my dream and I’m sticking with it.

Streets of Rage 4 is available now on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Streets of Rage 4: Shinobi could’ve been playable [DualShockers]