Team17 has announced that Raging Justice - the upcoming beat-'em-up created by ex-Rare developer, MakinGames, will be hitting Nintendo Switch on 8th May. If that's not enough good news for you, we've been checking the game out for ourselves to share our initial thoughts with you lovely lot! A pretty good day, then.
With crime, corruption, and wave after wave of bad guys around every corner, it’s all down to a team of hard-hitting, justice-seeking mavericks (and you), to clean up the streets with some brutally tough justice. The game is a classic beat-‘em-up with a polished, modern looking aesthetic that sees you fighting your way through various 2D environments.


Right from the off, we instantly realised that this game is no walk in the park. Plonking ourselves onto the 'Normal' difficulty setting, we imagined ourselves breezing through each wave, knocking opponents senseless along the way, but reality soon washed over proceedings, bringing with it a realisation that this game is seriously tough. Walking and dashing along a 2D screen, with the ability to edge slightly forwards and backward from the camera, too, you'll be punching, kicking, grabbing, and throwing various items such as knives, baseball bats, and bins at your opponents, but they put up more than a good fight.
A combo move is available by hitting the 'X' and 'Y' buttons simultaneously, resulting in a fancy, powerful attack, but perhaps the most interesting mechanic in play is the 'arrest' function. If you manage to stun an opponent, during which time they'll wearily hover on the spot, you can choose to arrest them rather than brutally kick them in the face some more. Doing this results in them being taken out of the game and leaving a giant sandwich behind (obviously), which can restore some of your precious health. This means that you can either go all-out for high-scores with constant attacks, or sacrifice some points for a health boost.

We had a go with two of the three available characters (the third of these was announced today), and there are noticeable differences between them in their speed and power, enabling you to pick your favourite based on their feel. A 'Brawl' mode is also available, which is essentially an endless horde setup tasking you with waves of increasingly difficult enemies, and all of this content can be played either solo, or in local co-op. Be warned, however, because an optional friendly-fire setting could leave your friendship in tatters as you accidentally knock each other to the floor!
With some fiendishly tough gameplay, and some even tougher boss fights, we can see fans of the genre's classics falling in love all over again here if everything continues in a similar vein. We'll make sure to give the game a proper beating when it launches next month to bring you the definitive verdict.
So, what do you think? Will Raging Justice be bringing maximum brutality to your Switch in a months' time? Make sure to let us know if you'll be grabbing a copy!
Comments 45
Interesting! Definitely keeps track of this. That said I do hope the game looks better in motion/in person. The screenshots put me off a little and I'm not entirely sure why.
I can't wait for this game!
I am so ready for this game. Love side scrolling Beatemups and this looks to be a wonderful throw back to the past.
Love this SoR style game. I'll be picking it up, if the price & content are right.
I love the genre so will give this a go. But it still hurts Sega pulled a C&D on Streets of Rage Remake because for me 2D pixel art done right will always top other art styles.
@abe_hikura My guess would be the apparent over-simplified animation. Too few frames of movement are making it look like a flash game.
no no no nope
@Shiryu check out fight n rage on steam.
@YANDMAN I have it on my wish list for some months now. Check out River City Ransom Underground.
I'm watching this even though I think the game is ugly. But I also think it's intentional.
@GrailUK ya, I'm sure it's intentionally having that cheesy stiff feel, just with somewhat updated graphics...just paying homage to Beat em Ups of the 90s.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: it would have been nice if they would have aimed higher. This looks like it has mountains of potential, but while they should be aiming for Final Fight, they seem to be settling for Combatribes.
Everything about the gameplay seems very low rent.
Not buying unless I can play as the stuffed bear on a tractor.
Love the Bear with a shotgun lol
I can't really decide whether this is charmingly kitsch or just ugly. /:^)
Reminds me of Final Fight. Definitely on my wish list. I'm hoping for a good review-fingers crossed. Physical copy or digital or both?
Pretty excited for this love an old skool scrolling beat em up , Die hard arcade on the Saturn had an arrest feature could get you out of a sticky sometimes conserving energy for a boss fight
Very interesting.
Dunno why but when I look of it I think of a beat 'em up version of Clayfighter...
Yeah like others on here, I'm excited to try this but hopefully it looks better in action. The still pictures make the art style look a little off. But maybe when in full motion it looks better.
The arrest mechanic sounds like Doom where you stun the enemy and go in for a melee kill for health drops. I grew up on beat em ups so I'll give this a try.
Recently cashed in gold coins and got Sengoku 3 for $1.47. Went in completely cold, other than knowing it was in the conversation for one of the best Neo-Geo titles. I may have unknowingly rendered all other beat-em-ups obsolete...
I wonder what will end up being better, this or the similar looking The Takeover.
This kinda sounds like a more modern take on a Double Dragon style beat'em'up. And yes, even know that is the game I think about with this genre. Or is it more like TNMT on the SNES?
@Heavyarms55 It more closely resembles Final Fight or Streets of Rage, but these games too have similarities with Double Dragon.
The part with the motor cycles is definitely a straight tribute to/rip-off from Streets of Rage, though.
@Shiryu Have you ever tried Beats of Rage on the PC? It's the freeware version of the engine that Streets of Rage 3 was built with, and it is available with all kinds of mods, including the original remake. It's not official, but it's free, and it's pretty damn decent to play.
Just look up BoR Engine, and you'll find plenty of versions and mods, that'll easily scratch that itch. There's even versions for the Wii and Wii U...
@ThanosReXXX That's a game I have heard of many times but never played myself. Thanks for the info!
@Heavyarms55 You're welcome. Here's some footage of both Final Fight and Streets of Rage 3, to give you an even better idea of the similarities and differences. You'll also notice that the claymation/quirky animation that people are talking about, is intentional, as a sort of a tribute to these original side scrolling beat em ups. I for one think it's delightfully cheesy and it definitely takes me back to those days when I played these for the first time decades ago.
@Shiryu yeah i've never been the biggest river city fan. Fight N Rage only ever drops a couple of pounds in value so you've just gotta jump on it. It really is fantastic.
Finally we're at a digitized render-look and a resolution that can stand the test of time.
@Fake-E-Lee

Not digging the animations AT ALL. Look so fake.
@ThanosReXXX Yes I am aware of Beats of Rage and the subsequent BOR engine that would ignite an infinite number of fan dream projects. Solid stuff. But man... Streets of Rage Remake was simply on its own level.
Look at it! it's glorious! I believed Sega was doing the C&D in order to actually publish it at retail (and yes, I would buy it in a heartbeat!) but alas, 2018 and we still got nothing...
@Shiryu Oh, you mean this little game here?

Not to worry, my friend. It's still quite available, just not for consoles.
So, as long as you don't mind playing on PC, you can grab it here.
Another good option is the M.U.G.E.N fighting engine, also for PC. Most of the assets are based upon Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom and Fatal Fury.
Don't know if you know about that one, but it is even more versatile than the BoR Engine. If you want to know more, you can find dozens of videos on YouTube, and a bit of Googling will provide you with more than enough download locations.
@ThanosReXXX I still have SoRR v.05 installed on all my windows PCs. Ah yes, I am too familiar with Mugen as well, I had a lot of fun adding custom characters to my own build of the game, even went as far as rip SNES sprites and add them to the engine. Nothing to the professional level as some of the games out there, but a fun and learning experience none the less.
professional beat em up gamer.
ogo79 has spoken
@ogo79 Hey could you name your top 20 beat em ups of all time? (or 10 if you can't name 20) I read on another thread that you're a beat em up expert on this site and I wanted some good recommendations
@Oat
my problem is i love them all. lol
ghost chaser densei for snes/sfc is great.
this thread has a lot of my suggestions too:
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/retro/your_favorite_beat_em_ups_of_all_time
@ogo79 Thanks! I wish the beat em up genre would make a revival
@Oat
it is...the switch is doing just that. plus for nes you got almost hero and for genesis coffee crisis on carts...
@ogo79 Oh I meant like I wish more devs would make new beat em ups ala final fight and streets of rage. Streets of red is great but I want more indies to take a crack at the beat em up genre
@Oat
@ogo79 Oh my god! How have I not heard of this before now!? ogo79 coming in with the christmas presents all the way in April. Thanks a bunch for showing me this
@Oat you should join the discussion in that link i showed you and/or join the forums to talk about beat em ups.
@ogo79 alright I'll join it right now. thanks!
@Oat
no problem
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...