Timestamps below and in comments.
The new patch for Streets of Rage 4 dropped recently and, in my own personal opinion, it has made the game way more fun. Mania+ is crazy at times but I love the new additions. Boss fights have stronger goons to help them now, which make the fights far more interesting. There are also ghost arcades which drop a star when the enemy is defeated. They can be pain if activated at the wrong time, but if planned properly for, can boost your score and the extra star can help quite a bit.
I played as Max and he is honestly one of my favorite characters. I started off trying to clear the game with his original moveset, but I was not having much luck. After switching to some alternate moves, I got the clear quite quickly. Spinning Knuckle Bomb (SKB) has been buffed in v8 and is really strong now - great invincibility range, and it wall bounces. Rolling grab can be used grouping enemies together. The green health can recovered quickly and safely when using one of Max's powerful invincible grabs - you will se me use this a lot in the video. Thunder Strike can hit downed opponents to put them in a juggle state and bring them closer to the wall - I use this quite successfully in the Ms Y fight. And Max's alternate Star move, Iron Will, grants complete invincibility allowing you to just pound opponents without any fear. A sounds strategy can be to repeatedly use SKB, then activate Iron Will to get the green health back. The move also allows to keep the combo counter up to get those points, which are of course important for extra lives.
The run is not perfect, and I made a few mistakes, but overall I am quite satisfied. I will probably try out Floyd soon.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:00 - Character Select
00:02:10 - Stage 1 The Streets
00:08:48 - Stage 1 Boss Diva
00:10:34 - Stage 2 Police Precinct
00:16:18 - Stage 2 Boss Commissioner
00:18:27 - Stage 3 Cargo Ship
00:22:29 - Stage 3 Boss Nora
00:23:50 - Stage 4 Old Pier
00:28:09 - Stage 4 Boss Estel
00:29:43 - Stage 5 The Underground
00:36:20 - Stage 5 Boss Barbon
00:37:37 - Stage 6 Chinatown
00:47:00 - Stage 6 Boss Shiva
00:49:01 - Stage 7 Skytrain
00:51:15 - Stage 7 Boss Estel
00:53:04 - Stage 8 Art Gallery
01:00:00 - Stage 8 Boss Beyo & Rina
01:01:21 - Stage 9 Y Tower
01:07:53 - Stage 9 Boss Max
01:09:20 - Stage 10 to the Concert
01:14:44 - Stage 10 Boss DJ K Washi
01:16:02 - Stage 11 The Airplane
01:23:58 - Stage 11 Boss Mr Y
01:25:31 - Stage 12 Y Island
01:33:44 - Stage 12 Boss Ms Y
01:35:50 - Stage 12 Boss Ms Y & Mr Y
01:36:50 - Ending & Credits
