Streets of Rage 4 proved to be a very pleasant surprise when it was announced earlier this year. DotEmu's sequel is being crafted by Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap developer Lizardcube as well as Guard Crush Games, makers of Streets of Fury.

Streets of Rage 4 (December 2018 Screens) 6 IMAGES

Dig this new combat animation gif from Streets of Rage 4!

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Of course, Axel and Blaze return as the player characters, and the original visual style has been retained but of course, modernized as a hand-drawn animated look. Take a look at six new screens that DotEmu sent along:They also sent along a gif of a combat animation. Take a look!Finally, if you missed the original announcement trailer for Streets of Rage 4, here's that:Streets of Rage 4 is the last of the 16 "Games to Watch" we've exclusively looked at this month as part of IGN First. Take a look at what we got for the other 15 right here

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Platforms. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan , catch him on Unlocked , and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.