Art Gallery is the eighth stage from Streets of Rage 4.
Story[]
After defeating Estel once again atop of the skytrain, Blaze attempts to talk some sense into the police officer, explaining how the Y Syndicate is corrupting the city and the police, and how they plan to take control of the population. Estel decides to listen this time, but before she can say anything Mr. Y appears in a helicopter, and orders Murphy to shoot the train with a rocket launcher. Estel tells Murphy not to, as there are civilians aboard, to which Mr. Y angrily replies that he doesn't take orders from anyone, and shoots the train himself, blowing it up. The heroes found themselves in front of the art gallery, injured.
Enemy List[]
On higher difficulties, enemy density is higher and other variants may appear.
- Victoria / Elizabeth / Margaret
- Lou
- Galsia / B.T. / Jonathan
- Donovan / Altet
- Raven / Condor
- G. Signal
- Shiva & Mr. X (Retro Bosses)
- Robot X (Mania+)
- Beyo & Riha (Bosses)
- Diva (Boss; Mania+)
Overview[]
After the Crash[]
The player will start injured, with 70% of their health remaining (but 30% as "green health", that can be recovered by damaging enemies). Before entering the art gallery, there will be three explosive barrels nearby, and Victoria will appear, lobbing explosive vials at the player. After the player defeats one, more will appear from both sides of the screen. It is important to deal enough damage to them in order to fully recover the green health.
Into the Art Gallery[]
Once the player steps inside, they'll find Galsia and Donovan in front of a Golden Chicken atop of a exhibitor; destroying it allows the player to pick the Golden Chicken and throw it at enemies (which deals the highest damage of all weapons in the game). Lou will also be among them, but being a corrupt cop, he won't attack the thugs. As soon the player engages, Donovans, Altets, Victorias and more Lous will appear.
Continuing further, Galsia and Jonathan will be on the way, and the player will find themselves at a large room. On higher difficulties, it's recommend to thread carefully, as enemies will spawn as the player advances. Elizabeths, Lous and various Condors will appear from the right side. Progressing a bit further will cause more Condors to spawn, this time from the left side, alongside some Ravens. G. Signal can be found near a water filter, which contains a turkey.
As the player progress through the corridor, two Lous will be on the way. The next room is a large, pink-themed area, where various Margarets will appear, throwing grenades. The player can stay still as they throw and catch them in the air, throwing them back at Margaret. Later, a combination of Margaret, Elizabeth and Victoria will appear, alongside a couple of Lous.
After defeating them and going through the final corridor, the player will be ambushed by B.T.s from the left side and Donovans from the right, before encountering a single Altet near the counter, as a Margaret appears from behind and lobs a grenade. Hitting the card payment machine at the counter will drop a bonus point item.
The player can then proceed to the next area, which is the storage room, filled with Golden Chickens; if the player managed to bring the Golden Chicken from the start of the stage to this room, they're awarded with an achievement / trophy. An arcade cabinet is found at the left top side, and can be hit with a taser hidden behind the foreground boxes. If playing with either version of Shiva or Roo, the secret level can be accessed by using a Defensive Special Attack on the cabinet.
Retro Mini-Bosses: Shiva & Mr. X[]
This is the last retro hidden level in the game, and plays exactly like the final encounter in Streets of Rage 2. The player will fight small waves of Galsias and Donovans, and after Shiva will leap into the fight. Much like his modern counterpart, he's very fast and elusive, and will always counter aerial attacks with his Flaming Circular Kick, and may also use his own powerful flying kick. The player can knock him down and run to the other side of the screen to avoid his powerful advances while under get up super armor.
Once defeated, Mr. X will step up, and never ending waves of Galsias and Donovans will appear. He'll often move to one of the sides of the screen and shoot in all directions using his Tommy Gun. On Mania+, he'll also be joined by two Robot X, being the hardest retro fight in the game. Defeating the Mania+ version awards two Power Stars instead of one.
Boss: Beyo & Riha[]
- Main article: Diva#Boss Fight (Beyo & Riha)
On Mania+, Diva will also appear once one of the bosses reaches around 50% health.
Trivia[]
The sculpture referencing Paul McCarthy's controversy.
- "Double Divas" boss theme was composed by Motohiro Kawashima.
- Taking the Golden Chicken to the boss room awards the player with the achievement / trophy "Family Reunion".
- In the boss room, a Picasso-inspired painting of Roo can be seen in the background.
- The receptionist seen ducking behind the counter before entering the boss room his the only friendly NPC seen in-game.
- Also in the boss room, there is a large purple sculpture with a sign attached to it, which reads "Shipping Paris". This is a reference to the inflatable sculpture made by American artist Paul McCarthy in 2014 and installed in Paris in 2014. The sculpture was vandalized and the artist himself was assault by the residents of Paris, after a flurry of outrage in the city, with claims that the art piece resembled a type of sex toy.[1]