Y Island is the twelfth and final stage from Streets of Rage 4. It's the secret hideout of Mr. Y and Ms. Y, which houses their massive castle dedicated to their father and schemes. A massive energy shield acts as camouflage to hide it from the outside world.
Story[]
After defeating Mr. Y inside his airplane, Floyd tells him to give up and surrender. Infuriated, Mr. Y jumps out of the airplane while shooting its controls, which causes it to crash and land at the secret hideout of the Y Twins: the Y Island. Severely injured, the heroes get up and must go through the fortress in order to finally put an end to the new Y Syndicate.
Enemy List[]
On higher difficulties, enemy density is higher and other variants may appear.
- Jonathan / Joseph / Brash
- Caramel / Candy
- Bronze
- Sparrow
- Z
- B. Signal
- Big Ben / Gourmand / Anry
- Shadow
- Baabo
- Mr. X (Retro Mini-Boss)
- Ms. Y (Boss)
- Mr. Y (Boss)
- Zeebo / Fuubo (Boss; Mania+)
- Y Mecha Throne (Final Boss)
Overview[]
After the Crash[]
The player will start injured, with 50% of their health remaining (but the other 50% as "green health", that can be recovered by damaging enemies), after Mr. Y crashes the airplane on the island. The player will walk through a narrow path where they'll be ambushed by Jonathans, Brashs and Josephs (wielding knives). This is the perfect moment to recover all the green health back up.
A bit ahead, the player will walk through a long path that leads to the entrance of the Y Castle. A common strategy here, especially at higher difficulties, is to pick one of the knives used by the Josephs, position the character at the middle of the path, and throw it forward; if done correctly, the player will be able to hit Candy, who is waiting all the way forward, near the gates to the castle. This is often done to deal with her alone rather than against other enemies.
Once the player progress through the path, they'll face various Caramels, Garnets and Saphyrs. If the player didn't dispose of Candy earlier with the strategy above, she'll be found further, alongside with more Caramels. Before entering the castle, the player can destroy the various motorbicycles to get health items, points items and a Power Star.
The Y Castle Fortress' Main Hall[]
After entering the gate, the player will find themselves at the bridge. At the end there'll be some Bronzes; once one of them is defeated, two Sparrows will appear from the right side. The player should be careful to not let enemies spread out too much, or else they'll be barraged by bullets from the Bronzes while the Sparrows will use their long range flying knee attacks to overwhelm the player. A common strategy here is to save one of the knives from the start of the stage and throw at one of the Bronzes to pick him out individually.
As the player enters the castle fortress, they can destroy the armors for health items, and one of them contains a sword. The player can also find chandeliers attached to ropes; if the rope is cut, it'll drop the chandelier, dealing massive damage to enemies below. The player can dispatch of Z and Sparrow, which will be found once the player walks a bit inside the castle. After that, waves of Z, Jonathan and Blue Signal will appear.
Once the player progresses a bit further, Baabo will drop from the ceiling (two on Mania+). Unlike Koobo, he performs quick and short leaps as opposed to a huge one offscreen; jumping at the right timing allows the player to dodge it. As the player attackes Baabo, groups of Z will appear to attack the player. This is one of the hardest gauntlets in the game, especially at later difficulties as the Z horde will be wielding morning stars, and since Baabo can spawn them indefinitely, Z will always have a weapon at hand. In case things go south, the player may use their Star Power to help clear the area. Once defeated, the player can go upstairs, to the Y Lab.
Retro Mini-Boss: Mr. X (Mania+ only)[]
If playing on Mania+, a cursed arcade cabinet will be located at the top right side of the screen before facing Baabo. Destroying it will spawn Mr. X (in his first Streets of Rage version). It's strongly recommend to break the cabinet before engaging against the two Baabos, as the player will get quickly overwhelmed, especially once the Z horde appears. The player can throw some of the weapons carried by the Z and Jonathans to destroy the cabinet from afar, and bait Mr. X to go to the player. Avoid moving too much to the right so Kaabo doesn't spawn. If Mr. X starts shooting, simply jump to gain invincibility frames, and wait until he attempts to approach to melee. If the player faces their back to Mr. X, he's more likely to close in to attempt a melee attack.
The Y Lab and Control Room[]
The next area is filled with cables and various computer screens, displaying the plans of the Y Twins and their mind-controlling machines. Once the player enters the room, various Shadows will appear. They can be difficult to deal due to their high speed and poke potential with the Shurikens. By moving up and down in the Y-Axis, the player can potentially avoid the shurikens and close the gap.
After clearing the waves of Shadows, the player will find themselves at another gauntlet, facing waves of heavyweights:
- The first wave contains Big Ben, Gourmand and Heart (two of each on higher difficulties).
- The second wave contains Big Ben (three on higher difficulties).
- The third wave contains Gourmand (three on higher difficulties).
- The fourth wave contains Heart (three on higher difficulties).
After that, the player can proceed to the throne room.
Boss: Ms. Y[]
- Main article: Ms. Y#Boss Fight
If playing on co-op, Shadows will periodically appear as Ms. Y's health is lowered. On Mania+, Ms. Whatever and Ms. What will appear once Ms. Y reaches 70% and 50% health, respectively.
Once Ms. Y reaches 10% health, she'll flee, and the player can chase after her.
Bosses: Ms. Y and Mr. Y[]
- Main article: Mr. Y#Boss Fight
Both Ms. Y and Mr. Y will be using their abilities from phase 2, and will often attempt to flank the player. It is recommended to focus on Mr. Y while keeping Ms. Y at bay.
Final Boss: Y Mecha Throne[]
- Main article: Y Mecha#Boss Fight
On Mania+, Zeebo and Fuubo will appear, making the fight much more difficult. Ideally, the player should save all their Star Power charges for this fight and spam them once all enemies are close. The arms of the mech will take damage individually, meaning that damaging them simultaneously results in more damage to the mech.
Trivia[]
- "Ms. Y" boss theme was composed by Yuzo Koshiro.
- "Next Of Kin Showdown" final boss theme was composed by Das Mörtal.
- In the manor's hallway, giant stained glass depict Mr. X (based on his Streets of Rage 2 sprite) and some of his robotic creations, such as the P-Robot and the X-Robot.
- At the final boss arena, an image of Mr. X (based on his Streets of Rage 2 sprite) can be seen on the ground.