Streets of Rage 3 was developed and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in Japan in 1994 as the third entry in the Streets of Rage series, continuing directly from the story of Streets of Rage 2. The returning cast of Axel, Blaze, and Skate face off against the criminal syndicate boss Mr. X once again, now revealed to be plotting to replace the city’s key political figures with robotic doubles, in a noticeably darker, more urgent storyline than the previous two games. The game introduced a branching stage structure that let certain player choices and actions change which levels appeared later in the game and even which of several different endings players would reach, a rare feature for the genre at the time. Character movesets were expanded further, adding new special moves and a dash mechanic that gave combat a faster, more aggressive pace than its predecessors. Though its Western release was quietly handled and the game received a more divided reception at the time compared to the widely beloved Streets of Rage 2, Streets of Rage 3 has since been reassessed by many fans as a worthy, ambitious close to the original trilogy.