If you've been looking for an excuse to revisit Streets of Rage 2, then today's your lucky day.
The prolific ROM hacker and "retro mad scientist" BillyTime!Games has just released a brand new IPS patch for the classic 1992 sidescrolling beat 'em up, which adds a simple levelling system to the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis game to mix things up a bit.
With the patch installed, players will start out as normal with the typical amount of strength and the exact same resistance to damage but will then be able to gain a new level every 100,000 points to raise these attributes further. Each successive level increases the player's strength and resistance by one, with these bonuses lasting until they run out of lives.
For now, the patch is available to download from ROM Hack Plaza for you to try out. Notably, it is also compatible with BillyTime!Games excellent Streets of Rage 2 randomizer patch from last November, should you want to alter your game even further.