Choose a fighter and clear the opening streets
Build a first campaign around reliable attacks, careful pickup collection and a deliberate use of special moves.
Original 1992 Genesis / 1993 Mega Drive game. The Master System and Game Gear conversions and later-series special-attack recovery systems are outside this guide. Pickup and cast pictures preserve the original manual scan’s monochrome treatment.
Choose a fighter you can read
Use the original selection screen to compare the four fighters, then stay with one while learning the opening stage. Axel provides an approachable starting point, while Blaze, Max and Skate offer different movement and attack priorities. On the original default controls, B attacks, C jumps and A performs a special. Test those actions where the next enemy is visible, so every new input has a readable result.
Use a normal combo before spending health
Let an ordinary attacker approach from one side and practise a repeated B sequence at useful range. Watch the opposite side before committing to the whole animation. When the lane becomes crowded, change vertical position or throw an accessible enemy to make space. A special attack can interrupt a difficult surround, but learning that escape should not replace observing how the surround developed.
Collect a reward deliberately
Stand over a pickup and use the attack button to collect it when there is room to act. Breaking every container immediately can reveal food before anyone needs it, or leave the fighter exposed while reaching down. Identify the item first and let a hurt partner take the heal. Keep the stage timer in mind: an unneeded argument over a cash bag does not help either fighter reach the boss.
The portrait reference is an actual original selection screenshot reproduced in Sega’s monochrome instruction booklet, rather than newly drawn character art.
Picture details
Game artwork belongs to its respective rights holders.