Street Smart (arcade game)

Street Smart
Japanese arcade flyer of Street Smart.
Developer(s)	SNK Playmore (Arcade) Treco (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Publisher(s)	SNK Playmore (Arcade) Treco (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Platform(s)	Arcade, Mega Drive/Genesis
Release	Arcade August 1989 Genesis/Mega Drive 1991
Genre(s)	Fighting game/Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	1 or 2 players
Cabinet	Upright
Display	Horizontal Raster

Street Smart (ストリートスマート^?) is a 1989 beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by SNK. The game's objective is to win money, girls and glory on the streets.

The gameplay is a beat 'em up where the player can move in all eight directions in an arena fight and the player can kick, punch or do special moves. Unlike most beat 'em ups, the players fight in an enclosed arena space. The player can choose to fight either as "Karate-Man", a martial arts expert with lightning quick moves, or "Wrestler" with a powerful punch. Street Smart contributes to the genre by adding co-operative multiplayer for team battles against boss characters; however, the players will always have a "Grudge Match" in the next round to determine who gets a bonus life/points, but the two players can play through the entire game together. It also contributes to the genre by adding a simple combo system, the first of its kind, in which players can make normal moves that become part of a string of attacks, much like in some beat 'em ups that predate it.

This arcade game was ported to the Genesis/Mega Drive in 1991, developed and published by Treco. The port uses fewer (though brighter) colors and, to compensate for the large sprites animating on screen, it features top and bottom black frames; the player's data is shown on the top bar, including a visible life bar for the opponent (which the arcade game lacks). The game implements a betting system where players can win money for winning a fight or throwing one (similar to the later PSP game The Con), as well as a new last boss. The Genesis/Mega Drive port lacks the two players vs. the CPU mode (two players only fought onscreen in the "Grudge Match" after each taking turns against a CPU opponent). This was done due to memory limitations of the system at the time. In the Genesis/Mega Drive port, "Karate Man" wears a red outfit instead of a white one. Both characters are also given a new spinning "power move" (by pressing all three buttons at once) that can take an enemy down in one hit but reduces the player's health. There are three endings to the game, depending upon if the players are broke or not when the final boss is defeated. Should players be "broke", the final image is that of the players in rags, sitting in the gutter. Attaining a respectable amount of money will see the character well dressed, in a fashionable car with an attractive girlfriend. If the character earns an outstanding amount of money (usually gained by gambling all winnings on the player to win before each round), he is shown as a made man with four girls, in an apartment full of money. A final difference between the Genesis/Mega Drive port and the arcade game lies in the console version's ability to grant the player "points" at the end of each successful match that can be assigned to character attributes. The player can gain a larger lifebar, greater speed or power, for example, so that the character will be much more deadly by the end of the game than at the beginning.