In a 1991 interview with BEEP Mega Drive Magazine, the game's composer Yuzo Koshiro stated that he started writing the music for the game at the end of 1990. He often went dancing at clubs, and at the time, the scene was moving on from Eurobeat to a new trend: house music. Because Streets of Rage was a beat 'em up game, he wanted the music to be energetic and exciting, and initially thought about writing a rock soundtrack for the game. However, when he first tried using house music in the game, "it all clicked, and [he] thought it sounded really cool."