Import From SOR2 ROM

The Character Editor can extract character data straight out of a Streets of Rage 2 ROM, giving you original sprites, animations and timing as a starting point.

Compatibility

Only ROM hacks built on the US/western Streets of Rage 2 ROM are supported.

Not supported:

  • The Japanese version, Bare Knuckle 2.
  • Heavily rearranged hacks such as Streets of Rage 2 Syndicate Wars.

If import produces garbled sprites or fails outright, the ROM's base version is the first thing to check.

Accepted file extensions: .bin, .gen, .md, .smd, in any letter case (SOR2.BIN works). Interleaved .smd copier dumps are converted on load. A file without a Genesis ROM header is refused with a message rather than imported as garbage.

How to Import

Drop the ROM anywhere on the Character Editor window, including the preview or the animation list. What happens next depends on the mode:

Mod mode — the editor reads the ROM and shows a character selection dialog. Filter by Players, Enemies, or Items, then choose the entity to import.

The entity you pick determines the new character's Entity Type — Player, Enemy, or Item — and therefore how the game spawns and controls it.

Classic Reskin mode — the editor asks which player skin to import: Max, Axel, Blaze, Skate, or All Players. Each is saved to the matching classic replacement slot under Entity Replacements/Classic.

What You Get

In Mod mode, import creates a character folder containing:

  • Numbered sprite PNGs.
  • Sprite settings with pivots and scale.
  • Animation definitions.
  • Logic defaults and reference information.
  • An entity type based on the imported classic entity.

In Classic Reskin mode, import creates or updates a classic replacement folder with the extracted sprites and animation frame lists, while the replacement stays tied to Classic reference logic.

Everything imported remains editable. You can replace sprites, rename animations, adjust pivots, edit boxes where local logic applies, add logic events, assign audio, and set the icon and portrait.

Choosing the Right Mode

Mod mode — when you want a faithful original as a starting point for a new entity that you will then modify.

Classic Reskin mode — when you want sprites from a ROM hack to replace Max, Axel, Blaze or Skate while the original Classic gameplay stays exactly as it is.

Note that ROM import is a custom-art workflow, not a sprite-reuse one. The imported sprites are copied into your character as its own art; you do not need Use Sprites from, and setting it would mean something different. See Mod Characters vs Classic Reskin.

After Importing

Work through, in order: Animations and Frames, Pivots and Offsets, Body and Hit Boxes, and Behaviour Modes.

Related pages: Create/Open Characters, Import Sprites.