[ongoing project] Playing all versus fighters - chronologically!

[Leon Retro]

Battle Blaze (SNES)

This was a mistake.

It's similar to the arcade game 'Fighting Fantasy', but even worse in all departments.

A truly terrible SNES game.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Battle Blaze (SNES)

This was a mistake.

Should've played Weaponlord instead, no?

[Samuray]

It's similar to the arcade game 'Fighting Fantasy', but even worse in all departments.

A truly terrible SNES game.

Never heard of "Fighting Fantasy" but hopefully I'll be able to give that one a try one day!

Arcade exclusives are a problem because I don't want to start with collecting PCBs...I can't solder for the life of me, and they're expensive and not easy to store. My budget is used up with console gaming anyway. It's kind of painful because there are so many arcade exclusive beat'em ups and shmups, and apparently some fighters too. I may break my "no emulation" stance for this, sometime in the future....maybe.
Would have to be a dedicated MAME box though, I don't even own a PC.

Should've played Weaponlord instead, no?

.....I don't know that one either! Shocking, apparently!
Well, I've heard that name before, now that you mention it....but maybe there was a reason I never felt compelled to acquire it. Is the home port pretty bad, maybe? Or is it single-player focused as well?

[BigDeadFreak]

A truly terrible SNES game.

I always think of the SNES as having such a high quality library so that sentence just seems wrong. I know there were some terrible games but whenever I think of the console it's as this AAA monster.

[Nu-Eclipse]

.....I don't know that one either! Shocking, apparently!
Well, I've heard that name before, now that you mention it....but maybe there was a reason I never felt compelled to acquire it. Is the home port pretty bad, maybe? Or is it single-player focused as well?

Weaponlord wasn't originally a coin-op - it was only developed for consoles, namely the SNES/SFC and MD/Genesis.

I don't know that saying it is better than Battle Blaze is much of a compliment but it is notable for featuring many gameplay elements that later appeared in Soul Edge, which Namco released soon after.

[Leon Retro]

Arcade exclusives are a problem because I don't want to start with collecting PCBs...

I personally wouldn't collect PCBs because I don't like the look of them - and they take up a lot of storage space. But I can sort of understand why some people like having PCBs.

I always think of the SNES as having such a high quality library so that sentence just seems wrong. I know there were some terrible games but whenever I think of the console it's as this AAA monster.

There are quite a few SNES games that completely fail to take advantage of the hardware. Even the many average games tend to have music that doesn't sound anywhere near the quality of what you get in games such as ActRaiser and Contra 3. Battle Blaze fails on all counts: graphics, effects, and sound. It shouldn't have been released.
Just look at a game like James Bond Jr. next to something like Contra 3 or Super Turrican 2 - it's a joke.

I think a lot of developers either struggled with the hardware, or couldn't be bothered to learn how to take proper advantage of it. There's a huge disparity between the weaker games for the system and the best quality titles.

[Samuray]

I always think of the SNES as having such a high quality library so that sentence just seems wrong. I know there were some terrible games but whenever I think of the console it's as this AAA monster.

Yeah, I feel similarly!
Even moreso when it comes to the Neo Geo, and boy, does the Neo have some ...uh ....controversial games! But they are overshadowed by the plentiful classics so strongly that I have the same reaction. It also helps that I can enjoy even the worst Neo Geo game simply because I love the system so much.

Weaponlord wasn't originally a coin-op - it was only developed for consoles, namely the SNES/SFC and MD/Genesis.

I don't know that saying it is better than Battle Blaze is much of a compliment but it is notable for featuring many gameplay elements that later appeared in Soul Edge, which Namco released soon after.

Really....?! Wow. I'll definitely have to check that out! Thanks for the pointer!
Bit of a shame we're just about to leave SNES/MD behind us at where we are in the group currently...my reports haven't caught upmto current events yet. So I'm not sure where I could place it. But if I can manage to find a copy I'm sure we will be able to sneak it in somewhere.

I personally wouldn't collect PCBs because I don't like the look of them - and they take up a lot of storage space. But I can sort of understand why some people like having PCBs.

Yeah, I can DEFINITELY understand the appeal. Were I to have unlimited money and live in a mansion, would I collect PCBs? Hell yeah! But a line has to be drawn somewhere.

They don't look appealing at all, it's true, and I have little to no room left for games as it is.

There are quite a few SNES games that completely fail to take advantage of the hardware. Even the many average games tend to have music that doesn't sound anywhere near the quality of what you get in games such as ActRaiser and Contra 3. Battle Blaze fails on all counts: graphics, effects, and sound. It shouldn't have been released.
Just look at a game like James Bond Jr. next to something like Contra 3 or Super Turrican 2 - it's a joke.

I think a lot of developers either struggled with the hardware, or couldn't be bothered to learn how to take proper advantage of it. There's a huge disparity between the weaker games for the system and the best quality titles.

But isn't that the case on any system? Fantastic games with great production values on the one side and shabby games that were quickly thrown together on the other.

It's pretty harsh when you say BB shouldn't have been released. You're not wrong though.

[Leon Retro]

Y
But isn't that the case on any system? Fantastic games with great production values on the one side and shabby games that were quickly thrown together on the other.

I think there's a wider disparity between the best and worst SNES games than you find on other systems such as the Mega Drive. There are SNES games that completely fail to do the sound and graphics hardware justice. On other systems(Amiga, Mega Drive, PC Engine) even the poor games tend to have something that shows off at least one aspect of the hardware. The worst SNES games can amaze you with how they manage to take no advantage of the hardware's strong points.

[_SD_]

I personally wouldn't collect PCBs because I don't like the look of them - and they take up a lot of storage space. But I can sort of understand why some people like having PCBs.

I stay away from bare PCBs myself as I think they’re way too fragile, especially multi-layer boards... all those capacitors and other delicate components open to the elements doesn’t seem like a good plan to me. And yes, they are an absolute bugger to store properly.

However, cartridge based systems like the CPS2, PGM, PGM2 are much more aesthetically pleasing, certain Neo•Geo MVS boards can even be made to look nicer. I also feel a lot more comfortable having the game and main logic board as two separate components, with the game in a proper protective shell. Also makes storing them much easier...

[Leon Retro]

However, cartridge based systems like the CPS2, PGM, PGM2 are much more aesthetically pleasing

Yeah, they look more attractive. I can see the appeal in collecting them.

[Samuray]

Yeah, they look more attractive. I can see the appeal in collecting them.

Agreed. I have a consolized Atomiswave and boxes for the games, and I am interested in PGM. Is PGM2 its own thing...?

[_SD_]

Yes, PGM2 is a different beast entirely. Although it is cart based, I’ve only ever seen complete cart/mobo sets, never loose carts. And my KoF ‘98 UMH and DoDonPachi DaiOuJou Tamashii boards are dark blue, not red... although I’m sure I’ve seen a red DDP?

I’m sure the reason I wasn’t interested in Knights of Valour 2 & 3 and Orienal Legend 2 is because they use a card reader and require a game card that has a chip in it for each character... and each card is only good for a certain amount of credits. That’s if I’m remembering correctly... I’m sure it was something obnoxious like that stopping me from getting KoV3...

[Samuray]

Fight Fever (NEO GEO)

When I learned about this game I immediately knew I HAD to have it. Yes, it's supposed to be the worst fighter on the system, but I was fascinated by the fact that the developer ripped sound effects straight from other SNK games as well as the Taekwondo theme.

Problem was, I only use AES and this game was never released for it. So when I had the chance to buy a conversion from some nice fellow from the UK I jumped on that right away!

Was it worth it? Yeah, I think so. Once you get over the badness of the game it actually becomes interesting, and we returned to it in future gatherings. Yes, it plays rather wooden and characters and especially their animations are pretty sub-par, while the music is utterly boring....but still, it's fun to see what a Korean developer tried to do here. I imagine SNK gave them the OK to rip sound fx and voices from "Art of Fighting", at least I hope so....but it's a pretty strange experience to hear those familiar sounds within another game.

Several stages look really nice, for example the mountain temple, the basketball field, the Korea stage of the main character and the Japanese train stage of Miyuki. Other backgrounds, however, are very unappealing with Mexico being the worst one I've ever seen in any fighting game. Why are those dancers green-skinned? WTF??
Yeah, maybe it's supposed to be olive but it looks really bad. Another contender for a horrible stage background is China, I think.

As a German I find the representation of my country pretty hilarious in this game, by the way. The stage depicting the München Oktoberfest is fine, and so is the character himself....but his name, Rophen Heimer, sounds like nothing any of us has ever heard in German and earned many many laughs from us.

"Fight Fever" seems like one hell of an amateurish attempt to cash in on the fighting craze back then, but all in all I think it's worth a few plays at least, just in contrast to those powerhouse franchises SNK created themselves.

[BigDeadFreak]

Fight Fever is pretty derivative but there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. I kinda like the background music and some of the stages are ok (the bullet train and 'Guile' stage in particular).

However, it does seem like every fighting game ever made and has the feel of a home brew title.

I'd certainly give it a go if I saw it in the arcades but that's about it.

[Samuray]

However, it does seem like every fighting game ever made and has the feel of a home brew title.

It really does look like a homebrew title! Or one with very little budget. But maybe "Fight Fever" was their very first game.

I'd certainly give it a go if I saw it in the arcades but that's about it.

Despite everything, I feel like it's an interesting addition to the Neo's library, and we've been playing it more than we probably should have.

On to the next night. New Game #1 is...


Power Athlete (SNES)


Oh, another fighting game that comes with a jump button. Ugh...this will turn out well....

Actually, "Power Athlete" is not THAT bad at all! It's know as "Power Moves" on the SNES in the west, by the way, and as "Deadly Moves" on the Mega Drive...because that crowd was much more hardcore, I presume.

Well, the reason this game has a jump button is simple: You can move on a 3D plane like in a sidescrolling beat'em up! So you don't just walk left and right but also up and down, which emphasizes the feeling of fighting in an arena.

It takes some getting used to, but after a little while we did have SOME fun with this one for a bit. Folks here greatly appreciated the scrolling and were really wowed by it. There's some intense line scrolling (?) going on in some stages!

Still, „Power Athlete“ only scored 2 of 5 kitties because ....it’s not that great.