Post by runinruder on Jul 24, 2011 16:45:36 GMT -5
I fear that I'm the only one who would ever want to look back on this, erm, "classic" brawler. It was a game I never should have bought. What I really wanted was a two-player true-to-the-arcade Final Fight. I wanted no part of the maimed FF that was released for the SNES, so I decided to go for something comparable. Streets of Rage was cool, but I already knew a lot of people who owned that one. If I couldn't have vintage Final Fight, I figured I would look into something fresh. Rival Turf was an obvious FF rip-off and didn't seem like it would be the biggest gamble in the world. Reviewers were kind enough to it, save for "Sushi X"; but I didn't give a damn what Sushi X thought.
On what was an unfortunate day of game purchasing for me, I picked up both A Link to the Past and Rival Turf. I was rather embarrassed to be lugging RT around, given its laughable kids-dressed-as-thugs cover picture. Even at that point, before I'd played the damn thing, it just didn't seem like the sort of game that would be a real keeper.
The ridiculousness didn't end with the goofy cover. The sprites are large, but the characters are drawn in ways that make them seem very stiff and awkward, and they animate in correspondingly clumsy fashion. Palette swapping, of course, is abundant; and in Final Fight fashion, many sprites are granted new hairdos or outfits and passed off as completely different characters. The technique was more acceptable when it was performed on FF's cool cast; just one version of each RT goofball, on the other hand, is one too many. The backgrounds don't fare much better than the sprites, as they're typically very drab and dull.
Despite the not-so-great visuals, the game is playable, but it really starts to drag later on. Not only are the villains granted seemingly endless life meters (deplete a meter of one color and there's another color to wipe clear, and then another), but the screen often won't budge an inch until you've killed off multiple groups of them. You can do this very easily by jump-kicking ad nauseam. It's an approach that takes forever, but if you attack the tougher guys head on and they catch you in a combo, say goodbye to your remaining health (though the game does provide an optional cheap way out with the temporary invulnerability of "angry mode").
The one thing that actually made the game worth playing for me was the soundtrack. It wasn't all good, but I thought three of the tunes were pretty damn awesome: the first level, fourth level, and boss numbers.
And really, while it's mediocre, Rival Turf doesn't come close to being one of the worst 16-bit brawlers. I mean, it's much better than shit like Ane-san, Legend, and Captain America.
But I eventually bought SNES Final Fight anyway. And Streets of Rage. And Final Fight CD. And I've held on to all of those games. I did not hold on to Rival Turf.
I did have more fun with it than I had with the other game I bought that day, though...
On what was an unfortunate day of game purchasing for me, I picked up both A Link to the Past and Rival Turf. I was rather embarrassed to be lugging RT around, given its laughable kids-dressed-as-thugs cover picture. Even at that point, before I'd played the damn thing, it just didn't seem like the sort of game that would be a real keeper.
The ridiculousness didn't end with the goofy cover. The sprites are large, but the characters are drawn in ways that make them seem very stiff and awkward, and they animate in correspondingly clumsy fashion. Palette swapping, of course, is abundant; and in Final Fight fashion, many sprites are granted new hairdos or outfits and passed off as completely different characters. The technique was more acceptable when it was performed on FF's cool cast; just one version of each RT goofball, on the other hand, is one too many. The backgrounds don't fare much better than the sprites, as they're typically very drab and dull.
Despite the not-so-great visuals, the game is playable, but it really starts to drag later on. Not only are the villains granted seemingly endless life meters (deplete a meter of one color and there's another color to wipe clear, and then another), but the screen often won't budge an inch until you've killed off multiple groups of them. You can do this very easily by jump-kicking ad nauseam. It's an approach that takes forever, but if you attack the tougher guys head on and they catch you in a combo, say goodbye to your remaining health (though the game does provide an optional cheap way out with the temporary invulnerability of "angry mode").
The one thing that actually made the game worth playing for me was the soundtrack. It wasn't all good, but I thought three of the tunes were pretty damn awesome: the first level, fourth level, and boss numbers.
And really, while it's mediocre, Rival Turf doesn't come close to being one of the worst 16-bit brawlers. I mean, it's much better than shit like Ane-san, Legend, and Captain America.
But I eventually bought SNES Final Fight anyway. And Streets of Rage. And Final Fight CD. And I've held on to all of those games. I did not hold on to Rival Turf.
I did have more fun with it than I had with the other game I bought that day, though...
).