'Nice Choice'.... one of the most misleading quotes in this game...
So for the last thirty minutes, I devoted my 'game researching' time to an old SNK title called 'Burning Fight'. I remember most people saying it was quite a shitty title, me somewhat included. So I went back into it to see if I still felt that way....
Is it as shitty as I remembered it?
Well -
Burning Fight, to my recollection, was SNK's first attempt at a beat-em-up (It was also one of their earlier attempts at one-upping Capcom). Released on the MVS back in 1991, it was produced by Eikichi Kawasaki, who would go on to later produce big hits like Fatal Fury and the King of Fighters. The plot, more or less, is that 'there is a bunch of generic thugs. Go beat the crap out of them.' Normally, I wouldn't give a shit, as most brawlers have no plot, lest ye resort to the instruction manual/ read the tiny description on the arcade flyers that are posted on the MVS machine. In Final Fight, Jessica was kidnapped, and Haggar and his buddies had to go stop Mad Gear. In Streets of Rage, you're a bunch of ex-cops who still have a burning thirst for justice in a city ran by crime. In this game.... Um. Uhh... OH! I remembered!
Duke and Billy are two cops whose leads take them to Japan where they meet a japanese cop named Ryu. Now they go after the Yakuza.
Wow. I almost forgot there WAS a plot in this game... no cutscenes, no references, nada.
So once you press start, you're taken to a character select screen. Were you just hit with deja-vu? Well, you should've been, as it looks like it was taken directly from Final Fight, right down to its generic character designs. Duke is just a two-bit Cody knock-off with over-all balance, Ryu - well, they didn't even BOTHER to try to make the 'guy' original from the dude he's based off of, and Billy, the slowest member, but retarded strong. I decided to pick Duke. "NICE CHOICE." This is said by Duke, trying to do his best 'Ah-nuhd' impersonation. Wow, what a smug arrogant cocky bastard.
I'll just jump straight into it. I have plans later today and I need at least four hours of sleep.
The gameplay, while responsive and quick, needed ALOT of fine tuning, specifically in the AI department. I mean, pulling off attacks wasn't the problem, but rather when you actually get hit; there is no point of the health bar if you can not recover at all after getting knocked to the floor by some fat bastard named Duffy. You get hit, you become dazed, the fat bastard jumps on you, you get hit again, you try to get up, and he jumps on you again, now ending your life. REALLY?
Fear not, for help comes in the form of tapping the punch + jump button: Duke does a Rising Dragon, Guy Pretendo does a Hurricane Kick, and Billy is a rhinoceros who doesn't play around; he fucking charges your ass. It shaves a good chuck of your health off, but only if the attack lands, but it is worth it, especially if you're fighting one of the bosses (Marshall I think, but I refer to him as Guile's retarded Austrian cousin, Bloodsport for short.).
You can also pick up weapons, which this gets annoying when you have four of the same weapon on the ground at the same time and everytime you swing to attack, you just switch weapons, thus leaving you open to yet another beat down, ala Duffy the Fatman. For the life of me though, why they timed the use of a a bottle instead of let it wear out after repeated use is beyond me.
Movement is too tight however, as moving diagonal feels wonky. Trying to escape yet another platoon of those fat donut packers will leave you frustrated, assuming this is probably your seventh continue we're talking about.
You fight some geisha, a guy who looks like Kasumi Todoh's dad, Bloodsport, some fat trucker, and Kingpin... or Casterora, whatever his name was; I never bothered to remember, seeing how that even though he was the final boss, his fight was way too short and was over before it even began. The fat bastard just walks around, shoots you with his cane (!?), and smacks you with it. You punch him, he dies, no special ending or anything. Just credits. Grumble.
The sound and music is far from memorable, although, if you DO check out the game, please listen to Nitou Ryuji's theme. and Stage 4's theme. Those two really stood out from the rest of the generic synth crap in my head. Otherwise, the audio becomes one meld of repetition and aggravating. Unforgettable crap.
So.... is the game as shitty as I thought it was back in the day? Well..... let's put it like this; it's the Art of Fighting of beat-em-ups, only difference is though? Art of Fighting actually got better, while SNK let this game die out, though they attempted it again with Mutation Nation, which was just a complete mess, but more playable than this. Also, come on, it's 1991. Final Fight was dominating arcades and Streets of Rage on the Sega Genesis was, in almost every aspect of the word, much more advanced at the time. Pretty much, with these choices, it's no shock at all you'd overlook this title for something actually, you know, good?
Hey, Burning Fight wasn't a bad attempt really, trying to take a page out of Final Fight, but with shoddy AI, awkward control, and nothing new to bring to the golden brawler age at the time, Burning Fight was just a smoldering pile of ashes that took the right idea and left it on the skillet for too long.
The game doesn't just allow it, but pretty much tells you that a second player is most wise. The most viable way to play this game is the SNK Arcade Classic Collection. That or Virtual Console, your choice.
One thing apparently stood out of this game though; Duke Edwards was popular enough to not only make an appearance in King of Fighters 2000, but as one of Yuki's attacks in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. I guess, by himself, Duke is alright...
...Axel Stone would totally put him in his place, though.
Is it as shitty as I remembered it?
Well -
Burning Fight, to my recollection, was SNK's first attempt at a beat-em-up (It was also one of their earlier attempts at one-upping Capcom). Released on the MVS back in 1991, it was produced by Eikichi Kawasaki, who would go on to later produce big hits like Fatal Fury and the King of Fighters. The plot, more or less, is that 'there is a bunch of generic thugs. Go beat the crap out of them.' Normally, I wouldn't give a shit, as most brawlers have no plot, lest ye resort to the instruction manual/ read the tiny description on the arcade flyers that are posted on the MVS machine. In Final Fight, Jessica was kidnapped, and Haggar and his buddies had to go stop Mad Gear. In Streets of Rage, you're a bunch of ex-cops who still have a burning thirst for justice in a city ran by crime. In this game.... Um. Uhh... OH! I remembered!
Duke and Billy are two cops whose leads take them to Japan where they meet a japanese cop named Ryu. Now they go after the Yakuza.
Wow. I almost forgot there WAS a plot in this game... no cutscenes, no references, nada.
So once you press start, you're taken to a character select screen. Were you just hit with deja-vu? Well, you should've been, as it looks like it was taken directly from Final Fight, right down to its generic character designs. Duke is just a two-bit Cody knock-off with over-all balance, Ryu - well, they didn't even BOTHER to try to make the 'guy' original from the dude he's based off of, and Billy, the slowest member, but retarded strong. I decided to pick Duke. "NICE CHOICE." This is said by Duke, trying to do his best 'Ah-nuhd' impersonation. Wow, what a smug arrogant cocky bastard.
I'll just jump straight into it. I have plans later today and I need at least four hours of sleep.
The gameplay, while responsive and quick, needed ALOT of fine tuning, specifically in the AI department. I mean, pulling off attacks wasn't the problem, but rather when you actually get hit; there is no point of the health bar if you can not recover at all after getting knocked to the floor by some fat bastard named Duffy. You get hit, you become dazed, the fat bastard jumps on you, you get hit again, you try to get up, and he jumps on you again, now ending your life. REALLY?
Fear not, for help comes in the form of tapping the punch + jump button: Duke does a Rising Dragon, Guy Pretendo does a Hurricane Kick, and Billy is a rhinoceros who doesn't play around; he fucking charges your ass. It shaves a good chuck of your health off, but only if the attack lands, but it is worth it, especially if you're fighting one of the bosses (Marshall I think, but I refer to him as Guile's retarded Austrian cousin, Bloodsport for short.).
You can also pick up weapons, which this gets annoying when you have four of the same weapon on the ground at the same time and everytime you swing to attack, you just switch weapons, thus leaving you open to yet another beat down, ala Duffy the Fatman. For the life of me though, why they timed the use of a a bottle instead of let it wear out after repeated use is beyond me.
Movement is too tight however, as moving diagonal feels wonky. Trying to escape yet another platoon of those fat donut packers will leave you frustrated, assuming this is probably your seventh continue we're talking about.
You fight some geisha, a guy who looks like Kasumi Todoh's dad, Bloodsport, some fat trucker, and Kingpin... or Casterora, whatever his name was; I never bothered to remember, seeing how that even though he was the final boss, his fight was way too short and was over before it even began. The fat bastard just walks around, shoots you with his cane (!?), and smacks you with it. You punch him, he dies, no special ending or anything. Just credits. Grumble.
The sound and music is far from memorable, although, if you DO check out the game, please listen to Nitou Ryuji's theme. and Stage 4's theme. Those two really stood out from the rest of the generic synth crap in my head. Otherwise, the audio becomes one meld of repetition and aggravating. Unforgettable crap.
So.... is the game as shitty as I thought it was back in the day? Well..... let's put it like this; it's the Art of Fighting of beat-em-ups, only difference is though? Art of Fighting actually got better, while SNK let this game die out, though they attempted it again with Mutation Nation, which was just a complete mess, but more playable than this. Also, come on, it's 1991. Final Fight was dominating arcades and Streets of Rage on the Sega Genesis was, in almost every aspect of the word, much more advanced at the time. Pretty much, with these choices, it's no shock at all you'd overlook this title for something actually, you know, good?
Hey, Burning Fight wasn't a bad attempt really, trying to take a page out of Final Fight, but with shoddy AI, awkward control, and nothing new to bring to the golden brawler age at the time, Burning Fight was just a smoldering pile of ashes that took the right idea and left it on the skillet for too long.
The game doesn't just allow it, but pretty much tells you that a second player is most wise. The most viable way to play this game is the SNK Arcade Classic Collection. That or Virtual Console, your choice.
One thing apparently stood out of this game though; Duke Edwards was popular enough to not only make an appearance in King of Fighters 2000, but as one of Yuki's attacks in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. I guess, by himself, Duke is alright...
...Axel Stone would totally put him in his place, though.