Back in the early 90ies when this title was released,my local arcade in the nearest mall had it going on a large projection screen set up. At the time this was considered God-like in respect to cabs. Me and my friends instantly became hooked on this new fighter which had amazing screen zooms,for the time excellent animation,and awesome audio. The controls were complicated,but the amount of moves available when coupled with the combination strikes from holding button C down and using A or B made it very interesting in deciding how to attack and counter attack.
The energy/spirit attack bar combo made the fights much more heated especially with the faster then Street Fighter 2 CE game play and constant zooming. Also,another new feature,taunting,actually serving a purpose as it could drain the attack spirit meter down causing the other to have to change their plans somewhat if they like to play a projectile tossing match.
In the single player mode the story was strong and well done,with in between round scenes helping to develop it.Only Ryo and Robert can be used on story mode,but it made sense since the goal was to save the sister. No other fighters seemed to have this type of story mode at the time,let alone even have good stories to tell. Also,there was 3 stages of Bonus rounds,with 3 games each,to help you gain the super fire blow,extra spirit,or energy. This always comes in handy as you will always be the underdog in rounds energy and spirit wise against later cpu opponents.
Scores: Based on a 1 through 10 basis.
1: the worst game ever made.
2: Wouldn’t want to play this game again.
3: Not Good
4: Below Average
5: Average
6: Above Average, Fans will like it!
7: Much better than Average, Very Cool game!
8: Very well done, A fine piece of gaming
9: Excellent Game
10: The Best game ever made
Graphics: 9/10
The graphics were groundbreaking,and still hold up well 2d wise. The sprites are large,well animated,very detailed,and the backgrounds are also well done and set the mood well. The characters also have forward and back walking animations,and can visually show damage as the fights progress. Everything moves fast. No complaints here.
Controls: 8/10
The controls are done very well,but require alot of play to get the hang of,and the game is very unforgiving if you are slightly off on your special move motions. This alone will either break you or make you a fan at times,and alot of people hate this game simply because they cant understand how to play it the way it was meant to be played.
Audio: 9/10
Voices are crisp,and there are tons of them. The music is excellent and fits every stage and the intro too. The sound effects have a heavy impact and the only real flaw to them is there isn't enough variety of them for each and every attack,so sometimes they sound the same.
Gameplay/Fun: (for me) 9/10
Not everyone will like this game. Alot of people will hate it to death. It will cause alot of anger among gamers who cant grasp how to play it,and keep up with the speed of it.
The ones who can will find a solid Neo fighter gem,and a real classic,as because of this game alot of features would be available in other fighters,like dashing,zoom features,super attacks,attack meters,and near death attack moves. There are 2 good home ports out there on Pc-Engine Arcade Cd and Snes,but between the two the Pc-Engine version is the one to go with. It retains most all of what made the Neo Geo one special. Another way to nab and own the game is to get the Art of Fighting collection release on PS2.
Michael Helgeson 12-30-07
bravenet.com