Name:
Sonic The Fighters - Japan
Sonic Championship - North America
Other Names (Nicknames): N/A
Release Dates:
June, 1996 - Japan
July, 1996 - USA
Quality: 32-bit Arcade
coin-op
Game System(s): Arcade
(Sega Model 2B CRX)
Also released on:
(1). Gamecube - Sonic Gems Collection
Developer(s): SEGA-AM2
Character Introductions: Bean
the Dynamite and Bark the Polar bear
Region Game Takes Place On: Random
locations in the Sonic universe.
Concept Introductions: Sonic
The Fighters was another Sonic game that brings the blue blur into a
totally new gameplay style. This time, Sonic's in his first fighting
game with eight playable characters, each with their own unique set
of moves and 8 combos. The game's engine was based off of Fighting Vipers,
which is what it is visually based off of in many ways. It looks a lot
like how Virtua Fighter did as well. Other than that, the only other
introduction in this game was that it debuted an 8th Chaos Emerald.
Apparently the gray (transparent) Chaos Emerald has been replaced by
a dark purple one while a new orange one has been added.
Concept Deductions: Obviously, there is no Zone
running, Special Stages, powerups, etc., etc. Surprisingly, that's about
it.
Storyline:
It was only a
matter of time after the destruction of the Death Egg that Dr. Eggman
would thus begin construction on a superior model, the Death Egg II,
which was just as quickly launched up into space. As soon as it began
its orbit, Eggman dispatched a swarm of Egg-Robos to reek havoc upon
the innocent creatures of the world. Tails' reconnaissance robot manages
to pick up signals from these bogeys and also managed to transmit images
of this new Death Egg II right to Tails' workshop.
To stop Eggman's
evil plan, Tails constructs the Lunar Fox, a rocket ship that should
be able to reach Dr. Eggman's Death Egg II. However, it's only a one-seater,
and requires the power of 8 Chaos Emeralds. Now, obviously, Sonic would
be the best candidate for this, but it turns out the Chaos Emeralds
are separated among 8 individuals, and they all want their chance in
the spotlight. So there is only way to determine who is the strongest,
and most suitable for doing such a heroic deed: a fighting tournament!
Personal Criticism/Opinion:
It sucks
that Sonic The Fighters had such a limited distribution here in the
USA when it was released. You're lucky if you find it in even the most
prestigious SEGA Arcade hang-outs, because MAN this game was definitely
good. Luckily, Sonic Gems Collection has finally answered our dreams
to play this game at its full potential in the comfort of our own homes.
Contrary to popular belief (especially the belief of those at the SOA
HQ), Sonic would actually fit just fine in a fighting game. Especially
how the hedgehog is portrayed these days. I mean, Shadow's got a gun,
doesn't he? The damage has freakin' been done, man. End of story. You
might as well go Mortal Kombat with Sonic. As for getting to the game?
I wouldn't waste my time looking for a Segaworks arcade hang-out or
putting up with the crapola color palette and missing graphics of the
ROM. Just spend the measily 10-30 bucks and get Gems Collection if you
want to play it in all of its true glory without having to pay a quartar
to get credits.
Sonic The Fighters
was the result of a little joke from a programmer at the AM2 department
at SEGA by adding in all of the Sonic flavor into the recently finished
Fighting Vipers engine. Push comes to shove, the thing was eventually
embraced by those at Sonic Team and it then got a fairly large distribution
out in Japan. The style in this game is mostly cartoony. When you attack
your opponent, their bodies will stretch out before they go flying like
something you'd see in an old Looney Toons cartoon. Rings scatter around
each time you hit them along with many classic Sonic sound effects.
So the traditional Sonic assets were well integrated into the fighting
game engine.
Playable characters
included: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Fang, Espio, Bean, and Bark.
(Super Sonic was unlockable once you beat Metal Sonic and Dr. Eggman
after beating the rest of the characters without losing a single round.)
Bean and Bark are the new guys in town. Bean's gimmick is bombs, thus
his name, Bean the Dynamite. He is a green duck, and half of his attacks
involve something to do with using cherry bombs as projectiles. He is
also the cheapest character if you button-bash his peck attack. Not
even Metal Sonic can score a hit on you if you keep pecking him. Bean
the Dynamite was inspired by a circa late 80's arcade game called Dynamite
Dux, where you play as Bin and Pin. Apparently a few weapons were usable
in Dynamite Dux, but nonetheless, considering Bin and Pin's strikingly
similar appearance, it is obvious that Bean was derived from this old
arcade game. Bean also made an appearance with Bark in the later released
Fighters Megamix: just a mix of Virtua Fighter and Fighting
Vipers to put it simply.
However, Bark
seems to be a totally original creation for this game. Nobody
has managed to find any other characters that are strikingly similar
to this big guy. Bark's a serious guy and his throwing attacks are definitely
a one up for his power in Sonic The Fighters. Unfortunately, he is slower
than a married man's life. So trying to score one of those
aforementioned throwing attacks is hard enough. However, he was a one-off
character, like so many others. He has only appeared here in Sonic the
Fighters and Fighters Megamix and is never coming back. Like Bean, he
wasn't given any other statistics other than a name and appearance.
Let's see some GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:
Replay value? Pretty good. Unlocking Super Sonic gives you
just a bit initiative, but once you do that, well, there is nothing
else to do.
Graphics? Eh, being based off of Fighting Vipers or Virtua
Fighter, you'd know what to expect. All of the objects and models are
rendered faceted. But the texture maps are well done. The colors are
vibrant and eye-catching, which is not a bad thing for a Sonic game.
They're pretty much average for an old-school 32-bit fighting game.
Music & Sound Effects? Unlike for Sonic's first arcade
appearance, an official OST was released for Sonic The Fighters. It
didn't get any distribution here in America, but luckily we have illegal
music ripping for that. The OST has one track that is not seen in the
game that was meant to be for an extra stage, named Sunset Town. As
for the music's quality, well, it's just okay for a fighting arcade
game. Real cartoony and jumpy. It wasn't composed by any of the common
Sonic Team game music composers, mostly because of Sonic Team's minor
involvement with the game. The music doesn't sound real high quality,
yet it can never be high quality for an old arcade game. Just DL the
OST at some fansite and listen yourself.
Storyline? Not bad. Another Star Wars spoof, but who cares?
It's a real-detailed storyline for Sonic (especially for an old Sonic
game).
OVERALL RATING? I rate Sonic the Fighters as an 8/10.
