Not all 12-year waits are worth it.
The Godzilla brawler proved to be a winner, but I've played plenty of games I been wanting to for a long time, only to find out they stink. There was another fighting game I was curious about for 12 years... and recently not only discovered that it truly
existed, but I also was disappointed by the end results.... but more on that in a moment.
In '94, EGM started previewing a fighting game set to come out later in the year for the US Super Nintendo.
issue #55, Feb 94, NEXT WAVEIt grabbed me instantly. I had never seen SD characters before and that stood out. I'm also a sucker for off-beat characters in fighting games, and this one sure had 'em.
Several months later, in issue #62 September '94 they ran this (note the name change)
Earlier this year I searched for Galactic Defenders, thinking it came out in 95, right around the time I sorta fell out of gaming. I discovered it was canned. Bummer
sadly never quite made itOnce I got into importing, I started wondering if this game received a Japanese-only release.
Nothing turned up under Galactic Defender.
And nutthin' turned up under SD Golden Fighter.
Discouraged, I gave up hope it existed.
Then one night I discovered it
DOES exist and goes under the title of
SD HIRYU NO KEN !!
The day it arrived I couldn't WAIT to rip into it. I was going to solve a conundrum that had haunted me for a dozen years.
Popped it in.
And from elation and excitement to, quickly, disappointment and despair.
Initial impression: woooooow (not in the good way)
MAN THIS GAME BLOWS?!? HOW COULD THEY **** THIS **** UP??Animation: choppy
Frames: lacking
Jumping: clunky
Sound: below average
Graphics: disappointing
Controls: (semi)unresponsive
24 hours later, I gave it a 2nd chance. Lowered my expectations, accepted it for what it is, and when I did that, I came away liking the game a lot better. So, in the end, it's not
ALL bad, but it came nowhere near its potential. In a lot of ways it feels rushed and half-completed. Yet despite all these flaws, it did grow on me a bit and is a classic guilty pleasure-type.
There are things about this game I still like. I still like the 15 character roster, in a time where 10 or 12 was the norm. The character design is pretty decent, with a nice assortment of karate masters, bad-ass types, muscle men and monsters.
Let us now meet them
RYUHIMain guy. Dragon-shaped fireball that only goes across a quarter the screen. No Dragon Punch per se but has an anti-air twirling kick special move. I like the statue in his stage
SUZAKURyuhi's rival from what I can gather. Throws a small diamond-shaped projectile in mid-air as well as on foot, and has a cool anti-air special where his body is engulfed by the spirit of a fiery phoenix.
HAYATOA cool-looking ninja-like warrior with a fireball that arches upward late. Has a Dragon Punch and a nice rolling flame kick that blazes his opponent not red, but blue, a la M. Bison's
PSYCHO CRUSHERA. ROSEMANAn experienced brawler with nice combo's consisting of stinging rights and lefts. Even has a fireball for good measure. His stage is home to London and Big Ben
DADDYA lion-like beast that spits fireballs and can turn into a flaming rocket from above. His friend Jennifer aids him in certain special attacks. His Sky Palace stage is reminiscent of Karnov's from
FIGHTER'S HISTORY DYNAMITEMAINOHANAA short sumo with ... surprise surprise... hand/belly attacks as well as a short range projectile. His stage is the edge of a forest overlooking a peaceful ocean
TETSUOLike Kurosawa from
LAST BRONX Tetsuo is the resident bad-ass with the big stick. Any fighter who spits before a battle is top-of-the-line certified. Pounds the ground with his stick unleashing a ground-based projectile. When defeated yells ****! 3 times.
Check out the footage hereE. QUAKERA huge serpentine creature with a staff that can turn into a scythe. OUCH! Emits a laser from his eye. Spins his staff high as an anti-air attack
WILERA big man with throws and charging attacks. Gotta love his South East Asian Jungle with the falling rain
RAIMAA machine warrior that attacks with a sword and ninja stars. Can really "shock" the competition
MIN-MINFemale whose stage is arguably the game's best. She has a dragon-shaped fireball like Ryuhi, but hers go the full length
URUKAHere's a guy who will challenge Darwin's theory... or maybe prove it! A total savage. Throws a wheel with lots of anger backing it
SYORYUA young kid who is unbelievably fast. Ground fireball and flying charging attack that's very annoying
YUUKATougher than a 2 dollar steak, she can manipulate air currents to send you sky high, helplessly twirling in mid-air.
R. POWERSNo relation to
MUSCLE POWER and CERTAINLY none to
SCREECH POWERS. The CWF Champ loves nothing more than pounding his competition in front of his wild fans. Looks quite like the old WWF wrestler of late 80's/early 90's fame
THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR (so did that Level 2 boss in
Streets of Rage)
There are 4 game modes:
1. Story mode
Pick any 1 of the 15 and go through the entire roster, with a brief storyline in Japanese
2. VS mode
1P vs. 2P, 1P vs. COM, or even COM vs. COM. You can pick your stage, your handicap AND by pressing L or R, change colors on each character up to 8 times. Every fighter should do that.
3. Tournament
Up to 8 players can compete to see who's number 1 in a single elimination tourney
4. Practice
Practice, man. 4 different modes
Options you can set the timer, pick 1 or 3 rounds, CPU difficulty 1-8, Speed of 0, 1 or 2, change buttons, etc. Weak/strong punch and kick, L to taunt and R to side-step. R is unique because you can avoid projectiles/attacks without blocking. Also, if you're close to your opponent, by pressing forward + R you'll 360 around them. If you're quick you can score a cheap hit or throw before they can react
The game does play on the choppy side, but if you play on speed 2 it becomes less noticeable. I'd say you
*HAVE TO* play it on speed 2 to get any enjoyment out of it, which was what I did on my 2nd try.
CLOSING THOUGHTSI've heard the game is extremely rare, whether that is true I cannot confirm. I can't recommend it unless you're a diehard fighting freak, or if you have some sort of sick fetish for Culture Brain's Hiryu no Ken games (The US name was Ultimate Fighter, I know the N64 had a JP 3D SD Hiryu no Ken version).
Despite its flaws and unrealized potential, the SD look makes it unique and the characters have decent charm. Those are the main selling points. The controls could have used more polish as sometimes it's hard to pull off simple special moves. But again, take it for what it is, and you may have a decent time. Just remember to crank it up to the highest speed!
INTRORyuhi vs. Suzaku gameplay sample