Fighter's Destiny
Reviewed by CodeXShark@aol.com
Ratings (0.0-10.0):
Graphics: 7.2
Sound: 6.8
Control: 8.2
Gameplay: 8.8
Lastablility: 8.4
Overall: 8.4
Fighters Destiny is the American version of Fighting Cup. For whatever reason,
Fighters Destiny is one of the first Japanese-developed games to be released
outside of Japan first. While the American version hit the shelves at the end of
January, the Japanese version won't come out until April. Fighters Destiny is
also the second game to hit the U.S. that was produced by Imagineer and developed
by Genki -- the same companies who did Multi-Racing Championship. And right
from the beginning, it's easy to see some similarities in the two games, right
down to a similar menu system and voices used at similar times.
Like Multi-Racing Championship, the developers of Fighters Destiny chose to make
their game similar to 32-bit games. I think you know what I mean. There's that
certain "style" of racing and fighting games that is only found on the 32-bit gaming
systems. What I mean is that they are geared more toward older gamers rather than
teenagers or younger gamers. Multi-Racing Championship and Fighters Destiny are
also similar in the fact that they appear as if they could be done on a 32-bit system.
You probably already heard about Fighters Destiny's unique system of fighting. I'm
going to recap it and then go into more detail. Please note that all point totals are
the default setting. In the Vs COM or Vs Battle modes, you will win the match by
getting 7 points. You get 1 point for a ring out or a judge due to time out, 2 points
for throwdowns or locks or body attack skills, 3 points for a knockdown or a counter,
and 4 points for a special attack. The point system can be changed to your liking in
the options mode, which is a great idea. You can change any of the aforementioned
ways of getting points to give you anywhere from 1 to 5 points.
Each fighter in the game has a health meter. But it's not quite like energy meters
in other games. Yes, it does go down, but an opponent can get points on you without
your meter even going down at all. For example, throwdowns (getting close and
pressing A and B) will give the attacker 2 points if they pull it off. That means you
can beat the computer to an almost pulp, but if it would successfully pull off a
throwdown, then your cause would be wasted. While we're talking about throws,
it should be pointed out that Fighters Destiny has a great throwing system. Throws
can be escaped (unless you're dizzy) and throws can be reversed (though you don't
necessarily reverse your opponent into a throwdown). So throws aren't really cheap
in this game.
Any time at least one point is won, the game shows a replay of the winning move
and then you "restart" the round. All I mean is that the fighters get their energy
back. Also, underneath your energy is a meter of stars that show how many points
you got. So there are many different ways to win a match. For example, you could
get 7 ring outs (1 point), which would be like 7 rounds. Or you could perform a
special (4 points) and a knockdown (3 points), which would be like 2 rounds. Or
there could be hundreds of other combinations between you and your opponent,
with the computer getting points some of the time. You only get to move on to fight
the next character once you get 7 points. If the computer gets 7 points on you first,
then you have the opportunity to continue an unlimited number of times in the
Vs COM mode.
Here's how the points are acquired. Oh yeah, I should point out that the total
number of points required for victory can also be toggled from 1 to 8, with the
default being 7. Anyway, ring outs (1 point) occur when the player gets knocked
out of the ring. It's possible to hang on the ledge and get back on. It's possible to
pull someone off when you're hanging. And it's possible for your opponent to knock
you off when you're hanging. By the way, the ring size can be changed in increments
of .5, from 4.0 to 12.0 meters. The default is 6.0 meters. One point is also awarded
when there's a draw, i.e., if no one got a point in the allotted time. You can set the
time to 15, 30, 45, 60, or unlimited seconds in the options. The default is 30 seconds.
Two points are awarded for throwdowns or lock skills. I already discussed
throwdowns, but there's also a lock. Basically, there are moves to keep an opponent
locked up. Then the opponent has to press A and B rapidly in order to get out of it.
If they don't, then 2 points are awarded. You get 3 points when there's a knockdown
or a counter. Knockdowns can occur in several ways. First, after you deplete your
opponent's energy meter, they turn purple and become dizzy for about five seconds,
after which they get some strength back. During this dizzy spell, you can basically
perform a throwdown for 2 points, knock them down for 3 points, or perform a
special move for 4 points. In regard to knocking them down, you basically just have
to beat on them with successive hits to get the 3 points. But there's also a special
one-hit knockdown, and your opponent doesn't have to be dizzy for this. This gives
you 3 points. Finally, you can perform a special attack when your opponent is dizzy
to get 4 points.
As stated above, Fighters Destiny presents the player with a multitude of options
to customize the game. But there are also various other options and modes in
the game. The Vs COM mode is the one-player mode in which you must fight
against every character. Playing this mode many times with many characters will
unlock hidden moves and the ability to get hidden characters. The Vs Battle mode
is for two players. You can choose either "Normal" or "Win or Lose." Normal is
self-explanatory. Win or Lose is when a saved character fights another saved
character. You win and lose moves from each other in this mode.
Fighters Destiny also contains some unusual yet cool modes. For example, the
Record Attack mode presents you with three types of fights: Survival, Fastest
and Rodeo. In Survival, the object is beat as many characters as you can in a row
without losing. In Fastest, the object is to beat as many characters as you can in
under one minute. In Rodeo, the object is to stay in the ring with a cow (!) for at
least one minute. There's also the Master Challenge and Training modes. In the
Master Challenge, there are 12 icons on a wheel that randomly spins. Eight of the
icons are masters and four are jokers. So if the wheel stops on a master, then you
fight the master. If you beat him, you gain a new skill. If the wheel lands on a
joker, however, then you must beat him, or you will lose all of your gained skills.
Unfortunately for you, the Joker is a formidable opponent. There's also an awesome
Training mode that lets you practice the various forms of combat -- normal, aerial,
special and escape.
The control in Fighters Destiny is unlike anything I've seen before. Rather than
conform to a Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat or Virtua Fighter scheme, the game
gets about as original as you can for a fighting game. First, you have your choice
between the Control Pad or Control Stick, though you have to turn on the Control
Stick in the options screen. Then these are the buttons you use to fight (the
configuration can be changed): the A button is a lower attack, the B button is a
upper and middle attack, the R button is defense, and the L button is Hirari, or
auto-avoidance. That's it. Holding down L and pressing up or down on the Control
Stick or Control Pad will enable you to move around the ring. If your opponent
tries to attack you while you're moving around, you'll often automatically avoid
the attack. Although Fighters Destiny sure doesn't have many buttons, I think it's
nice not having to memorize the location of six different attack buttons. Because
of the small button selection, moves are pulled out a la Virtua Fighter. And, believe
it or not, there are many moves in the game. You can pause and look at a "Command
List" of all the moves for each fighter.
Fighting in Fighters Destiny is more on the realistic side. You won't find any
fireballs or hurricane kicks here. There are some pyrotechnics used with some
moves, but they are not part of the attack. All moves in the game are punches,
kicks, throws, holds, tosses, etc. -- the hand-to-hand combat type of moves.
Consequently, that means it plays differently from other fighting games. While
you might be used to standing far away from your opponent in a Killer Instinct,
Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat game, the action in Fighters Destiny takes
place up-close. There are combos in the game, too, but they do not appear as
often as the newer fighting games.
One of the things I really like about Fighters Destiny is that it seems like there's
some kind of move to counter whatever your opponent throws at you or vice versa.
Properly timed punches can connect with an opponent who's trying kick while a
properly timed kick can connect with an opponent who's trying to punch. If someone
tries to perform a one-hit knockdown move, then you can make them get out of that
motion with a properly timed quick attack. And since there are three types of
blocking (high, low and avoidance) that the player must properly use, you won't
see any turtlers in the game. Essentially, the key to success in the game is using
moves at the proper time and not mashing all the buttons at once.
Finally, here are two other notes I want to quickly mention. First, there is not an
ounce of blood in this game. It only got a "Teen" rating because it's fighting. Second,
the game saves all your options, hidden moves, hidden characters, and best times
on 2 pages of a Controller Pak.
The graphics in Fighters Destiny aren't bad at all. Yes, the backgrounds are actually
flat while the ring rotates around. Yes, the characters look more like polygons than
other fighting games on the N64. And although there is a huge variety of moves,
there isn't a ton of animation for them. However, the most important thing is that
Fighters Destiny is quick. Because of the nature of the style of fighting, it doesn't
seem very fast, but the animation is moving at over 30 frames per second. Basically,
the graphics are solid but unimpressive.
Like the graphics, the sound really isn't that impressive, either. The music suits
each level you're fighting on pretty well, but it sounds a little too MIDI-like. At
least it's better than the music in MRC. There's also a ton of voice in Fighters
Destiny. Mainly, it comes via an announcer who gives comments during the fight.
Some of the things he says includes "Wow," "Stunning player 2," "Keep going,"
"That was a very good move," "Come on, let's do it," and more. In addition, he also
announces the result of points won. For example, he'll say "Knockdown -- three
points won." or "Ring out -- one point won." Furthermore, he has a comment about
the match before it starts, and most of the characters have voices and grunts, too.
So what's the verdict? Fighters Destiny is easily the best fighting game on the
Nintendo 64. Of course, that's not saying much, but the game still holds its own
against some of the heavyweights. It's not quite as good as a Virtua Fighter or
Tekken game, but it's still extremely fun and strategic. Add in a challenging
one-player mode, a nice two-player mode, many optional kinds of fights, and the
ability to change every facet of the point system, and you also got a fighting game
that is filled to the brim with replay value. Finally, a great fighting game for the
N64 that everyone can appreciate.