Tsuppari Oozumou: Heiseiban - PC Engine (1993)

Japanese Cover

Tsuppari Oozumou: Heiseiban

Tsuppari Oozumou: Heiseiban

 

The third game in the Tsuppari series was actually developed by Naxat Soft rather Tecmo. Because of this, the game’s control is slightly different from its predecessors. The moves are executed the same way, but here there are two meters. The top meter is health. The second meter complicates things. It constantly moves higher and lower, and I am almost certain that it affects when moves can be executed, but I can’t tell how to judge it. At its lowest there is a frowning face beside it that most likely means that is a bad time to execute a move. At its highest there is a smiling face beside it which most likely means that is a good time to execute a move. However, the opponent's meter does not move at the exact same pace. It seems that where the two wrestler's meters are relative to each other probably has an effect on when moves can be executed. I am sorry to say that I have not been able to figure it out exactly, and can not get moves to work with 100% reliability. However, the game is still playable because if you attack relentlessly you should achieve moderately successful results and moves should work often enough. The aesthetics hold up the series’ high quality. The rabbit ref has been removed, but there is a ref on screen constantly during matches. The animations for a wrestler being defeated are probably even more over the top than the two prior installments. There are also tournament intro screens, which look fine. The audio is not as good as the others, but it is still very listenable. There is a two-player mode in this game as well.  Despite the aforementioned quirks, it’s all pretty enjoyable.

Tsuppari Oozumou: Heiseiban Tsuparri Oozumou: Heiseiban

Wakataka Oozumou - Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu - Super Famicom (1993)

Wakataka Oozumou: Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu

Wakataka Oozumou: Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu

Wakataka Oozumou: Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu

 

Developed by Imagineer and released in 1993 for Super Famicom, Wakataka Oozumou - Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu is very different from any other game you are likely to have played. Try to imagine if Human Entertainment had made a tile based sumo wrestling game. Weird idea, right? That's pretty much what this game is like; success is completely based on accuracy of timing. At the beginning of a match you will notice three tiles above your wrestler. The one on the left will perform moves that will knock down your opponent. The one on the top will perform a slap or a throw. The one on the left will perform moves that will drive your opponent back. These are especially good if you have him near the edge. There is a Japanese symbol on the top of each tile that tells the name of the move, and a number on the bottom, in Japanese symbols, that tells the strength of the move. Your available moves will become more powerful after winning records are posted in tournaments. The game is played by choosing one of the three tiles within about a second. After choosing a tile a paddle will rise up out of nowhere in front of the wrestlers. When it gets to roughly where it would be over lapping the guy in the background below...   ...you tap any of the face buttons on the controller. Whoever is closer to the exact timing without being early will perform their selected move. Real simple, and quite a novel gameplay system. The paddle will change after a certain rank is reached and again after Ozeki is reached. These are slightly different looking so it takes a few tries to be able to eye the timing as well, but you will most likely get it in nearly no time at all. You will notice that the game does have a meter at the bottom of the screen for each wrestler, which is just a health meter this time around; very stark for a sumo game. Lastly, like in Super Oozumou Netsusen Daiichiban, characters always stay on the same side of the ring. Both 1 and 2 Player Mode play exactly the same, except that the matches in 2 Player Mode are standalone and the matches in 1 Player Mode are part of tournaments against the computer. There is also a tutorial that explains the timing and whatever else. The music here is yet more traditional Japanese fare but sets a good pace and mood for the game. Sound effects couldn’t be better; there are MIDI noises resembling those that would be heard in a real tournament and generic guys-getting-the-crap-knocked-out-of-them noises when the fighters slap each other or fall to the ground, and an over the top machine gunning noise when one guy is slapping the hell out of the other. Time was definitely put into making this game visually appealing. The fighters have a stylized look that really gives the game something relatively few games have: a visual identity. It’s nice to see that different character portraits are drawn for each opponent and how each is given an animation for when they win or lose. Particularly the best in the game are the tournament intro screens, which are simply beautiful pieces of sprite art. Animations are minimal, but well applied, like how individual spectators will hoot and holler after a match ends. Benefiting the aesthetic of the game and the general visual appeal, there are digitized photos of parts of an arena set up for a tournament and of traditional Japanese paintings depicting sumo wrestling. Massive respect to the guys at Imagineer for the presentation on this game.

Wakataka Oozumou: Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu Wakataka Oozumou: Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu Wakataka Oozumou: Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu Wakataka Oozumou: Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu Wakataka Oozumou: Yume no Kyodai Taiketsu

Aah! Harimanada - Mega Drive / Game Gear / Game Boy (1993)

Japanese Mega Drive Cover

Aah! Harimanada (Mega Drive)

Aah! Harimanada (Game Boy)

 

Aa! Harimanada is based off of a famous manga/anime, with three different versions on three different platforms. The Mega Drive game is, to be kind, horrid crap. While retaining gameplay from other sumo wrestling games, it plays very much like a fighting game. You have a health bar, moves are executed by simply pushing attack, and tapping Up makes your wrestler jump. The grapple system is pretty much identical to most other sumo games, and wins are still achieved by forcing your opponent out of the ring or knocking him down. This combination of sumo wrestling and fighting game is certainly a great idea, but just not very well executed here. It’s far too difficult to get anything to happen during a grapple, and opponents get major league SNK Boss Syndrome (HINT: that means it’s really, really hard) as early as the second match, making any real progress nigh impossible. Boring music and ugly graphics are not making this game any better. It shares a name with a seperate Game Boy iteration.  What is most surprising is that it plays completely differently from its 16-bit counterpart, with the Genesis game being fighter flavored and this game being a standard sumo wrestling game. Gameplay is standard for the genre. However, its control responsiveness is a disaster and its boring gameplay system make its resemblence to its more successful contemporaries superficial at best. Combined with horrible presentation this is a forgettable and best avoided game. It shares a name with a seperate Game Boy iteration.  Just like the two slightly differently spelled Genesis and Gameboy games were actually different games, so is this installment for Game Gear. It's actually better than those other two, but that's strictly relative. It controls pretty much like the Genesis game, with Up executing jumps and the two buttons executing attacks. There is still no meter system and the health bar is still there, but more time is spent in grapples and it seems less like a fighter, except matches really consist of little other than button mashing. The controls are less poorly responsive and the game physics are not quite as horrible, but they still suck on every level. "Aah! Harimanada" is just as ugly as the GB and Genesis games, but the presentation has been upped ever so slightly by displaying winning moves via anime style sequences. This is hardly a reason to play any game, let alone this piece of crap, so you are probably best off avoiding this thing just as completely as the other two.

Aah! Harimanada (Mega Drive) Aah! Harimanada (Game Boy) Aah! Harimanada (Game Gear)

Comparison Screenshots

Mega Drive	Game Gear	Game Boy

Hopefully this has introduced a few people to a genre that they have never played or perhaps even heard of. They offer a novel change of pace from anything else that you are most likely to have played and have superb gameplay that will outlive the novelty of how different they are. Thanks to Crusader for editing and formatting this article.