Snakeman

So it's been over 2 years since I tackled the first Kaizou Choujin Shubibinman on my channel and in those years the entire series now has official re-releases outside of Japan. Before, the only title to leave Japan was Shubibinman 2, known as ShockMan over here. The remaining 2 games I'd like to cover for the series is Shubibinman Zero which came out via Satellaview and Shubibinman 3 for the PC-Engine CD-Rom². While Zero does have a fan translation, both 3 and Zero's re-releases have new "official" translations.

So I guess my question is, are the re-releases worth it to stream? They were put out by Ratalaika Games and I remember hearing middling to ok things about some of their earlier releases. I'm usually an actual hardware guy so its pretty easy for me to set up the SNES via Everdrive or my PC-Engine Duo with a copy of the 3rd game but if the re-release is quality then it'd feel kinda silly skipping over using that. I guess another big question is how important is a translation to these 2 games? I managed to play the 1st Shubibinman in Japanese and I don't think I need to retread it for an English translation.

So for the most part, fighting games were born in the arcades and their home ports would be limited due to cartridge space and system limitations. This would change with the advent of powerful CD based systems which gave developers more room to implement additional modes while still trying to reach parity with their arcade big brother. Let's see how this impacted them as well as some examples predating them...

• So before the advent of powerful CD based systems, we've got to talk about the fighting game RPGs. On PC-98 there was Sword Dancer 1 & 2 which combined traditional jrpg leveling, npcs, quest lines, roaming around, and random encounters with fighting game combat. Flash Hiders on PC Engine CD and its sequel Battle Tycoon: Flash Hiders SFX for SNES both involve earning money and exp in order to increase your character's stats, though they lack the rpg roaming around. Revengers of Vengeance on Sega CD follows in a similar tradition to Sword Dancer, though this time you can pick different characters who each have their own unique stories.

• On the PS1 you could argue that Dream Factory were the kings of providing single player content to their fighting games. Tobal No. 1 and Tobal 2 both feature a full 3D quest mode featuring a town with shops, leveling up and stat increases via food/items, and multi-floor dungeons. Their port of Ehrgiez: God Bless the Ring also features this quest mode as well as the addition of fun minigames and additional Final Fantasy 7 characters.

• Namco's Soul series used to be the go to for single player content. The 1st game Soul Edge/Blade's PS1 port featured a new Edge Master Mode where players can roam around a world map engaging in special fights with unique parameters. Soul Calibur on Dreamcast on top of being miles ahead graphically from it's arcade counterpart and adding new/returning chars also had a similar mode simply titled Mission Battle Mode though it lacks a lot of the story focus from its predecessor or successor. That successor being Soul Calibur 2 for GC/PS2/Xbox whose Weapon Master mode was like Edge Master Mode on steroids. 3 and 4 would both have lots of modes as well as create a character but both 5 and 6 would see the series drop a lot of these in favor of just a simple story mode. Shoutout to 3 having like an RTS thing and story modes with branching paths but also having a bug that wipes memory cards.

• We look at Namco again with their Tekken series. While 1 & 2's PS1 ports would offer additional characters and real endings, it was the port of 3 where they went big. Tekken 3 PS1 added Tekken Ball which was like a volleyball/dodgeball hybrid as well as Tekken Force which was a full beat em up mode complete with floor chicken. Tekken Force would get expanded in 4, while 5 would replace it with Devil Within, a 3D beat em up solely focused on Jin Kazama storming a G Corp lab. 6 would have a mode similar to Tekken Force with added online co-op. 7 and 8 though would use the MK/Injustice cinematic story mode style though they still offer an arcade like mode as well as some returning modes like Tekken Bowl and Tekken Ball.

• We shift over to Capcom and while the majority of their PS1 ports are kind of bare and compromised, there are some stand outs. First is Alpha 3 for PS1/SAT/DC which offer a World Tour mode. This gave you a world map to traverse, engaging in fights to gain exp for leveling up and unlocking skills which can enhance your ism. The biggest ports (and let down if you were outside of Japan) were Rival Schools. The PS1 port had a whole 2nd disc which contained minigames as well as "Nekketsu Seisyun Nikki" mode. Nekketsu Seisyun Nikki was a mode where you created a character and entered high school along with the cast of the fighting game. You could gain stats, have relationships with characters and learn their moves. It was so popular that it got its own sequel on PS1 with 2 new characters and an expanded Nekketsu Seisyun Nikki mode. Project Justice's DC port would also expand upon this mode. Sadly these modes were cut from releases outside Japan, with Rival Schools 2nd disc only offering some pre-made create-a-characters as bonuses. At least we got the minigames(sarcastic question mark)

• Midway with Mortal Kombat would leave the arcades behind after MK4 and would try to reinvigorate the series with a whole new direction. Now full on 3D fighters with a focus on sidestepping and strings, the team at Midway wanted to go the extra distance in order to snag a new audience. Deadly Alliance was the 1st of these and you could see the seeds being planted right away. You've got the krypt holding all manner of unlockables as well as a Konquest mode which, while being a simple linear series of missions, would help teach players as well as add additional layer of story. Deception would see them bearing the fruits of this. While they added a puzzle game and chess kombat, Konquest mode would receive a massive overhaul as a full on 3D adventure game complete with a unique and important story. It would get pared down a bit in Armageddon being mostly a 3D beat-em up using the Shaolin Monks engine.

• So I know home ports of the Guilty Gear X series along with Isuka have like beat em up modes and M.O.M. modes as well as like a customizable Robo-Ky but I honestly don't really know much about these modes. Feel free to co-post to expand on this

• So I'm not going to acknowledge a "platform fighters aren't real fighters" argument as this is not the place, but it is still important that we look at Super Smash Bros. Melee on the GC introduced Adventure mode which acted a brief alternative mode featuring some side-scrolling segments. Brawl expanded upon this in a huge way with their Subspace Emissary mode. Subsppace Emissary is a full on story mode with side scrolling levels and gameplay resembling Kirby Super Star including being co-op. The big thing here though was that it featured the characters interacting with each other on a scale we hadn't seen before. WiiU/3DS would forgo this kind of mode in favor of some multiplayer party modes. Ultimate though offered World of Light and while it doesn't really have cutscenes or characters interacting outside of the beginning and ending, the mode is closer to Namco's Weapon Master mode we saw previously. You roam around a world map, rescuing characters so you can play as them, stickers to modify your stats, and engage in battles with special conditions/modifiers. Only typing this post out today made me realize just how much World of Light is just Weapon Master mode and now I understand Namco's help with the title that much more.

Ok so I know that was a lot and probably also doesn't cover everything. These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Feel free to co-post or comment to add some more examples or to expand on what I've listed here. I'm not going to say that the cinematic story mode seen in modern MK or Tekken is bad, but I'd like to see devs come at problem from different angles.

Later on I'll cover more games that mix genres with fighting games, like Nessa no Hoshi, which combines 1st person fmv dungeon crawling with a fighting game, and The Adventure of Little Ralph, which is a sidescroller platformer with fighting game boss fights

EDIT: I forgot to link my playthrough of Battle Tycoon: Flash Hiders SFX so here that is to help illustrate.

I keep a little list of C64 games I want to stream over on my google drive but I could always use more. Please give me more games

Here's the last Commodore Cruisin, a series I'd like to get back to. Also Amiga Amigos

Here is an old crusty VOD (pre-tuber) from a few years back where I do a playthrough focused on the red girl. It felt like I got a bad ending despite having the girl like me. Hard to say since I wasn't looking at a guide and there is no translation. Neat little game, much more playable than Inti Create's first title but I still want to return to both that and Love & Destroy to see more.