N64: Fighters Destiny Review

[retro junkie]

This review is taken from a series of reviews I did a couple of years ago concerning the fighters available for the N64.

The gameplay is Virtua Fighter-ish in style and feel....... and yet very different. You have two main buttons that have a limited number of moves assigned to them. I thought various moves were being determined by the directional button. And they are, in that I found out that I am inadvertently performing some of the moves by button mashing. (Yes I am, by default, a button masher!) You have access to a move list for each character when you pause the game. The bad, or the good, depends on your perspective, is that you cannot assign any of those moves to controller buttons in the menu. It has already been predetermine as to what you can assign to those buttons. Those things you can assign are, Hirari= auto-avoid, Guard, and U+L which is the upper and lower buttons pressed together, green & blue, a throw. So you have to learn and memorize any of the character moves that are on the list. That, to me, adds some depth and also determines that it will take some skill to be a good fighter. But the unique thing that raises the bar in this game is the point system. This is not like other fighters where it's two, or three bouts and you win. You win by a set amount of points. Throws, ringouts, knockouts, etc, all give points when accomplished. There are options to adjust the point system and that effects the length of the bouts. You have a life bar which can be reduced, but you can back away and you begin to recover. But you need to watch the clock which calls for strategy. I find this gameplay refreshing and makes this game very interesting to play. This is not a "me too" clone fighting game. The designers stepped out of the norm using some creativity to give us a very different experience in a fighter. And it works. Learning moves and fighting through this game can be a very satisfying experience.



The graphics are on par with Virtua Fighter 2 of the time period. Not as much detail, simpler, but it makes for a softer, maybe fuzzy, appearance to the characters. I'll admit that they are a little blocky especially if you use a hi-res flatscreen. A flatscreen yields some sharpness in the graphics and things take on a different look. But on a 480 scan tube TV, it is smooth. Animation is also good and smooth. There are some character designs, which I sort of wince at. Maybe it is just the western cultural influence that I have in my brain. There are 9 characters with 5 unlockables. And one of them, is a cow.



You are located up on a very high platform with animated backgrounds, or at least some of the backgrounds are animated. That is where you fight it out with your opponent. A ringout means a nasty fall. The backgrounds look nice and are much more detailed than the characters. Not sure if that works for you. I never noticed. I was too involved with the fight. Using the rumble pak is a nice touch.



The game is an easy pick up and play, I was easily fighting in no time. I think a novice, or a skilled gamer, would get a lot out of this fighter. I found the game fun and satisfying. The only negative is the lack of emphasis on combos. You can string hits together which are combos, but there are no on screen graphics announcing how many. It is sort of missing and you feel it, or it is something I wanted while playing. It has nothing to do with the gameplay. Just puts a little fun edge into it. Like having a spotlight on you that gives you the feeling of accomplishment. Sort of like an award, a brag point. If they had included that graphic splash across the screen, it would have put this game over the top for me. Still, I encourage you to spend some serious time with this game and enjoy yourself. Fighters Destiny does excel in its gameplay. And this game easily sits in my top ten fighters for the N64. (Those slots are filling up fast.) I highly recommend this game, big thumbs up, and rate it as "Awesome Game."