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Super Sumo Wrestling
(Typosoft)
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
"Weighing in as the Yokozuna of QB Games!"
Becoming a Yokozuna
is considered the highest honor in sumo wrestling. But while most sumo
wrestling tournanments are dominated by Yokozuna of great power and size,
the Super Sumo Wrestling tournament is open to any kind of challenger!
Create a new sumo
wrestler and control speed, strength, weight, or rage before entering one
of three tournaments. Or, battle with a friend in a one on one vs. match.
Many surprise combatants await you, and many secrets await to be unlocked.
Do you have what it takes to be the greatest Yokozuna of all?
Graphics (n.)
The use of animation and visual effects to stimulate the senses |
vvvv
(Very
Good) |
Unsually enough, Super Sumo Wrestling's
graphics would be completely original were it not for the fact that it
was inspired a little too much by Super Mario Kart, of all games! Between
each match, while you exchange words with your opponent, a mountainous
background similar to the Mario Kart game scrolls in the back. This shows
off how well the folks at Typosoft can handle graphics, but it doesn't
do much for the originality aspect of the game so a point-penalty had to
be given.
Other than that, it's really hard to find
anything to complain about in this game. The game is very alive and full
of special effects. During a match, the crowd hops up and down like in
a SNES game, and the sumo wrestlers perform tons of attacks that are executed
with smoothness and no flicker. At first it looks like the sumos are only
programmed to slap too, but once you see the special moves (they usually
occur when the meter up top fills up), prepare for some zany graphics sequences
like QB has never known.
The sumo wrestlers themselves, strangely
enough, are pretty small on-screen. There are lots of frames though, and
if you win a match, the sumo will fly towards the screen and fall down
once he collides with the monitor. This is one of those magnification tricks
that makes Sumo unique among QB games in terms of graphics, and rounds
out the perfect score Typosoft receives here. |
Sound/Music (n.)
The smooth blend of atmospheric sounds and original harmonies |
vvvv
(Very
Good) |
Although the score here is high, sound
and music is probably where my first complaints in Super Sumo Wrestling
come from. The Mario Party sound effect used for the selector is just a
little too familiar, but the techno-music used by Typosoft is original
music downloaded from the Internet that cancels out the few poor sounds
in the long run.
Other sound effects are added throughout
the game to give it the atmosphere of a sumo-wrestling match. The sensei
who starts off each battle gives the signal, and when the match finally
ends the crowd cheers for the victor. There are even various slap sounds
for the characters as they attack and make contact. In other words, once
you get into the game, all complaints of familiar sounds seem to flutter
away. |
Gameplay (n.)The precision of control
and involvement of character within its universe |
vvvvv
(Excellent) |
Super Sumo Wrestling consist of a series
of one on one fighting matches based on the game modes you choose. In tournament
mode, you create your own sumo wrestler by setting speed, weight, rage,
and strength. Then, you enter one of three tournaments. At each tournament,
you fight against fifteen computer-controlled opponents. If you reach the
top at the ranks at the end of that series, you will earn the right to
face the Yokozuna. Defeat the Yokozuna and you will have access to a new
secret character and you'll unlock the next tournament.
As if the tournament tree system in Super
Sumo Wrestling isn't deep enough, the game also features an exhibition
mode, a demo mode, and a Vs. mode. To accomodate two player support, players
have a choice of using a keyboard or a joystick. It doesn't really matter
how many joystick buttons you have either; to control your sumo you simply
hold the direction you want to move, while holding down the attack button
to repeatedly slap.
Character select is probably the finishing
touch in Super Sumo Wrestling's gameplay. While some characters you unlock
will naturally be stronger than others, this is okay because you have to
unlock each character one at a time anyway. Sumo X, the final Yokozuna,
is particularly powerful. But if you want to be even more powerful the
game offers a "cheat" menu that allows you to pump a sumo to extreme levels.
One hit from these mega-Sumos will literally cause an opponent to fly off
the ring! |
Story (n.)
The creativity and presentation of the game's critical plot |
vvvv
(Very
Good) |
Very Good. The tournament set-up in Super
Sumo Wrestling orients itself around the main story, where your purpose
is to train your sumo wrestler to become Yokozuna. Typosoft also makes
sense about the game's many non-Sumo type characters, by allowing you to
"unlock" them whenever you win a tournament.
Another nice touch in Super Sumo Wrestling
is the personality they give each of your combatants. Instead of having
your enemies taunt you after battle like Street Fighter, all the trash
talking takes place in the beginning. You'll see witty, printed comments
like "You have offended my honor. Now you shall taste defeat" and "Do you
smell what the sumo's cookin'?" This extra touch gives all the sumo wrestlers
and the game itself personality. |
Replay Value (n.)
The timelessness of the gamer's delight, such that the experience
can be repeated again and again |
vvv
(Good) |
Although the various game modes and cheats
do help to increase the longetivity of Super Sumo Wrestling a little, Replay
Value turns out being the weakness of this Typosoft title simply because
there are only so many things you can do in the sumo ring. Basically you
run, slap, or fall out of the ring. Once you master the game and unlock
all the game's secret characters without using the game's built-in cheats,
the only thing left is the game's multi-player mode. So, Super Sumo Wrestling
works best when you always have a buddy handy. |
Challenge (v.)
To strike the mental nerve in such a way as to stimulate human thought
and reflexes |
vvvvv
(Excellent) |
The game's high point. For a big sumo,
you have to an equally big brain to play Super Sumo Wrestling since a lot
of strategy is involved. Before entering each tournament, you have to weigh
around your attributes. Rage is great for building up your offensive power,
but strength helps solidify that power. You can also customize a sumo of
great size, but you can lose valuable speed and momentum if size is all
you think about.
Each individual match also offers some
level of strategy. Depending on the statistics of your opponent, it would
do you well to either move around or go straight for the kill. When battles
start to take a long time, the meter fills and you never know who's going
to come in for the final attack. Super Sumo Wrestling really shines in
the sense that the gameplay is a lot deeper than you first see it.
But when you're fed up with the Tournament
mode, you can play with a friend. There's a whole other level of challenge
there because human opponents won't charge straight at you the way computer
opponents are designed to in Super Sumo Wrestling. This leaves you room
to try dodging your buddy if your speed rating is high, just to make sure
you get an extra shot in. Overall, with so many ways for Super Sumo Wrestling
to be a challenge, this game can be just as hard as it is fun to play. |
Fun Factor (n.)
The overall entertainment value as maintained throughout the adventure |
vvvvv
(Excellent) |
While the 2001 QB Gaming Gold Nominations
were being made, Gianfranco of fellow QB game review site GBGames QBasic
was the first to suggest that Super Sumo Wrestling be added to the list
of nominees. Shortly after that, Michael Dowling of Typosoft sent us a
e-mail, coincidentally asking asking us to review a final version of Super
Sumo Wrestling. Among the two of them, V Planet was pushed into a corner
and had to give this game a try.
After a few rounds with the game, it was
hard to judge exactly how many points to give Super Sumo Wrestling. There's
a sort of shock value to the game, since there are just enough special
effects and unexpected surprises that Super Sumo Wrestling feels more like
a Game Boy Advance game than a QB game. All the usual signs of a QB game
are missing: there's joystick support, 2-player simultaneous mode, a killer
soundtrack, and polished graphics. I was almost like, "What gives? Something's
wrong here."
But after giving it a day or two I finally
realized what had happened here. Typosoft has made an amazing, original
QB arcade game unlike any QB game I had seen before. And the game was fun
and deep. I had to give more than one day worth of my time to play it,
and I kept coming back for more. This particular QB game is simply that
great, and trying to give it a score in the fun factor department that's
lower than excellent would only reflect the negative effects of my denial.
But under a microscope, there's no denying it now: whether you like QB
or not, Super Sumo Wrestling is one must-have game.
Super Sumo Wrestling Reviewed by QBShire |
Players |
1-2 players
Simultaneous |
Genre: Arcade/Sports Game |
Rating |
|
To solve: 4-6 hours Final Rating: 30/35 |
To download this game, click here.
Installation Tips
wIf
you're unzipping this program in DOS, you may have to use the -d option.
wThis
game is joystick compatible.
wTo
play Super Sumo Wrestling, run "SUMO.BAT". |
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