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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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