It's always interesting to talk again. running fighting game, a genre of video games that was all the rage in arcades between the late 80s and early 90s and that also found space and was followed on the consoles of the time with some excellently crafted productions: just think of the different Final Fights. , Streets of Rage 2 and TMNT: Turtles in Time.
With the arrival of polygonal graphics and the first three-dimensional experiments, the trend practically disappeared and it took several years until it became fashionable again; But the fans of that time are now adults and perhaps sometimes fantasized about how some specific innovation could be introduced within that formula that was so fun and at the same time so intrinsically limited.
Well, an independent Uruguayan developer, Sebastián García, the only component, thought about it. SebaGamesDev, to materialize these fantasies in the form of a game that has just landed on PS5 and Xbox Series, let's put the cards on the table: we will tell you in the Fight'N Rage Review.
History, assumptions and controversies
La history Fight'N Rage is set in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by hordes of violent mutants who have subjugated the human race. The only ones who oppose this situation are two ninja warriors, F. Norris and the buxom Gal, and the rebellious mutant bull Ricardo: joining forces, the three throw themselves headlong against the troops of the human-lion hybrid The Boss.
However, according to tradition, the plot It is simply a banal resource to bring to the screen a sequence of increasingly complex scenarios and combats, in which we will have to face ten levels and a huge number of different opponents to complete the campaign and unlock one of the fifty-six available endings. .
The author of Fight'N Rage thought well enrich the experience in this way to improve their replayability, addressing what has always been one of the weak points of scrolling fighting games, that is, the tendency to exhaust them in an afternoon and the limited incentives to return to the experience beyond the pure and simple. Enjoy the game, but we'll talk about that shortly.
Of course, some problems arise in the especially aesthetic choices made by García. controversial elementsFor example, Gal's practically chibi approach to design does not go well with her enormous bouncing breasts, and although solutions of this type can be interpreted as a kind of mockery of the hypersexualization in vogue in the early '90s, when you find yourself When fighting screeching monkeys that emulate Bruce Lee, some doubts inevitably arise.
Gameplay: like the classics, more than the classics
Assuming that the entire development of Fight'N Rage revolves around the desire to revise and improve what was the typical vision of scrolling fighting games, it is above all the game have a lot to say. Firstly, because the author of the game tried to significantly differentiate the three protagonists, who therefore do not limit themselves to offering the same experience.
F. Norris, who is presented as the most balanced option, is basically a Guy clone from Final Fight, pose included, and boasts a good shooting range, spectacular combos and a super in which the character throws hundreds of punches against the enemy in question, in the purest Kenshiro style. On the other hand, Gal seems to have come out of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game, she has short arms which forces her to close distances a lot, but she is fast and has a really effective running attack.
Finally, Ricardo is a classic tank who lasts a long time before falling, but he doesn't really run and his grabs represent a bit. a missed opportunity, since he simply smashes his opponents into the ground: From this point of view, the other two protagonists do it better, Norris in particular with his explosive Haggar-style jump pile.
Beyond individual peculiarities, the combat system is not limited to traditional combos, but uses juggling to push us to continue hitting enemies even when they are in the air, as well as continually projecting them against their companions to survive situations in which we find ourselves literally besieged by mutants and perform Well these maneuvers become the only way to survive.
The scenarios support these choices very convincingly, even here with various tributes to the classics scrolling fighting games and a particularly difficult and frustrating water level, in which you often end up in the water while jumping or defending yourself from the hateful flying boss at the end of the level, occasionally losing your precious life energy.
How is game over handled in Fight'N Rage? Very good, in our opinion: the "continuums" are infinite, but they have to be done every time. start the level again and this implies the impossibility of reaching the final credits in a very simple way. There are also no upgrades for the characters: the coins you earn can only be spent on unlocking costumes, modes and extra content.
Contents and cooperative
Here, talking about wayAlso from this point of view, good old Sebastián García has tried to step on the accelerator and make up for one of the most common shortcomings of this genre of video games, inserting in addition to the traditional campaign a whole series of alternative options, from Battle Mode attack score, from survival to time trial. Nothing earth-shattering, but it's nice to have them there.
Extra modes are unlocked by completing specific tasks, for example by completing the story on normal difficulty it is possible to obtain CPU-controlled companions for the inevitable. a cooperative, in this case for three participants: a true cornerstone of the Fight'N Rage experience, which however has to deal with an important limitation given that it works. only locally and not online
Technical achievement: is it mature or amateur?
Browsing through the credits of Fight'N Rage we discovered that the author of the game used several public domain resources to put together the graphics of the scenarios and/or characters, but there is no doubt that he did a decent job at the level of Coin-style visual representation. op, which gives us several CRT-style "curvature" options for the screen, as well as multiple scan lines or sharp focus for pixel art graphics, cute but not phenomenal, which embellishes the product.
As we wrote before, there are some elements that leave you a little confused and that are probably related to personal sensitivities, but overall the technical system works very well (except for some strange slowdowns) and the various transitions are captivating. Of course, the amazing soundtrack Gonzalo Varela's signature is undoubtedly the star of the situation, thanks to an abundant number of songs of great depth, which envelop and exalt while we hit left and right.
Conclusions
Tested version PlayStation 5 digital delivery Steam, playstation store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop Price 19,99 € Holygamerz.com 7.5 Readers (8) 8.3 your voteFight'N Rage is a heartfelt tribute to classic scrolling fighting games, but at the same time a game that tries to reinterpret those mechanics and structures to give us something more than an experience that runs out in the space of an afternoon. The solutions found by the author to achieve these goals are interesting and effective, and although the artistic sector sometimes seems a little immature and spoiled by some controversial choices, it is compensated by a stellar soundtrack. It's a real shame that there is no online cooperative, but if you have two friends who are passionate about Final Fight, Streets of Rage and Double Dragon like you, fun is guaranteed.
PRO
- Fun and surprisingly deep
- Lots of content to unlock.
- Wonderful soundtrack
AGAINST
- Cooperative only locally
- Nice pixel art graphics but with some reservations.
- Some sections are frustrating.
