LIKE FINE WINE THAT GETS BETTER WITH AGE!
I used to mock and ridicule the people (like my best friend Ricardo)
who religiously followed the "Street Fighter" series, and couldn't wait
for the next installment of the videogame that started for real the
fighting-game genre. But now I find myself thoroughly addicted to
"Fighters Megamix", the latest installment of the series of Sega's
AM2-developed fighting games that have moved what Capcom started fully
into the 3D realm. Now the joke is on me, since I'm the one being mocked
by my friend for anxiously following the whereabouts of Yu Suzuki and his
gang.
"Megamix" delivers to our humble little homes all the characters from
Sega's two arcade brawlers: the blockbuster (at least in Japan!) "Virtua
Fighter 2", and the lesser-known "Fighting Vipers". Also in the mix are a
slew of secret characters: from super-deformed "Virtua Fighter Kids" to
Siba, a prototype character left in the drawing board of the original
"Virtua Fighter" (has it really been only four years?). Throw in almost
all the moves from "V.F.3", almost all the songs and backgrounds from both
series, a chance to toggle between "V.F." and "F.V." modes, a slightly
lower-resolution than the one in "V.F.2" Saturn, and stir really good for
five months (the time it took "Megamix" to make it to our shores...why?).
What you will end with? The tastiest, crunchiest and most
vitamin-packed reason to hold onto planet Saturn for quite a while. While
not 100% there, "Megamix" gets so close to perfection that it will be hard
for you not to appreciate the gameplay advances over the series' history.
This is the gameplay-filled game that even Nintendo 64 owners (stuck with
"Mortal Kombat Trilogy" and "Killer Instinct" but about to receive "War
Gods"...wheee!!!) will have to admit is in a league of its own.
GRAPHICS / VISUALS: A
Reviews on the net (and on this very site!) had me ready to experience
tremendous amounts of slowdown and a resolution that would depress a monk.
Bull! The resolution of the entire game seems to be running on a
slightly-enhanced "Fighting Vipers" engine, and that wasn't a cheapo to
begin with! The backgrounds and floors are sweet and nowhere near as
pixilated as those in "V.F.2". The light-sourcing is better than ever:
just wait until the Siba stage and its fading sun stare at your
face...wow! And of course, unlike 95% of the titles available on the
PlayStation, this Sega game doesn't have 16 million shades of brown :).
Colors!!!
But there are some small nuggets here and there in this visual
spectacle that stop it short of breathtaking: there is slowdown in
graphically-complex stages, particularly the ones with cages (like Raxel's
elevator stage). We have blocky-looking characters (particularly the
"Virtua Fighters") that break-up severely during replays (never during a
fight). And the resolution isn't up to Saturn's "V.F.2"/"V.F.Kids"
standard, which is the benchmark of the series so far.
Besides the above, it is the 3D fighting genre's version of polygonal
nirvana! (on home consoles, anyway!).
AUDIO / MUSIC: A-
Never a huge fan on any of the two game's music (I like "Tekken 2" and
its eclectic mix better), I have to admit that there is variety and
catchiness in the "Megamix" tunes, and that they fit each character's
background perfectly. The guitar-laced, rock-wannabe tunes of the "F.V."
are in tune with their appearance, and the soothing tunes of "V.F." have
the traditional Japanese feel that martial artists engaged in battle would
enjoy (??!!). This, however, leads me to my biggest complaint against
"Megamix" (it's a nitpick, I know, but a big one in my book): the music
from each stage resets every time a round begins, which means that good
fighters never get to hear more than the first :30 or :45 seconds of music
over and over again. Those of us who like to have :60 rounds and a
three-out-of-five round format find this little fact (which Sega had
months to correct between the December 1996 release in Japan) severely
aggravating. Boo-hoo!
There isn't a noticeable jump in the quality between the yells and
grunts of the "Vipers" and the "Virtua Fighters" from their previous
Saturn incarnations. In essence, this means that when Lion taunts you with
the "about ready to go home now" line, it sounds like its coming through a
speaker with a thick towel pressed against it. Almost all the other
characters have equally uncomprehensible lines (is Bahn really saying
"your mother's black!" when taunting?), some more or less than others.
With the powerful sound chip inside their black box, Sega should have
tried to get the voices clear this time.
The punches, kicks and wall-throws have a strong presence via their
respective sounds, but a little more brutality in my ears would have been
appreciated. The bone-crunching slaps and leg-sweepers from "V.F.2" are
present, but muffled. I'd like to hear a Tekken-like "crunch" when Aoi
grabs a guy from the back and snaps the arm; I'd like to hear a character
scream in agony/pain when he/she gets thrown thru a wall and breaks it.
I'm no "Mortal Kombat" fan, but small touches like that would go a long
way toward showing the faithful that much talked-about hidden potential
for the hardware. Overall, it is no better/worse than the previous AM2
fighting games.
GAMEPLAY / FUN FACTOR: A+
Absolutely, positively off the scale for fans of fighting games
(particularly Sega's), and a chance to experience the thrilling yet
unbalanced opportunity to have the depth and timing-heavy style of a
"Virtua Fighter" go up against the juggling brute force of the "Vipers".
Two modes of play allow you to fight in the styles of both games, an
although the "Vipers" still seem to have the edge when it comes to beating
all other characters (even in "Virtua..." mode), it is possible with time,
patience and practice to become a good player with any of them. Those
masochists who have to prove their fighting prowess by defeating a game
with the weakest character have their work cut out for them, as there are
too many of them in the game as hidden characters. The "Virtua Kids" and
the "Sonic" characters come to mind...but they add to the fun factor!
By far the biggest gameplay improvement in "Megamix" is the addition of
the 3D element first seen in "V.F.3" via the L & R buttons. Finally we
get to have the characters from Sega's fighting universe dodging and
intercepting attacks by moving in & out of the screen. I can't begin
to describe the fun this has brought to the standard AM2 engine, which
until "V.F.3" was rooted deeply in the 2D plane inherited from Capcom's
"Street Fighter" saga. Not anymore! Sure, the dodge isn't new (Takara's
"Toshinden" and Midway's "WarGods", to name two) or terribly effective
(SquareSoft's "Tobal # 1" has mastered the movement in a 3D space), but
paired with the AM2 fighting engine it truly rocks the proverbial boat!
Also, Ring Outs are out of the game entirely; I (and many others) probably
won't miss them, but it would have been nice to have the option of having
an elevated platform, for old time's sake.
OVERALL: A
It goes without saying that AM2/Sega/Saturn fans shouldn't be without
"Megamix" in their collection, as it reflects more than any other game the
evolution and obstacles Sega has encountered programming its own machine.
Witness the evolution of the AM2 fighting games on Saturn, and tell me you
don't see a telling story about Sega's machine: -"Virtua Fighter": glitchy
polygons during replays, and flat polygons...virtually arcade perfect 3D
pioneer; -"V.F.Remix": no more glitches or break-ups, and texture-mapped
characters give the game a more powerful visual punch...arcade perfect
(based on the Titan board); -"Virtua Fighter 2": the Saturn's finest hour
with high-resolution visuals, arcade-exact gameplay and
collision-detection, and O.K. (but muffled) music and sound effects. Faked
3D backgrounds and rushed feel are only noticeable downers; -"Virtua
Fighter Kids": same high-res graphics, sounds, music and gameplay, but
with a Japanese feel for cartoony super-deformed visuals...too similar for
some to the original "V.F.2", it is nevertheless an AM2-quality product;
-"Fighting Vipers": snubbed by players and the media alike, "F.V." never
showed its true depth until it was released for Saturn, where a following
soon developed. Sweet light-sourcing, unbelievable depth and brutality, a
weird cast of characters and a lower-resolution were the
highlights...definitely an acquired taste for some.
As you can see, each of the above games has paved the way for the
current joy of "Megamix" at home and "V.F.3" at the arcade. Each of them
should be experienced and, if possible, owned as part of the A+ collection
of Sega titles. If you're low on cash and have to let some games go, I'd
have to say "Fighting Vipers" is the most likely candidate: only the
announcer's voice, character art and never-looping original tracks should
attach you to the game. "V.F.2" won't give you much cash, and its "Ring
Out" strategy and high-res visuals make it a classic must-keep. "V.F.Kids"
is an acquired taste; give it a try, though!
So, "Megamix" is a stellar piece of software that should keep us
happily attached to Saturn until "Last Bronx" and "Virtua Fighter 3" make
it late this year. Those games better be solid and packed with hidden
goodies, because this game has spoiled me into expecting a lot from future
releases. Can a hidden polygon version of"Sailor Moon" be ready for kicks
in "V.F.3" Saturn?, Could a "Sailor Jupiter" surprise be lurking behind
the scenes of "Last Bronx?" Oh, Sega/Bandai, say it is so! Make a moonie
happy for a change! OVERALL: A -
- J.M.
Vargas
