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Sonic the Fighters .:: Sonic the Fighters

Name:
Sonic the Fighters - Japan
Sonic Championship - North America

Other Names (Nicknames): N/A

Release Dates:
June, 1996 - Japan
July, 1996 - USA

Quality: 32-bit Arcade coin-op

Game System(s): Arcade (Sega Model 2B CRX)

Also released on:
(1). Nintendo GameCube - Sonic Gems Collection

Developer(s): SEGA-AM2, Sonic Team

Character Introductions: Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar bear

Region Game Takes Place On: Random locations in the Sonic universe.

Concept Introductions: Sonic the Fighters was another Sonic game that brings the blue blur into a totally new gameplay style. This time, Sonic's in his first fighting game with eight playable characters, each with their own unique set of moves and 8 combos. The game's engine was based off of Fighting Vipers, which is what it is visually based off of in many ways. It looks a lot like how Virtua Fighter did as well. Other than that, the only other introduction in this game was that it debuted an 8th Chaos Emerald. Apparently the gray (transparent) Chaos Emerald has been replaced by a dark purple one while a new orange one has been added.

Concept Deductions: Obviously, there is no Zone running, Special Stages, powerups, etc., etc. Surprisingly, that's about it.

Storyline:

          It was only a matter of time after the destruction of the Death Egg that Dr. Robotnik would thus begin construction on a superior model, the Death Egg II, which was just as quickly launched up into space. As soon as it began its orbit, Eggman dispatched a swarm of Egg-Robos to reek havoc upon the innocent creatures of the world. Tails' reconnaissance robot manages to pick up signals from these bogeys and also managed to transmit images of this new Death Egg II right to Tails' workshop.

          To stop Eggman's evil plan, Tails constructs the Lunar Fox, a rocket ship that should be able to reach Dr. Eggman's Death Egg II. However, it's only a one-seater, and requires the power of 8 Chaos Emeralds. Now, obviously, Sonic would be the best candidate for this, but it turns out the Chaos Emeralds are separated among 8 individuals, and they all want their chance in the spotlight. So there is only way to determine who is the strongest, and most suitable for doing such a heroic deed: a fighting tournament!

Personal Criticism/Opinion:

         It sucks that Sonic the Fighters had such a limited distribution here in the USA when it was released. You're lucky if you find it in even the most prestigious SEGA Arcade hang-outs, because MAN this game was definitely good. Luckily, Sonic Gems Collection has finally answered our dreams to play this game at its full potential in the comfort of our own homes. Contrary to popular belief (especially the belief of those at the SOA HQ), Sonic would actually fit just fine in a fighting game. Especially how the hedgehog is portrayed these days. I mean, Shadow's got a gun, doesn't he? The damage has freakin' been done, man. End of story. You might as well go Mortal Kombat with Sonic. As for getting to the game? I wouldn't waste my time looking for a Segaworks arcade hang-out or putting up with the crapola color palette and missing graphics of the ROM. Just spend the measily 10-30 bucks and get Gems Collection if you want to play it in all of its true glory without having to pay a quartar to get credits.

         Sonic the Fighters was the result of a little joke from a programmer at the AM2 department at SEGA by adding in all of the Sonic flavor into the recently finished Fighting Vipers engine. Push comes to shove, the thing was eventually embraced by those at Sonic Team and it then got a fairly large distribution out in Japan. The style in this game is mostly cartoony. When you attack your opponent, their bodies will stretch out before they go flying like something you'd see in an old Looney Tunes cartoon. Rings scatter around each time you hit them along with many classic Sonic sound effects. So the traditional Sonic assets were well integrated into the fighting game engine.

         Playable characters included: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Fang, Espio, Bean, and Bark. (Super Sonic was unlockable once you beat Metal Sonic and Dr. Eggman after beating the rest of the characters without losing a single round.) Bean and Bark are the new guys in town. Bean's gimmick is bombs, thus his name, Bean the Dynamite. He is a green duck, and half of his attacks involve something to do with using cherry bombs as projectiles. He is also the cheapest character if you button-bash his peck attack. Not even Metal Sonic can score a hit on you if you keep pecking him. Bean the Dynamite was inspired by a circa late 80's arcade game called Dynamite Dux, where you play as Bin and Pin. Apparently a few weapons were usable in Dynamite Dux, but nonetheless, considering Bin and Pin's strikingly similar appearance, it is obvious that Bean was derived from this old arcade game. Bean also made an appearance with Bark in the later released Fighters Megamix: just a mix of Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers to put it simply.

         However, Bark seems to be a totally original creation for this game. Nobody has managed to find any other characters that are strikingly similar to this big guy. Bark's a serious guy and his throwing attacks are definitely a one up for his power in Sonic The Fighters. Unfortunately, he is slower than a married man's life. So trying to score one of those aforementioned throwing attacks is hard enough. However, he was a one-off character, like so many others. He has only appeared here in Sonic the Fighters and Fighters Megamix and is never coming back. Like Bean, he wasn't given any other statistics other than a name and appearance.

Let's see some GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:

Replay value? Pretty good. Unlocking Super Sonic gives you just a bit initiative, but once you do that, well, there is nothing else to do.

Graphics? Eh, being based off of Fighting Vipers or Virtua Fighter, you'd know what to expect. All of the objects and models are rendered faceted. But the texture maps are well done. The colors are vibrant and eye-catching, which is not a bad thing for a Sonic game. They're pretty much average for an old-school 32-bit fighting game.

Music & Sound Effects? Unlike for Sonic's first arcade appearance, an official OST was released for Sonic The Fighters. It didn't get any distribution here in America, but luckily we have illegal music ripping for that. The OST has one track that is not seen in the game that was meant to be for an extra stage, named Sunset Town. As for the music's quality, well, it's just okay for a fighting arcade game. Real cartoony and jumpy. It wasn't composed by any of the common Sonic Team game music composers, mostly because of Sonic Team's minor involvement with the game. The music doesn't sound real high quality, yet it can never be high quality for an old arcade game. Just DL the OST at some fansite and listen yourself.

Storyline? Not bad. Another Star Wars spoof, but who cares? It's a real-detailed storyline for Sonic (especially for an old Sonic game).

OVERALL RATING? I rate Sonic the Fighters as an 8/10.