Retro Review: Super Punch-Out!

I was not lucky enough to have played Super Punch-Out back in the early 90s when it was released. The reason I had no interest with the Punch-Out series was because:
1. I played the original Mike Tyson's Punch Out for NES and it was way too difficult for me at such a young age
2. It was not 2-player
Therefore I cannot really accurately give a score for how I remember the game to be. However based on some internet research, the average gaming press review at the time of release was about 83.5%

Back Then: 84%

Super Punch-Out is the last game of the series (one can only hope for a Wii/VC release) and definitely the best. It takes everything from the original Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! but improves on it: Better graphics, sound, controls...and gets rid of Mike Tyson. I discovered this game about 5 years ago in college and definitely was not an immediate fan. Punch-Out! has a relatively steep learning curve and plays differently than any other fighting boxing game that you may have played. The Player's character is extremely weak compared to the opponents and the game emphasizes memorization and timing. This initial difficulty is what kept me away from the series at a young age, but now it keeps drawing me back in. In the past couple weeks, I have found myself booting up Super Punch-Out! nearly every day for at least 1-2 bouts. In these days of Halo 3, GTA IV, etc., I think that says a lot about this older game. The game is extremely unique and different than any of the other games out there and offers a challenge without the player ever getting frustrated and giving up. It's an incredibly addicting game and the graphics, sound, etc. are all top-notch 16-bit pixel art so it stands the test of time well. The negatives are that there is no multiplayer of any kind and that you cannot choose different fighters, but it came before the age of online multiplayer so one can only hope that some one takes the time to revive this franchise and do it right.

Verdict Now: 91%

NEC Turbo Grafx 16 - The 1st 16-bit console?

First Released: August 29, 1989 (USA)
Gaming Era: 16-bit
CPU: Hudson Soft HuC6280
Cost: $189.99 (w /Keith Courage)
Sales: 2.5 Million Units (USA) 10 Million (Worldwide)
Controller: Gamepad (1 port)
Death: 1993 (TurboDuo in '92 Japan-Only 32-bit PC-FX in '94)
Life: 4 years
Best Games: Bonk's Adventures, Bomberman, Ninja Spirit

The TurboGrafx 16 was a joint effort of HudsonSoft (Bomberman Fame) and NEC. It was extremely popular in Japan (games were released through 1999) but fared poorly in the United States. While Turbo Grafx-16 claimed to be the first 16-bit console, this statement was utterly false. The Turbo Grafx 16 had an 8-bit CPU, though it did have a separate 16-bit graphics card and separate sound card. It was in fact a very compact console due to this efficient 3 chip architecture. Secondly, in the US it was not the first 16-bit console to the market (the Genesis was released 2 weeks prior). The start of the 16-bit era saw an intense competition between the Genesis and TurboGrafx. Ultimately, TurboGrafx older technology, lack of a 2nd controller port, and a lack of 3rd party developers led it to a very distant 4th place in North America. The TurboGrafx 16's cartridges were actually really cool. The cartridges were about as large as a credit card, but slightly thicker. The (really 8-bit) TurboGrafx-16 soon began to offer all sorts of expansions including the TurboCD and leading to the TurboDuo in the early 90s in an attempt to claim some share of the US market. This was all too late since the Genesis already had claimed victory, however this failed peripheral expansion was a mistake Sega would make as well.

Retro Review: Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Darkside

"Nine of the greatest fighters throughout history have met untimely and unjust deaths. They now compete against each other for a chance to face the "Eternal Champion" and reclaim their souls. The victor will return to Earth with the chance to avenge his or her own death and restore balance to the universe."

That quote pretty much sums up the story for the original and the sequel to Sega's internally developed Fighting Game. Eternal Champions was created to capitalize on the success of Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, Mortal Kombat and all the other fighting games in the early 90s. Despite this, the first Eternal Champions did a good job taking the mythology and tone of Mortal Kombat and mixing it with pixel drawn characters a la Street Fighter. The first game was decent, but the sequel was a winner.

The first Eternal Champions offered easy to execute special moves, but these moves were restricted by a special move meter. The gameplay was also slow and there were limited characters to choose from. The sequel introduced combos, a less stringent special meter, a ton of new characters (resulting in 25 total), better sound, 3 types of finishing moves, secret characters, Easter eggs, and more. It's a shame the Sega CD was a dud and that this game came late in its life cycle. It was a gem that deserved to be played.

Back then: 90%

To this day, Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side is still an under appreciated title that many people did not play. While the mediocre original garnered some attention with a Wii Console release, Challenge from the Dark Side is definitely too violent to make it onto the Wii. That's a shame since the sequel is superior. Eternal Champions 2 is still fun today. The game is a little slow for fighting game standards, but the art style, gameplay, animation and special attacks are pretty unique to the slew of other fighters of the generation. Even to this day, Eternal Champions CD stands up as a good fighter worthy of playing. I can only hope that it gets a more widespread release so that more people can experience this Mortal Kombat themed game with Street Fighter-esque controls.

Verdict: 85%