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Review: Galaxy Fight |
The US history of Sega’s ill-fated Saturn game system is infamous to fans of the little black box. Launched with nil-hype and soon overshadowed by the Sony PR machine, the Saturn was the sad, stillborn heir to Sega’s increasingly troubled legacy. I am saddened, even today, by thoughts of the ‘Saturn that could have been’, but is now just a ghost. Thank goodness for the ease in which imports can be played on it. And thank goodness for the games that did make domestic release. That includes Galaxy Fight.
Starting life as a Neo Geo game, Galaxy Fight (GF) is, by most accounts, a ’standard’ 2D fighter. In fact, it is the first of the ‘Sunsoft Triumvirate’ on the Sega machine, which includes Waku Waku 7 (also a Neo Geo game) and Astra Superstars. GF was the only one of the three to make it stateside, and in fact the only Neo-to-Saturn port to see the US shores. (Shame on you, SNK.) Perhaps it was the ‘been there, done that’ factor, or the lack of an established arcade following, or maybe the inferior fighting games that released along side it. Anyone remember Dark Legend? Howzabout Battle Monsters? I didn’t think so’ Whatever the case, GF made little impact, and did not help to rejuvenate the genre, which is a term the suits like to use to say the revenue didn’t pay for their new yacht. I got my copy for $7 used, well after the Saturn was pushing daisies. To tell the truth, I’m glad I did.
Basic though it may be, GF is a fun little diversion. The premise is negligible, dealing with an ‘ancient evil’ that will soon resurrect, and only ‘one hero’ can save a ‘doomed galaxy’, yada yada. Whatever. This just gives us a reason to use spacemen as brawlers. The cast is pretty small, but diverse enough to warrant a play for seven of the eight characters. There are four hidden folks as well, including the mysterious and pathetic Bonus-kun(!), a sentient punching bag with a red headband. (huh?) The cast is all a decent lot in the character design department (robot, ninja, femme-fatale-dominatrix, cutie-horse-leg-girl…) but one, the unbelievable G. Done, holds the award for WORST design EVER! Everything about him reeks of ‘deadline addition’. Basically a pink-jacketed thug-pimp, G. Done even has a rap song on his stage that is so bad, your ears will erupt from the sound of your own, disgusted laughter. (Other than that, all the other music is forgettable.) I cannot bring myself to play this reprehensible excuse for a character, and I thoroughly enjoy beating the snot out of him in game. Maybe that’s the point’? I doubt it.
The animation is fair to good, and there are numerous win poses for each character. The backgrounds are surprisingly good, made up of vast layers of parallax. There is a real sense of depth to the game. Maybe pointless in a 2D brawler, but a nice touch. What will really catch ones attention is the lack of walls. No corner juggles here, no sir. A good kick or charge will send an opponent flying far and wide. The Neo Geo zoom is also in effect, making those moments all the sweeter.
Gameplay is easy to pick up. GF uses a three-button config, with a fourth for taunts. Light, normal and strong attacks are mapped to A, B, and C respectively. There is also an option to map your special moves (ala QCF+P) to the remaining free buttons. I’ve tried this, and it seems to up the difficulty of the CPU. Nice touch for all you challenge junkies out there. I prefer not to use this option. Specials are the typical SF2 move set, and they execute well. Also in play are charging moves, so when running, certain specials go farther and do more damage. There is a lot of running at your opponent and trying to pull off the uppercut and such. It reminds me of the Kung-Fu movies, where swordsmen charge, parry, retreat, then charge again. It can be very fast-paced.
Just don’t try any jump in kicks. The Ai seems to be an expert at countering those. No SF2 cheapness here, folks. There is a Samurai Shodown feel to the engine, forcing you to focus on your hits and parries. Button mashers beware. The only problem I’ve found is that sometimes, the AI is so parry happy that it will sit still, waiting in block position, totally non-aggressive. This becomes easy to exploit and causes far too many time-out wins. Too bad.
Overall presentation is another positive. First is the cool intro. Simple but effective animation lets you know, ‘yes, this is a fighting game.’ Good. The character select screen is nice, with all the contenders standing in a row for your perusal. Once you choose, a galactic map rotates into view, a planet is selected by the game, and you’re off to fight. The sound is rich here, with nice deep roars and clear (!) voices. Imagine that. Then, there is some load time between matches; about 15 seconds. However, a nice pic of your next opponent fills the screen while you wait. There seems to be two random variations of this art per character, and I don’t know how the CPU decides which set to display, but these little touches are welcome. As well, before and after each fight, a portrait of your opponent appears to taunt you, then either grovel for mercy or rip you for losing. It’s a nice touch and everyone says something a little different depending on whom you play as. Finally, beating Boss Feldon Cryce yields an ending (stills with text ala SF2) and whipping up hidden Boss Rouwe rewards credits and a final portrait of the ‘big wiener’.
Feldon Cryce, the main Boss, is an Orochi clone through and through. His stage, an unnerving meteor shower in a star-scape, is suitably sinister. Beating him is no cakewalk, but it can be done, and feels good doing.
I’m not sure how to unlock the secret Boss, but I think it involves not losing at all, which is nigh impossible. The only way I’ve done it so far is by using my built-in Action Replay cheats to give myself invincibility, and even then I had to win some by time-out victories. The game is great at blocking and parrying your attacks, so it pays to know you and your opponent’s move list inside and out. (I guess it ALWAYS pays to know that in every fighting game. What a crappy clich’ I’ve succumbed to. Suck it up!)
Galaxy Fight is, in my opinion, a widely under-rated game. It’s fun, has decent graphics and a reasonable challenge. My best comparison would be Samurai Shodown in space’not so much the atmosphere, and certainly not as classic, but the gameplay is similar. If you can find it cheap, like I did, get it. The ghosts of Saturn-past will thank you. And you can thank me.
