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A.P.I Review:	Fight Maker
Developer:	ASCII Co	OPTIONS:	SCREENSHOTS: No.1   No.2   No.3
Distributor:	Agetec Inc	1-2 Player
Game Type:	Fighter	Memory Card
Review Date:	July 1999	Dual Shock/Analog Compatible

Setting the Scene

Did you ever play a fighting game and say to yourself 'I wish my character could _____'? The blank can be filled in with anything from jumping higher to doing a full kung-fu sequence. Or maybe the blank would include the impossible, from levitation to a twisting quadruple reverse corkscrew thrust kick. You get the picture.

With a number of fighting games circulating, a game in this genre needs something unique and imaginative to be noticed. Fighter Maker may just be the ticket that this genre is looking for. The actual fighting game play portion has a secondary role in this title. The main component resides within the creation of movements and fighting techniques.

Fighter Maker contains a cast of 20 contestants. Without any background information on these players in the reading material or CD itself, it was hard to imagine why they were here and fighting each other. Each fighter has their own unique move sets ranging from a 70's disco dancing freak to the more traditional martial arts combatants. So far it seems like the typical fighting game, but. . . .

Inside is an option to create your own fighting techniques!!! So many questions are now running through my head. Can I really create moves from scratch? How much control do I really have? Can I modify my character's attributes? Is there a way of revising pre-existing moves? How hard will programming these moves be? Hehe, read on to find out…

Sound & Vision

It is obvious that the actual presentation of the fighters takes somewhat of a backseat to the creation of movements and fighting styles. The graphics, while not bad, are certainly not up to par with some of the 3rd generation fighting titles out there today. I would put the eye candy about on par with the first Tekken title. The characters are all based on 3D polygons and move about pretty good…it really all depends on how well you program their moves in. The transitional movements though are sometimes slow and choppy. The 2D backgrounds are ordinary and unassuming.

The sound effects have the typical bells and whistles of traditional fighting games. Nice punch and kick impacts and the appropriate sounds to match the corresponding special effects moves.

Playability

So how is the game play? Attacks are simple. Moves can be implemented by pressing one or two buttons. Advanced moves are executed by moving the joystick pad in a straightforward manner followed by a button or two. Simple, to the point, I like it (especially when carrying out my own devastating flurry of attacks).

The one player mode is also very basic. You complete less than ten rounds and then it ends. No bosses or secret characters. No special ending, just the credits and back to the main menu.

The fun part and the real meat of the game are in the Edit mode. Over 80% of the instruction book is dedicated to creating your character. If you are a control freak and you love to manage every nuance, this game is for you. Let me preface this section and say this isn't for everyone. It takes a considerable amount of time and effort to understand the Edit mode. The best way to learn is to try to make a series of simple movements and then advance to the more technical sequences.

The Edit menu has a list of options. This feature allowed me to use different fighting techniques and add this to my character's repertoire of moves. You can load movements from the CD to your character. There are four types of motions: Basic, Win/Lose, Hit, and Throw.

The Basic motion is your fighters stance from which all other movements will flow. The Win/Lose motion is your characters celebration of victory or agony of defeat. The Hit motion is the various strikes your character will inflict on an opponent.

The Throw motion is probably the best part of the game. Not only do you program your characters movements but you also control how the opponent will react. This means everything you can do with your character, you can also do with the opponent's response.

The game gives you full reign of your character. You control every body part on a 3D plane. Features such as copy and paste are in to assist. Inside are shortcuts to move body parts as well. Every degree and angle can be tweaked to even the most neurotic person. Frames can be increased or decreased to vary the speed. The amount of damage inflicted is at your disposal. Sound effects can be added for realism. Special effects like smoke and impact points can be added at various points within the string of movements. Total control, totally cool.