Fighting Vipers

Fighting Vipers is one awesome fighting game!! Let me tell you a little about what makes this game stand out  from the slew of other fighters available.

Fighting Vipers uses a much lower resolution then a game such as Virtua Fighter 2. The game looks like it took a hugh step backward in technology. The other fighters keep looking better and better, Fighting Vipers looks like it should've been made several years earlier. The characters look blocky, and the backgrounds are bland and un-inspired. There aren't any memorable characters either. Sure, they do OK for this game, but none has the lasting appeal of a character such as Sonic.

Does this still sound like an awesome fighting game? Probably not....... But it is!!! It's amazing how Sega could make a game that seems to have nothing going for it into so much fun. I'll explain.

Fighting Vipers is a pologynal fighting game with moves up the kazoo!!! For instance, the fighter Grace has 74 unique attacks available to use within this game. The box says there are a total of 700 moves to master....Wow!! The game also features breakable walls. Talk about cool!! Do a jump kick on your opponent and he goes flying through a gate, or wall, or glass, or whatever was in his way. It's fast too. Blazing fast!! You'll be pounding your opponents so quickly that even you won't know whats going on. Another cool feature is breakable armor. As you beat your opponents, pieces of their body armor flies through the air. Put all these features together, and game resolution won't mean a thing to ya.

Here are the characters: Grace- Grace is currently a fashion model.  She had her dreams of being a professional figure skater broken in high school when her coach betrayed her. She now appears to fight with her rollerblades on. Bahn- Bahn's father left the family when he was a baby. He has now declared himself to be Genghis Bahn III, and is out to prove himself to his father. Raxel- Raxel is a guitarist and volcalist for the band "Death Crunch".  He's a chick magnet. Raxel fights with his guitar. Tokio- A gang member who looks to the Vipers to provide him with new challenges and thrills. Sanman- One big ugly tough dude. Nobody knows too much about him. Jane- A hot headed lady who tends to lose her cool. Her dream was to be in the Navy. She acheived this but was eventually discharged for hurting a fellow seaman. She hasn't given up her dream, and now wants to prove to everyone how tough she is. Candy- Studying to be a fashion model. She looks and plays great in her hand crafted rubber fighting suit.  Easilly my favorite fighting character. Picky- A junior high skate rat. He fights with his board in hand. Mahler- Clad in poisonous snake armor, he has a score to settle with the mayor. Mahler is not immediatly selectable.

There are also a few hidden characters, but I cannot say how many right now. I know that as we speak my son is fighting it out with a couple of teddy bears.

You will find plenty of options in this game. There is a Big head mode, Team battle mode, Tournament mode, and even a training mode. This is a well done fighter in just about every respect. It's only fault is it's graphics, but even at that the textures and lighting effects are well done. It just runs at a lower resolution in an obvious attempt to keep a high frame rate.

What this game lacks in looks, it more then makes up for it in playability. I found this a much more enjoyable experience then the spectacular Virtua Fighter 2 conversion. To me, graphics aren't everything. I'll take gameplay anyday, and this is the area that Fighting Vipers really shines. If you own a Saturn, don't go without this game!!
 
RATINGS
GRAPHICS 80%
SOUND 85%
GAMEPLAY 98%
ORIGINALITY 95%
REPLAY VALUE 98%
OVERALL 91%