Fighter's History (video game)

Last updated
Fighter's History
Fighter's History game flyer.png
European arcade flyer
Developer(s) Data East
Publisher(s) Data East
Producer(s) Hideo Fukuda
Yukihiro Kawai
Masato Noguchi
Composer(s) Gamadelic (Hiroaki Yoshida & Mihoko Ando)
Series Fighter's History
Platform(s) Arcade, SNES
ReleaseArcade
  • WW: March 1993
SNES
  • JP: May 27, 1994
  • NA: August 1994
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system Data East ARM6

Fighter's History [lower-alpha 1] is a 1993 arcade fighting game developed and published by Data East. It's the inaugural game in the Fighter's History series. The main unique feature of the Fighter's History is its weak point system, which allows the player to temporarily stun an opponent by repeatedly hitting their weak point.

Contents

Fighter's History became infamous for being the subject of a lawsuit against Data East by Capcom, who claimed the game is too similar to its hit title, Street Fighter II , and as such is copyright infringement on its property. The case was found in Data East's favor however, as the court found that the copied elements were scenes a faire , elements necessary for depicting the scenario. The game was later ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994, and followed by a sequel Karnov's Revenge for the Neo Geo.

Gameplay

Ray McDougal performing the "Wheel Kick" against Makoto Mizoguchi. FightersHistory arcadescreenshot.png
Ray McDougal performing the "Wheel Kick" against Makoto Mizoguchi.

Fighter's History uses a six-button control configuration similar to Street Fighter II and its iterations, with three punch buttons and three kick buttons, each for different strength levels (light, medium, and heavy). There are a total of nine playable characters, as well as two non-playable boss characters at the end of the single-player tournament. The final boss and sponsor of the tournament is revealed to be Karnov, the protagonist of the Data East action game of the same name.

The main unique feature Fighter's History is its "weak point system". By repeatedly hitting an opponent's weak point, the player can temporarily stun them once per round, leaving the opponent open for an attack. The location of an opponent's weak spot varies with each character and is usually represented by a specific article of clothing (i.e.: a headband, a vest, a mask). After an opponent's weak point is exposed, hitting it will also cause the opponent to sustain greater damage when the weak point is repeatedly struck afterward.

Release

Fighter's History was first released for the arcades in 1993. The game was ported to the Super NES in Japan on May 27, 1994, and later published for North America on August of the same year. The two boss characters, Karnov and Clown, are both playable in the home version through the use of a code.

The SNES version later got a digital re-release for Windows-based online store Project EGG on July 19, 2011 only in Japan. In 2017, the same version received a physical cartridge re-print by Retro Bit in part of a compilation Data East Classic Collection, which also includes the SNES-only sequel Fighter's History: Mizoguchi Kiki Ippatsu!! . [1]

The SNES version was made available for the Nintendo Switch Online service on July 21, 2022. [2] [3]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Fighter's History on their May 1, 1993 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the month. [6] Play Meter listed Fighter's History to be the twenty-seventh most-popular arcade game at the time. [7]

Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the SNES version a 6.75 out of 10. They commented that the graphics are average, but highly praised the controls as exceptional for a fighting game. [4] Nintendo Power wasn't impressed with the SNES version, stating that the lack of originality fails to make Fighter's History stand out from other games, and criticized the poor sound. [5] GamePro gave the SNES version a negative review, calling the game "an unremarkable [Street Fighter] knock-off with solid but slow game play", and heavily criticizing the "bland" character design. [8]

Chris Shive of Hardcore Gamer called the SNES version as "[a] bootleg Street Fighter II" in his Data East Classic Collection review. The reviewer was umimpressed with the core gameplay that doesn't much differ from other contemporary fighting games, although he added that the game is quite fun nonetheless. [1]

Lawsuit

At the time of the game's release, Capcom U.S.A. sued Data East Corp. over Fighter's History due to what Capcom U.S.A. felt were infringements on its Street Fighter II property. Capcom also filed similar claims against Data East in Japan. [9] Data East Corp.'s largest objection in court was that their 1984 arcade game Karate Champ was the true originator of the competitive fighting game genre, which predated the original Street Fighter by three years. [10] Judge Orrick set an October 31, 1994 trial date, stating that he could not deny "the strong evidence that it set out to copy Street Fighter's success", noting similarities such as a "Chun-Li clone" (referring to Feilin) and several comparable special moves. [9] However, Capcom U.S.A. lost the case on grounds that the copied elements were scenes a faire and thus excluded from copyright. [11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Fighter's History (Japanese: ファイターズヒストリー, Hepburn: Faitāzu Hisutorī)

Related Research Articles

<i>Street Fighter II</i> 1991 arcade video game

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior is a 2D fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the Street Fighter series and the sequel to 1987's Street Fighter. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP System arcade system board. Street Fighter II vastly improved many of the concepts introduced in the first game, including the use of special command-based moves, a combo system, a six-button configuration, and a wider selection of playable characters, each with a unique fighting style.

<i>Final Fight</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Final Fight is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up video game developed by Capcom and originally released as an arcade game in 1989, and it is the seventh title released for the CP System hardware. Set in the fictional Metro City, the player controls one of three street fighters: former pro wrestler and city mayor Mike Haggar, expert brawler Cody Travers, and modern-day ninja Guy. The trio set out to rescue Jessica when she is kidnapped by the Mad Gear Gang.

<i>Street Fighter III</i> 1997 video game

Street Fighter III: New Generation is a fighting game in Capcom's Street Fighter series, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1997. The game's name as it appears on the cabinet is Three: A New Generation of Street Fighters. Street Fighter III was produced for the CD-ROM-based CP System III hardware, which allowed for more elaborate 2D graphics than the CPS II-based Street Fighter Alpha games, while revamping many of the play mechanics. The game, which was designed as a direct sequel to Street Fighter II, initially discarded every previous character except for Ryu and Ken, introducing an all-new roster led by Alex. Likewise, a new antagonist named Gill took over M. Bison's role from the previous games as the new boss character.

<i>Karnov</i> 1987 video game

Karnov is a platform game released in arcades in 1987. A Nintendo Entertainment System port followed. Players take control of the title character Jinborov Karnovski, or "Karnov" for short. Karnov is a strongman popularly illustrated as being from an unspecified part of the Soviet Union's Central Asian republics as shown on the arcade flyer and again in Karnov's Revenge.

<i>Super Street Fighter II</i> 1993 video game

Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers is a competitive fighting game produced by Capcom and originally released as an arcade game in 1993. It is the fourth game in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games, following Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting. It refines and balances the existing character roster from the previous versions, and introduces four new characters. It is the first game on Capcom's CP System II hardware, with more sophisticated graphics and audio over the original CP System hardware used in previous versions of Street Fighter II.

<i>Street Fighter Alpha 2</i> 1996 video game

Street Fighter Alpha 2, known as Street Fighter Zero 2 in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1996 fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is a remake to the previous year's Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams. The game features a number of improvements over the original, such as new attacks, stages, endings, and gameplay features. It was followed by Street Fighter Alpha 3.

<i>Super Street Fighter II Turbo</i> 1994 video game

Super Street Fighter II Turbo, released in Japan as Super Street Fighter II X: Grand Master Challenge, and also known as Super Street Fighter II Turbo: The Ultimate Championship, is a fighting game released for the arcades by Capcom in Japan on February 23, 1994, in North America on February 23 and March 26, 1994 (beta) and in Europe in March 1994 (beta). It is the fifth installment in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games, following Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers. Like its predecessor, it ran on the CP System II hardware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheng Long</span> Video game character hoax

Sheng Long is a character hoax related to the Street Fighter series, created by Electronic Gaming Monthly as an April Fools' prank in 1992. Conceived by editor Ken Williams due to a mistranslation suggesting the existence of a character named Sheng Long in the Capcom fighting game Street Fighter II, the publication released an article describing a method to fight the character in the game. Despite intending it to be an obvious joke, many players took it seriously, and other publications reprinted the details as fact without verifying its legitimacy causing the Sheng Long hoax spread worldwide. As a result, the magazine later acknowledged it was indeed a hoax, though revisited the concept for a similar joke in 1997. Claiming Sheng Long would appear in Street Fighter III, they provided a backstory for the character and an appearance designed by editor Mike Vallas. Despite the article trailing off and incomplete, it resulted in confusion between the North American and Japanese branches of Capcom, with the former calling the latter to ask why they had not been informed about the character.

<i>Fatal Fury 2</i> 1992 video game

Fatal Fury 2, known as Garō Densetsu 2: Aratanaru Tatakai in Japan, is a 1992 fighting video game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms, and later ported to several other home systems. It is the sequel to Fatal Fury: King of Fighters (1991) and the second game in the Fatal Fury franchise. Its updated version, Fatal Fury Special, was released in 1993.

<i>Fatal Fury Special</i> 1993 video game

Fatal Fury Special, known as Garō Densetsu Special in Japan, is a 1993 fighting game developed and published by SNK and originally released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is an updated version of 1992's Fatal Fury 2, introducing several changes to the gameplay system while expanding the available character roster.

<i>Saturday Night Slam Masters</i> 1993 video game

Saturday Night Slam Masters, known in Japan as Muscle Bomber: The Body Explosion, is a 1993 pro wrestling arcade game released for the CP System by Capcom. The game features character designs by manga artist Tetsuo Hara, famous for Fist of the North Star.

Fighter's History is a series of fighting games that were produced by Data East during the 1990s. The original Fighter's History was first released for the arcades in 1993 and ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. Two different sequels were produced: Karnov's Revenge for the Neo Geo in 1994, followed by Fighter's History: Mizoguchi Kiki Ippatsu!!, released in Japan for the Super Famicom in 1995.

<i>Karnovs Revenge</i> 1994 video game

Karnov's Revenge is a 1994 fighting game developed by Data East, released for the Neo Geo. It is the second game in the Fighter's History series. The game was later ported to the Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD and Sega Saturn home consoles.

<i>Street Fighter II Turbo</i> 1992 video game

Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting is a competitive fighting game released by Capcom for arcades in 1992. It is the third arcade version of Street Fighter II, part of the Street Fighter franchise, following Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, and was initially released as an enhancement kit for that game. Released less than a year after the previous installment, Turbo introduced a faster playing speed and new special moves for certain characters, as well as further refinement to the character balance.

<i>Street Fighter</i> Japanese media franchise

Street Fighter is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six other main series games, various spin-offs and crossovers, and numerous appearances in other media. Its best-selling 1991 release Street Fighter II established many of the conventions of the one-on-one fighting genre.

<i>Samurai Shodown</i> (1993 video game) 1993 video game

Samurai Shodown, known in Japan as Samurai Spirits, is a fighting game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. Released in 1993, it is the first installment in the Samurai Shodown series. In contrast to other fighting games at the time, which were set in modern times and focused primarily on hand-to-hand combat, Samurai Shodown is set in feudal-era Japan and was SNK's first arcade fighting game to focus primarily on weapon-based combat.

<i>World Heroes</i> (video game) 1992 video game

World Heroes is a 1992 fighting arcade game developed and published by Alpha Denshi with the assistance of SNK. It was originally released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet on July 28, 1992. It is ADK's first game in the fighting game genre, as well as their earliest attempt in the fighting game trend of the '90s that was popularized by Capcom's 1991 arcade hit Street Fighter II. It was even the last game with the "Alpha" logo labeled within the game before the developer became "ADK"; however, the "Alpha" logo was last used on one of the arcade flyers of its sequel.

<i>Street Fighter II: Champion Edition</i> 1992 video game

Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, released as Street Fighter II Dash in Japan, is a fighting game released by Capcom in 1992. It was launched for arcades and converted to several video game consoles. It is the first of several updated versions of Street Fighter II, and part of the Street Fighter series. The main changes are the addition of the four grand masters as playable characters and mirror matches. The fighting techniques of the eight main characters from the original game were further balanced for competitive play.

<i>Fighters History: Mizoguchi Kiki Ippatsu!!</i> 1995 fighting video game

Fighter's History: Mizoguchi Kiki Ippatsu!! is a 1995 fighting game developed by Data East. It is the third game in the Fighter's History series, and the last one published by Data East. The gameplay system is largely unchanged from its predecessor, Karnov's Revenge, but a few new additions made it to the game, including a new game mode where Mizoguchi is the protagonist, and the new character Chelnov, the hero of Data East's action game Atomic Runner Chelnov.

<i>Mutant Fighter</i> (arcade game) 1991 fighting game

Mutant Fighter, originally titled in Japan as, is a 1991 arcade fighting game developed and published by Data East. It was later ported to the FM Towns, Sharp X68000, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The SNES version was developed and published by I'Max. It is a sequel to Data East's 1989 arcade title Hippodrome.

References

  1. 1 2 Chris Shive (January 1, 2018). "Review: Data East Classic Collection (SNES)". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Check out the new Nintendo Switch Online titles!". 22 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "Kirby's Avalanche Headlines New NES & SNES Games on Switch Online". 22 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Review Crew: Fighter's History". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 59. EGM Media, LLC. June 1994. p. 33.
  5. 1 2 "Now Playing: Fighter's History". Nintendo Power . No. 63. August 1994. p. 70.
  6. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 448. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 May 1993. p. 25.
  7. ↑ "Equipment Poll - Video & Pinball Combined". Play Meter . Vol. 19, no. 6. Skybird Publishing. May 1993. p. 8.
  8. ↑ "ProReview: Fighter's History". GamePro . No. 60. IDG. July 1994. p. 74.
  9. 1 2 "Capcom, Data East in Fighter's Fight". GamePro . No. 59. IDG. June 1994. p. 182.
  10. ↑ Gamest. 134. December 30, 1994.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ Capcom U.S.A. Inc. v. Data East Corp. 1994 WL 1751482 (N.D. Cal. 1994). Analysis at Patent Arcade accessed June 18, 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.