Fighting Force (PS1) - All Throws & Grab Moves
Вставка
- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Characters:
Hawk - 0:00
Mace - 0:15
Smasher - 0:32
Alana - 0:50
Fighting Force (Metal Fist in Japan) is a 3D beat 'em up game released in 1997 for Sony PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Windows PC. The game was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos, as with the early Tomb Raider series of games. Crave Entertainment published the N64 version of the game after Eidos cancelled it.
Fighting Force was originally pitched to SEGA as the sequel to Streets Of Rage 3 on Genesis / Mega Drive. SEGA declined this project as they had other plans for Streets Of Rage 4. Similarities can still be seen between Streets Of Rage and Fighting Force. The characters Hawk, Mace, Smasher, and Alana are comparable to Axel, Blaze, Max, and Skate respectively. Interestingly, Hawk was used as the name for Axel in the beta version of Streets Of Rage 1. Dr. Zan from Streets Of Rage 3 may have inspired Dr. Zheng, the final boss in Fighting Force.
Strangely, the beta version of Fighting Force was less similar to Streets Of Rage. It had two tank-style characters called Hammer and Vulkan, alongside different versions of Hawk and Mace. In this version, Hawk's hair looks much closer to Axel from Streets Of Rage. Vulkan's robotic armor may again have been influenced by the cyborg Dr. Zan from Streets Of Rage 3. The character models for Mace, Hammer and Vulkan were re-worked as boss characters in the final game.
Fighting Force has a respectable range of grab and throw moves. Hawk retains Axel's headbutt, and his front suplex is similar to Axel's except he flips over backwards with the opponent. Mace has a judo reap reminiscent of the one used by the judoka Blaze. Alana is an agile character with melee-based grab attacks. It is highly likely that her moveset was inspired by Skate, especially considering she has a head punch attack whilst sitting on the shoulders of the opponent. Smasher's fighting style feels like The Hulk from his 2003 game, for The Thing in the Fantastic 4 game from 2005. It may well be the case that the playstyle of Smasher influenced these future beat 'em up games. Smasher is notably missing any jumping throws such as piledrivers, which are common for tank-style characters like Max or Haggard (Final Fight). He does however possess the unique ability to lift the opponent over his head, from where he can either toss them or perform a backbreaker in the style of Bane from Batman. While Smasher can turn on the spot whilst holding the enemy above his head, he disappointingly can not use the held opponent as a projectile against other assailants.
Back throws are notably absent from the game, as it is impossible to grab an enemy from behind, or vault over their head as in Streets Of Rage. This was a missed opportunity to expand the selection of moves available in the game. In fact, Fighting Force ends up having less throws than Streets Of Rage overall. Fighting Force also lacks the ability to throw enemies off the edge of platforms or into pits, which is a fun feature of Streets Of Rage.
Fighting Force retains the somber vibe of the Streets Of Rage opening sequences, but makes the mistake of continuing it throughout the entire game. By contrast, Streets Of Rage 2 also used vibrant graphics and upbeat electronic dance music, making it the best entry in the series.
Fighting Force was highly anticipated due to the success of Tomb Raider, but critics were ultimately disappointed by the gameplay, which didn't innovate much beyond that of prior 2D beat 'em ups. What I really do like about Fighting Force is the similar feel and aesthetic to the early Tomb Raider games such as Tomb Raider III. The blocky, polygonal characters remind me of the human adversaries in Tomb Raider. The shotgun in Fighting Force feels just like that of Tomb Raider. I would have liked this style of hand-to-hand combat to have been implemented in the gameplay of Tomb Raider, rather than just being shown in cutscenes. Alternatively, it would have been amazing to unlock Lara Croft as secret playable bonus character in Fighting Force.
While I think that Fighting Force is a cool concept, I tend to get bored of playing the game quickly, due to the slow gameplay and clunky controls. This is exacerbated by the constant blocking of the enemies, which is unfair as the player can't block, but at least it gives you a chance to go for a grab move. It would have been better to add a unique character in the style of Skate or Dr. Zan to increase the variety, rather than have two normal female characters with similar attacks. At least the player is given the option of choosing from multiple paths, which increases the replay value. The levels also have destructible scenery, which can create or uncover new weapons. While it's not the best 3d beat 'em up game, Fighting Force is still worth checking out if you're a fan of the genre.
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Keep in mind, that Mace and Hawk, are the only ones, who can perform infinity grabs
Yup and that's why they are my favorites
You brought back some memories, man I love Fighting Force!
When grabbing an enemy, Alan grunts like if she's trying to take a dump on the toilet.
UNGH! I had to hear that a lot whilst recording.
Smasher's grappling moves has a lot of impact and 0:43 is one of them, imagine what could happen to the person's abdomen and ribs
Mace and Alana had the coolest grabs
Nice video. I want to see a weapons in fighting force and fighting force 2. This game is underrated and espiecially sequel.
It would be good to check out the sequel at some point.
Hawk (+ or -) = Axel.
Mace (+ or -) = Blaze.
Smasher (+ or -) = Max.
Alana (+ or -) = Sammy/Skate.
They should have given Alana skates anyway to make her more interesting.
I would say that Alana +/- = Cherry, because of her neck grab
1:00 1:04 красиво
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It would've been fun if all the characters had been playable on a crossover fighting game.
I think this replaced Streets of Rage
I suppose it did, since SEGA failed to produce a 3D Streets Of Rage sequel at the time.