The May update for Switch Online brings with it a pair of new SNES games for the emulator. Here's the first one. BACKGROUND:
Yeah, I don't know what this is. I don't think I've known what any of these new games have been for like a year and a half. SUMMARY: Rival Turf is yet another side-scrolling beat-'em-up, so you kind of know what to expect here. Walk to the right, beat the shit out of enemies, rinse, repeat. Combat is not at all complex, with only a basic attack (which can auto-combo), a dash (which can lead to a dash attack), a jump (that can be followed up with one of two jump attacks), and the ability to grab enemies by walking up to them (and then following up with either a forward or back throw that hurts surrounding enemies). That's it. Most enemies (the variety of which is quite shallow) are mostly no problem to fight and can be dispatched quickly with throws, so combat to me overall was pretty one-note. It didn't help that strikes had weird hitboxes that don't connect with the enemy, and that discouraged me from going for anything other than throws or the occasional jump attack. Bosses are slightly less of a pushover, but only because they have annoyingly fast attacks and are quite the damage sponges (they only take significant damage with throws). There are only two playable characters, which is a step down from the other Jaleco beat-'em-ups I've played. The only differences they have on top of that are movesets, which is already pretty shallow, and apart from the one dude's powerbomb and the other dude's flying kick, I found their moves mostly uninteresting. As for why they're fighting, they seem to be out to stop a gang... or something. I don't know. These plots are starting to bleed together for me. There are six short stages, with most of them taking place in typical locales for this game genre (the streets, in a building, some more streets... you get the idea). Don't expect any exciting when it comes to environmental destruction or fun pickups, because the appearance rate of destructible objects is exactly one per three or four screens, and the pickups (which are equally infrequent) only fall into one of four categories: healing item, throwing item, mid-range melee weapon, and explosive. VERDICT: Out of the beat-'em-ups I've played, Rival Turf is unfortunately among the least memorable. Pretty much every aspect of it, I've seen before and have seen it executed better, and it seems to make no effort to distinguish itself from other similar games from its time. The most it is for me is a time-killer, but as harsh as it is to say, I can think of many games that are more engaging ways to pass a free hour. There are other beat-'em-ups out there with more personality and more engaging combat, and if you're looking to get into the genre, you're better served searching for those more well-known titles. I would not recommend this as an entry point to newcomers, and I doubt people who are even a little familiar with beat-'em-ups would find this interesting. But hey, if you're willing to spend an hour playing through the game, I think it's playable enough that you won't have a miserable time. - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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