Review #584: Nintendo 64 Memories: Fighters Destiny

 Hit the mat, loose the match.

Part 1: The Flashback
 You know that game? Y'know, the one you always used to rent, always wanted but never got? That game, for me, was Fighters Destiny. I don't think there was a game I rented more times than Fighters Destiny, it was, and still is, one of the most original fighting games I've ever played. Characters were, for the most part, fairly forgettable. I could only remember Ryuji, Ninja, Ushi the Cow, Master and the Joker, the last three only because of how tough it was to unlock them. On another note, I was hoping that buying this game used would come with the secret characters unlocked, but alas, it was not to be.
 Unlocking characters was so tough! I only got to see Boro, Rob and, I think, Ushi one time. On yet another note, I just managed to unlock Ushi this morning which makes me feel all kinds of happy and fulfilled. I don't think I'll be unlocking the other characters however.

Part 2: Today
 Well, it's certainly an old game. It's stiff, slow paced and somewhat clunky. But it's also really, really fun. Controls are simple: A is a high attack, B is a low attack, A+B is a grab, L dodges or sidesteps and R blocks and that's it, and that's all you'll need. Attack strings and movement isn't as smooth as we've grown accustomed now a days, but I think they aren't too bad and they sorta fit the game.

 You see, this isn't your traditional fighting game with life bars, it's more of a sparring match competition. Once you deplete your opponent's life bar he doesn't just drop down, no, he gets dizzied, which makes him easier to put down or allow a free throw. For, you see, the point of a match is to earn points. Knock down your opponent? Three points. Throw him down? 2 points. Make him drop out of the ring? 1 point, etc etc. How much points anything is worth can be changed at will, as well as how many points players need to earn in order to win. There's also a time limit, and if neither player felled each other, the 'judge' will grant 1 point to whoever did better. This is what makes the game so unique and so much fun, something you can't find on any other fighting game.

 The game features 8 base characters as well as about 5 secret characters. Unlockable characters are... well, they are rather tough to unlock, so good luck. Every character has a small, but unique, moveset and you can expand it by playing Master Mode and beating the Arcade Ladder.

 There's a neat amount of modes, besides your Arcade, VS and Practice mode, there's also Record Mode, which has Survival, self explanatory, Fastest(Time Attack against the secret characters) and Rodeo, in which you must last as long as you can against the never-tiring Ushi the Cow, last more than a minute without knocking him down(Or getting downed yourself!) and you can unlock him... provided you've beaten the game with Abdul already.

 I'm happy to report that Fighters Destiny does hold up, albeit entirely on the merit of its originality. It's not the N64's answer to Tekken or Virtua Fighter, both franchises blew it out of the water(Tekken 3 was out one year earlier!!), but what it does it does quite well.
 8.0 out of 10