7/26/24: Found a real diamond in the rough recently. Where to start… I’ll try not to make this too long of a post given it’s an overlap of my two favorite hobbies/passions (mixed martial arts & videogames), specifically because it’s to do with Pride FC, the greatest fighting organization to ever exist. (I have to mention the caveat being the obvious shady side of course. The entire fight game is dirty, all promoters are scum, there have undoubtedly been too many fixed fights to count, and it hurts me to watch the fighters leave it on the mat for pennies far too often.) But relative to fight promotions…Pride put on the best shows and at least paid the fighters well for the era. The organization had a brief but spectacular run and a legendary roster of unique fighters from all over the world. It was the real life version of Bloodsport, and felt like a fighting game come to life in the middle of a WWF show, all in one. Add in some amazing announcers, intros and the best fighting crowds/fans of all time…ooo weee!
Anyway, to save time and space, the game Pride FC: Fighting Championships (2003, PS2) perfectly encapsulates my many fond memories of watching the promotion in just about every way it could and to a surprisingly loving level of detail. It didn’t fully hit me until playing this game how much the organization really was like a real life fighting game; given the grand style of the promotion, diverse styles/backgrounds/personalities of the fighters, etc.sse
ntially.
Luckily it controls very well and simply, with just the right amount of attack diversity available for use (strikes and wrestling/grappling). And just as I was thinking of how it reminds me of those old N64 WCW and WWF games in regard to the graphics, more-arcade-than-sim play style, pace and simplicity; I noticed the THQ on the mat and remembered they made some very rad wrestling games back when I played them on PSX/N64, so that made sense.
As with all things Pride FC, the UFC should take some pointers and learn some class. This game is way more fun, tight and responsive to play than the modern “next gen” games they’re putting out right now. Just the right amount of game modes to keep a pre-online fighting game interesting too (single match, training, create a fighter, Grand Prix, and Survival, where you get one health bar and see how many matches in a row you can win).
And it’s awesome to look at, mostly for nostalgia here I think. Definitely biased. So I probably took too many screenshots for this one, but I couldn’t help myself. It was a trip down memory lane in virtual version that I got to play, so I had the most fun with this one. Also tried out native and upscaled/widescreen settings and it definitely upscales nicely.
ssentially.
