Fans of the
Saturday morning FoxBox cartoon Ultimate Muscle have been anxiously awaiting a
videogame based on the show’s outlandish frenetic fighting and assortment of new
generation Muscle Leaguers in their pursuit to show up their respective elders
for quite some time now. And thanks to critically-acclaimed wrestling game
developer Aki, fans of the cartoon will get just that. Aki, as you may or may
not know, is credited as pioneering the grapple system used in the recent wave
of wrestling games. Aki made the N64 the system to own for fans of wrestling
games then a few months ago they proved that they still haven’t lost their touch
by creating Def Jam Vendetta, hands down the best next-gen grappler yet. So
it’s only natural that Aki handle the development chores for Ultimate Muscle:
Legends vs. New Generation, and the result of this dream-team collaboration is a
wrestling game unlike any before it. Boasting wildly over-the-top Ultimate
Muscle moves taken straight from the show and over 20 personalities each with
their own story. Fans of the source material and wrestling games alike will
inevitably find a lot to like in this game.
Make no mistake,
Ultimate Muscle is a unique experience in and of itself even though it utilizes
Aki’s trademarked grappling system. The action is fast-paced to the extent that
button-mashing is favored over thought-out strategy, and the arsenal of moves at
your disposal are unlike anything you’ll ever see in a WWE game. But eventually
you’ll get the hang of the hectic gameplay and be able to strategize your
methods of attack, though when you do get to the point of mastery there isn’t
nearly as much depth to the game as, say, Def Jam Vendetta. That coupled with
the fact that Ultimate Muscle just doesn’t seem to be put together as tightly as
it should have been considering the solid engine it uses puts the game a peg or
two below its closest competitor.
But fans of the
cartoon will easily overlook the fact that the physics seems a little janky and
the gameplay a tad unresponsive, and that’s a good thing because when it’s all
said and done there is plenty of good stuff to be had here. Nearly every
wrestling personality depicted in the show is accounted for, that means you’ll
be able to fight as or against Muscle Leaguers like Kid Muscle, King Muscle,
Wally Tusket, Terryman, Terry Kenyon, Checkmate, Robin Mask, Kevin Mask, Jeager,
Sunshine, Ramenman, Buffaloman. Brocken Jr, and the inscrutable Dik Dik Van Dik,
whose name I’ll never get tired of saying. Even more fighters can be recruited,
though they are merely pre-made characters created with the game’s
build-a-fighter mode.
The main
differences that separate Ultimate Muscle from other wrestling games, aside from
the increased speed, are the ways you’ll actually perform certain moves.
Throwing an opponent against the ropes is now a matter of pushing the grapple
and strike button at the same time, and the opponent doesn’t simply run towards
the ropes and run back, instead he literally goes flying towards the ropes and
flies back without his feet ever touching the ground. Also you are able to jump
in Ultimate Muscle, a feature that has been left out of every other Aki
brawler. The ability to jump opens up an assortment of different aerial moves.
For example, instead of throwing your opponent against the ropes you can knock
them straight up into the stratosphere then jump up after them and come crashing
down with a piledriver or other moves that are specific to each fighter. You
can even jump on top of the ring ropes to gain extra altitude and then perform a
flying jump kick to the opponent’s head or grab the opponent with your legs and
slam them down to the mat. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the mid-air
attacks add a whole new dimension to the gameplay but it certainly makes for
some fun times.
Another
interesting addition to the gameplay is the inclusion of items, which are
randomly thrown into the ring. These items range from health boasts, power
boasts, random items whose effect is unknown until you touch it, bombs which
cause damage to the fighter who is unfortunate enough to come in contact with
it, and KIN medals which can later be used at the toy shop. The special moves
system used in Ultimate Muscle is not unlike that of other fighting games such
as the Street Fighter vs. series. By pummeling your opponent or getting
pummeled you’ll slowly increase your special moves meter, it has three levels
and each level allows you to perform a different special move. With one level
of juice you can perform a single strong attack, with two you are able to
execute a powerful grappling move, and with three you’ll be able to pull off an
extra special super move that has to be shown in a unique real-time cut-scene to
be seen in all its glory.
The single-player
experience with Ultimate Muscle can be best appreciated via the story mode,
which provides a unique series of dialogue exchanges and simple cut-scenes for
each of the 20 included fighters. At first you’ll only be able to play story
mode as a handful of the game’s roster of fighters, but as you complete one
character’s story another fighter will open up. While including a unique story
for each fighter is a nice addition, the story mode gets pretty tedious after
you’ve beaten it with five or six characters since the progression and eventual
outcome of each story are very similar. They always start out with an
introduction by the Muscle Leagues official trainer Meat, and then are pushed
forward via a series of dialogue exchanges between your character and the one
you are about to fight. The other modes of play are basically simple exhibition
type matches, or simple tiered tournaments, or basic multiplayer games. Versus
mode allows up to four players to play simultaneously using a tag-team approach,
or free-for-all battle.
As you play
through the game’s story mode and other modes you’ll be awarded with KIN medals,
the exact amount you get depends on how much you play and at what difficulty.
KIN medals can be spent in the game’s Toy mode, where you can purchase the
Muscle Men toys of yore. It’s a lot like Super Smash Bros. Melee where you
spend coins on trophies. Outside of building up a collection of figurines and
looking at their unique statistics and other information, the only real reward
for spending KIN is that you can unlock new fighters for each 100 toys you
purchase. There are 434 Muscle Men to collect so it will take quite a few hours
to catch’em all.
The game’s visual
style is great and almost does justice to the cartoon on which it is based. It
uses a cel-shading technique to achieve its unique look, and while it’s safe to
say that cel-shading in on the verge of becoming passé, Aki pulled it off quite
nicely. The fighter’s faces will appropriately grimace in pain or smile in glee
depending on if they are on the sending on receiving side of the pain, and all
the moves in the game animate very smoothly, though lots of moves are repeated
from wrestler to wrestler. The overall look of the game is very energetic and
colorful, just like the show. In terms of sound Ultimate Muscle delivers in
spades. All the voice talent from the cartoon reprise their respective roles in
the game and since there is quite a bit of dialogue it’s a good thing, too. The
sound effects adequately do the job of representing the on-screen action, and
the music manages to keep the aural ambiance up to par.
Overall, Ultimate
Muscle: Legends vs New Generation is a great spin-off of an excellent cartoon.
Fans of the show and gamers just looking for some solid grappling action would
do well to check this game out. Just keep in mind that the usual depth of Aki
wrestling games is toned down quite a bit here. There is no out-of-ring
fighting or objects to pick up and use as weapons, and the dizzying speed at
which the game runs may turn off a few wrestling purists. But if you can get
over those few small issues with the game then you’ll find plenty to like.
Gameplay: 7.7
That trademark Aki style returns in fine form here, though the hectic pacing and
occasionally confusing controls do take some getting used to.
Graphics: 8.9
The world of Ultimate Muscle is nicely depicted with Aki’s use of cel-shading
and every fighter looks exactly as they do in the cartoon.
Sound: 8.2
A forgettable soundtrack, but the inclusion of the cartoon’s original voice
actors help to keep its sound presentation well within the green.
Difficulty: Medium
The computer AI is brutal on all but the easiest difficulty and will often beat
you down before you’ve had a chance to blink. Newcomers to Aki wrestling games
are advised to start from the easiest setting and work their way up.
Concept: 8.2
Why hasn’t anyone thought of making a wrestling game out of the Ultimate Muscle
franchise before? It’s a perfect foundation for a great game.
Multiplayer: 8.3
Up to four players
can fight simultaneously in a few different modes of play. Targeting different
opponents using the c-stick can leave you open for cheap shots but overall
Ultimate Muscle is best played with friends.
Overall: 8.1
Ultimate Muscle is
an entirely original wrestling experience and does a great job of recreating the
frenetic action of the cartoon, though it must be said that it is an acquired
taste.
