Martial Champion
Encyclopedia
is a 1993
fighting game
released for the arcades
by Konami
. It was Konami's third fighting game after the 1985 releases Yie Ar Kung-Fu and Galactic Warriors
, and their first release that came after the success of Capcom
's 1991 arcade hit Street Fighter II
.
The control layout differs from Street Fighter II and most typical fighting games inspired by Street Fighter II. Martial Champions control system is derived from the control system of Yie Ar Kung-Fu, but simplified to simply high, medium and low attacks, instead of having to press an attack button and a direction. One unique feature this arcade game has is stages that are similar to the "high-jump" stages seen in Capcom's later fighting games such as X-Men vs. Street Fighter
. Another unique feature is that certain characters carry weapons which can be disarmed by their opponent and used against them.
ian princess.
- The protagonist of the game. A Japanese martial artist who was inspired by Ryu
from the Street Fighter series and Lee from the Famicom
and MSX versions of Yie Ar Kung-Fu. - A French
fighter utilizing a pair of nunchaku or manriki gusari. He is the only character able to utilize other character's weapons to their full potential, giving him the best reach. - An Egyptian
princess (the name derived from Nefertiti
). Known in the US and World versions as "Chaos". - An eyepatch
ed soldier from the United States
similar to Guile
. Fights on a battleship
. - A rotund Middle Eastern man armed with a scimitar
. Billed as being from Saudi Arabia
even though the displayed flag is Iraq
's. He fights in front of a magnificent palace. - A tall, spear wielding tribesman from Africa
(with the Kenya
flag displayed). His background is an African village. - A blonde American kunoichi
. Her fighting stage takes place in front of the White House
. - A kabuki
fighter from Japan
. In keeping with the theme, he fights in front of a kabuki theater and uses a fan as a weapon. - A Chinese
kung fu fighter from China
. Fighting stage is a bamboo field complete with a panda
. - A Chinese Vampire from Hong Kong
. Utilizes a pair of metal claws and his tongue in battle. Known in the US and World versions as "Titi". - The final boss and the tallest character in the game. He is unplayable and his move set contains techniques lifted from other characters.
as a Super CD-ROM² release. Unlike the arcade version, which was released worldwide, the PC Engine version was released only in Japan
. On May 13, 2008, this version was later re-released for the Wii
Virtual Console
in Japan.
Sprites and background were shrunk, while the background became a still image instead of an animated one and the foreground objects and people on each stage were removed. The intro and outro are different compared to the arcade version's; however, the original arcade intro that shows Jin and Goldor battling each other with instrumental music playing in the background is also included. In the PC Engine version, the other intro starts with the game's logo and a vocal song, then shows Jin putting on his headband and looks ahead of himself with birds flying by him, while Rachael and Goldor battle against each other. At the end, Goldor casts his Gol Wave toward the pitch-black darkness missing his target Rachael, while the final boss, Salamander, fades in from it.
Home console versions
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
released for the arcades
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
. It was Konami's third fighting game after the 1985 releases Yie Ar Kung-Fu and Galactic Warriors
Galactic Warriors (1985 arcade game)
is a fighting arcade game developed and published by Konami. It is Konami's second fighting game released after their arcade-hit Yie Ar Kung-Fu. It is also the first fighting game with multiple playable characters with different move sets, as well as the first mecha-based fighting game...
, and their first release that came after the success of Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
's 1991 arcade hit Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
.
Gameplay
Martial Champion follows the same fighting game conventions established by Street Fighter II: the player's character fights against his or her opponent in best two-out-of-three matches in a single player tournament mode with the computer or against another human player. The player has a character roster of ten fighters to choose from, each with their own unique fighting style and special techniques.The control layout differs from Street Fighter II and most typical fighting games inspired by Street Fighter II. Martial Champions control system is derived from the control system of Yie Ar Kung-Fu, but simplified to simply high, medium and low attacks, instead of having to press an attack button and a direction. One unique feature this arcade game has is stages that are similar to the "high-jump" stages seen in Capcom's later fighting games such as X-Men vs. Street Fighter
X-Men vs. Street Fighter
X-Men vs. Street Fighter is a fighting game originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in . It is Capcom's third fighting game to feature Marvel Comics characters and the first game to match them against their own, with characters from Marvel's X-Men franchise being matched against the cast...
. Another unique feature is that certain characters carry weapons which can be disarmed by their opponent and used against them.
Characters
There are ten playable characters to select from. After the player defeats all ten opponents in the tournament mode (including a clone of their character), they'll face a final computer-controlled boss character. In the later localized worldwide versions, Chaos and Titi have their names switched (similar to the rotation of the boss characters' names in Street Fighter II), with Chaos being the Chinese vampire and Titi being the EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian princess.
- The protagonist of the game. A Japanese martial artist who was inspired by Ryu
Ryu (Street Fighter)
is a video game player character created by Capcom, the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series. Having premiered in the first Street Fighter in 1987, Ryu appears as the lead character from the game along with his best friend Ken Masters participating in the Street Fighter tournament...
from the Street Fighter series and Lee from the Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and MSX versions of Yie Ar Kung-Fu. - A French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
fighter utilizing a pair of nunchaku or manriki gusari. He is the only character able to utilize other character's weapons to their full potential, giving him the best reach. - An Egyptian
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
princess (the name derived from Nefertiti
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...
). Known in the US and World versions as "Chaos". - An eyepatch
Eyepatch
An eyepatch or eye pad is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the...
ed soldier from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
similar to Guile
Guile (Street Fighter)
is a fictional character in Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games.-Street Fighter series:Guile made his first appearance in Street Fighter II as one of the eight selectable characters featured in the first release of the game...
. Fights on a battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
. - A rotund Middle Eastern man armed with a scimitar
Scimitar
A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
. Billed as being from Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
even though the displayed flag is Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
's. He fights in front of a magnificent palace. - A tall, spear wielding tribesman from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
(with the Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
flag displayed). His background is an African village. - A blonde American kunoichi
Kunoichi
is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...
. Her fighting stage takes place in front of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. - A kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
fighter from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In keeping with the theme, he fights in front of a kabuki theater and uses a fan as a weapon. - A Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
kung fu fighter from China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Fighting stage is a bamboo field complete with a panda
Panda
Panda or Panda bear most often refers to:*Giant panda, an animal in the Bear familyPanda may also refer to:*Red panda, the only living member in the Ailuridae family-In biology:* Species related to the Giant panda...
. - A Chinese Vampire from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Utilizes a pair of metal claws and his tongue in battle. Known in the US and World versions as "Titi". - The final boss and the tallest character in the game. He is unplayable and his move set contains techniques lifted from other characters.
Home version
Martial Champion was exclusively ported to the PC EngineTurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
as a Super CD-ROM² release. Unlike the arcade version, which was released worldwide, the PC Engine version was released only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. On May 13, 2008, this version was later re-released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in Japan.
Sprites and background were shrunk, while the background became a still image instead of an animated one and the foreground objects and people on each stage were removed. The intro and outro are different compared to the arcade version's; however, the original arcade intro that shows Jin and Goldor battling each other with instrumental music playing in the background is also included. In the PC Engine version, the other intro starts with the game's logo and a vocal song, then shows Jin putting on his headband and looks ahead of himself with birds flying by him, while Rachael and Goldor battle against each other. At the end, Goldor casts his Gol Wave toward the pitch-black darkness missing his target Rachael, while the final boss, Salamander, fades in from it.
See also
- Battle TrystBattle Trystis a 3D fighting arcade game developed and published by Konami. It is Konami's second attempt in the 3D arcade fighting game market after their 3D arcade fighting game Fighting Bujutsu. It is powered by the Konami M2 Hardware, which is Konami's version of the Panasonic M2...
, a spiritual sequelSpiritual sequelA spiritual successor, sometimes called a spiritual sequel or a companion piece, is a successor to a work of fiction which does not directly build upon the storyline established by a previous work as do most traditional prequels or sequels, but nevertheless features many of the same elements,...
to Martial Champion. - Dragoon MightDragoon Mightis a 2D competitive fighting game produced by Konami and released as a coin-operated video game in .-Gameplay:Dragoon Might features two distinct game modes...
- a fighting arcade game also by Konami.
External links
Arcade version- Martial Champion at arcade-history
Home console versions
- Martial Champion (Virtual Console version) at Konami's website
- Martial Champion (Virtual Console version) at Hudson SoftHudson Soft, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
's Official Virtual Console website for PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 titles - Martial Champion at The PC Engine Software Bible