While Renegade wasn’t the most noteworthy or successful beat-’em-up of the 80s, and it has aged in comparison to plenty of other beat-’em-ups that would be released afterwards, the game was successful enough to spawn plenty of sequels and a whole franchise out of it. So, with that being said, with one modestly successful beat-’em-up out of the way, where would you think the franchise would go immediately afterwards? Why, to a dodge-ball game, of course! What, you thought that it would naturally lead to yet another beat-’em-up that would improve on the graphics, gameplay, and difficulty? Nah, that’s too predictable, IDIOT. We got some balls to dodge! At least, that’s what I am assuming was Techno’s mindset when they decided to make this game. And thus, just one year later, we would get Super Dodge-Ball both in arcades and later for the NES

Like I mentioned in my Punch-Out review, I usually don’t give full reviews for sports games, because I just simply can’t muster up any kind of caring for what I am given in them. Usually, they just give you the sport, and that’s almost about it, especially for this era of sports games. However, just like with Punch-Out, Super Dodge-Ball is a unique exception, because not only is the game itself pretty fun, but it also has a lot of personality put into it, making it a pretty great time. Sure, not too much is done to take dodge-ball further than the basics, but it has just the right amount of speed and charm to where I wasn’t complaining.

The graphics are very well done, incorporating the unique look that River City is known for to make it stand out from other sports games, the music is a great listen, especially when you pummel a dodge-ball right into someone’s face, the control is mostly solid, although whenever the game automatically switches which team member you control, it can lead to awkward movement issues (which is unavoidable with this type of game, but still), and the gameplay is what you would expect, but with enough spice to make it fun, and enough variety to keep you playing for a while.

The game is… well, it’s dodge-ball. You control a group of three players facing off another team, throwing and catching the dodge-ball, trying to take down your opponents before they are able to take you down. It is what you would expect, but alongside the usual dodge-ball gameplay, there are additions that make things more energetic and enjoyable, such as being able to run and throw different kinds of special moves. Sure, it is not that much more complex from the regular game, but again, the energy and charm from all this, paired with the River City style, make it much more appealing then other NES sports games. In addition, compared to the original arcade version, they added different names and health bars for the characters, giving the game more personality overall.

The game features three separate modes to play, with the World Cup basically being the story mode of the game. You take control of Team USA (because of course you do), and you take on many other dodge-ball teams from all around the world. Sure, that isn’t much for a story mode, but it works for what we have here. Alongside this, there is Versus Play, which is the two player mode of the game, which I couldn’t try out because I have no friends, and the Bean Ball mode, which functions almost identically to the other modes, except now you can run around freely on the court rather than being restricted to one side. While not expanding the gameplay too much, these modes are greatly appreciated for keeping the gameplay going, and it can make pretty fun co-op matches… at least, I would assume so.

Now, in terms of gameplay, presentation, and content, there aren’t really too many problems that can be seen throughout, as the game really is a solid package. I mean, there is the fact that the final match in the World Cup mode is against a shadow version of your team, which is kind of lame, but that’s really just my opinion. However, there do exist issues when it comes to the technical side of things. Usually I don’t like to bring up any glitches or other technical issues with a game, unless it either halts progress somehow, or it has an impact on how much I enjoy the game, and in terms of this game, it doesn’t have too much of an impact on my enjoyment, but it is very noticeable. What I mean by this is that there is sprite-flickering EVERYWHERE in this game. Sure, I can understand why it is there, because of how much is happening at once, but for fuck sake, it can be extremely distracting, and it does kind of take away from the experience. Aside from that though, nothing else really got in my way of enjoying this game.

Overall, while it does have a huge sprite flickering issue, this is a pretty solid dodge-ball game, as well as a pretty good spin-off for the Kunio-kun franchise, and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who is a fan of the series, or just likes old-school sports games. And hey, sorry about that idiot comment earlier, I didn’t mean it. Thankfully, after this, things will get back to the beat-’em-up roots of the series, so let’s hope they can take what they did in Renegade and make it much more enjoyable.

Game #235

The 1980s were a time that I wasn't around for. I was born in 2002, twenty years later. American culture from that time frame is something I'll never truly understand, if only because I didn't grow up in it. To my knowledge, however, it's largely defined by its films, music, and unfortunately, strong anti-communist sentiments.

Super Dodge Ball embodies all of these ideas. It's a very 1980s story, as if the generation as I understand it were transmogrified into a single video game. A time capsule of a different era, far more interesting to me than many games from the late aughts and early 2010s that try to capture its aesthetics. Here's a game that has it all: an underdog sports story where you go up against the Soviets.

It's interesting how the gameplay reinforces this underdog ethos: the other team members always have way more health than you, usually deal way more damage than you, and often times have access to moves that you can't use. Its strategy that you have to use to be able to win against them, even though it takes a while to get used to learning how to use each of your skills. There's a severe lack of coordination from the limited AI that lends to this experience. It's hard to work together with everyone.

Also, the stakes are way higher than the average dodgeball game - for some reason, getting someone out of the game makes them die. Their spirit floats away as their corpse disappears. I didn't really know how to talk about this but I felt like I had to - it's just a strange and funny choice for a game like this. Sam and his friends are going through some rough shit.

At the end, when you finally defeat the reigning champs and reinforce xenophobic ideas through your intense patriotism, your team throws you up into the air triumphantly as it turns into a sepia photo of all your hard work. Just like every 80s' sports movie, Super Dodge Ball paints itself poignant and inspirational, as if our team has come so far.

Even if it's just a dodge ball game, regardless of how strangely morbid it is.

This honestly is a fun game but wow the optimization to make this game work on the NES is not great. There's so much flicker everywhere and it makes it hard to look at. I'm sure some of the other ports probably don't have this issue but for me this NES port is only just good.

Also it seems they changed some things for this US version. In japan's original version you actually go to locations in a different order and IDK if I'm missing something but it seems like the US version added a new final fight were you face yourself for the last team in USSR. Maybe you can do it in the Japanese version but I haven't figured it out.

Real fun 2-player game. The basics are simple to get, pass or throw the ball. Double press a directional button to run and press both A and B to jump. Use these combos to psych out the opposing team with a series of passes to set up unexpected offensive moves.

It’s dodgeball as I remember it at school, but marries well with what I’d call strategic game of other video games sport titles like Tennis or Cricket. Where strategy is a large portion of overall gameplay, it’s as much of a mental game as it is a sheer skill match. Against CPUs it is fairly boring trading blows back and forth without a human opponent to fake out or mess with. I like the characteratures of each nation, the backgrounds are gorgeous and soundtrack is really fun.

In terms of multiplayer titles on NES, you could do no wrong here!

So much fun wow I started World mode expecting just to play a round or two and ended up beating the whole thing and I am glad I did. That match-up at the very end was so unexpected and weird but in a good way. The additives of power throws is a good touch too. Different locations looked cool, unique music for each game, the characters have names and you're able to plan out positioning and stuff. All really impressive for NES era. The only thing I was iffy on was the reuse of the same models. They are all pretty much exactly the same but with different skins. Regardless I had a blast with this.

7.4/10

I murdered 24 people in 30 minutes.
I am now a felony in 8 countries.
And I even went to an alternate reality to fight and kill my other self.

Let's just say Dodgeball took the saying "To Kill or Be Killed" seriously