I never quite understood why people refer to The Power Battle as a fighting game. Not only is that how it's often referred to in casual conversation, but it's the way it's categorized on sites like Wikipedia and even here on Backloggd. But considering how mechanically similar it is to the core Mega Man series, it feels like a hell of a stretch.
Video game genres are very silly, and the nature of the medium sometimes makes it very difficult to define a game on such narrow terms. That's why you get a lot of hyphenated genres or crap like "Metroidvania" that attempt to describe one game through direct comparison to another. It's all a mess. Ask me and I'd tell you that The Power Battle is a "boss rush" game, a sort of "best of" compilation of Robot Masters from across the first seven entries in the Mega Man series and nothing more involved than that.
In true Mega Man fashion, you shoot your lemons and use your charge shot to take out Robot Masters, stealing their power to add to your arsenal as you slowly work your way towards Wily's Tower. Bosses have weaknesses to specific weapons, but levels are played randomly, which makes a certain amount of sense. I doubt Capcom would want people blowing through this thing on 1CC because they know the proper order to take out Robot Masters. To really make sure they get a few quarters out of you, the health of Robot Masters increases over time, and your own health bar can only recover a single pip between matches. I think all this further pushes The Power Battle into "boss rush" territory, as carry-over HP isn't exactly a fighting game staple.
Perhaps I'm so hung up on this because I want it to be more of a fighting game. I've dicked around in M.U.G.E.N. enough to know the potential Mega Man's vast roster of Robot Masters have as fighting game characters, and of course there's stuff like the Marvel vs. Capcom games that already dip into the Mega Man series. I do like how quaint The Power Battle is, but I am also somewhat underwhelmed by it. It's also pitifully easy, though I suspect it was toned down for the Anniversary Collection. I can't imagine it being a very profitable cabinet otherwise. At least being able to burn through the three main routes is fun enough to make this a perfectly enjoyable Sunday morning game, but I wouldn't expect this to pull you in like a fighting game should.
Video game genres are very silly, and the nature of the medium sometimes makes it very difficult to define a game on such narrow terms. That's why you get a lot of hyphenated genres or crap like "Metroidvania" that attempt to describe one game through direct comparison to another. It's all a mess. Ask me and I'd tell you that The Power Battle is a "boss rush" game, a sort of "best of" compilation of Robot Masters from across the first seven entries in the Mega Man series and nothing more involved than that.
In true Mega Man fashion, you shoot your lemons and use your charge shot to take out Robot Masters, stealing their power to add to your arsenal as you slowly work your way towards Wily's Tower. Bosses have weaknesses to specific weapons, but levels are played randomly, which makes a certain amount of sense. I doubt Capcom would want people blowing through this thing on 1CC because they know the proper order to take out Robot Masters. To really make sure they get a few quarters out of you, the health of Robot Masters increases over time, and your own health bar can only recover a single pip between matches. I think all this further pushes The Power Battle into "boss rush" territory, as carry-over HP isn't exactly a fighting game staple.
Perhaps I'm so hung up on this because I want it to be more of a fighting game. I've dicked around in M.U.G.E.N. enough to know the potential Mega Man's vast roster of Robot Masters have as fighting game characters, and of course there's stuff like the Marvel vs. Capcom games that already dip into the Mega Man series. I do like how quaint The Power Battle is, but I am also somewhat underwhelmed by it. It's also pitifully easy, though I suspect it was toned down for the Anniversary Collection. I can't imagine it being a very profitable cabinet otherwise. At least being able to burn through the three main routes is fun enough to make this a perfectly enjoyable Sunday morning game, but I wouldn't expect this to pull you in like a fighting game should.
2 Comments
There was a brief period in the 90s where devs tried to make co-op fighting games where the intent was players would work together to defeat bosses. This, its sequel + Neo Geo Pocket Colour game, Monster Maulers, and Metamoqester were all examples of this short-lived attempt at starting a trend. Regardless, I feel like the lack of platforming and stages as well as the use of command normals is enough to consider these games fighting games. That said, they're definitely games I would rec to people who say "I need more Mega Man games to play" and not people who say "I need more fighting games to play" lol.
Weatherby
9 months ago
somewhere out there Koji Ohkohara just blew up like freaking Mega Man