Breakers Revenge (Arcade) - All Throws & Super Grab Moves
31Character selection:
Sho - 0:00
Pielle - 0:06
Condor - 0:13
Rila - 1:00
Tia - 1:10
Alsion III - 1:20
Maherl - 1:36
Dao-Long - 1:46
Saizo - 1:50
Bai-Hu - 1:55
Breakers Revenge (1998) is a semi-sequel / minor update to the 2D fighting game Breakers from 1996 (formerly known as Crystal Legacy). The main improvement from the original version is the addition of the playable ninja character Saizo, plus the option to play as the final boss Bai-Hu.
The game was released by Visco Corporation, for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware. It was also ported to Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD, and SEGA Dreamcast. Breakers Collection, a compilation of both games, is available for 9th generation systems.
Breakers Revenge is unmistakably a rip-off of Street Fighter II, and other 2D fighting games. Its similarities with Data East's Street Fighter II knock-off Fighter's History make Breakers Revenge a clone of a clone.
The Ryu clone Sho has the bright orange gi of Guy from Final Fight, with a fighting stance reminiscent of Eiji from Art Of Fighting 2. His stage backdrop has a Kabuki style face on a poster, which is similar to E. Honda's background in Street Fighter 2. Tia directly copies Chun-Li's jump for joy as her victory pose, but she plays like a cross between Chun-Li, Sagat, and M. Bison / Vega (Dictator). The game's grappler character Condor is a rip-off of T. Hawk, with a variety of wrestling slams, pummeling moves, and super grabs. Pielle is a French version of the literary character Zorro, even drawing a Z in the air with his sword for one of his attacks. He is a rip-off of Jean Pierre from Fighter's History, who also has a Frankensteiner throw (both character are copied from the Spanish fighter Vega / Balrog (Claw) from Street Fighter II. He may also be inspired by the French fencer Charlotte from Samurai Shodown. Rila is the game's Blanka clone. She is a feral-looking female with orange hair and a biting attack. Her sharp teeth, claws, and animalistic outfit are also reminiscent of Felicia from Darkstalkers. Alsion III is an obvious copy of Dhalsim, with a bony physique, stretchy limbs and breath attack. His name even sounds quite similar. The Arabian warrior Maherl is a rip-off of Karnov from Fighter's History, due to his inflating abdomen attacks and fire breathing. However, I think he is a much cooler character due to his spinning sword tricks. The final boss Bai-Hu reminds me of Samurai Shodown's final boss Amakusa, due to his glowing sprite and energy orb attacks.
When it comes to games like Street Fighter II, Breakers Revenge is one of the best made. The gameplay is fluid, and there are flashy impact effects. Breakers Revenge actually improves on the Street Fighter II formula, by giving you the ability to juggle opponents in mid-air. This strategy is accessible to beginners / button bashers, due to the provision of some easy combos.
Breakers Revenge has variable success when it comes to delivering interesting grab and throw animations. A lot of the characters have a basic shoulder throw or body slam style move, which feel repetitive. When it comes to this sort of move, I think Dao-Long's is the best. It looks slick, and I much prefer it to that of Street Fighter II's Bruce Lee clone, Fei Long. Suprisingly, Breakers Revenge is missing the judo move Tomoe Nage, which is a staple of 2D fighting games.
What's impressive about Breakers Revenge is that a fair few characters have a jumping throw and / or a super grab move. The mid-air piledriver by Dhalsim-clone Alsion III in particular was a pleasant surprise.
Condor has the same issues as T. Hawk when it comes to input commands. To pull off his super grab move, the player must perform two full 360 degree rotations of the analogue stick. Since this causes the player to inadvertently jump, which cancels the move, the player must enter the command during an intentional jump animation. Fortunately, partial inputs are accepted for single rotation commands. Condor's several pummeling grab moves can be boring to watch, but they can be performed more quickly if the player taps an attack button.
A strange feature of the game is that alter-egos are used in place of clone characters during mirror matches against the computer player. This seems pointless, as the opponent is otherwise identical other than being a palette swap. My main criticism of the game is that some of the voice samples are of amateurish quality and sound quite grating. They remind me of lower quality beat 'em up games such as Big Fight: Big Trouble in the Atlantic Ocean. This is inconsistent with the generally high quality of Breakers Revenge.
Overall, Breakers Revenge is a well-made Street Fighter II clone which is definitely worth checking out. It's fun to spot the direct influences of other popular 2D fighting games, whilst also enjoying some improvements on the standard formula.
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