Game:

Heaven's Gate (1996)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 9:57

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35

Want more early 3D fighters not called "Tekken", "Virtua Fighter" or "Battle Arena Toshinden"? Then you'd do well to check this one out: a fairly orthodox 3D fighter with a controversial name called "Heaven's Gate"! Originally released in Arcades in 1996 by Racdym and Atlus as their first 3D fighting effort, it was later ported to Sony's PlayStation in 1997 in Japan and Europe (though the PAL version is rare and goes under the name "Yusha: Heaven's Gate"). Racdym (aka Racjin) would later go on to make a cult classic fighting series with two more games: "Genei Tougi: Shadow Struggle" and "Critical Blow" while Atlus would use this to bridge the gap between "Gouketsuji Ichizoku 2" and "Groove on Fight: GI3".

The game doesn't feature much of a plot at all but essentially deals with devils and angels manipulating humanity in a struggle for control. The devils have invaded the surface world and taken advantage of those with impure hearts to do their bidding while the kingdom of heaven has caught on to their schemes and lent divine powers to humans who seek to protect the world. The game has eight initial characters with a few unlockable ones who either align with angels or demons (with a few exceptions) who go through (at least) nine stages before confronting either the leader of the angels or demons in a final confrontation. It's assumed that whichever side prevails will go on to do good or terrible things.

The gameplay contains your basic combos and special attacks with a three button system (punch / kick / guard) with a few caveats. Besides the aforementioned, players can take advantage of walls, ceilings, various grapples and "Sol / Lunar" Assaults contingent on if they can fill up a bar by hitting or being hit. Before players can utilize Sol / Lunar Assaults, they must first "release" this energy by pressing all three buttons where they are temporarily invincible and gain access to a few new moves. The player can pounce off the ceiling and execute one or two super moves (some of which can be chained into combos), though some of them are difficult to perform. This game also supports ring-outs. Interestingly, this feature is turned off by default, but if you turn it on, various attack properties will change, primarily those involving knockback to level the playing field and be more fair.

The PlayStation version is more or less Arcade-perfect with only minor concessions made to improve on load times and it features a few extra characters. The coolest addition, of course, is the inclusion of "Kurara Hananokoji" as she appeared in the Arcade and Sega Saturn gem, "Prikura Daisakusen" (which is parallel to her appearances in Power Instinct / Gouketsuji Ichizoku). She is mostly a costume swap of the character, Nanase, but she features a few original attacks, some modified graphics besides her model, and voice clips from her respective appearances with artwork from Power Instinct 2 / GI2. The graphics are pretty good with some nice accents on various stages (slamming on grass will kick up leaves, flowing water, moving background pieces like the Atlus truck, etc.) and the soundtrack is appropriate. The game is a bit clunky in spots like a lot of 3D fighters of the day, but it controls and moves well for the most part. It features typical modes.

While I wouldn't call the game essential, it's certainly competent (just needed a side-step function) and the PlayStation version gets brownie points for including Kurara / Clara. The A.I. can get pretty tough around the halfway point, but the player can utilize various exploits to squeak out some wins. If you like fighting games, you could do a lot worse than Heaven's Gate... just don't get involved in cults or seek out one of the worst grossing films of all time. This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.

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