Game:

Street Fighter Alpha (1995)

Duration: 10:29

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So, now, I have decided to try one of Semicom's "top shelf" games...SD Fighters was put together in 1996, around the time of many of the more flashy arcade fighting games of yesteryear, so it had a lot to prove. I'm not going to pair this game up to the "elites", like any Capcom game around this same time, or things like Konami's "Dragoon Might", among others, but look at it on its own merits, because the Korean game development scene is, after all, still relatively unknown to me.

That said, SD Fighters certainly LOOKS like one of the finer Korean games of the time, possessing an "SD", or "Chibi", aesthetic that people have immediately likened to that of Capcom's "Pocket Fighter"...which is fair, but it isn't like Capcom INVENTED SD --- it's just a style. Outside of that style, SD Fighters really is nothing like Pocket Fighter and is more like a combination of various "King of Fighters" games and "Street Fighter Alpha".

With 8 playable fighters, you can perform various moves and even charge your energy (KOF) to perform a super move. When your life is flashing, you do not require a full "POW" bar to execute your super move. The characters are, compared to numerous Korean games I have played, not too shabby, as far as concepts. I actually DO LIKE "Tiger", being a brawler but also, clearly a more beast-like character. Sho and Jin are okay too (Jin reminding me loosely of "Eiji", from SNK). Movesets are clearly inspired by both KOF and Street Fighter, but some aren't complete copies. Tanya, for example, possesses some rolling attacks like Blanka, but doesn't possess the lightning attacks that he does and instead, possesses some other attacks instead.

Visually, SD Fighters is not so BAD looking, to be honest...it doesn't rank up to various other big studio efforts, naturally, but some things are neat to look at. Tanya's stage, in particular, has "SEMICOM" in the background and it seems as if Semicom and "Tirano" (the "3rd Team"...?) took pride in that stage design in particular. Others are more or less standard fare and aren't anything exceptional, but do their job.

Like many Korean games I have played, sound is an issue. The characters sound fine, but the music composition leaves a lot to be desired...it isn't bad, it just isn't anything to really write about...but the visuals and sound are serviceable; it's the play control that brings SD Fighters down a notch. Pulling off simple maneuvers can prove to be tedious at times, especially if you want to spam them for zoning purposes or what have you. There are also quite a few moves with "invincibility frames", so naturally, balancing isn't all there in this game either...it's playable, but a bit rough in hit detection and such...I suppose, input lag factors into the stiffness of control as well.

However, the things are cute enough and it is a curiosity. This truly is one of the better Korean games I have played (though some others, like "Lars The Wanderer", are actually pretty cool). There is actually a fighting game that is one notch above this one though, also from Semicom.......

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