Fighters Megamix
Encyclopedia
is a 1996 fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...

 developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...

 by AM2
Sega-AM2
Sega Amusement Machine Research and Development Department 2 is a research and development team for the video game company Sega. Originally known as "Sega Amusement Developing Section 8", AM2 was previously headed up by famed designer Yu Suzuki...

 for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...

 and Game.com
Game.com
The Game.com is a handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics in September 1997. It featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting PDA-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus...

. It combines several characters from various Sega games, from the complete cast of Virtua Fighter 2
Virtua Fighter 2
is a fighting game developed by Sega. It is the sequel to Virtua Fighter and the second game in the Virtua Fighter series. It was created by the Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 and was released in the arcade in 1994. It was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and Microsoft Windows in 1997...

and Fighting Vipers
Fighting Vipers
Fighting Vipers is a 3D fighting game developed by Sega AM2.The game was first released in the arcade in 1995 using the Sega Model 2 hardware and ported the same year to the Sega Saturn with significantly reduced graphics.-Gameplay:...

to Janet from Virtua Cop 2
Virtua Cop 2
Virtua Cop 2 is a light gun arcade game, released in 1995 and developed internally at Sega by their AM2 studio. It was ported to home systems on the Sega Saturn in 1996. It was released in PC in 1997 and Dreamcast in 2000...

and the Hornet car from Daytona USA
Daytona USA (arcade game)
Daytona USA is a 1993 racing video game by Sega. Considered one of the highest grossing arcade games of all time, Daytona USA was Sega's first title to debut on the Sega Model 2 arcade board, and at the time of its 1993 introduction, was considered the most visually detailed 3D arcade racing game...

, while allowing to play the bosses
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...

 of both games without codes.

Highly advertised, it followed Virtua Fighter 2 as a high-profile 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

 fighting game for the Sega Saturn. Intended as an introduction to Virtua Fighter 3 (which was never released for the Saturn), Fighters Megamix utilized the concept originally used by The King of Fighters, whereby characters and styles from different games were mixed together. Not only the open ended rings from VF are present (but now, with no ring-out), but also the closed cages from Fighting Vipers. VF characters have new moves taken from VF3, but the most impressive feature was the dodge move, which allowed characters to sidestep, avoiding a dangerous blow and opening at the same time room for a counter. Sega capitalized on this, calling Fighters Megamix the first "real 3D" fighting game in the market.

Unlike most of AM2's games of the era, Fighters Megamix did not have an arcade release. In 1998 a Game.com
Game.com
The Game.com is a handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics in September 1997. It featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting PDA-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus...

 port was released by Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets. When Tiger was an independent company, Tiger Electronics Inc., its headquarters were in Vernon Hills, Illinois....

.

Gameplay

As well as having standard Survival, Two Player and Team Battle modes, Fighters Megamix uses an unusual style of 1 player play, instead of standard Arcade Mode, the 1 player mode is split into nine subsections:

Novice Trial (beginners) Virtua Fighter (all characters from Virtua Fighter) Fighting Vipers (all characters from Fighting Vipers) Girls (all default female character) Muscle (strong characters) Smart Guys (tactical fighters) Dirty Fighters (sneaky fighters) Bosses (hidden characters played last) and Secrets (the rest of the bonus characters not fought in 'Bosses')

Each section consists of six fights against currently available characters then a final battle against a hidden character. Once you have completed the first four (the 'default' sections) the next three become unlocked, once you had completed those, the next (Bosses), and then when that is completed, the final (Bonus).

The player has the option of switching play type between Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter, which simply causes both the player's characters and the CPU characters to fight with the style of fighting from that game (the default is Fighting Vipers).

The default cast of characters consist of the entire cast from Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers, as well as Kuma-Chan, a bear mascot in a hat that has no points of articulation.

Regular characters

-From Virtua Fighter 2
Virtua Fighter 2
is a fighting game developed by Sega. It is the sequel to Virtua Fighter and the second game in the Virtua Fighter series. It was created by the Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 and was released in the arcade in 1994. It was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and Microsoft Windows in 1997...

  • Akira Yuki
  • Pai Chan
  • Lau Chan
  • Wolf Hawkfield
  • Jeffry McWild
  • Kage-Maru
  • Sarah Bryant
  • Jacky Bryant
  • Shun Di
  • Lion Rafale
  • Dural


-From Fighting Vipers
Fighting Vipers
Fighting Vipers is a 3D fighting game developed by Sega AM2.The game was first released in the arcade in 1995 using the Sega Model 2 hardware and ported the same year to the Sega Saturn with significantly reduced graphics.-Gameplay:...

  • Grace
  • Bahn
  • Raxel
  • Tokio
  • Sanman
  • Jane
  • Honey (renamed Candy in the American and European versions, as in the original Fighting Vipers
    Fighting Vipers
    Fighting Vipers is a 3D fighting game developed by Sega AM2.The game was first released in the arcade in 1995 using the Sega Model 2 hardware and ported the same year to the Sega Saturn with significantly reduced graphics.-Gameplay:...

    .)
  • Picky
  • Mahler
  • B.M.
  • Kumachan/Pandachan

Unlockable characters

There are more than ten hidden characters in the game all based on other Sega games, including some planned, but unreleased for the console, like Sonic the Fighters. They are unlocked by completing all of the 1p mode sections except for Novice Trial, which unlocks a separate costume for Honey (or Candy) that can be accessed by pressing the 'X' button to select her.
Each character either plays as a Fighting Vipers character (with armour that can be smashed off) or a Virtua Fighter character (without armour):

Bark the Polar Bear - one of AM2's creations for Sonic the Fighters
Sonic the Fighters
Sonic the Fighters is a fighting game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game's original Japanese title, Sonic The Fighters, is used in North American and European releases of Sonic Gems Collection.-Plot:...

Bark is a cream bear with large tufts of hair sticking out from the front and back of his 'beanie' hat, he wears a Scarf and Mittens. His alternate costume is a Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

-esque suit. He plays like a Virtua Fighter character and is unlocked by defeating the 'Muscle' section. He retains his home stage from Sonic the Fighters, albeit without the walls and with the background music from Sonic the Fighters's Flying Carpet stage instead.

Bean the Dynamite - the other of AM2's creations for Sonic the Fighters Bean is a green duck who wears a neck-a-chief and Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...

's famous shoes, without the socks, he is based on an old Sega arcade game Dynamite Dux
Dynamite Dux
Dynamite Düx is a side-scrolling 'beat 'em up' arcade game, created by Sega-AM2 and released by Sega in 1989 for their successful Sega System 16 arcade board, the same board that was used for hits like Golden Axe and Altered Beast...

 hence his name 'The Dynamite'. In fact in his alternate "costume" in this game, he becomes blue and looks exactly like the character Bin from that game. His trademark bombs are still present, though changed in appearance and some functions, but he still has his three main bomb-related moves (overhead bomb spread, bomb kick, and tossing a bomb onto a fallen foe and covering his ears). He plays like a Virtua Fighter character and is unlocked by defeating the 'Muscle' section (though he is not fought until the Bonus section). His home stage is not his own from Sonic the Fighters but actually Knuckles', the South Island stage. Bark and Bean appear in the game roughly the same size as the human characters, when Sonic characters are usually depicted as much shorter than Humans, just over half their size

Deku - The only original character created for the game, Deku is a comical Mexican green bean in a hat, when his hat is smashed off, a bird is under it, perched on his head. If you win a match with it knocked off, the bird squawks during Deku's win pose. For his alternate costume, the Sega Saturn logo is on his head instead, which makes a strange vibrating noise if Deku wins a bout with his hat knocked off. (the sound is actually taken from Sonic the Fighters; the noise is heard after the end credits as Eggman is seen hovering in his ship, Metal Sonic by his side-it's SE No.30 on the game's sound test in Sonic Gems Collection) He plays like a Fighting Vipers character and is unlocked by defeating the 'Dirty Fighters' section. His home stage is the same generic arena seen in the training mode.

Janet - Janet is from Virtua Cop 2 and has a fondness for countering. Her moves are those of the character Aoi Umenokouji (from Virtua Fighter 3) and can be unlocked by defeating the 'Girls' section. Her arena, Virtua City, is based upon the first stage from the original Virtua Cop
Virtua Cop
Virtua Cop is a lightgun shooter arcade game created by Sega-AM2, and headed by Yu Suzuki. Its original incarnation was an arcade game in 1994 and it was later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995, and Microsoft Windows in 1997...

.

Kids Akira - Akira Yuki super deformed
Super deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...

 from Virtua Fighter Kids
Virtua Fighter Kids
Virtua Fighter Kids is an installment in the Sega-AM2 Virtua Fighter fighting game series. It was released in the arcade and on the Sega Saturn in 1996....

, he is unlocked by defeating the Virtua Fighter section. He retains his home stage from Virtua Fighter Kids.

Kids Sarah - Sarah Bryant super deformed from Virtua Fighter Kids she is unlocked by defeating the Virtua Fighter section (though she is not fought until the Bonus section). Her stage is actually Sarah's Virtua Fighter 1 stage, (not her Virtua Fighter Kids home stage, presumably as it is not different enough from Sarah's normal VF2 stage to warrant inclusion), now with the addition of neon letters that act as walls, spelling "MEGAMIX."

Hornet - Hornet is a car (number 41) from Daytona USA, the car humorously stands on back wheels and boxes with its front, it plays like a Fighting Vipers character and can have its shell knocked off, revealing body, engine and other parts below. Its voice is sounds of an engine and many other sound effects from Daytona USA, such as screeching tires. Both of Hornet's costumes are a reference to its automatic (Red and Blue) or manual (Red and Gold) transmissions. Its stage is based upon a racecourse from Daytona USA (the Beginner's course from the arcade game, "Three-Seven Speedway").

Rent-A-Hero
Rent-A-Hero
Rent-A-Hero is a top-down role-playing video game series released by Sega for the Mega Drive console in 1991 with a large emphasis on humor. The game features the same graphic engine previously used in the development of Phantasy Star III. However, Rent-A-Hero has an unusual innovation for the genre...

- from two Japan only games, Rent-A-Hero for the Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...

 and three years after the release of Fighters Megamix, Rent-A-Hero No. 1 for the Sega Dreamcast and three more years later for the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

. Rent-A-Hero plays like a Fighting Vipers character, but he also has an additional handicap, battery life, measured by battery shaped red symbols above his health meter, if they all disappear, Rent-A-Hero shuts down. He is unlocked by defeating the 'Smart Guys' section. His stage is the "Chicago" stage from Virtua Fighter 2 (the stage you would get if you had Jacky and Sarah face each other in a match). It is actually unlocked before you unlock Rent-A-Hero, with the original VF2 music, but when Rent-A-Hero fights in the stage, the Rent-A-Hero theme music plays instead. Rent-A-Hero's stage music was changed in the North American and European release. In the Japanese version his stage music was a remake of the title screen music played in the Sega Mega Drive version of Rent-A-Hero, which is similar to that of a Japanese sentai show theme song while the North American and European versions have an instrumental version of the song.

Siba - Siba is from a prototype of Virtua Fighter but was cut from the cast by the time of game's actual release, though an icon featuring him (and mislabelled as "Akira") appears on older Virtua Fighter arcade cabinents. Siba is an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 in a white and purple outfit equipped with a sword that charges with green energy, he is unlocked by defeating the 'Bosses' section. His stage is based upon Wolf's "desert" stage from Virtua Fighter 3.

URA Bahn - an improved version of Bahn from Fighting Vipers he is unlocked by defeating the 'Fighting Vipers' section. His stage is on the outskrits of Old Armstone town, with the buildings from regular Bahn's arena visible in the distance.

AM2 Palm Tree - the developer's emblem is available as a playable character by clocking up 84 hours of game time, then selecting the Kumachan character with the Z button.

Mr Meat (Niku) - this odd character becomes available after the game has been booted up 30 times. Mr Meat is selectable by placing the cursor on Kumachan and pressing X and opting to play "course I".

Regional differences

The rendered images seen in the game credits after completing a section of the 1 Player mode are unlocked and can be viewed in a gallery in 'Extra Options'. However, two of these images were altered between the Japanese, PAL and American versions of the game.

At the end of the "girls" course, the second portrait to appear in Japanese releases was Honey in just her bra and thong. In the US, this was replaced by a portrait of Honey (renamed Candy in US releases) fully clothed and sporting her original "player 2" colors (blond hair, blue dress) from Fighting Vipers. A second, lesser known change was made to the image of Tokio with his shirt open from the "Smart Guys" course ending, rather bizarre considering that characters such as Wolf and Jeffry are seen bare-chested in normal gameplay.

Both of these images are retained for the PAL release of the game.

Differences between Fighting Vipers, Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighters Megamix

  • The Fighting Vipers characters' "player 2" colours in Fighters Megamix differ from the original Fighting Vipers game. For example, in Vipers player 2 Raxel had red hair and a purple guitar whereas in Megamix this was changed to purple hair and a blue guitar. Also, Honey/Candy's aforementioned blond hair/blue dress player 2 palette was changed to auburn hair with a yellow dress. With the exceptions of Kumachan (the "player 2" panda version can be selected with the C button as normal), Honey/Candy (who has a new unlockable outfit she wears instead), and Mahler (who has been given a new design in Megamix to differentiate him from B.M.), the original "player 2" colours for the Vipers can be chosen with the X button.

  • Each Virtua Fighter 2 character has their respective stage from that game, except for Dural-instead she has her Virtua Fighter 1 stage. Her Virtua Fighter 2 underwater stage is still in the game but it belongs to the Fighting Vipers character Mahler instead.

  • There is a small percentage of critical hit flashes and blood throughout Fighting Vipers Matches.

Virtua Fighter 3 previews

  • The VF2 characters have some (but not all) of their new moves from VF3 added.

  • Janet uses the move-list of Aoi Umenokouji from Virtua Fighter 3.

  • Siba's arena is based on Wolf's "desert" arena from Virtua Fighter 3, but the music used is actually from VF3's "attract mode." ("Rowdy")

  • Jeffry's Virtua Fighter 3 theme ("Coral Groove") is used for the training mode/Deku's stage.

  • Some of the VF2 characters have a VF3 win pose for one of their win poses.

  • The announcer is the same as in Virtua Fighter 3

Reception

The game was awarded a 9.25/10 from Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...

, the highest score any Saturn game received from the magazine.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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