Greatest Heavyweights of the Ring
Encyclopedia
Greatest Heavyweights of the Ring is a boxing
video game that was developed and published by Sega
in 1993. It was released for the Sega Genesis console. It is a follow-up to Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing
, and is virtually identical in many ways, apart from a number of significant improvements.
, Jack Dempsey
, Joe Frazier
, Larry Holmes
, Evander Holyfield
, Joe Louis
, Rocky Marciano
, and Floyd Patterson
. There are also a total of thirty other imaginary fighters present in the game. The cartridge supports the 6 button control pad (an improvement over the controller options of its predecessor).
The game uses an identical 'attributes' system for each boxer to Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing, apart from one change: the attribute "defense" is no longer present. As with Evander Holyfield in the previously-mentioned game, the eight real-life fighters have maximum values on all of the attributes featured.
Career mode is slightly altered, in that the player fights their way through the thirty imaginary boxers in the game, with the last of these fights being for the World Heavyweight Title. After the player has won the title, they then fight all eight of the pugilists based on real-life boxers, in 'challenge' matches. Also, when creating a fighter, it is no longer possible to alter whether the boxer is left or right-handed. Instead, it is now possible to choose the physical size of your boxer from three pre-sets. An improvement over Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing is that the player now has many more colors to choose from when determining skin and hair colour for their fighter. If they so wish, they can have boxers that are wildly unrealistic colours such as bright blue or green. There are also more colors to choose from when adjusting the color of a fighter's shorts.
There is one new mode: tournament. In this mode, a player takes control of one of the eight real-life boxers in the game, and competes against the other seven in an eight-man tournament. In any of the three modes, the player can choose to have their fighter on either the left or right side of the screen.
The real-life boxers featured in the game reflect the fighters they are based upon in the way the console controls them. For example, Muhammad Ali dances about the ring, throwing lots of quick, straight punches, whereas Rocky Marciano constantly moves forward, throwing heavier punches such as hooks or uppercuts.
view of the ring that works in similar way but is easier to understand. Another improvement is that ring announcements are now made by Michael Buffer
. His famous phrase "Let's get ready to rumble!" is present. The game also introduces a replay feature, allowing players to pause and replay a segment of the in-ring action at any time. Finally, there are also much more detailed punch statistics at the end of each round and the fight itself.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
video game that was developed and published by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
in 1993. It was released for the Sega Genesis console. It is a follow-up to Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing
Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing
Evander Holyfield's "Real Deal" Boxing is a boxing video game that was developed by ACME Interactive and published by Sega in 1992. It was released for the Sega Genesis and Sega Game Gear consoles. It was followed by a sequel that featured a number of improvements, Greatest Heavyweights of the...
, and is virtually identical in many ways, apart from a number of significant improvements.
Overview
The game features eight of the most famous and successful heavyweight boxers in history: Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
, Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
, Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
, Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...
, Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
, Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano , born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was an American boxer and the heavyweight champion of the world from September 23, 1952, to April 27, 1956. Marciano is the only champion to hold the heavyweight title and go undefeated throughout his career. Marciano defended his title six times...
, and Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson was an American heavyweight boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by...
. There are also a total of thirty other imaginary fighters present in the game. The cartridge supports the 6 button control pad (an improvement over the controller options of its predecessor).
Gameplay
The gameplay of the game is very similar to that featured in Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing. Perhaps the most noticeable improvement is the speed of the game; it is significantly faster than the aforementioned title. The "taunting" feature is also improved; the phrases used are now more varied, because each of the boxers based on real-life fighters have their own set of taunts. Some of them reflect utterances actually spoken by them during their careers. Boxers will now also sometimes taunt their opponents before fights as well as during them.The game uses an identical 'attributes' system for each boxer to Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing, apart from one change: the attribute "defense" is no longer present. As with Evander Holyfield in the previously-mentioned game, the eight real-life fighters have maximum values on all of the attributes featured.
Career mode is slightly altered, in that the player fights their way through the thirty imaginary boxers in the game, with the last of these fights being for the World Heavyweight Title. After the player has won the title, they then fight all eight of the pugilists based on real-life boxers, in 'challenge' matches. Also, when creating a fighter, it is no longer possible to alter whether the boxer is left or right-handed. Instead, it is now possible to choose the physical size of your boxer from three pre-sets. An improvement over Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing is that the player now has many more colors to choose from when determining skin and hair colour for their fighter. If they so wish, they can have boxers that are wildly unrealistic colours such as bright blue or green. There are also more colors to choose from when adjusting the color of a fighter's shorts.
There is one new mode: tournament. In this mode, a player takes control of one of the eight real-life boxers in the game, and competes against the other seven in an eight-man tournament. In any of the three modes, the player can choose to have their fighter on either the left or right side of the screen.
The real-life boxers featured in the game reflect the fighters they are based upon in the way the console controls them. For example, Muhammad Ali dances about the ring, throwing lots of quick, straight punches, whereas Rocky Marciano constantly moves forward, throwing heavier punches such as hooks or uppercuts.
Presentation
In terms of presentation, one noticeable area of improvement over the previous game is the animation; for example, whereas previously boxers that were standing still or moving about the ring only had one frame of animation, now they have several more, slightly moving their arms and breathing as if they are alive. The top-down map featured in the first game has been replaced by a small 2.5D2.5D
2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is...
view of the ring that works in similar way but is easier to understand. Another improvement is that ring announcements are now made by Michael Buffer
Michael Buffer
Michael Buffer is an American professional ring announcer for boxing and professional wrestling matches. He is known for his trademarked catchphrase, "Let's get ready to rumble!" He is known for pioneering a distinct announcing style in which he rolls certain letters and adds other inflections to...
. His famous phrase "Let's get ready to rumble!" is present. The game also introduces a replay feature, allowing players to pause and replay a segment of the in-ring action at any time. Finally, there are also much more detailed punch statistics at the end of each round and the fight itself.
Other boxers
The 30 fictional boxers are (at factory default settings):| Rank | Name | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| Champ | Mike Dixon |  |
| 2 | Tommy Dunn | |
| 3 | Big Ed Rooney | |
| 4 | Jumpy Malone | |
| 5 | Sleepy Crowe |  |
| 6 | Al Dukencofer |  |
| 7 | Stinky Cooper | |
| 8 | Razor Robbins |  |
| 9 | Fireman Jones |  |
| 10 | Duke Foster |  |
| 11 | Smoke Spitz |  |
| 12 | Oscar Ogg |  |
| 13 | P.J Jackson | |
| 14 | Swifty Gish |  |
| 15 | Marcus Kelly |  |
| 16 | T.J Sharkey |  |
| 17 | Alfredo Ozar |  |
| 18 | Lloyd McAdoo |  |
| 19 | Jerome Murphy |  |
| 20 | Eugene Green | |
| 21 | Lightning Lou |  |
| 22 | A.J Motley | |
| 23 | Wild Bill Ivy |  |
| 24 | Freddy Muller |  |
| 25 | Kenny Biggs | |
| 26 | Alex Royster | |
| 27 | Red Williams | |
| 28 | Clayton West | |
| 29 | Jimmy Wheeler | |
| 30* | Byron Flagg |  |
| 30* | Jack Stellino |  |
- Byron Flagg only appears in exhibition mode
- Jack Stellino only appears in career mode
External links
- Game Info at Rotten Tomatoes.
- FAQ at Gamefaqs.