Heavyweight Champ
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about".Template:Infobox VGTemplate:Nihongo foot is a series of boxing video games from Sega. The original arcade video game was released in 1976. The game uses black-and-white graphics and critics have since identified it as the first video game to feature hand-to-hand fighting.[1][2][3] It was a commercial success in Japan, where it was the third highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976.[4] However, it is now considered a lost video game.[5]
Sega released a remake to arcades in 1987, changing the side perspective of the original game to a third-person viewpoint from behind the boxer. Both games feature unique controls that simulate throwing actual punches.[1] The 1987 remake was Japan's fifth highest-grossing arcade video game of 1988 and received positive reviews from critics.
Gameplay
The 1976 original featured gameplay viewed from a side-view perspective. It employed two boxing glove controllers, one for each player, which moved up and down for high and low punches, with an inward movement for striking.[1] It used large monochrome sprite visuals for the graphics.[6]
The 1987 game changed the perspective to behind the player's boxer. In addition, the player is given two punch controllers, one for each hand. Only a single-player mode was made available, in which the player faces a series of opponents in one-round, three-minute bouts. Players can swivel the cabinet to move their boxer from side to side.[7]
Reception
The original 1976 game was a commercial success in Japan. On the first annual Game Machine arcade chart, Heavyweight Champ was the third highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976 in Japan, just below Taito's Ball Park and Speed Race DX.[4]
The 1987 remake was also a commercial success. In Japan, Game Machine listed the 1987 version on their November 15 issue as being the fourth most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.[8] It went on to become Japan's fifth highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1988.[9]
The 1987 remake was also critically well-received. Advanced Computer Entertainment and Commodore User praised the game's unique controls but raised concerns that they might decrease the lifespan of the cabinets.[10][11] Commodore User also had positive impressions of the game's graphics and gave the game a 9 out of 10 overall.[12]
Legacy
Sega reused the Heavyweight Champ name when they released the Sega Master System version of James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing outside of North America. The game features a side perspective and is otherwise unrelated to the arcade games. It was not received well.[13][14][15]
Heavyweight Champ's 1976 version was the first video game to ever depict a Black person.[16]
The 1991 Sega arcade game Title Fight also featured controls for left and right punches and a similar behind-the-boxer perspective as the 1987 game, along with two-player gameplay through use of a dual-monitor cabinet.[17]
See also
Notes
References
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- ↑ a b c Spencer, Spanner, The Tao of Beat-'em-ups, EuroGamer, Feb 6 2008, Accessed Feb 23, 2009
- ↑ Ashcraft, Brian, (2008) Arcade Mania! The Turbo-Charged World of Japan's Game Centers, (Kodansha International), p. 94
- ↑ Nadia Oxford, 20 Years of Street Fighter, 1UP.com, 12/11/2007
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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- ↑ "Heavyweight Champ". Advanced Computer Entertainment. March 1988. p. 26.
- ↑ "Heavyweight Champ". Commodore User. December 1987. p. 144
- ↑ Kelly, Nick. "Heavyweight Champ". Commodore User. January 1988.
- ↑ Heavyweight Championship Boxing. Mean Machines. Issue 7. pp 58-59.
- ↑ Heavyweight Champ. Raze. Issue 9. p. 54.
- ↑ Heavyweight Championship Boxing. CVG's Complete Guide to Sega. pp. 95-96.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Title Fight. Killer List of Video Games. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
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External links
- Heavyweight Champ (1976) at the Killer List of VideogamesTemplate:EditAtWikidataTemplate:WikidataCheck
- Heavyweight Champ (1976) at arcade-history
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