Sumo Fighter (1993) ・ 相撲ファイター 東海道場所 (1991)
Developed by: KID
Published by: I’Max (JP), DTMC (NA)
Released in: JP, NA
There are dozens upon dozens of video games based around sumo wrestling that never saw the light of day in the west. Understandably so; the sport is just one of those Japanese cultural things that the western hemisphere never caught the bug for. Sumo Fighter, however, somehow managed to slip through the cracks and land itself a North American release as it’s an action platformer as opposed to a traditional sports game. Maybe they were banking on kids confusing the main character for E. Honda, and the game as a whole as some kind of Street Fighter spinoff? We’ll never know.
It’s a pretty good one, too. The titular sumo fighter in question, an Edo period wrestler named Bontaro Heiseiyama, has to save a princess, because of course he does. He does so by throwing hands with anyone and anything stupid enough to cross his path. Where most games of this ilk would give the player a simple choice between a punch or a kick and leave it at that, Bontaro’s got an impressive arsenal of moves under his loincloth. Slapping, a magic projectile slap, judo throwing enemies off screen, headbutting and ground pounding make for a surprisingly cool variety of ways to dispatch baddies. The game feels more like a beat ’em up than a platformer most of the time, which feels unique for the Game Boy’s endless library of cut and dry platformers.
The enemies in question come in quite interesting variety, as well. Edo-period farmers, ninjas, and crazy looking yokai of various shapes and sizes are satisfying to stomp on as Bon-chan. Sumo Fighter’s backgrounds are nicely detailed, especially for 1991 Game Boy, and the music’s not too bad, either. The aesthetics are distinctly Japanese in a way that would have been pointedly scrubbed from other games of its time, but have been surprisingly left in-tact for Sumo Fighter. The game also features a Zelda II-styled levelling up system; through it, you can improve your slap strength, ground pound strength, and health bar to stand a fair chance at fighting the game’s tricky bosses.
Speaking of, let’s talk about those. The only real negative the game has, in my opinion, are the boss battles. During normal gameplay the hit detection feels completely fine, but when it comes to the end of level fights, the hitboxes on the bigger characters feel downright incorrect. The bosses also have a tendency to drain your health alarmingly fast if you get snagged on them the wrong way, thanks to the game’s especially short period of invincibility after getting hit; something that never once felt like a problem in side scrolling segments.
All the same, something that looked like it would be dead simple turned out to be quite the interesting romp with a surprising amount of depth. It’s by no means a perfect game, but what’s on show is enjoyable. Sumo Fighter is worth a look for any Game Boy enthusiasts or beat ’em up fans looking for something obscure to sink their teeth into. If I had to rate it, I’d give a solid 7.5; not quite a hidden gem, but absolutely a diamond in the rough. Here’s where I’d put a sumo pun encouraging you to check out the game, if I knew anything at all about sumo. It’s cool, so give it a try!
NESJunk 