The Rumble Fish

Overview

The Rumble Fish is a 2D fighting game developed by Dimps and released by Sammy for arcades (using Dreamcast-based Atomiswave hardware) on March 2004.

A traditional 2D fighting game from the studio behind the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series, The Rumble Fish features a unique style of character sprites for its time, where each of the fighter's limbs are animated and moved as separate sprites (a technique called S.M.A., or Smooth Model Animation) to give the illusion of fluid animation. It also includes a system where clothes can be worn and torn as the combatant takes damage. Similar to most other fighting games at the time, The Rumble Fish uses fully-3D backgrounds behind the 2D sprites.

The game's story take place sometime in the 21st century, where prominent corporation PROBE-NEXUS rebuilds a ruined area as the bustling city Zone Prime. PROBE-NEXUS also sponsors an underground fighting tournament, known as Fight For Survival (or F.F.S.).

The Rumble Fish plays like a standard 2D fighting game, with four attack buttons and one button for dodging. It features a unique two-gauge system, one that fills by attacking (Offensive Gauge) and one that fills by blocking attacks (Defensive Gauge). Each Gauge can be used for their own variety of techniques, or can be combined into a powerful Critical Art attack.

A year later, the game received both its sequel and a Japanese-exclusive PlayStation 2 port (the latter released exclusively in Japan by Sega on March 17, 2005). The PS2 version includes new game modes and an animated intro movie. The sequel adds more characters and techniques, with some characters appearing in the PS2 port as bonuses.

Gameplay

The Rumble Fish is a five-button fighting game: two buttons (LP and SP) are dedicated to punches, two buttons (LK and SK) are dedicated to kicks, and the fifth button (D) executes the Dodge technique. Dashing and Backdashing are performed by double-tapping forward or backward. By pressing down, then an upward direction, the character will perform a higher jump. Throws in TRF are performed by pressing forward or back and SP at close proximity to the opponent. TRF includes a guard gauge that, if emptied by excessive blocking, will induce a Guard Crush state.

Rush Combo

The Rush Combo is a universal combo system that allows players to string together their normal attacks. Light Punch can cancel into Light Kick and vice versa, Strong Punch can cancel into Strong Kick and vice versa, and any Light can cancel into any Strong but the reverse isn't true in this case. Unlike some other fighting games that feature "gatling" systems, strict timing is required to ensure that the chained attacks actually combo.

Offensive/Defensive Gauge

The Rumble Fish features two gauges at the bottom of the screen: the red Offensive Gauge, and the blue Defensive Gauge. The Offensive Gauge fills by striking the opponent (regardless of whether the hit is successful or blocked), while the Defensive Gauge fills automatically with bonuses given for blocking attacks. When both meters are completely filled, the bar changes to the green Critical Gauge, which unlocks the powerful, but very costly Critical Art.

Offensive Techniques

• Advanced Attack, performed by pressing SP+SK, causes the character to quickly shoot forward with a weak attack. Due to the momentum of the technique, the user's attacks won't push the opponent back for a brief moment. This uses 50% of the Offensive Gauge.

• Jolt Attack, performed by pressing LP+LK, causes the character to use a quick unblockable attack. The opponent will be staggered and time will slow down for a brief moment. This uses all of the Offensive Gauge.

• Offensive Art is a super attack. It takes 100% of the Offensive Gauge and can be canceled from most attacks.

Defensive Techniques

Pressing D causes the character to perform a low slide that avoids certain high attacks. Pressing a downward direction + D causes the character to perform a short hop. Both can be cancelled into an attack.

• Impact Break is a parry performed by pressing down or down-back + D when receiving an attack. For 50% of the Defensive Gauge, the player will guard the attack and instantly recover, allowing them to punish.

• Quick Recovery, performed by pressing D while stunned in the air, causes the character to immediately recover, breaking the combo. It uses 50% of the Defensive Gauge.

• As opposed to the Offensive Art, which is focused on adding damage to the end of a combo, the Defensive Art allows a defending player to change the pace of battle. It doesn't do much damage, and some must be performed in specific situations. (While knocked down, while guarding, etc)

Characters

The arcade version of the game includes 9 playable fighters and 1 boss character (who is only playable with cheat codes). The PS2 version adds two additional characters for the game's Story Mode (both of which are from the game's sequel).

• Zen - An underground martial artist who has built his own style of martial arts by combining others.

• Hikari - A young practitioner of her father's style of martial arts, as well as the twin sister of Kaya, who enters the tournament to avenge her dead father.

• Typhon - A comic relief child character who carries a long scroll that he uses to obtain "face prints" of his defeated opponents.

• Garnet - An easygoing fighter who is dressed as a sexy nurse and fights with an assortment of kick-based attacks.

• Orville -

• Boyd - A comic relief character who normally has the appearance of an easy-going old man, until it is later revealed that he is an assassin who kills with his bare hands.

• Viren - A cold and intimidating combatant who fights with a wide array of hidden weapons (namely a chain whip).

• Kaya - A young practitioner of her father's style of martial arts, as well as the twin sister of Hikari, who enters the tournament to avenge her dead father.

• Aran -

• Greed - A mysterious combatant who is entered into the tournament as the corporation's "special seeded fighter". He serves as the game's final boss, who is only playable with cheat codes (Arcade version and PS2 version's Arcade Mode) and unlockable in the PS2 version's Story Mode.

• Sheryl - A bonus character from the game's sequel, she was added in the PS2 version and is unavailable in the Arcade Mode.

• Hazama - A bonus character from the game's sequel, he was added in the PS2 version as a hidden boss for Story Mode. Unavailable in the Arcade Mode and unlockable for other modes.